PRACTICAL HINTS. 81 



Ji>RACTICAL HINTS.^ 



Field Work for March and April. 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



1. — Females of Puli/i/diiia c-album captured in late March and early 

 April, will lay freely on hop, currant and nettles, if carefully sleeved 

 on plants that obtain a fair amount of sunshine. 



2. — I can get the imagines of Lac/meiH lancstrU to emerge freely. 

 1 put the cage containing the cocoons in the sun in early March, and 

 they will come swarming out like flies (Thornewill). 



3. — At the end of March and through iVpril DiDiorpha lu-rHicolora 

 is on the wing. The males fly till about H.20 p.m., and will do so 

 Avithout sun if the temperature be suitable. 



4. — The larvae of Tiliacea aiirai/n hatch during the last week of 

 March, take to the buds of the beech from which the outer coverings 

 have been removed ; they creep into the buds, are practically invisible 

 until they are at least three weeks old, and only shoAV signs of their 

 existence by frass. 



5. — The young larva^ oi Tiliacea citrai/a live in the young lime buds in 

 April, but in early May are to be found between two Hat leaves of lime, 

 fastened by silk ; by standing under the trees, so as to get the leaves between 

 the eye and the sky, the larvae may be readily detected ; they come out to 

 feed at night and can then be beaten ; the larva forms its cocoon in 

 •early June, but does not pupate for nearly two months after doing so. 



6. — The imagines of /yojx;r/«rt rcocvrt^/o pair after hybernation, come 

 freely to sallows, lay their eggs on dried oak leaves and twigs (freely 

 in confinement if fed with a little thin sugar) ; the young larvfc rest 

 on the veins of the newly-developed oak-leaves and feed up readily if 

 sleeved in gardens ; full-fed at end of May. 



7. — The imagines of Taeniorampa popideti come to sallow bloom 

 when the latter is near aspens, but they can also be obtained freely by 

 searching the aspen twigs after dark. 



8. — The eggs of Catocala prouiism hatch in March and April and 

 can be fed on split oak-buds until the early leaves are procurable. 



9. — To obtain eggs of Orrhndia vaccinii and 0. lir/ula (^padicca) 

 place 2 s captured in spring at sallow in large chip boxes, which have 

 been previously scored well with a penknife, or cracked so that they 

 can find some place to hide their eggs in ; they will then readily oviposit 

 (Robertson). 



10. — The eggs of Anisojitenj.r afscidariasive laid necklace-like round 

 a twig of birch, &c., each batch consists of some 200 or more eggs, and 

 the whole batch is covered with down from the anal tuft. 



11. — Larch plantations, especially if near or among beech and oak 

 woods, are the favourite haunts for Trphrmia hisfortata. 



12. — In March (late February in early seasons) Xi/ssia hispidaria is 

 sometimes exceedingly abundant, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. ; large 

 numbers may sometimes be found drying their wings on tree-trunks 

 in Epping and Chingford ; they usually rest from 4ft. -5ft. up the trunks, 

 some much higher. They press themselves very closely into crevices in 

 bark, and are not easy to find ; the majority rest on oak, a few on horn- 



* Practical Hints foh the Fikld LEPinoPTEnisT, recently published, contains 

 12 50 similar hints to these, distributed over every month in the year. Interleaved 

 (for collector's own notes). — En. 



