436 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



to be able to supplement this notice by an account of the 

 development of the makers of these excrescences. In the 

 meantime I wish to direct the attention of foresters and 

 agriculturists to the fact, how injurious these galls, "in vast 

 profusion," must be to the trees, and what an enormous 

 quantity of sap they must divert from its legitimate channels. 

 Those who value healthy growth I would, therefore, recom- 

 mend not to use their pruning-hooks tremblingly, like 

 " aspen o'er a brook," but firmly, and mindful of the circum- 

 stance, that, if the operation is to do any lasting good, these 

 excrescences should not remain on the ground, but should 

 be collected and consigned to the fire. — Albert Miiller ; 

 * Gardener'' s Chronicle,^ p. 1226, September 23, 1871. 



Entomological Notes, Captures, S^c. 



Orgyia gonostigma and the Volunteers. — The gallant 

 defenders of our country [infutiiro) are not, I regret to say, 

 the defenders of O. gonostigma, but rather, on the other 

 hand, inimical to its continuance in its Wimbledon haunt. 

 Every year the numbers steadily diminish, partly owing to 

 the oft-quoted cause, " the attacks of collectors," but still 

 more to the disturbance of the locality throughout the 

 summer, and especially during the time when the moths are 

 on the wing, and the young larvae are emerging; the latter 

 event taking place in about a fortnight after the deposition of 

 the eggs in July. From the character of the ground which 

 forms the habitat of the species at Wimbledon (in the well- 

 known hollows, or "ravines," as they are termed in an old 

 work on Botany), it is not likely to establish itself anywhere 

 else in that district if the Common ceases to be tenable. 

 Gonostigma evidently delights in a sheltered spot ; and the 

 caterpillars, unlike those of its near relative, Antiqua, are not 

 particularly inclined to stroll. " Now, here is a clear case," 

 observed a friend to me the other day, who is strong for 

 Darwin and his theories ; " no doubt both sexes of Gonostigma 

 had originally wings. Getting to this retired spot, just suited 

 to their tastes, some individuals settled here, and, byjjnd bye, 

 the females got rid of their wings, which they did not need 

 for oviposition." Ingenious hypothesis! But it does not 



