1889.} 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



33 



must have escaped, and these should appear next season as imagos. 

 But I fear that our climate is not suited to this lovely species, and 

 that Galii cannot be looked upon as a permanent resident with us, 

 but only as a witness to the probability of " the blown-over theory." 

 Doncaster, January, 1889. 



A Contribution to the Life-history of 

 Lophyrus Pini. 



By the Rev. HILDERIC FRIEND, F.L.S. 



On the nth of July, 1888, I received a tin box from a gentleman 

 living near Wigton, in Cumberland, which contained a number of 

 insects and other natural history subjects. The principal contents of 

 the box, however, consisted of a young branch of Scotch fir (Pinus 

 sylvestris, L.), nearly stripped of its leaves by a number of caterpillars. 

 Being at the time away from home, I was unable to give the objects 

 anything more than a casual examination ; and as I was preparing to 

 visit Scotland shortly after, I saw no chance of studying the larvae 

 for some considerable time. I put them aside with their supply of 

 food, till some more convenient season should arrive. Unfortunately, 

 I omitted to put a specimen of the caterpillar in spirit for detailed 

 examination, so am unable to say anything about its false legs, but 

 one could not fail to be struck by the wonderful similarity between 

 the colour of the creature and its host plant. This would probably 

 be a result of two factors (1) protective coloration, and (2) green food. 



Some weeks passed, and when I next opened the box all the cater- 

 pillars, save two which were not sufficiently well fed, had spun 

 cocoons — the whole of the food supply being exhausted — and were in 

 a state of quiescence. I thereupon took them from the box, and 

 placed them in another made of cardboard, with a glass top, the box 

 being then deposited on a table opposite the window, in a small room 

 with a northern aspect. This was in August, and when September 

 was still young, I was one day in the room referred to, making some 

 observations, when I noticed a crack in the apex of one of the cocoons. 

 Looking over the box I soon found that two of the insects had emerged, 

 and were quietly taking a survey of their prison-house. They were 

 at once placed in spirit, and the box carefully watched from day to 

 day till all had emerged, when it was found that there were two males 

 to eighteen females, or ten per cent — which, I believe, is a large pro- 



