192 XEPIDOPTEEA OBSERVED IN 1894. 



round the tops of some Scotch, firs and other conifers. I was 

 unable to catch a single specimen, though they came all but within 

 the reach of my net. I know the insect well, so there can be no 

 mistake as to its identity." The only other Hertfordshire record 

 for it is that given by Mr. J. H. Durrant, who has taken it at 

 Hitchin. The two sexes of this insect are quite dissimilar. The 

 male has white as the ground-colour of its wings, with a black 

 apical patch, while the female has wings of an orange-brown tint. 



The little moths known as pugs are a very difficult genus to 

 make out, and are very apt to be neglected. The larvae mostly 

 feed in the blossoms of plants, eating the floral organs and some- 

 times penetrating the seed-vessel. We have fifty British species 

 of these Eupithecice, of which exactly one half have, up to the 

 present time, been recorded as occurring in Hertfordshire. To our 

 local list Mr. Spencer now contributes one more. He records the 

 capture of a specimen of the dwarf pug-moth [I^iipithecia pmillata) 

 in Eowse Barn Lane, Watford, in May last. 



Early in July, Mr. B. Piffard, of Hill House, Hemel Hempstead, 

 sent to me a pretty little olive-brown and white moth, one of the 

 Tineina, the larva of which he had found feeding in the centre 

 of the base of the peduncle of the common ash, he believes in May. 

 Before turning to a pupa the larva crawled out and spun a thin 

 web. The infestation of this insect caused many leaves to fall off. 

 The species proved to be Prays curtisellus, a moth which is known 

 to cause mischief to ash-trees through the ravages of its larvae. 



Mr. Spencer has sent the following notes: — " Melanism: I took 

 one specimen of Tceniocampa stahUis in which the brown has changed 

 to black, and one specimen of Apamea oculea, which is one of the 

 darkest I have ever seen. — Colias hyale : two specimens of this 

 butterfly were taken by some boys in the gravel-pits near Cassio 

 Bridge during the year 1892. — EucMo'e carclamines : I have a 

 specimen of this butterfly, captured in 1893, which measures 

 l-sV inch from tip to tip, the markings being the same as in the 

 ordinary typical form. — Acidalia remutata : several specimens 

 taken during June, 1893. — Acidalia hisetata: several specimens 

 taken at dusk in 1893." 



I desire, in conclusion, to thank my correspondents for kindly 

 sending to me notes of their observations. As the number of 

 our observers is declining, I again appeal to all entomologists in 

 the county to assist in the work of compiling as complete a list 

 of the Lepidoptera of Hertfordshire as possible. This can only 

 be done by united effort, and it will be a great help if those 

 who take an interest in Entomology will communicate with the 

 Eecorder of the Lepidoptera, 



