KOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 17 



Xylophasia rurea and var. combustata. The two last were plentiful and 

 flying promiscuously. June 23rd. — Up at 5 a.m. to catch the first train 

 from Llangollen. On the landing at the top of the stairs I took a farewell 

 look at a big trout, whose haunt was in the clear depths below ; then up at 

 a flock of swifts, which raced and screamed continually to and fro past the 

 window. What a natural rockery : such ferns, and red valerian (the last 

 did not attract a single moth); such trailing, drooping woodbine! Turning 

 away I spied a Noctua at rest on the glass. It was a fine specimen of 

 Plusia pulchrina. Breakfast. A delightful walk down the Vale to Llan- 

 gollen amid the changing lights on the mountain tops. These, bathed in 

 heavy dews, were silvered at intervals by the rising sun. June 33rd to 

 July 16th. — From 36 larva3 of Agrotis asJiworthii, 34 imagines appeared 

 between these dates; 33 out of the 34 were perfect. August 7th. — 

 The Vale of Llangollen again. Ran along by rail with a London friend to 

 Glyndyfrdwy. Worked down the Vale on the left bank of the river to the 

 Chain Bridge Hotel. Well-wooded with high fern-clad grounds, suggesting 

 fritillaries. Hazels abundant ; hanging with clusters of nuts. A dull day ; 

 saw nothing worth recording. The locality, however, should be well worth 

 working under favourable circumstances. August 8th. — Friend and I went 

 near " The Loggerheads," between Ruthin and Mold. This is scenery that 

 cannot be beaten in North Wales. A hot, sunny day. Satyrus semele, 

 Ccenonympha pamphUus, Polyommatus phlceas, Lycana astrarche, L.agestis, 

 L. icarus, unusually abundant. Saw occasionally Vanessa cardui and 

 Epinephele ianira. Came across hundreds of full-fed F. io larva3 on 

 nettles. Said to be a neighbourhood for A. contiguaria ; another local 

 moth hidden away from extinction. — J. Arkle ; 3, George Street, Chester, 

 September 22, 1890. 



Abundance of certain Autumn Larv^, — One of the most remark- 

 able features of the entomological record of 1890 was the extraordinary 

 abundance of autumn larvae. In a garden in Norwich, where I was 

 staying during the month of September, everything was infested with 

 larvae, even to the ferns, which were in many cases almost entirely stripped 

 of their green parts. The many-coloured larvae of Orgyia antiqua (the 

 common vapourer) were by far the most abundant, proving a perfect nuisance 

 by their curious habit of constantly flinging themselves to the ground, from 

 a Wisteria arbour which spans the path. What could induce these insects 

 to act in this manner I was unable to ascertain, as there was nothing but 

 an iron garden-seat and the pebbles of the path to tempt them. This 

 falling was not produced by wind or birds, or any other obvious cause, for, 

 during perfect stillness of all their surroundings, they would fall by dozens 

 upon the unfortunate occupants of the garden-chair. Nor is this a habit 

 confined to any particular age or period of the larva's existence, for among 

 those that fell were small, large, and intermediate-sized individuals. More- 

 over, this habit caused a great mortality among them, for they were no 

 sooner fairly down than they began to make for a white-washed wall which 

 forms one boundary of the path, and attempt to climb up again to the 

 arbour from which they fell. Now it so happened that many small garden 

 spiders had elected to weave their webs from this wall to the iron frame- 

 work of the arbour, and as the larvse came to this part of their journey 

 they often became entangled in the webs, were captured, and preyed upon 

 by the small spiders. Is it a usual thing for garden spiders to attack, 



ENTOM. - JAN. 1891. C 



