NOTES ON COLLECTING. 24 



of August Mr. G. W. G. Baass, of Sandown, captured a pair of 

 " skippers " in this neighbourhood, which on closer examination 

 proved to be Thymeiivns avteon. Unfortunately, thinking his identifica- 

 tion might be wrong, an idea that I am afraid I encouraged until I saw 

 the specimens later, he made no special search for more. There is no 

 doubt, however, that they are ^ and 2 of this species, and to make 

 quite certain I sent them to Mr. L. B. Prout, who kindly allows me to 

 say that he confirms their identity. Of course, this seems a most 

 unlikely insect to occur at Handown, but it will be interesting to recall 

 Mr. Prout's record of Acidalia de<jenerana {Ent. Rec, vol. xiv., p. 274), 

 and in a lesser degree, my own capture of Celaena haworthii {Knt. Rec, 

 1907, p. 303), both in the same locality, although, as Mr. Prout points 

 out, there is a great difference between the capture of those single 

 specimens and this pair of insects. If any entomologist has been 

 trying to establish T. acteon here, and this should meet his eye, perhaps 

 he would kindly inform us in the pages of this journal. — J. Taylor, 

 23, High Street, Sandown. September 26?/i, 1910. 



A Ramble in the Cheviot District.- — A few notes on the 

 lepidoptera of this district may be of interest. On June 21st, a friend 

 and I left Newcastle for Wooler, and after staying there overnight we 

 walked on the following day up the Harthope Burn to Langleeford. 

 The alder grows by the burn -side in many places, and, resting on 

 the trunks of these trees, we found Larentia pectinataria and 

 Hypsipetes iinpliiviata common, the latter species being very worn. A 

 single speciemen of Lophopteryx camelina was taken, and near 

 Langlees a fine specimen of Hndena contiyna was secured, this species 

 has not been previously recorded for this county ; Cilix spinida and 

 F.nplexia lucipara were also taken. We were obliged to take shelter 

 in the afternoon during a heavy thunderstorn, in a small hay shed, 

 and we took from the beams supporting the roof, a good many pupae of 

 Caradrina cuhicidarh. On leaving Langleeford, the grassy tufts 

 on the top of a stone wall were examined and traces of the larvae of 

 Mamentra fiirra were soon discovered by the abundant frass at the 

 roots of the grass. My companion, Mr. H. Sticks, put me on the 

 right track of this larva as he had taken it previously in the Alston 

 district. We soon discovered larvae, and afterwards found them 

 generally distributed in the locality, that is to say, wherever there 

 were stone walls on the tops of which sods of grass had been laid, M. 

 furra could be found at the roots ; the grass I think is the couch grass. 

 The roots weie very tough and took some tearing apart with the fingers. 

 I secured a good many larv* and also brought back a supply of grass 

 tufts for their food but was not very successful in rearing them, only 

 obtaining o specimens out of some 40 or 60 larvie, it was however chieHy 

 due to the fact that they were badly parasitised. The first imago emerged 

 on August 2nd. In the evening, specimens of Hepialus velleda, H. 

 liipidinus, Melanthia ocellata, Melanlppe tnuntanata, M. subtristata, 

 and M. tristata were common. We put up for the night at Lang- 

 leeford, and, on the following day, skirted the Cheviot by way of 

 Lambden Burr, a tributary of the College. Larvae of Cleoceris riinhialis 

 were observed about full-fed. Empty cocoons of Saturnia pavunia 

 and Pliraymatubia fuUyinosa were seen on the heather. We rested a 

 little while at Dunsdale Farm, at the foot of Cheviot, on the north 

 side, where we learned that the Peregrine Falcon had successfully nested 



