1868.; 



149 



me. The motlis have lately emerged, and the result is, that for every Bpeoimen of 

 the ordinary type five negroes have appeared, but not one of the intermediate 

 variety. Perhaps you may think this worth a corner in your Magazine. — J. L. 

 CouRTiCE, 22, College Street West, N.W. 



Note on Scoparia Zelleri. — The specimen of Scoparia Zelleri mentioned by Dr. 

 Knaggs in this month's " Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," p. 131, was captured 

 by me in the station at Norwood junction, on the 17th August, last year (1867). 

 My friend, Mr. Wormald, was with me at the time, and we were just returning 

 from a rather unsuccessful expedition to West Wickham, the night being rather 

 cold for the time of year, with an east or north-east wind blowing. We had only 

 reached the station a minute or two, when we observed the insect flying near a 

 lamp. Mr. Wormald had folded up his net, and I was about to do the same, when 

 I eflFected the capture. On examining it some days after, we thought it could not 

 be Scoparia cemhrce ; so on the 27th of the same month we took it to Dr. Knaggs, 

 aiid as he appeared uncertain about it I left it with him, ho kindly offering to see 

 if he could identify it with any described species. It has been in his possession 

 ever since, and I suppose he must have overlooked the fact of his having had it so 

 long, as he calls it a " second specimen." — H. Pryer, Holly Village, N.W. 



Tama-Mai culture. — As many of your readers may have heard of, or experienced, 

 considerable disappointment in the attempt to rear these useful creatures, perhaps 

 a few words from one who has been more fortunate may not be devoid of interest. 



I am indebted to my ft'iend Mr. Gascoyne, of Newark, for fifty fine eggs, the 

 pi'oduce of his own English-bred examples. They were nearly all fertile, hatching 

 out young lai-vee of such a size as to make it more than usually mysterious how 

 their receptacle, large as it was, could contain them. The young worms were 

 placed at once upon shrubs of the common oak (forced forwards some six weeks in 

 anticipation of their emergence), and were never subsequently touched. The little 

 trees were in a large pedestal fernery of glass, between three and four feet in 

 diameter and height, and with a perforated zinc window before and behind. They 

 fed pretty well until their first moult, when many died. 



I had been cautioned to keep them dry ; and, beyond an occasional watering 

 carefully applied to the oaks at their roots, this advice was implicitly followed. 

 At each succeeding moult many failed, until ten individuals alone comprised my 

 whole stock. By this time their trees had been nearly bitten bald, but having a 

 Turkey oak in the garden (then in tender green leaflets), pending the providing 

 other pabulum, I gathered some bunches, and, saturating asponge, tied it round 

 their stems. Two circumstances struck me. First, they left what remained of 

 their previous food, and attached themselves so entirely to their later, that the 

 English oak took heart to bud out again, and even get into small leaves. 



Next, I constantly observed them (big fellows now) drinking away at the 

 sponge, like haymakers at their beer-keg ! From that time I sprinkled their 

 boughs occasionally ; their succeeding moults were accomplished without the loss 

 of a single specimen ; with one exception, all the rest spun noble cocoons, and I 

 had no further anxiety about them. 



