SILVER-Y MOTH. 33 



its name. The hind wings are smoky, the body between the wings of 

 a purplish-brown and crested. 



Some of tlie specimens of caterpillars sent me varied much in 

 colour, but looking at the differences that occur in this species, both 

 according to age and according to what the grub may be feeding on, I 

 see no reason to doubt that they were all " Gamma " caterpillars. 



On the 1st of July the following note was sent me from Teynham, 

 Sittingbourne, Kent, by Mr. Jas. F. Honeyball : — " I herewith forward 

 you specimens of, to us, a new pest. I have two fields of Eed Clover, 

 the first cut from which has just been carted ; we had lately 

 experienced splendid rains, and the second growth should be already 

 making good progress, but instead one piece is as bare as if it had been 

 closely grazed by sheep, and the other nearly as bad ; on close inspection 

 I find innumerable caterpillars of the kind enclosed, which are 

 evidently causing the mischief. I am proceeding to dress both fields, 

 one with lime, and the other with soot." 



On the 4th of July, Mr. Honeyball wrote further regarding these 

 caterpillars, which he noted "are destroying our second growth of 

 Clover in this locality." It will be seen the caterpillars were, at date 

 of writing, in course of migration, which would be particularly unde- 

 sirable in the case of Hops, this being a permanent crop, and in some 

 notes by the late Edw. Newman, on this moth, I find he mentions 

 recurrence of the infestation every year on a Hop in his own garden. 

 Also it will be seen that in this case, heavy rainfall (in the shape of 

 thunderstorms) does not appear to have been of any service in clearing 

 the grubs : — 



" Having cleared the Clover fields, the caterpillars, which I sent you 

 specimens of, appear to migrate in search of fresh food ; in one case 

 they are now attacking Potatoes, and in another Hops." . . . "As 

 to remedies I am trying fresh slaked lime and soot. A heavy 

 thunderstorm experienced here last Wednesday, 0-67 rain, in about la- 

 bours, after the first cut of Clover had been carted from the fields, can- 

 not have been very fatal to the larvae, as you point out was the case in 

 1879."— (J. F. H.) 



On July 7th another note (also from a Kentish locality) of great 

 appearance of Gamma caterpillars, was sent me by Miss Frances Pye, 

 from Knights Place, Rochester. In this case the looper caterpillars 

 were still young, but I found one was acquiring the paler adult tints, 

 and, as in the previous case, having finished the weeds and Clover, so 

 far as suitable to their tastes, were then migrating to another crop. 

 Miss F. Pye wrote me : — " My father has asked me to send you these 

 caterpillars. We have an immense number of them in our Clover 

 field : they have eaten the Thistles, and all the young shoots of Clover, 

 and are now marching across a road into a Potato field, where they 



