204 [August, 



S. venosa, it was absolutely the only Noctua on the wing. P. i^etraria 

 was abundant, and, perhaps, a dozen Coremia unidentaria occurred, but 

 hardly anything else. 



The next opportunity for entomological work was on 

 Monday, June 6th, when I was on the Broads in the Hickling district, 

 and spent the night near Horsey Mere. We selected for our camn a 

 spot where the fen appeared to me particularly promising, and 

 searched the ground diligently during the evening, but without result. 

 There is nothing more striking to a novice at fen work than the 

 contrast between the apparently utter absence of life during the 

 day time, especially if the wind is at all chilly, and the profusion oi 

 moths that show themselves at night. In a fen nothing can be beaten 

 out, as in a wood, the only effect of disturbance on a moth being to 

 cause it to drop lower in the dense herbage. On this occasion, having a 

 boat-load of boys on board, there was no room for attracting lamps, &c., 

 and the only light was that of a wretched boat lamp, that just served 

 to make darkness visible. We had, however, the pleasure of seeing 

 M. flamonea really common, flying at dusk all over the fen. My lamp 

 was not powerful enough to attract them, and had an awkward knack 

 of going out at critical moments, so that I only took about a score, 

 most of which were worn, but we must have seen tw-o or three times 

 that number, almost all of them, however, during the first hour or so 

 of dark. Nothing else of any interest was about, the most noticeable 

 species besides M. flammea being the first brood of Phihalapteryx 

 lignata. 



My next visit to E-an worth was on June 21st, when the weather 

 was unsuitable, the evening being clear and the sky cloudless, with 

 the usual result of a slight fog over the lower ground. The night 

 proved blank, two Leucania pudorina being about the best insects 

 taken ; hardly anything at all was on the wing — not even the midges. 



A third visit, on July 1st, was more fortunate, the weather being 

 good, with rain threatening. Very little, however, actually fell, and 

 about midnight the clouds cleared off, and a slight fog put an end to 

 sport. 



The best captures were six Senta ulvce (one spotted var.), but the 

 ordinary run of midsummer fen insects were plentiful. Acidalia 

 immutafa, Coremia unidentaria, Leucania pudorina and impura, and 

 Chilo plirarjmitellus were abundant, and G. mucroneUus was not scarce 

 (especially along the reed-beds by the river on our return), while, to 

 my surprise, two M. flammea turned up, one of which was in very 

 fair condition. 



