NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 339 



until the 27th September on and after which day not a single 

 specimen could be seen, although the weather continued, as it had 

 been, very fine and bright. I concluded, and still believe, that they 

 had retired to winter quarters wherever those may have been. At any 

 rate it appears to me that the facts I have stated are not consistent 

 with the idea that either of these species hybernates in the egg, 

 larval or pupal condition. — R. D. Postans, Eastbourne. Feb., 1891. 



Retarded Emergence of Asphalia ridens* — I have just bred a 

 specimen of A. ridens (forced) from a larva beaten in the New 

 Forest, June, i88g, having been two years in pupa. I only obtained, 

 five pupcE, two of which emerged in 1890, three lying over. I be- 

 lieve it is a general rule for this species to lie over in the pupal 

 stage, as in 18S7, I obtained about two dozen pup^ of this species, 

 two of which I bred in 1890, having been in pupa three years, and all 

 were kept out of doors under the same conditions. Of course, the 

 greater number appeared in 1888. — Edmund Hanes, 16, Raveley 

 Street, Kentish Town, N.W. February i2ih, 1891. 



Rearing Hemerophila abruptaria. — I captured a ? of Hemer- 

 ophila abruptaria this summer, from which I had a fine brood, 

 which I sleeved on lilac. At a rough guess, I have at present about 

 seventy or eighty in pup^. I reared them in hopes of obtaining vars. 

 and also to become acquainted with the larvae. I found them ex- 

 tremely easy to breed as I only had to re-sleeve them once, and, on 

 thai occasion, put the brood into two separate bags, in which they 

 soon began to spin up. Some of them chose the crevices in the 

 muslin forming a much slighter cocoon than those which spun on the 

 twigs, as, when the muslin was stretched, nearly all the pupas tumbled 

 out. Those on the twigs form curious objects, lying one after the 

 other, as many as six in some cases, all joined end to end. But 

 what struck me most was the curious manner in which the larvse 

 (when at rest) hang pendant from the twigs. Perhaps it was owing 

 to their being so crowded, but they reminded me more than any- 

 thing else of the pictures drawn in seedsmen's catalogues of fabulous 

 crops of peas. — Hope Alderson, Farnboro', Kent. January., 1891. 



Entomology in the Midlands in 1828. — In May, 1828, I com- 

 menced collecting around Bewdley. In the neighbourhood were 

 small woods filled with young trees of aspen, birch, willow, nut, etc., 

 while there were large open spaces covered with heath or grass. 

 These locahties were a perfect El Dorado. Some of the species 

 which were abundant there, were Leucophasia sinapis, Argynnis paphia,A. 

 adippe, A. aglaia, Alelifceaartemis, several Lycefiidcs, and all the "skippers," 

 except Hesperia actceon and H. lineola. All the " tiger " moths, including 

 Arctia fuliginosa, Cheloiiia plantaginis , Arctia villica, and Euthemonia 

 nissuia, occurred ; as also did the beautiful Plusidcc; Plusia iota, P. 

 bractea and P. festiiccz ; Liparis dispar, and Z. mofiacha were both 

 found, as also were Saturnia carpini and Bofnbyx rubi ; all the 

 " Hook-tips " except sicula, and the " thorns " except Ennomos autumn 

 aria. Two Vanessa antiopa were taken, one by a local collector, and 

 one by myself; also, what was in those days a very great rarity. 

 Sphinx convolvuli, the latter specimen ultimately finding its way into 

 the Birmingham Museum. During the autumn, larvre rearing and 

 pupae digging were the principal employments, although Catocala nupta 



