1890.] THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 91 



Early emergence of Pieris brassic/£. — A fresh specimen of 

 Pieris brassicoe was brought to me here on 22nd February. I have seen 

 specimens of P. rapce in February, and even in January, but I never 

 before saw P. brassica before the middle of April. — C. W. Dale, Glan- 

 ville, Wootton, 1st March, 1890. 



Hybernation of Sphingid^e. — Deilephila livomica is a species very 

 apt to make a premature emergence from the pupa, but I do not be- 

 lieve any of the Sp hingidce hybernate as imagines, except possibly A. 

 atropos. — C. W. Dale, Glanvilles Wootton. 



Fcod of P. monacha. — This interesting species so well-known in 

 the Hampshire district (New Forest) but tolerably scarce everywhere 

 else, is apparently difficult to rear from the egg. In 1889 I had 50 

 ova from a captured female, but nearly all the little larvae refused to 

 feed on honeysuckle, whitethorn, or indeed anything until the oak 

 leaves were out. I reared six and from two parents obtained a batch 

 of eggs. On April 2nd, this year, these began to hatch, and the young 

 larvae were treated with bramble. Rennie's 'Conspectus' (an old 

 work which young naturalists will do well to secure when they meet 

 with it on a book stall), gives oak, bramble, and birch as the food of 

 Monacha ; but apparently they have altered their tastes for they only 

 took a few nibbles at bramble, and all refused birch, and it is only by 

 cutting open oak buds, that two larvae are saved out of a few score. 

 Why are they so difficult to start feeding? — John Henderson, 

 Streatham. 



Dasychira rubiginosa pupa. — I have expressed myself badly about 

 the pupa of this insect, as recorded in your April issue. What I meant 

 to say was that I thought they would prove a common species such as 

 T. stabilis, but as published, it implies they resembled the pupa of that 

 species. Though it is so long ago I perfectly well remember their ap- 

 pearance. They were very small for the size of the insect they pro- 

 duced, the skin very thin like the Xanthias, and the colour somewhat 

 similar to that of Xevampelina. — Rev. E. Hallett Todd, Ashby de la 

 Zouch. 



Life History of Epunda lutulenta. — In April, 1889, my friend 

 Mr. E. R. Curzon sent me eight larvae, which he had discovered feed- 

 ing on fine grass growing on the coast in County Antrim, Ireland? 

 whilst searching for lepidopterous larvae, by lantern light. They were 

 quite unknown to me, but I placed them on Air a cespitosa on which 



