THE YOUNG 



NATUEALIST 



153 



we soon reach a well-wooded district, and 

 are able to begin collecting. From the 

 birches we get the pretty little Pebble 

 Hook-tip (P. falcula). A handsome and 

 frequently-occurring moth is the Coxcomb 

 Prominent (N . camelina), the larvae of which 

 may be beaten from the maple ; the Plumed 

 Prominent (P. plumigera ) has also been met 

 with here, but I have not been fortunate 

 enough to obtain it. N. dodonea is another 

 that we find on the park palings near Caver- 

 sham, and a greater prize is the rare Maple 

 Prominent (N. cucitllina), also occurring on 

 the maple (Acer campestris), which here 

 grows in every wood and coppice. In a 

 swampy patch of osier, on the side of the 

 high road to Nettleton, we find Lomaspilis 

 marginata, but got none of any striking 

 variety. The Scorched Carpet (L. adustata) 

 turns up sparingly ; and an insect that I 

 have not seen nearer London is the Rivulet 

 (E. ajfinata), though it is said to be generally 

 distributed. A solitary Netted Pug (E. veno- 

 sata) came to box. This is a prettily-marked 

 species that can at once be distinguished 

 from any of the other Enpithecia. 



Should the day be fine we may get a few 

 butterflies, such as the Ringlet and Speckled 

 Wood. I took one Purple Hairstreak (T. 

 quercus ) flying round an oak. The Purple 

 Emperor (A . iris J has several times been 

 seen in this and other parts of Oxfordshire. 



Along the hedgerows, sucking in the 

 morning dew, we can gather the gorgeous 

 Drinker larva (0. potatoria) ; I picked up 

 fifty-four on one excursion in these 

 lanes, on the grass at the bottom of 

 the hedges. The Oak Eggar {Bombyx quer- 

 cus, not calluncs ) are also tolerably plentiful ; 

 and each season we found one or two larvae 

 of the Lappet (Quercifolia), though I have 

 never succeeded in breeding the perfect 

 insect, this fine species being especially 

 liable to the ravages of a large ichneumon. 

 Gregarious nests of the Lackey (B. neustria) 

 next demand attention, They form very 



conspicuous objects on the tops of the 

 blackthorn bushes, the white web being 

 covered with bright caterpillars, stretched 

 out at full length sunning themselves on 

 any fine day. Continuing our walk, we get 

 plenty of the Figure-of eight (coevuleocephala), 

 whitethorn appearing to be the usual food. 

 On the tree trunks we see an occasional 

 Dagger {A. psi), and the pretty Barred 

 White (H. senna) is tolerably common. An 

 insect that also comes out in the early 

 morning, when it may be taken off the pal- 

 ings, is the Marbled Coronet (D. conspersa), 

 but it is rather scarce. On the leaves of 

 the mullein, which here grows in profusion 

 in the shaded lanes, we meet the beautiful 

 larvae of the Shark (Cucullia verbasci), and 

 find they are frequently ichneumoned. The 

 best way to rear them is to dig up the plants 

 bodily and pot them at home, when the 

 perfect insect can be easily obtained. The 

 cocoon is large and full of lumps of earth 

 and little bits of stone — a very tough object. 



Though not much of a botanist, I found 

 many interesting plants, one of which is the 

 Purple Orpeny (Cedum telephium) which bears 

 a lovely spike of blossoms. 



The Coleopterist will find plenty to do 

 on the ground. In a wood near Kidmore 

 End, we once came across a regular game- 

 keeper's museum, partly fixed to a low 

 fence, and nailed against an ancient oak- 

 tree, were a couple of weasels, a stoat, 

 two hedgehogs, a magpie, two cats (pre- 

 sumably wild, escaped from civilization), 

 and a squirrel. The beetles on the spot 

 were principally large yellow and black 

 ones, the objects themselves being in all 

 stages of dissolution. In another direction 

 I found agin set by the keepers, an I a 

 young kestrel caught by the leg, the trap 

 had not been visited for some time, so 

 the hawk was getting rather high, and 

 many beetles were about it. Squirrels 

 are very abundant, hopping about on the 

 beeches, their chief food being acorns, nuts, 



