THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



1882 



IN IRELAND. 



The season here has been a most peculiar 

 me. I had not an insect on the boards for 

 nonths, and larvae were a complete failure, 

 succeeded with great difficulty in obtaining 

 I few Bractcea, eggs and a large number of 

 V-aureum ; but every larva died, and of the 

 iggs you so kindly sent, not one caterpillar 

 urvived. Sugaring was quite useless till 

 ust before Hallow Eve, when I took four 

 )r five Petrificata, five or six Exoleta, a 

 lUmber of worn Zanthogra^pha^ a few Satel- 

 itia, and one Aprilina before the frost set 

 Q. Altogether, the absence of familiar 

 nsects such as Atalmta (and I may say of 

 nsect life by day) was quite curious— with 

 he exception of Montana and Bilineata, 

 lardly a moth appeared, and the ubiquitous 

 'ramma was "nowhere." V-aureum was 

 ather abundant, and we took six Elpenor 

 , it honeysuckle, but did not see a Porcellus. 

 |t was the worst season for attempting to 

 4 ear insects I ever remember, and after 

 . ^ay all imagines seemed to have vanished 

 .. rom our lanes and meadows ; before that 

 ime the "whites "and tortoiseshells were 

 olerably numerous. This is rather a dole- 

 I ul account of a year's proceedings, is it not ? 

 ' -Mrs. Battersby, Cromlyn, Rathowen, 

 I Teland. 



QUERIES. 



12. 



What are the names of British Lepidop- 

 .era of which the larvae are carnivorous ? — 



Is the number of moultings of larva (lepi- 

 loptera) constant or otherwise in the same 

 ipecies ?— H.A.A. 



14. 



What British birds eject pellets, and what 

 io they consist of ?— H.A.A. 



I 



15. 



When do aerial spiders appear and where 

 do they originate from ? — H.A.A. 



16. 



I am desirous of mounting a series of the 

 wings of Lepidoptera to show the nervures. 

 I find considerable difficulty in denuding 

 them of scales, without destroying or injur- 

 ing the delicate membrane. I shall be glad 

 to know which is the best method of accom- 

 plishing this. — J. Osborne. 



17- 



Is the larva of . ^^^M^^jm a cannibal. I 

 had a lot feeding in a cage together, and 

 they all mysteriously disappeared, only 

 about a dozen.— J. Ellis. 



18. 



Can any one refer me to a good figure or 

 description of the larva of L. iliciJoUa. — G. R. 



REPLIES. 

 3. 



Anchomenus prasinus.— I have hunted 

 up several editions of Kirby and Spence's 

 Entomology, and find in the old four-volume 

 edition, published in 1828, vol. ii., fol. 243, 

 the following passage: " I shall now intro- 

 duce you to the true counterparts of the 

 skunk, which explode a most foetid vapour 

 from the ordinary passage; I have lately 

 hinted that the scent of many of the Entre' 

 cliina is thus omitted. Anchoinenus prasinus, 

 a beetle of this tribe, combats its enemies 

 with repeated discharges of smoke and noise, 

 but the most famous for their exploits in 

 this way are those which on this account 

 are distinguished by the name of bombar- 

 diers (BracMnus)." 



It would here seem as though this refer- 

 ence to A. ;prasnius had been a mistake and 

 was omitted purposely from the following 

 editions,— John W. Ellis. 



Anchomenus prasinus. — I am glad that 

 Dr. Ellis has raised the question respecting 

 this insect, and I trust all coleoperists who 

 take an interest in this magazine will send 



