NOTES FROM WITHEESLACK. 



to fill up my series of Photocles captiuncula. This little Noctua, 

 which is very difficult to catch on the wing, owing to the rapidity 

 of its flight and the harmonising of its colour with surrounding 

 objects, was sunning itself upon the flowers of the ox-eye daisy, 

 and was thus easily captured. Xanthosetia hamana was just out, 

 and occurred at intervals ; and the salmacis variety of Lyccena 

 agestis was tolerably abundant. L. alsus and Thanaos tages, 

 although plentiful, were worn. 



Having heard, or read somewhere, of the attractive influence 

 exerted by yew trees on Lepidoptera, I determined to take the 

 opportunity of verifying the statement, so in the evening as it was 

 getting dusk I sallied out, armed with a light long-handled net, 

 to some promising-looking trees. Truly, I had been rightly 

 informed, for not only moths, but Coleoptera, Diptera, innu- 

 merable columns of gnats and flies of all sorts, together with 

 clouds of midges (which bit awfully hard), swarmed around "the 

 attractive } r ew." I soon secured a series of Batodes angustiorana ; 

 and then devoted my attention to a small moth which was flying 

 about, which proved to be Eupithecia distinctata. Boarmia 

 rhomboidaria, Camptogramma bilineata, and Hepialus humuli 

 were so common as to become a nuisance ; especially C. bilineata, 

 which, in the uncertain light, appeared like everything else 

 except itself. 



Monday, July 2nd, was fair but cloudy, with a slight wind. 

 On that day I went upon Meathop Moss, and took a nice lot of 

 the following : — Acidalia fumata and Aspilates strigillaria in very 

 fine condition ; Chortobius davus (nearly all males) plentiful, 

 but rather worn ; Scodonia belgiaria, one, a female, which laid a 

 nice batch of eggs, which duly hatched, and are now feeding upon 

 willow ; two specimens of Hyria auroraria ; and sundry Euthe- 

 monia russula, Agrotis porphyrea, and Anarta myrtilli. The 

 females of A. strigillaria and A. fumata I find lay freely when left 

 in a pill-box. The eggs of A. strigillaria are straw-coloured, 

 oblong in shape, and slightly broader at one end, on the top of 

 which is a circular indentation. When viewed through a small 

 pocket-lens they had the appearance of minute grains of wheat. 

 They were not laid in any particular pattern or manner, but 

 higgledy-piggledy, singly or in clusters, all about the box. The 

 eggs of A. fumata are of a pale greenish colour when fresh laid, 

 but soon change to a pinkish hue, are oval in shape, taper 



