15t) 



Julv, 



Entomological Notes from the North of Ireland in 1895. — The very severe 

 weather of the early part of the year rendered collecting practically impossible. I 

 spent the first three weeks of January at Coolmore, on the coast of Donegal, and 

 succeeded in taking some Coleoptera in moss gathered on the sandhills. Insects 

 were not plentiful, for even on the western seaboard the low temperature made itself 

 felt. My principal captures were Mycetoporux nanus, Philonthus micans, Ph. vernalis, 

 Sunius diversux, Pselaphus IJeisei, and Longitarsus atriceps. These were obtained 

 at the very beginning of the month, before the frost had set in severely. From that 

 time till March I was unable to do any outdoor collecting. In my pupa box, 

 however, moths began to emerge, and on February 8th Phigalia pilosaria, $ and ? , 

 came forth, the latter being of a beautiful yellow tinge ; further on in the month 

 Hybernia progemmaria emerged, s.nA\r\M^B.vc\\ the TceniocampcB began to appear. 

 After the breaking up of the frost in March I began to obtain a few beetles. 

 Searching under bark of willow and apple trees produced Anchomenus gracilis, 

 Lathrohium quadratum, and Phyllodecta cavifrons, with commoner species. On 

 March 21st I captured Dytiscus circumcinctus, ?, in MuUinure, and on the 28th 

 in flood rubbish obtained two specimens each of Pselaphus dresdensis and Erirrhinus 

 athiops. 



Sallows had been kept back very much by the long frost, but in April they began 

 to bloom, and I took some Hymenoptera at the blossoms, comprising Andrena cineraria, 

 A. albicans, A. Clarkella, and Bombus terrestris, and a specimen of Nomada borealis 

 flitting along a hedgerow. At night I tried the sallows for TcBniocampce, and was 

 fairly successful, obtaining, besides T. gothica, T. siabilis, and T. instabilis, the rarer 

 T. gracilis and T. opima, also a nice example oi Xylocampa iithorhiza, while on the 

 wing I captured Anticlea derivata, A. badiata, Selenia illunaria, and one Peronea 

 hastiana. T. gothica was exceedingly plentiful, but showed no variation, except in 

 lighter or darker shade of ground-colour. 



The first butterflies appeared on April 17th, viz., Vanessa urticw and Pieris 

 napi. The following day, which was particularly fine, while walking to Lowry's 

 Lough, I took a specimen of Silpha opaca flying across the road. Numbers of Aphodii 

 were also on the wing in the bright sunshine, but they were only the common A. 

 prodromus. 



May, as usual, brought many insects about. At Lowry's Lough I took quite a 

 number of Blethisa multipunctata by going down on my knees and grubbing at the 

 roots of Carex, &c. Along with it were Pelophila borealis, Anchomenus junceus, 

 A. gracilis, Bembidium Doris, B.flammulatum, and Hygronoma dimidiata. In sus- 

 picious proximity to a dead fish I took a single Leistotrophus murinus, and its ally, 

 L. nebulosus, was obtained a few days afterwards running on the road just outside 

 Armagh. 



On May 23rd, on the way to Lowry's Lough, I took several Halictus rubi- 

 cundus, •} , and S. albipes at their burrows in the footpath. Beating the hedges 

 produced Eubolia palumbaria, Catoptria ulicetana, and Depresxaria capreolella. 

 On the 25th I drove to Lough Neagh, stopping as usual at Churchill on my way. 

 Here I obtained Thecla rubi, Eupithecia nanata, Fidonia atomaria, Phoxopteryx 

 uncana, Oelechia ericetella, flying about the heather, &c. Mrs. Johnson took Elater 

 pomorum on the way, and by beating and sweeping I captured Cceliodes rubicundus. 



