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entomological point of view the neighbourhood cannot be said to 

 be improving ; bricks and mortar still grow apace, to the extinction 

 of much land formerly productive to the collector; and with the 

 increase of houses there is naturally a very considerable augmentation 

 of the population, whose busy feet keep up a constant tramp over 

 the still unencumbered lands in the proximity of the town. 



Of course, there are still many miles of downs and woodlands 

 within easy reach that have as yet hardly been worked ; but circum- 

 stances did not admit of my exploring them, and my attentions were 

 necessarily confined to the town and its immediate neighbourhood. 

 It was not long after my arrival, however, that two species came 

 under my notice, which provided employment for my leisure time 

 during my stay ; it was fortunate, too, that both occurred within the 

 precincts of the town, so that, despite the unsettled and boisterous 

 weather that frequently prevailed, I was able to keep a continual 

 watch upon them, and thus study their habits in a way that would 

 have been impossible had their habitat been at a greater distance. 



Notes on Acidalia marginepunctata. 



The first of the two to attract my attention was Acidalia Margine- 

 punctata {pronmtata, Gn.). My acquaintance with the species in 

 this locahty was first made so long ago as August, 1887, and during 

 the nine years which have since elapsed I have carefully observed 

 it whenever opportunity has offered. The extension of the parades 

 from the " Wish Tower " to the border of the pit near Holywell 

 was completed a little prior to this time, previous to which the 

 sea-front was composed of a sloping chalk cliff, largely covered by a 

 luxuriant growth of wild carrot, and no doubt the species was an 

 inhabitant of these slopes. The making of the parades, though 

 possibly thinning its numbers for a time, did not exterminate it, 

 and the heavy growth of tamarisk [Taniarix gallica) which now 

 extends from end to end of them affords equally good cover as 

 the wild carrot formerly did. Some of the numberless species of 

 small plants growing among it provide a suitable pabulum for its 

 larva ; and thus it is enabled not only to hold its own, but actually 

 to obtain an increased footing, although occasionally harassed by 

 the strenuous efforts of the town gardeners to keep these tamarisk- 

 covered banks in " apple pie order." A good illustration is thus 

 afforded of the pertinacity with which a species will cling to its 

 original haunts under altered conditions, and perhaps also of the 

 possibility of such conditions, although largely artificial, being ad- 

 vantageous to it. 



But the point that has most interested me throughout has been 

 the peculiar form assumed by a large proportion of the examples 

 here met with. The description given of the imago in our 

 handbooks is briefly, "grey, with a faint ochreous tinge," or 

 " pale-whitish ochreous, much dusted with black," and with 



