Insects, 1 75 



believe the occurrence to be of some rarity in the annals of Entomology. On opening 

 my breeding-case on the morning of the 3rcl of April, I found that a number of Lepi- 

 doptera had come out during the previous night, amongst vi^hich were three specimens 

 of Sphinx ocellata, five of S. Populi, one S. Tilise, one S. Ligustri, and two of Cerura 

 Vinula. But what surprised me was to find a male of S. Populi and a female of S. 

 ocellatus united in copula. I left them all the night, and on the following morning 

 the female had laid a number of eggs, which I am preserving, and hope to rear some 

 hybrids, which will be somewhat of rarities. Perhaps some of your contributors may 

 have witnessed a similar occurrence, where hybrids have been produced by two differ- 

 ent insects, and will favour me with the particulars through the medium of 'The Zoo- 

 logist.' The larvae of S. Tiliae and S. Ligustri I received last autumn from Hamburgh, 

 not being found in this neighbourhood that I am aware of. The pupae have been kept 

 throughout the winter in a vinery. — G, Norman ; Hull, April 7, 1843. 



Note on Sphinx Ligustri and Smerinthus ocellatus. On opening one of the cages 

 this morning, to my astonishment I found a male Sphinx Ligustri in copula with a fe- 

 male Smerinthus ocellatus : and what renders this still more singular, is, that there 

 were several individuals of both sexes of the two species at the same time in the cage. 

 — Henry Douhleday, in ' The Entomologist^ p. 357. 



Note on the production of hybrids between Smerinthus Populi and Sm. ocellatus. On 

 the 6th of November, 1837, a paper by Henry House, Esq., was read before the Ento- 

 mological Society of London, on the production of hybrid specimens between Smerin- 

 thus Populi and Sm. ocellatus : the specimens were exhibited. — Ed. 



Note on the cure of " Grease " in Insects. If the following method of destroying the 

 "grease" in insects would prove acceptable to the readers of The Zoologist,' perhaps 

 you will be kind enough to insert it. Moisten the part greased with pure iiaphtha, then 

 cover it with scraped pipe-clay ; let this remain on for a few hours, afterwards brush it 

 off with a soft camels' hair brush. Some of the large-bodied moths require to be done 

 two or three times before all the grease is destroyed. I have used the naphtha and 

 pipe-clay with great success in restoring the beauty of Coleoptera brought home in spi- 

 rit, particularly those brought by Mr. Cuming. — F. Bond; Kingsbury, April 10, 1843. 

 Note on the Capture of Colias Philodice. In your remarks on Colias Hyale (Ento- 

 mol. 386), you speak of Mr. Ardley's being convmced f at he had seen C. Philodice ; 

 something more than this occurred in this neighbourhood, a specimen having actually 

 been captured at Collyhurst, after a desperate chase of two hours, the pursuing parties 

 having no other implements than their hats, and the locality being a very awkward 

 one. — R. S. Edleston, in ' Entomologist,' p. 417. 



Note on Colias Philodice. In the last No. of ' The Entomologist,' (p. 417) was a no- 

 tice of this insect. Although the circumstance of its capture eight years ago was known 

 to most of the old entomologists here, on one of whom I thought I could depend for cor- 

 rectness as to the name of the species, I had no opportunity of seeing it myself until the 

 end of last week, when I found out the residence of one of the captors, who showed me 

 the specimen, and to my great surprise and disappointment, I found the insect was Co- 

 lias Edusa and not Philodice. How parties who had ever seen the two insects could pos- 

 sibly confound them, I am at a loss to discover. I beg your insertion of this notice in 

 the next ' Zoologist,' that the error may be rectified as soon as possible, and I greatly 

 regret it should have occurred. — R. S. Edleston ; Manchester, April 10, 1843. 



Note on the capture of Nyssia hispidaria, N. zouaria, ^c. On the 12th of March I 

 went to Dunham park, in the expectation of meeting with the former insect at their 



