80 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



low bushes, the first named so greatly predominating that one 

 soon became painfully familiar with its prickly spines. The 

 seaward face of the sandhills is clothed with lyme-grass, marram, 

 and other plants, which serve to bind the sand and keep it from 

 being blown or washed away. Tapinostola elymi was here to be 

 found in almost unlimited numbers, while by searching among 

 the lower-growing grasses a plentiful supply of Nudaria senex 

 was obtainable. My lamp, however, attracted the attention of 

 the coast-guard officers, who warned me that a moving light on 

 this flat coast was apt to be attended with danger to shipping, 

 and courteously requested me to keep on the other side of the 

 hills. Long series of both the species mentioned were secured, 

 but in the case of T. elymi the specimens were for the most part 

 rather worn, owing doubtless to their habit of clinging to the 

 swaying heads of the lyme-grass, and so getting blown against 

 the surrounding herbage. On the day of arrival at the bungalow 

 the first consideration was to find a suitable spot for sugaring. 

 The district being almost treeless, advantage had to be taken of 

 the posts of the wire fence which surrounded our little enclosure, 

 and of the thicker stems of the buckthorn and other shrubs, 

 while some clumps of thistles just coming into flower proved 

 excellent objects on which to spread the alluring sweets. Among 

 the moths obtained in limited numbers at sugar were Lithosia 

 complana, Axylia putris, Xylophasia sublustris, Neuria reticulata, 

 Mamestra albicolon, Agrotis vestigialis, A. aquili?ia, Triphcena 

 interjecta, Plusia festucce, P. iota, while any number of specimens 

 of Acronycta rumicis, Cerigo matara, Miana literosa, Agrotis tri- 

 tici, and Hadena pisi could have been obtained. Dusking yielded 

 fair results. The most plentiful Geometer was Acidalia imitaria, 

 which flew among the scrubs in considerable abundance, in 

 company with A. immutata. Some elder-bushes in front of the 

 bungalow appeared to have attraction for Cleora lichenaria and 

 Larentia viridaria, the latter species greatly predominating. 

 Light did not prove the success which was anticipated. A bril- 

 liantly illuminated sheet, placed in what appeared to be an 

 excellent position, brought nothing but a few T. elymi and 

 L. viridaria, and this method of working was therefore aban- 

 doned. The lights of the house, however, to some extent made 

 up for the disappointment, and on several evenings the net was 

 kept busy by the insects which came in at the open door. The 

 most noteworthy visitor, so far, at any rate, as size was con- 

 cerned, was Odonestis potatoria, of which there were often 

 several males flying about at the same time. This is one of the 

 familiar insects of the sandhills — the males at light and the 

 females ovipositing among the long grass. On one particular 

 evening, Saturday, July 16th, the bungalow was visited by a 

 swarm of Leucania impura, which were flying about in large 

 numbers, but curiously enough the experience was confined to 



