NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 131 



accompanied by my cousin, Mr. Ogdon, for a week's collecting. For 

 the first few days, there seemed very little prospect of success, but with 

 the fine weather on Tuesday, things looked much better. Argynnis 

 paphia and Limenitis sibyl/a were in lovely condition, but not so plen- 

 tiful as usual ; A. aglaia and A. adippe occurred frequently, but A. seleiie 

 was nearly over, only a few specimens being taken and these in very 

 bad condition. Three specimens oi Argynnis paphia vzx.valezitia were 

 taken and two more seen. At Rhinefield Hesperia linea was very plen- 

 tiful, but H. lineola was not taken, although we heard of half-a-dozen 

 captures. The only insect worth mentioning taken by trunk searching 

 was Boannia roborafia. On all the heaths Lyaena legon swarmed, 

 and Eutheinonia russnia, Pseitdoteipua cytisaria and Phytomeira tenea 

 were occasionally kicked up. At dusk we took Boarniia liclioiarla, 

 Pho> odesina bajuiaria, Heinitliea thyniiaria, Leucania lilhargyria, Agrotis 

 porp/iyrea, and two Boarniia rcpandafa var. conversaria. Larva beating 

 prcduced nothing but Orgyia pi/dibinida, but by searching heath and 

 honejsuckle, we found Saturnia carpini and Macroglossa fnciformis. 

 A few Ellopia fasciaria were taken among the pines. We, like Mr. 

 Dannatt {Record 3), found sugaring to be an utter failure, and every one 

 we met said the same. — R. E. James, Trays Hill, Hornsey Lane, N. 



Isle of Wight. — Throughout the past month sugar has continued very 

 unproductive in the woods here, although some evenings have appar- 

 ently been in every way propitious. I have consequently confined 

 myself to the Downs, where I am glad to say the two best regularly 

 occurring species, Agrotis lunigera and A. lucertiea have put in an 

 appearance on most evenings. The former is as usual none too plen 

 tiful, but real hard work along more than a mile of cliff has resulted in 

 a good series, which result is, I think, as well earned as a good series of 

 P. smaragdaria is, by the more prolonged but hardly as arduous labour 

 of rearing the same from larvae. This Agrotis in common with A. cor- 

 ticea which occurs abundantly on the l)owns here, did not begin to 

 come to " sugar " until well out, as after numerous consecutive blank 

 evenings, the first few specimens captured were quite worn ; continued 

 emergence has, however, since afforded some very fine specimens 

 including some good " vars." A. lucernca has been plentiful, more so 

 I am told than for thirty years in this locality, certainly far more so 

 than for the five or six seasons that I have spent here collecting. The 

 thistle which has usually been so abundant on the clift^s, has this season 

 not only been comparatively scarce, but even when sugared, has had to 

 give precedence, as regards attractiveness to NocTUi*;, to the common 

 white horehound {Marriibiuni vii/gare) and the black horehound 

 {Baliota nigra), which latter, in the few patches where it occurs, has 

 been specially frequented by A. liicernea. 



The bad weather about the end of June was very much against 

 Setina ir/orella, which emerged freely, and were in numbers on the 

 26th and 27th June, but were soon washed out and bleached by the 

 heavy rains, which also rather spoiled the first brood of A. eniutaria. 

 This, in common with most of the other Geometers of the district, 

 occurred in about the usual numbers in its very limited localities. 



Flowers of all kinds are becoming very luxuriant now with the few 

 days of sunshine, notably privet-blossom, which is now out very full, 

 and, I think, will interfere with the results of sugar, although I have not 



