76 



[August, 



than the others ; the upper two are slightly sinuous, and the second bears a pale 

 tubercular spot at the anterior part of each segment, and also touches the spiracular 

 line in the middle of the segment. 



The spiracles are black and circular. Below them is a broad stripe of very 

 pale brownish-grey, edged above with a paler thread, and below with a little darker 

 stripe of reddish or greyish-brown, followed by another close above the legs of 

 paler greyish-brown. The belly slightly deeper greyish-brown, with a central 

 brown stripe bearing on the middle of each segment beyond the fourth a blackish 

 round spot. Legs pale brownish-grey ; prologs similar, and with a dark brown 

 dot above their fringes. 



The head slightly hairy, and very pale greyish, having on each side four lines 

 of black dots in continuation of dark stripes on the body. The second segment 

 has a semi-lunar dull dark brown plate, through which run conspicuously the dorsal 

 and sub-dorsal pale stripes. 



The pupa is subterranean. — Wm. Buckler, Emsworth. 



Moths at Nettles. — The Rev. J. Greene, in his interesting little " Insect Hunters' 

 Companion " mentions, among other plants, nettles as a good bait for moths, which, 

 he says, appear to imbibe something not from the flowers but from the leaves : why 

 they evince a partiality for the latter he could not understand. Whether the reason 

 has since been discovered and published I know not, but I have satisfied myself 

 that it is not the leaves " pur et simple " which attract the moths, but that their 

 eflficacy is owing to a little white plant-louse which sometimes covers them, and 

 the exudations commonly termed " honey-dew " is what the moths are so fond 

 of ; that this is the cause I have further proved by the fact that, whilst moths were 

 plentiful on some ^^?iis-covered nettles, not one was to be seen on adjoining but 

 clean plants. 



Most of the moths which come to " sugar " also come to nettles, though some 

 species, apparently, are not so fond of them as of sugar, for they come more 

 sparingly. 



On one or two nights last month, when I paid a visit to some nettles in a field 

 close to the Wallasey sandhills, I found moths literally swarming at them, as fast 

 as I boxed those I wanted, some other tooths came to take their place. Certainly, 

 the majority of them were such commoners as A. exclamationis, X. polyodon, &c., 

 but I took pretty freely coriicea and alhicolon, as well as several each of L. littoraliSf 

 L. commay L. impura, L. Uthargyria, A. putris, H. dentina, Q. trilinea, A. hasilinea. 

 Id. strigilis, N. jplecta, N. triangulum, N. C-nigrum, X. rurea, N. augur, A. valligera^ 

 L, paUens, H. adusta, C. morpheus, N. festiva, E. lucipara, one C. rimhratica, A. ge- 

 mina, and some other common species. 



This list does not include many " good things," but such as they were, they 

 were all the species to be got at sugar in that neighbourhood, at that time, so that 

 nettles, in more favoured localities, may prove better worth working. It is cer- 

 tainly a very economical method of obtaining moths, but I find that " sugar " is a 

 more powerful bait, for when laid in the neighbourhood of the nettles, the moths 

 abandon them for the stronger smelling compound. 



Several of my friends complain that they get nothing at sugar ; why, I cannot 

 conceive, unless it is that they choose unfavourable nights for their expeditions ; I 



