HUNT FOR SOME OF OUR LOCAL CRAMBI. 245 



with some beautiful varieties, notably a few very dark, almost 

 black, with pale nervures, a striking form. Many were taken 

 paired and in perfect condition. Its first flight is just after 

 dark, when it keeps close to the ground, and is therefore easily 

 missed ; while it is again on the wing late at night, when it 

 flies higher. 



Thanks to a chance discovery two other local insects, of very 

 secretive habits, were taken in profusion. On a cold afternoon 

 with a strong wind blowing we were searching unavailingly the 

 lower leaves of Echium vulgaris for pupse of 0. dentalis. As we 

 in this way disturbed the collection of dead leaves and grasses at 

 the roots of the Echium, first a specimen of N. achatinella 

 crawled out, and then, to our delight, one of M. bipunctanus 

 {anellus). Further search produced a good many more of each 

 species, together with some commoner things, the insects having 

 evidently retired to the roots for shelter after feeding by night at 

 the blossoms. This gave us the hint we needed, and the next 

 night, which was pitch dark and very warm, we visited the 

 plants with our lanterns. The result was truly amazing ! 

 N. achatinella was about in profusion flying over or sitting upon 

 the Echium, while far surpassing them in numbers was M. 

 bipunctanus. Of this strange-looking and not often seen insect 

 only the males appeared to fly at all, and these but little, both 

 sexes, many paired, sitting on the Echium and neighbouring 

 grasses. The males at rest had a curious intermittent vibration 

 of the wings, resting quiet for a few seconds, then a sudden 

 dithering of the wings, and then quiet again. Whether the 

 movement was intended to attract the females or not we failed 

 to discover. The night was evidently a field one with bipunctanus, 

 as on no subsequent occasion did we see it in anything like such 

 numbers, indeed, I question whether the like ever has been seen. 

 The fact that so sluggish an insect was found so abundantly, 

 one or two actually in process of expanding their wings, in the 

 middle of the more settled part of the sandhills, seems to point 

 to the roots of the marram, or of some other grass, as the food 

 of the larva rather than to the generally accepted suggestion 

 that the larva lives in the nests of wasps. 



The same night a single insect, not yet identified, was taken. 

 It is evidently allied to E. crihrum, but has the fore wings pure 

 white with much fewer markings, and the hind wings consider- 

 ably darker. It will probably prove to be a wanderer from the 

 Continent ; at any rate, it does not appear to belong to any 

 species usually recognised as British. Before leaving Deal 

 a trip to St. Margaret's Bay produced a number of Tortrices, 

 the most interesting of which were C.fulvana, G.nigromaculana, 

 C. diluciclana, and P. aspersana, whilst from gathered heads of 

 Centaurea scabiosa a number of fine C. gigantana {alternana) 

 subsequently emerged. A. baliodactyla and M. phceodactylus 



