4502 Insects. 



1 Entomologists Annual' — It is with much pleasure that I have read Mr. Stainton's 

 proposal on this subject in the ' Zoologist' for October; such a publication seems to be 

 a great desideratum ; and I would venture to suggest that it is no less a desideratum 

 that a similarly compiled record should be formed of the occurrences of rare species 

 which are noted from time to time in the ' Zoologist' and other periodicals: beginners 

 are so constantly tantalised by learning that species marked rare by our great authori- 

 ties have, since their works appeared, been more generally found, though the fact be 

 only known to those who have regularly perused the public journals. Such a record, 

 even if it were merely to mention the names of the species, localities and captors, 

 with a reference to the page at which they are detailed more fully, would be a great 

 boon to the younger followers, at least, of the science, and I think it might easily be 

 conjoined with Mr. Stainton's already determined work. To make the book exten- 

 sively useful, every order of insects ought to be noticed in it, as the author would 

 wish ; and I sincerely hope that all entomologists will combine to assist so desirable 

 an undertaking. — A. R. Hogan; Charlton, Dundrum, near Dublin, October 10, 1854. 



SingularVariety of Anthocharis Cardamines. — I have a specimen of this insect, taken 

 by a friend of mine at Hainhault Forest, which has the orange spot of the male on the 

 under side of the right wing only ; the upper side representing the perfect female. — 

 William Machin ; 35, William Street, Globe Fields, Mile End. 



Note on Ptilophora plumigera. — Having met with a few eggs of this Bombyx on 

 maple sprays, last winter, and bred the perfect insect from them this November, I have 

 pleasure in communicating a few facts about its transformations. The egg occurs about 

 here on the young shoots of the maple in hedge-rows. It is light brown, circular, and 

 has a white ring round it, which is, in fact, the under side. It is found singly, or in 

 twos and threes, and is pretty visible in the sunshine. The larva appears about the 

 middle of April, or as soon as the maple bursts ; at first it is hardly perceptible to the 

 eye, being transparent and of a pale yellow colour; it soon beeomes grass-green, with 

 a dorsal stripe of darker green, bounded by two white lines : while young it is distinctly 

 hairy. It sleeps during the day, frequently under the leaf it fed on the preceding 

 night, and is of quiet habits and apparently social, as two often fold upon one leaf. 

 Soon it changes its skin, and then assumes yellow rings about the shoulders, but retains 

 the general grass-green tint and large transparent green head until ready to change: 

 the white lines now become fainter, its habits are more active, and it feeds night and 

 day ; lastly, the tint becomes blueish, like Camelina before its change, and the dorsal 

 stripe disappears. About the end of May or early in June, the larva buries nearly two 

 inches below the surface, and there spins an oval cocoon, from the top of which is sus- 

 pended the pupa : this is cylindrical, compressed and bifurcate at the tail. By placing 

 the breeding-cage (in my case, a flower-pot) in the sunshine, about the middle of 

 November, I found the perfect insect emerged from the lower end of the cocoons — in 

 one instance escaping through the bottom of the flower-pot. Of the two varieties, the 

 light and the dark, the latter seems rarer. — Bernard Smith; Marlow, December, 1854. 



Occurrence of Notodonta carmelita. — It was my good fortune to take a fine specimen 

 of this rare insect last year, and another this year, both early in May, at West Wickham. 

 — William Machin; 35, William Street, Globe Fields, Mile End. 



Early appearance of Cucullia umbratica. — I took this insect in beautiful condition, 

 on the 6th April last, at Wilmington. — Id. 



Curious Capture of Pacilocampa Populi. — A few days ago I was agreeably surprised 

 at finding in an old garden-shed, where I usually keep my breeding-cages, fourteen 



