SUGAR VERSUS NATURAL FOOD. 265 



.ew of the younger leaves had in places a little on them. All 

 through the week it was the same ; with fine days and warm 

 nights not a moth came to sugar. At flowers in the garden 

 Plmia iota, P. pidckrina, P. chrysitis, Dicmthcecia capsincola, and 

 GucidUa umbratica were numerous, and one P. festuca was 

 taken; while A. tincta and others were abundant, flying over the 

 aspens in the wood. 



This state of things lasted till the 27th, when heavy showers 

 again fell, which washed all the honey-dew off the leaves. On the 

 28th I tried sugar again, and moths swarmed at it : — A. tincta 

 (some fresh, others very worn), A. herhida (quite fresh), Acronycta 

 leporina (2), Hadcna cjcmina, Agrotis exclamationis, Leucania 

 comma, Acronycta riimicis, Noctua augur, and N. triangidum (3). 

 This was repeated on the 29th. Then after three or four dry 

 days the honey-dew again appeared, and sugar became useless. 

 And so this has gone on up to the middle of August. After rain 

 sugar has been most attractive, while two or three dry days have 

 rendered it again almost useless. Orthosia siispecta swarmed in 

 July on good nights ; Cleoceris viminalis, abundant (some very 

 dark) ; Miana stririiUs var. (etkiops and Apamca didyma (mostly 

 dark brown or black), swarming; a few Hydroecia nictitans 

 and Triphcena fimbria ,- and on two very still, dark nights four- 

 teen and eighteen Hypenodes costcBStrigalis, respectively, were 

 taken. 



During August, up to the 19th, Noctua neglccta, N. dalilii, 

 Calocampa solidaginis, and T. fimbria were numerous at sugar, 

 with an occasional H. costastrigalis ,- but after the 21st, although 

 C. solidaginis was fairly numerous, the others left off coming. 

 The ling had then come into bloom, and during the rest of the 

 month all the above, except T. fimbria and H. costiestrigalis, 

 were to be found on the ling flowers, with, in addition, a few 

 N. glareosa. On many nights in July and August from 70 to 100 

 moths on a tree was a by no means uncommon sight. I could 

 not observe that fruit essences at all increased the attractiveness 

 of the treacle, and I found methylated spirit quite as effective 

 as rum. 



Natural food has been scarce this season. There has been no 

 aphis, for one thing ; and, for another, the honey season has been 

 very bad here. In spite of the fine hot weather of May and June, 

 the bees have collected very httle honey, and are now feeding 

 greedily on fallen fruits, and are visiting the fruiterers' shops in 

 swarms. 



The conclusion I arrive at, then, is that moths have no very 

 great predilection for sugar, and only come to it when natural 

 food is scarce; and of course only then when the weather is 

 favourable, cold or damp being fatal to success. 



Honey-dew seems to be of all things the favourite food ; and 

 if a chemist could manage to produce in large quantities, at a 



