NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 265 



rare Pseudopsis sulcata from haystack refuse. On June 24th I went 

 to Boxhill, but had wretched weather the whole day, as it rained 

 soon after I arrived and rained on and off the whole afternoon con- 

 sequently all 1 could do was to keep my eyes open for any chance 

 captures that might turn up. My brother took a specimen of 

 Hoinaloplia ruricola just after we had arrived, and we then made our 

 way down to the banks of the Mole, where single specimens of 

 Hovialota hygrotopora and Tachyusa umbratica were secured, and 

 under the bark of a fallen pine tree I took Bolitochara bella and 

 Omalium pimctipenne, and close by the pine tree I endeavoured to do 

 a little sweeping between showers, and although I soon gave it up I 

 succeeded in taking a specimen of Homalota exarata that I was ex- 

 tremely glad to get. We then went back to the station and arrived 

 just in time to see the train go out, and on consulting the time 

 table we found we had rather over two hours to wait, so I left my 

 brother on the station while I went for a walk up Boxhill, where I 

 was again fortunate as I took Leptinus testaceus so that although the 

 weather was unfavourable, I was, on the whole, very successful. — H. 

 Heasler, 17, Danby Street, Peckham. 



Reading. — We have had a capital Xanthia time this autumn, — some 

 beautiful forms, perfectly lovely. I often wish some of our northern 

 friends could be here to see such a number of gems in the woods. 

 How delighted they would be ! Colias edusa was fairly common here. 

 Yes, I know we have heard the same words so many times lately, but 

 I thought you might think Reading was left out. A few var. helice were 

 with them, and two or three hyale could be taken on any bright day, 

 some days more. Second broods of Leucophasia smapis and Lyccena 

 argiolus appeared, a few of each. That uncertain species Agrotis 

 saucia has been a thing of the year, it was everywhere, and so was 

 Scopula ferrugalis, Agrotis ravida, it seems, was not satisfied with one 

 brood ; I took it at sugar in the middle of September. Larvse of Toxo- 

 campa pastinum were in astonishing numbers at Newbury, not Reading, 

 and I have been trying to force them to feed up, but they seemed de- 

 termined to hybernate, for all the warm berth they have. Mice are a 

 great nuisance to me. I had a couple of fine broods of Asphalia 

 flavicornis which had turned in all well, and I brought in the sleeves 

 and hung them up to attend to them when I had spare time ; the 

 mice attended to them first though, they ate up every one. Last 

 winter 1 had about 400 larvre of Noctica stigmatica, feeding in an out- 

 house in large flower pots with muslin over the top. The larvae had a 

 way of resting on the muslin, and very pretty they looked so, besides, 

 it was very convenient for changing the food. But the mice saw how 

 nice they looked too, and one morning I found the muslin full of little 

 roundish holes, about the size of a pea, and most of the larvae gone. 

 I should not have believed mice able to draw the larvae through so 

 neatly, but I put down some poison and next morning there lay the 

 mice dead on the muslin. Biston hirtaria occurs here regularly, but 

 not plentifully, on the tree trunks in the beech woods, and sometimes 

 at lamps in the streets. Cidaria silaceata I find also on the beech 

 trees in the woods, and the larvae on both Epilobium montamim and 

 Circea lutetiana in the same woods. Circea is perhaps the more favour- 

 ite food and the larvae seem to rest lower down on it, where, as Dr. 



