HUNT FOR SOME OF OUR LOCAL CRAMBI. 245 
with some beautiful varieties, notably a few very dark, almost 
black, with pale nervures, a striking form. Many were taken 
paired and in perfect condition. Its first flight is just after 
dark, when it keeps close to the ground, and is therefore easily 
missed; while it is again on the wing late at night, when it 
flies higher. 
Thanks to a chance discovery two other local insects, of very 
secretive habits, were taken in profusion. On a cold afternoon 
with a strong wind blowing we were searching unavailingly the 
lower leaves of Hchiwm vulgaris for pups of O. dentalis. As we 
in this way disturbed the collection of dead leaves and grasses at 
the roots of the Hchiuwm, first a specimen of N. achatinella 
crawled out, and then, to our delight, one of M. bipunctanus 
(anellus). Further search produced a good many more of each 
species, together with some commoner things, the insects having 
evidently retired to the roots for shelter after feeding by night at 
the blossoms. This gave us the hint we needed, and the next 
night, which was pitch dark and very warm, we visited the 
plants with our lanterns. The result was truly amazing! 
N. achatinella was about in profusion flying over or sitting upon 
the Hchium, while far surpassing them in numbers was M. 
bipunctanus. Of this strange-looking and not often seen insect 
only the males appeared to fly at all, and these but little, both 
sexes, many paired, sitting on the Hchiwm and neighbouring 
grasses. The males at rest had a curious intermittent vibration 
of the wings, resting quiet for a few seconds, then a sudden 
dithering of the wings, and then quiet again. Whether the 
movement was intended to attract the females or not we failed 
todiscover. The night was evidently a field one with bipunctanus, 
as on no subsequent occasion did we see it in anything like such 
numbers, indeed, I question whether the like ever has been seen. 
The fact that so sluggish an insect was found so abundantly, 
one or two actually in process of expanding their wings, in the 
middle of the more settled part of the sandhills, seems to point 
to the roots of the marram, or of some other grass, as the food 
of the larva rather than to the generally accepted suggestion 
that the larva lives in the nests of wasps. 
The same night a single insect, not yet identified, was taken. 
It is evidently allied to H. cribrum, but has the fore wings pure 
white with much fewer markings, and the hind wings consider- 
ably darker. It will probably prove to be a wanderer from the 
Continent; at any rate, it does not appear to belong to any 
species usually recognised as British. Before leaving Deal 
a trip to St. Margaret’s Bay produced a number of Tortrices, 
the most interesting of which were C. fulvana, G. nigromaculana, 
C. dilucidana, and P. aspersana, whilst from gathered heads of 
Centaurea scabiosa a number of fine C. gigantana (alternana) 
subsequently emerged. A. baliodactyla and M. pheodactylus 
