August 3, 1894.
I am much obliged to you for taking the trouble to send the morsels of C. graminis caterpillars. As you say, I am afraid we could hardly get results from them, but still with bacteria presence I do not know but dried bits may show something when moistened, so I am keeping them for the present. That enormous appearance of the imagos must have been a wonderful sight; I should have liked to see it—and what (I wonder) will be the result?
Pretty surely I suppose there will be egg-laying and a consequent presence of larvæ? But if your convenience allowed you to inspect say two months hence, would it not be very interesting to ascertain—absolutely make sure—whether there is a presence of the “hill-grubs” or whether the parasitism of their parents has been transmitted, to the weakening or destruction of their descendants? If we found no grubs, nor grubs with “flacherie” present, what a very interesting discovery this would be!
September 14, 1894.
I am writing a few lines at once on receipt of your letter, first to thank you for your geographical note, which helps me very much. [These attacks of “hill-grubs” were more or less general over the hill country of Kirkcudbrightshire and over the adjacent sheep-farms in Ayrshire, the Dumfriesshire hills, and the contiguous sheep-farm districts in Lanarkshire, Peebles, Selkirk, and Roxburgh. Seven counties were affected to my knowledge. R.S.] What a widespread outburst this has been! But I also write to beg you not to suppose for one minute that I see any reason to doubt what we have had laid down for such a length of time about date of hatching of larvæ of C. graminis. Mr. Wm. Buckler[[50]] “lumped” his observations of this and two other species, and it seems to me that what happened to caterpillars, which I gather he observed in captivity, in no way militates against correctness of other people’s out-of-door observations.
With many thanks for all the information you give me.
November 20, 1894.
I am very much obliged to you for the very interesting note you have let me have about these dipterous parasites[[51]] of the C. graminis. How fortunate you have been to secure them, and in such good order too! As you have been kind enough to give me two of your specimens, I think I will presently send one of them to Mr. Meade, of Bradford. I am sure he would value it very much, and would doubtless identify it, which would be a help to me, for as you know I do not like to rest without verification on my own dipterous identifications. You would not mind about this part, as doubtless if you have not yourself identified, Mr. Percy H. Grimshaw, Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh, would see to it (pp. [149], [185]).
Do you ever come across the so-called “Turnip Mud-beetle,” Helophorus rugosus, in your country? I had the beetle some years ago, as doing harm to turnip leafage, but we could not find the larva. Lately we found a larva doing a deal of mischief in the same neighbourhood by burrowing galleries in the top of turnips, and it struck me we might have what we wanted to complete the history. So I sent it to Canon Fowler, and he identified as beyond doubt Helophorus and being found where H. r. resorts, it is hardly open to doubt that we have got parent and child. Please excuse a short letter, for I am working as hard as I can manage.
Yours very truly,