PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 39 



Mr. Hogan announced, that he had that morning received a letter from his 

 friend, Mr. J. Walter Lea, which stated that the butterfly under consideration of 

 the Association at a former meeting, and then supposed to be a variety of Pieris 

 daplidice, had been identified by Mr. Stainton as Anthocaris belia, one of the three 

 allied species to one of which Mr. Hogan had already thought it might be referred. 

 An interesting addition had thus been made to the Fauna of the British Isles, if no 

 difficulty should subsequently arise respecting it. He would furnish a more explicit 

 statement by their next meeting. 



The Kev. Joseph Greene then read the following paper : 



DIRECTIONS FOR CAPTURING LEPLDOPTERA. 



Owing to the many obstacles (among which may be mentioned, in particular, the 

 high cost of, and the difficulty of procuring standard works, together with the 

 absence of precise information as to the best methods of capturing insects, and of 

 preserving and arranging them, when captured) owing, I repeat, to the many 

 obstacles which present themselves to the student of Entomology at the very outset 

 of his career, he frequently becomes disheartened, and is often led to abandon the 

 pursuit altogether, in disgust at his want of success. In the hope of obviating, in 

 some degree, the last of these obstacles, I have drawn up a few remarks (intended 

 only for beginners) relative to the best methods of capturing and preserving 

 Lepidoptera. These observations are based, in part, upon my own personal obser- 

 vation and experience, and, in part, upon the observation and experience of those 

 whose long and assiduous pursuit of this branch of Entomology renders their 

 opinion and judgment unexceptionable. 



v Modes of Capture. Lepidopterous insects may be captured in each of the four 

 stages of their existence the Egg, the Larva, the Pupa, and the Imago. 



EGG. Those eggs which are deposited by the parent insect at the close of 

 autumn, are, I believe, rarely found. They may, however, be occasionally dis- 

 covered by a careful examination of the trunks and twigs of various trees. 

 The three following rare species, amongst others, have been taken in this way 

 viz., "Notodonta trepida"(oak), "Notodonta cucullina" (maple), and "Ptilo- 

 phora plumigera" (maple). Those eggs, however, which are deposited in the 

 spring, may frequently be found on the various plants and leaves of the trees, upon 

 which the larva feeds. 



LARVA. There is no better, or more productive means of obtaining Lepidoptera, 

 than by searching for Iarva3. Many species, which are rarely seen in the perfect 

 state, may thus be captured in abundance, as the common " Arctia caja," u Diloba 

 casruleocephala," &c. Others, which have never been captured at all, or very 

 rarely, upon the wing, have been occasionally taken in this stage. The specimen 

 of " Gluphisia crenata," exhibited at a former meeting of this Society, was bred 

 from a larva beaten from a poplar. The methods of searching for larva? are, by 

 beating, and by carefully examining the leaves of the various trees and plants on 

 which they feed, both by day and by night many caterpillars lying hid during 

 the day, and only coming out to feed at night. This last can, of course, only be 

 done with the aid of a lamp ; it is an admirable method, and innumerable larvas, 

 which would elude the most entomological eye during the daytime, may then be 

 found. Amongst the Noctuas and Geometry there are entire genera which only feed 

 at this time. In searching for larvse, during the day, small shrubs and saplings 

 will be found better than trees, which are to be examined by beating, of which 

 hereafter. The plan I adopt is, to take a twig in my hand, turn it up, so as to get 

 at the under side of the leaves, and then carefully examine it. Noctua? and Bom- 

 byces are generally found on the under side of whatever leaf they may be feeding 

 on. The " Ceruras" i.e., the puss moth and the kittens are, however, always on 

 the upper side, usually about the centre of the leaf. Poplar, willow, and sallow 

 are the trees they feed on. Geometras will, almost invariably, be found during the 

 daytime, extended at full length along the stalks or twigs of the trees on which 

 they feed, and as they are often of the same colour as that on which they lie, fre- 

 quently escape observation that is, careless observation. The best shrubs, 

 according to my experience, are, willow, poplar, sallow, oak, aspen, and alder. In 

 beating, the operation is simple, though laborious. Nothing is required but a stout 



