THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 123 



were the lights of Southport pier. Not a molh was to be seen 

 at the sallow-blooin ; and a couple of larvae of S. Semele and 

 two or three of O. fascelina were all we got for our walk. 

 Next day we crossed the Mersey into Cheshire, and — having 

 secured the services of Mr. William Greasley, of Wallasey, a 

 most intelligent and observant entomologist — \Ve turned out 

 in the dark to look for T. opima, which we were told was out 

 and in unusual abundance. We made for a certain valley, 

 and had no sooner lighted our lamps than we were among 

 them, and in the course of a couple of hours had boxed no 

 less than sixty-five, all in good condition : some we took 

 from the sallow-bloom ; but many were at rest on the marram 

 and dead stems of hound's-tongue, ragwort, &c. The 

 greater part of these last were females, in the act of oviposi- 

 tion. The night was just right, — calm and warm. The 

 following night we took twenty-six, and on the last night 

 fifteen. One hundred and six in all. We certainly were in 

 luck : so great a take was never heard of before ; and there is 

 no doubt Opima is unusually plentiful this season. On the 

 second night we only hunted a short time for Opima, and 

 then went on to look for Lichenea larvae on Sedum acre. 

 We were also successful here, — thanks to Mr. Greasley, — 

 from twenty to thirty being taken. On Wednesday morning 

 we went to the sand-hills for the day-flyers and larvae: 

 E. lineolata was out in excellent condition; also N. zonaria 

 on the marram (this we took both by day and night), it is a 

 very sluggish insect, even' the male seldom flies, — only 

 about nine o'clock in the morning, says Greasley. Larvae of 

 B. Quercus and Rubi were scarce ; we only found three of 

 the latter, and they were all in the act of spinning up. We 

 also found a few larvae of L. littoralis by raking the sand. 

 Nothing could exceed the beauty of the sallow-bloom in the 

 slacks of the sand-hills : — acres of it, one mass of gold, — a 

 " golden floor," — the perfume delicious; while the natterjack 

 toads kept up a continual and somewhat monotonous croak- 

 ing in the clear fresh-water ponds, and the larks' singing at 

 heaven's gate, and the bees' murmur at the bloom, made 

 delightful music to the ear ; the green lizards ran along the 

 hot sand with rapid movement; and altogether the scene was 

 one not to be easily forgotten. It is worth one's while to pay 

 a visit to the sand-hills in bright weather, when the sallows 



