126 THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



but most may safely be left uatouched, for if they should develop grease 

 they can tlisn be as easily cleaned as at first ; and if they do not, all 

 the trouble will have been saved. Those which ought to be done at 

 once are Cerura, Cossus, the larger Sesias, and Luperma. Ten days 

 seems a good average time to leave on the setting-board, and I have 

 found that even a moth which has been relaxed and reset will not 

 spring when left at least so long. The large hawk-moths should be 

 left at least fifteen days ; and it should be remembered that insects do 

 not dry so quickly in damp weather. — (Rev.) W. Claxton ; Sunnyside, 

 Woolston, Southampton, Feb. 29th, 1896. 



[Mr. Woodforde was good enough to furnish drawings to illustrate 

 several points of his article, but, unfortunately, it was not convenient 

 to reproduce them. Anyone wishing to know how to make a setting 

 bristle will find the information, together with a drawing of this 

 implement, and also of other useful items connected with setting, in 

 * The Lepidopterist's Guide,' by Dr. Knaggs. — Ed.] 



Scarcity of Pieris brassic.e. — Of the many problems which 

 attract the attention of the entomologist, perhaps the abnormal 

 abundance or scarcity of a given species in any particular locality is 

 not the least interesting. Many instances of the former or latter in 

 all probability occur in the experience of most collectors. The most 

 remarkable instance of the latter which has come under my own 

 observation is undoubtedly furnished by Pieris brassica ; this is the 

 more interesting, as it is one of the most generally distributed and 

 abundant species found in these islands. Previous to 1898 P. brassica 

 was one of the most abundant species found in this locality, and the 

 damage done by its larvae to the various cultivated varieties of Brassica, 

 &c., was in many seasons very great; but in that year I first noticed a 

 great falling off in its usual numbers, in fact, I cannot remember 

 seeing more than a score of specimens altogether. In 1894 not a 

 single specimen was observed, although closely looked for. In 1895 I 

 paid particular attention to every specimen of the Pieridse seen, but 

 without detecting brassicce. in a single instance. Neither larvae nor 

 pupae were seen in either year. Thus it is now more than two years 

 since I saw a living specimen in any stage in this district. Of course 

 I am not prepared to say tliat the species has ceased to exist in this 

 particular locality, for its apparent absence may be in part due to im- 

 perfect observation, as it is impossible for one observer to cover even 

 a limited district with absolute certainty ; but its absence, either 

 apparent or otherwise, is sufficiently remarkable, for, as every one 

 knows, brassicce is a species wliich does not as a rule require searching 

 for ; it forces itself upon the notice of even the least observant, either 

 in the imago stage, or, as an unwelcome visitor, in the larval stage, in 

 the Idtchen garden. In the ' Entomologist ' for 1894 (vol. xxvii.) 

 there are several short notes calling attention to its scarcity in widely 

 divergent localities ; but in the volume for 1895 (nor in any other 

 magazine to which I have access) I cannot find any notes recording 

 unusual scarcity of the species under consideration. So perhaps we 

 may assume that it was found in its usual numbers in most other 

 districts. As far as this locality is concerned, it will be interesting to 

 see if it occurs during the present year (1896), or if the unusual 



