242 [March, 



Se£irchillg by nigllt is conducted much after the manner of day-work ; 

 but a lantern, to aid vision, is required, and a net (or substitute for it) becomes an 

 important auxihary for holding under the bushes examined, in order to circumvent 

 such individuals as drop under the stimulus of light or man's interference : for 

 which reason the lantern should be darkened until the hunter is quite prepared to 

 commence his search. At night too the trunks of trees should not be neglected, as 

 larvae will frequently be found crawling (swarming I might say in the case of some 

 Orthosidce) up to regain their food. Whilst " sugaring " also, an eye should be kept 

 open for such larvae as may be attracted ; and the blossoms of certain trees and 

 shrubs, as the elm, oak, sallow, and arbntus, seem to allure mauy larvse, most of 

 which however probably feed naturally on these plants. 



For ordinary night seai'ching the following trees, shrubs, and herbs will be 

 found among the most productive : — birch, elm, oak, black-thorn, white-thorn, 

 sallow, bramble, (especially the young shoots), heath, dock, plantain, persicaria, 

 geum, violet, ground-ivy, various grasses, &c., &c., but all plants should be inspected, 

 and when search has to be made for any special larva, a previous acquaintance with 

 its natural food is necessary. 



Capturing is usually an easy job, the collector simply cutting off the leaf or 

 twig with the larva attached, or gently picking off the latter and placing it, to- 

 gether with a sprig of the food, in one of his boxes, taking care not to overcrowd 

 his captures, and keeping a sharp look out for cannibals, such as Scopelosoma satel- 

 Utia and the blood-thirsty C. tro.petzina, with whose appearance he should early 

 familiarise himself. For those larvae which drop upon the least touch, a box or net 

 should be held beneath. Some, as for example those of Gucullia, actually jump, 

 jerk, or wriggle with such alacrity, as to render their capture a matter of difficulty ; 

 in such case, the collector must either be ready with his net, or prepared to catch 

 them dexterously in his hand as they fall, and so ensure their transfer to appropriate 

 boxes. 



Traps for larvcc may be worth trial. The gardeners' plan of sticking cones of 

 paper or little inverted flower pots about the plants has been recommended and 

 seems to answer in the country, but near Loudon I am persuaded that the catch 

 (or "no catch.") would mainly consist of Eioplexoptera B,nd Mollusca. For such 

 larvse as desert their food, to repose or hybernate, folded pieces of old flannel or 

 carpet may be spread upon the surface of the soil in likely places with a probability 

 of success. 



As a bait I am not aware that any substance, barring the questionable one of 

 sugar, has been found attractive ; but as the smell of "iodine " is said to cause slugs 

 to congregate (not that slugs have anything in common with larvse), it is not impos- 

 sible that a discovery of the kind may be made. It has been noticed, however, that 

 many herbivorous larvae are remarkably fond of lettuce, p.nd it has therefol-e been 

 found worth while to scatter lettuce leaves over the hunting gi-ound some hours 

 before commencing our search for larvae. 



[To he continued.) 



LepidopteroiW! co/ptwres in 1864. — The following is a hst of some of my captures 

 of Lepidoptero duiing the past year. , • 



A. Galathea, under the cliffs at Deal. H comma, Box Hill. M. stellatarum, 



