54 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



bare plateau about 2500 ft. above sea-level. Bearberry has been 

 suggested as its larval food-plant, but I do not think this can be 

 true. They are most abundant on parts of the hill-top where no 

 bearberry grows. The only two plants sufficiently common are 

 crowberry {Empetrum nigrum) and lichen. The former seems to 

 me, on the whole, more probable, and we noticed that a great 

 many, females especially, could be disturbed from the tufts of 

 this plant. In a former year I tried the young larvse on lichen ; 

 but, though they lingered alive for a few days, they did not 

 appear to touch it. I hope some day to try with crowberry, 

 perhaps with more success. 



Sugaring was an almost complete failure, producing on 

 May 26th two H. glauca and two Pachnohia ruhricosa ; June 9th, 

 six Hadena rectilinea, one H. dentina, eight Enrols adusta ; 

 June 15th, four Hadena rectilinea, one H. pisi, one C. or; June 

 22nd, one Acronycta leporiua, one A. myriccs, one H. rectilinea, 

 four H. dentina, one E. adusta, one C. duplaris, one Agrotis 

 porpkyrea, one Euplexia lucipara, and one Eujnthecia satyrata. 

 These were the most successful evenings, and the above include 

 every individual seen at the sugar. 



The last three evenings were devoted to catching the males 

 of Hepialus luuiudi, in the hope of finding some approach to the 

 variety hethlandica. Though all those taken both near the 

 village and in some meadows four miles along the north shore 

 of the loch were quite typical, the time was not wasted. We 

 were surprised to see that, as soon as the ghost moths began to 

 hover over the long grass, small parties of black-headed gulls 

 arrived, and began crossing and recrossing the fields. Flying 

 very low, they frequently dropped to the level of the top of the 

 long grass, apparently to catch something. By standing under 

 a large elm at the edge of one of the fields we were rewarded by 

 seeing a gull capture a male humuli. The birds used to arrive 

 in little parties of two to five, and worked the fields from about 

 9.30 to 10.30. They then flew oft" to their home on the island at 

 the head of the loch, about nine miles away. The black-headed 

 gull seems to be the most adaptable of birds, always ready to meet 

 new conditions. However, I must not wander ofl'to talk of birds. 



The following is a further list of insects noticed : — Pieris napi, 

 Argynnis euphrasy ne, A. selene, Lyccena icarus, L. agestis var. 

 artaxerxes, Macroglossa fuciformis, Euthemonia russula, Lasio- 

 campa quercus var. callunw, Saturnia carpini, Notodonta dronie- 

 darius var. perfusca, Xylopkasia rurea var. comhusta (one blacker 

 than any I have seen before), Apamea hasilinea, Tceniocampa 

 stahiUs, Phytometra cBuea, liumia cratcegata (one aberration with 

 red much reduced), Cahera pusaria, Bupalus piiiiaria, Odontopera 

 hidentata, Ephyra pendularia, Acidalia fumata, Melanippc tristata, 

 Melanthia ocellata, Coremia montanata, C.jiiictuata (dark forms), 

 C. i^ropiignata, C. pcctin'ttaria, Emmelesia alclieinillaia, Eubolia 

 palumbaria, Eupithecia nanata, and Tanagra cheer ophyllata. 



