CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 299 



But the captures at the city electric lamps were the great feature of the 

 season. Moths were taken new as well as rare to the district. Foremost 

 stands a fine female Sphinx ligustri, captured by Dr. Herbert Dobie on the 

 night of July 15th — a new insect, although there is good authority for the 

 occurrence of larvae some years ago at Upton, three miles away. It may 

 be interesting, as showing the range of this insect, to say there is equally 

 good authority for the occurrence of the larvae of this fine hawk-moth near 

 Manchester, and at Grange, in North Lancashire. Dr. Dobie also captured 

 a few specimens of Eupithecia centaureata, hitherto only recorded, as far as 

 I know, for Wallasey and Bidston. Mamestra persicarice appears in Mr. 

 A. 0. Walker's list as common in the larva state near Holywell, North 

 Wales, on Pteris aquilina. This is the only district record I can find ; but 

 the moth appeared commonly enough here at the electric lamps, in July. 

 Notodonta dictcea (hitherto only recorded for the Wirral and Holywell) was 

 so common that it was frequently left as not worth the taking. Several 

 specimens of N. dictceoides were captured, although the species is marked 

 " scarce," and only at Bidston, about twenty miles away on the Cheshire 

 side of the Mersey. I was from home during the greater part of July, but 

 here is a list of a night's captures, kindly supplied me by the Messrs. 

 Thompson, which is fairly representative of our July moths at the electric 

 lamps up to the appearance of N. dictaa and N. dictceoides on the 19th. 

 Smerinthus ocellatus, S. populi, Euchelia jacobcece, Arctia caia, Spilosoma 

 lubricipeda, S. menthastri, Porthesia similis (auriflua), Acronycta rumicis, 

 X. monoglypha (polyodon), Triphana pronuba, Phalera bucephala, Leucania 

 pollens, Miana strigilis var. cethiops, Noctua rubi, Agrotis exclamationis, 

 Hadena oleracea, Plusia chrysitis, P.festucce (first brood), P. iota, Amphi- 

 dasys betularia var. doubledayaria (plentiful during the month, but all black 

 forms), Uropteryx sambucata, Abraxas grossulariata, Timandra amataria, 

 and Spilodes verticalis. 



My method of capture was not to take a net, but wait for the moths 

 settling on the ground or stonework about, and then box them. On reaching 

 home I lifted the lid of each box a little, inserted a narrow strip of paper 

 previously dipped in chloroform, and then closed the box. After all the 

 boxes had been so treated, I took out the insensible moths, and killed them 

 by sticking a sharp pin, dipped in a solution of oxalic acid, carefully 

 between the front legs. The moths were then perfectly relaxed and ready 

 for setting, but 1 kept them over night, as a rule, in a closed jar three 

 parts filled with damp sand, on which was a layer of cotton-wool. Twelve 

 or fifteen drops of carbolic acid were well mixed with the sand to prevent 

 the formation of mould. 



My captures for the next three months were the following : — 



August. — A. caia, P. similis (abundant), X. polyodon, Bryophila 

 perla, T. fimbria (hitherto a scarce moth), T. ianthina, T. pronuba, T. 

 orbona, L. cespitis, L. testacea (some with almost black markings, others, 

 almost unicolorous pale brown), Miana literosa, M. furuncula, A. oculea, 

 N. rubi, L. conigera, L. lithargyria, Neuronia popularis, S. populi (one 

 only, a large freshly emerged female, taken Aug. 23rd— surely representing 

 a second brood), P. gamma, Selenia illunaria var. bilunaria (the summer 

 biood, smaller and paler than the March form), Grocallis elinguaria, 

 Acidalia scutulata, Plalia vauaria (ivavaria), Ellopiafasciaria (one ; hitherto 

 I have only taken it in Delamere Forest), Eugonia (Ennomos) fuscantaria 

 lEutom. xxvi. 52), Hypsipetes elutata, C. truncata (russata), (with the variety 

 comma-notata, " black," but with the median area of the primaries russet), 



