HABPALUS CUPREUS IN THE ISLE OF WKtHT. 285 



" Harper's " and two from " Shepherd's " sales, went for 8s. A series 

 of eleven .Fjjeria scoUacfonnis, etc., produced 16s., and the rest of the 

 Sesiids, 15s.; one suspects that the rapidity with which these insects 

 deteriorate has much to do with the maintenance of a high price. 

 The presence of a poor pair of Laelia coenosa raised "lots 60 and 61 

 to 14s., whilst two Epicnaptera ilici folia, "hved by Wheeler," went 

 for 42s. Two Cerura hicuspis, " Tester, 1874," raised another " lot " 

 to 13s., and eight Petasia nnbeeidosa, the succeeding lot, to 12s. The 

 Noctuids varied much in price. Lots of nine and ten Hyhoma strvjosa 

 produced 25s. and 26s. respectively, the rest of the Acronyctas fetching 

 18s. only, although containing five JucJtaeara alni and live Pharetra 

 auricoiiia. Lot 77, however, with a fine Lencania extranea from 

 " Devonport," brought £8 7s. 6d., and another lot of "Wainscots," 

 containing four Lencania obsoleta, etc., 14s., in fact all the " Wain- 

 scots " fetched good prices. Lot 88, with three Xylomujes compicillaris, 

 produced 20s., and a fine Cri/nioden exidis 15s. The presence of a 

 Dianthoecia coinpta, labelled " Howth, 1896," and two Luperina bar- 

 rettii, raised lot 100 to 22s. ; one hopes the buyer did not think the D. 

 conipta British, as the insect has not, we believe, the slightest claim 

 on our fauna. The sale of fine Polia xantlwnmta, P. var. oHvacea, 

 Dasypolia tenipU, Epunda lichenea, and E. lutulenta, at about Id. 

 apiece is very sad, but the presence of an old specimen of Hydnlla 

 oliistris, without data, brought up lot 108 to 25s. A good pair of 

 Ayrutia tmbrosea, " Meek's Coll.," produced 63s., and seven fine Pach- 

 nobia alpina, 18s., but seven others produced only 6s. A specimen of 

 NoctKa daiiimatra, taken at Norwich, July 10th, 1875 {Ent., ix. p. 18), 

 produced 70s., and a huge lot of Orthosiids, containing one Orrhodia 

 erythrocephala, " Brighton," and eleven Dasycampa rnbiyinea, fetched 

 23s. Some nice Xylina semibninnea brought lots 135 and 136 up to 

 16s., and ten Heliothis armiyera and ten H. pelt iy era caused lot 138 to 

 bring in 21s. The historic specimen of Heliothis scntosa, taken at 

 Cromer lighthouse, was sold at £3 12s. 6d., and a Micra ostrina, from 

 the " Tugwell coll.," for 22s. The Geometrids fetched relatively poor 

 prices, and the payment of £3 for a specimen of Boletobia fuUginaria, 

 " bred by A. Noakes, Lewisham, 1882," was surely a blunder. The 

 history of these Noakes-bred B. fuliyinaria was commented on, we 

 believe, in The Entom. at the time. A lot of lovely bred Eupithecia 

 jasioneata and E. helveticaria went for 10s., but, on the whole, the 

 " pugs," correctly named and in good condition, hardly fetched Id. 

 apiece. Two other lots, containing two and four specimens of Phiba- 

 lapteryx polyyrammata, produced 18s. and 21s. respectively. These 

 were the chief prices produced at the sale, which evidently offered 

 numerous opportunities among the less rare species for bargain- 

 hunters. 



Two cabinets only were offered for sale. The "Gurney" cabinets 

 had been bought privately before the sale. We understand also that 

 the Micro-Lepidoptera are to be merged in Mr. Tutt's collection. 



Harpalus cupreus, Dj., in the Isle of Wight. 



By HORACE St. J. K. DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 

 This fine beetle has once more turned up in the Isle of Wight after 

 not being taken in any numbers for 20 years. I have been looking 

 for it myself for the last 15 years without success. In October last, 



