NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 177 



Miana arcuosa, Vimifiia albovenosa (2nd brood), Lasiocampa quercifolia 

 and Odonestis potatoria were coming up strongly, and above all Nascia 

 cilialis. I heard of other species, such as Arctia fuligmosa (2nd brood), 

 Chilo phragmitellus and Henni?iia cribralis, some of which the regular 

 " fen " workers appear to consider too common for notice. However, 

 when midnight arrived we were getting fixed up for boxes, and visions 

 of colossal labour in the form of " setting " appeared, so, when we 

 had used up all the pins in our zinc box, mutually agreed to box 

 nothing further except cilialis. Another hour having passed and the 

 fun getting a little slower, we closed for the night. The next evening 

 was nothing like so satisfactory as the first. Sugar was as productive 

 up to about 10.30 p.m., and light for the first hour. Things then got 

 very slow, and midnight saw us on the road home. Altogether a very 

 large number of specimens rewarded our efforts. Monday found me 

 en route to London, but on Saturday I was at Wicken again for a three 

 weeks' stay. During the whole of the three weeks the weather was bad 

 —wet continuously, and sometimes cold, and this led to the almost utter 

 failure of light. But there were one or two evenings on which light 

 did pay, and on Saturday, August ist, Macrogaster ariindinis, Meliava 

 flavunea^ Nascia cilialis and the second brood of Viviinia albovenosa all 

 occurred, rather a mixture for such a date. On another night above a 

 score of specimens of Sericoris ftiligana were captured and on other 

 nights by spending the early hours of the morning at the lamp a few 

 Nonagria hellinanjii were taken. But the weather was dead against 

 me in this way of collecting, and only a night now and then showed 

 what the resources of the Fen really were in this direction. Night 

 after night, however, I went home with above a gross of good Noctu^ 

 off the sugar, including such as Agrotis obscura iravida) and its vars.^ 

 Nonagria hellmaniii, type and var. saturata, Helotropha lettcostigma, and 

 its vars. albistigma and lunina, Noctiia umbrosa, Caradrina (all the 

 British species except ainbigua), Triphcena intcrjecta, T.Janthina, Cosniia 

 affittis, with a good specimen or two of C. pyralifia^ and Calamia 

 phragmitidis mostly in considerable numbers. Lithosia griseola and ils 

 var. stramineola came to sugar and light freely, L. lurideola only to 

 sugar, whilst odd specimens of Hypenodes costcestrigalis, Maviestra 

 abjecta and Ti-iphcena fimbria were not unwelcome visitors. The 

 second brood oi Noctua rubi appeared about August 14th, and a few days 

 before N. baia was still in good condition. Agrotis tritiii var. aquilina 

 occurred, but was not common like its congener A. nigricans, of which I 

 got some good forms. I was surprised at the few specimens of Orthosia 

 upsilon considering the vast quantity of poplar and willow in the neigh- 

 bourhood, and was also much astonished at the late appearance of 

 Calamia phragmitidis at Wicken, its first appearance being quite a 

 month later than at Greenwich, and, although I did not want the 

 species, was rather pleased to pick out a few beautiful var. rufescens from 

 the paler var. and typical form. Tortrix dumetana was late, only a few 

 specimens occurring until quite the last few days of my stay. Fine Hyria 

 auroraria were picked up until August 15th, On the same date 

 Hydrelia tmca occurred, and Mr. Porritt saw a specimen of the second 

 brood of Papilio machao7i on the wing. Since then I have bred others. 

 With regard to the double-broodedness of this species it occurs to me 

 that the individual members of a family are double-brooded in alternate 



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