NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 69 



[This variety of cerago is especially fine, with a complete rich red 

 band across the centre of the wing. It has been exhibited in one of 

 the baskets of the Exchange Club. — Ed.] 



Unproductive Sugaring. — I took a fine dark variety (?) of 

 Agrotis lunigera here on ragwort in August, 1889. I find searching 

 the ragwort shortly after dusk, say from 9 to 10.30 p.m., more pro- 

 ductive at Howth than any other mode of capturing Noctu/E (imagines) 

 at that time of year. For the time sugaring becomes almost useless. 

 Of course one is greatly troubled with A. didyma (oailea) and N. 

 xanthographa. Geometers also come to the ragwort, but are not so 

 easily boxed. — G. V. Hart, Lower Pembroke Street, Dublin. 



On the question of " unproductive sugaring," last August, night after 

 night, 1 tried several localities in West Somerset, and at last gave it up 

 in disgust, and searched the flowers. Of these, none were so produc- 

 tive as those of the common heath, although ragwort, St. John's wort 

 and golden rod gave satisfactory results. It was while working in this 

 way that I found Go7iopteryx libatrix feeding on over-ripe blackberries • 

 every night I went to the same brambles on a small patch facing the 

 sea, and was certain to find them ; so overgorged were they, that they 

 dropped like leeches into the chip boxes, which when opened were 

 frequently found much stained with the ejections of blackberry juice. 

 Noctua dahlii was common on the heath blossom, but, unfortunately I 

 was too late to get them in fine condition. The blackberry blossoms 



were also attractive, and swarmed with Triphcciia janthina. H. 



TuNALEY, Erdington Hall, Birmingham. 



[I found, last August, in the Isle of Wight, that, though practically 

 nothing came to sugar, yet the flower heads of Eupatorium caniia- 

 binnin produced large numbers of many Noctu.« and some few 

 Geometers. — Ed.] 



Agrotis agathina in the Midlands. — I took a larva of A. 

 agathina on May 22nd, 1889, in Sutton Woods. Three days after- 

 wards it went down, and the imago emerged at the end of July. As 

 the above locality is in the heart of the Midlands, I should like to know 

 if there is any other record of its capture so far inland, or whether the 

 form differs from those usually taken. — H. Tunaley, Birmingham. 



[The specimen is much like those obtained at Shirley by Mr. 

 Sheldon. It is paler than the Perthshire specimens, but quite as laro-e 

 and bright.— Ed.] 



Notes on Biston hirtaria. — The observations of Mr. Alderson, in 

 his interesting note in the Entomologisf s Record, p. 18, with regard to 

 the pairing of Amphidasys strataria {prodromaria), are fully borneout by 

 my experience of the kindred insect, Biston hirtaria. The imagoes of 

 this species emerge about noon, pairing takes place the same night, and 



the sexes remain in cop. until the afternoon of the following day. F. [. 



BuCKELL, Canonbury Square, N. 



EupiTHEci^ in Surrey. — During the past year or two I have de- 

 voted some attention to this interesting group, and have found no 

 difficulty in procuring many species in this district ; where no locality 

 is given in the below-mentioned species the one meant is Croydon. 

 Eupitliecia venosata, larvse and imago common ; E. linariafa, larva; 

 common some years, totally absent others ; E. puichellata, larvie very 



