280 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



bushes in my garden here. I have always found lubricipeda by far 

 the most common of the ermine moths in Notts and Lincolnshire 

 where I have collected this last fifteen years.— A. E. F. P. Wynne ; 

 Upton, Southwell, Notts. 



Zyg^nid^ attracted by Lasiocampa quercus 9 , etc. — 

 During a recent holiday on the South Devon coast I had the 

 pleasure of taking Colias croceus var. helice, Herse convolvuh y 

 Leucania vitelline/, and L. unipuncta on September 1st, 2nd, 4th and 

 6th respectively, the two last at sugar in spite of an exceedingly bad 

 spell of sugaring. L. unipuncta was apparently newly emerged. 

 Of greater interest, almost, was the finding on a sugar-patch of a 

 female Noctua c-nigrum in cop. with N. xanthographa. No ova were- 

 obtained, however. Assembling for Lasiocampa quercus produced 

 some curious results. ' The female was besieged whenever I put her 

 down by swarms of Zygaena filipendulae, which would remain in the- 

 box until removed. This happened over a very wide area, and she 

 seemed more attractive to the Zygaenidae than to her own species, 

 as only a few of these turned up.— G. P. Sutton ; 60, Oval Road, 

 Erdington, Birmingham, October 26th, 1922. 



Cannibalism among Cucullia verbasci. — Cucullia verbasci larvae 

 are common on the Salisbury Downs, and I have often collected them. 

 I have observed that when several are kept in a larva cage together 

 their numbers invariably diminish even when a plentiful supply of 

 food is at hand. Although I have never seen larva? attack one 

 another, I have little doubt that they are cannibals. — A. Steven 

 Corbet ; Reading. 



Killing with Cyanide. — Respecting Mr. Frank Little wood's 

 note in November number, p. 260, on the use of cyanide for the- 

 purpose of relaxation, I may point out the fact that certain species, 

 especially G. rhamni and both G. edusa and C. hyale, are very liable 

 to become blotched with crimson and otherwise discoloured, and if 

 left for any considerable time in the cyanide bottle only a small 

 proportion of their original colour will remain. — F. W. Frohawk. 



Destruction of Papilio machaon LARViE by Cuckoos. — It is 

 generally supposed that brightly coloured larvae are immune from 

 the attacks of birds owing to such ornamentation acting as a pro- 

 tective colouring, and as a rule certain species possessing the 

 so-called warning colours are undoubtedly distasteful to birds — for 

 instance, I know of no bird which feecjs on the larva of Pieris 

 brassicae, which, although not brilliantly coloured, is nevertheless a 

 conspicuous object. I have often watched several species of birds 

 such as garden warblers, willow warblers, wrens, robins, hedge- 

 sparrows and blue titmice, all busily engaged in searching beds of 

 cabbages for the larva? of P. rapae, which they manage readily to 

 detect although their colouring harmonises perfectly with the colour 

 of the leaves, and greedily devouring them, but I have never seen 

 any bird attempt to eat the larva of P. brassicae, which are passed 

 unnoticed by all birds, although they are among the most con- 

 spicuous larva? in their manner of living fully exposed on both 

 surfaces of the leaves. Whether brassicae larva? are eaten by the 



