6220 



Insects. 



distance; then, and not till then, did she open her wings to arrest the downward 

 tendency, and soon recovering herself, mounted upwards with her hurden. Some- 

 times, but not always, she rested on the palings close by, and then, rising upwards, 

 proceeded in a direct line to her nest. — W. Douglas; 6, Kingsivood Place, Lee, 

 July 30, 1858. — From the ' Intelligencer.^ 



Bemhidium laterale in the Isle of Wight. — A lepidopterological friend at Bem- 

 bridge has met with Bemhidium ((Jillenum) hiterale in some abundance running 

 about on the wet sand there, in which it makes little burrows. The Isle of Wight is, 

 I believe, a new locality for the species, although it is well known to occur at Portland. 

 — George Guyon ; Richmond, Surrey, August 13, 1858. 



Capture of Chlcenius Schrankii in the Isle of Wight. — On the 31st of July, while 

 looking for insects at Luccombe, I had the good fortune to find nine specimens of 

 ChlaBnius Schrankii, apparently not long hatched: they were running over the damp 

 green sand half way down the clilF. The day was particularly fine, and heavy rains 

 had recently fallen. On a subsequent visit I could obtain only one ; the ground on 

 which I had previously found it had become perfectly dry. It will be remembered 

 that Mr. Bates look one at Luccombe last year. — George Leicis ; 14, Woodlands 

 Terrace, Rlackhcath, August 21, 1858. 



The Silhvorm. — The following facts, just laid before ihe Academy of Sciences by 

 MM. Decaisne, Peligot and de Quatrefages, members of the committee appointed to 

 investigate the cause of the diseases of the silkworm and seek a remedy for it, ar^ not 

 without interest. These gentlemen, having visited various parts of France, found the 

 mulberry leaves everywhere in excellent condition, so that there is no foundation in 

 the opinion which attributes the disease to bad food. Of all the diseases to which the 

 silkworm is subject, that most frequently met with is known by the name of pattes 

 noires ox poivre in France; M. de Quatrefages proposes to call it the maladie de la 

 tache, from the spots which appear on the w^orm when attacked with it. These spots 

 are often invisible to the naked eye, and can only be perceived with the aid of a 

 magnifying glass; and this circumstance explains why the malady, especially during 

 the present year, escaped the observation of silk-growers in the majority of cases until 

 five or six davs after the worm had cast its fourth skin. The spots exist in all the 

 tissues and organs of the worm, and in its subsequent stages of a chrysalis and moth. 

 In the latter the spots destroy the antennae, the legs, or a portion of the wings. In 

 the beginning the spots appear under the form of a yellowish matter pervading the 

 whole system ; this matter gradually becomes darker, and is then concentrated into a 

 number of tubercles, which are the spots in question. That such a diseased state 

 should exercise an influence on the quality of the eggs is not surprising, but to what 

 extent can only be determined by future experience. An infected silkworm may spin 

 its cocoon when the disease is not too far gone, but the insect generally dies, and the 

 body, instead of putrefying, becomes dry and brittle. M. de Quatrefages has tried 

 several methods of cure ; first, the hygienic process, which consists in rearing the 

 worms in open sheds instead of close rooms. The leaves of the wild mulberry, not 

 stripped from the branches, he has found very efficacious. He strongly recommends 

 silk-growers to rear small lots of worms apart from the others, solely for the purpose 



