7970 



Insects. 



and many more pupa-cases whence the perfect insects had escaped without let or 

 hindrance ; but, lower down, though I now and then found a living pupa (there 

 having been no flood in the Severn during the past year, at least during the larva 

 season) ; empty pupa-cases were rare, and mouldy pupae common — the result, I con- 

 clude, of former floods. I searched the soil at the roots in vain. With this question 

 one naturally connects that of the damping or not of pupae which we keep in our 

 boxes or flower-pots. The Rev. J. Greene seems to leave it open, and experience 

 rather tends to make one cautious of applying damp. Larvae seem to resort to the 

 roots of trees as sheltered places to form their pupae, and usually select the driest 

 nooks the tree affords. This seems to indicate that we should keep them from the 

 wet as well as from the sun ; and I am disposed to think that if you keep your pupae 

 out of doors the moisture of the atmosphere is almost sufficient for them. 



6. Is the growth of the Wings of Insects fresh from the Pupa affected by the Tem- 

 perature P — On the first day of this year a male Phigalia pilosaria issued from the pupa, 

 and I was rather surprised to see it, as the morning was rather frosty ; the wings had not 

 begun to grow, but were otherwise perfect. The next morning I looked into the pot again ; 

 the moth was still there by itself, and its wings in the same state. I gave up all hope 

 of a perfect specimen, but left it for the chance of breeding. The next day, January 3, 

 I went again to the pot, and its wings were fully grown, but not quite stiff, which, 

 however, they became in due course of the afternoon: now the 3rd of January was 

 about five degrees warmer than the two preceding days, and I am inclined to 

 attribute the non-dsvelooment of the wings for two whole days to the want of 

 sufficient vital heat for that purpose. I should be glad to know whether similar 

 observations have been made by others. — E. Horton ; Lower Wick, Worcester, 

 January 14, 1862. 



Pupa destroyed by a Caterpillar. — At this period of the year I usually examine 

 the different boxes which contain my pupae. I have been doing so during the past 

 few days, and great has been my dismay at the result. I find that they have been 

 supplying a luxurious wiuter repast to an odious caterpillar, of which the following is 

 a description : — Length about half an inch ; semi-transparent. The interior, which is 

 blackish, can easily be seen. The ground colour is grayish white, and when the 

 reptile is crawling the segments appear white. Head brown, and on the next segment 

 is a black patch. The sides are graced with a row of bristly hairs. If any one 

 recognises the beast from the above description, and will, either through the pages of 

 the 'Zoologist' or by private communication, tell me what it is, I shall feel obliged. 

 I trace the evil to my having used moss (taken off walls) for the purpose of covering 

 the pupae. The caterpillar forms a kind of tough leathery cocoon, in which, ap- 

 parently, it moves about. At any rate it attaches itself, with its cocoon, to the 

 unfortunate pupa. To give some idea of the havoc caused by it. among my pupae, 

 I append the names of some which, either in whole or part, have been destroyed by 

 it, viz. Cymatophora ocularis, Clostera reclusa, Corycia taminata, Eupithecia pimpi- 

 nellata, E. expallidata, E. innotata, E. helveticaria, E. tripunctata, Ephyra orbi- 

 cularia, E. Omicronaria, &c, &c. — Joseph Greene; Cubley Rectory, Doveridge, 

 Derbyshire, February 20, 1862. 



Periodical of the nature of the late 4 Intelligencer' wanted. — I take this opportunity, 

 on my own part, of expressing a wish (shared, I believe, by many others) that some 

 enterprising entomologist would undertake the editing of a weekly periodical of the 

 nature of the late ' Intelligencer.' Only do not let it be a medium for either editor 



