isns).] 11 



Moths at electric Uc/ht.—ln the " Illustrierte Zeitschrift fiir Entomologie," 

 December 1st, 1898, is an interesting article by Prof. Karl Eckstein on the moths 

 observed at Eiithnick on two nights, viz., August 5th-6th from midnight till 2 

 a.m., and the fith-7th from 8 p.m. to 3 a m. No less than 16,484 specimens were 

 obtained in the two nights, and of these 1.575 were Lithosia deplana, 4941 L. quadra, 

 8591 Liparis monacha, and 1086 of a species of Scoparia. Of the 41 species 

 noticed no other exceeded 40 in individuals, and the majority were less than 10. 

 Of L. quadra there occurred on the 5th-6th 228 <? and 31 ? , and of L. monacha 

 on the same night 144 S and 5 ? . On the night of the (;th-7th the numbers were 

 observed hourly. 



Of L. quadra 2 S and 1 ? occurred between 8 and 9, 42 $ and 20 ? between 

 9 and 10, 74 $ and 156 ? between In and 11, 167 S and 204 ? between 11 and 

 12, 1375 S and 380 $ between 12 and 1, 395 3* and 46 ? between 1 and 2, and 

 1356 (? and 464 ? between 2 and 3. 



Of L. monacha 48 S and 20 ? were noticed between 8 and 9, 1078 S and 145 

 ? between 9 and In, 2209 i and 259 ? between iO and U, 1798 <? and 110 ? 

 between 11 and 12, 1853 S and 38 ? between 12 and 1, 388 S and 16 ? between 

 1 and 2, and 467 S and 13 ^ between 2 and 3. 



Clearly the electric liglit may be made a powerful agent in the destruction of 

 noxious insects, such as L. monacha is in th3 forests of Germany. But the attraction 

 is far greater for the S than for the ? . Of L. quadra the total number consisted 

 of 3639 S and 1302 ? , and of L. monacha of 7985 c? and only 606 $ .—Eds. 



Coleophora inulce, Wk., in Ilerefurdshlre, tvith notes on its habits. — In Dr. J. H. 

 Wood's collection I lately found, standing under the name of a closely allied species, 

 seven specimens of a Coleophora which is undoubtedly inulce, Wk., as proved both 

 by the imagines and the larval cases. One or two of them were taken at large, but 

 the majority were bred in July, 1891, from larvae on Inula dysenterica collected in 

 July, 1890. Dr. Wood, who has seen the larvae feeding in the same spot on several 

 occasions since then, has only met with the insect amongst a small patch of /. dy- 

 senterica growing near water in the corner of an open rough pastui'e in a valley near 

 Tarrington, and he tells me that the larva there certainly takes two seasons to feed 

 up, and in a year when any moths are to be found, one may search in vain for full-fed 

 larvse, and vice versrl. It seems clear that the eggs are laid in July, and they no doubt 

 hatch soon after, and the larvae hibernate quite small : they feed thi'ough the follow- 

 ing spring and summer, becoming lull fed about the end of July, when they wander 

 about in search of a suitable place in which to spin up : they pass their second 

 winter as full-fed larvae, pupating probably about May, and the moths emerge in the 

 following June or July. The case is very striking in appearance, being nearly double 

 the length and double the breadth of that of its ally, C. troglodytella, and with the 

 neck and mouth of such a shape that it lies nearly parallel with the under-surface of 

 the leaf, whereas that of troglodytella stands more or less perpendicularly to it. The 

 occurrence of C. inulcB in Herefordshire is of extreme interest, for it has only up to 

 now been known as British from the fact that the late Mr. W. Machin once found, 

 about thirty-six years ago, several cases on Inula dysenterica, near Leith Hill in 

 Surrey, and bred a few moths from them [Ent., xv, 204 (1882)]. Mr. Machin re- 

 peatedly searched for the species again in that and other localities but in vain. In 



