68 
THE WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
trace of embryo eggs in them. I 
likewise examined a pair of female 
S. Convolvuli which I took in Sep- 
tember and found them in the same 
state ; is this always the ease with 
females born in the Autumn. Are they 
invariably unproductive, — has forcing 
anything to do with it, or do they 
contain the germs of the eggs within 
them which require a winter’s hyber- 
nation to bring them to maturity ? — 
The larvae of Atropos were very 
abundant near Gibraltar last Novem- 
ber the following is from my 
Journal. 
“9. Nov. 1862. — Growing on the 
Sandhills near St. Roque and in garden 
hedges mixed with Ale and Prickloy 
Pear is a shrub which appears to be 
intermediate beetween the Deadly 
Night Shade and Tomato. The under- 
sides of the leaves are furnished with 
stout yellowish coloured thorns which 
spring from the mid and other ribs, 
the branches are similarly covered, so 
altogether the plant is a very formida- 
ble looking object. — Feeding on these 
bushes perfectly exposed, quite con- 
trary to what one would expect to see 
were larvae of A. Atropos, every 
bush had a larva on it and from one 
I took as many as three.” I secured 
about two dozen of these but they 
were all without exception Ichneu- 
moned, some five or six succeeded in 
turning to pupae but the parasitical 
larvae after having consumed every 
thing but the bare shells worked their 
way out and Buried in the sand. I 
should say that each pupae must have 
contained at least three hundred of 
these larvae. — G. F. Mathews, 
Portsmouth, \2>th. March 1863. 
CAPTURES. 
Lepidoptera. 
Micropteryx bred. 
During the present month I have 
had the pleasure of breeding the fol- 
lowing species of this genus. 
Micropteryx purpurella. 
Bred freely from whitish larvae 
with brown heads and green dorsal 
vessels mining the leaves of Birch in 
May last. 
Micropteryx Salopiella. 
I have bred several of this species 
from whitish larvae with dark brown 
heads and darkish vessels feeding in 
Birch leaves during May. 
Micropteryx semipurpurella. 
I bred a single example of this 
species along with Purpurella. 
Micropteryx subpurpurella. 
This I have also bred from whitish 
larvae with dark brown heads the sec- 
ond segments being dusted witli dark- 
ish ; these larve fed on Oak leaves in 
May last. 
I have tenanted cocoons of two 
kinds of Micropteryx larvae, the im- 
agos of which I am expecting every 
day to make their appearance. 
It is fatal to the larvae to allow 
them to spin their Cocoons and re- 
main for any length of time in Sand 
as they are almost sure to dry up, the 
quantity of Cocoons containing dried 
up larvae, in my possession fully con- 
vinced mo of the impolicy of such a 
course. 
