THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
5 
larva is only assumed after the larva is 
quite full fed (a fact which I have this 
year verified myself), I deemed a transla- 
tion of Von Heyden’s notes would not be 
unacceptable. 
“ Larva flat, of nearly equal breadth 
throughout, dull green, with darker dorsal 
vessel; the segments rather deeply in- 
cised. Head small, very flat, rather 
triangular, half the breadth of the second 
segment, shining, yellow, with black eye- 
spots. Second segment shining, yellowish 
green. Legs greenish. 
“ Before its transformation the larva 
becomes pale yellow, with three deep red 
longitudinal stripes. 
“ Pupa narrow, red-brown, with long 
wing-sheaths. 
“ The larva mines the leaves of the 
hop from the end of July to the middle 
of August. The mines are pale brown, 
generally linear, yet with several ramifi- 
cations. They are always on the upper 
side over a leaf-rib, and are lined in- 
ternally with white silk. The larva 
sometimes quits its mine and commences 
a fresh one. 
“ The larva winters outside the mine, 
in a flat, narrow, thin, white cocoon, and 
changes to pupa in the spring, the perfect 
insect making its appearance early in 
June. It occurs round Frankfort in 
isolated places, but always in abundance. 
. “ It would probably, from its mode of 
life, never be injurious should it occur 
in numbers in hop gardens; but I have 
only met with it on the wild hop.” 
These notes were written in 1840 — 
twice ten years ago ! — H. T. Stainton ; 
September 29, 1860. 
COLEOPTERA. 
Is Diachromus germanus an indigenous 
Insect /’—The recent capture of Diachro- 
mus germanus has raised the question, 
Has it any claim to rank as an indigenous 
insect? It will be readily admitted that 
the appearance of this insect having been 
hitherto confined to that part of the 
coast which borders the English Channel 
would appear to give some warranty for 
the adoption of such an opinion; but 
probably, if we place the state of the case 
briefly in its correct position, a little 
attentive consideration of the circum- 
stances may be found to shake, if not 
destroy, such hasty conclusions. If the 
species* is not truly a British one, in 
what way are we to account for its 
getting a footing here ? Does it fly across 
the channel, or does it swim ? There is 
certainly another means of transit, — 
does it avail itself of the shipping, and 
take a passage on board ? This is cer- 
tainly possible, and we may therefore ex- 
pect it to land on any spot between the 
Land’s End and the Port of London. 
Up to the present time it does not ap- 
pear to have chosen many localities for 
such a purpose: Kingsbridge, Deal and 
Hastings are the only spots apparently 
which it has selected. If we reject 
the idea of its being conveyed by 
shipping, let us see what distance it 
must fly in order to reach the above lo- 
calities. Kingsbridge, in Devon, is about 
one hundred miles from the nearest point 
of the Continent ; Deal is about twenty- 
five ; and Hastings not less than forty- 
five miles : either of these distances, it 
will be allowed, is a tolerable long flight 
for little Diachromus. I have thus 
briefly stated the two most obvious means 
whereby it may be supposed possible 
that Diachromus may reach our shores ; 
I will, in the next place, with equal 
brevity, state the circumstances under 
which the capture of the insect took 
place. The first capture was made on 
the 2nd of September ; the second on the 
3rd of the same month ; for six or seven 
weeks previous the wind had been from 
the south, south-west, and occasionally it 
had veered slightly towards the north, 
but not once had it gone to the east — the 
only wind that would have assisted it in 
its flight had it crossed the Channel. 
On the day of its capture the wind 
