NOTES ON COLLECTING IN 1911. 177 



muralis, A. secietum, Triphaena orhona, T. pronuba, N. xanthof/rapha, 

 A. e.vclamatiouis, N. c-nif/riim, H. oleracea and PJdui/ophora weticulosa. 

 Dianthoecia carpophaf/a continued to emerge through August and 

 September, from Eastbourne and Croydon pupae. 



On August 23rd and subsequent days I'olia chi was taken as 

 already reported (antea p. 124). 



On September 2nd I journeyed to Margate for a three weeks' visit, 

 where a good series of C^o^m.s////rtZ<' were taken(anteavol.xxiii.,p.276j. On 

 the evening of the 3rd I visited the field where I found freshly emerged 

 Lnperina testacea so variable and plentiful in 1910. Three female Luperina 

 testacea and a pair of Hepialus si/lvana were the result, and subsequent 

 visits proved equally disappointing. One wonders at the scarcity of 

 this usually common insect. Had the exceptionally dry season baked 

 the earth so that the imagines were unabla to force their way out of the 

 ground ? On September 6th I experienced the great disappointment 

 of the trip. Cycling along a road in the neighbourhood of Dover, I 

 observed a lovely freshly emerged aberration of A(jlais urticae sunning 

 itself on a wayside flower. Nearly the whole of the fore- and hind- 

 wings were suffused with blacit, by the shape, however, and the 

 blue spots, I was able to identify it. I dismounted and had a 

 splendid view of it, but had no net. My feelings may be better 

 imagined than described. I had a shot at it with my hat and 

 missed, of course. It rose and sailed on to the top of a bank where 

 I followed it. A second attempt was more disastrous tban the 

 first, as the insect, now thoroughly scared, flew across a field of 

 stubble with the writer in close attendance, and then over the 

 only iron fence and house top for miles round. A big detour 

 was made to get to the other side of the house but to no purpose. I 

 returned to the spot on the following day and netted every A. urticcE I 

 saw on the wing, but nothing approaching a variety was seen. I took, 

 however, a nice series of the third brood of Ruiincia pJdaeas, all very 

 typical except one specimen having large blue spots on the hindwing. 

 On September 8th I had the good fortune to take a male aberration 

 of (.'. hi/ale in which the discoidal spots on both fore- and hindwing 

 undersides were radiated. On September 12th both ^ and $ Xeioonia 

 popidaris and a J C. cubicularis were taken at light. The latter laid 

 ova on the following day, which hatched on the 20th. The larvct fed 

 up rapidly on dandelion and groundsel, went to earth and spun 

 cocoons or cubicles and passed the winter as larvas pupating on 

 April 20th, 1912. On September 19th sugar was tried on Deal 

 sandhills on what should have been an ideal evening with a fair south- 

 west wind, but the result left much to be desired. A most cosmo- 

 politan crowd came to the sweets, which included red ants, a species of 

 Tipiila, wood-lice, earwigs, the large green grasshopper, frogs, large 

 bodied spiders, hunting spiders, and I think all the most common 

 moths to be taken during a season with the exception of Xylopliasia 

 inoninjhiplia {pnli/ndoji). The following were the moths taken or seen : — 

 Xoctiia xanthniiraplia, worn and fresh, X c-ni(/niiii, H. oleracea, fresh, 

 Mamestra brassieae, Tiiphaena pronuba, fresh, P. iiieticulosa, Caradrina 

 cKbicularis, Anchucelia liinoi<a, Mellinia rircellaris [fernujinea), 

 L. pallens, Ayrotis se(/etitiii, A. suff'um {ijpnilon), A. piita, A. traiinpo- 

 f/onis, three A. anstralis, one worn, and two freshly emerged C. 

 vetusta. On September 21st Epunda Uclienca started emerging from 



