[49] COLLECTIONS OF NOCTUID^ "AT SUGAR." Jgj 



year occasionally occurs when a species will appear in re- 

 markable abundance. The two examples of the beautiful 

 Noctua, CTiamyris cerintTia, taken as above stated on the 23rd 

 and 24th of July, were very highly prized by their captor from 

 their rarity up to that time. The following year, by the* same 

 method of sugaring and from the same grape trellis, between 

 the 10th of June and 17th of August, nearly a hundred exam- 

 ples of it were taken sixteen in a single evening. Such rar- 

 ities in 1875 at Schenectady, as Agrotis pitychrous, Agrotis 

 alternata, Neplielodes molans, Cosmia infumata, Xylina 

 ferrealis, Xylina pexata, Anytus sculptus, Catocala Briseis, 

 Catocala antinymplia, Catocala gracilis, etc., in 1&77 at 

 Center, by the captures there made, were consigned to the 

 rank of common species. 



In addition to a knowledge of the abundance of a species, 

 the above and similar records may be serviceable in showing 

 the duration of the period of apparition of the more common 

 species, and also the succession of broods, when they occur. 



On the first evening of collecting, July 7th, twenty-one spe- 

 cies were taken, of which number one-third were species of 

 AGROTIS. Of those present at this time, three, viz., Agrotis c- 

 nigrum, Agrotis ypsilon and Mamestra renigera, continued 

 into the month of October. In the record of A. c-nigrum, 

 three intervals are shown of respectively sixteen days in July, 

 twenty-three days in August and twelve days in September : 

 may not three successive broods be inferred from this ? A. 

 ypsilon was not observed for the two weeks following July 7th, 

 but continuously thereafter to October 19th, with the excep- 

 tion of five indicated absences of one and two evenings each. 



Agrotis baja was captured in several examples on the 16th 

 of August, and was observed each evening until its disappear- 

 ance on Sept. 7th. The period of duration was probably a 

 month (no collections were made between the 7th and 16th of 

 August), and the same also of Agrotis messoria, from August 

 19th to September 18th. 



In Mamestra renigera, two intervals appear of sixteen and 

 twelve days each, in July and September. 



Hadena devastatrix, H. sputatrix, If. arctica and H. ligni- 

 color were among the most common species, and probably ap- 

 peared in successive broods, as they were each present when 

 the collections commenced, and two of the species continued 

 into September. 



