THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
195 
larva is full-fed in August, and the per- 
fect insect appears in June, any boy 
learned in arithmetic should be able to 
tell you how long it remains in pupa. 
Derby. — An envelope with this post- 
mark has been received, enclosing twelve 
postage stamps. Who are they from ? 
and what are they for? 
COMMUNICATIONS. 
Larvce of Dictcea and Dictceoides . — I 
am surprised that an entomologist of Pro- 
fessor Zeller’s experience should not know 
that the larva of Leiocampa dictcea is 
very frequently brown. For some few 
years past I have invariably taken the 
larva of this insect or bred it from the 
egg, and have found the larvae to be 
as often brown as not. I have observed 
that it generally does not assume the 
brown colour till the two last moults ; 
till then it is generally pale green. A 
year or tw r o ago I found about eighty 
eggs of L. dictcea on some small aspens 
iu Derbyshire, from which I reared a 
number of larvae. These when full-fed 
were of various shades of colour, from 
pale green to dark brown. All the larvae 
of L. dictceoides that I have taken have 
been of a most beautiful purplish brown 
with a bright yellow stripe on each side 
above the legs. I never heard of any 
one taking a green larva of Dictceoides , 
nor do I think that it ever varies in 
colour. I cannot think that any one, 
after seeing the larvae of Dictceoides and 
a brown variety of Dictcea together, 
could possibly confuse them afterwards. 
I have also found that the larva of Dic- 
tceoides invariably feeds upon birch, and 
that of Dictcea upon various species of 
poplar. — H. Harpur Crewe, Shooter's 
Hill, Kent; September 9 , 1856 . 
Larvce of Dictcea and Dictceoides . — 
With regard to these larvae, I cau state 
most positively that I have bred an insect 
from a brown larva, which I cannot dis- 
tinguish from Dictcea; it certainly is not 
Dictceoides, as Zeller supposes : the larva 
of this species does not seem to vary at 
all ; it is extremely glossy, looking as if 
varnished, brown on the back, with a 
beautiful purple gloss, and a broad bright 
yellow stripe on the side, and feeds on 
birch. The larva of Dictcea is usually 
green, whitish on the back, with a more 
indistinct yellow stripe on the side — in 
fact, all I have ever seen have been of 
this colour: it feeds upon various poplars. 
Some years since Osborne sent me a lot 
of larvae from poplar, which were of an 
uniform dull brown, without the least 
trace of a yellow stripe at the sides: this 
larva is well figured by Clerck in his 
‘ leones.’ They appeared to me to differ 
a little in form from the green ones, the 
segments being more indented, but the 
moths seemed to be merely Dictcea. 
Three or four days since I wrote to Os- 
borne to get me some more, if he could ; 
yesterday I heard from him, and he says, 
“ I used to find the Swallow Prominent 
caterpillars green about the first fortnight 
or three weeks, and after that I used to 
find the brown ones. I used to think 
they were a different sort, as the green 
ones were much larger than the brown 
ones, but I could not see any difference 
in the moths when they came out. I 
have not seen any of them for several 
years, as they stubbed up the poplars 
upon which I used to find them.” Hum- 
phrey and Westwood appear to have 
figured these two varieties ? and not to 
have figured the true larva of Dictceoides. 
You can call Zeller’s attention to Clerck’s 
figure. — Henry Doubleday, Epping ; 
September 15 , 1856 . 
Larvce of Dictcea and Dictceoides. — As 
you ask for information respecting the 
larva of Dictcea and Dictceoides, perhaps 
the following may be of some service. 
I have had many dozen larvae at differ- 
ent times of Dictcea, and all have been, as 
you remark, greenish white. It is, how- 
