880 



THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



worthii larva in March and during the early 

 part of April, when it makes up amongst 

 any old stems near. I was not aware there 

 was any serious doubts about its habit of 

 hybernating. It feeds on coarse grasses 

 (doddering grass or quaking grass) ; " Briza 

 Media*' being a favourite food. 



Note. — I think the remark at page 374, 

 line II, is misleading. I fear the exercise 

 of hunting Lyccena phlcsas on the Dock " 

 would break the heart of most young natura- 

 lists; should you not have said Rumex 

 acetosa or acetosella ; Sorrels, not dock, these 

 are the only plants I ever found it upon. 



Economic Entomology. "Apple."— One 

 of the most destructive insects to our apple 

 crop is Eupethecia rectangulata. The larva of 

 this species feeds upon the stamens and 

 pistils of the flowers, often eating down to 

 the young fruit, which have hitherto escaped 

 injury, and destroying it. Especially is this 

 the case on close-grown espalier grown 

 trees, and in old over grown orchards. The 

 remedy in small gardens is to pick the 

 injured blooms off; in them will be found 

 the smooth obese larva of this pug, and 

 perhaps also the curled round larva of 

 Brumata. In old large orchards nothing 

 practical can be done, in fact these insects 

 are Nature's corrective against the destruc- 

 tion of the trees from over-production. If 

 all the blooms upon an apple tree came to 

 fruit every year, at first the tree would be 

 small, then the tree would be exhausted ; 

 it will be seen that there is good in even 

 these nasty caterpillars. For the American 

 blight, known by the white floss upon the 

 trunk or stems of our apple trees, the follow- 

 ing simple remedy is the only effective one 

 I know. Dip a fowls wing feather into a 

 bottle of petroleum oil, and smear every 

 white place with the oil, and the evil will 

 pass away. This remedy is cheap, easy of 

 application, and effective for all such 

 enemies as attack bark of trees or shrubs. 



jRose Banky Edge Lme^ Liverpool, 



[In order to justify our remarks on the 

 hybernation of the two species, above 

 referred to, we quote below what is said 

 about them in a paper on the " Hybernation 

 of British Butterflies," by Edward A. Fitch, 

 published in the Entomologist, for January, 

 1879. Our own opinion agreed with Mr. 

 Gregson's statements, but, unfortunately, 

 ours is opinion only, and we do not believe 

 in advancing opinions as facts. We are 

 glad to have Mr. Gregson's facts. The 

 passages referred to are as follows: the 

 italics are ours:— " Satyrus Egeria. In the 

 first record of the life-history of this species 

 Newman says that it hybernates in the pen- 

 ultimate or pupa state, but this is altered 

 (? corrected), in 'British Butterflies,' on" 

 what authority or for what reason we are 

 not told. At Ent. iii., 217, we have : • The 

 larvae are full-fed by the end of September 

 ....Early in October the larva spins a 

 slight silken covering on a stalk, stem, or 

 blade of grass, and, suspending itself there- 

 from by the anal claspers, is changed to an 

 obese pupa. . . ./» this state it remains through- 

 out the winter, the butterfly appearing on 

 the wing from the loth to the 20th of the 

 following April.' At Brit. But., page 86, we 

 have : ' The caterpillars hybernate early, 

 and are full fed by the end of the following 

 March,' From present information the earlier 

 appears to be correct."- 



" S. Megcera. — Two or three Continental 

 authors say this species ' iiber-wintert ' as a 

 pupa. The genus Pararge includes P. Mara, 

 P. Hiera P. Megara. P. Egeria, &c. Professor 

 Zeller says that in 1875, in the Allula Pass, 

 he found P. Hiera, as early as the 24th May ; 

 remarks that the snow was only just melt- 

 ing, so that the larva must have changed 

 under the snow and the imago have been 

 rapidly developed, or, differing from Megcera, 

 the penultimate state was reached in the 

 autumn {Stett. Ent. Zeit., xxxviii., 307)."] 



We would also add that the collectors here . 

 find the larva of Phlms on dock.-Eds. Y.N. 



