NOTES ON LVC^.NA ARION. 39 



Dartraoutli at eleven o'clock, and drove to a little village 

 called Portlemoiith, situated on the east side of tlie harbour, 

 just opposite Salcombe, from whence I crossed by ferry; 

 1 arrived about three p.m. Upon this occasion I put up at 

 the Victoria Inn. After refreshing myself I walked out to 

 Bolthead to endeavour to find the larvae of Lyccena Arion. 

 The aflernoon was wild and gloomy, with heavy, dun- 

 coloured clouds passing rapidly overhead, treating me now 

 and again to a brisk shower. Ou reaching the slopes, where 

 Arion was so plentiful in Jidy, 1870, I hardly recognised the 

 spot. The patches of furze and heather, which were then 

 nearly knee-deep, had disappeared; their places were occu- 

 pied by young, bright green shoots of the former, wliile the 

 greater part of the latter seemed to have been entirely 

 destroyed: here and there were ominous large black patches, 

 the result of recent fire. 1 was vexed, and anticipated small 

 success here; nevertheless, in certain places, which had 

 escaped the ravages of fire, 1 fancied I might make a lucky 

 hit, and stumble across this much-coveted larva. Accordingly 

 down I went on my hands and knees, scrutinizing every 

 plant of wild thyme 1 came near. The thyme grew best 

 round the patches of furze and heather, so I couimenced one 

 side of a patch, and gradually worked my way round to the 

 other. This went on for a long time, during which I must 

 have crawled round some dozens of clumps, with only the 

 uncomfortable result of making my back ache terribly. Con- 

 sequently 1 was obliged to give up this plan in despair, and 

 think of some other. Fancying that perha|)S the larvae at this 

 period of their existence might be night-feeders, and secrete 

 themselves during the day at the root of their food-plant, an 

 idea now struck me that if 1 set to work and dug up a 

 number of the plants bodily, and shook their roots vigorously 

 over a sheet of paper, 1 might get them. No amount of 

 shaking, however, produced aught but a i^yv common Nociine 

 larvae. Next 1 tried flowers of furze, tender twigs of heather, 

 leaves and roots of Lotus, various grasses, &c. ; still nothing 

 rewarded my efforts: so, after about four hours of decidedly 

 hard work, 1 had to give in, and acknowledge myself fairly 

 beaten. 1 must confess that when 1 started in the morning I 

 felt very sanguine of success, so my bad fortune was exceed- 

 ingly disappointing. No doubt it will prove, after all, an easy 



