Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 1 (1843).djvu/123

Rh again on the evening of the 19th of October last, with Mr. Douglas, in the hope of obtaining a few specimens. We commenced beating the bushes about 7 o'clock, and worked hard for upwards of an hour, without success; at last it occurred to me that a close inspection of the junipers by means of the lantern might lead to better results, and accordingly I first examined the outsides of several of the bushes, but could not find a single specimen; I then inspected the insides, and soon discovered one of the long-sought-for insects, hanging from a withered twig near the ground. Knowing now how to proceed, I soon captured about eighteen. On the three following nights I continued to collect them, and finally obtained one hundred and eight fine specimens, in the proportion of about twenty-six males to one female. It seems that on cold frosty nights these insects do not emerge from their hiding places (the interior of the bushes, where they suspend themselves from small dry twigs, or the bark of naked stems), and are consequently easily taken by aid of the lantern. I shook them into pill-boxes, where they would lie perfectly still, without the least attempt at escape. On warm moist evenings they either fly about or settle on the outsides of the trees, and are then very active and captured with difficulty.—''Geo. Bedell; 4, Waterloo Place, Coburg Road, December'' 29, 1842.

Note on the Caterpillars of Orgyia gonostigma. I have met with the larvae of this insect (as I have before informed you) occasionally in the autumn. Last September I found a brood feeding on the young shoots of the dwarf oaks; they fed rapidly, but on changing their skin spun slight webs on the top and sides of the breeding cage, and amongst the leaves; to these webs they continued to adhere, and I could not in any way induce them to eat. Some of them have since died, and the rest are in a torpid state. These larvae do not appear to feed until the sun begins to decline; I have always found them on those boughs which catch the slanting rays, this was the case with the brood above mentioned. I also met with them full fed last May, at the same period of the day.—Alfred Lambert; 6, Trinity St., December 30, 1842.

Note on Sepsis cynipsea. Towards the end of August I once observed myriads of this insect swarming on the stump of a tree, and seated by hundreds on each leaf that grew on the twigs from the old stock, or buzzing in the air above.—F. Walker; Grove Cottage, Southgate, December, 1842.

Note on Bee-hives. I am quite delighted with 'The Zoologist,' and am anxiously looking forward to the appearance of the next number.