368 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



small round net, made of white gauze or 

 muslin, screwed or fixed on at the end, of 

 about five or six inches diameter, and the 

 same in depth. I then direct the rays of light 

 upon the insect. If it is within reach I use 

 the forceps, and take it very deliberately ; if 

 out of reach, but within the length of the rod, 

 they are easily jarred into the small bag at the 

 end of your rod, lowered down, andtransferred 

 into the forceps. In this way they are cap- 

 tured with certainty, and the most surprising 

 facility, principally in consequence of that 

 singular instinctive faculty which many in- 

 sects possess, in a greater or less degree, of 

 feigning death when alarmed. For example, 

 Orthosia pistacina and 0. litura contract their 

 legs and wings, and fall into the bag-net or 

 forceps immediately when touched, tumbling 

 and rolling about without evincing the least 

 signs of life ; and so do many others. On the 

 contrary, 0. macilenta and others, under the 

 same circumstances, exhibit very little, if any, 

 of that predisposition for feigning death. 

 They will try to creep away when disturbed, 

 having no inclination to use their wings, but 

 are easily jarred off the berries or leaves into 

 the bag-net, or induced to creep upon some 

 part of it, until they are finally secured with 

 the forceps. If they happen to miss the net 

 in the act of falling, they invariably drop 

 lightly to the ground, and may be taken from 

 the grass with the forceps. The above obser- 

 vations only apply to the Noctuas, which carry 

 their wings horizontally; the Geometers, which 

 carry their wings erect, invariably fly away 

 when touched or disturbed. It requires a little 

 patience and address, when beyond the reach 

 of the forceps, to secure any of this family ; 

 however, they affect death in some degree, and 

 will fall a short distance as if shot when the 

 rays of light are directed upon them, and the 

 small bag-net held just under them. It is 

 necessary to wait patiently a few seconds, and 

 gently to touch the twig with the ring of your 

 net, until they feel inclined to exercise that 

 ' shamming propensity; it must then be lowered 

 with care, otherwise, if. alarmed or disturbed, 

 the insect will fly out of the bag before you 

 can place over the top the flat side of your 



forceps. Take the bag-net to some convenient 

 place, and the insect will be seen adhering to 

 the bottom or sides, with its wings erect ; 

 then place the mouth of the forceps in a 

 vertical position over the circle of the bag-net, 

 and lower it to the ground. This operation 

 will raise up the bottom of the net, and with 

 it the insect, which will fly up into the forceps, 

 and these being closed at the side?, as before 

 directed, it cannot escape. The yew tree 

 seems to flourish best in chalky districts. 

 Few persons are aware of the great age and 

 gigantic size of many of these magnificent trees 

 in Norbury Park. They seem common in the 

 woods and hedgerows on the" chalk in Kent 

 and Surrey. Those in Norbury Park are really 

 a natural curiosity. I invite entomologists to 

 examine them, more particuhn-ly, of course, 

 when the fruit is ripe. I am convinced they 

 \\ill be rewarded by new discoveries." 



590. The Lunar Undcrwing (Anchocelis lunosa). 



590. THE LUNAR UNDERWING. The palpi 

 are porrected, their terminal joint naked ; the 

 antennae are very nearly simple in the male, 

 quite so in the female : the outline of the 

 costal margin of the fore wings is slightly 

 produced before the tip ; their colour is 

 various, sometimes rich bistre-brown, at others 

 pale olive -brown, or pale ochreous- brown; 

 the discoidal spots have a pale circumscription 

 and a dark median area ; the wing-rays are 

 generally decidedly paler than the general 

 area of the wing ; and a pale transverse band, 

 always accompanied by a series of very dark 

 spots, crosses the wing parallel with the hind 



