THE WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
245 
by the parent Gynips. This is 
pierced, and made to assume the 
form of a round hard gall, in the 
centre of which a single egg has 
been deposited. The egg is hatched 
in due time, and the young larva 
grows with the gall, finding its 
nourishment in the spongy sub- 
stance that surrounds it. Here it 
feeds in security till a further change 
comes over it, and it passes into the 
pupa stage of existence. How long 
it continues in this condition I am 
not prepared to say, probably it 
may depend on the season. Some 
galls I have kept, through the winter 
and they have not given exit to 
their tenants till the following sum- 
mer. In July of the present year 
I hatched several such, from galls 
which I procured in my own county 
in the spring. The Gynips is not 
so large as the one that is instru- 
mental in forming the ink galls of 
commerce, produced on the Quercus 
infectoria of Turkey and the Levant ; 
but it is not very dissimular in form 
and colouring. The galls them- 
selves differ considerably — the ink- 
galls being of a woody nature and 
granulated — whereas those formed 
on our British oak are spongy under 
the outer cuticle, and mostly smooth 
or but slightly marked. I call the 
gall fly “ Gynips Quercus ” for want 
of a better name. No part of the 
oak seems free from the attacks of 
our numerous Gynipes — root, stem, 
branches, buds, leaves, peduncles, 
catkins, all form the home of some 
Gynips or other, and are made sub- 
servient to its development. — Peter 
Inch bald, Storthes Hall, near Hud- 
dersfield. 
CAPTURES. 
Lepidoptera. 
Sphinx Convolvuli . — On a visit to 
Wotton, near Aylesbury, yesterday, 
I was presented with a specimen of 
the above insect, which had been 
put “ hors de combat ” two or three 
evenings before by a lady striking it 
with her parasol, while hovering 
over a flower bed in the garden. 
Although but slight external marks 
of injury are preceptible, the blow 
proved a fatal one, for after being 
struck down, it scarcely moved, or 
gave any signs of returning life, 
but died almost immediately. — S. 
Stone, Aylesbury, September 3rd, 
1863. 
Sphnix Convolvuli . — A fine speci- 
men of this insect has been brought 
to me to-day, by Mr. Reed, who 
took it yesterday on board ship, 
when off Flamborough Head, the 
wind blowing off the shore at the 
time.- — J. E. Robson, Olive Street , 
Hartlepool, lsi September, 1863. 
Captures near Tottenham and 
Walthamstow . — During the present 
season I have taken the following 
