8052 



Insects. 



was likewise visiting flowers in the evening ; it was taken very early in the season, 

 namely, on the 28th of April.— J. J. Reading ; Plymouth, May 17, 1862. 



Capture of Deilephila lineata at Colchester. — A specimen of this rare Sphinx 

 was found by a boy on St. John's Green, in this town, on Wednesday, the 14th 

 instant. It was carried to Mr. Laner, of St. John's Place, to whose collection it has 

 been added. It is the only British specimen I ever saw on the setting-board. — 

 C. R. Bree; Colchester, May 16, 1862. 



Eupithecia arceuthata, Frey., and E. helveticata, Bdv. ; are they distinct P — 

 Towards the end of September, 1860, Mr. Wilson, of Edinburgh, kindly sent me a 

 few full-fed larvae of Eupithecia helveticata. These spun up immediately. Shortly 

 afterwards I turned out upon our Buckinghamshire hills, armed with a stout stick 

 and large umbrella, and thrashed the wild junipers, which in certain spots grow there 

 pretty plentifully. I beat a few quite small larvae, much resembling those which I 

 had received from Scotland. These in process of time became full fed, and from the 

 beginning of October to the end of November I beat a good many more from the 

 juniper bushes. They were decidedly larger and stouter than the Scotch larva;, and 

 I fancied I could detect other slight differences, but, having none of the latter by me 

 for comparison, I could not be sure. It also struck me as singular that the larvae here 

 in Buckinghamshire should be full fed from one to two months later than in Scot- 

 land. On the whole, however, I voted them E. helveticata. In May and the begin- 

 ning of June the perfect insect appeared, and I was much surprised to breed a rather 

 large leaden-gray pug, in markings certainly resembling E. helveticata, but very dif- 

 ferent in colour and much larger in size. A short time since I had an opportunity, 

 through the kindness of Mr. Stainton, of sending a pair of these insects to Professor 

 Zeller, at Mesuitz. He at once pronounced them to be E. arceuthata, Frey. (Gn. 

 vol. ii. p. 321), an insect which occurs freely in his neighbourhood. He very 

 obligingly sent me some bred specimens which precisely corresponded with my 

 Buckinghamshire insects. Professor Zeller, in the course of bis letter, however, 

 remarked that this species and E. helveticata, Bdv. (Gn. vol. ii. p. 320), were identical. 

 He had not, however, himself either taken or bred the latter insect. Mr. Doubleday 

 and Mr. Bond are inclined also to think that E. arceuthata is merely a local variety 

 of E. helveticata. I think myself they are very possibly right ; but still I am of 

 opinion that we can come to no decision till both insects have been bred from the 

 egg, and a minute and careful examination and comparison of the larvae made. This 

 I believe has never been done by any entomologist at home or abroad, and the amal- 

 gamation of the species is therefore at present, to say the least, premature. In 

 October and November, 1861, I again met with the larva of E. arceuthata on the 

 Buckinghamshire hills. I have now a few pupae, and I hope to obtain impregnated 

 eggs the end of this month or beginning of June. If any Scotch entomologist can 

 procure me a few eggs of E. helveticata, I will do my best to breed the two sets of 

 larvae side by side, and to set the matter at rest. — H. Harpur Crewe ; The Rectory, 

 Drayton-Beauchamp, Tring, May 10, 1862. 



Capture of Stauropus Fagi at Henley-on-Thames. — On Wednesday, the 14th 

 instant, I captured a very fine specimen of Stauropus Fagi, at rest on beech. — 

 H. Stubbs; Henley-on-Thames, May 16, 1862. 



Agrotis snJJ'usa taken at Sugar in April.— On the 28th March I captured Agrotis 

 suflusa at the sallows near here, and, as the ' Manual' gives September as the date of 

 its appearance, and docs not mention the fact of its hybernation I think this will be 



