Insects. 2829 



them alive fourteen or fifteen days, without any visible alteration in colour or size ; 

 were not the larva of Telephorus well known, I might have been induced to imagine 

 these little creatures to be the larva of that genus. Then comes the question, are 

 they larva at all, or perfect insects ? That they are not the larva of a Meloe I feel 

 satisfied-and in fact they differ in some particulars in form-these are, however, 

 slight, but they are subject to considerable differences of size; which is not the case 

 in those actually reared from the egg of Meloe ; they are also uniformly black, with 

 reddish testaceous legs : those from the eggs are uniformly bright orange yellow, and 

 have never been observed to change. Here, for the present, I leave the subject, in 

 the hope that some fortunate moment will present itself, when the whole of this most 

 interesting enquiry will meet with satisfactory elucidation. 



D F. Smith. 



11, Constitution Row, 

 Gray's Inn Road. 



Postscript, May 11, 1850.— I have an observation to make concerning the Pe- 

 diculus and the Meloe larva: a fortnight ago, this day, I captured specimens of 

 Melecta punctata, on which I found the Pediculus Melitte ; since which time I have 

 been three times at Hampstead, and although I have captured Andremdae, &c., m 

 great numbers, I have not yet found a single yellow hexapod; in fact I do not think 

 the larva of Meloe are out. I brought home a female Meloe, and she deposited 

 shortly after on the same day : this was one of the first out this season, the weather 

 not being previously suitable ; yet I had searched most industriously : the larvae are 

 not yet developed. — F. Smith. 



Capture of a new Saturnia (Saturnia Isabella) near Madrid.-A splendid Saturnia 

 has been taken near Madrid, belonging to that section of the genus of which the well 

 known Bombyx Luna, of North America, forms the type. The present species, how- 

 ever, more nearly resembles a North African species with shorter tails to the posterior 

 wings It is proposed to call this beautiful insect Saturnia Isabella, and a full de- 

 scription accompanied by figures will shortly appear.—Eduwrd Newman 



Occurrence of Ceropacha flavicornis in Staffordshire.— On April, 2, o, and b, 1 

 captured ten specimens of Ceropacha flavicornis upon Cannock Chase. Nine of these 

 were asleep upon some old park palings out on the open moor, with only two or three 

 young birch-trees near them, and these very scrubby and stunted. At the distance 

 of about half a mile are a number of birches in scattered clumps amongst the heather, 

 and here I took another specimen clinging to a slender twig in what seemed a most 

 uncomfortable position. This is generally considered a scarce species, but, perhaps 

 it may turn out to be merely local, as Mr. Hodgkinson has shown to be the case with 

 so many reputed rarities. Brepha Notha (the Parthenias of Hubner, and, I believe, 

 Linmeus) which is always extremely abundant here, has this year appeared a full 

 month later than is ordinarily the case with us, being only now at its height- JF. S. 

 Atkinson ; The Vicarage, Rugeley, Staffordshire, April 15, 1850. 



TNear London, Ceropacha flavicornis is too common to require record .— H. A.j 

 U of Depressaria-l was not a little amused to-day on receipt of the current 

 number of the 'Zoologist,' to find that both Mr. Douglas and myself had been em- 

 VIII 2 c 



