176 THE entomologist's record. 



IJOTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Notes of the Season. — Wicken Feu. — Probably, next to Darenth 

 Wood, Wicken is one of the oldest of the historical entomological 

 localities of the country still left to us. The mention of the name 

 suggests at once to the entomologist thoughts of the lovely green and 

 black ringed larva of Papilio inacJiaon, and its beautiful imago flying 

 rapidly from place to place over the level country ; or an abundance of 

 yellow-haired larv?e covering the endless beds of reeds, and occurring 

 in such profusion that the local collectors considered themselves well 

 paid by receiving is. 6d. per gross from those who retailed them to 

 amateurs at a slightly greater cost, and of the resulting imago dashing 

 wildly at the light, to be captured as the species which occurred 

 nowhere else in the country, and which, even here, probably occurs 

 now no more. Lcelia canosa has not been seen for many years, the 

 last specimens having been captured by Messrs. G. T. Porritt and A. 

 Houghton. Wicken also suggests swarms of the beautiful larvae of 

 Viniinia veiwsa, twin brother to the plebeian and common V. nimicis ; 

 crowds of the beautiful Nascia cilialis hurrying up to the light a^nd 

 sitting contentedly until transferred to the pill-box of the collector ; 

 hurrying crowds of the peeping rough-headed Nojiagria helhnanni, 

 who, in a wondering way come to look at the light, but are quickly off 

 again ; reed-boring Macrogaster anindmis ; root-feeding Culamia 

 lutosa : numbers of Craniluis-Wke Mcliana flannnea coming up to light 

 in almost as ghost-like a fashion as the common Chilo phragmitellus., to 

 which it bears no small superficial resemblance. Rare Tortrices and 

 still rarer Tineina attract the collector, and many a one has found his 

 way to Wicken with the hope of capturing some of the rarer " Fen " 

 species. It was with some such hope that I paid my first visit to 

 Wicken on July i8th and 19th, and under the able guidance of Mr. 

 Farren I cannot say that I was altogether disappointed. Taking Tud- 

 denham on the way from Cambridge, a series each of Catoptria citrana^ 

 Dicroravipha politaiia, Argyrolepia subbainnaniiiaiia^ a single specimen 

 of Antidea sinuata, some worn Acidalia ri/brtcafa, together with a fine 

 lot of larvffi of Lithostege griseata were the principal results of the few 

 hours' work, although sweeping the roadside for a minute or two 

 showed that Dianiha'cia irregularis larvoe were as abundant as ever. 

 Going on to Wicken, a few specimens of Catoptria expallidaua, Elachista 

 aepusculella, Phoxopteryx paludaua, Stiguiouota orobana, Eupa'cilia 

 notulaua, and, quite at dusk, plenty of Collix sparsata, with smaller 

 numbers of Lobophora sexalata, Scoiosia rhamuata and Scoparia pallida 

 were captured. But we had made up our minds to have a turn at sugar 

 and light, so, whilst I took charge of the former, Mr. Farren attended to 

 the latter, and we had scarcely commenced operations before we knew 

 we were going to have one of those nights in which entomologists and 

 moths alike revel — drizzle and warm. The sugar revealed a mass of 

 Leucania pudoriua with a good sprinkling of Apatuea gemina, Hadeua 

 pisi, Aplecta adveua, Nodua rubi, and hosts of the common "fen" 

 species, but nothing special. After an hour's back-breaking work, at 

 what the natives call " knots," I got back to the light, and found Mr, 

 Farren hard at it. Addalia iuimutata, Nudaria senex, Lithosia ^riseola, 



