46 



field, and is easily found, along with pup« of several other species, 



by peeling back the moss there. 



(Abraxas grossulariaia and Lomaspilis marginata.) 



The Early Moth {Hybernia riipricaprarid) ; The Spring Usher 



(ff. leucophearid) ; The Scarce Umber (H. aurantiarid) ; The 



Dotted Border {H. progemmaria) ; The Mottled Umber {H. defol- 



iaria) ; The March Moth {Anisopteryx cescularia). These are all 



found commonly in our woods, and some may be taken on our 



gas lamps and windows from the end of October until the middle 



of March. The females are wingless, and have much difficulty in 



keeping out of the way of mice, and of the small birds, such as the 



Blue Tit, which destroy them in great numbers, thereby helping 



to protect our fruit trees from the ravages of these destructive 



insects. These moths are generally plentiful at the right season 



around Rickerby, Warwick Woods, Kingmoor, and Newbiggin. 



I have found the pupae of most of them by digging in August and 



September. They are very easily reared. I have found that the 



females considerably outnumber the males ; for, out of thirty I 



bred last year, only eight were males. I should like to know 



whether other collectors have noticed this fact.* 



The Winter Moth ( Chimatobia brumata). This is a very delicate 



looking little moth, resembling the last in the nearly-wingless 



condition of the female. The larvae are one of the greatest pests 



the gardener is troubled with, for they seem to devour almost 



anything that grows in a garden. We are troubled with two other 



such pests here besides Chhnatobia brumata, namely. The Small 



Ermine Moth ( Yponomenta padellus), and one of the Saw Flies, 



belonging to the Hymenoptera. The larvae of all these must be 



well known to everybody that has a piece of garden, whether the 



perfect insect is known or not. I have paid great attention to the 



natural history of these insects for some years, and have come to 



the conclusion that the best plan for preventing their ravages is to 



* Yes ; the reason why there are more females than males is that their 

 inability to escape from their pursuers by flight would long since have led to 

 the extermination of the whole group, had not the initial proportion of females 

 reared been adjusted so that enough individuals should escape to continue the 

 species. (Ed. ) 



