ISSN 0268-3806

Chairman: Mrs Judith Marshall Department of Entomology British Museum (Natural History) Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD

Membership: Paul Brock (Phone 0753-79447) "Papillon", 40 Thorndike Road Slough, Berks SL2 lSR

NEWSLETTER NO. 30 March 1987

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING REPORT About 40 members attended, and over 20 species were given away. The venue had to be altered to the Centre for Life Studies (kindly opened up by Peter Curry, No. 91) because of the sudden imposition of a heavy charge by the British Museum (Natural History). Hopefully you were all informed of this change in time. Finance - Paul Brock (No. 26) reported that the unexpectedly large number of members increased the 1986 surplus to £279, making the Group's General Fund now £866. Newsletters - Michael and Frances (No. 3) reminded members that contributions are always needed, but that longer articles may be delayed until the right amount of space becomes available. Short, or even very short, items are particularly needed. A Species Report on Phenacephorus cornucervi (PSG 73) has been provided by Chris Raper (No. 216). But of course your own notes on this species are still required and, in this case, should be sent to the Editors for insertion~ The meeting agreed to some of the Group's General Fund being spent on a computer or typewriter for the Editors' use. Library - David Robinson (No. 29) reported that his computer search for phasmid literature has been funded for another year. However, articles are classified by author only, so he is unable to select papers on a specified subject. Members may also have to wait patiently for copies of papers, especially early ones, as these can be difficult to obtain. Phil Clarke (ex Na 150) has kindly donated a photocopy of Westwood's 1859 catalogue of phasmids in the British Museum (Natural History). This is to be kept at the Centre for Life Studies for reference, together with a copy of Brunner and Redtenbacher's 1908 standard monograph. Livestock - Tim Branney (No. 239) reported that he had been inundated with requests for eggs but that surplus stock was being provided almost solely by our European members. He expressed the concern of the whole Committee at the number of species that are dying out, and felt that some members show no r espect f o r their cultures because they assume that they can always get replacements. Concern has also been expressed at the way some members grab all spare live­ stock in sight at meetings. And once again some sticks disappeared which had been put aside for a particular member. In future a system will be tried whereby members will have to feed back their surplus eggs from easier species to the Mart before they can receive more difficult species. For details see Livestock Co-ordinator's Report on page 2. Committee - The existing Committee was re-elected, with 4 additional members: Adrian Durkin (No. 78), Mel Herbert (No. 232), John Slater (No. 183) and Eric van Gorkom (No. 250). The meeting closed with an interesting talk, including slide show, by Tony James (No. 1) on his recent collecting trip to Malaysia. By the "Law of Cussed­ ness" he found sticks (5 species) only on the last days~ 30:2 ­

FORTHCOMING MEETINGS The next PSG meeting will be at the Centre for Life Studies on Saturday 18th July 1987, starting at 10.30 a.m. The Ninth Midlands Entomological Fair will be at Granby Halls in Leicester on Sunday 5th April from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Group has booked 2 tables ­ offers of help, please, to Adrian Durkin (No. 78) The Third North London Entomological Fair will be at Picketts Lock Centre, Edmonton, on Sunday 31st May from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Groups has booked 2 tables.

LIVESTOCK CO-ORDINATOR' S REPORT by Tim Branney (No. 239) One continuing problem is that, whilst I send out various species as and when members ask for them, there is at present no way of knowing the fate of those species. Too often in the past species have been lost or seriously threatened as an initially large surplus has been distributed to members, none of whom has succeeded with them. So, following on from the proposals made at the AGM, all PSG species will be graded as follows: A. Least difficult to rear/ most readily available. B. More difficult to rear/ less readily available. C. Most difficult to rear/ least readily available. In order to obtain a species listed in Grade B, a member must send in surplus eggs from 3 species in Grade A, thereby demonstrating his or her ability to rear those species. Likewise, 3 species from Grade B can be exchanged for one from Grade C. In addition, eggs of anyone species can be sent in to obtain another species from the same grade. All members will be able to obtain one culture of any Grade A species, when available, and all new species will automatically join Grade C. The provisional grades are as follows: A. Species 1, 3, 4 , 5, 9, 22, 23, 24, 48, 52, 73. B. Species 2, 6, 12, 13, 15, 25, 31, 32, 35, 38, 44, 51, 61, 66, 69. C. All other species - if not lost! These grades are not fixed and will change with the fortunes of the species.

LIVESTOCK SUPPLIERS PANEL 232. Mel Herbert, 30 Dores Road, Upper Stratton, Swindon, Wilts (0793-723533) has kindly agreed to join and can supply species: 1 (EA, N), 2 (E), 4 (EA, NA), 5 (E), 9 (EA, N), 13 (E), 22 (EA, N), 23 (E, N), 31 (E, N), 32(EA, N), 38(E), 44(E, N), 52(E), 69(E), 73(E), 86(E). (E = eggs, N = nymphs, A = all year round supplies.) 152. Christopher Mann can now only supply eggs of species: 25, 32, 37, 44.

WANTS AND SURPLUSES Mel Herbert (No. 232) wants eggs or nymphs of species 16, 19, 20, 29, 36, 51, 68. Paul Jennings (No. 80) of 14 Croyde Avenue, Greenford, ~1iddlesex UB6 9LS has surplus nymphs of 9, 24, 66, 73, and surplus eggs of species 13, 22, 24, 52, 66. Michael Lazenby and Frances Holloway (No. 3) have surplus eggs of species 9, 12, 44, 90. Nicholas Wadham (No. 358) wants eggs or nymphs of species 6, 7, 22, 24, 27, 35, 38, 69, and offers eggs of species 9.

A STICK DIARY by Charlye Woolman (No. 2) I have extracted a few quotes from the diary I kept of my stick insect studies during my first year in Tanzania, East Africa. I have restricted them to those referring to the "Grass type" stick insect (PSG 41). In some ways it seems odd that it took me so long to find the local phasmids and get them into 30: 3 ­ culture (they were very common). On the other hand, as you will read, an apparently simple task can be a minefield of frustrations! September-December 1980 - On occasions, when I took groups of students out collecting , they found a type of stick insect, but these were invariably half squashed, lacking several legs and of unknown provenance. January 1981 - In the first few weeks I did some serious beating work on the local bushes. My first couple of expeditions drew a blank, which is depressing, but I know that there are stick insects in the area. I went back to the field where I had taken students insect collecting and soon beat a few (three) stick insects off some low, aromatic bushes which may be a species of Euclea (but I am very uncertain of that). This success was cheering but it was hard earned - I had to beat about thirty bushes to get those three phasmids! ...None of these stick insects accepted leaves of the bush they were found on and they all died within a few days. 14th February - I got up and out at 6 a.m. and beat a range of bushes in the area .... 15th February - Another 6 a.m. trip, this time mainly beating grasses. I caught one stick insect. 18th February - Thorough beating failed to produce a single stick insect. I then searched the grass stalks visually but could not find any. 2nd March - I went out with a torch and inspected the same grass sward visually at 9.30 p.m. Once again I could not find any stick insects. 21st March - I set out at 6.30 a.m. to beat for stick insects .... I came back completely empty-handed and very wet. It has been raining frequently during the week. Everywhere is very damp at night and there is a heavy dew. I can imagine the first-instar nymphs getting stuck in the water films.

22nd March - ... 1 went on to beat the coarse grasses again and drew a complete blank. I then found, almost by accident, that nearby fine grasses had plenty of stick insects. Before the rains I had beaten fine grasses without reward.... I have put both fine and coarse grasses in the cage to see which they prefer. 7th April - The new female has died. All I have left now is a couple of males. 9th April - My last male has died. 21st April - I know now that they do not hide away, as I had thought, during the day. The ones I observed were frequently high up in the grasses, in full sun, in the middle of the day. Late afternoon was the time of minimum activity and dusk the time of maximum activity. 16th-17th July - ...The most important thing is that I observed several instances of feeding (which occupies a very small amount of time; less than an hour per individual per night). Each time the plant involved was the same ....I was also privileged to watch another ecdysis. I leave the diary here as finally I knew what the "Grass type" stick insects fed on and I was able to culture them successfully. The plant proved to be Corchorus trilocularis (Tiliaceae). I also found that they would take various species of Grewia (Tiliaceae) and a variety of legumes (especially Rhynchosia, Leguminosae). It had taken me 4 months before I could repeatedly find the stick insects and another 7 months before I knew what they were feeding on. This was for the most common species! There must be a moral in it somewhere for other collectors searching new areas. The real problem comes when the stick insect does not rest on its foodplant ­ probably because of greater predator pressure on the foodplant itself. A phasmid which feeds on a variety of low-growing foodplants cannot be camouflaged against all of them, so in such an instance it is better to be camouflaged against another, common, plant (in this case grass) and to make brief feeding forays on to the real food plant. If ever a stick insect refuses to eat the plant it is 30:4 ­ found on, I would strongly recommend that the collector simply observes the next specimen located minutely over 24 hours. I emphasise minutely because the first time I did a 24 hour study on the grass type I missed the feeding bouts. My records show that they were there, for example: " ...9.15 p.m. - About 5 minutes ago the male disappeared - perhaps he dropped to the ground.•.•9.50 p.m. - I can see the male high up on a grass stem 70 cm from the last sighting. I'll bet he was there all the time ... ". It just goes to show that betting doesn't pay~ That male had almost certainly been feeding at ground level, something I was not to pin down for another 3 months~ In general I found that a good beating tray was the best thing for sampling a wide variety of vegetation (a nice portable one is available from Watkins & Doncaster, the entomological suppliers). Once the first stick insect has been found it is often better to search visually. You get less damage to the specimens and you are more likely to get adults as opposed to nymphs. The danger in relying totally on beating is that some vegetation is not suitable for it and you can miss out on some species this way. The collector should also consider searching at night by torchlight. Many phasmids seem to become more active at night (at least they did in East Africa) . A species which hides away all day may be found completely exposed after dark. Finally, I can see in retrospect that I should have sent more stock back to members of the PSG. I was too concerned with getting my own cultures going and with trying to work out how many different species there were. I think I might actually be further forward now if I had scarcely bothered with my own cultures but simply sent most eggs that I obtained back to England. I'm sure that the members could have done far more work on them than I found the time for.

POSTING PHASMIDS AND THEIR EGGS by Peter Curry (No. 91) and Michael Lazenby and Frances Holloway (No. 3)

If personal collection or delivery is not possible, then the best method of transporting phasmids or their eggs is through the post. A convenient method of posting eggs is to enclose them in a relatively thick­ walled PVC tube and stopper the ends with cotton wool. This arrangement is Sellotaped to a piece of card, placed in an envelope and sent by ordinary letter post. This method has proved to be very successful providing the PVC tube is strong enough to prevent crushing. Alternatively, the risk of crushing can be greatly reduced by fitting the tube lengthwise in a rectangular hole cut out of a piece of lightweight expanded polystyrene sheet of the same thickness as the tubing diameter, ideally packed on each side by two further pieces of sheet. If considerable quantities or large or particularly valuable eggs are to be sent, they may be packed with cotton wool (so that they just don't rattle) in 35 mm film cassette containers. These are placed in stout envelopes and then sent through the post in the same way that exposed film is sent to developing firms . Plastic (not cardboard) calculator paper roll holders or (washed) snuff tins are also useful for posting eggs. Care should be taken to avoid posting during very cold periods as exposure to frost would certainly kill most phasmid eggs. Sending nymphs or adults through the post presents additional risks, as a suitable environment within a parcel cannot be maintained economically. If nymphs or adults do have to be sent, first try to ensure that any nymphs are thin for their size and so unlikely to shed in the post - adults or large nymphs of bulky species should not be posted at all. The insects should then be packed into an uncrushable cardboard box that is well ventilated but escape proof. Alternatively, non-rusty tins (with lids) make suitable containers: 12 oz ( 340 g ) dried mi l k tins are about the right size for a few small nymphs. A row 3 ~ 5 ­ of ventilation holes (small e nough s o that the insects cannot stick their feet out) should b e h a mme red in u s i ng a sharpened nai l (pins f r equent l y break) • Stout plastic 2 kg margarine boxes can also be useful, but here the small ventilation holes must b e made with a red hot needle a s otherwise they tend t o c lose up . Of course all s uch tins or p l a s t i c b o xe s shoul d fir st be washed well . Th e foodplant should be fresh, idea lly dethorned, and wedged so that it cannot mo ve in the box. Surprisingly, in the spring i t is t h e old lea ves which keep fresh l onger than the new s hoots . With c ardboard b o x es, the c ut stems should be s urrounded with damp cotto n wool and then enclosed in polythene o r in a l umi n i um foil (silver paper), but with tins or plastic b o xes this may cause too much condensation and drown the insec ts. There should b e suf ficient room within the c o nt a i ne r to a l low the insects t o move f r e e l y about on the f o o dp l a nt without being t oo c r amped . The p acked containe r must then be secured t o prevent i t from opening in the post. Use several l ayers of 2 inch wide sticky vinyl t ape r ound the e d ge of the lid, and up t h e sides and across the lid (but ensure that none of the ventilation holes a re bloc ked) . Bo th t h e consignor's a nd cons i g n e e ' s a ddresses mu st b e c learly shown, preferably with telephone numbers. The whole p ackage should then be labelled something l i ke : "URGENT - LIVESTOCK - WITH CARE PLEASE". I t should be sent by first-class l ett e r pos t a nd a l s o labelled as such. I deally p ackages should b e s e n t by the first morning post, but certainly no later than lunch time, to r educe the effect o f delays. For the s ame reason, yo u should not pos t after Wednesday mo r n i ng (in a f ull working week) . Do not p o s t i f there is an i ndustrial disp u te a ffecti ng the Po st Offi c e o r r ailways~ Of c ourse, periods i n which f r osts a r e likely s ho uld a gain b e a vo i d e d , as should p e r iod s of really h ot we ather. Remember that ground f rost c an occur when the a ir temperat ure (the o ne usually q uoted in we ather forecasts) fal ls below 0 0 about 3 o r 4 C . Of t en t h e night-time temperature i s not forecast early in the da y, and o ne mus t work from the foreca s ted weath er changes a nd the previous night-time temp eratures . Rain, c l o ud and wind a l l reduce t h e l ikelihood o f f rost . Unless you a re sending nymphs or adults specifically chosen to add t o a n exist i ng cultur e , you shou ld s end a t l e a st a starting culture. Avoi d s ending unsexable nymphs b e c aus e o f t he very uneven s e x r atio s which c an result, a nd a llow f o r t his p roblem in the number of eggs sent . Too few eggs may t urn out to be wasted .

STICK INSECTS OF NAGALAND by Prem a nd Purnendu Roy (No . 328) The Naga Hills run a l on g the Indo-Burmese border. They reach up to 12,500 ft but most are about 8000 ft high. We found the majority of our sticks at about 5000 ft in the temperate zone, near the towns o f Kohima, Mokokchang and Phesama. The a rea is sparsely populated and very inaccessible, b efore World War 11 because of head-hunters a nd nowadays because of a l ong-running insurgency problem. Angani Cone, from one o f the tribes of Nagalan d , said that they a r e scared to touch stick insects because a legend tells o f one which s wall owed six people: Most of the g r o und above 5500 ft is covered by dense, we t cloud-forest - an absolutely marvellous area for butterflies, moths and stick insects. At, s ay, 4500-6500 ft the climate is as follows . Th e wi nte r s a re never cold, f r os t s b eing rare, but neither are they warm, the t emperature being about 100C. Throughout the summer (i.e. from May t o October) i t r ains, so the summers o . are never very hot, rarely above 25 C. The normal weather when we went there in August was that most days were d r i z z l y , with occasiona l sunny spells, a nd with 0C. the temperature usually below 20 Because of all the rain, the whole area is extremely luxuriant. Th e forests are a mi xture o f de c i d uous a nd broad-leaved evergreen trees, often very large and tall. Th ey include oaks, cherries, chestnuts and trees of Annonacea michelia species, and many others that· we were unable to identify. We managed to find 11 species of stick insects, mostly by accident when looking for caterpillars: sticks were very common. We were able to find them easily during the day - indeed we never searched at night. Most of the species were found by the paths, in bushes or hedges, and not particularly associated with any foodplant, except for one species which was very localised. We had problems with apparent cannibalism, losing several this way. We would find the stick, still alive, but with all its limbs removed - not particu­ larly pleasant. This could have been because the sticks were unfortunately overcrowded, and also for a couple of the species we were unable to find the foodplant so they were in effect short of food. It is perhaps these last individuals which injured the others; they didn't exactly eat them, just bit their legs off. Unfortunately we are not experienced enough to give detailed descriptions of the species - also we don't have specimens of several. One (PSG 93) which Prem brought to the PSG 1986 summer meeting at the Centre for Life Studies in Regents Park, appears to be a Carausius species. The female is 11 cm long, light brown, with long antennae, and abdominal parts resembling Carausius. The male is smaller and resembles the Carausius with red knees (C. sanguineoligatus) - except that he doesn't have red knees: He has several stripes running along his body, and very long antennae. The insects paired almost every other day, for a couple of hours at a time. The eggs resemble C. morosus eggs and are being laid at a rate of 2 per day. Another species somewhat resembled a Dares species. It was green and small (6 cm long), with a broad body (% cm wide in the female, thinner in the male) and numerous small spikes all over it. It was found in association with nettle near a stream. A third species was 5.5 cm long and quite plump with a bulbous rear end, and had antennae 4 cm long. According to Paul Brock (No. 26) it is a Dajaca species or very close. Another had small thin brown males and large green, quite thin females. A pair was found on hibiscus. We found quite a number of another rather bland-looking creature, light brown with short antennae. It resembled C. morosus but the eggs were not unlike those of S. sipylus. The nymphs which hatched refused to eat anything and died. An ordinary medium-sized light brown female with short antennae also resembled C. morosus, but the brown eggs were long and flattened (2 x 1.5 x 0.5 mm). Paul Brock has since identified this as Baculum frustans (Brunner). A large species was found on . The females were mottled brown and grey, and about 15 cm long; the males were smaller and thinner. The eggs are about 8 mm x 1.5 mm and light brown in colour. This has since been identified as Baculum insignis (Wood-Mason), also by Paul Brock. Another species was found feeding on Daphne in- dense U11dergrowth. The female was fair sized, plump, mottled green, slightly spiny and with vestigial wings. The male was similar but smaller and thinner. The eggs are about 3 mm by 2 mm and black. Paul Brock has identified this species as Oxyartes despectus (Westwood). Pernandu also found two species at Sessa, West Kameng district in Aranachal Pradesh, a State in North East India. The female of one species was 5 cm long, fairly plump, mottled brownish green, and with short spines on the body and legs. In captivity she ate rose. Her brown eggs are 2 mm by 1.5 mm. Finally, a mention of another stick of considerable interest. We found this on the other side of India, in Ladakh, at an altitude of about 12,000 ft. The climate here is dry - a bit like the Mediterranean - but the winters at this altitude, in tge inner 5anges of the Himalayas, are extremely cold. Wewould guess that -30 C to -40 C is probably not unusual. The summers are short and quite hot - we were there in July. The stick was found under a stone. It was a small, brown, plumpish species. We found only one, and it did not accept any foodplants. We would like to extend our thanks to Paul Brock for kindly identifying species. (See Addendum which follows.) 30:7 ­

ADDENDUM: Notes by Paul Brock (No. 26) Baculum frustans (Brunner) - females. The specimen sent to me 82 mm, smooth thorax, and legs totally without foliose expansions. Locality Kohima. Baculum insignis (Wood-Mason). A pair sent to me - female 168 mm, male 103 mm. Locality Kohima, 5000 ft, September 1986. Female robust, elongated. The intermediate femora and tibia have conspicuous expansions/lobes. See Wood-Mason 1873 "On new or little known species of Phasmidae, Part 1 - Genus Bacillus", Journal Asiatic Society Bengal, pages 45-46, which includes a plate of the female (the only sex described). Localities: Samagooting, Naga Hills, Assam, Sikkim and the valleys around Cherra Punji in the Khasi Hills. Male probably n ot described. Very thin and slender, dark brown; head with black longitudinal side stripes reaching as far as the eyes; thorax with black longitudinal central and side stripes. It is hoped that this species will be successfully bred in captivity. It feeds on bramble Rubus .

BRIEF NOTES ON HORRIDA BOISDUVAL AND LUCAS by Paul D Brock (No. 26)

~ne differences between horrida and calcarata have been mentioned in the literature on a number of occasions. There appears to be some misunderstanding amongst some Group members, and in particular I have noticed that usually European members claim to have horrida in culture, which turn out to be PSG 44. It has been brought to my attention that one member possibly has genuine horrida from a fresh import of eggs, but at least on~ major dealer has been incorrectly selling Indonesian stock as horrida, which probably accounts for much of the confusion: 1 The key to Eurycantha by Redtenbacher in the well-known taxonomic work clearly distinguishes these two species, but studies by Gunther have indicated that some other species described in the key are synonyms. THere is usually slight variation in spine formation in individuals of the same species. Colours and size can vary significantly from the different islands around Papua New Guinea, where it appears that some of the genus are very common. 2species Burghard Hausleithner recently illustrated the major taxonomic difference: In the male, calcarata differs from horrida in lacking a conspicuous ventral tooth in the basal third of the hind tibia. My similar sketch is from examples in my deadstock collection.

Hind l e g of ma l e

E. horriJa E. calcarata 30: 8 ­

'lhe other drawings show the female differences: Front margin of abdominal segment armed with 5 spines Hind tibiae with incurved spines ...•.•.....•.•.•.....•••.•••... E. horrida Abdominal segment armed with only 2 spines Hind tibiae with straight spines ...... •...... E. calcarata The additional abdominal spines on horrida give it a much spinier appearance than calcarata. This applies to both sexes.

Typical spines of hind ~/ tibiae of female

Abdominal segment of female showing spines (6th segment as example)

E. horrida E. calcarata

The following notes may be of interest.

Length of male Length of Female

E. horrida Redtenbacher gives 100-llO mm 130-135 mm In my collection: W. New Britain, 14 Sept 1972 (collected by R. Straatman) 127 mm Papua New Guinea, Poppendetta, Sept 1974 130 mm 163 mm (length of main spine on hind femora 15.5 mm)

E. calcarata Redtenbacher gives 108-125 mm 130-145 mm Kimbe, New Britain, culture stock (collected by Allan Harman) PSG 23 up to 120 mm Up to 150 mm In my collection from above stock 107 mm (length of main spine on hind femora 9 mm) Indonesia, culture stock imported by dealers, PSG 44 (possible sub-species of calcaratal Usually a little larger and broader than average PSG 23 In my collection from above stock 100 mm (length of main spine on hind femora 8 mm) Wild collected Sorrell Islands, Papua New Guinea, Nov 1952 125 mm

References 1. Brunner von Wattenwyl, K., and Redtenbacher, J., 1906-08, Die Insektenfamilie der Phasmiden, Leipzig. 2. Hausleithner, B., 1985, Haltung und Zucht von Eurycantha calcarata (), Entomologische Zeitschrift mit InsektenbBrse 95 (10), 129-34. 30:9 ­

PSG No. 44: EURYCANTHA SPECIES by Mel Herbert (No. 2 32) Drawings by Tony James (No. 1)

Range: Indonesia, but the exact locality is unknown, probably from an island east of the Moluccas or possibly from West Irian.

Culture history: They were originally imported, as E. horrida, by Mr R Baxter from a dealer in Indonesia.

Adults: The adults are very similar to those of PSG 23, E. calcarata, and key out to E. calcarata in Brunner's key to the Eurycantha species. However, there do appear to be some minor differences between the two~ and adult PSG 44 tend to be about a head longer. The female has a body length of about 140 mm, with antennae of about 60 mm. Her colour is usually khaki brown, darkening with age.

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, ,i , I I I

J i / i i ! ! I i I

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/' i j I 1 r (I I 30:10 ­

The --fleshy jointsbet:ween the segmen-fS under the body are greenish blue, whereas those of PSG 23 are creamy white. Th e male has a body length of about 125 mm, with antennae of about 55 mm. His colour is similar to that of the female, though males tend to be darker. He too has greenish blue joints between the s egments. There appear to be some minor differences in the shape of the thoracic plates on the ventral surface of PSG 44 and PSG 23 (see drawing). Also, the spines on PSG 44, particularly on the thorax, tend to be larger than those of PSG 23. An egg-laying medium such as moss or peat must be provided for these insects.

Ova: The e ggs are very near in size and shape to those of PSG 2 3. How­ ever, they are bluish grey in colour and lightly mottled, whereas those of PSG 23 are greyish fawn and heavily mottled. The operculum is drop shaped, differing from the rounded operculum of PSG 23. They take between 3 and 5 months to hatch depending on temperature and are best incubated upright in peat or compost with the caps just 'se.­ covered. :l,3 Nymphs: The newly hatched nymphs are about 15-20 mm in length and dark brown in colour. At this stage they are indistinguishable from nymphs of PSG 23. However, as they grow they develop a wider and brighter range of colouring than PSG 23 nymphs. The bright green and chocolate brown patterns are often very attractive. Growth is fairly rapid and by third instar they require secluded places such as cardboard tubes in which to hide during the daytime.

Defence: Again, this is very similar to that of PSG 23, discussed in detail in Newsletters 8 and 9/10. However, several members have reported that PSG 44 is even more aggressive, especially females. The males produce an evil defensive smell when alarmed and this seems to differ from the s mell p r oduc e d by PSG 23 males.

Foodplants: These insects a:9pear to be willing to try almost any plant mnt eria.l and indeed will even try plant products such as cardboard~ Th e favoured foodplants are Bramble, Rose, Beech (including Copper), Oak, Pear, Apple, Alder, Hawthorn, Rowan, Cherry, Japanese Knotweed, Cotoneaster, Rhododendron, Mahonia, and mine especially like Grape Vine.

Comments: An impressive species which is well worth culturing. It is easily fed and housed and is robust at all stages. Though it is aggressive, it is not unduly so unless roughly handled, and I suspect that the aggressive nature of the Eurycantha species is part of their attraction for many. It is reported that a third species, E. horrida, may soon be in culture and it is to be hoped that further representatives of this exc i t i ng genus may be introduced to our Group in the future. Many thanks to those members who sent notes, and especially to Paul Brock (No. 26) and Allan Harman (No. 189) for their comments on taxonomy and distribution.

NEXT SPECIES REPORT - Carausius sanguineoligatus. Please send all your informa­ tion to John Slater (No. 183) by 15th April.

NEXT NEWSLETTER - Please send all other c o n t r i b ut i o n s by 15th May to Michael Lazenby and Frances Holloway at 9 Oaklands Court, Nicoll Road, London NW10 9AU.