SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



367 



LEPIDOPTERA IN SOUTH-EAST ESSEX. 



By P. G. Whittle. 



(Concluded from page 327.) 



Pyralides. 



I HAVE taken thirty species of these elegant 

 moths in nay district ; they are as follows : — 



Cledeobia angustalis. Shoebnryness and Benfleet ; 

 not common. 



Aglossa cuprealis. Once only, at rest on a barn 

 at Bowers Gifford. 



Pyralis costalis. Southend ; at light and 

 sugar. P. glaucinalis, Southend and Benneet ; at 

 sugar; P.farinalis, Southend. 



Scoparia ambigualis. Leigh, Southchurch, Hock- 

 ley, Eastwood; common on tree tmnks. S. 

 cembrae, Benneet, Southend, Prittlewell ; not un- 

 common at light. 8. dubitalis, abundant. S. 

 mercurella, Eastwood and Southend ; common. 

 S. truncicolella, Eastwood ; once only. S. pallida, 

 abundant in a reed-bed near Benneet ; once only 

 at Eastwood. 



Nomophilanoctuella. This capricious insect was 

 abundant at ragwort, light and sugar in 1893 ; 

 was seen in 1894, but not since. 



Pyrausta purpuralis. Eastwood ; not common. 



Herbula cespitalis. Shoebnryness, Leigh, Ben- 

 fleet, Canvey ; common. 



Ennychia octomaculata. Eastwood ; not common. 



Endotricha flammealis. Eastwood and South- 

 end ; common at light. 



Eurrhypara urticata. Very common among 

 nettles and on fences. 



Scopula lutealis. Once only, at Pitsea. S. 

 olivalis, Eastwood and Southend; common. S. 

 prunalis ; generally common. S. ferrugalis, 

 Southend, at light and sugar. 



Botys ruralis. Abundant among nettles. B. 

 fuscalis, common at Eastwood. 



Ebulea crocealis. Benneet, Eastwood, Leigh ; 

 not uncommon. 



Spilodes verticalis. Shoebnryness and Eastwood ; 

 not common. 



Pionea forficalis. Abundant. 



Perinephele lancealis. Eastwood; scarce. 



Cataclysta lemnata, common. 



Paraponyx stratiotata. ■ Shoeburyness ; not 

 common. 



Hydrocampa nymphaeata. Southend, Eastwood, 

 Benneet ; not common. 



Pterophori. 



I have found eleven species [of plume-moths in 

 South-East Essex. The most characteristic is the 

 sea-lavender feeding species, Agdistis bennetii, 

 which occurs on the saltings throughout the 

 district. 



Chrysocoris festaliella. Once only, on bramble 

 bloom at Eastwood. 



Agdistis bennetii. This very interesting exclu- 

 sively British insect is common on all our salt 

 marshes ; larvae on Statice limonium. 



Platyptilia bertrami. Generally distributed along 

 the river walls ; but not common. 



P. gonodactyla. Plying over coltsfoot at Southend. 



Mimaeseoptilus phaeodactylus. Among Ononis 

 at Benneet; not common. M. bipunctidactyla, 

 Eastwood; common. M. pterodacty lus, Shoebury- 

 ness, Leigh and Eastwood ; common. 



Pterophorus monodactylus. Abundant. 



Leioptilus tephradactylus. Eastwood ; onoe only. 



Aciptilia pentadactyla. Very common. 



Alucita hexadactyla. Eastwood and Southend; 

 not common. 



Crambi. 



Of Crambi we have at least twenty-one species, 

 they are : — 



Chilo phragmitellus. Vange, Benneet ; abundant 

 and variable. 



Platytes cerussellus. Common, but one may 

 collect for several seasons and find males only. 

 Only once in nine years have I witnessed the 

 flight of females. They then outnumbered the males. 

 , Crambus pratellus. Abundant. C. pascuellus, 

 Shoeburyness, Leigh and Eastwood ; common. 

 C. perlellus, common near the river wall. C. 

 selasellus. Rather common on all salt marshes. 

 C. tristellus, abundant. C inquinatellus, East- 

 wood; very common. C. salinellus, Benneet, not 

 common. C. geniculeus, C. culmellus, and C. hor- 

 tuellus, all very common. 



Myelophila cribrum. Generally common on 

 thistles. 



Homoeosoma sinuella. All over the district ; 

 rather common. H. binaevella, Shoeburyness, 

 Benfleet, and Canvey ; not common. H. creta- 

 cella, larvae on ragwort at Leigh ; scarce. This 

 moth was added to the British list by Mr. Howard 

 Vaughan, who discovered it at Leigh in May, 1869. 



Ephestia elutella. Southend and Benfleet. 



Bhodophaea consociella. Eastwood ; rather 

 common, tt. advenella, Benfleet ; scarce at light. 

 B. tumidella, Eastwood ; common. 



Galleria mellonella. Shoeburyness and Leigh ; 

 not common. 



Tortrices. 



I have taken 130 species of Tortrices in 

 South-East Essex. They are : — 



Tortrix podana. Southend and Benfleet ; bred 

 from ash and sallow. T. xylosteana, Southend. 

 T. sorbiana, Eastwood and Southend ; not common. 

 T. rosana, Benfleet and Eastwood common. T. 

 heparana, very common. T. ribeana, Southend 

 and Eastwood; common. T. unifasciana, very 

 common. T. costana, common. The unicolorous 

 variety (of this species or the next) latiorana, 

 which was first captured by Mr. S. Stevens in a 

 salt-marsh near Southend and described in 

 the " Entomologist's Annual " for 1857 (see 



