124 I May, 



its victim for about forty minutes. Janujirj 5th, ])nt another " Culex" in the box ; 

 Ploiaria attacked it like the first one, but sprang on its back, and having seized the 

 base of eacli wing, inserted its rostrum in the gnat's neck, and raising itself on its 

 legs, fair! V lifted the insect off its feet. January 15th, tried Ploiaria with a 'T/iora," 

 which was treated like "Culex." March 2nd, tried Ploiaria with a "Calliphora," first 

 alive, and then dead, but it remained untouched. March 4th, tried to tempt 

 lioiaria with a " Sciara," but in vain. March i;Uh, tried again with a " Scinra ;" 

 after considerable hesitation and much feeling with its antennte, it seized it and 

 inserted its rostrum, but instantly withdrew it, and would not make a second trial ; 

 " Sciara " is evidently distasteful to it. 



The front femora of Ploiaria eulicifuriiiis have at the back a double row of 

 sharp spines, the anterior tibiae shut down tightly between these. The legs and 

 antennae bear short adpressed hairs. — H. J. C'iiakbo.mniek, Redland, Bristol : 

 April, 11)03. 



A nujay trap for [jppidniifcra. — Otn- autumn in the early sixties, when a boy at 

 school, the idea occurred to irie to try and devise a sugar (ra)). -\n earthenware 

 bread pan was covered with green leno, in the centre of which was a finmel of the 

 same material. Tlie saccharine preparation w;is contained in a soup plate. The 

 wliole was placed in a likely looking corner in my fatiier's garden at Wandsworth. 

 Great liopes were aroused, and the trap was for some days eagerly examined every 

 morning, l)ut, alas! without result. The ti-ap fell out of favour and was neglected. 

 Wet weather set in, and some time afterwards the trap was again visited ; the 

 whole of the bottom of the pan was covered' for at least an incdi with a watery 

 mixture, in which were the sodden remains of countless moths! So far as I can 

 remember these were chiefly 0. pista.cina, with a few A. lunosa and one /'. a/priUna, 

 all much the worse for their ducking. 



In the autumn of 1898, after the lapse of something like 35 years, I determined 

 to experiment again at Mortehoe, North Devon. A box some 15 inches square by 

 12 inches deep was fitted with a leno lid in a wooden frame, a leno fun)iel being 

 provided as before. Believing very liquid sugar to be more attractive than a stiffer 

 preparation, a mixture of sugar and cider was placed in a jam ])ot covered with 

 leno ; subsequently, in addition to this, the inside of the box was nightly smeared 

 with " sugar " to increase the odour-producing surface. To keep the moths quiet 

 ledges were provided round the top for them to get under, and pieces of rougli cork 

 standing on nails for legs afforded further means for tlie insects to secrete themselves 

 from the light of dawning day. 



'J'his apparatus was tried in various places near the house in .\ugust and Sep- 

 tember, 1898-1900. The results were disappointing ; some moths were taken nearly 

 every night, but seldom many. By far the commonest were H. polyodon, A. xnnthn- 

 fjrapha and prnnnha. In much smaller numbers came //. (li.it.tima (ocvJea), literosa. 

 and meticulosa (this was swarming at sugar close by), A. saiicia and plecta, A. hniosa, 

 P. gamma (flying in countless numbers a few yards off), E. hisetatn and X. spadi- 

 cenria {(errugaria). Besides the above were single specimens of P. soda (petrificata), 

 A. puta and c-nigrum, A. pyramidea, C.micacea and tnatura (Cytlterea), and T. hatia. 

 A few Micros turned up from lime to time, such as Depressaria cnstoxa, arenalla, 

 suhpropinquella, ocellana and a'pi<lana, and un unnamed Tortrix. 



