THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER, 
131 
H. F. G., Chelsea. — Your wliitisli 
green curled up larva off hawthorn, 
which emits liquid through its body, is 
not Lepidopterous: it is Hymenoplerous, 
producing a large saw-fly something like 
a bee, hut with knobbed antenna ; its 
name is Trichiosoma lucorum. At this 
time of year we get six or seven letters a 
week enquiring the name of this larva. 
The insects you offer are so universally 
common that your application for dupli- 
cates had better wait till you have some- 
thing better on hand. Cannot you get 
some tvainscots from Hammersmith 
marshes ? 
G. G. M., Frankfort. — Danke fur 
die Solutella. 
H. F., Zurich. — Danke fur die Pru- 
nifoliella. 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
Trachea piniperda. — In the locality 
where we took this insect at the sallows 
in April, the larvae are now very abun- 
dant : they are most pleasant to rear, 
feeding “ with a will,” and very hand- 
some : the food plants will remain fresh 
for a fortnight if kept cool, thus requiring 
little attention. I have secured a large 
quantity, and should they come out well 
I shall be happy to supply those appli- 
cants to whom I could not send in the 
spring in consequence of my stock be- 
coming exhausted. 1 can confirm Mr. 
Gregson’s observations as to the irregu- 
larity of the appearance of this moth. I 
have had in my collection ten at the 
same time, those from half an inch long 
to the lull-fed larvae, and have them 
feeding at this time of all sizes. — G. 
Gascoyne, Newark ; July 15, 1856. 
Trochilium Cynipiforme. — 1 have been 
on the search for this truly beautiful little 
clear-wing for the last fortnight. On 
the 13th I saw several of the pupas-skins 
projecting from the bark of oaks, between 
the magazine and the barracks in Hyde 
Park, but saw none of the imago. A 
young man who collects for profit very 
freely showed me one out of four that he 
had taken. I went to-day and had the 
good fortune to capture live males and 
two females ; three or four others were 
collecting and took four or five each : one 
young gentleman told me he had taken 
thirteen on Monday, so that the insect 
may be considered plentiful this year 
notwithstanding the avidity with which 
it has been hunted for years past. No 
wonder that some insects become rarer, 
or get exterminated, when ruthless col- 
lectors take whole broods of larvee, pupse 
by the gross, and the perfect insect by 
hundreds! I always read with regret of 
wholesale captures of insects any way 
approaching to the rare. One of my 
Trochilium Cynipiforme was on the wing 
and settled about two feet from the bot- 
tom of an oak, and by the movement of 
the abdomen and running over the bark 
appeared to be depositing her eggs. I 
watched her for some time and then cap- 
tured her, after which I took her to Ken- 
sington Gardens and liberated her on an 
oak tree. To morrow I shall go to the 
Park, and if again successful in taking 
Cynipiformes shall liberate most of them 
in Kensington Gardens, and see if I can 
extend the breed of this somewhat scarce 
insect in a new locality. The best time 
for collecting this insect is from 10 to 12 
o’clock in the day. — T. R. Oxley, Bays- 
water ; July 15, 1856. 
Strange habit of Lasiocampa Trifolii. 
— Contrary to your theory this larva does 
burrow: I saw one to-day nearly under 
the soil, and some time after I looked 
and it was quite gone. On examining 
the soil I found several cocoons, some 
with, others without, a loose cocoon of 
earth outside the cocoon proper. — £. 
Bingham, Bank, Ncwnham ; July 15, 
1 S56. 
They have no certain rule where to 
make their cocoons ; some spin them at 
