1888.] 199 



their prickly leaves, as well aa the smooth glossy ones o£ Fotamogeton 

 lucens, and other plants, but without success. 



We could not spare very much time for Acentropus (although, 

 this was the first occasion of our having met with it in numbers in 

 this part of England), for Dr. Plowright (who was one of the party) 

 was eager for Micro-fungi — rusts, smuts, cluster-cups, possibilities of 

 all kinds ; not many of them realized that day, so we ascended the 

 Ant River and examined Scirpus lacustris, Aeorus calamus, Ranunculus 

 lingua, and many other interesting plants. 



At night a lamp was lighted, of course, but a dense mist arose, 

 and we did but little, except get wet. A couple of Nonagria neurica 

 came (another had gratified me by jumping off a reed-stem as I passed 

 in the twilight), also Apamea fibrosa, Schoenohius gigantellus, Phihalap- 

 teryx lignata commonly, Peronea Shepherdana, the white form of 

 Hydrocampa stagnalis, and a few other things ; and although this was 

 gratifying to me (in spite of soaked feet) after so many years of 

 absence, it was not such a night as one hopes for in the fens. 



When returning in the morning there was no time to look after 

 Acentropus, but being dissatisfied with our failure to find females, I 

 sent my son over there a few days later. He pulled, with much 

 labour, across the Broad in the teeth of a violent breeze which had 

 inopportunely got up, but, from the roughness of the water, scarcely 

 an Acentropus could be found. He filled a great basket with as much 

 as he could well bring home of pulled-up plants of Strafiotes, Fotamo- 

 geton, Zannicliellia, &c., but the result was utterly disappointing. 

 Hours were spent over them, but not a female nor a cocoon could 

 I find. 



A day or two later I found Acentropus in plenty in a pond not 

 half a mile from my own house ; rather humiliating to have sent a 

 messenger a journey of over 100 miles after it ; but here again it 

 seemed impossible to find a female. There was no boat on this pond, 

 but, with a water net, I fished up floating weeds, swept growing plants, 

 and pulled some up from the bottom, and at last I did find one misera- 

 ble half-crushed wretch with partially developed flaps of wings, such 

 as she might well be ashamed of. Search at twilight and at night 

 with a lamp yielded no further result, and the probability seems to be 

 that Jiere the females are semi-apterous, and having no temptation to 

 fly (in the absence of the power), they keep themselves secluded 

 among the weeds at the bottom of the water. But, as the species 

 must at times move to fresh ponds, I still cherish the hope that, perhaps 

 in an earlier brood, well developed females with large wings, such as 

 used to be taken at Hampstead, and elsewhere, will yet be found here. 



King's Lynn, Norfolk : 



Janiiary IGih, 1888. 



