THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



183 



A pinch on the thorax, and it was still, and 

 was quickly pinned, and placed in my collect- 

 ing box. It is but a faded hybernated speci- 

 men, yet it still stands at the top of my row, 

 and would not be exchanged for the bred ones 

 that fill up the rest of the series. On this 

 ground Mr. Taylor took V. Antiopa, a few- 

 years ago, an insect of which several 

 specimens have been taken in our district, 

 On the railway side, Tages, Phhcas, Pamphilus, 

 and Janira, occur. Fifteen years ago Semcle 

 and Megcera were here also, The former is 

 still abundant a little further away, the latter 

 has entirely disappeared from our district. 

 Then Megcera was abundant in every lane and 

 field, but it disappeared one season, and has 

 never been seen again, anywhere in the neigh- 

 bourhood. 



Of Nocturni, a few species occur on this 

 ground, but not nearly so large a proportion 

 of the whole as of the Noctuae. 5. occllatus 

 once on palings. C. porcellus occasionally at 

 Silene. M. sUllatarum, swarmed in the autumn 

 of the year when the larva; were so abundant. 

 H. lupulinus and Humuli are very common. 

 Sylvinus not rare. Z '. filipendula is very com- 

 mon, the yellow variety very rare. L. com- 

 plaint, once on the railway side, Quadra has 

 only appeared one year, when I got four 

 specimens. E. jacobece swarms sometimes on 

 Ragwort flowers in the larva state, but some- 

 times it does not appear for years. C. plan- 

 taginis, formerly common enough, has quite 

 disappeared. Caja, of course, is common, as 

 is A . fuliginosa. Mendica is not rare sometimes, 

 commoner in fact than either lubricipeda or 

 menthastri. L. chrysorrheca was very common 

 one year, but never occurred before or since. 

 0. antiqua is common, and the eggs may easily 

 be found on the cocoons which are generally 

 spun on the Spiny rose. The larva of B. 

 rubi is common in the autumn, and not very 

 rare in spring, when one knows when to look 

 for them. O, potatoria completes the list. 



Geometry are not numerous in species, but 

 some common things swarm. E. mensuraria, 

 for instance, which is a perfect pest, its near 



; relations bipunctaria and cervinaria being com- 

 j mon. The earliest species taken here are 

 rupicapraria and progemmaria, of the latter 

 many fine varieties occur. Multistrigaria 

 appears in March on the railway side, sitting 

 very low down on the palings. Then comes 

 badiata, and an occasional dcrivata, and as the 

 season advances, besides the yellow shell, 

 common carpets, and other ubiquitous species, 

 the following may be had 0. bidentata and C. 

 elinguaria. B. repandata, of which a banded 

 variety is not unfrequent. A .bisetata,osscata,(?) 

 subsericcata, and avcrsata all very common, a 

 banded form of the latter being often met 

 with. E. albulata, common on the low ground 

 at the foot of the railway embankment, where 

 the yellow rattle grows freely. Of Pugs, many 

 species have been taken, but those of regular 

 occurrence are not many. E. centaurcata, 

 succenturiata, subfulvata, and the variety cogna ta, 

 and uulgata, being all that may be depended 

 upon, and of these succenturiata is very much 

 rarer than formerly, though the Mugwort is 

 abundant all over. Other pugs that have 

 been got have seemed only to be casual 

 visitors, perhaps blown from a distance, 

 Venosata, satyrata, castigata, lariciata, pimpincl- 

 lata, nanata, minutata, and perhaps another or 

 two have occurred singly, or in small num- 

 bers. T. variata is common on the cemetery 

 palings, M. occclata also sits there and on the 

 railway side, M. subtristata, montanata, and 

 fluctuata swarm, of course, as does C. bilincata. 

 S. dubitata has been taken once or twice only 

 on the cemetery palings, where C. miata is not 

 uncommon in autumn, G. fulvata is common 

 among rose, and P. comitata is not rare. I 

 have already named the genus Eubolia. This 

 completes the list, and we must now move 

 more northward. 



Keeping on the coast, and passing the 

 mouth of Crimdon dene, to which we must 

 return, we reach Black Hall rocks, bleak, 

 rugged, and uninviting in winter and spring, 

 but in summer, well worth a visit for their 

 floral beauty alone. Betweed the dene and 

 the first rock is a long sloping sand bank, with 



