THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[July 



Leucania lithargyria, var. — In July last I bred a singularly 

 curious aberration of L. lithargyria from a larva collected in the pre- 

 ceding April at Delamere Forest. It varies from normal lithargyria 

 in having its hind wings pale silvery-gray, broadly margined with a 

 dark gray band, as clearly marked as some of our " Underwings," 

 which in its hind wings it somewhat resembles. It has been pretty 

 well exhibited, and more than one has suggested it might possibly be 

 a hybrid, a view I do not concur with, otherwise out of the score of 

 larvae from which the specimen was bred, I think it extremely likely 

 I should have had more if they had been hybrids, as they were all 

 collected in the same lane. It was one of the last pupae to emerge ; 

 I was getting suspicious about any more coming, for I always look 

 diffidently on the tail-end of my pupae, nearly always setting the first 

 comers, which invariably are the finest insects. I was certainly 

 fortunate in getting this specimen, indeed I was really in luck's way, 

 for on the very evening I got the larva, I obtained a single larva of 

 Aplecta nebulosa on mountain ash, which came out a splendid black 

 variety. — J. Collins, Warrington. 



Extraordinary abundance of Plutella xyi^ostella. —Plutella 

 xylostclla, is at all times a common insect, but this year it has appeared 

 in countless numbers. An occasional specimen turned up during last 

 week, but on the 24th inst. they appeared in thousands in the streets, 

 on the quay side, in houses, and in fact everywhere. At night, in the 

 country, every step one took they rose in clouds, and it was simply an 

 impossibihty to do any micro collecting, with the single exception of 

 Plutella xylostella. Yesterday added to their number considerably, and 

 I counted 50 sitting on the w^all of my house yard, and doubtless there 

 were as many more wdiich I did not observe. The 24th inst. also 

 ushered in our old friend Plusia gamma, much to the delight of our 

 amateur collectors, who managed to fill every box at the Campion 

 flow^ers, but, eA'pereiitia docet,'' they will get to know better in time. 

 — J. Gardner, Hartlepool, 26th June, i8gi. 



Larvae. 



Irish Notes. — 1 have little fresh to tell you. The weather con- 

 tinues very bad ; gales of wind and nim e\ ery day render anything 

 like work quite out of the question. I have a nice lot of agatJiina larvae 

 feeding well, and am also breeding irnpliLviata . I have also a long 



