42 



THE YOUNG NATUBALIST. 



year from those that remain longest in 

 pupa. Though the Small Eggar has these 

 peculiarities to make it interesting to the 

 entomologist, it is not one of the easiest 

 species to manage, and the collector must 

 not be impatient to fill his series if he has 

 to wait ten years for its emergence after 

 setting it into cocoon. The best way to 

 breed the insect successfully is to cut out 

 the branch on which the larvae are feeding 

 and remove it without disturbing the nest 

 or web. The fresh food supplied must be 

 placed in direct contact with it, so that the 

 larvae can crawl on to it. After this has' 

 been stripped of its leaves it may be re- 

 moved without affecting the larvae so injuri- 

 ously as their removal from the web appears 

 to do. 



The generic name Eriogaster is derived 

 from two Greek words referring to the 

 woolly abdomen of the female, and the 

 specific name alludes to the same thing. 



" Lanestris, L., Lanes'tris, lana, wool." — 

 AX. 



ImagO.— Male, chocolate brown; a 

 pale spot at the base, another at the disc, 

 and a third on the costa near the tip, from 

 this a pale line runs to the inner margin ; 

 hind wing, basal half, pale, and the other 

 portion darker brown. The female is rather 

 redder brown and the hind wing more 

 uniform in colour. The male expands 

 nearly an inch and a half ; the female an 

 inch and three-quarters. 



Larva. — Bluish black, the segmental 

 divisions bright yellow, and a yellow sub- 

 dorsal line ; enclosed by these lines is a 

 square of golden brown hair ; pro-legs 

 yellow. 



Pupa. — Enclosed in a very firm egg- 

 shaped cocoon (whence the name Eggar). 

 This is generally spun, so far as I have seen, 

 among the rubbish about the bottom of a 

 hedge. One of the saw-flies — TricMdsoma 

 lucoriwi— spins a similar egg-shaped cocoon 



on hawthorn hedges, which is very easily 

 found in winter, and often mistaken for 

 this species. They may be easily distin- 

 guished by cutting one end, for the saw-fly 

 larva remains unchanged till spring, while 

 that of lanestris changes to a dark brown 

 pupa in autumn. 



Food Plants.— Sloe, hawthorn, &6, 

 I have always found the larva on hedges. 



Times of Appearance.— As said 



above, the imago appears in February, and 

 though the brood does not emerge all in the 

 same year, they are very punctual as to the 

 date. If those of the first season's emerg- 

 ence appear say on the sixth of February, 

 those coming out in succeeding years may 

 be looked for within a week of the same 

 day. This at least is my experience of the 

 species, but it is somewhat limited, and I 

 should be glad to hear from any one on the 

 point. 



Habitat. — Well distributed in England 

 and Ireland, and abundant wherever it 

 occurs ; not so frequent in Scotland, but 

 still tolerably common. Abroad it occurs 

 through Central and Southern Europe, 

 reaching Turkey and the southern parts 

 of Russia. 



NOTES ON COLEOPTERA, 

 FOR BEGINNERS. 



By Dr. J. W. Ellis and Mr. Smedley, 

 Liverpool. 



Genus BEMBIDIUM (Concluded). 



3. Elytra shining black with two whitish 

 spots on each. 



B. guadriguttatum. — Length, 2 lines. 

 Antennae dark, with the first and part of 

 next three joints yellow ; legs yellow, with 

 brown knees ; striae not punctured to middle. 



B. quadrwiaculatum. — Length, i\ lines. 

 Four basal joints of antennae yellow ; legs 



