NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 341 



pendida, catch-fly, red valerian, pinks, svveetwilliam, verbena, pansies, 

 and violas ; of shrubs : — Berberis, arbutus and honey-suckle. — Percy 

 Russ, Culleenamore. February, 1891. 



PcECiLiocAMPA POPULi. — It may be of interest to note that I took 

 several specimens of this insect in fine condition at the gas-lamps on 

 January 5th. The thermometer was at freezing-point, atmosphere 

 foggy, wind westerly, and the roads sheets of ice, with snow lying 

 about This has been the most severe winter experienced in this 

 locality for over twenty years. — J. Mason, Clevedon Court Lodge. 



Collecting sallow catkins. — During last spring, I gathered a large 

 quantity of sallow buds and catkins. For experiment, I kept one lot 

 in band-boxes, another in a large flower-pot, and the rest in small 

 lard tubs. From those in the band-boxes I got nothing but one 

 Eupithecia tenuiata and one Cosjiiia trapeziiia. Is not this strange ? 

 Is it at all likely that I had a batch of ova, and that, when hatched, 

 the larvae fed on others and on each other until only one was left ? 

 Those in the flowerpot produced a few of all classes of sallow feeders. 

 The best result, however, was from those in the lard tubs, in which 

 Hypsipetes elutata and Epimda viininalis were most abundant. Of the 

 latter, the forms were of all shades from light to the darkest, and some 

 (very few) with a slight purple tint on them. — Wm. Milburn, Dar- 

 lington. January, 1891. [It is very probable that the Cosmias dined 

 off the others. Unless a calico covering was put under the band-box 

 lid it is probable also that many larva? would escape. — Ed.] 



Uncertain appearance of certain Lepidoptera. — Epunda nigra 

 at^one time was about the most abundant insect at sugar in August, 

 and E. //////A?/;A? was also common ; both disappeared about 1875 or 

 1876. E. lutiiknta has not been taken here since then, and E. nigra 

 rarely, only about a dozen in a season where they used to be taken in 

 scores every night. Euchloe cardaniines, once common, has gradually 

 become very scarce, larvae of Vanessa atalanta in hundreds on every 

 patch of nettle in 1884, since then not one. Viniinia myriar., once 

 rare, can now be got in fair numbers almost everywhere. In 1889 

 AgroHs exdaniationis appeared in hundreds of thousands ; I once 

 counted more than fifty on one streak of treacle. — W. Reid, Pitcaple. 

 February, 1891. 



Time of day that species emerge. — Sesia bembeciforniis may be 

 taken freely on poplars about 7.30 or 8 a.m., drying its wings. S. 

 apiformis emerges at the same time, and may be taken in the same 

 manner ; but I have not worked for it properly. — A. Robinson, 

 Brettanby Manor, Darlington. 



Leucania obsoleta always emerges between 7 and 8 p.m. The wings 

 expand and dry very rapidly, and for a short time the insect sits head 

 downwards with its wings closely appressed to the reed, looking like a 

 node on the reed stem. It soon flies, however. Callimorpha doni inula 

 always appears to emerge from 7 to 9 a.m., and is generally ready for 

 flight by 9.30 a.m. Ellopia fasciaria emerges in the early evening, 6 to 

 8 p.m.— J. W. TuTT. 



Aplecta tincta, with me, emerges from pupa about 5 p.m., and has 

 to be killed very quickly, or they injure themselves so as to become 

 almost useless. — Hope Alderson. 



It may be interesting to lepidopterists to see some notes I have made 



