8074 



Insects. 



Diphthera Orion. This rare species is found in the Forest, but I 



have never been the lucky captor of a single specimen. 

 Acronycta Psi. Of frequent occurrence at sugar. 

 A. megacephala. Not very common. 



A. Ligustri. I have only taken one specimen of this insect, and that 

 was at sugar after an extremely wet day. 



A. Rumicis. I often find this species very abundant at sugar. 



Leucania turca. This species is very local. I remember well my 

 first sugaring with Mr. Greene, at Lyndhurst: we had sugared about 

 fifty trees and searched about twenty without the sign of a moth, but 

 as we proceeded we found L. turca rather common. 



L. lithargyria. Not common. 



L. impura and L. pallens. Of frequent occurrence, both at sugar 

 and on the wing. 



Xylophasia rurea. Not common. 



X. lithoxylea and X. polyodon. Common at sugar. 



X. hepatica. Rather scarce. 



Dipterygia Pinastri. This species is rather common here at sugar ; 

 in fact in 1859 it was abundant. 



Charaeas Graminis. This destructive little insect I have never found 

 common. 



Cerigo cytherea. I sometimes capture this insect at sugar, but Mr. 

 Greene informs me it is very partial to light. 



Mamestra Brassicae. Common. My first pupa-digging experience 

 was with this species. I had purchased the little book of Mr. Greene's 

 on the subject, and had read that oaks generally produced good insects, 

 so I went digging, when I saw a large oak full of angles, which is just 

 the sort recommended as prolific, and I went to it in a rather discon- 

 certed mood (being unsuccessful), and inserted the trowel, when, on 

 turning over the sod, I saw pupa? not in pairs but in dozens. I searched 

 the tree, and found ninety-six in all. I took them home and put them 

 very carefully into my breeding cage, and after awhile I was rewarded 

 with M. Brassicae in plenty. If the digging disconcerted me the 

 rearing did so more, when I saw about twenty of this pest on the glass 

 of my cage ; however I let all the pupae remain in the cage to see if 

 there were any beside M. Brassicae, and by this means I got two spe- 

 cimens of a moth nearly as common, viz., Hadena oleracea. 



M. Persicariae. I bred a specimen of this insect from a larva feeding 

 on peas. It appears to be scarce about here. 



Apamea oculea and Miana strigilis. Both very common at sugar 

 and at privet blossoms. 



