THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 2& 



of the River Shen. jThe exact spot is between two well- 

 known salmon-casts in that river, viz., the Upper and Lower 

 Ciaragh. I do not know if the spelling is correct, but any 

 of the fishermen on the river will point to the spot at once. 

 C. Pyraustella was, I think, beaten from blackthorn, R. pronu- 

 bella from beech, and P. pectinicornis was taken flying in 

 the sunshine, miles away from fir-trees, which are, I think, 

 its usual habitat. Scopula decrepitalis is found, at the same 

 time of year, in great numbers, near the same place. In 

 July, Aplecta occulta, A. tincta, and Acronycta leporina 

 occur commonly ; and Noctua conflua, lately admitted to be 

 a species, may be found in all kinds of varieties. We all 

 know that a saint cannot be canonized under a certain time, 

 and it might be curious to inquire how long a time it takes 

 for a species to be admitted into the calendar, and what are 

 the ceremonies observed. Bombyx Callunae and Noctua 

 conflua having been admitted, I do not despair of seeing 

 Chortobius Davus and C. Typhon admitted separately. I 

 think every one who has seen the last-named insects on the 

 wing will agree that there is a considerable difference between 

 them, especially as C. Davus, as far as I have observed, is 

 abundant wherever it does occur, whilst C. Typhon is a 

 scarce insect on the moors both in Scotland and Ireland, and 

 you do not meet with above one or two in a day's walk. 

 Other Entomologists may have found it otherwise ; weather 

 has so much to do with the appearance of insects. I was 

 one day this last summer, about the middle of June, on one 

 of the hills near Ben Nevis. The weather had been dry and 

 bright for a long time. I. had never seen Erebia Cassiope 

 (now called, I see, Epiphron) on the wing, but from the 

 middle to the top of the hill it was in the greatest profusion. 

 I have no doubt that, had I been properly prepared, I could 

 easily have taken over a thousand, and apparently almost all 

 of them just out of the chrysalis. As it was 1 managed to 

 secure twenty-seven, though I had only three pill-boxes and 

 no net. I had always fancied that E. Cassiope was scarce as 

 well as local, but it certainly was not so on this occasion. 

 Psodos trepidaria and Crambus radiellus were also very 

 abundant on the top of the mountain. Probably the very 

 fine weather brought out all these insects at once, and I hap- 

 pened to be there the right day to see them. I am very glad 



