E,(TO:IfOLOG JC AL Soc. OF BHITIS Il C OI.l'.\I B LI. Pno('. (1948 ), V OL. 45, Jl' l.Y 28, 1949 17 (Insect Li fe 1, IH HH) . Rece ntly this spe­ heiJl g taken in August, 191 i, by W. R . cies has been received from lVIr. O. Fisher. The fifth spec ies here dealt with French of L empriere, B.C. These speci­ is in the family Silphidae with only one m(' ns also W LTC taken from bea I' n ski I1 S. memher ()f the gen'us, Lyrosolllr{ opaca. The mandibles appea r to be vestigial but M an n. It res id es in the nests of certain the maxillae arc well developed with a maritime birds and may not be parasitic f ri nge of rec urve d sp in es around the mar­ in the strict se nse although it apparently gin of the galea. The antennae are 11 lItili zes the birds for transportation pur­ segmented, the abdomen with 6 visible poses . This species does not have the ex­ segments as in L rptinus but the intercoxal treme modi fi cations of the other forms piece of the prosternul11 separates the front su ch as excessive flattening, blindness, and coxae and th e tip is hlunt, not acuminate \'estigial mandibles. The compound eyes as in L cptinus. There is also a long tuft are well developed but the facets are rath­ of hairs projecting from the tip. This er coa rse and there arc (}nly about 200 to spec ies is nea rly 5 mm. long. It is appar­ ea ch eye. It is suggested that this may be ently blind as is L eptinu.r. L. repLor/olllia£' waS described by F erris a spec ies in process of acquiring a para­ in 19 1 H. It was taken from a species of sitic habit, but as yet not strictly parasitic. Aplorlrm tia or m ountain beaver, a genus I am indehted to P rofessor Spencer for o f rodents pecu lia I' to the Pacific Coast. makin g certain records available to me in The type locality is Fall en L ea f L ake, connection with some 0 f these spec ies 0 f Plumas C o., Cali fo rnia, the host animal paras itic Coleoptera. LITE RAT U RE CIT ED Ritsema, C., 1869. On Platypsyllus. Pet. Nouv. Entom . 1. Horn, W., 1872. Description of some New North American Coleoptera. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 5, 143-152. Ferris, G. F., 1918. An appa rently new species of Lep tinillus. Can. Ent. 50, 125-128. Muller, 1817. Bemerk u. einige I nsekten . Germa r Mag. Zool. 2, 266-289. Mannerheim, 1853. Dritter Naehtrag del' Aleutischen Insulen Bull. Moscou 26, 95-273. NOTES ON THE LIFE HISTORY OF XANTHORHOE DEFENSARIA GN. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) GEORGE A. HARDY Provinc ial Museum, Victori <l, B.C. Several specimens of the geometrid irregular groups promisc uously disposed on moth, X anthorhoe dcfensaria Gn., were the sides or in the angles of the contain­ ta ken at I ight on September 19-2 1, 194 7 er. A total of 25 eggs was deposited. in the Municipality of Saanich, Vancou ver They were subsequently kept at a cool Island, B.C. From one of the specimens room temperature. a batch of eggs was obtained and half of The egg is oval, smooth and whitish in the res ulting caterpillars were reareed to colour w ith a pea rly lustre, becoming dark­ maturity. Since no account of the life­ er towards hatching time. It is attached his tory of this species was ava ila bl e, it is to the substratum by an adhesi ve substance thought that the foll owing notes may be at the small end. L ength O. i 5 mm. Width o f interest as a confirmation or supplement 0.5 mm.. The shell is not consumed by to what may already be known about this th e newly emerged caterpillar. spec ies. Larva. E ggs hatched on October 8, after Ovum. L aid on September 20, 1947, in an average incubation period of 18 days. a glass ph ial in ones and twos, or in small, As I was not aware of the f ood plant, 18 EXTONWLOG I CA L Soc. OF BItITISH COLUMBIA, P ltoC'. (1948 ), V OL. 45 , J ULY 28, 1949 and little choice being available at this able along each sidc just below the spir­ season of the year, recourse was made to acl es. Spiracles, almos t in visibl e whitish chickweeu ( Stellaria media) which was dots. Stadium, 7 days. reluctantly accepted by the caterpillars. 4th Instar. November 4. Length 20-22 Twel ve out of tweny-fi ve were succeess­ 111m. In addition to the same general pat­ fully reared ; the remai nder di ed during tcrn as noted in the previ ous instar there their first instar f rom unknown causes. is a noticea bl e in crease in opacity. An in­ 1 st Instar. O ctober 8. L ength on em­ terrupted wavy lateral line of dark brown crgcnce f rom egg, 2 mm. General ap­ is now ev ident, becoming continuous on pearance, translucent with a tinge of green. the last th ree abdol11in als. Numerous, ve ry Head oval, light pinkish cinnamon; oceilli fin e longitudinal whi tish lines appear on conspicuously blac k ; thoracic and prolcgs both dorsal and ve ntra l surfaces. These colourless. Each segment with a f ew lines are groupcd in th rees and f ours, each very short, slightly kn obbed setae, less no­ group bou nded by a more strongly marked ticeable on the anterior and posteri or seg­ line. Spiracles whitish with a f aint dusky ments. T owards the enu of this instal' out! inc, sc t on a 1i ghter ground colour. a tinge of cinnamon stains the first six SOl11 e caterpillars are morc strongly mark­ abdominal segments. When disturbed, the ed than others, or ha vc a more grcenish caterpillar raises the body vertically, curl­ tone throughout. T hc green, in all cases, ing th e anterior portion in a loop, head prc,'ail s to a greater or lesser extent in the uppermost. Stadium, 13 days. thorac ic anu anal scgments. When dis­ turbed, the caterpillars still adopt the curleu 2nd Instar. October 2 1. Length 6 mm. attitudc, but also ha ve developed a habit Apart from an increase in size, the colour of straightening and remaining qui et in is more de finite, th ough not pronounc­ thc typical twig-resembling ch arac teristic edly so. A light translucent green, tinged of geom etric! larval'. If forcibly knocked as bef ore with pale ci nnamon, prevails, off th e food plant, they f eign death by with more distincti on in shade between lvin g stiffl y straight like bits of sticks. dorsal and ventral su rfaces. Stadium, 7 They f ee d at night, and at all times days. show a decided avoida nce of daylight, keeping well to tbe base of the f ood plant 3rd Instar. October 2 7. Length 12-17 during the uay. J lis t before pupati on, the mm. D evelopment IS irregular, some g reatest length of the caterpillars was 23 moulting a f ew days ahead of oth ers o f mm. Stadium, 7 days. the sam e instar. C olor still somewhat in­ decisi ve; head mottled brown on gree nish Pupa. Pupated N ovember 11 th-18th. background and furnished with short de­ L ength 10 mm. Width 3 mm. A very presse d hairs ; the thoracic and last abdom­ sli ght si lke n cocoon is made, either among inal segments g reen, the remainder pale thc leaves of the food pl ant, which are cinnamon, w hich now shows a de fi nite lightly drawn together to form a small pattern of small blac k spots on the uor­ cubicle, or as in one case obse r ved, by sum of the sccond to fi f th abdominal, in­ Imrrow ing just benea th thc surface of the clusive. T hese spots mark the outline of so il and spinning a cocoon o f grains o f an X and are in the form of f our black so il held together hy sil ke n strands. \V hrn dots with a central longitudinal black das h th c cocoon is completed the caterpillar re­ between them. The X mark is most dis­ mains qui escent f or a peri od of f our days, tinct on the fifth abdominal segment, be­ as noteu specifically in one case and as­ coming progressively less toward the sec­ sumed to be so in others. The pupa is ond, whcre it is represe nted by only two g r eL' 1l at fi rst, changin g to a dark ma­ dots. hoganl' co lour ill fi ve hours' time. The A loose epidermal fold is now disc ern- pl eura of the pupa are much lighter in ENTOMOLOGICAL 'SOC. OF BRITISH COLUMBL\, PROC. (1948), VOL. 45, JULY 28, 1949 19 colour. Abdominal segments are finely spring brood. As this species is said to be punctate. The cremaster is composed of many brooded, the three other named two long and several very short bristles, forms, all from the same district and each with a strongly recurved hook at the named by the same authority, may be sea- tip. These hooked bristles allow the pupa 6(mal varieties.