144 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. . . .. 



luck with N. hispidaria to be on a par with that of other entomologists who 

 have worlied the forest for it this season. I have only heard of the capture 

 of a solitary female. The fact, probably, is that the insect, like a few more 

 ** good things," is difficult to time — an important factor in studying the 

 preservation of species ! April 5th. — Warm, spring-like. The Taniocampa 

 larva taken from a garden rocket last June, in the Vale of Llangollen, and 

 referred to in my notes (Entom. 16), emerged a fine T. stabilis, with all 

 due honours, including the " black dot at the base of the wing " (Newman, 

 p. 361). My notes describe this larva as follows : — "A.pple-green, delicately 

 suffused or mottled with white along the back ; head apple-green, and 

 smaller than the seeond segment ; each segment is well divided by a 

 yellowish division, as in Pachiiobia leucographa. When disturbed it curls 

 up first half of body Uke P. leucographa. Thin white dorsal line, not very 

 distinct, down middle of back ; a broad clearly-defined white stripe along 

 each side ; between this stripe, on each side, and the dorsal white line is 

 another thin white stripe ; under surface and sides apple-green ; body has 

 a few, but very few, short black hairs ; the body tapers towards each 

 extremity, especially towards the head. I fed it on sallow." April 6th. — 

 Breeze N.E. again. Bitterly cold. In the Chester cemetery, after dark, I 

 searched the sallows with the aid of my pocket-lamp. On one bush only 

 I found moths — a couple of T. gothica. The sallow bloom, with the 

 exception of a few dwarf bushes, was over, in the Chester district, by the 

 8th of May. The earliest flowers I came across were upon a solitary tree, 

 March 17th. Tceniocampa stabilis and T. gothica have scarcely been as 

 plentiful as they might have been. The first-named varies with us, in 

 shade, from grey to russet-colour. I have had moths of both species 

 . confined in glass jars, with a gauze covering, elastic band, and square of 

 glass on the top, — feeding them daily with fresh catkins in blossom, — in 

 order to obtain eggs, and test the variation in colour and markings of the 

 caterpillars, which, I have reason to think, in the case of T. stabilis, is 

 considerable. I have succeeded in each case ; the eggs of the last- 

 mentioned have just hatched, and the larvae are little black-headed fellows, 

 at present with almost colourless bodies. T. cruda I found so uncommon 

 that I only came across four specimens. T. gracilis — never a common 

 moth with us — was such a rarity this season that I only secured a solitary 

 male. It is a remarkable fact that I never once saw T. incerta [instabilis), 

 and, up to date, I have not even heard of T. opima being seen. The 

 Geometers observed about the sallows — such as Selenia bilunaria (illunaria), 

 Anticlea badiata, Hybernia marginaria [progemmaria) — have been as plenti- 

 ful as ever; fine specimens of A. badiata are still nightly on the wing. 

 Cidaria suffuniata I first noticed on the night of May 9th — commonly 

 enough. Nyssia ^cman'a appeared April 26th, but females only! Of hyber- 

 natiug caterpillars I saw Arctia caja on April 25th. Larvae of Agrotis 

 ashworthii have been exceedingly scarce this season. It may interest young 

 entomologists to know that sloe and sallow — especially dwarf bushes — 

 should, up to the end of June, be searched for night-feeding larvse, with, 

 of course, the aid of a lantern. Dock leaves, not forgetting the under 

 sides, chickweed, groundsel, violets, &c., should also be examined. After 

 June, search the leaves of sallow, oak and birch well over in the daylight, 

 and do not miss the under surfaces, for eggs and larvse. You will often 

 come across " good things," and, even amongst common ones, surprises and 

 matters of interest — unheard of in books — will frequently occur. Speaking 



