NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 209 



disappearing until June loth. On June 30th, I turned out the pots, 

 and, in addition to the eight pupae on the surface, found I had 

 seventy-two more which had formed a brittle cocoon of silk anc. 

 earth. There were also a large number of dead larvae. Out of these 

 pupae I bred thirty-one perfect moths and two cripples, the first 

 emerging on the 12th, and the last on the 27th of July. Some days 

 afterwards, I opened the remaining cocoons, and found a large 

 number contained the dead larvte only, and in seven instances the 

 perfect imago, which had failed to emerge. I still have thirteen 

 pupae, which may be lying over, but are possibly dead. I should add 

 that one specimen (emerged 25th July) is perfectly hermaphroditic — 

 the right side, antenna, crest of thorax, both wings and anal tuft, being 

 male, and the left side correspondingly female, so I feel somewhat 

 repaid for the trouble they gave me to pull through. The larvae were 

 too crowded or I might have had better success, and no doubt the 

 railway journey, on bringing them from Portland to Shorncliffe in 

 February, did not conduce to their welfare. — E. W. Brown, Shorncliffe. 

 August 2'jt/l, 1 89 1. 



Notes on Stilbia anomala. — As I have sgain been successful in 

 taking this insect in some abundance, I think a itw notes upon it may 

 perhaps be acceptable to readers of the Record. I worked for it on six 

 nights at the beginning of August, viz., the ist, and the 3rd to the 7th 

 inclusive, the locality being a high and exposed position on Cannock 

 Chase. Owing to the lateness of the season, the insect was only just 

 out on the ist, and consequently in first class condition. I took three 

 on August ist, twenty-five on the 4th, forty-eight on the 5th, and 

 twelve on the 7th; the remaining two nights, the 3rd and 6th, 

 were cold and windy, the latter being also very clear, and at such times 

 they do not appear to fly at all. They began to make their appearance 

 about 7 p.m., and continued till about 8.30. The insect is very con- 

 spicuous on the wing, the ample lower wings making it appear almost 

 white when flying : it gets up suddenly out of the heather and short 

 grass, flies ten or twelve yards, and then drops down again, folding its 

 dark upper wings closely over the lower ones, and thus in a moment 

 becoming almost invisible, so that, unless one marks very exactly the 

 spot where it falls, it is impossible to detect it. Frequently, however, 

 it will fly up again almost directly, when, of course, it may be 

 " snapped " with the net. Anomala continues out for some time, but 

 very soon loses its freshness, and many of the specimens I took, even 

 under such favourable circumstances, are more or less imperfect. The 

 female makes its appearance a week or more later than the male ; I 

 never saw one, but my friend Mr. Freer, of Rugeley, going up to the 

 ground about a week later, succeeded in taking three, his total catch 

 on that evening being seventy-seven. The weather undoubtedly 

 exercises a considerable influence on the flight of anomala, my largest 

 number (forty-eight) being taken on a very still evening, when the flies 

 were exceedingly troublesome and a thunderstorm was impending : 

 while, on August 6th, when it was very cold, though fine, and a strong 

 N.W. wind was blowing across the Chase, not a specimen was to be 

 seen. Mr. Freer and I repeatedly crossed the ground during the 

 daytime, but never succeeded in disturbing any atiomala, though two 

 specimens flew off palings in the early evening. We occupied our 



