2826 Insects. 



body of the slug, where it was sensibly thicker. I noticed my interesting acquain- 

 tance descend several inches in a few minutes ; and when it had completed a 

 suspending-thread of fully 18 inches in length, I quite unintentionally put a stop to 

 its progress, by examining its outstretched eyes too closely with a magnifying lens. 

 After this affront the slug commenced a retreat, which it set about by curving the 

 head portion of the body upwards and inwards, until it touched the hinder portion of 

 the body, a part of which it actually climbed up, and then took to the suspending- 

 thread, advancing up the thread several inches with great facility, although the thread 

 at the time was oscillating considerably with the draught of air through the green- 

 house. Being pressed for time, I was here obliged to give up my observations on 

 the slug's movements, but not before I had tested the strength of the suspending- 

 thread, which I found was strong enough to support a weight much greater than that 

 of the slug, and it was so elastic as to stretch considerably in length before breaking. 

 The slug, when fully stretched out, was rather more than an inch in length, and 

 about the size of a small goose-quill. The colour of the head was rufous-brown ; the 

 body brownish gray, paler beneath. I believe this slug is named Limax filans, and that 

 its peculiarities have been described ; but as it is of rare occurrence in this country, I 

 have drawn up this short notice of its appearance, thinking it might be interesting to 

 British naturalists.— W. Wilson Saunders ; East Hill, Wandsworth, May 7, 1850. 



Capture of Spilonota pauperana in Darenth Wood, Kent. — I have taken a consi- 

 derable number of this little-known Tortrix in the above locality, on the 14th and 15th 

 of April last. It has long been considered a great rarity, a single worn specimen 

 existing in Mr. Bentley's cabinet, and very few others being known. It was errone- 

 ously described by the late Mr. Haworth as the Paykulliana of Fabricius ; but Mr. 

 Doubleday has found that that insect is perfectly distinct, and that the present spe- 

 cies was first described under the name of pauperana, and that name has been adopted 

 by Duponchel and Doubleday. — P. Bouchard; 7, North Conduit Street, Bethnal 

 Green Road, May 1, 1850. 



Observations on the Stylopites and their Affinities. By Fredekick Smith, Esq., 

 Curator to the Entomological Society. 



The economy and affinities of the Stylopites constitute so interesting a problem 

 that the attention of naturalists has been repeatedly directed towards their elucida- 

 tion. The singular economy of these insects has indeed been in a great measure 

 satisfactorily investigated. As far back as the year 1810 their larva were observed 

 by Klug, who supposed them to be parasites on the larvae of Stylops : they have since 

 that time been observed by several naturalists of our own country. Mr. Westwood 

 in the ' Transactions of the Entomological Society,' vol. ii. part 3, describes the larvae 

 as parasites of Stylops ; throwing out a suggestion of the possibility of the supposed 

 pupae being the females, and the little hexapods the young of Stylops: the latter idea, 



