NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 19 



that DO extraordinary appearance of caterpillars has occurred in Cheshire 

 this year," I am sorry Mr. Arkle should have committed so grave an error 

 in making such statements, and that his "exhaustive enquiry " should have 

 been confined to such a small portion, or portions, of Cheshire, — which 

 must have been the case, or he would have arrived at a very different con- 

 clusion. For the last four years I have devoted much time to the study of 

 Economic Entomology, and during that period 1 do not remember having 

 seen certain injurious larvae so abundant as they have been this year in 

 certain portions of Cheshire. 



Neniatus ribesii, Curtis, was so abundant in one district, by the end of 

 June, as to have completely defoliated the gooseberry bushes, thereby ren- 

 dering the fruit useless and destroying the would-be " bearing buds " for the 

 coming season. I am glad to state that this only happened in cases of 

 gross neglect on the part of the owners who took no measures to destroy 

 the larvae in any shape or form. All the bushes in this particular district 

 were equally attacked ; but those who took the precaution to have their 

 bushes beaten about once a week, and the larvae killed, had excellent crops 

 and plenty of wood left for the future. This was not at all an exceptional 

 case, but I quote it as my own personal observation. Has this Hymeno- 

 pteron any insect parasites? I have never yet bred any from the larvae, 

 although I have kept quantities of them. The larva seems to be very 

 nauseous, as the only bird that I have found to feed upon it is the cuckoo 

 {Cuculus canorus). In the year 1879, at Upwell, Cambs., I shot two male 

 specimens of this bird, the stomachs of which were quite distended with 

 the larvae of N. ribesii; and last year (1889), on dissecting another speci- 

 men of this bird, I found in it many larvae of Abraxas grossulariata. This 

 proves that it is one of the most useful of our insectivorous birds, and, so 

 far, the only Britishbird known to feed upon nauseous larvae. 



Cheimatobia brumata. — I never remember having seen the larvae of this 

 insect so abundant here as it was this spring. Almost all kinds of fruit 

 trees suffered more or less from its ravages, especially the apple ; many 

 crops of the latter were seriously injured, and in one locality — about two 

 miles from here — the crop was a complete failure, entirely through the 

 ravages of these " looper grubs." In another district the ravages committed 

 by them on a plantation of nut trees were so extensive as to ruin the whole 

 crop. During the last week in October, 1889, the males simply swarmed 

 at the gas-lamps ; just outside our city I counted as many as thirty-five 

 individuals on a single lamp. Probably this accounts for the unusual 

 abundance of the larvae this year. Up to the time of my writing this 

 (Nov. 20th) I have only seen about half-a-dozen males at the " lamps," 

 which is strange, as the weather seems favourable for their development, 

 Are the apterous females attracted by light ? I once, in October, 1888. 

 took a female at a gas-lamp, which mi<^ht have been attracted by the light, 

 or it is just possible that she might have mistaken the lamp-post for a tree 

 trunk. In this county very little seems to be known of this pest of the 

 orchard, consequently nothing is done to keep it in check. " Stick banding" 

 seems to be quite unknown, which is much to be regretted. 



Hyponomeuta j)adellus, Linn. — This web-making pest has favourite 

 localities in this county, which it infests more or less every year. This year 

 it occurred in all its force, especially near Chester, where many bucketsful 

 of the larvae and their webs were collected and burned. 



By the foregoing remarks I do not wish to convey to the reader the 



