1919.] 



81 



The next two years we did not meet with armif/rrff at all ; hut it has 

 turned up sevei-al times since then. All taken at sugar. I have in vain 

 saeriliced beautiful full-bodied females of this moth for ova. which were 

 freely deposited, but never, proved fertile. 



I must say a few words about Ckiradrinu amhicjuu, because some 

 years ago this moth was one of the chief attractions to collectors visiting- 

 Devon. We first took it in or about the year ISOi, but, unfortunately 

 for us, failed to recognize it. In those days amhif/uo seems to have 

 been not very well known, us w^e sent specimens of it to an authoritv 

 who returned them as blanJa ! Our first two examples were taken on a 

 street-lamp immediately in front of my house, but, though we were 

 doubtful about their identity, it was not until 1896 that they wei'e 

 picked out for us by Mr. G. T. Porritt, who immediately detected them 

 amongst some other Caradrinas we had sent him. In 1897 amhiyua 

 swarmed on the coast. We took over three hundred at sugar in August 

 that year, and the demand for exchange purposes was so great that we 

 could easily enough have disposed of double the nvimber. Though it 

 has occurred, probably, every year since, I have never found amhigita so 

 plentiful again, and, indeed, in some years it has been almost scarce. 

 This moth besides being attracted by sugar and light, comes to Ivv 

 bloom, on which I have often found late sjjecimens in October. 



Lithosia ccmiola. — No account of Devonshire insects would be 

 complete without reference to this delicate and local little " Footman."' 

 When we first discovered it in 1895, cairiola was quite a stranger to 

 us, and it took us several years to find its headquai'ters. I remembci- 

 being in Torquay one August in the ''nineties"' and, going out for a walk- 

 on Hope's Nose in the evening, I encountered a party of collectors who, 

 after having sugared the district extensively, were trying for cmriohi 

 down the cliff-sides with long-handled nets. This set me thinking, and 

 upon returning to mv own town, I determined to seek caniola in some 

 such situations. Eventually I discovered a cove by the sea where this 

 moth tiirned out to be in strength, and for many years afterwards — 

 indeed, so long as I continued to look for it — it never failed to be present 

 there generall}^ as strong as, or stronger than, ever, in spite of per.sistent 

 collecting. If 1 were at home I never failed to visit this cove on or 

 about .J\dy 11th, as weather conditions seemed little to afPect the time 

 of appearance. From that date until the middle of August one could 

 generally obtain conioln on the wing at dusk in the immediate vicinity 

 of the cove. 



In 1899 we caus'ht about 60 ; but in 1906, wliich was a good vear 



