CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. B53 



Not a favourable night ; rather cold and windy, with nearly full moon. In 

 spite of this I took nine Noctua neglecta at sugar, and noticed that almost 

 all seemed to prefer the drops of sugar on the ground at the foot of the 

 trees. I took another pair of neglecta in cop. on the heather. Noctua 

 (jlareosa (7) also put in an appearance at sugar for the first time this year, 

 and I also took one at the flowers of a rush. Aug. '20th. Sugared exten- 

 sively over the heather to get neglecta, but night unfavourable, bright moon, 

 and slight frost, and only got two specimens. Nothing else occurred at the 

 sugar, except one Noctua xanthographa and two or three worn Xylophasia 

 polijodoi. Aug. 23rd. Again tried especially for neglecta, but only took 

 one. Hardly anything at sugar. It got cold after dark, and there were 

 four degrees of frost during the niglit. Aug. 25th. Saw a specimen of 

 Polyoiiimatus phlceas and several Pierls rapce ; butterflies of any kind are a 

 rarity here. Aug. 28th. Polia chi, always common here, is beginning to 

 emerge, Aug. 29th. Took one Crocallis elinguaria. Aug. 31st seemed an 

 ideal night for sugar, but only two moths [Noctua glareosa and Xylophasia 

 jmlyodon) put in an appearance. The lime-trees had just come out, which 

 may have keep insects away from the artificial sweets. Tapinostola fulva, 

 out now in plenty, flying over the damp places on the moors at dusk ; 

 Cidaria niiata, one specimen on Sept. 20th. Oporabia dilutata beginning 

 to emerge on 21st. Carsia imbutata, which has been observed each year 

 lately at Douglas, sometimes commonly, was this year apparently entirely 

 absent; at least I saw not a single specimen. — (Rev.) J. A. Mackonochie ; 

 The Hirsel, Coldstream, N.B., Oct. 24th, 1894. 



CoLLECTiN'Cx IN KINCARDINESHIRE. — I Spent a fortnight collecting, in 

 July of this year, at Stonehaven, a seaport, and the county town of Knicar- 

 duieshire. It is a favourite summer resort, being situated in a beautiful 

 bay. One of the principal objects of interest is Duuotter Castle, about a 

 mile from the town, which stands on a perpendicular rock 150 ft. above the 

 level of the sea, and almost separated from the land by a deep chasm. The 

 coast is bordered with clilfs, intersected with beautiful little bays ; and in 

 these bays I spent most of my time collecting, the castle bay perhaps re- 

 ceiving most attention. Here LyccBim agestis var. artaxeroces seemed to have 

 its headquarters, although it occurred m most of the other bays. I took a 

 long series, and obtained a couple with large white discoidal spots on the 

 posterior wing. L. alexis was also very common, and the females varied 

 considerably. One which I have taken is almost as blue as the male, with 

 the spot on the anterior wing surrounded with white, and three of the 

 cellules at the tip of the wing have dashes of white. Two others are almost 

 as dark as artaxerxes, with a very slight sutfusion of blue on them. Pieris 

 brassiccB, rapce, and napi were all represented ; the last mentioned seemed 

 to vary somewhat, but unfortunately they were not in good condition. 

 Vanessa urticce was often observed careering along wildly. I netted several 

 specimens of V.cardui, but they were mere shadows of their former beauty. 

 A single specimen of V. aialanta on one occasion alighted on a flower ; my 

 net was in my bag, but I quickly fixed it up, and, just as I made the stroke, 

 it circled aloft, bidding me farewell by disappearing over the clifF. Hip- 

 par chia seniele was just beginning to make its appearance, and I managed 

 to obtain two or three examples. Epinephcle ianira was abundant every- 

 where ; the females were very large and beautifully marked. Cmnonympha 

 pamphiius was common above the cliffs at Fowls Heugh. Two examples of 

 Polyommatus phla:as were obtained in the castle bay, and several specimens 



