CAPTURE OF INSECTS, &C. 39 



Nigra, obscura, punctata, pubescens : oculi fusci : ocelli rufo-fusci : 

 antennae nigrae : caput scabrum : thorax lasvior : squamulse rufo- 

 fuscse : metathorax carinatus, utrinque spinosus : abdomen niti- 

 dum, glabmm, basi striatum : pedes nigri ; trochanteres fusci ; 

 pro- et mesofemora apice rufa ; metafemora basi unidentata ; pro- 

 et mesotibiae basi apiceque rufse ; tarsi rufi ; ungues et pulvilli 

 fusci : alse hyalinae ; proalae ad costam fuscae ; nervi fusci. 

 (Corp. long. 2 lin. ; alar. 2^ lin.) 



Taken near Paris, by M. F. de Laporte. 



Art. III. — Capt?/re of Insects at BurgJifield. — By the Rev. 

 C. S. Bird, M.A. F.L.S. 



Burghfield Hill House, near Reading, Aug. 1833. 



Sir, — Having resided at this place about ten years, and 

 employed my leisure hours in making an Entomological Col- 

 lection, I think I have ascertained pretty nearly what this 

 locality affords, amongst the more conspicuous insects at 

 least ; and, with your permission, I shall be happy to register, 

 in your Magazine, the result of my researches. The country 

 around me is woody, particularly abounding in elms, and my 

 house is close to several copses, containing large, though not 

 old, oaks, &c. ; and at the distance of half a mile I have the 

 range of a heathy common, terminating in fir-groves. There 

 is no chalk, that I am aware of, within six miles. 



I am particularly attached to Lepidoptera, — probably only 

 because I have been most successful in this order. This suc- 

 cess I owe to the use of a lamp to attract moths. During the 

 moonless nights of summer, I sit with a Sinumbra-lamp, and 

 perhaps one or two smaller lamps, placed on a table, close to 

 the window. The moths speedily enter the room, if the weather 

 be warm. I have had a levee of more than a hundred between 

 the hours of ten and twelve. In the spring, too, and autumn, 

 I have been frequently fortunate, though generally having my 

 patience sufficiently tried. In March, for instance, I have 

 taken many specimens of Biston prodromarius in one evening ; 

 Glcea rubricosa, and Lytcea leucographa, have accompanied 

 them. In April and May, CiiculUa fissina, and Peridcsa 

 serrata, have visited me. When November has arrived. 



