i 3 4 THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



[JUNI 



tracks of land — no, sand still — about ten miles from Liverpool, grow- 

 ing most luxuriantly ; I counted some tufts having over one hundred 

 fresh young spikelets springing up for this year's crop of flowers. 

 March 15th. — To Formby larvae hunting. Plenty of green larva of E. 

 lichenea and various common species ; but did not take any, preferring 

 to let them feed up at their home rather than at mine. April 9th. — 

 Formby, larvae of lichenea hardly grown at all ; still green. April 10th. 

 — To Wallasey with Dr. Ellis, searching for eggs of T. opima : no opima 

 out yet. April 20th. — Again at Wallasey sandhills after opima eggs. 

 I smoked for the moth, but never saw one. It seems to me that the 

 season is out of joint, nothing out of doors this year as far as I have 

 seen has come to time. The continual cold winds, and the absence 

 of sunshine, has kept vegetation back more than I ever remember in 

 my long life. I do not remember ever writing of my non-success 

 before, but I may say that up to now I have not seen a moth outside, 

 this year. What our last year's galii collectors will say about the 

 hills they so affected when they turn out for more galii larvae next 

 season I cannot conceive, for the sand has moved on to almost every 

 favourable place they worked amongst the Galium verum beds, and these 

 places are now great stretches of little sandhills or bare sand. — C. S. 

 Gregson, Rose bank, April 21st, 1889. 



Errata. — Page 81, line 30, for " Stroud " read " Strood " ; line 33, for " oak " 

 read " ash." Page 82, line 34, for " feed " read " fine." 



On the Wings of Insects. 



By CHAS. H. H. WALKER. 

 (Continued from page 96 J 



A very peculiar aberration from the ordinary type of wing is found 

 among the family Proctotenpidtz, as in Mymar pulchellus (West. vol. II., 

 p. 172), where the anterior pair consist each of a long, thin filament, 

 flattened at the extremity or " spatulate," the margin being densely 

 fringed. The hind wings are almost obsolete, appearing only as two 

 short, slender hairs. 



The females of many species of Hymenoptera are wingless or 

 apterous, while many, such as the ants, bite or snap them off after 

 they have served the only purpose for which they were created. 



