170 [January, 



mence collecting ; but a light N. wind had sprung up after the rain, 

 and the air was clear and cold : Micros were hardly to be seen ; beating 

 the sallows produced a few Teras caudana, but nothing else of much ' 

 interest, while in the open fen even N. despecta seemed loath to fly. 

 The lamps at first produced very little, which was the more disap- 

 pointing as C. had come but for one night, and I was anxious that he 

 should have a good catch. However, mo«t of the species of last night 

 occurred, tbough in smaller numbers, and when at 10 o'clock we 

 adjourned to the boat for a cup of cocoa, C. had already three N. 

 hrcvilmea in his pinning box, besides several other insects. After 

 supper, the night somewhat improved, Abraxas grossulariata became 

 abundant, and Cidaria testata began to show up in numbers, while A. 

 immutata was more numerous than we required. Eleven o'clock came, 

 twelve o'clock, and then one Chelonia caja appeared on the scene ! A 

 shout ensued, and, much to my amusement, C, who had just before 

 been boxing AT. hrevilinea with the greatest equanimity, appeared toi 

 have suddenly taken leave of his senses, and executed a psBan o\ 

 triumph, when, at last, he had actually secured his "tiger." A some- 

 what less violent demonstration announced the capture of Geometrc 

 papilionaria, and when, at 12.30, we turned in for the night, C. had i 

 very fair box of insects ; the others had also done pretty well at thei] 

 lamp, taking L. straminea and phragmitidis, N. hrevilinea, Simyra venosi 

 (2nd brood), G. papilionaria, and other commoner species. 



Wednesday. Up at 8.30 ; after breakfast, and once more leaving 

 our impedimenta behind us, we push down the dike, and visited severa 

 promising localities in search of larvse of P. Macliaon. Of these w 

 found only four or five, together with two or three of Simyra venosa 

 one of Notodonta dromedarius, and a few commoner species. Then w^j 

 struck off for Horningferry, to put C. ashore, and faced back fo 

 Ranworth. 



Meeting with a party of fishermen on our way back, who seeme 

 to be having good sport, we moored to the bank close by them, und 

 a magnificent reed rond, and tried our luck. But fate, or else t 

 lack of ground bait, was against us, and we caught only two or thr 

 little bream flats, while our friends in the boat close by kindly exhibite 

 for our benefit a lot of fine bream they had pulled out. We soon h 

 enough of this, and made off for the camp. Arrived here, H. and 

 occupied ourselves in setting, for the captures of Monday night haj 

 only been pinned as yet, and those of yesterday were still in the box 

 Tor pinning insects from pill-boxes, I generally use chloroforul 

 applied by a capillary bottle to a slit in the box lid ; but it is a gre 



