68 
THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
in one day by one collector, as the 
E, sanguinolentus in Mr. Solomon’s com- 
nmnicalion of last week is probably a 
mistake, E. ephippimn being the only 
red Elater taken on the Common. It 
would be very desirable to elucidate the 
life-history of this insect, so as to account 
for all the localities in which it has been 
found. 
The “ light loamy bank with aspect 
to the west” seems again to have 
become a “world of life.” It is true 
that its ancient glory has departed. The 
sweeping-net may be plied with the ut- 
most vigour, but no Tychius 5-punclatus 
makes its appearance, but en revanche 
we have something at least as good. It 
is here, on this famous Hampstead bank, 
that Formica fusca extends its hospitality 
to Hetcerius sesquicornis. This year He- 
tcerius seems to have thriven more than 
ever, and no entomologist who has per- 
severed has gone away empty-bottled. 
Yesterday I tried for it; the first nest 
was unproductive ; in the second I wit- 
nessed a fight between Myrmica rubra 
and Formica fusca (I hope none of your 
legal readers will have me indicted for a 
misdemeanor in aiding and abetting a 
breach of the peace of our Sovereign 
Lady Rufa — Formicarum Regina), and 
had the good fortune to capture three 
specimens of Ilctccrius sesquicornis, one 
of which may be the little yellow atom 
which the victor Fusca succeeded in 
rescuing from the grasp of the vanquished 
Rubra. — C. Gloyne, 5, Terrace, Ken- 
sington ; May 23. 
PS. Since wiiiing the above I find 
that the insect is not Hetcerius at all. — 
C. G. ; May 26. 
OBSEKVATIONS. 
Lepidopteua. 
Lithosia Aureola. — The notice of this 
species in the ‘ Intelligencer’ this morn- 
iug induces me to confirm the fact of its 
early appearance. I have met with it 
for several years about this time, when it 
is at its best. I have taken it at the end 
of June, but not so ^ood. This spring 
I have bred it from a larva feeding on 
lichens, which spun up on the 15th of 
August, last year. “ A shining brown 
pupa in transparent cocoon ; larva black- 
ish and hairy, with two whitish bands 
across, one towards the head, the other 
near the tail.” This is the notice in my 
journal. The larva turned to pupa before 
I could make a more accurate descrip- 
tion of it. The imago came out, in the 
open air, on the 23rd of May. — Rev. E. 
Horton, Wick, Worcester; May 2b. 
Coleophora saturatella. — Since my last 
notes I have found a sunny bank, shel- 
tered from the north winds, covered with 
broom bushes in a very forward state : 
on these the larvae of this species are 
very common, many of them nearly full 
fed ; indeed one or two were already spun 
up on the leaves of plants growing close 
by. I must acknowledge that my two 
years theory has come to an untimely 
end, as there is now no doubt that the 
winter-collected cases are empty or con- 
tain the pupae of ichneumons, of which I 
have bred two species. The habit of 
these parasites is, I think, entirely at 
variance with all previous observations. 
The manner of feeding of these larva? 
and their mode of enlarging their cases 
are very peculiar, but I will leave these 
to be described hereafter by the abler 
pen of Mr. Stainton. I may add that 
on less sheltered bushes the larva? are 
still very juvenile, and one would imagine 
that the moth must keep out a long 
lime. The question as to whether the 
very young larva? mine or no must, 
I think, for the present remain open. — 
II. M‘Lachl.vn, Forest Hilt; May 26. 
Coleophora saturatella. — On Eriday 
last I visited, with Mr. M'Luchlan, the 
head-quarters of this insect, near Forest 
Hill, and after finding a few of the small 
