268 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



variata, and a solitary young Bonrmia rohoraria knocked 

 off a young oak. Variety is cbavming, so 1 bethought me 

 that 1 would change my field of operations, and in the 

 evening I struck out for Pondhead Enclosure, on the other 

 side of the Brockenhurst Road, and one of the favoured 

 haunts of the graceful Limenitis sibylla. But I had little 

 belter luck here : the evening was chill, and my captures at 

 sugar were one Tceniocampa instahiUs and two T. munda. 

 As to larvae they eluded my search by the same gymnastic 

 feat as before ; and on reaching home I found my captures 

 were confined to TriphcBna Jimhria and Noctua triangulum. 

 Slightly disappointed the next day found me back in 

 London. 



April I devoted to hard night-work at Highgate and 

 Hampstead, being anxious to verify my suspicions con- 

 cerning some larvae I took there first in 1872, and which 

 1 set down as TriphxBua janthina and Noctua baja. I 

 found larvae commoner than usual. Between April 1st and 

 June 16lh I spent sixteen nights at this work : the result of 

 my operations w-as aboiit four hundred and fifty larvae. In 

 the spring (at Highgate especially) Noctua hrunnea pre- 

 dominated ; seventy-eight fell to my share. Next followed 

 Boarmia repandata, which is most conspicuous from its 

 pale colour, sticking out with arched back from the bramble 

 twigs ; but of this 1 only took thirty-two. Of Noctua 

 trianffulum, N. festiva, and Aplecla vebulosa, I took about 

 two dozen each. Then followed TriphcBna orbona, T. jan- 

 thina, Noctua auyur and A^ boja, which were severally 

 represented by about a dozen specimens. Trip}t<s)ia Jimbria 

 was very rare near London ; but at Lyndhurst in May it 

 turned out en masse to greet me, and 1 could have taken 

 hundreds, but contented myself with fifty-three. 1 also 

 picked up stray larvae of Odonestis potatoria, Leucauia 

 Uihargyria, Miana strigilis, and Urapleryx satnbucaria. 

 As 1 have already noted 1 captured in June about a gross of 

 Xylophasia scolopacina, along with which 1 took the pretty 

 larvae oi' Larentia didymata (on grass, well under large 

 clumps of undergrowth), Tceniocampa gothica, T. cruda, 

 and Cosmia trapezina. 



1 may as well add here that I found thai the usual colour 

 of larvae of Noctua brunitea may be belter described as dull 

 rosy red, not reddish brown. Pale and ochreous varieties 

 run very near to Noctua baja, but may be separated by the 

 position of the pale spot on the subdorsal line, which in 



