﻿8 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



range across Central Europe, from the Ural Mountains, through 

 Poland, Germany, and Switzerland, as far as the western pro- 

 vinces of France. The imago is not unlike that of A. ashworthii, 

 but the fore wings are of a more ashy grey, varied with red ; the 

 larva, though different in colour from that of ashivorthii, resembles 

 the latter in having a series of deep black marks along its back, 

 which are, however, arrow-head-shaped instead of square. It 

 feeds upon various low plants, such as golden-rod and dock, the 

 first-named of which is included in the pabulum of ashworthii. 

 It is possible, therefore, that the immediate ancestor of A. ash- 

 worthii may have been the European A. candelarum, though ours 

 is now quite a distinct species from the continental insect. 

 Neither the larva nor the imago of ashworthii, as found in its 

 Welsh mountain home, now shows the slightest inclination to 

 " cast back " to an earlier type such as candelarum ; and indeed, 

 in the course of a long experience of the insect, the writer has 

 been struck by the very slight tendency to variation exhibited by 

 our species. 



Unlike many rare animals and plants which have found a last 

 resting-place in some out-of-the-way corner of the globe, there 

 to dwindle away till they become extinct from natural causes, 

 Agrotis ashworthii seems to thrive and multiply in its native 

 haunts. Long may our unique and interesting local Noctua 

 continue to do so ! 

 Liverpool, November 10, 1889. 



AN ENTOMOLOGICAL TOUR ON THE TABLE-LAND OF 

 MOUNT ARTHUR. 



By G. V. Hudson, F.E.S. 



During the summer of 1888 — 9 I spent a week on the table- 

 land of Mount Arthur for the purpose of investigating the insect 

 fauna of the locality, and, as it presents some marked and 

 interesting peculiarities, perhaps it may be desirable to place 

 my observations on record, and also, for the benefit of future 

 naturalists, to give a few practical hints as to the best way of 

 reaching the locality, and what to do when there. 



_ Mount Arthur is the highest peak on the western side of 

 Blind Bay, and is always a conspicuous object from the town of 

 Nelson. ^ The table-land is situated behind the mountain range, 

 — that is, on the north-western side of it, — and extends for 

 about ten miles in the same direction, till we reach Mount Peel. 

 Its width is not so great, being, I should say, from five to eight 

 miles ; but, owing to the broken nature of the country, it is 

 evidently hard to say, especially as there is so much high land 



