.NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 45 



but on the whole, I thhik I have done fairly well. Butterflies were 

 well represented, some species being very abundant. The following^ 

 were observed or taken : — Pieris brassicoe, P. rapce, P. napi, EucJiloe 

 cardamines, all common ; Colias hjale (one seen) ; C. edusa, common, 

 one var. helice taken ; Gonopteryx rhamni, scarce ; Argynnis selene, A. 

 euphrosyne, both common ; A. paphia, scarce ; Melitiea artemis, abun- 

 dant ; Vanessa urticie, V. io, V. atalanta, also abundant ; V. rardni, 

 rather scarce ; Pararge cegeria, rare ; P. megcera, Satyrus ftemele, Epi- 

 nephele janira, E. tithonus, Ccenonymj^ha patuphilus, all common ; Thecla 

 w-album, one seen ; T. qnercus, T. riibi, Polyommatm pldoeas, Lyccena 

 t'carus, Thanaos tages, Hesperia thaumus, H. sylvaims, all common. Alto-; 

 gether there was a total of 30 different species of Dinrni. Among the 

 moths, the following were observed or taken: — Sphinx convolmli. . 

 Among the scarcer Sphinges I did best with this species, which was not 

 at all rare ; in all I took thirteen (one since I sent in mj^ last note), 

 hovering over the flowers of NicoUana. The first was taken on August 

 2Utli, and last on the September 2Uth. Seven others have been taken 

 within half a mile of this house, and others seen. I found they began 

 to appear about 6.30 or 7 p.m., but are then more difficult to catch, as 

 the}^ seem more lively. Three were observed over one patch of the 

 plant before it got dusk, either fighting or playing. The best time I 

 think to take them, is between 9 and 10 p.m., when they look like 

 birds hovering round, coming or going within a yard or two of the 

 lamp, which they don't seem to mind in the slightest ; my latest capture, 

 I think, was about 11.30 p.m., and the gardener informed me that he 

 had seen one at 3 p.m., in broad daylight, hovering over the same patch. 

 I kept a J alive for six weeks or more, in hopes of getting eggs, and 

 was not disappointed, as she laid four before she died, which, however, 

 I am afraid will prove infertile, as they have a shrivelled appearance. 

 My other captures &c. among the Sphinges were : — Sphinx ligustri (two 

 larvae); Deilephila livornica, one hovering over rhododendrons on June 5th.; 

 Choerocampa porcellus, fairly comition over the rhododendrons and pinks ; 

 C. elpenor, much scarcer at pinks ; Smerinthus poptdi, larva3 rather com- 

 mon on poplars by sandhills ; Macroglossa stellatarum, two imagines, 

 hovering over flowers ; 31. bombyliformis, rare at flowers ; Zygivna 

 trifolii, filipendulce, common; some of the former have the five sjjots 

 in each foremng, coalescent. A few Halias prasinana fell in the 

 tray from nut, while beating for larvae, and one H. quercana, came to 

 light ; Nola mcidlatella came freely to the moth trap, and iV. confusalis 

 was not uncommon at rest on trees ; two Nudaria senex put in an ap- 

 pearance at light ; Euchelia jacobcece Avas fairly common, as also was 

 Aretia caja ; 1 took a J Spilosoma mendica flying in the sunshine ; she 

 kindly obliged me with eggs, and S. liibricipeda and S. 'nlenthastr^^veve 

 very common in the trap ; a few Hepialus huniidi, H. lupidinus and H. 

 hectus were observed hovering among the herbage at dusk. Some of 

 the trees in the parkbeartracesof the work of the larvae of Cossus ligniperda. 

 Psiliira monacha is very scarce here ; I have only taken one 5 in the 

 last two years. I found a pair of Dasychira p)i'-dibxmda, in cop., on a 

 tree, and got a nice batch of eggs, oddly enough, about 90 per cent, of 

 the larva?, when nearly full-fed, were nearly black, instead of the normal 

 apple-green colour. I observed a few <J Orgyia antiqua flying about, and 

 found one or two cocoons which had Ijeen covered with eggs by the ? . 

 P.populiis scarce at light, but I succeeded in taking one $ at trap, which 



