NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 105 



May 24th. — Accompanied by Mr. Cripps I went to Oxshott, by way 

 of Surbiton and Claygate. By general sweeping in grassy places and 

 meadow land, I captured Rhinoncus iiiconspcctus and Ceiithorhyncliiis 

 campestris (9) ; also one each of Clcrus forinicarius and Callidiiiin 

 alni ; at hawthorn, Polyopsia prcE.usta, and saw one Mordellnteiia 

 abdominalis, which, unfortunately, made its escape ; I also got one or 

 two Rhynchites ceneovirens from oak. 



June 7 th was a glorious day. At the same locality we obtained 

 several Gramnioptera tahacicolor by sweeping Umhellifercz ; Mr. Cripps 

 also captured a fine Agapenthes sanguinicollis, and one Opillo mollis. 

 Other captures were Anobium fulvicorne, JExocomus if-fasciahcs^ Lio- 

 phlcciK /ii/biliis, Ancho/nenus gracilis, and Donacia /ncnyanthidis. 



June 2ist. — Took train to Higham, principally in search of Mala- 

 chius cenciis, which occurs at this time on Dactyhis gloniera!a. Last 

 year I obtained some thirty or forty, but on this occasion I netted 

 seven only. This insect is very uncertain in making its appearance, 

 sometimes one may meet with a fair number, and then again not see 

 it for years. I have previously taken it at Sunbury and Rainham 

 (Essex). At the latter locality I once found fourteen, but have not 

 caught a glimpse of one since. Making my way to the wood, I swept 

 Chrysomela varians, Agrilus aui^ustulus, Campy bis linearis, Erirhinus 

 mijciilatus, and the pale form Silbermanni. Being kindly directed to a 

 dead hedgehog, I procured several Silphidcn and Saprinus fiitidulus. 

 Rain set in, and I retired early. — G. A. Lewcock, 73, Oxford Road, 

 Islington, N. June, 1890. 



Habits of the Larva of Nonagria geminipuncta. — In my own 

 early collecting days it was my erroneous idea that it was useless to 

 work for any of the Nonagrid/E excepting in the Fen district, and as 

 there may be other lepidopterists who are of the same opinion I 

 thought a few notes on the best way to work for the larva of N- 

 geminipuncta would be read with interest. 



In the first place I may say that the imago is but seldom taken 

 owing to its sluggish habits and to the extreme difficulty of working 

 its chosen haunts after dusk. The best way, therefore, to obtain a 

 good series, amongst which well-marked varieties will always occur, is 

 to obtain it either in the larval or pupal stage, and as this species 

 spends but a comparatively short time in the latter, it is perhaps better 

 to obtain the full fed larva. 



The locality desired must of necessity be marshy, as the foodplant 

 is the common reed {Arnndo phragmites) ; and from experience 1 

 have found that tidal estuaries are among the most likely places in 

 which to find this very local species, and further, that the finer and 

 more luxuriant patches of reeds, growing, it may be, in some actual 

 dyke or water-course, will better repay search than possibly larger areas 

 of less well grown plants in dryer situations. This, of course, adds 

 materially to the difficulty and consequent pleasure of obtaining the 

 species. 



The best time to search for traces of the larvce is about the middle 

 of July or rather earlier, the effects of their internal feeding then 

 beginning to be readily apparent in the brown and withered appear- 

 ance of the youngest or top shoots of the reeds ; this is a ready 

 method of discovering a new locality, after which, to make sure, the 



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