294 



MOTHS. 



much practised on all our hills. Of course 

 the quality of the newly-grown herbage was 

 materially improved ; thus affording another 

 instance of indirect advantages derived from 

 insects. 



" Another very remarkable fact, illustrative 

 of the natural habits of this moth, fell be- 

 neath my observation in the beginning of 

 August, 1831. L was staying at Meldon 

 Park on an entomological excursion, and, by 

 chance, one morning visited some old pas- 

 tures about a mile from that place this was 

 about eight o'clock and my astonishment 

 was very great to find the fields swarming 

 with moths upon the wing. I managed to 

 capture one with my hat, having neglected to 

 take out my net, and was delighted to find it 

 was a specimen ofCharceas Graminis, of which 

 I had only captured an occasional one or two, 

 flying amongst thistles in the middle of the 

 day. I returned to breakfast, fully calcu- 

 lating on getting an ample supply during the 

 forenoon. Accordingly, big with expectation, 

 and completely prepared for the onslaught, I 

 reached the spot about ten o'clock ; and if my 

 first surprise on beholding the countless my- 

 riads in my morning walk was great, it was 

 not less on my return to find that in the 

 same place where, not three hours before, I 

 could scarce step without treading on them, 

 a single specimen was all that rewarded my 

 incessant search for some hours, over the space 

 of at least one hundred and fifty acres. Cha- 

 grined at my ill luck, I determined that the 

 peep of the morrow's dawn should find me 

 prepared to profit by the experience of that 

 day ; and, accordingly, taking an assistant 

 with me, we reached the place early ; but not 

 a moth was to be seen. The wind had 

 changed to the east, and the drifting mist 

 threatened to end in rain ; and having fixed 

 that day for my return to Newcastle, I felt 

 somewhat disappointed, and wandered over 

 the ground in the hopes that some single 

 specimen might venture forth, but in vain ; 

 not a solitary moth was to be seen. Despair- 

 ing of success, and wet and uncomfortable, 

 from the heavy dew on the grass, and moist 

 fog overhead, about half-past seven I was 



about to return, when suddenly the whole 

 field, as far as the eye could reach, was once 

 more the scene of their gambols. Struck 

 with the suddenness of their reappearance, 

 and rejoicing at their unexpected return, I put 

 Horace's truly entomological recommendation, 



' Carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero,' 



into force. And now the difficulty was, not 

 where to find a moth, but which one of the 

 numberless thousands on the wing to select 

 for an object of capture, as their flight was so 

 rapid and irregular that the eye became 

 bewildered with their motions, and, like the 

 Gyrinl, they were lost in the mazes of their 

 evolutions. After securing what specimens I 

 wanted, I could not help watching the scene 

 before me ; and, as in the study of all nature's 

 works, the trouble, or rather the time spent, 

 was more than amply repaid ; for sudden as 

 their appearance had been, their disappear- 

 ance was equally so, when, as with one 

 general consent, about half-past eight, they 

 again settled ; and their flight for the morning 

 being over, scarcely a solitary specimen was 

 anywhere to be made. The moths flew about 

 three or four inches from the ground, and 

 apparently very seldom alighted, but threaded 

 their way most dexterously amongs the long 

 culms of the grasses. I reached home, not 

 only pleased with my capture, but infinitely 

 more so with the interesting habits of this 

 insect ; and I regret that I have not had an 

 opportunity of again witnessing them. The 

 species, though common hereabouts, has been 

 considered rare in the south of England, pro- 

 bably from entomologists being unacquainted 

 with its habits." 



\ 



489. The F athered Ear (Pachetra leucophcea) . 



489. THE FEATHERED EAR. The palpi are 

 straight, and very slightly projecting ; the 



