8 
moving, to the large wood ants, and, later on, to a dry curled-up leaf,” 
the colour and appearance of which, from a short distance, they 
wonderfully resemble. Doubleday, Mrs. Bazett, and many others have 
remarked on the great likeness of the young larva to an ant, which is 
very striking. 
Method of Pupation.— The Eev. Bernard Smith (“ Notes on the 
Notodontidse ”) states that “ when full-fed, about September, it (the 
larva) falls from its food and spins up between leaves forming a rough 
cocoon.” Mr. Holland also describing the pupation says :—“ Fagi did 
not spin up in the green leaves on the tree as Newman says, but 
always in dead leaves at the bottom of the sleeve, on the side of 
the sleeve itself, and in the woods I have found them crawling on the 
ground in search of a pupating place.” Our own larvae, which were 
kept in a large glass fern case, seemed to become very restless when 
full-fed, and all went on to the mould at the bottom and pupated 
amongst the leaves which were laid for them. It is astonishing how 
fast and far they can crawl when they are ready to spin up, and I 
should think it is very possible that in a state of nature they travel 
considerable distances. Cocoon :—The cocoon is thin and of a pale 
brownish-white colour. It is spun so closely and tightly to the leaves 
that on separating the leaf from the cocoon, the veins of the former can 
be seen distinctly impressed on the silk. There appears to be a kind 
of slight lining composed of a few loose threads. The old larval skin 
is very conspicuous in the cocoon, by reason of the large head, the two 
tails, and the two pairs of elongated legs. 
Pupa.— The pupa is reddish-black with a very smooth and shining 
surface. The anal segments are rounded, and there is a large anal 
spine, which is curved backward and hooked. The usual duration of 
this stage is from September to May or June. Sometimes, however, 
it only lasts a month or two, but with this question of double-brooded- 
ness we will deal later. The Bev. Bernard Smith says, that the pupa 
does not lie over to a second season. Best mode of keeping Pupae :—With 
regard to keeping the pupae, the same author (“ Notes on the Notos.”) 
says “there is no necessity to keep the cocoons out of doors, but 
a moderately damp atmosphere is necessary.” He also mentions that 
some “ cut the end of the cocoon open about the beginning of June, 
as the imago sometimes cannot get out readily, especially if the cocoons 
are too dry,” and adds, that to expose them to a shower early in June 
is good, if they are not cut. Mr. Holland informs me that he got a 
fair proportion of his to emerge by keeping them in an outhouse in a 
box half-filled with damp sand. He also advised me to be particular 
not to break open the cocoons. Parasites :—In a table prepared by 
Mr. G. Bignell, published in Buckler’s Larvce, two parasites are men¬ 
tioned as having been bred from S. fagi. These are:— Eurylabus 
larvatns, Christ (bred by Wheeler), and Opinion bombycivorous, Gravenhorst 
(bred by F. Norgate and J. Standish). These are both liymenopterous 
parasites. Eurylabus larvatns is also recorded in the same place as 
from Centra vinula. On the 5th December last, I took three dipterous 
pupae from the cocoon of an Epping Forest larva. I forced them, and 
one appeared on the 11th of the same month, the others about the 22nd. 
The larvae of these emerged from an almost circular hole in the wing 
case of the pupa. I have been unable to identify the species at the 
