116 TOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
Were the museum the only work Dr. v. Haast could point to, it 
would be a monument of his labours and render him deserving 
of the gratitude of the people of New Zealand. 
A.W.B. 
[The portrait of Dr. v. Haast which accompanies this article 
was taken by Messrs. E. Wheeler and Sons, of Christchurch, and 
printed by the Autotype Co., in London. —ED] 
NOTES ON INSECT LIFE. 
aeib obese 
BY ALEX. PURDIE,’ M.A, 
eee wis 
Bedellia somnulentella, Stt. 
Larvee miners in the leaves of the common native Convolvulus, 
whose leaves they greatly disfigure. When very young, the larvee 
are quite buried in the substance of the leaves, but when older 
they live in a web on the underside of the leaves and have only 
the anterior segments covered. Length of larva a little over 
one-fifth of an inch. Body tapering to each end. General 
colour dark glossy green. Lateral stripe glossy white, bordered 
above and below with brownish red. In some the whole dorsal 
surface down to the lateral stripe is green. The pupz were 
suspended among threads in the top of ‘the jar i in which the larvee 
were kept. J 
Several of the imagos sent to Mr. Meyrick for identifeatiad 
were returned with the note that if they were.really 5. sommnulen- 
tella their larva! habits should be as follows :—* Larva 16-legged, 
greenish, varied with reddish, with white tubercules, mining 
blotches in the leaves of various species of Convolvulus and 
l[pomea ; pupa naked, angulated, suspended from threads.” From 
the agreement between this and my own description I have no 
doubt that the imago is really B. somnulentella. Its habits have 
already been described fully by several European and American 
authors, but for the convenience of workers who have not access 
to these works I give the above descriptions. 
PYRALIDINA. 
Scopula quadrals, Dbld. 
Larvee on Urtica ferox, at Forbury, in October. Length about 
half-an-inch, resembling in form the larvee of the common TJorivi- 
cide. Colour pale green. Above there is on each side a distinct, 
sub-median, longitudinal, white stripe. Head light coloured, 
with dark spots at the side. Below, the general colour is a paler 
green. The larve live singly ina small web on the underside of — ; 
the leaves, and can readily be detected by the holes eaten through 
the leaves. 
GEOMETRINA. 
Hippolyte rubropunctaria, Dbld. : 
Larve loopers, feeding on Haloragis alata, Length a little 
