Insects. 1617 



have often been disputed to be British, as no other had turned 

 up these fifty years), in plenty one afternoon, in Epping Forest, 

 (in which locality mine were taken in 1792), but being unprepared, he 

 visited the spot the succeeding day, at the same hour, and not a ves- 

 tige of the insect was to be seen ! Luckily he had secured two specimens 

 in pill-boxes the first day.* 



These are a few facts, gleaned from experience regarding some con- 

 spicuous insects, some, not uncommon, and others, formerly reputed 

 foreign or unknown ; which ought to open the eyes of practical ento- 

 mologists, in respect to rarer ones, not chosing to turn up when " called 

 for " ; and ought to teach them not to doubt the origin of every spe- 

 cies they cannot readily obtain ; but alas ! I fear such will never be the 

 case. 



Now with reference to the first fact ; assuming, for the sake of argu- 

 ment, that I had never visited Ripley, or its vicinity ; one example only, 

 of Th. W-album, would have occurred to me in thirty-six years, 

 so that I might, on the principles now deprecated, have questioned the 

 origin of my old specimens till 1833, because I had not found the 

 insect after twenty-four years' experience, nor seen a recently cap- 

 tured example, until I found the one at Madingley at that period. 



Amongst the " outcasts " of the nature alluded to, I shall merely di- 

 rect attention to the following, in illustration of my position. 



Hadena arnica ? Of the insect, so called by me, I possess a male 

 from Francillon's cabinet, and a female from Marsham's ; — other old 

 specimens also exist : and Mr. Lighton informed me that he had re- 

 cently taken it near Bristol : it is now said to be American, and my 

 friend Mr. E. Doubleday tells me it is the N. arctica of Boisduval, 

 from northern Europe. 



Graphiphora subrosea, Steph. has been doubted, " because it had 

 not lately turned up." When I obtained the pair which are in my 

 collection, I selected them from others taken at the time, and hardly 

 sufficiently dry to place in my cabinet. If British, say the disputers, 

 why does not it now occur ? And as Boisduval does not know it, its 

 fate has been sealed. But Boisduval says of Celaena Haworthi, " non 

 Apamea genuina, tit verisimile exotica" an insect of which there 

 exist scores of English specimens in collections. He knows not ex- 

 cept from recent British examples, Aspilates ? multistrigaria ! although 

 a not very uncommon London or Metropolitan insect. 



J. F. Stephens. 



Eltham Cottage, Sept. 1845. 



* See Zoologist, p. 1085. 

 V H 



