NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 45 



tvhilst pcdruif/. This point was not sufficiently observed, until within 

 the last two or three years, to be taken into practical consideration ; but 

 it bears to a very important extent on presence of attack." We may 

 depend upon it this observation represents a consensus of opinion 

 from practical people who have to deal seriously with insect pests, and 

 whose knowledge of such insects is not inferior to that of the brethren 

 of the net. Whether it refers to fruit or forest trees, of course, 

 matters not. The "case," then, is simply this: — greased bands, 

 properly prepared, are very effective in dealing with wingless moths, 

 but not entirely so. Mr. Mitchell is a little hard, and too general, I 

 think, in his criticism of "newspaper entomology." In a journal 

 like the ' Standard,' correspondence is passed through a discriminating 

 sieve by experts. And here is another testimonial to the press, from 

 Miss Ormerod, It appears at page xii, in the preface to her book : — 

 " I should fail in what is a duty as well as a pleasure if I did not 

 mention, with many thanks, the encouragement and help ever heartily 

 and courteously accorded to me by our agricultural, and often by our 

 general, press." — J. Arkle ; Chester. 



ToRTRix PYEASTRANA. — One day last June I bred a female of this 

 species which I killed and pinned to a sheet of cork whereon there 

 were a number of other insects waiting to be set. The window of my 

 room was open; and while I was engaged setting, a male T. pyrastrana 

 flew in and came towards the table, and fluttered backwards and 

 forwards over the piece of cork, and at last settled down in the midst 

 of the group of moths, and ran to and fro until he had discovered the 

 dead female, whereupon he immediately attempted nuptial rites. 1 

 blew him away, but he came back again ; and again I blew him away, 

 but he persisted in returning ; so I got a pill-box ready and tried to 

 box him as he was flying round, when all at once, to my surprise, he 

 went right into the box, and was promptly secured. It is very 

 probable that this box had contained the female, and was therefore 

 an attraction in itself. Eventually he joined his wished-for mate on the 

 setting-board. — Gervase F. Mathew; H.M.S. ' Hawke,' Dec. 23rd, 1896. 



Cheimatobia brumata. — As there seemed a large number of males 

 of C. brumata about at the end of November, my brother and I went 

 to search in our kitchen garden for the females. We got fifty- four in 

 five days ; so there ought to be a good many larvse less next spring. 

 We found the best time was between 6 and 7 o'clock. They were 

 nearly always in cop., and generally beneath the first branch. I do 

 not think the males carry up the females, as on two or three occasions 

 we saw the male fly away after copulation ; the female then ran up the 

 tree some way, remained still, but we never saw any laying eggs. 

 They varied very much both in size and colour, some being quite 

 black.— H. M. Edelsten; The Elms, Forty Hill, Enfield, N., Jan. 1st. 



High-flat Setting. — What should they know of England who 

 only England know? May I be allowed to prolong the discussion on 

 high setting of Lepidoptera ? It is a question which affects me more 

 than most of your correspondents. Mr. Sabine writes (Entom. xxix. 

 359), "It seems to me that we collectors of British insects are desired 

 to set our specimens flat, simply for the benefit or convenience 



