208 



[January, 



The Zoological Record (vol. ii, 1865) does indeed contain notices, extracted 

 from Berl. Ent. Zeits., 1865, p. 112, and Stett. Ent. Zcit., 1865, p. 113, of its being 

 found in ants' nests, those of Formica fuliginosa ; but its voluntary presence in 

 such a situation is more than I can comprehend. 



When about to change it spins a thin cocooq on the surface of the. ground, 

 working in moss or leaves above, and bits of earth, &c., below, but still keeping it 

 of a tolerably oval form. The pupa is about f inch long, moderately stout, cylin- 

 drical, but a little depressed at the junction of the back of the thorax with the 

 abdomen ; from this point the abdomen rather swells out in size for about two- 

 thirds of its length, and then tapers to a somewhat obtuse point, which is armed 

 with a single tiny spike, and attached by two or three threads to the lining of the 

 cocoon; the surface is shining; the colour dark purplish-brown. — John Hellins, 

 Exeter, November 26t\ 1868. 



Note on Acronycta alni. — In reference to the interesting summary of what is 

 known of this insect by Mr. Stowell, I may add to the last " locality " named for 

 the larva, viz., *' a gentleman's coat," another, and the only one where I have found 

 it, and that is " a gentleman's hoot /" A friend of mine was sitting one September 

 afternoon, in 1851, on a branch in a plantation in Staffordshire, when I happened to 

 pass by, and he called my attention to a larva, crawling on his hoot. I soon pro- 

 duced a pill-box, and secured the unknown stranger. A sycamore was overhead, 

 and probably this full-fed larva of A. alni (for such it proved) had fed thereon. 

 The above made a cocoon of some bits of rotten wood, in the corner of a box, and 

 came out a fine <J , the following June, I believe. Another scrap of information I 

 can contribute about this insect, viz , that it has come to sugar in one instance 

 during the current year, as late as July 3rd, and in this case the specimen was a ? , 

 two others being missed on the following night. I have a suspicion that this larva 

 may be like that of A. aceris, which clings very closely to the leaf on which it 

 rests, and is difficult to dislodge by beating. If so, it may be one of those larvae 

 that should be looked for under the leaves, or even "upon" them, as Mr. Stowell's 

 narrative seems to suggest. — Bernaed Smith, Marlow, November 27th, 1868. 



P.S. — After writing the above, it strikes me that the larva of ahii above 

 mentioned may be the same as the one recorded in the Zoologist, as taken in 1851. 

 The example is still in my possession, and as fresh as ever. — B. S. 



A Reply to Mr. Dunning's Remarlcs on the Gender of Acanthosonia. — This 

 somewhat important question of nomenclature having been again raised, I hope 

 to be indulged with space for a reply, as short as I can make it. To save trouble, 

 I will take several of Mr. Dunning's questions collectively, as they all depend upon 

 the same principles. 



1. Are not Redbreast and Wagtail as much nouns substantive as Blackhird ? 



2. May not Acanthosoma be a substantive just as much as Dipsocoris ? 



3. Is Acanthosoma an adjective or a substantive ? 



4. Why may I not say Acantliosoi^ia=Spinehody, a compound noun substantive, 



which therefore must have some gender or other of its own ? 

 Blackbird is a compound noun substantive, grammatically and logically correct. 

 But such words as Redbreast, Wagtail, Spinebody, Longshanks, Lackland, Bluebeard, 

 etc., — common in English, and some of th m sanctioned by usage, — are not gram- 



