go [August, 



Lancashire coast sandhills. — These may be easily reached from the 

 Liverpool exchange station (L. and T. Railway). Perhaps the best 

 place to go to is Hall Eoad, though there are not many trains that stop 

 at this roadside station. Here the sandhills come directly up to the 

 station, while at Crosby, the preceding station, which offers the advan- 

 tages of trains back to town nearly every half hour, houses are grovdng 

 so rapidly that one has a quarter of an hour's walk before one can 

 commence collecting. No directions are needed for finding the way 

 from either place, except that the railway line should not be crossed, 

 that is, the sea side of the line only should be worked. 



By rambling about up the hillocks of sand (held together by the " marram " or 

 " star-grass," for destroying which there is provided a penalty), and searching among 

 the low growth of dwarf sallow, &c., in the intervening hollows, many beetles and 

 representatives of other Orders of insects may be found, which are not of general 

 distribution. Wherever there is an overhanging bank formed by the matted roots 

 of the star-grass, this should be shaken pretty roughly, and nocturnal Lepidoptera 

 of various species will be shaken out, and will lie — except the day be very sunny — 

 quite still, waiting to be boxed. Such species as Mamestra albicolon (June and July), 

 Agrotis tritici and aqiiilina (August), Agrotis cursoria {August), Agrotis prcBcox 

 (August), may be obtained in tliis way, often in abundance, while, if the ragwort 

 flowers be examined after dark with a lantern, they will often be found swarming 

 with the same species of Agrotis, to which may be added Agrotis nigricans, often 

 nearly black, Leucanij. conigera, Hydrcecia nictitans, Cidaria testata, and several 

 species of Eupithecia. The larva of Cerura vinula may frequently be found about 

 the beginning of August on the small willows which grow in the neighbourhood, 

 while those of Orgyia fascelina and Bomhyx trifolii used to be abundant on the 

 willow and star-grass respectively in May and June, but are fast becoming exter- 

 minated by the cupidity of collectors for exchange. In August, too, the plants of 

 ragwort, especially towards Hightown, the next station beyond Hall Road, are often 

 eaten to the root, stalks and all, by the beautiful caterpillars of Eiichelia Jacob csa ; 

 while a little earlier, say in July, on the thistles growing on the bare saudhills^bare 

 but for the star-grass —the larvae of the painted-lady butterfly {Pyrameis cardui) 

 may at times be taken in scores : the butterfly appearing in August. Among the 

 Coleoptera the species sure to be met with are : Cicindela hybrida, on the barest 

 sandhills, but only on hot sunny days ; Dyschirius impunctipennis, often abundant 

 on sunny days on the shore near higli-watcr mark ; CiUenus lateralis, frequent on 

 the shore towards Hightown, but only to be found where there is clay; Bembidium 

 biguttatum, B. aneimi, B. minimum, B. bipunctaitim, B. concinnum, and B. lunatum, 

 all common beneath rejectamenta, and beneath seaweed, especially about the mouth 

 of the Alt, a small river which flows into the sea at Hightown ; B. pallidipenne, 

 abundant, especially clinging to the under-sides of small pieces of wood and bark on 

 the shore at about high-watermark ; Calathus flavipes and C. mollis, both abundant 

 under rubbish, and at roots of grass on the sandhills ; Broscus cepkalotes, common 

 under drift-wood on the shore above high-water mark, frequently forming a burrow 

 a couple of inches deep ; Dichirotrichus pubescens, abundant under rejectamenta on 



