3358 Insects. 



nous specimens were in his (Mr. F,'s) collection, novv in my possession, not any notice 

 is taken of the insect in question ; and as it was noticed by Haworth in his ' Prodro- 

 mus ' so long back as 1802, under the name of Sphinx flammeus, and no second ex- 

 ample had occurred, to my knowledge, after an interval of fifty years, I was disposed 

 to question the indigenous pretensions of the species, and rejected it accordingly from 

 the British Museum List. It appears, however, to be a scarce insect, as I have hitherto 

 failed in obtaining a specimen of any kind in illustration of the species. The fact of 

 its having been recently taken in England is satisfactory, as it appears an unlikely in- 

 sect to have been introduced by commerce. — J. F. Stephens ; Eltham Cottage, Foxley 

 Road, Kenning ton, January 10, 1852. 



Gastropacha Ilicifolia again. — A letter of the 9th instant, from Mr. Wm. Green, 

 of Sheffield, informs me that he has succeeded in obtaining two more larvae of the 

 above insect, after the unprecedented labour of "upwards of 100 days' hunt" for spe- 

 cimens. One of these larva? is unfortunately dead, and is in my collection of British 

 metamorphotic illustrations ; the other is still alive, in pupa : it ate the young leaves 

 of the apple and willow. — Id. ; January 20, 1852. 



Food of Micro- Lepidoptera. — One of your correspondents, a short time ago, asked 

 for notices of the food of Micro-Lepidoptera. I would earlier have sent the following 

 account of a pretty Eupithecia, but delayed in the hope of being able to ascertain its 

 name. Mr. Bree submitted a specimen to Mr. Doubleday, who cannot identify it with 

 any named British species, but has made the following remark : — " It has been taken 

 by Mr. Sheppard, but does not seem at all common." On August 23, 1850, my at- 

 tention was attracted to a small caterpillar feeding among the flowers of Pimpinella 

 Saxifruga, in this parish. After carefully searching I could find no more than five of 

 the same kind. Placed in a glass jar, and fed for two or three weeks, they went un- 

 der ground. I observed that the petals were gnawed off and lay scattered about, and 

 that only the innermost parts of the flowers and summits of their pedicels were eaten. 

 Four of the five insects appeared in the winged state, the first coming out on the 6th 

 of July, 1851 ; unluckily, two of them were accidentally destroyed, one I retain, and 

 the other is in Mr. Bree's possession. Eupithecia linariata is described in a general 

 way as feeding on Linaria vulgaris. I have observed the caterpillars of this species 

 bore into the unripe capsules in order to feed on the young seeds, and have bred them 

 by supplying them with these, and also with the capsules of a garden Linaria (purpu- 

 rea I think it was), but I did not observe them feeding on the leaves.— J. S. Henslow; 

 Hitcham, Suffolk, December 30, 1851. 



A Buzz from the Bees. — I read with great pleasure the observations of Mr. Lands- 

 troth in your last number (Zool. 3342). In the same journal for 1844 (Id. 748) there 

 is the following quotation from Mr. Huish, an author and bee-master of some experi- 

 ence; who says, — " It is of no use to look at hive bees in a glass hive, as they are 

 alarmed at the light, and cease from all operations," and also that "the motions of the 

 queen are enveloped in mystery," &c. Novv Mr. Huish said this in haste ; I have a 

 Huber show hive, and will venture to say that the bees become accustomed to be looked 

 at after a few times. In this hive there is only room for one comb ; it is about 2f 

 inches wide, and suited for a small second swarm or cast, only fit for show and exami- 

 nation, fur I have never been able to keep them alive during a whole winter, although 

 in a room inside the house, the bees working from an aperture cut through the window. 

 I have watched the queen laying eggs many limes with some friends, and it is a very 

 interesting sight. She traverses the combs very slowly, the bees making a lane for her 



