NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 207 



the phenomenon of " protective resemblance," the one a dark rich 

 apple green, the other a very pale silvery-white green. Query : Could 

 the change take place in one generation ? and v/ould larvse, bred from 

 the same batch of ova — the one lot on willow, the other on apple — 

 differ so very strikingly in colouring? Two of the apple fed larvse had 

 a row of red spots on each side, just over and between the spiracles. 

 Not having met with this variety hitherto, I should like to know if 

 it is of common occurrence. We also took S. tilice on elm, and Sphinx 

 H^usfri on lilac. Mr. Gray was also fortunate in finding several larvae 

 of Chczrocafnpa porcellus ^ and C. elpenor feeding on the purple loose- 

 strife {Lythrum salicaria) growing on the banks of the Ouse. One of 

 the former, which was of a pale green when captured, on changing its 

 skin became of a dark olive brown ; till now I had imagined that 

 the brown variety of this larva was always brown. The last larva we 

 took was a full-fed specimen of Cossiis ligniperda. On the whole I 

 should think that the district of Bedford would amply repay careful 

 working. I think the facts most worthy of notice were the times of 

 emergence, etc., of some of the captures — for example, a specimen of 

 Ptilodoiitis palpina at rest on poplar, August 9th, a pupa of Notodonta 

 dictcBa taken on the 9th at poplar, hatched on the nth, and a pupa of 

 Agriopis aprilma taken on the 15th, emerged on the 20th. I took 

 about two dozen pupse of Cosmia diffinis at elm, and a few moths just 

 hatched; these pupse continued to emerge from the 15th to about the 

 30th, at intervals of a day or two, but I did not obtain any ova. — 

 D, H. S. Steuart, North Leigh, Prestwich, Lancashire. September 

 i^th, 1 89 1. 



Essex Marshes. — I have obtained 16 Phorodesma smaragdaria larvae, 

 and know of about 200 others taken on the same ground by different 

 collectors. I was not surprised at only taking 16, as I was informed at 

 the railway station that five other entomologists had been there during 

 the previous week. I am afraid this insect will share the fate of other 

 good local things and become extinct, at any rate in this locality. — 

 Ambrose Quail, 15, Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington. Sept. 21st, 1891. 

 Isle of Mafi. — The weather here during the past week or so has 

 been more or less wet, and very cold, after sunset, consequently, I 

 have been able to do but very little collecting. Sugaring has proved 

 a failure so far. On the 20th and 21st of June, I sugared in the 

 woods behind GlendufT, in the parish of Lezayre, and the only insect 

 taken was one solitary Gonoptera Ubatrix. On June 22nd, I took six 

 Fidonia piniaria, flying in the sunshine at 11.30 a.m., in the pine 

 woods behind Glenduff, and at 5 p.m. on the same day I was fortunate 

 enough to take a fine large Amphidasvs betularia, at rest, on the trunk 

 of a lime tree in front of Glenduff house. The insect apparently had 

 not long emerged from the chrysalis state. My best captures of the 

 season have been Dianthcecia ccesia, D. capsophila, D. capsincola and 

 Sesia philanthiformis. Ou the lotli of this month (August), I went to 

 Andreas, at the north of the island, for a few days, and took the fol- 

 lowing butterflies on the morning of the nth : — Pieris rupee., P. napi, 

 Vanessa urticce, Pararge megcera, Safyrus setnele, Epinephele Janira^ 

 Ccenonympha pamphilus, Polyomniatus phlceas and Lycana alexis. On the 

 evening of the same day I took the following moths at sugar : — 

 ^ Was this feeding on Lytlu-tim > — Ed. 



