THE YOUNG NATUKALTST. 



101 



NocTU.E. The fact that Dr. Staudinger, as 

 has been already said, removes the family 

 of NocTU.*: that stands first according to 

 British authors and places it among his 

 BoMBYCES, shews how ill-defined is the line 

 of demarcation between the two groups. On 

 the other hand the af&nities, both in the 

 perfect insect and the larva, between the 

 Qu.\DRiFiD,E group of NocTUiNA and the 

 Geometrina, makes one naturally follow the 

 other. For these reasons, and because Dr. 

 Staudiners's catalogue is taken as our chief 

 guide, the Noctuina are placed here. Dr. 

 Staudinger, however, does not attempt to 

 divide them into families, and the sequence 

 in which the species follow is so very far 

 from Guenee's arrangement, which is adop- 

 ted both in Doubleday's catalogue and 

 Stainton's Manual, that it will be better to 

 adopt it here also. 



Guenee divides the Noctu.e into two 

 groups called TKiFiD.t: and Quadrifid.^, 

 from the median vein of the hind wing 

 generally having three branches in one group 

 and four in the other. They are also char- 

 acterised as follows :— The TRIFID^E gen- 

 erally have the fore wings rather narrow in 

 proportion to the length, and less triangular 

 than in most of the macro-Iepidoptera ; the 

 hind wings are broader and more triangular, 

 and folded beneath the fore wings in repose. 

 The larvae have sixteen legs, and do not 

 loop in walking except when very young. 

 The pupae are nearly always under ground. 

 The QUADRIFIDiE generaly have the 

 fore wing broader and more triangular than 

 the last ; the hind wings are not folded in 

 repose, or very slightly so. The larvas have 

 seldom more than twelve or fourteen legs, 

 and consequently loop in walking ; many of 

 them are also longer in proportion to their 

 thickness. The pupa is generally enclosed 

 in a cocoon. 



The Trifid.e are divided into three sec- 

 ions, BoMBYCiFORMES, GENUINE, and MlN- 



)RES. 



BOMBYCIFORMES, as the name im- 

 plies, are much like the Bombycina ; many 

 of them have hairy larvae, all with sixteen 

 legs. It contains three families, as follows ; 



I. NocTUA-BOMBYCiD^, already given as 

 the last family of the Bombycina. 



II. Bryophilid.^:, comprising only two 

 or three British species ; they are of small 

 size, and mottled grey in colour. The larvae 

 feed on lichens on walls, forming little nests 

 in the crevices. 



III. BoMBYCoiD.i:. comprising fourteen 

 British species. They are best characterised 

 by the larvae, which might readily be taken 

 for Bombycina, being hairy, often with dis- 

 tinct tufts, and some of them very gaily 

 coloured. 



GENUINi-E is by far the largest section, 

 including more than two-thirds of the 

 British species of Noctuae. Nine families 

 are represented in Britain. 



I. Leucanid.^, including a number of 

 ochreous-coloured insects with longitudinal 

 markings. The larvae either feed in stems, 

 when they are unicolorous, or conceal 

 themselves among the herbage, sometimes 

 in the stems, but not feeding there. Those 

 feeding in stems change to pupa where they 

 have fed, The others form a subterranean 

 cocoon. 



(To be continued). 



IN RE AUTUMNARIA. 



" Fiat justicia ruat Cesium. 

 In Law, it is held good practice, that 

 when part of a letter is to be used as evi- 

 dence, the whole document must be laid 

 before the court, in order that a correct and 

 unbiassed judgment may be formed on it. 

 And the quotation, purporting to be part of 

 a letter from Mr Harbour, forms so material 

 a part of the indictment in support of Mr. 

 Gregson's charge, that I call on him to 

 submit that letter to the Editors of the Y.N. 

 The whole of the correspondence in this 

 matter has been sent for their inspection, 



