The YOtfHG NATURALIST: 



A Monthly Magazine of Natural History. 



Part 107. NOVEMBER, 1888. Vol. 9. 



A LITTLE KNOWN COLLECTING GROUND. 



By A. F. GRIFFITH, M.A. 



HAVING spent a few days in North Wales at the end of July and the 

 beginning of August, a few notes of what I saw there may perhaps be 

 interesting. The circumstances under which my visit was made prevented 

 any systematic collecting ; and, as a matter of fact, I did very little, while 

 on the two occasions on which I gave myself up to collecting, lepidoptera 

 appeared to be remarkably scarce. 



My first stopping place was Harlech, where an exceedingly heavy and con- 

 tinuous rain prevented any collecting ; but here, as elsewhere, the curious 

 transparent-looking green larva of C. festaliella was abundant. At Tan-y- 

 Bwich, where I had hoped to have made great discoveries, but few insects 

 appeared. A. paphia and adippe were common, Z. olivata fairly so, H. 

 elutata abundant. Scoparia frequentella was abundant with many varieties, 

 C. pascuellus was common on marshy spots, and solandriana was to be 

 found in the woods, but did not appear to be common. On bilberry, the 

 larvae of C. vacciniana was locally abundant, sewing the terminal leaves to- 

 gether, and turning them brown by eating off the upper skins. The larvse 

 of Peronea rufana was not uncommon on Myrica gale ; but I was too early 

 for that of A. dimidiana, the curious balloon-like nests of which I found 

 there on the same plants some years ago in September, when rufana was on 

 the wing. Jhe varieties of the latter species from North Wales are very 

 beautiful and interesting, ranging from the normal form, with its almost 

 unicolorous ochreous forewings on the one hand, to a form closely resembling 

 Upsiana in all except the shape of the wings, and on the other to rich 

 ochreous forms, either unicolorous or with the usual grey clouds, or with 

 two longitudinal claret coloured streaks, one median, and the other along the 



