i89i.] 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



95 



NOTES FOR BEGINNERS.— MICRO LARVAE 



FOR THE MONTH. 



BY GEO. ELISHA, F.E.S. 



The genial month of May is, without doubt, the busiest of all for 

 larvae, and we must now at every opportunity get away to the fields 

 and lanes, woods and marshes, searching diligently for the larvae of 

 some of those species that are as yet undescribed, not forgetting as 

 we stroll along to take a supply of all those we have not yet bred or 

 become acquainted with, for we must bear in mind that although 

 larvae may be plentiful in any particular spot one season, we must not 

 expect to find them so alw^ays. It is well then to take a supply when 

 the opportunity occurs, for they may turn out a very local or rare 

 species, and the advice that has been so often given with regard to 

 the imago, viz. : take your series while you can, applies with equal 

 force to the larvae, for there are some species the larvae of which are 

 found in abundance one year, then suddenly disappear and are seen 

 no more for several years to come ; and again, bred specimens of even 

 the commonest species are preferable to caught ones, and insects for 

 the cabinet should always be in the finest possible condition, and well 

 set, notwithstanding that some recent writers affect a sneer about well 

 set specimens with perfect fringes. It is far easier to examine and 

 name a fine, bred, well set specimen with perfect fringes, than a 

 dilapidated, badly set one, with imperfect fringes, and the perfect 

 one serves its purpose, from a scientific point of view, very much 

 better ; and again, all those who are working to elucidate the life 

 history of any of the species whose early stages are as yet unknown, 

 are doing good scientific work in publishing their experiences, and thus 

 helping to complete our knowledge of the whole of the British fauna. 



And now we will give our attention to some of the larvae that are 

 best taken this month, and to that end will take a walk into the 

 country, selecting for our ramble the most unfrequented lanes and 

 paths skirting meadows and cultivated fields ; but it hardly matters 

 where we go — larvae now are to be found everywhere, and it often 

 happens a more satisfactory bag is obtained at certain times of the 

 year, by searching neglected or waste pieces of land comparatively 

 close at home, than by travelling many miles to some well-known 

 locality. 



