14 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



branches in search of food. If we stood still and listened we 

 could plainly hear the jaws of this countless host at work as 

 they were ravenously feeding, and their frass dropping on the 

 dead leaves below sounded like falling hail. We soon com- 

 menced beating, but it was fearful work, every blow of the 

 stick actually bringing quarts of larvae into our calico-trays 

 (a most ingenious invention of Mr. Bignell's), and as we 

 walked we could not avoid treading on larvas which were 

 crawling on the ground, besides which we were soon covered 

 with them ourselves. The four most abundant species which 

 were causing all this destruction were Taeniocampa stabilis, 

 Hybernia defoliaria, Oporabia diluta, and Cheiraatobia bru- 

 raata ; but occasionally we got something belter, for in a little 

 while Mr. Bignell's cheery voice rang out with — "Hullo, 

 here's something good ! Surely not Chaonia ? Yes, it is, 

 though; and a beauty, too!" This raised our hopes and 

 strengthened our arras, and the bushes were thwacked more 

 vigorously than before ; and presently Mr. Gatcombe ex- 

 claimed he had a lovely Ridens; and I quite agree with him, 

 for it is a handsome larva : I afterwards took one or two 

 crawling about the bare branches in a most forlorn manner, 

 as they had evidently been eaten out of house and home. We 

 continued beating and had very good luck, obtaining about 

 three dozen each of Notodonta chaonia and Cymatophora 

 ridens ; and, in addition to these, we also captured larvae of 

 Thecla Quercus, Denias Cory li, Taeniocampa rainiosa, Hopo- 

 rina croceago, Himera pennaria, Crocallis elinguaria, and a 

 great many other common species, and a few that were 

 unknown to us; and returned to Plymouth in the evening, 

 much pleased with our day's outing. 1 have often remembered 

 this delightful day when I was many thousands of miles away 

 in the Pacific. 



Mr. Bignell has since informed me that larvae were almost 

 equally abundant in the same locality last year. 



Gervase F. Mathew. 



H.M.S. "Britannia;" Dartmouth, 

 November 13, 1874. 



II 



