Insects. 



8079 



ou the crown, but has a red patch on each side: the front or face is rough, but the 

 other parts are brilliantly striking. All parts of the body not occupied by the brushes 

 and fascicles are covered with hairs, which spring from wart-like tubercles, eight of 

 which form a circular series on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th segments respectively ; on each 

 of the following, that is, from the 5th to the 9th, both inclusive, three on each side of 

 each segment, below its dorsal brush, which evidently occupies the place of the two 

 that are absent; the 10th and 11th segments have each eight of these hair-bearing 

 tubercles : the hairs springing from them are of two colours, yellow and black : these 

 are intermixed and apparently without order, so that they give the larva a yellow 

 tinge. The skin is intensely velvety black, variegated on the sides with gray 

 markings and on the belly with rivulet orange markings, which form a double stripe 

 the whole length of the larva : the legs are black and shining, the claspers dingy 

 flesh-coloured. I have never met with larvaa more quiet and sedentary than these: 

 like silk-worms, they remained on the food-plant, Salix caprea (the sallow), with which 

 T provided them, and exhibited no disposition whatever to wander. All my specimens 

 were full fed on the 13th of May, and then ascended to the highest accessible part of 

 the breeding-cage, and there, in defiance of the laws of gravity, each spun a large and 

 lax cocoon, through which the enclosed pupa is most distinctly visible: the cocoon is 

 like very thin coarse felt in appearance, and is composed of the hairs of the larva and 

 silk in about equal proportions, the hairs being those composing the dorsal tufts of the 

 larva, and not the hairs scattered over other parts of the body, which still remain 

 attached to the skin shed on assuming the pupa state : the pupa is short, obese and 

 black, with a metallic bronze-like lustre : all the dorsal surface is uniformly covered 

 with long silky brown hairs, but the wing-cases and ventral surface are entirely without 

 hairs. The moths appeared on the 20th of June. I am indebted for a supply of this 

 beautiful species to the unvarying kindness of my friend Mr. Edwin Birchall. — Edward 

 Newman. 



Captures near Cockermouth. — We have taken a few of each of the following 

 insects : — Notodonta carmelita, Cymatophora flavicornis, C. ridens, Lobophora viretata, 

 L. polycommata, and many other species of less note: the last two species I find to 

 be very local and scarce, especially L. viretata ; it is a very pretty insect, and is 

 difficult to see, as it always chooses a tree the bark of which is similar in colour to 

 itself to rest upon. — George Mawson ; Gill House, .May 21, 1862. 



Life -Histories of Sawjlies. Translated from the Dutch of M. Snellen 

 van Vollenhoven, by J. W. May, Esq. 



(Continued from p. 7857.) 



Nematus ventricosus, Klug. Hartig, Aderfl. Deutschl. i. p. 196, 

 No. 23. Bouche, Naturgesch. d. Ins. p. 140, No. 7. Dahlbom, 

 Clavis novi Hym. Syst. p. 22, Nos. 18 & 25. Leon Dufour, in 

 Ann. de la Soc. Entom., 2e serie, v. p. 571. 



Nematus luteo-flavus, capite, raaculis tribus dorsalibus ac duabus 



