THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



187 



\V. J. (Bradford.) — We will take a hint from 

 your very Vinl letter. It is very annoying 

 to us, and is entirely the fault of the printers. 

 We have had a London publisher from the 

 first, and there ought to have been no 

 difficulty in getting the paper through a 

 newsagent, but they do not care to be 

 troubled with single orders for a penny paper. 



LEPIDOPTERA IN APRIL. 



(Continued from p. 182.^ 



Melaxippe flucutata. — The Garden Car- 

 pet ; is sadly too common everywhere. Luckily j 

 the larvae are not very destructive. We need 

 not give instructions where to find this very 

 abundant species, but it abounds in gardens. 



Cidaria SUFFUMATA. The Water Carpet 

 is generally distributed, and may be found 

 flying along hedges at dusk. In the North, a 

 variety called piceata occurs, which is uni- 

 colorous brown ; intermediate forms are not 

 un frequent. 



Platypteryx LAcr.nTULA--Scalloped Hook- 

 tip. May or June. Not a scarce species among 

 birch, from which it may be beaten. It is 

 double brooded and appears again in August. 



Dkf.paxa UNGUICULA. — Barred Hook-tip. 

 May. This is abundant in some places, but 

 is not so well distributed as the last, and 

 frequents Beech trees, on which the larva 

 feeds. 



Die ran uu a BicusPis. — May. The smallest 

 and rarest of the kittens. It has been found j 

 in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Sussex, &c, but j 

 is exceedingly rare. It feeds on Alder, on the 

 trunk of which the chrysalis may be looked 

 for. 



Clostera curtula. Chocolate tip. Very 

 far from common, and is rarely obtained in 

 the perfect state. The larvae feed on Poplars 

 and Willows, among which the imago may be 

 looked for. 



NOTODON'TA TEEPIDA, THE GREAT PrOM- 



inent, and N. chaoxia. May. Two scarce 

 species but widely distributed. May be 1 

 looked for on oak trunks. 



Cymatophora ridexs. — The Frosted 

 Green. Not common, but may be taken at 

 sugar, at light, or at rest on oak trunks. 



Xylomyges conspicilaris. — The Silver 

 Cloud. A very pretty and variable species, 

 but exceedingly rare. It has been taken on 

 trees, and at sugar, and we have also heard 

 of a specimen being found in a spider's web. 



Phlogophora meticulosa. — The Angle 

 Shades. A pretty Noctua, and very common. 

 It occurs all through the summer, but is most 

 abundant in autumn. It may be found on 

 palings, &c, or obtained at sugar. 



Cuculma verb asci. — The Mullein Shark. 

 A common insect in the South, and may be 

 obtained at rest, or living to flowers. The 

 larva feeds on Mullein (Verbascum) &c, and 

 will also eat the Water Figwort (Scropluilurid 

 dqiiatica ). This is the food of C. scvophulariv, 

 and many beginners fall into the error of 

 of supposing that when they have found a 

 larva on figwort, they have got the latter 

 species. The larvae, too, are very similar, 

 and the imagines are also said to be alike, but 

 Scrofihularice is smaller, greyer, and the mar- 

 ginal markings more of a black brown ; in 

 fact it is more like a faded Lychnitis than 

 Verbasci, which is a larger insect, and quite 

 red-brown in hue. We do not know of any 

 British specimen of Scrophularicr, perhaps it 

 may have got on our lists by the same error 

 that we have pointed out above. If we are 

 mistaken we shall be glad to be corrected. 



Phvtometra /Exea. — June. Flies in the 

 sunshine on dry grassy banks, where milk- 

 wort (Polygala vulgaris) grows. 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES 

 FOR BEGINNERS. 



By C. S. Gregsox. 

 APEIL. 



April, and bright sunshine and shower 

 here again ! It is the grand general openin; 

 month for the entomologist, and now th 



