HARDWICKE'S S CIE NC E-GOSSIP. 



205 



once counted, in rather less than five minutes, 

 thirteen specimens on bramble-blossoms and other 

 flowers ; yet a true Guernsey specimen is, I believe, 

 a great rarity. 



Fig. US.— The Drinker {Odnnestis potatoria). 



"British Moths." E. Jacohcec} is abundant, at times 

 almost a pest ; the gregarious larva3 strip the rag- 

 wort plants till only the bare stalks are left. Lasio- 

 campa Quercils and L. Rubi are very common, more 

 especially tlie former. The larvse of the latter, 

 which are very pretty, seem more confined to the 

 coast. I have handled many scores of larvae and 

 cocoons of both these species without ever ex- 

 periencing the urticating effects of the hairs men- 

 tioned by some of your correspondents ; the only 

 peculiarity which I noticed was a kind of velvety 

 ([ can't find a better word) feeliug about the finger- 

 tips, produced by a quantity of minute hairs stick- 

 ing into the skin; and this velvetiness was only 

 removed after repeated washing and rubbing. There 

 was no irritation or pain. This also applies to 0. 



]'ig. up. The Convolvulus Hawk-moth {Sphinx Convolvuli), 



Among moths perhaps the most wortliy of the 

 notice of an English collector is the Guernsey Tiger 

 {Callimorpha Hera), a rather common and generally 

 distributed species of surpassing beauty, especially 



Fig. lio. The Spurge Hawk-moth [DeiU-phila Etiphnrhia). 



when fresh from the chrysalis. The Rev. J)\ O. 

 Morris, who many years ago obtained a large num- 

 ber of larvae from a gentleman in Guernsey, has 

 given an admirable figure of this insect in his 



pofaforia, and other hairy laivje. The Sphingidtc 

 are not numerous in species. A. Atropos, in its 

 earlier stages, is well known to the farm-labourers 

 and cottagers, who cultivate large quantities of 

 potatoes for the English market. 

 One larva which 1 reared produced 

 a moth of uncommon size and 

 beauty. I have a specimen of S. 

 Concohidl which was taken in a 

 greenhouse. D. Euphorbia; may at 

 one time have been taken in the 

 island, for a gentleman, some 30 

 years ago, found a brood of larva-, 

 from which he succeeded in rearing 

 several splendid moths, which are 

 now in his collection. 



More might be said about the 



moths of Guernsey ; but I have 



neither my collections nor the diaries which I kept 



during my stay there (now some years ago) by 



me, and I dare not trust to memory. 



Finchleij. E. D. M. 



