252 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST 



cocoon just beneath the dry sods of grass 

 at the foot of willows and poplars. 



Notodonta oamelina. — Pupa in a slight co- 

 coon at the roots of birch, maple, and oak. 



N. cucullina. — Pupa 'under moss at foot 

 of maple-trees. 



N. dictcea. — Pupa larger than that of pal- 

 jpina, and cocoon more mixed up with earth. 

 At roots of poplar and sallow. Attaches 

 the upper part of its cocoon to a fallen leaf. 



N. dictceoides and dromedarius both spin 

 slight cocoons beneath fallen leaves at the 

 foot of birch-trees. 



N. ziczac. — Pupa in a slight cocoon on the 

 surface of the ground at foot of poplar and 

 sallow. 



N. trejnda. — At roots of oak-trees. 



N. chaonia. — At roots of oak ; stouter and 

 smoother than dodoncea. 



N. dodoncea —In a slight cocoon at roots 

 of oak-trees ; more glossy than chaonia. 



The mention of these last species leads 

 'me to speak more particularly of — 

 Pupa Digging. 



The implements required for pupa-digging 

 are three in number — a small garden trowel, 

 a short, strong, blunt knife, and a tin box. 

 The latter must be loosely filled with moss 

 in order to keep the chrysalides from shak- 

 ing about and injuring one another. You 

 must add to these a large stock of patience : 

 this is a virtue required in nothing so much 

 as pupa-digging. Some have compared that 

 operation to gold-digging, and, so far as in 

 both pursuits an immense deal depends on 

 luck, the comparison holds good. I used to 

 be an ardent entomologist in my school-boy 

 days, and worked as hard at pupa-digging 

 in the autumn as I did at pursuing the 

 imagos in the summer. But it would some- 

 times happen I dug away perseveringly for 

 three or four hours and perhaps only found 

 a couple of pupae worth having ; at other 

 times in the short interval between school 

 and luncheon I have found twenty or thirty, 

 many of which have proved rarities, and all 



of them, more or less, good species. Nil 

 desjperandum is a very good motto, I can 

 assure you, for a pupa-digger : you may 

 turn up the sods around a dozen trees and 

 find nothing, but the very next tree to the 

 one at which you leave off in disgust may 

 be a regular El Dorada for riches. 



The method of working is this. When 

 you come to a tree that you think suited to 

 your purpose, insert the trowel at a distance 

 of six or seven inches from the trunk, and to 

 the depth of three, then gently but firmly 

 lever the sod up and pick the chrysalides 

 off the underside. Next pull the sod to 

 pieces and carefully examine it. Afterwards 

 dig the earth about that laid under the sod. 

 When you have thoroughly searched the 

 spot, replace the sod and turn up another, 

 and if you like go all round the tree, but you 

 will always find the north side the most pro- 

 ductive. It will be as well also to carefully 

 examine the part of the trunk, covered by 

 the sod, for any cocoons that may be upon 

 it. You will find it a good plan if you begin 

 pupa digging early in October to re-visit the 

 same trees a month or more later on, as any 

 stray larvae which bury themselves later, 

 will take advantage of the sods you have 

 loosened, and the earth you have disturbed 

 and made soft and pliable, and the same 

 trees at which you found nothing in the 

 first instance, may yield much more favour- 

 able results in the second. 



Possibly you may find the following 

 Notes on Underground Pup;e 

 of use to you. 



Smerinthus ocellatus. — Large, red-brown 

 and glossy; at foot of willow trees, also in 

 gardens where apple trees grow. 



S.populi. — Large, rough, muddy brown ; 

 near poplar trees, and sometimes in gardens 

 under laurel bushes. 



S. MUce. — Rather large, rough dull red; 

 at foot of lime and elm trees, occasionally 

 birch. 



Sphinx ligiistri.—LdxgQ, brown, with a 



