A FORTNIGHT IN SHETLAND. 275 
Our main object was of course the capture of Crymodes exulis, 
and for this we were told the high ground between Loch of 
Cliffe and the western coast was the best locality. 
There is not a tree nor even a bush on the island except a 
few planted in gardens, so we were fortunate in finding several 
wire fences with wooden posts, which ran east and west right 
across the exulis ground. ‘Two of these fences were about on a 
level with Baltasound, near the head of Loch of Cliffe, while two 
more were at the far end of that loch. The former were within 
a mile or so of the hotel—to get to the latter necessitated a 
bicycle ride of at least five miles, as a long detour vid Hayrolds- 
wick had to be made. LEventually we fixed on the most 
northerly fence of all, which started from where the lighthouse 
keepers lived, at a place called Fiskna Wick on the west side of 
Burrafirth, and to this fence we practically confined our 
sugaring work. 
Night after night we visited it, with more or less success, but 
with never a blank, and in the end found we all three had a full 
complement of C. exulis, with some to spare for our friends. 
Athough on the whole in excellent condition, we took several, 
even on the first night, which were somewhat torn and chipped, 
and no doubt we might have done even better had we been a 
week earlier. 
From the same fence we took plenty of Mamestra furva, 
Agrotis porphyrea (dark), and swarms of Noctua festiva var. 
conflua ([thulet, Staud.] in endless variety. One or two H. adusta, 
one Hurois occulta, one Phlogophora meticulosa, one Dianthacia 
conspersa, and several Triphena proniba completed the bag at 
sugar. But M. montanata and L. cesiata (both in the Shetland 
form) were common all over the hills. At the date of our arrival 
there was practically no real night, and indeed it was not dusk 
enough till about 10.45 p.m. to be worth going round the sugar. 
But this state of things soon altered, and during our fortnight’s 
stay the days had drawn in by certainly halfan hour. Just as 
a week earlier would perhaps have been better for C. exulis, so 
it would certainly have suited better for Hepialus humult, Dian- 
theecia conspersa, Emmelesia albulata and Coremia munitata. Of 
H. humuli I saw but three, all females, which were on the wing 
at 10 p.m. on July 19th, close to Haroldswick. Of D. conspersa 
I took only one worn specimen on the same evening, but by 
searching Silene maritima persistently we were able to make a 
fair bag of larvee, which were still very small. 
Silene maritima occurs sparsely round Baltasound inlet and 
at afew other spots, but at Haroldswick, chiefly on the south side 
and at the head of the bay, it grows in immense profusion. Here 
we found the larvee of Hupithecta venosata in swarms—indeed, so 
plentiful were they that often every seed-head of the Silene was 
cleared out, and it looked as if the larve of D. conspersa would 
