CURRENT NOTES. 139 
room throughout the past autumn and winter, occasionally damping 
them. The results, so far, I consider satisfactory, the following 
emergences having taken place: April 1st, 14 9,9 2 ; 4th, 15 3, 
Ae oun Gigs 4g sth go 9) Oh Oth, 8 syle: srand 
lith,3 ¢,8 @. ‘The imagines commenced to appear at 9 a.m., and 
continued to do so until 6 p.m., the majority emerging in the late 
afternoon. Of the 58 g and72 ? whichemerged 2 3 and 4 9 only 
were crippled, but the hindwings of 5 per cent. of the gs and 20 per 
cent. of the 9s were imperfectly formed. As imagines in one or two 
cases only emerged from the composite cocoons I opened several of the 
latter. The majority contained two dead larve, others three, and the 
largest as many as eleven. Owing probably to the space within the 
composite cocoons being too confined the larve had failed to complete 
their pupation. The formation of these cocoons I am now convinced 
resulted from overcrowding of the larve. ‘There are still remaining 
about thirty of the single cocoons and half-a-dozen of the composite. 
Some of the former I am satisfied from examination contain living 
pup, which may produce imagines another year, but it is very 
doubtful whether the latter do. The imagines obtained were all 
normal in size and type.—A. Russeti, F.E.8., Southend, near Cat- 
ford, S.E. 
GYURRENT NOTES. 
Professor Fernald, of the Massachusetts Agricultural College, sends 
us a prospectus which sets forth the work required for students to 
obtain a degree in Zoological and Entomological Science. The 
course is evidently an excellent one, aud no doubt students of 
the College who obtain this degree will be selected to fill the posts 
of State entomologists and similar positions in the various public 
institutions. 
At the meeting of the Entom. Society of London on April 4th, Mr. 
McLachlan exhibited an extraordinary aberration of Hnallagma cyathi- 
gerum, Charp., taken by Mr. Morton in Glen Lochay, Scotland. The 
remarkable feature consisted in the predominance of black over blue in 
the coloration of the abdomen. 
When available, the editor would be glad to have pupe, eggs and newly- 
hatched larvee (in spirit) of our British Hepialids—Hepialus humuli, H. 
velleda, H. sylvinus, H. hectus, H. lupulinus; also newly-hatched larvee 
of Zeuzera pyrina and eges of Cossus ligniperda. It is hoped that all 
lepidopterists who obtain eggs of these species will spare at least one 
or two for description. We would also suggest that systematic details 
as to dates of emergence, exact duration of egg, larval and pupal 
stages, and other interesting information relating to the common 
Sphingids, would be very useful. 
We are pleased to observe that applied entomology has been recog- 
nised, in so far that Miss Ormerod has been made Hon. LL.D. of 
Kdinburgh University—the first woman thus honoured. 
Professor J. W. Carr and the Rey. A. Thornley are collecting 
insects of all orders, with a view to the publication of an ‘ Insect 
Fauna of Nottinghamshire.” They would be very grateful for records 
for the county. We have received the last year’s report of the Notting- 
ham Naturalists’ Society, in which there are several interesting entomo- 
logical articles, the chief of which is ‘‘ Nottinghamshire Diptera,” by 
the Rey. A. Thornley. 
