202 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



COLLECTING IN NORTH DEVON. 

 By Richard South. 



As far as I can learn, there are few resident collectors of 

 insects in the whole district of North Devonshire. In a note 

 from a gentleman at the United Services College, Westward Ho ! 

 I am informed they have a Natural Histor}' Society in that 

 establishment, some of the members of which are aspiring 

 entomologists. At Barnstaple I understood there were two 

 gentlemen of that town who had collections of Lepidoptera ; 

 but I only met with one of them, and he was good enough 

 to show me his collection, which consisted mainly of butterflies, 

 and they were strong in the commoner species of the genus Vanessa. 

 The insects were set and arranged more in accordance with 

 individual fancy than scientific requirements. In his collection 

 was a curious example of Acherontia Atropos, which at once caught 

 the eye, and appeared familiar and yet strange. A closer 

 inspection instantly revealed the cause of my imperfect recog- 

 nition. Atropos was before me certainly, but, having lost its own 

 hind wings, a pair of the posterior wings of Papilio machaon had 

 been substituted ; hence my momentary mystification. This 

 "hybrid" was referred to in a recent law case by its manufacturer 

 as '' Achej'ontia atropo-papilio-machaon.'' 



During June I had a few days at Instow Sand-hills and 

 Braunton Burrows, but at neither place did I see the particular 

 insects for which I was searching, viz., Micra ostrina and 

 M. parva ; in fact, even the generally common moths were scarce 

 at those places. South-westerly gales and much rain had, I 

 expect, either destroyed or driven away insects from those 

 exposed localities. The flora of the district is extremely rich, 

 but I am quite unable to say from my own experience what 

 species of Lepidoptera are to be found there. 



Throughout the month of June I used sugar nearly every 

 night in various inland woods and on the coast, always putting on 

 the "mixture" at or before 8.15 p.m. while still light. Some 

 nights the wind was blowing hard, on others it was quite still, 

 but generally the evenings were warm. Moths were always 

 numerous as regards certain species, such as Triphcena pronuba 

 and Aplecta nebiilosa ; of the latter I once counted seventeen on 



