THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



217 



Covey/' though, sometimes, we would count from 15 to 20 moths on each 

 patch, the next night we would scarcely see one. On one of these latter 

 nights I sugared in the plantation adjoining the house, and tree after tree 

 produced nothing, until I came to one on which sat a moth I had not seen 

 before, but as soon as I made sure of it I saw it was a fine female Oymato- 

 phora ocularis. Then came the question. Merrin says, " Noisy when boxed." 

 I had my killing bottle with me, should I kill it in perfect condition, or run 

 the risk of having a worn specimen, with a chance of eggs which might or 

 might not prove fertile ? There is an old proverb, which is quite as old as 

 the goose with the golden eggs, which says, " A bird in the hand is worth 

 two in the bush " ; so, as at that moment, my ocularis commenced fluttering 

 I popped her into the bottle, and in a few seconds all was over. But, al- 

 though I stayed late that night, I only took four moths, two Bipterygia 

 pinaslri and two ISoctua festiva, and no more ocularis during my stay. 



Although Bipterygia pinaslri was very acceptable to me, we had heard of 

 another moth bearing the same specific name, though in a different genus, for 

 had not the Sphinx pinaslri been reported as taken near Ipswich; and there 

 being a" good old fir wood, byname Botany Bay, close by, with plenty of honey- 

 suckle growing near, what was to prevent us from taking this rare Hawk. So 

 one evening found us at Botany Bay wood, which we carefully treacled, and 

 then took up our position, each before a large patch of honeysuckle, and there 

 remained for the Sphinx. I don't know that either of us had provided our- 

 selves with pill boxes large enough in case of a catch, I certainly had not. 

 However, it did not much matter, for no Pinaslri visited the honeysuckle 

 while we were there. While waiting we succeeded in netting a fine series of 

 Acidalia subsericeata, besides taking a few specimens of Miopia fasciaria and 

 Crambus pinetellus in the wood. The sugar yielded some nice specimens of 

 Leucania lithargyria and conigera, as well as some of those already mentioned. 

 In another wood, the " Covey Plantation/' I took the only specimen of Acid- 

 alia emarginata I got, though the year before it had swarmed. Early again 

 I suppose. In this wood we had the best and worst nights' sugaring we had 

 while I was there. The first night the sugars were covered, the difficulty was 

 to pick out what were the best things to take ; the next night we went again 

 and absolutely took nothing at all, I don't think we saw half-a-dozen moths 

 all night. On the first night we took specimens of Acronycta psi t rumicis 

 aceris, Thyalira batis and derasa, a few worn specimens of Apamea unanimis. 

 I also took at odd times specimens of Eubolia cervinaria, Eupithecia rectan- 

 gulata (green form), Biauthcecia capsincola flying over the white lychnis. 

 Later on Carpophaga larvae were taken in the seed capsules of Silene inflata. 



Light was not very productive. It may have been owing to the late hour 



