4 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



May, ran about in a complete frenzy with its head close to the earth, and its 

 tail erect, uttering a sharp searching sound, and when I prevented it from 

 entering its hole it bit my stick with great violence, and when I endeavoured 

 to pick it up it turned upon its back and scratched furiously with its front 

 feet. 



Moles vary in colour, as may be inferred from the variety we have in our 

 collections and museums. One that I possess is of a cream colour, another 

 orange and rufous-red under the neck, and -one other jet black. 



Much has been said about the utility of the mole to mankind. It is un- 

 doubtedly the farmer's best friend. It destroys the grubs that affect roots of 

 all kinds ; and boring and tunnelling in heavy and stiff soil increases the 

 drainage, and materially benefits the land. When it makes its appearance 

 beneath lawns and flower gardens it causes destruction. But which is the 

 greater evil of the two ? To have the roots of flowers and our lawns des- 

 troyed by larvae and worms, or to allow the mole to rid us of our pests and 

 then seek fresh quarters ? 



TAKING LEPIDOPTERA ON GRASS STEMS, &c. 



By JOHN HILL. 



I see from time to time in the Young Naturalist, records of captures in 

 different parts of the country by entomologists, but amongst them all I never 

 see any account of a very simple plan I try, and which I find very successful, 

 namely, by searching the grass in the evening, say from .5 till 8, commencing in 

 May and continuing till the end of July. During that time in different localities 

 I have met with a great many insects, some of them varieties, as the list below 

 will show. The best of it is there is not much trouble with them, and the greater 

 part are newly emerged specimens, quite equal to bred specimens. Yery few 

 require the net for capturing them, the greater part will if you disturb them 

 with your finger, crawl on to it, and you can then examine them, if they are 

 what you want you can easily bottle them, if not you can flirt them off your 

 finger and they are done with, no trouble of netting. Of Fidonia _piniaria, 

 I could, in this manner this season, have taken 300 females ; 1 did take and 

 set out 100. I examined nearly all I met with, as it varies very much with 

 us, the male also varies in colour as we meet with both northern and southern 

 forms. My object in taking so many females was to try and see if I could 

 meet with any forms that were near the colour and markings of the males, 

 and to try and get a series with the colouring and markings of the males and 



