Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 4 (1846).djvu/60

1226 Deilephila porcellus and Mytliimna conigera. The Lime, Honeysuckle, and Jasmine possess their usual attractions. The Ivy, I am afraid will he of little use in this part of the country, it is so late in coming into flower. — R.F. Logan; Hawthombrae, Duddingston, near Edinburgh.

Occurrence of Lasiocampa Trifolii near the Land's-End. — Having seen in 'The Zoologist' notices of the capture of rare moths, I beg to inform you that during the last summer I took five larvae of Lasiocampa Trifolii, two of which I reared, the others died ; the two which I reared produced a male and female, the former I have in my possession, the other I sent to a friend. I reside on the borders of the Atlantic, within a few miles of the Land's-End, a district altogether unexplored by Ento- mologists. If a list of the rarer moths, &c. of this district will be acceptable to 'The Zoologist,' I will gladly make out such a list and forward it to you. — William Noye; St. Just, near Penwith, November 26th, 1845.

[A list with correct names, also dates and localities will be most acceptable. — Edward Newman.]

Remarks on the occurrence of Lasiocampa Trifolii, near Manchester. — In 'The Zoologist' for November (Zool. 1140), I observe an account of the capture of Lasio- campa Trifolii, near Manchester. I cannot allow this statement to pass unnoticed : in the first place we have no coast near Manchester, the nearest point is Liverpool, more than thirty miles distant, the locality your correspondent so vaguely alludes to, Lytham is forty-five miles distant. Entomologists require to know where, and not near where, in stating localities. How any person can trace the slightest similarity between the cocoons of L. Trifolii and L. Rubi, I am at a loss to imagine, no two objects are more unlike ; that of L. Rubi is a long cylindrical bag tapering at each end, of so loose a texture the chrysalis can be seen through it. Trifolii is of an oblong shape, yellow, and glutinous texture, attached to its situation by means of beautiful white silken threads ; Quercus is much larger, more elongated, dark brown colour, and exceedingly firm coriaceous texture, smooth on the outside, generally attached by coarse threads, rarely loose upon the moss. — R.S. Edleston; Manchester.

Australian Caterpillar and Parasite. — I have recently found some larvæ exactly re- sembling those of Orgyia antiqua. I have also discovered that the female moth like that of O. antiqua is apterous, as I have met with its body on the web on which the eggs were deposited. But the remarkable part of the history is the way in which the larvæ are ichneumoned. Having met with a brood about two-thirds grown, I was just going to remove them from the twigs on which I found them, when I discovered that some of them adhered closely to the twig : on examination, this turned out to be caused in the following manner ; each caterpillar so adhering had been infested by a single ichneumon larva which had escaped from the skin of the caterpillar on the underside and spun a cocoon immediately beneath it, the skin of the caterpillar being stretched over the parasite's cocoon, preserved exactly the size, form, and colour of life. I am preserving the whole of the specimens for you, and shall take an early opportu- nity of sending them. Rest assured that I shall send you also a lot of memoranda which will convince you old associations are not forgotten. — Alfred Lambert; 249, Pitt Street, Sydney, June 20th, 1845.

Acronycta Alni. — I have a fine specimen of this moth : I found the caterpillar in a small plantation of alders, near Hastings, in August, 1842. It changed to the pupa state in rotten bark on the 13th, and emerged as the perfect insect, June 14th, 1843.— G.A. Thrupp; 1, Hyde Park Place, West, London, November 6th, 1845.