[January, 
208 
The Zoological Eecord (vol. ii, 1865) does indeed contain notices, extracted 
from Berl. Ent. Zeits., 1865, p. 112, and Stett. Ent. Zeit., 1865, p. 113, of its being 
found in ants' nests, those of Formica fuUginosa ; but its voluntary presence m 
such a situation is more than I can comprehend. 
When about to change it spins a thin cocoon on the surface of the ground 
working in moss or leaves above, and bits of earth, &c.. below, but still keeping it 
of a tolerably oval fonn. The pupa is about f inch long, moderately ^to-fc; «yl-- 
drical. but a little depressed at the junction of the back of the thorax with the 
abdomen; from this point the abdomen rather swells out in size for about two- 
thirds of its length, and then tapers to a somewhat obtuse pomt, which is armed 
with a single tiny spike, and attached by two or three threads to the Iming of the 
Tcoon; thesurfLeis shining; the colour dark purplish-brown.-JoHN He.uns, 
Exeter, November 26th, 1868. 
Note or. Acronycta alni.-ln reference to the interesting summary of what is 
known of this insect by Mr. Stowell, I may add to the last " locality " named for 
the larva, viz., " a gentleman's coat," another, and the only one where I have found 
it, and that is " a gentleman's hoot !" A friend of mine was sitting one September 
afternoon, in 1851, on a branch in a plantation in Staffordshire, when I happened to 
pass by, and he called my attention to a larva, crawling on his hoot I soon pro- 
duced a pill-box, and secured the unknown stranger. A sycamore was overhead, 
and probably this full-fed larva of A. alni (for such it proved) had fed thereom 
The above made a cocoon of some bits of rotten wood, in the corner of a box and 
came out a fine <? . the following June, I believe. Another scrap of information I 
can contribute about this insect, viz., that it has come to sugar in one instance 
during the current year, as late as July 3rd, and in this case the specimen was a ? , 
two others being missed on the following night. I have a suspicion that this larva 
may be like that of A. aceris, which clings very closely to the leaf on which it 
rests, and is difficult to dislodge by beating. If so, it may be one of those larvae 
that should be loolced for under the leaves, or even "upon" them, as Mr^Stowell. 
narrative seems to suggest.-BERNAED Smith, Marlow, November 2^, 1868. 
PS -After writing the above, it strikes me that the larva of aUi above 
mentioned may be the same as the one recorded in the Zoologist, as taken m 1851, 
The example is still in my possession, and as fresh as ever.-B. S. 
A Reply to Mr. Dunning's Remarhs on the Qeride.- of Acanthosov.a.- This 
somewhat important question of nomenclature having been again raised, I hope 
to be indulged with space for a reply, as short as I can make it. To save ti^ouble. 
I will take several of Mr. Dunning's questions collectively, as they all depend upon 
the same principles. t.7 7 ^- ^ ? . 
1 Are not Redbreast and WagtaU as much nouns substantive as BUM. , 
2. May not Acanthosoma be a substantive just as much as Dipsocor^s . ^ 
3 Is Acanthosoma an adjective or a substantive? 
4 Why may I not say Acanthosoma^Spinebody, a compound noun substantive, 
wliich therefore must have some gender or other of its own ? 
BlacUird is a compound noun substantive, grammatically -f'^^'fl^2^^^^ 
But such words as Redbreast, Wagtail, Spinebody, Longshanl^s, LacUand, Bluebeard^ 
etc.,-common in English, and some of th m sanctioned by usage,-are not gram. 
