NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 33 



lepidopterous fauna, more especially if more time than I have at my 

 disposal could be devoted to collecting in the earlier stages, when I 

 have no doubt many more unexpected species v^ould be brought to 

 light. — Leslie H. Mosse Eobinson ; Margaret Villa, Porchester, 

 Hants. 



Second Broods of Agrotis 'Exclamationis, &c. — There are 

 several notices in the ' Entomologist ' for last year of second broods 

 of this species, which some of the writers seem to think is an unusual 

 occurrence. I have always considered it as a second-brood insect in 

 this neighbourhood, and should be much surprised if I did not meet 

 with it at sugar in August and September. It is generally very 

 abundant, but this year was not as plentiful as usual, though some 

 other double-brood species simply swarmed, and this was quite a 

 feature of the past abnormal season. The moth which in point of 

 numbers headed the list was Leucania pallens ; it began to appear 

 about the middle of August, and on the night of the 26th every 

 sugared post was covered with them ; there was a large proportion 

 of the red variety amongst them, and a great many were remarkably 

 small examples, one or two being the smallest I have ever met with, 

 being only one inch in expanse of wing. The following were also 

 very abundant, in the order they are named: — N. c-nigrum, N. ruhi, 

 and A. imta, and of other second-brood species, A. segeUmi, N. i^lecta, 

 P. meticulosa, H. suasa, H. chenopodii, and T. orhona were fairly 

 plentiful. T. pronuba was seen from early June until the end of 

 September, and I fancy it is more or less continuously brooded 

 throughout the summer. I also noticed a few each of H. oleracea, 

 M. hrassiccB, and A. psi, and on September 7th one A. rumicis. 

 The last-named is sometimes numerous in the autumn, and I have 

 seen the larvas late in October. Of Geometrae the most noteworthy 

 was the abundance of T. amataria. On July 26th I found it in great 

 numbers among broom on an old railway bank ; this of course must 

 have been a second brood. I did not note the date the first was 

 captured, but it was some day towards the end of May. From August 

 23rd until the end of the month I bred about two dozen from ova 

 laid by the July moths ; this would be a third brood, and at the same 

 time the moths were swarming in openings in woods where there 

 was a strong growth of Ghenopodmm. I had a large number of larvae 

 from three or four different females, but most of these are hybernating. 

 A. emarginata was more numerous than I have ever seen it, and was 

 most abundant towards the end of July, at which date they were 

 much worn — these I have no doubt were a second brood. Some ova 

 were obtained, and the larvae fed up rapidly, and were full grown by 

 the beginning of September. The first moths emerged on the 21st 

 of that month, and the last on October 17th — about forty were 

 bred; these would be a third brood. A. dimidiata was also very 

 plentiful. I have no note of the date the first was seen, but I ob- 

 tained a few ova about the middle of July ; the first moth appeared 

 on August 21st, and the last September 21st ; none of the larvas 

 attempted to hybernate. A. incanata was abundant throughout the 

 summer. I fancy there is always a succession of broods of this little 



ENTOM. — JANUARY, 1912. D 



