NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 181 



the sun, bogtrotting, and got five more, but the insect was rare. I only 

 saw about one every half hour, and, with a high wind blowing and a 

 swarm of flies blinding the sight, it was difficult to capture. Other insects 

 were very scarce, a* few Chelonia platitaginis showing up, one Plusia 

 (possibly interrogatioiiis), and some very worn Ccsnonyjiipha iyphoii. On 

 the day following, however, 1 captured two Selidosenia plumaria in fine 

 condition. At sugar I met with hosts of TriphcBna pronnba, Xylophasia 

 monoglypha and other pests, and found X. lithoxylea plentiful but worn, 

 a good many X. sublustris, some of which were in good order. Noctiia 

 festiva, M. augur, Cuspidia psi, Hadeiia pisi, Miami fasciuncula, and a 

 few M. strigllis were in evidence, also several Phibalapteryx lignata. 

 At Howth, friends of mine have taken Agrotis lunigera and other good 

 things. DianthcBcia barrettii has come out earlier this season, the Silent 

 is in great bloom, but they do not seem to be attracted by it so much 

 as in ordinary years. Three gentlemen have taken about one dozen 

 between them. — W. de V. Kane, Sloperton Lodge, Kingstown. June 

 2ot/i, 1 89 1. 



Isie of JVig/it. — I captured the first Spliinx convulvuli that I have 

 seen this season on August 29th at petunia blossom ; it was in very 

 fair condition, and I hope to secure some more. Sugar has proved 

 attractive again, and in the woods the previous evening, 29 different 

 species of Nocxu^ visited sugared trunks or flower heads, including 

 all the Trip/icenas, excepting subsequa^ and of which the most unusual 

 was a single Dianthcecia cucubali, of which species I was surprised to 

 take a second the following evening on sugared posts on the Downs. 

 A single specimen of the second brood of Vimijiia rumicis also put in 

 an appearance. Larvae of Agrotis ripce are not quite so plentiful as 

 last year. I am also taking, upon the same foodplant (which I believe 

 to be the Sea Atriplex), another larva, varying from bright green to 

 brown with a yellow stripe on each side (? H. oleracea); this does not 

 burrow in the sand like that of A. ripce, but lies extended on the 

 stems of the foodplant. — Albert J. Hodges. September, 1891. 



Fariiborougit, Kent. — 1 noticed a freshly changed pupa of Gorty?ia 

 fiavago in thistle stem to-day, August nth ; the few nights I was out a 

 fortnight ago, I found insects fairly plentiful ; Xylopliasia hepatica was 

 a little worn, but I never met so many before, I generally take a 

 dozen or so at sugar each season, but this year I discovered they have 

 a habit of sitting on the largest grass stems close to the top, and, by 

 hunting with a light after their flight, I found I could take, on an 

 average, about eighteen during an evening — of course a great number 

 were useless — still I got a fair proportion of good specimens. Of Plusia 

 gamma I have not seen a single one this season. Tiiiiandra amataria, 

 plentiful. Also a good number of Thyatira batis, Gonophora derasa 

 and Pericallia syringaria, of the latter I captured several 5 's deposit- 

 ing, but having been successful in breeding them this season I merely 

 killed them. Last year I caught a ? which laid, and from the batch 

 had twenty-seven imagines which nearly all paired, so I have or had a 

 great number in the sleeve, I saw they had hatched a fortnight ago, but 

 they remain extremely small and don't begin to grow much until the 

 spring is well advanced ; they pupate in a singular manner compared 

 to other larvie I have bred, attaching themselves by a few slight 

 threads or slim network head upwards, only two out of the twenty- 



