THE WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
115 
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OBSERVATIONS, 
COLEOPTERA. 
Saperda popnlnea. — On the 7th of 
March I remarked that the upper 
stems of some young aspens (Popu- 
lus Tremnla) had thrown out several 
rounded excrescences, that made me, 
for the moment, fancy that I had 
secured some lepidopterous treasure 
or other in the family of the Clear- 
wings. On opening one of the knots, 
however, I found that the larva 
tenant was coleopterous. A pair of 
strong jaws had enabled it to rasp 
away the pith and tender central 
wood of the branch on which it fed, 
and, in doing- so, it had formed for 
itself a longitudinal bore, which 
served it for shelter from without. 
The branch, in the meantime, was 
made to assume unsightly pro- 
portions, so much so as to attract my 
attention. I cut off several of the 
knots, in such a manner as not to 
interfere with the miner within, and 
brought them home in mv botanv 
case, of course regarding them as 
the best discovery during my walk. 
The stems were put into a broad- 
necked glass bottle, and occasionally 
moistened. Early in May a beetle, 
with long antennne (I believe the 
number of its joints is eleven) made 
its exit from one of the stems, and I 
had the pleasure of recognisingone 
of the Gerambycidce, which proves to 
be Saperda popnlnea. I need not 
describe the beetle, as its character 
will be readily learned from 
Stephen’s “Manual ; ” and the grub, 
too, is so like other beetle grubs, 
that a description is superfluous. — • 
Peter Inchbald, Storihes Hall, near 
Huddersfield, May, 1863. 
Hymenoptera. 
Cynips Quercus Gemmai.- — Early 
during this month I have succeeded 
in taking the Cynips that is instru- 
mental in forming the artichoke 
galls on the oak. The galls are 
well-known to the entomologist. It 
would seem that the Cynips usually 
selects the terminating bud of the 
oak shoot as best suited to its pur- 
pose. This bud being crippled in its 
growth produces overlapping scales, 
which diminish gradually from the 
base of the bud to the summit, and 
after the appearance of an artichoke 
in miniature. In the centre of the 
scales is a small pear-shaped nut, 
which is tenanted by five or six larvce, 
each in its own honey-comb-like 
cell. These subsist on the juices of 
the tiny nut, and, when these juices 
