NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 61 



Arctia caia v. americana is the usual American form of the species. 

 Mr. Hy. Edwards has described a var. utahensis. 



Hydrcecia nictitaiis vars. erythrostigma and liicens are known in 

 America. I have found erythrosiig}?ta by Willow Creek, Custer 

 Co., Colorado. — T. D. A. Cockerell. April 28///, 1890. 



^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Neuroptera and Trichoptera. — I have had several letters about 

 how best to study these groups. Mr. Porritt writes to me : — " There is 

 no book on the Neuroptera, but Ur. Hagen's papers in the Annual for 

 1857 (published by Messrs. Gurney & Jackson, i, Paternoster Row, 

 E.C., 1 believe for only 2s. 6d.) are most useful. The Eiit. Mo. Mag. 

 (by the same publishers) for 1872-73, (vol. ix.) contains a splendid 

 paper on collecting, etc., with a general survey of all the sections of the 

 Neuroptera and Trichoptera by Mr. McLachlan, which is most 

 useful to beginners. As for the Trichoptera, there is nothing at all 

 to approach Mr. McLachlan's book, which has carefully executed 

 figures of the neuration, appendages, etc., of all the knoivn European 

 species" {in litt.). I also understand that Mr. W. Harcourt Bath has 

 in the press an Illustrated Handbook of British Dragofiflies, which will 

 contain a full description of every species indigenous to the British 

 Isles, besides other interesting matter. It will be published by the 

 Naturalists' Publishing Company, Birmingham. — J. W. Tutt. 



Spring Notes. — I have found insects rather scarce here this season. 

 In January I took a good series of F. pilosaria (including one very 

 nice dark var.), but since then the prevailing wind has been north-east, 

 and few things have been seen. In the absence of a livelier occupa- 

 tion I have employed my spare time in digging for pup?e of Hypsipetes 

 ruberata, which has been fairly profitable. — G. Balding, Wisbech. 



So far the season in the South seems forward, but I have had little 

 time for work. Boarmia cindaria were very abundant on May 6th in 

 the New Forest, and on May ist Satur?iia carpini were flying, too fast, 

 however, to capture. I only saw 2 Lyccena argiolus and i 6". alveolus ; 

 Fidonia atoniaria were out in some abundance, also Satyrus egeria. I 

 took a few larvae of Cleora lichenaria, and plenty of small M. oxya- 

 canthcB. In an unhealed conservatory I have bred the following : — 

 Arctia mendica, in plenty (the $''% curiously enough being often 

 deformed); the ova were laid on May 2nd, 1889, emerged June 5th 

 (fed on groundsel), and spun up in about a month ; Selenia lunaria, 

 from ova obtained from Mr. Tunaley ; Hadena thalassina, ova from 

 female taken June 3rd, 1889, hatched June 10th, fed on groundsel and 

 buried about July 24th ; Nemeohius lucina, ova June 2nd, hatched June 

 14th, and pupated on July 27th. This species is very ea.sy to breed : 

 place a bell glass over a primrose root, put some ? 's underneath, and 

 leave them alone. Snierinthus tilice, ova May loth, hatched June 20th. 

 sleeved out on elm and fed well (55 of them), buried July 20th, and 

 onwards ; Orgyia pudibufida, larvas in October on the elms. I have 

 also been successful so far with Toxocampa pastinum. I received ova 

 from Herefordshire, laid on July 6th, hatched July i6th, hibernated on 



