PRACTICAL HINTS. 121 



11. — Spun shoots of LntHs major, collected in early .June, will give 

 larvae of Auaconipsis rorticella. 



12. — Examine stunted whitethorn and blackthorn bushes, growing 

 on exposed slopes almost anywhere. During the first fortnight in 

 June you will find the silken galleries of Ulwdophaea mavclla spun 

 close to the twigs. 



13. — Examine well-grown plants of Ecldiua vnhjare on exposed 

 slopes, during the second week in June. Dnuijla.na omerustomdJa 

 sometimes abounds, flitting about such plants, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 



14. — From the middle to the end of May, beat junipers for the 

 larvae of Eiipithecia snbrinata. 



15. — The first week in June, search aspen and poplar. The larva 

 of Tethea mbtma lives in a single leaf turned over on one side, and 

 fastened with silk ; that of Taeniocampa populeti lives between two 

 leaves, one fastened on the top of the other. 



16. — When the foxgloves are in flower, search the solitary plants 

 growing in the open spaces in, or on the outskirts of, woods, for spun- 

 up flowers containing larvae of Euplthetla pulcltellata. 



KiLLiNfx INSECTS. — I 866 that " naturalists " are now prohibited 

 from selling cyanide bottles. I have lately tried H.C.N, (strong 

 solution, made in laboratory, not bought) for killing. The effect is 

 really instantaneous as far as I can make out — no fluttering occurs. 

 I use it like ammonia -880, viz., a drop or two on blotting paper put 

 into the pill box. — E. W. Wake Bowell, Sissinghurst Vicarage, 

 Cranbrook, Kent. 



:ig^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Mixtures for sugaring. —I should very much like to know the 

 opinion of lepidopterists as to different sugaring mixtures, so as 

 to find out the most attractive. I have used the following : — 

 ^ pint ale and li lbs. sugar, boiled, skimmed, then bottled. From 

 this I fill a small bottle for use when wanted, and add about one 

 teaspoonful of rum. This makes a rather thin mixture, but instead of 

 using a brush, I take a very little in my mouth, and, with a sharp 

 spurt, send it out in fine spray and small drops. I do not know of 

 anyone else using this method, but the advantage is that you can 

 apply it anywhere, and I find bushes in leaf, sugared in this way, 

 will attract moths when I cannot get one on the tree-trunks, and 

 the bushes always pay much better than the trees. The sugar I 

 now use is as above, with the addition of a drop or two of essence 

 of pear, and this adds about 10 % to its attractiveness. I have tried 

 methylated spirit, and do not like it. — H. A. Beadle. [We don't 

 think we should "like" methylated spirit, beer, &c., applied in 



the fashion described, but "it's all a matter of taste, you know 



simply a matter of taste." — Ed.] 



With regard to the mixture that I use, I merely put a few pounds 

 of coarse sugar (date sugar for preference) in a jar, and pour a little 

 beer on it, and let it soak a few days, when it will be ready to pour 

 into your can. I never boil it, and seldom put either rum, 

 methylated spirit, or any of the essences in it ; for myself I don't believe 

 they add to the attractiveness. I have on many occasions sugared a 

 round in the same wood and same time as my friends here, who 



