CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 11 



Bred specimens of Xylomiges conspicillaris from Taunton made about 

 5/- each, and others, also bred, but locality not indicated, fetched 1/- 

 more per specimen. Eleven shillings was given for one example of 

 Xylina conformis from Bathampton. There were six specimens of 

 Cucullia gnaphalii, and these made 53/-. Two lots of Plusias, each 

 comprising eight specimens of P. bractaa, with seven P. ckryson, and 

 eight P. festucce, were sold for 40/- and 32/6 per lot. Of Catocala 

 fraxini there was a specimen from Glynde, Sussex, and for this the 

 bidding went up to 47/6. The first known British specimen of Nyssia 

 lapponaria was taken about thirty-five years ago, and up to 1895 it 

 remained unique. The ten specimens of this species in Mr. Mathew's 

 collection, offered with other things in two lots, brought in 58/- ; so 

 that 6/- would seem to be the present auction price, whereas the 

 original specimen was once sold in the same rooms for the tall price 

 of £14. The aberrations of Abraxas grossulariata were numerous. 

 Six of the best of these brought in a total of £10 12s. 6d., which in- 

 cluded 65/- for one female ab. lutea, 45/- for a male of the same form, 

 and 35/- for a specimen of fulvapicata. 



CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 



Sesia culiciformis and Heliothis peltigera in Dorset. — On June 

 4th, 1906, I captured in Berewood, Dorset, nine specimens of Sesia 

 culiciformis, and two examples of Heliothis peltigera, and on June 10th 

 one further S. culiciformis. The Sesiids came to the blossoms of the 

 rhododendron, and visited exclusively the common purple one, although 

 there were many plants in full bloom of the beautiful nursery varia- 

 tions. They flew almost exclusively during the very hottest sunshine, 

 when even the active Argynnis eitphrosyne seemed overcome by the 

 heat. They were very wary, and I missed the first four that I saw. 

 However, after I had got used to the tactics of the insects I caught 

 nine out of ten, making a total of fourteen seen. It was quite 

 impossible, once they had jumped, to follow them amongst the maze 

 of flies, bees, and wasps dancing around the bushes. The one captured 

 on the 10th was worn and was, moreover, the only one seen, so pre- 

 sumably the brood was over. Of the Heliothis peltigera, one was 

 flying at purple bugle, and the other was imprisoned in a rhododen- 

 dron flower. The adhesiveness of the pistils, stamens, and stems of 

 the rhododendron flower is wonderful, nearly every Sesia culiciformis 

 was a leg or more short, and H. peltigera lacked the apex of the right 

 fore wing, which, when I endeavoured to dislodge the insect, remained 

 sticking to the pistil. I found remains of several insects, including 

 culiciformis, in the flowers. They had evidently met their death in 

 the same way as a house-fly on a "fly cemetery" I saw a queen 

 wasp get stuck, and after repeatedly stinging the pistil she bit it 

 through at the base and fell out of the flower to the ground, still 

 endeavouring to disengage herself from the pistil. Owing to the 

 thickness of the bushes I was unable to see whether the efforts were 

 successful. The interest of the capture of Sesia culiciformis lies in the 

 fact that I only know of two records for Dorset ; one by J. C. Dale in 



