278 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



long series of Agrotis lunigera, A. corticea, A. lucemea, Hadena 

 dentina, &c, upon the Downs. Earlier in the month I found the 

 more sheltered spots at the foot of the Downs more remunerative, 

 and from the last week of June to about July 2nd various species 

 of Noctuffi were attracted in considerable numbers, amongst 

 which the best were Neuria saponarice (reticulata) in unusual 

 plenty, A. putris, Caradrina morpheus, with two only perfectly 

 fresh Triphcena subsequa (orbona, Hufn.). During this period 

 the top of the Downs was occasionally worked, but the usual 

 species appeared to be unusually late; and at the date when 

 A. lunigera should have been fully out, I only succeeded in 

 finding A. cinerea, five specimens being taken at the same time 

 off one clump of thistles. Setina irroreUa was in abnormal 

 abundance, and I took a long and fine series by searching 

 during the day, but, however, as usual, failed to find the 

 " ivi variety." 



My friend Mr. P. W. Abbott was very anxious to make 

 acquaintance with Acidalia humiliata, and visited the spot where 

 they occur, in company with me, during the last week in June, 

 succeeding in capturing about half a dozen specimens ; but he 

 was disappointed in not obtaining a female. In this I was 

 fortunately more successful, and, having induced her to lay, I 

 sent the ova to him, and have recently had the pleasure of seeing 

 the larvae, and of comparing them with the continental authori- 

 ties. I am much amused at the wild and frantic efforts made by 

 many of our most energetic "collectors" (I mean sale-room 

 collectors) to try and persuade both themselves and their friends 

 that this unwelcome little stranger has no rights of entry to their 

 cabinet, and I would not like to be unkind enough to suggest 

 that it is because in spacing out their columns there is no 

 " blank " left for it. Another cogent reason is that it does not 

 appear in "Newman," and in cutting up their label-list no mystic 

 printed slip is found for it. Bather let us fill our cabinets with 

 dead and gone species like Polyommatus dispar and Lcclia coenosa, 

 or artificially preserved ones as Ocneria dispar, than find room 

 for an addition to our existing species. I am, however, wan- 

 dering from my subject, as I did from my own pet locality when 

 I made my first trip for real British Melitcsa cinxia. Although 

 working the Isle of Wight for years past, I never worked for that 

 species until this season, and I think that my efforts in that 

 direction will not call down upon me "anathema maranatha " 

 from the irresponsible arbiters of permissive field-work, as only 

 three specimens were taken. It was, however, a satisfaction to 

 visit the locality, which I am afraid had been previously drawn 

 upon, or there would surely have been abundance of worn speci- 

 mens on the wing, especially as I was very late. I have had a 

 very wide experience of this species in Guernsey and Sark, and 

 would beg all entomologists to be sparing in their captures of the 



