28 [July, 



STEAY NOTES ON THE LEPIDOPTERA OF PEMBROKESHIEE. 



BY CUAS. a. BAEBETT. 



After such a year as I had never previously known — rain all 

 through the spring until June, when one fortnight of fine weather 

 intervened, then rain again till August, when came another fine 

 fortnight, then rain, rain, rain, through September, October, and 

 November, with only a fine day at rare intervals, and even more and 

 continuously heavier rain through December, January, and the greater 

 part of February, so that no drop of water seemed able to soak into 

 the saturated earth, but all ran off as it fell, in rills, rivulets, and 

 tumbling streams over all this hilly country— after all this, which 

 should surely have washed, drowned, or mildewed all insect life out of 

 existence, then came, at the end of February, such a burst of glorious 

 sunshine as we had well-nigh despaired of ever seeing again, and 

 promptly there appeared in the woods such a host of the lively little 

 Tortricodes hyemana as I never saw before, not even in the South of 

 England. It seemed almost magical, after a year of desolation, in 

 which hardly a moth could be found in the woods, to see these swai-ms 

 of lively little creatures dancing about in the sunshine. Clearly tliis 

 species is able to hold its own against wet weather. Fortunately 

 there was an added element of interest in the occurrence of this com- 

 mon species : among the numbers of males of the usual light brown 

 colour were some in which the ground colour was creamy-white, and 

 the markings dark brown, forming a very pretty and attractive variety, 

 which, with the wings closed, looked wonderfully like Acrohasis con- 

 sociella. 



Almost the only other moth obtainable in the woods at the same 

 time was Hihernia leucophcearia, which was tolerably common, sitting 

 high up on the trunks of the trees, or among the dead leaves. Neai'ly 

 all were of the ordinary grey type, and those with blackish fasciae 

 were not well marked, but I met with an exceedingly pretty variety, 

 of a pale straw colour, without irrorations, and with the transverse 

 lines dark brown. 



Befox'e these two species had disappeared, JEupithecia dodonceata 

 came out commonly, though from its habit of sitting under the branches 

 of oak trees, and flying higher up when dislodged, it was difficult to 

 secure. Some of the specimens were very light coloured, and prettily 

 marked. 



In June, 1882, the pretty larva of Ceropacha ridens was tolerably 

 frequent in the woods, the most convenient and successful method of 



