AN ENTOMOLOGICAL TRIP TO NORTH WALES. • 259 



An Entomological trip to North Wales. 



By (Rev.) C. R. N. BURROWS. 



After a great many years of collecting, in a few limited localities 

 in the east of England, it was with much pleasure, and great expecta- 

 tions, that I made arrangements for a fortnight's stay at the charm- 

 ing little town of Penmaenmawr. Accompanied by a non-entomologi- 

 cal brother, who unselfishly sacrificed his own wishes (such as 

 mountain climbing) to mine, I had the selfish pleasure of taking 

 possession of all the insects captured, and, if the result of my hunt 

 seems commonplace to my more experienced readers, I hope they will 

 bear with one to whom much was new, and everything of interest, 

 and they will also kindly bear in mind that one's first visit to a new 

 locality, amongst new surroundings, is often very unproductive and 

 disappointing. 



Leaving London on June 27th, we arrived at our destination in 

 good time to have a feed, wash, and change, before we Avent out to 

 inspect our surroundings. It is quite useless to attempt to express 

 the effect upon myself, after fourteen years' residence upon the 

 Essex marshes, of the broken country in which I found myself. 

 To me every hill was a mountain, and I found it quite impossible 

 to realise distances or elevations. The result was that I was con- 

 stantly confused by the novelty of the locality, and no doubt did 

 not make the best use of my time and opportunities. Our first 

 exploration was in the "Green Gorge," the nearest place which 

 seemed to promise success. There I found the hillsides covered with 

 bilberry, and made the acquaintance of Ciilaria popidata in countless 

 numbers and excellent condition. The form is ordinary, not the least 

 bit dark, and smaller, I think, than the more northern specimens. 

 The males were largely in the majority, but a few days later the 

 females were common enough. In the pretty, but very steep, lane 

 leading from the town, I took Abraxas gross idar lata, not very difl'erent 

 from southern specimens ; Melanippo montanata, more suffused and 

 grey; Rnmia crataegata, one specimen very dull yellow; Campto- 

 gratmna bilineata, Hypena proboscidalis, Pliisia chrysitis, and Scoj)Hla 

 olh-alis, all quite ordinary. On another day, the Aber valley produced ' 

 Tanagra atrata in profusion, and good condition. I do not suggest that 

 this was the only lepidopterous insect at this beautiful spot, but it will 

 be understood that I was not entirely oblivious to such charming sur- 

 roundings, and, with the exception of a few common and quite 

 ordinary insects, I saw nothing worth recording, unless it were one or 

 two specimens of Acidalia subsericeata, which, however, my ixiemory 

 has just told me I netted in the evening at Penmaenmawr. 



My first visit to the Sj^chnant Pass was made under rather un- 

 favourable conditions of rain and wind, which quite forbade collecting. 

 Yet I found at rest two specimens of Miana strigdis ab. aethiops, Avhich 

 are the blackest I have seen. I spent a lot of time in this romantic 

 spot, which had peculiar attractions for me, tied as I am to the low- 

 lands. The magnificent views on either hand, from the Penmaen 

 mountain to Conway, never palled, and I went again and again, as 

 long as my visit lasted. Here I found Larentia caesiata, Eupithecia 

 nanata, E. pulchellata, Alelanippe subtristata, Acronycta rumicis, Hip- 

 parchia semele, Melanippe galiata, and last, but not least, Acidalia con- 



