Insects, 



6767 



June 23. Spent on the lakes. Cossonus Tardii in immense profu- 

 sion on Innisfallen Island, under bark of decayed ash and holly, 

 occasionally clustered in such masses that we held our hats under and 

 scraped them down by handfulls. The guardian of the island, who, 

 on our arrival, very politely pointed out the decayed trees, was soon 

 horrified at our proceedings, seeming to think that three maniacs, 

 bent on destroying the timber under his care, had landed on his lonely 

 isle; he was stupidly impervious to our explanation that Cossonus 

 was the real culprit, and we were compelled to separate and attack 

 three trees at once, so that two of us at least might fill our bottles in 

 peace. Future visitors are advised not to ask to see the vegetable 

 ruins of the island, but to confine their inquiries to the stone 

 antiquities, unless they wish to encounter a frantic Kerry man. A 

 large proportion of the timber on the island is suffering from the 

 attacks of Cossonus ; the specimens vary greatly in size, some speci- 

 mens being eight or ten times the bulk of others. We obtained 

 Gyrinus bicolor, from the lake near Dina's Island, and Trechus 



? under stones at Old Weirbridge. A brilliant sunset, leaving 



Tore mountain a mass of intense indigo blue. Remained in the 

 birch-woods till day-break, in the hope of making out the habits or 

 hour of flight of Notodonta bicolora. About midnight Arctia Men- 

 thrasti flew past, and its white wings for a moment cheated us into 

 the belief that we had secured the prize ; possibly we were too late for 

 N. bicolora, which is said to appear on the Continent in May. 



June 24. Muckross domain and peninsula (which, by the liberality 

 of Colonel Herbert, are thrown open to visitors) occupied us to-day. 

 Among the Lepidoptera captured were — 



Nola strigula Eupithecia castigata 



Venusia Cambricaria „ irriguata 



Emmelesia taeniata „ coronata 



Eupithecia Satyrata „ debiliata 

 „ plumbeolala 



Among Coleoptera — 



Phyllopevtha suturalis Leptura sexguttata 



Melolontha hippocastaui CEdemera lurida 



Auchenia 4-maculata Silpba subrotundata 

 Galeruca calmariensis 



Libellula caerulescens was very common near the lake : saw one pursue 

 and capture a specimen of Hydrelia Bankiana. In the evening 

 divided our week's captures, and went to bed by daylight. 



