324 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



see differs materially from P. perplexana. These resemblances seem to 

 me remarkable, and certainly do not help one to appreciate the special 

 characters which are said to distinguish comparana from schalleriana, and 

 perplexana from both. — Richard South ; Oxford Road, Macclesfield, 



Lepidopteka at Light in Swansea District. — I was very interested 

 in Mr. E. F. Studd's note about his moth-trap [ante, p. 55), as I have used 

 the illuminated trap for the last two years, and have also found it in- 

 valuable. My traps (I have two) were placed in a park facing a wood of 

 beech, birch, oak, &c., one on an elevation under a clump of large elms 

 about 150 yards from the wood, the other under a large oak, also on an 

 elevation, about 20 or 30 yards from the wood, and about a quarter of a 

 mile apart from each other. I believe in placing the traps under trees, as 

 the light appears to be stronger when in the shade, and also the branches 

 keep off the morning sun, which is apt to make the moths inside lively, and 

 consequently harder to box. I also put a piece of old matting on top of 

 the trap, hanging over the front a couple of inches ; this also keeps the sun 

 off, and some moths prefer to alight on this in preference to going inside, 

 and are found there next morning. A dark night is, of course, necessary, 

 and the less wind the better. On some nights one of the traps would be 

 full, while the other was comparatively empty, which is difficult to account 

 for, as they are both facing the same way. I found that 1892 was a much 

 better year for light than 1893. I only had one trap then, and took nearly 

 as many that year with one as I did last year with two. I started one of 

 my traps about the first week in March, but only took a few leucophaaria, 

 multistrigaria, progeynmaria, rupicapjraria, and cnida, but failed to get the 

 species I set it for, viz., C. fluviata, having taken one the autumn before. 

 About the third week in March moths were more plentiful, as viunda, 

 ruhricosa, gracilis, instabilis, gothica, prodromaria, opima, &c., came to it ; 

 and by April 7th they were in full swing, taking on that night 1 ahrup- 

 taria, 3 lohulata, 2 j)fodromaria, 7 munda, 4 opima, 2 ruhricosa, 1 illunaria, 

 1 nanata, 1 spinula, 4 gothica, 1 instabilis, 1 stabilis, 2 cruda, 8 j^rogem- 

 mar la, 2 badiata, 2 abbreviata, 1 exoleta, 1 vetusta, 1 multistrigaria, and 2 

 CBScularia. From the 7th to the 16th of April the nights were very cold, 

 with occasional frost, so it was useless to light the traps ; the 16th produced 

 1 hiundularia (black), 1 crepuscularia, 1 chamomillce, 1 derivata, 2 badiata, 

 1 mendica (male), 1 diibitaia, gothica, progemmaria , &c. ; the other insects 

 taken during April being jmmilata, petraria, silaceata, vulgata, palumbaria, 

 porata, dictceoicles, gracilis, siiffamata, pulveraria, falcida, j^unctulata, tri- 

 plasia, remutata, and confusalis. May produced, besides those already 

 named, basilinea, lunaria, menthastri, bidentata, trilinea, impluviata, 

 dodonea, pudibunda, lactearia, decolorata, ptalpina, tenehrosa, pisi, thalas- 

 sina, centaureata, lubricipeda, capsincola, nana, B. rubi (female), morpheus, 

 dolobraria, dentina, p)lagiata, exclamationis, hucephala, unidentata, russata, 

 cinerea, /estiva var. bilinea, corylata, L. comma, pulchellata, carpophaga, 

 viretata, fagi, plecta, batis, lacertula, affinitata, cucubali, ribesiaria, lari- 

 ciata, propugnata, impura, ruberata, corticea, and oleracea. During June 

 and July (I was away from June 12th to July 8th) I took lunaria, rurea, 

 margaritaria, notata, batis, imitaria, pulchrina, cytisaria, pudorina, cucul- 

 latella, alsines, graminis, spinula, illunaria, comitata, crepitscidaria, centaur- 

 eata, tiliaria, and immanata, which I consider a very bad record. In August 

 things began to look up a bit, as I consider this one of the best months for 

 light. I did not begin lighting till the 9th, the evenings being unfavourable 



