RANDOM NOTES ON LEPIDOPTERA, 129 



appearance — not shrivelled up — but a dark blotch about the centre of 

 the body, as if they had been stung by an ichneumon, or bitten by a 

 spider. It was very curious, for at first sight they seemed to be all 

 right, and were all in the same position, sitting head upwards in the 

 flowers, and it was only by close inspection that I discovered anything 

 was wrong. There must have been dozens in this state. Nothing of 

 the kind occurred among my larva? in captivity, and so far, I have 

 noticed nothing the matter with any of them ; it seems a particularly 

 easy species to manage. I took a worn specimen ; the first brood 

 appear to be a long time on the wing. 



September 1st. — The first A. (/raphodacti/la bred. Have been 

 taking many insects at light lately, but nothing of any rarity ; the 

 males of HelLophobus popidaris the most numerous, but run very close 

 by Luperina testacea, among which there are some very nice dark 

 examples, and one L. ceajiitis. 



September 6th. — ^The first fresh A. f/raphodactijla captured. Found 

 two new localities to-day, where marsh gentian was growing plentifully, 

 and most of the flowers had been more or less eaten, but I could not 

 find any larvae or pupae. The larvae must crawl down into the thick 

 herbage to pupate, and some distance away from the foodplant, as I 

 have never seen one on the plant. 



September 9th. — A. i/raphodacti/la are now emerging fast in my 

 muslin hoods ; seventeen appeared to-day ; the greater proportion of 

 the first bred are females. 



Sugar was a complete failure during the whole period of our visit. 

 I tried it night after night with the same result, nothing but a few 

 Phlo(/<)pIiora iiieticidosa, Triplweiia pronnha, Noctiia rnbi, N. xantlio- 

 grapha, and Amphipyra trat/opof/nms. One night I nearly trod upon a 

 hedgehog that was sitting at the foot of the sugared tree. I think he 

 was lapping up some of the treacle that had run down the trunk. 



Beating for larvae also proved very hot and unprofitable work; very 

 few were obtained, and most of these were such common species as 

 Cabera pusaria, C. exantheiiiaria, Dasychira piuUbunda, and Lomaspilis 

 ynarfjinata ; the best were Acronicta leporina, Apatela aceris, and 

 Dasychira fascelina, but the latter, unfortunately, perished during 

 hibernation. 



Light was, perhaps, the most successful and interesting mode of 

 capture in the way of numbers, though poor in the quality of the 

 insects. On some nights they actually swarmed, and it was exciting 

 work netting and boxing them, and the sport was varied one night by 

 the appearance of a spotted fly-catcher, which flew in at the window 

 about 10 p.m., and was promptly netted, but released after examina- 

 tion. On another occasion a bat kept following the moths into the 

 room. 



As previously mentioned, the first Adkinia yraphodactyla was bred on 

 September 1st, and the last on September 26th. T did not notice that 

 any of the larvae or pupae were attacked by ichneumons, or other 

 parasites, for I found no dead larvae or pupae, and all the pupae seem 

 to have emerged in a satisfactory manner ; but on two or three 

 occasions I observed small ichneumons, and I think a Cynips, in the 

 muslin hoods, but do not know whether they were bred from the larvae 

 or from the flowers. 



