Insects. 1087 



slightly mottled with purple : posterior wings brown, tinged with purple : head of the 

 male black, of the female ferruginous. This is the Lampronia Calthella of Stephens, 

 111. Brit. Ent. Haust. iv. 361. It is common about London in May, and is usually 

 found in the buttercup-flowers. — W. Bentley ; 3, Critchell Place, July 25, 1845. 



[It may not be amiss to add Haworth's description of T. Calthella and two varieties. 



" Tinea Calthella, atra, alis superioribus totis aureis, capite ferrugineo. L. Ex- 

 pansio alarum 3-3f lin. Minuta. Antennae vix corporis longitudine. Alas superiores 

 certo situ toto aureae apparent: alias atrae. Differt a Ph. Frischella antennis basi mi- 

 nime auritis ; capite ferrugineo ; corpore quadruplo minore. Obs. — Alae anticae lente, 

 basi laete purpurea?. /3. Duplo minor, alis anticis nitidissime aeneo-aureis, absque pur- 

 pureo. y. Duplo minor quam a, alis anticis cupreis, basi lente purpurascentibus." Ed.] 



Larva of the species of Astyages. Early in June I found the larvae of Astyages ni- 

 gricella in tolerable abundance on the leaves of pear-trees. They were enclosed in 

 slender cylindrical cases, and these stood nearly upright on the leaves to which the lar- 

 vae were firmly fixed. I have found the larvae of a cognate species, Astyages lutarea, 

 enclosed in similar cases, and attached to the leaves of oak-trees, and from one of 

 these I reared the Ichneumon fly, (Hemiteles areator). — Francis Walker. 



Captures of Moths with Sugar. From the different degrees of success which some 

 of your correspondents appear to have met with, in their endeavours to capture Noctuae 

 by means of sugar, and from having succeeded myself in every attempt during the pre- 

 sent and past month, I beg leave to offer a few remarks on the subject. In the first 

 place I would say a word upon my method of making this alluring bail. Instead of 

 mixing the sugar with water, I invariably substitute beer. I was led to adopt this 

 plan from observing, a year or two since, some dozen moths drowned in a bottle of su- 

 gar and beer, which I had hung in a tree, to catch wasps in. Having mixed the su- 

 gar and beer, I boil it, let it cool, and bottle it for uss. Before I use it, however, I 

 add a small quantity of rum, which I believe to be the most attractive part of the com- 

 position. It is better to add the rum at the time of using the mixture, as when kept 

 any length of time the scent will evaporate. Vinegar I fancy will be found to be near- 

 ly as effective as rum. One night I tried a mixture of vinegar and sugar, on some 

 trees, and rum and the same kind of sugar on others, and could not discover any dif- 

 ference between the attractive powers of the two. Some of your correspondents appear 

 to attribute their want of success to the quality of the sugar used. When neither rum, 

 beer nor vinegar form part of the ingredients, I think there can be no doubt that the 

 coarser and stronger-smelling sugars are best, but where these are used in sufficient 

 quantities, the whiter and more refined sugars will answer every purpose. I one even- 

 ing used two mixtures, one made of the darkest and strongest-smelling sugar that cau 

 be procured, the other with sugar of the best quality, with scarcely any scent. I add- 

 ed an equal portion of rum to each, and the result was like the rum and sugar just 

 mentioned, I was unable to perceive that one was more attractive than the other, 

 both being visited by numbers of moths. I cannot help thinking that want of success 

 more frequently arises from the state of the atmosphere, than from the mixture used. 

 Mild damp evenings, both just before and after rain, are sure to reward the entomolo- 

 gist for his trouble. Windy nights are generally bad, although I have once or twice 

 had tolerable success on a breezy night, when the wind was blowing from the west or 

 south-west, and the night was otherwise warm. If the wind blows at all strongly from 

 the east or north, there is no chance of taking anything good ; cold raw nights are also 

 to be avoided. If the trees upon which the bait is laid are in a situation exposed to 



