THE ENTOLOMOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCEE. 203 
two specimens of A. Afropos, two of 
•S'. Populi, four of S. Tilia, and two of 
S. Pavonia-minor have, within the last 
eight days, made their appearance. — 
W. E. Heap, Sandbach, Cheshire; 
March 15. 
Stvammerdamia apicella. — The other 
day 1 bred a specimen of this insect from 
pupje which I had expected would pro- 
duce S. Pruni; at least the larvae ap- 
peared to me to be all alike, excepting 
that some were larger than others, the 
colouring being just the same in all ; and 
to-day I bred another Apicella from the 
same batch of piipje, but no Pruni have 
appeared as yet. It was recorded two 
years ago, in the ‘ Intelligencer,’ that 
Apicella had been bred from plum, but 
the larva was not described. What if 
Pruni should be only a summer form of 
Apicella F — E. Parfitt, 4, Weirjield 
Place, St. Leonard's, Exeter ; March 14. 
COLEOPTERA. 
Seasonable Notes. 
Under Bark. — This term, which often 
occurs in Stephens’ ‘ Manual,’ has sadly 
puzzled young collectors, who have not 
known that bark more or less loose was 
intended. Now is a capital season to 
search under bark; indeed, later in the 
year, when the wood beneath has become 
dry, you may look in vain for the beetles 
now abundant. One of the grand things 
that used to be taken under the bark of 
oaks in Hainault Forest and the New 
Forest was Pediacus dermestoides ; the 
great harvest was j ust after the oaks were 
felled, in April and May, when the 
beetles were under the loosened bark on 
the stump and under the bits of bark 
that were occasionally left on the tree 
during the operation of barking, but they 
were also met with in the winter under 
loose pieces of bark ; now I never hear 
of the species being taken. We used 
also, at the same time, to get at Hainault 
Silvanus unidentatus, Bitoma crenata 
and Cerylon histeroides. Under the bark 
of a decayed hornbeam at Hainault 
Litargus bifasciatus w'as not rare, in 
company with Salpingus roboris and 
S. rujicollis. It is long since I had an 
opportunity of ascertaining if, in the 
clearing that has since taken place, the 
woodman has spared that tree, but the 
beetles occur in other localities. Some- 
times, though rarely, you fiud an old 
gnarled oak that has been cut down and 
not stripped of its bark ; there you will 
be likely to get Bostrichus villosus, Oma- 
lium coplerum and other good things. 
Under the loose pieces of bark which 
occur on very old oaks you will now see 
the larvae of Tiresias serra in their last 
skin, and as you tumble these remarkably 
clean-looking creatures into your box, 
observe how they wag their curious bushy 
tails. If you put them into close jars, 
such as are used for the larvae of Micro- 
Lepidoptera, with pieces of the bark from 
the tree, you may rear the perfect insects 
in a couple of mouths, and you will note 
the singular circumstance in their eco- 
nomy that the pupa-state is assumed 
within the skin of the larva, which opens 
on the back. With these larvce I have 
lately found some small larvae, which I 
take to be those of the rare Trinodes 
hirtus; they are about a line and a half 
long, are covered with long black hairs, 
and look very like porcupines in minia- 
ture. These larvae are always in the 
company of a spider, and I am curious 
to know what is the bond of sympathy 
between them. There are many larvae 
and pupae of Longicornes and other 
Coleoptera now to be found under the 
bark of stumps of oak trees that have 
been felled, but they will be none the 
worse for being left for awhile, for they 
are apt to dry up if taken in doors. The 
same may be said of the larva of Pyro- 
chroa coccinea, a brown, flat creature 
which reminds one of a centipede, and 
