u 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S KECOKL). 



thousands. Asthena hlomcri, A. Intcala, MeJanthia albiciUatn, 

 Euptthccia lariciata, Macnria li fur at a, Venusia cnmhrica, Larentia 

 viridiiria, Cidaria suffamata and var. piceata, Ephyra linearia, and 

 others, were in more or less abundance. In the open spaces near to 

 the wood a few Prccris geri/on, Euclidin glijphica, and an occasional 

 A. selcne were flying, whilst N. idantaginis was also in evidence. 

 Nothing came to sugar except one XyJophasia sn.hJustris, the nights, 

 after the hot days, being cold and rather inclined to frost. — ^T. Maddison. 

 June 28th, 1895. 



DoNCASTER. — The season here has been a particularly good one for 

 sugar. I began the campaign on May 25th, and since that date I 

 have sugared on every available night, and have not met with one 

 blank. How different from last year ! During May I took 20 species 

 of Noctuids at sugar. In June, 49 species, and so far, during the 

 present month, I have seen 53 species. Besides these. Geometers and 

 other groups of Lepidoptera have been more common at the sweets 

 than usual. Larvfe were very abundant during the spring, but Micros 

 do not seem to be generally common. Mr. Bankes pronounced my 

 LithocoUetis (ante., vol. vi.,p. 45, and pp. 284-6) to be l-JemanneUa. — 

 H. H. CoRBETT, M.R.C.S. Juty 22nd. 



New Forest and Fen District. — I have not found this a good 

 season so far. Macroglossa homhyliformis has occurred freely in the 

 New Forest, but other insects are very scarce, and even common 

 larvn3, such as those of Limcnitis sibylJa and Ai-gynnis paphia. That 

 is, however, not the case with common tree-feeding Geometrides, 

 which are again defoliating the trees. I have been much interested 

 in breeding Pachnobia leucographa, and observed that, in its earlier 

 stages at least, the larva has a habit when at rest of curling up its 

 body, much after the fashion of Ephyra orbicularia, a habit which I 

 have not known to occur in the larvse of the Taeniocamps. Three 

 days spent at Wicken did not yield much result. Sugar, alike in the 

 fen and in the lanes, even on good nights, has been practically a 

 failure ; but on one good night Spilosoma urticae, Macrogaster 

 arundinis, and other fen species occurred fairly freely at light. At 

 Tuddenham, Agrophila trabealis and HeJiothis dipt>acea were plentiful, 

 but Lithostege griseata and Acidalia rubiginata were apparently over. 

 They must have been out early this year. In the box of a local 

 collector I saw a specimen of what I take to be Leucnnia obsolcta, 

 which he had taken at sugar recently. — J. C. Moberly, M.A., 

 Southampton. 



Southend. — CUsiocampa castrensis larvae, which ought to be plenti- 

 ful at Gt. Wakering, are scarce. My first Phorodesma smamgdaria 

 emerged yesterday — an early date. I have one larva of Epilchnupteryx 

 reticeUa still feeding, and many larva) of P. smaragdan'a similarly 

 engaged, whilst a few adult larvre of Polla nigrocincta are doing well 

 on Plantngo maritima. Until a few days back, I had never come across 

 the female of PJatytes ccrusfieUus. I had spent the morning of the 

 10th on the marshes, had taken three MyclophUa cribrcUa and one 

 Cramtms perlelhi!^, whilst nothing else but male P. cerussellus were 

 on the wing. I searched low down for females without finding an 

 example, and was about to start for home, when (about 1 p.m., sunny, 

 and a few drops of rain falling) they rose in force, and appeared to 

 outnumber the males. I set 53 the following morning, and might 

 have taken a much larger number had my stock of boxes not run out. 

 ^F. G. Whittle. June 20th, 1895. 



