THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCES. 
173 
daut in the neighbourhood. — R ev. G. C. 
Green, Parsonage , Hamworthy, Dorset; 
A ugust 22. 
OBSERVATIONS. 
Smerinthus Populi. — A pair of this 
species, bred the middle of last June, 
produced eggs, which hatched, and were 
full fed and buried about the 2nd of this 
month. They are now appearing in the 
perfect state; this accounts for eggs and 
young larvte being found the end of this 
month. I also took about eighteen larvae 
of the same insect off various poplar trees 
in this neighbourhood ; they are also 
coming out, and my larvae were all fed 
out of doors on the trees, enclosed in a 
gauze sleeve, so that they were not at all 
forced. I expect this insect is tho- 
roughly double-brooded : last September 
I took eggs and young larva, which must 
have been produced from a female bred 
in August. Can any entomologist throw 
a light on the subject? — G. F. Mathews, 
Haleigh House, near Barnstaple ; Aug. 16. 
Nonagria Typhae: — This species occurs 
here abundantly in the bulrush steins ; 
the pupae seem to prefer the old last 
year’s stems. They are hard to breed 
perfect. — Ibid. 
Larvae of Eupil/iecia. — I took seven full- 
fed larvae of E. assimilala off black-currant 
bushes in our garden : they are easily 
beaten into an umbrella. Eupilhecia 
larvae are very abundant here this year ; 
I have taken several hundreds off the 
flowers of the golden rod, hemp agri- 
mony and ragwort: there are evidently 
eight or nine species. Centaureata I ex- 
pect from the latter plant, and Absyn- 
thiata and Vulyata from the agrimony ; 
the rest I don’t know, but hope to breed 
something good. Of Vulgata I have also 
a brood, feeding on hawthorn ; they were 
bred from the egg. We have taken 
Pimpinellatu again in our garden. — Ibid. 
Sitaris. humercdis. — This beetle is now 
just out. It should be looked for, as 
directed by Mr. Douglas (‘ Intelligencer,’ 
No. 149, p. 151), upon walls perforated 
by the bee Anthophora retusa, where it 
may be observed sitting in the most list- 
less manner, scarcely possessing energy 
sufficient, though by no means wanting 
in strength, to free itself from the cob- 
webs with which it is surrounded, and in 
whose meshes it not unfrequently becomes 
entangled. What effect a broiling sun 
upon the wall on which it sits might 
have I have not yet had the opportunity 
of observing. Possibly a little more 
energy might thereby be infused into 
the lazy creature. The females, on first 
emerging, look remarkably corpulent. 
This apparent obesity, however, vanishes 
in the course of a day or two, the insect 
having within that period laid an im- 
mense number of eggs, the sexes em- 
bracing the first opportunity which 
presents itself of meeting. — S. Stone ; 
August 18. 
Wasps’ Nests. 
With reference to Mr. Smith’s request 
that I would name the species of wasp 
which uses sound wood in the construc- 
tion of its nest and that which employs 
decayed wood for the purpose, I beg to 
remark that last summer I had working 
communities of three different species in 
the unoccupied house to which allusion 
was made iu No. 140 of the ‘ Intelli- 
gencer.’ These had all been removed 
early in the season from their original 
situation under ground. The workers 
belonging to one of these communities 
were constantly to be seen scraping the 
material employed in building from de- 
cayed wood, commonly called touchwood ; 
while those belonging to the other two 
colonies might as constantly be observed 
procuring theirs from sound wood, the 
preference being given to willow, whether 
made up into hurdles, gates, posts or rails. 
Other vegetable substances might have 
