92 
THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
I have began to think he may be defunct, 
so have taken this my only plan of dis- 
covering if such he the case. Should he 
still be extant, and this meet his eye, I 
beg to say that my address is still the 
same as when I wrote to him. — C. 
Campbell, Manchester ; Dec. 10. 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE 
TIN El N A. 
Depkessaria Arenella. 
The egg is no doubt laid, when the 
spring is well advanced, by the hyber- 
nated female. The larva feeds especially 
upon Cenlaurea nigra and Scabiosa, but 
it feeds also upon Carduus lanceolatus, 
Arctium lappa, and probably upon many 
other of the Composite. Its ordinary 
mode of procedure is to fold a piece of 
the leaf over, upwards, or if the leaf is 
narrow it unites the two lateral edges, 
thus forming a tube ; but sometimes it 
constructs a silken gallery on the under 
side of the leaf; this I have especially 
noticed to be the case with larvae which 
fed on Carduus lanceolatus. The larva 
issues from its tube or gallery for the 
purpose of feeding, but hurriedly retreats 
thereto on any alarm, and it frequently 
removes from one leaf to another, so that 
its deserted habitations are sometimes 
rather numerous. The feeding larva 
may be found from the end of June to 
the beginning of August; at the latter 
period they become full fed, and then 
descend to the surface of the earth, where 
they undergo their transformation to the 
pupa state. In about three weeks the 
perfect insect appears, but keeps much 
concealed during the autumnal months, 
being far more frequently seen in the 
spring after hybernation. 
H. T. Stainton. 
THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 
OF SPECIES. 
To the Editor of the ‘ Intelligencer.' 
Sir, — The following thoughts on the 
above subject have occurred to me, and 
perhaps you can find room for them in 
your pages. 
In the first place, with the exception 
of the Diurnal Lepidoptera, of which it 
may be presumed we know all our native 
species, we have not even an approximate 
idea of the species which inhabit any 
area. Twenty years ago, before the 
method of attracting the Noctuina by 
sugar was practised, many species had 
not been found in places where they have 
since been discovered to be abundant; 
and even now there must be species in 
well-hunted districts which have not yet 
been seen. And when we consider, more- 
over, the vast tracts of country that have 
not been explored at all in respect of 
Noctuina, it is quite certain that there 
are numerous species of which we do not 
know the range. The same argument 
will hold good in the other divisions of 
Lepidoptera. I do not allude to species 
which have not yet been discovered in 
Britain, but to those which are well- 
known in several parts of the country. 
It is evident, therefore, that tables of 
distribution founded upon such im- 
perfect data must lead to erroneous con- 
clusions. 
Secondly, the division of the country 
into eighteen provinces is arbitrary, be- 
cause, as in any one of them the condi- 
tions of elevation and temperature, soil 
and vegetation may and do vary, and are 
not restricted to the limits laid down, 
we have not a natural principle to work 
from or to. What, for instance, do we 
