SOME CAPTURES IN NORFOLK. 231 



sticticalis — not to speak of other less coveted species. I promptly 

 made up my mind, if the opportunity should occur, to visit the 

 neighbourhood again ; and this intention was carried out during the 

 present year, when I spent a period of five weeks, from May 14th to 

 June 20th, in a locality about half-way between Thetford and Ely. I 

 may say at once that — owing partly to the circumstance that I was a 

 little too early — I was not nearly so successful as on my previous visit. 

 In fact, several of the species I have mentioned above never turned up 

 at all ; of ^. ruhiijinata {nibn'rata) I took only one specimen, though 

 that was certainly a very fine one; and of A. trabcalifi [sulpliinalis), of 

 which I had before obtained as many as I cared to take, not a solitary 

 specimen was to be seen, though I made several journeys to both Thet- 

 ford and Brandon in search of it. My attention, however, was mainly 

 devoted to L. i/rhcata, of which I obtained 13 specimens, nearly all 

 being in first-rate condition ; and about this species I should like to 

 speak more particularly, as it seems not to be generally known, and 

 my observations as to its habits do not entirely coincide with the 

 information given in the books. I found myself seriously hindered at 

 the outset by my want of acquaintance with the food-plant of the 

 insect, Sisi/nibriuin sophia, a plant belonging to the order (Jruciferae, 

 the English name of which is " Flixweed," though it is locally known 

 by the title of " Tarrify " or " Terrify." This plant grows chiefly 

 among the corn, which is largely grown in the neighbourhood, and it 

 possesses a number of long sharp-pointed seed-vessels, which are apt 

 to penetrate into the arms of the reapers as they cut the corn, and 

 unless promptly taken out frequently lead to inflammation, so that the 

 name " Tarrify " is only too appropriate. In the earlier stages of its 

 growth, the plant is very far from conspicuous ; and it was not till a 

 fortnight after my arrival that I was at length able to identify it. 

 After a prolonged search, however, I came across it in the corner of a 

 wheat-field ; and almost at the very moment of doing so, I caught 

 sight of and promptl/ netted my first specimen of the insect. It is 

 easy enough to take, not only on account of its conspicuous colour, 

 but because it flies very sluggishly, and rarely seems to travel more 

 than twenty yards from the spot where it first gets up. I think, in 

 fact, that I only missed one specimen, which flew across a light- 

 coloured road, out of the whole number seen during my visit. It is 

 very easy, too, to identify at the time of capture, for two reasons : 

 first, because of its colour, which is an uniform silvery-grey, with 

 hardly any markings ; and secondly, because of the attitude it takes 

 up in the net — that of a fairly broad triangular sloping roof, resembling 

 the tops of an old-fashioned dormer window — somewhat like, too, to 

 the resting position of Nisoniades {Thanaos) tar/es, but rather flatter, 

 and of course much more pointed at the tips of the wings. I regret 

 to say that I am quite unable to give any directions as to the best 

 method of obtaining L. (/riseata : it seems to fly almost at any time of 

 the day, and without any indications which would lead one to expect 

 its appearance. The abundance of the food-plant at any given spot 

 seems to be no criterion whatsoever as to a corresponding abundance 

 of the insect ; I several times took it in places where not a single 

 plant of the flixweed v/as to be seen ; and contrariwise, in the place 

 where the largest quantity of the plant was growing I did not take, or 

 even see, a single specimen. A considerable amount of corn is grown 



