THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



253 



I suppose they were the same kind as your correspondent mentions, a large 

 black aphis. My husband was at Whitby the week before, and did not 

 notice them till he reached Whitby, when he found the place swarming with 

 them, and on his return the train passed through a dense cloud of them, all 

 the way to Stokesley. The weather at that time was close and foggy. Can 

 you explain the cause of their unusual abundance ? The newspapers men- 

 tioned them, and said they had appeared all along the Yorkshire coast as far 

 as Hull. — Isabel Eobson, Stockton-on-Tees. 



Variety oe the Larva oe Smerinthus Ocellatus. — It is noteworthy 

 that a variety of an insect may occur in a very restricted locality for a number 

 of years. For example, there is a curious type of the larva of S. ocellatits, 

 which is adorned with rows of red spots. I first observed this type on some 

 young poplars about twelve years ago, the moths, if reared, present no aber- 

 ration from the customary markings ; and last summer, passing the same 

 spot, I picked a couple of these larvae off the leaves, so that it is a fair 

 presumption this variety is hereditary on the spot. It is commonly supposed, 

 and is often stated in books, that the Hawk-moths take extensive flights ; 

 the males, perhaps, may in some species, but the females are frequently slug- 

 gish, laying most of the eggs near where they emerged, though this task 

 accomplished, they sometimes fly off with remarkable briskness. — J. E. S. 

 Clifford. 



Supposed Glow-worms. — Several persons have reported to me captures 

 of Glow-worms along our Kentish lanes this summer. In one instance, the 

 insect was exhibited to a little crowd at a railway station. Where I have 

 been able to examine a specimen, it has turned out to be the luminous centi- 

 pede only. — J. E. S. Clifford. 



Preserving the Colours of Flowers. — An apparatus for drying bot- 

 anical specimens, by which the natural colours of leaves and flowers could be 

 effectually preserved, was described and illustrated in the May number of the 

 " Scientific Enquirer" (London : Bailliere, Tindale, and Cox.) — A. A. 



Hop Cats. — In the last number I notice that Mr. Clifford mentions that 

 the larvae of 0. pudibunda, are called " Hop Cats " in the vicinity of Graves- 

 end. Before the present season 1 had never heard the name of Hop Cat, but 

 having expressed a desire to a large grower of hops for some Hop Dogs, he 

 asked me whether I wanted any Hop Cats also. Wishing to know what 

 these were, I said " yes," and shortly afterwards received two boxes, one con- 

 taining Hop Dogs, and the other Cats, which turned out to be 0. antiqua. 

 On further enquiry, I found that these two names were in general use 



