isre. 183 



and plenty of shelter, and the only QeometrcB that I saw were one 

 Boarmia repandaria and hosts of 2IeJanippe montanata ; fortunately the 

 repandata was the y:iv.Jimhriata, and some of the viontnnata were fine 

 dark barred varieties, but the barrenness in insects of such a country 

 at such a time, is perfectly astounding. 



I think I could write a long and interesting chapter on the 

 Noctuas that do not occur here, — but ought to. I have not been able 

 yet to work the outside cliffs, and there may be something there, but 

 at present the record is meagre. 



The attractive qualities of the red valerian {Gentrantlius ruber) to 

 Noctu(B are well known. The hills of waste material in some of the 

 great quarries by the Haven are covered with it, so are the old walls 

 all along the back of the town, so is the railway embankment for 

 hundreds of yards (looking splendid from the mingling of large masses 

 of the white variety with the red flowers), and the result is— 

 exclamationis ! ! I went down to the quarries one evening in June to 

 collect at these flowers : dusk came, and Noctuae, flyiiig ^'^ Noctiue will 

 fly when they throw off their day's lethargy ; I caught one — exclama- 

 tiorus, — I caught another — ditto, — I caught a third — the same, — there 

 was no need to catch any more, they were swarming all around me, 

 and all the same. I never saw such numbers before. I waited till 

 after dark, and swept the valerian flowers — exclamationis in hundreds, — 

 everything else was discouraged ; segetum hardly ventured to show its 

 face ; a single cortieea was a grand capture. Further attempts did not 

 mend matters ; exdnmalionis was more abundant than ever, and when 

 it began in the course of nature to die out, was succeeded by Xylo- 

 phasia polyodun in such countless hordes that collecting became 

 positively wearisome. In all the hosts of polyodon I did not see a 

 dark variety even. What valerian floAvers may furnish in the future 

 is problematical, this year they produced nothing but disgust ! 



I tried raking the sand-hills in the bays of the outer coast — 

 Tenby, Manorbier, &c. — and took two Mamestra albicolon, and two 

 Leucania littoralis, that was all ; not another Noctua worth boxing. 

 Of course, there were Melanippe (jaJiata and sundry OelechicB and 

 Depressarice ; but of the teeming abundance of Af/rotis, for instance, 

 usually found in sucli situations, there was not one, not even tritici ! 

 Two or three pupa; did tumble out one day from among the over- 

 hanging roots, and in due time produced Epiinda lichenen, but even this 

 species did not appear to shelter in the perfect state under the banks. 



The autumn Noctuce may have come to an untimely end — by 

 water — I cannot say. I have certainly seen one Luperina ccspitis at a 



