329 



NOTES FROM SOUTH DEVON. 

 By George T. Porritt, F.L.S., F.E.S. 



As supplementary to Mr. G. H. Heath's notes on the Lepi- 

 doptera of South Devon during August last {ante, pp. 267-269), 

 it may be advisable to place on record my own and a friend's 

 experiences there, but on another part of the coast, a month 

 later. 



Encouraged by the success of the previous year, I went down 

 on August 30th, and remained until September 17th, my object 

 being to take the remaining specimens necessary to fill up my 

 series of the four rarities — Leucaiiia vitellina, L. alhi^mncta, 

 Laphygma exigiia, and Heliothis armigera. In this, however, I 

 was no more fortunate than was Mr. Heath, for of the four I 

 only took H. armigera, and it was not only scarce, but in poor 

 condition; oddly, last year this species occurred in fewer numbers 

 than any of the others. It was clear to us afterwards, however, 

 that lepidopterists had visited South Devon too early this year, 

 as scarcely any of the late summer species came to the sugar 

 during my first fortnight, but plenty of ordinary July and early 

 August species, and they were in perfect condition. I felt sure 

 even then that the good things would turn up later, and so it 

 proved. I had to leave on Tuesday, September 17th, but a 

 friend I left there continued to sugar, and on the following 

 Monday, September 23rd, took the first two L. vitellina, and this 

 species was then captured every night that iceek. L, albipuncta 

 was also taken, and H. armigera continued to occur. Singularly 

 L. exigua, which last year was taken in some numbers, and was 

 the commonest species of the four, was not seen at all on that 

 ground this year. Caradrina ambigua was fairly common all 

 the time I was there, and continued in good condition quite a 

 fortnight after I left ; but still was by no means so plentiful as 

 in the previous year, when almost any number might have been 

 taken. 



The more ordinary species were much the same as we took 

 in 1900 (see Entora., Dec. 1900, pp. 326-328), though several 

 were apparently altogether absent. Stilbia anomala was less 

 numerous, but Noctiia neglecta was, I think, commoner than in 

 1900. Agrotis saucia, though fairly common, was not so abun- 

 dant as in the previous j^ear ; and the pretty Bryophila muralis 

 was this year quite over on our arrival. Calocanipa vetusta was, 

 I think, the only new visitor to sugar, and it only occurred at 

 near the end of my visit ; as did also Anchocelis liinosa and Polia 

 flavocincta, lunosa being more variable than I have ever seen it 

 elsewhere. After I left, Aporophyla australis, Epunda lichenea, 

 and E. nigra occurred, the last-mentioned in abundance. Acidalia 

 projnutata {marginepunctata) was the most noticeable geometer, 



