Insects, Q6 



again on the evening of the 19th of October last, with Mr. Douglas, 

 in the hope of obtaining a few specimens. We commenced beating 

 the bushes about 7 o'clock, and worked hard for upwards of an hour, 

 without success ; at last it occurred to me that a close inspection of 

 the junipers by means of the lantern might lead to better results, and 

 accordingly I first examined the outsides of several of the bushes, but 

 could not find a single specimen ; I then inspected the insides, and 

 soon discovered one of the long-sought-for insects, hanging from a 

 withered twig near the ground. Knowing now how to proceed, 1 

 soon captured about eighteen. On the three following nights I con- 

 tinued to collect them, and finally obtained one hundred and eight 

 fine specimens, in the proportion of about twenty-six males to one 

 female. It seems that on cold frosty nights these insects do not 

 emerge from their hiding places (the interior of the bushes, where 

 they suspend themselves from small dry twigs, or the bark of naked 

 stems), and are consequently easily taken by aid of the lantern. T 

 shook them into pill-boxes, where they would lie perfectly still, with- 

 out the least attempt at escape. On warm moist evenings they either 

 fly about or settle on the outsides of the trees> and are then very ac- 

 tive and captured with difficulty. — Geo, Bedell ; 4, Waterloo Place, 

 Cohurg Road, December 29, 1842. 



Note on the Caterpillars of Orgyla gonostigma. I have met with 

 the larvae of this insect (as I have before informed you) occasionally 

 in the autumn. Last September I found a brood feeding on the young 

 shoots of the dwarf oaks ; they fed rapidly, but on changing their 

 skin spun slight webs on the top and sides of the breeding cage, and 

 amongst the leaves ; to these webs they continued to adhere, and I 

 could not in any way induce them to eat. Some of them have since 

 died, and the rest are in a torpid state. These larvae do not appear 

 to feed until the sun begins to decline ; I have always found them on 

 those boughs which catch the slanting rays, this was the case with 

 the brood above mentioned. I also met with them full fed last May, 

 at the same period of the day. — Alfred Lambert ; 6, Trinity St., 

 December 30, 1842. 



Note on Sepsis cynipsea. Towards the end of August I once ob- 

 served myriads of this insect swarming on the stump of a tree, and 

 seated by hundreds on each leaf that grew on the twigs from the old 

 stock, or buzzing in the air above. — F. Walker; Grove Cottage, 

 Southgate, December, 1842. 



Note on Bee-hives. I am quite delighted with ' The Zoologist,' and 

 am anxiously looking forward to the appearance of the next number. 



