]6 [June,! 
.e| 
Do hirds eat the larvce. of CuculUa ? — A paper was read on the 1st March, at . 
the Meeting of the Entomological Society of London, " on the relations betwee 
Insects and Insectivorous birds," by Mr. J. Jenner Weir. 
This paper broaches a theory founded on cei-tain experiments by Mr. Weir, 
which theory is so opposed to what I have observed to take place in Nature that I 1 
must suppose either that the birds upon which he made his experiments reject, in i 
confinement, food which they would partake of if at liberty, or that some birds will 1 
eat certain larvae which may be distasteful to others. 
I will simply refer to his theory of coloured larvse, as instanced by the genua 
CuculUa, being rejected by birds. 
I have for many years grown Veriascum thapsus, the food-plant of CuculUa 
verhasci, as well as several other food-plants of the genus, in my garden, to attra 
the moths. 
I have some years had hundreds of larvoe of C. verhasci which fed up to a" 
certain size, but as soon as they begin to show colour and size, and appear on the 
upper side of the leaves and on the stems to partake of the flowers, down come the 
birds and off go the larvse. 
The same thing has happened with CuculUa ahsinthii, much to my annoyance^ 
I therefore cannot feel so satisfied as Mr. Weir expresses himself to be, that 
"as a general rule birds refuse to eat gaily coloured larvse." — H. D'Orville, 
Alphington, May 4i7i, 1869. 
Caq)ture of Deilephila Uneata at Folkestone. — A good specimen of D. lineata 
was brought to me on the 7th inst. A boy found it at rest on the grass in " the 
Warren." — Henry Ullyett, Folkestone, May 10th, 1869. 
Deilephila lineata in Gloucestershire. — The other day the remains of a large 
moth were brought to me, which I had not much difficulty in determining as D. 
lineata. It was taken last autumn at Great Risington, about four miles from this 
place, and when caught was in first-rate condition. It was in the school-room 
window of the clergyman's house, and a bird was pecking at it from the outside. 
When brought to me, the remains consisted of a portion of the body, and one hind- 
wing and a half! — E. Hallett Todd, Aldsworth, Gloucestershire, April, 1869. 
Note on Eriogaster lanestris. — In the summer of 1866 I had larvse of this insect, 
about 100 of which went to pupse. The dates at which they have emerged are 
worth noting :— 1867, first moth on February 2nd ; 1868, February 20th ; 1869, 
April 6th ! There are some yet in pupa ; when may they be expected next 
year ? — Id. 
Sericoris euphorhiana bred.— This morning, on looking into my breeding-cage, 
I was pleased to find that a fine specimen of this species had emerged from a 
pupa obtained from larvse collected by me at Folkestone, in September last. — 
Howard Vaughan, Kentish Town, 3rd April, 1869. 
Nyssia hispidaria at Hampstead. —A few weeks ago I captured a large male of 
N. hispidaria on a fence at Hampstead, where I have often searched for that 
species without success. — Id. 
