QQ [August, 



no doubt that, with a little more patience and care, I shall some day obtain a speci- 

 men that has not flown, which will prove his point. — J. W. TuTT, Eayleigh Yilla, 

 Westcombe Park, S.E. : June, 1887. 



[I would nsk tlie next captor of these moths, who is so fortunate aa to meet 

 with them in any quantity, to place a number of the living insects together in a 

 glass-topped box, in hopes that thereby some may be induced to pair; those that 

 pair should then be separated from the rest, and the specimens of which each pair 

 consists should be specially labelled as (? and ? , and as found paired, and we should 

 thus soon ascertain whether those without any white ring on tlie antennae were 

 invariably females. If in some of the pairs both specimens were found to have white 

 ringed antennae, and in some of the pairs both specimens were found to have the 

 antennae entirely dark, we should, at any rate, have learnt something we do not at 

 present know. — H. T. S.J 



I^ofe on Luhdorfia Puziloi, Ersch. — Last mail brought me Mr. H. J. Elwes' 

 paper on the Parnassiidce (Pro. Zoo. Soc, 19th Jan., 1836), and almost simultaneously 

 I received from my collector a series of Luhdorfia Puziloi for which I have been 

 searching for years. From Mr. Elwes' valuable pap^r, we now learn how the horny 

 sheath on the body of females of the Parnassiidce is formed, and why it is present in 

 some specimens and absent in others, but we are, I think, as far off as ever from 

 understanding the use of this very peculiar appendage. I believe Mr. Elwes has not 

 had the opportunity of examining a female of Luhdorfia Puziloi, and it would 

 appear that in all the other species he has dissected, the horny sheath is developed 

 into a pouch which he supposes acts in some beneficial way in the sexual act ; this, 

 however, cannot be the explanation, as strangely enough, the sheath on Luhdorfia is 

 nearly flat, and could not, I tliink, from its shape, act as an attachment in any way. 

 This insect appears very early in the year ; my first specimens were obtained on the 

 15th April, but it was then getting over, the males appear before the females, and it 

 frequents wooded paths on the mountains, and is very easy to capture. — H. Pexeb, 

 Yokohama .• May 9th, 1887. 



A day's collecting {chiefiy Diptera) at Esher. — On the 14th of this month 

 (June) I collected for the first time this season, and chose Esher (Surrey) as my 

 hunting ground. The day was very hot, and though I anticipated favourable 

 results, I was scarcely prepared for the rich harvest that fell to my net. Diptera, 

 as usual, formed the principal attraction, and these were found in great abundance. 

 It is impossible to give a list of the species captured as so many of them are new to 

 me, and no time has yet presented itself for their determination, which, considering 

 the number of minute Muscidce taken, will be a matter of very great difficulty. 

 Speaking only approximately, I captured of the Tipulidce, 12 species (60 specimens), 

 Umpidce, 7 (20), Bibionidce, 2 (10), MycetophilidcB, 2 (6), Dolichopodidce, 9 (106), 

 Syrphida:,4<{6), 3IusoincB,4! (6), Anthomyiince, 30 {164), Acalypte rata, 570 specimens; 

 of these latter it is impossible to do more than estimate the number of species. 

 Thus, of the Diptera alone, I captured about 70 species without the Acalypterata, 

 which must comprise at the least 50 or 60 species. To mention some of the insects 

 taken : among the Muscince were only four Morellia hortorum, one Cyrtoneura, and 

 one Lucilia ; an\ong the Anthomyiiwx, CcBnosia tigrina was extremely abundant, the 



