CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 107 



second segment. It reminded me of Asphalia flavicornis, and I fancy it 

 will turn out to be Cymatophora diiplaris. Larvae of the odd-shaped 

 Drepana falcataria were numerous, clad in apple-green with a chocolate 

 dorsal mantle. Some great, brown, sooty-looking fellows, with little 

 regard for their personal appearance in the way of ornament, occasionally 

 dropped into the umbrella. I put them down as Ampliidasys betularia, but 

 many species of caterpillars vary very much. Amongst hybernating larvae 

 were Porthesia similis = Liparis aurifiua (they spin a little cocoon for their 

 winter coveringi, Geometra papilionaria, and Bombijx ruhi. The last were 

 ceaselessly travelling, as usual at this time of the year, and I let them go 

 on in search of their resting-places. G. papilionaria are now (Nov. 12th) 

 resting nearly upright on their anal claspers, at an angle of about 30°, upon 

 birch twigs, for all the world like twiglets or birch buds. This may be an 

 attitude of protective resemblance against birds, but it certainly fails 

 against ichneumons. Another visit to the forest on the SQth found all 

 these species still present, though in diminished numbers, except G. papi- 

 lionaria. They had evidently left the terminal twigs from which I had 

 beaten them on the 15th. Ragwort flowers produced, on this occasion, two 

 species of Evpithecia caterpillars: (1) delicate, reddish brown, with six 

 paler, oblique marks on each side, avA four darker, reddish-brown diamonds 

 dorsally; (2) pale yellow, with varieties pale green and pale brown; five 

 halberd-shaped, brown arrowheads dorsally, pointing towards the head. 

 Female gnats or mosquitoes — for a gnat is a mosquito either under the 

 microscope or by its life-habits — were almost insufferable during this visit. 

 It is the female alone which "stings," for she alone possesses the five 

 lancets hidden away in the long sucker or proboscis; and it is the female 

 only which emits the sharp, well-known cry, from what I believe to be 

 musical spiracles. On July 19th, my friend and I were among myriads of 

 males flying in and out among each other, and low over the heather, as in 

 a vast quadrille. There was not a sound from them, and there was never 

 a "bite"! Seen under a lens the mosquito is a beautiful insect. One 

 cannot help admiring its pale ashy grey, relieved by six broad equidistant 

 black bars, the fourth being the widest. The two wings, with their delicate 

 fringes, are a study in themselves, and the feathered antennas of the males 

 compel one's admiration. The female antennae appear simple, except under 

 the microscope. I captured a fine specimen of the dragonfly Sympetrum 

 striolatum ( = Libellula vulgata) in the forest on this date. M. cyanea 

 was taken close to Chester, and brought to me on the 22nd. Near the city, 

 on the 9th, I saw a remarkable form of the butterfly Pararge megcera, but 

 failed to capture it. It had a broad median black patch or bar, one-third 

 the width of the upper wing, and stretching from the base to half the length 

 of each primary. The extraordinary moths tnken at the electric lights in 

 September were Nonagriu lutosa and Xanthia gilvago, both new to Chester. 

 The second broods of P. festuca and A^ c-nigrum appeared about the middle 

 of the month. 



October. — The only capture worth alluding to was the water-beetle 

 Dytiscus punctidatus and a female Eugonia [Enyiomos] fuscantaria, both of 

 which I took at the electric lights. The moth laid a number of fertile eggs. 



November 2nd. — The season closed with P. gamma before the curtain. 



I should mention that four beautifully fresh male specimens of Zeuzera 

 pyrina [cesculi] and one example of Gnophria quadra, both species new to 

 the district, were taken at the electric lamps here, but not by myself. — 

 J. Arkle ; 2, George Street, Chester. 



