1868.] 



77 



liave found moths veiy common at sugax' this summer, indeed, 1 have never seen 

 albicolon, corticea, and littoralis so common as they were last month ; it is also a 

 very early season for many things ; valligera, in particular, I have never seen before 

 the end of July, and it is common in August with tritici at ragwort flowers, whilst 

 many of the specimens which I captured last month were more or less woni. 



The corticea vary wonderfully in colour and max-kings — one which I took is 

 nearly black, whilst others of the same sex (males predominate) are very pale. 



I would recommend incipient collectors to examine at night all kinds of plants 

 infested with Aphides, and not confine their attention solely to nettles, for the 

 " honey-dew " found on other plants is also very attractive, but in various degrees. 



I am prompted to send you these remarks in the hope that they may prove 

 useful to some of your readers, remembering, as I do, when I began collecting, how 

 the sight of a fine bed of nettles made my heart jump, but I was continually 

 doomed to disappointment, never having succeeded nntil lately in finding any moths 

 on the nettles, as mentioned in Mr. Greene's little work. — E. L. Ragoxot, 130, 

 Conway Street, Birkenhead, July 8th, 1868. 



Lepidojptera bred, 8fc., in the spring. — I began the year by breeding Eupithecia 

 alhipunctata on January 27th (forced), from larvae collected in Coombe Wood. I 

 have been very successful with this species, as — though IVIr. Harpur Crewe says 

 only one in every ten escapes ichneumons — I succeeded in breeding more than half 

 mine ; the last emerged on April 28th, or three months after the first ! 



In the early spring I collected, near Eugby, a number of spruce-fir cones, from 

 which I have bred a fine series of Coccyx strohilella. 



On Wimbledon Common Adela cuprella has been out in far larger numbers 

 than last year ; while, at the sallows, Tceniocampa gracilis and rubricosa were at 

 home as usual, — and a specimen of the latter occurred at the lamps. 



During April, Clostera reclusa, Eupithecia mimUata, and others, appeared in 

 my breeding-cages, from larvae taken on Wimbledon Common and Combe Wood 

 last autumn. — G. B. Longstaff, Southfields, Wandsworth, S.W. 



Collix sparsata, Sfc, near York. — In five nights' collecting during last week I 

 obtained a good series of C. sparsata in very fine condition ; also series or pairs of 

 most of the following : — H. unca, by sweeping long grass ; on the wing, P. syrin- 

 garia; at sugar, amongst others, A. leporina, A. rwmicis \a.T. saUcis, L. pudorina 

 (frequent), X. hepatica, M. abjecta, M. anceps^ Agrotis suffusa (one, apparently just 

 out), D. cucubali, and A. adusta. — T. J. Carrington, 1, Melbourne Terrace, York, 

 June 13f7i, 1868. 



Capture of the larva of Folia nigrodncta. — I had the good fortune, this after- 

 noon, again to find the larva of P. nigrocinctu. — N. Greening, Isle of Man, 

 19t^ June, 1868. 



Note on Colias EdAisa. — I found a caterpillar of C. Edusa feeding on Melilot 

 last October at Charmouth ; it changed to a pupa on our journey home, and died 

 in the act of emerging at the end of March. — C. W. Dale, Glanvilles Wootton, 

 6th June, 1868. 



[This interesting fact tends to prove that Edusa in this country is double- 

 brooded, or partially so ; or that all the examples taken in spring and early summer 

 have not necessarily hybernated.— Eds.] 



