IV. 



NOTES ON LEriDOrTERA OBSERVED IN IIERTFORDSHIRE 

 DURING THE YEAR 1895. 



By A. E. GiBBs, F.L.S., F.E.S. 



Head at Watford, llth March, 1896, 



My personal observations during the past year have been very 

 few indeed. With the exception of some evenings profitably spent 

 amongst the sallows in the spring, I have been able to do but little 

 entomological work, and I am sorry to say that several observers 

 who in past years have aided me very materially by sending useful 

 information for my annual report have no longer been able to 

 pursue their studies in this branch of science. I have, however, 

 received a most valuable list of captures from Mr. S. H. Spencer, 

 jun., of Watford, who is an enthusiastic collector and a careful 

 observer, and to whom I am indebted for much of the information 

 given in the present report. To Mrs. G. W. N. Harrison, of 

 Bamet, my thanks are also due for sending to me notes of her 

 observations on the rearing of several species of our common 

 Lepidoptera. 



Sallow-beating in April yielded very good results. Mr. Arthur 

 Lewis and I commenced our season's work by beating, on the 

 10th of April, some sallows at Sparrowswick, St. Albans, and in 

 the neighbouring woods. "We found Taniocampa gracilis in some 

 quantity ; and subsequent search at Bricket Wood revealed the 

 presence of two moths which as a rule are scarce with us, namely, 

 T. miniosa and 1\ populeti. Of T. mimosa, Mr. Spencer, who was 

 working in the same locality, took two specimens, and Mr. Lewis 

 and I captured three. T. populeti proved to be more abundant 

 still, Mr. Spencer securing five, whilst we took several. One 

 curious fact which we noticed at the same time that we were 

 working at sallow-beating was the great abundance of the early 

 thorn moth {Selenia hilunaria), and especially was this the fact 

 on the night of the 17th of April. It was a damp night after 

 a heavy thunderstorm at 6 o'clock. We had not been very suc- 

 cessful at the sallow blossoms, the bushes being very wet, and 

 T. gracilis being the only moth we thought it worth while to 

 secure specimens of ; but at about 9 o'clock we noticed at the 

 corner of the scrubs near the brickfields a number of Geometers 

 flying about, and they turned out to be the early thorn moth. On 

 standing still we found that they flew to the light of our lantern, 

 and we were able easily to capture about a dozen in pill-boxes 

 without the aid of a net. 



I was unable to do much sugaring during the year, and I cannot 

 give any information on the results of this method, except that I 

 believe Mr. Arthur Lewis met with a fair amount of success in his 

 garden and grounds at Sparrowswick. 



