42 
THE entomologist’s RECORD. 
temperature never having been below freezing point. By this means 
eighty-five per cent, of my larvae survived, while a friend of mine who 
put them on a growing plant lost over seventy per cent. In the same 
place I successfully reared some larvae of Stilbia atiomala. On the 
other hand a large brood of Epimda nigra were unfortunately put on 
a growing dock plant, and have all died. My reasons for objecting 
to this method are several. First, you can never exclude mould, 
which is one of the principal enemies of young larvae, to say nothing 
of the depredations made frequently by the appearance of a cole- 
opterous larva. Next, we find the foodplant under a glass shade 
generally in an unhealthy forced state and invariably producing aphides, 
v/hich, if not detrimental to young larvae, must necessarily worry them 
considerably. It does not follow, however, that all larvae will thrive 
under these conditions, as the following case will prove. Some larvae 
of Phorodes 7 na smaragdaria I had two years ago were kept indoors 
and died, whereas last autumn I placed another lot of the same in 
an open cupboard out of doors, but sheltered, and although they were 
exposed to fog and severe frost, not one of them, I am happy to say, 
perished. — J. Jager, i8o, Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill. 
March 21st, 1891. 
Deposition of Ova by Xylina petrificata (socia). — In response 
to Mr. Mason’s query as to the time of ovi-deposition of Xylina socia 
I send the following : — Having been asked for some ova of the above 
I boxed two females on the* nth of April, and three days after one laid 
three eggs, and I posted the moth and eggs to my correspondent. 
Subsequently the second one laid about twenty ova which hatched out 
on May 8th. I gave them some half-opened birch leaves and one of 
lime. They preferred the latter and fed up well upon it, keeping to 
the underside of the leaves, I have frequently taken the species on 
sallow in the spring, and think that they always lay their eggs at that 
season, and not in autumn. I know nothing of Xylina semibrunnea^ 
having never taken it. The young larvae of socia are whitish maggot- 
like creatures, delicate in constitution, but subsequently acquire the 
bright green coloration of the more mature stage. — W. F. de V. Kane, 
Sloperton Lodge, Kingstown. April -^rd^ 1891. 
Note on Homceosoma cretacella (senecionis, Vaughan). — As Mr. 
Tutt’s footnote {Ent. Record^ vol. i., p. 326) is calculated to throw 
grave doubts on my assertion, which he quotes from one of my letters 
to him, that the larva of H. cretacella “ feeds in seedheads both of rag- 
wort and tansyP I should like to say at once that the statement is per- 
fectly accurate, and would not have been made unless known to be 
quite correct. Although, to the best of my belief, ragwort is the only 
foodplant on which the larva has been met with m England as yet, in 
Scotland it has been found in the seedheads both of ragw^ort [Senecio 
jacobcea) and tansy {Tanacetum vulgare). Mr. Tutt’s footnote to the 
effect that, according to Mr. Reid, of Pitcaple, “ ragwort is usually 
called tansy in Scotland,” is quite beside the point ; and I learn on 
excellent authority, that, whatever may be the case round Aberdeen, 
ragwort is certainly not called tansy in the Perth district. — Eustace 
R. Bankes, The Rectory, Corfe Castle. March, 1891. 
Capture of Hister marginatus near King’s Lynn. — Amongst 
some Coleoptera captured last season, and sent to Mr. E. A. New- 
