280 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



I took one about 9.15, and a second at 10.15, both feeding freely 

 under a coldly brilliant moon and an absolutely cloudless sky, 

 with a cold high south-west wind. My success was subsequently 

 repeated, single specimens falling to my boxes on Aug. 29th, 

 30th, 81st, and Sept. 2nd, 3rd, and 7th, of which live are abso- 

 lutely perfect, and all are good. What appear to me to be the 

 females are larger and more fulvous than the males, with dark 

 wing-rays on the hind wings ; whilst the others are a paler 

 straw-colour, with less distinct markings. The weather was bad 

 daring the days of the first three captures, usually blowing a 

 gale ; in one case I took the specimen in broad daylight, before 

 thinking of lighting up at all. 



Agrotis sancia was very plentiful and in lovely condition, 

 A. obelisca sparing, and only single specimens of Heliothis pelti- 

 gera and Plusia festucce came to the sugar. After the gale had 

 blown itself out, we had a series of still cold damp nights, when 

 only N. xanthographa remained faithful ; but geometers then took 

 up the running, a second brood of Larentia pectinitaria appearing, 

 amongst which I took varieties with the dark band more or less 

 obsolete. On Sept. 1st a fine fresh male Camptogramma fluviata 

 visited my heads of Eupatorium canndbinum, and was promptly 

 secured ; this was a valuable item, as it put me on the alert, and 

 I looked out well for this little rarity, until Sept. 7th, when at 

 supper at my diggings, about 10.45 p.m., a fine fresh female flew 

 in to the lamp, and was cyanided pro tern, and examined. On 

 reviving she obligingly laid sixty-four eggs, which proved fertile, 

 to my great surprise, as the female appeared absolutely fresh. 

 These larvae nearly came to a sad end, as they were preceded by 

 a voracious brood of Lithosia caniola larvae which hatched from 

 ova laid previously in the same chip-box. However, my friend 

 Mr. Abbott (to whom I entrusted the ova) proved equal to the 

 occasion, and remorselessly settled these ferocious-looking little 

 "cuckoos" ere they could do harm. At the time of writing 

 (Nov. 2nd) we have a dozen of these same C. fluviata on the 

 setting-boards, all males unfortunately. 



My run of luck was not yet over, as on Sept. 10th I took 

 another fertile female at sugar, which laid about two dozen eggs. 

 These I sent to my friend Mr. A. W. Mera, who has also been 

 successful in getting them through A last specimen was 

 secured Sept. 13th, but was a fine male ; on the same evening I 

 also took the second H. armigera (previously referred to), and a 

 very worn L. exigua, which I kept on the off-chance for eggs. As 

 I was leaving next day I brought it up alive, but it died without 

 laying, and examination inclines to the opinion that, as with the 

 worn one I kept in 1897, it was a male. Better luck next time ; 

 but altogether I have no reason to join in the general wail of 

 1898 as a bad season. 



Colias edusa occurred very sparingly, and seemed to pass over 



