206 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



prosecuted" staring him in the face at every 

 turn. There are some iron railings towards 

 Wallasey village, but this is only a boundary 

 fence, and there are gates to allow of passage 

 from the road on to the sandhills. 



I subjoin a list of the principal Macro- 

 Lepidoptera to be found on or in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the sandhills — excluding some of 

 those which may be classed as "common 

 everywhere." 



Vanessa cardui. — Occurs plentifully some 

 years; the larva feeding on thistles in the 

 early summer. 



Satyrus Scmelc. — Very abundant on the 

 sandhills during July and August. 



Satyrus J antra. — Abundant during the 

 summer. 



Lyc.cna Alexis. — Abundant throughout the 

 summer and autumn — best taken in the 

 evening, when they may be found resting on 

 the tops of dwarf sallow. 



Smerinthus ocellatus. — I have never found 

 the imago on the sandhills, but the larva may 

 be found freely towards the end of summer 

 feeding on the dwarf willow {Salix fit sea.) 



DeiUphila Galii. — Has occurred occasionally 

 both as imago and larva— the latter feeding 

 on the Yellow Bedstraw at the end of 

 summer. 



Euchelia jacobcea. — Until last summer I had 

 never seen this insect on the Cheshire Sand- 

 hills, but I found a colony of the larva 

 stripping the plants of ragwort last July. It 

 is very abundant on the Lancashire side of 

 the Mersey. 



Orgyia fascelina. — Larva common among the 

 dwarf sallows at the end of April. 



Bombyx rubi. — The larva of this insect 

 occurs freely among the dwarf willows at the 

 end of autumn, and again in spring after 

 hybernation. For useful remarks on the 

 management of these larvae I must refer my 

 readers to a paper in No. 2 of the Young 

 Naturalist. 



Bombyx qitercus, Bomhyx trifoli both occur 

 in the larval state among the willows on the 

 sandhills, although the latter insect does not 



appear so plentiful as ii. used to be. 



Nyssia zonaria. — This local insect occurs 

 plentifully all over the sandhills from the 

 end of March to the beginning of May. It 

 may be found during the daytime clinging to 

 grass stems, &c. — and the female, which is 

 provided with rudimentary wings, is very 

 conspicuous from its black body and orange 

 belts. The larvae may be taken in abundance 

 by sweeping the dwarf willows in July. 



Emmelesia decoiorata, Emmelesia albulata. — ■ 

 Both these species may be taken in plenty — 

 flying in the fields adjoining the sandhills, at 

 dusk, during May and June. 



Eupithecia linariata. — I have never seen the 

 imago on the sandhills, but the larva occurs 

 frequently eating the seeds of the Toadflax 

 [Linaria vulgaris) which grows in some of the 

 fields bordering the sandhills. 



Eupitlieeia virgaitreata , Eupithecia eeutaureata, 

 Eupithecia absynthiata. — Larvae of all three 

 may be found in abundance during Septem- 

 ber, feeding on the flowers and seeds of 

 the ragwort. The images maybe taken by 

 searching the flowers of the ragwort after 

 dark in July and August. 



Melanippe montanata. — Flies abundantly at 

 dusk in the fields at the edge of the sandhills 

 in May. 



Melanippe subtristata.— Common with the 

 last. 



Melantippe galiata. — -Common on the sand- 

 hills throughout the greater part of the sum- 

 mer. In the daytime they may be shaken 

 out of the grass roots, &c, which overhang 

 the edges of some of the sandhills. 



Antielea badiata — I have several times taken 

 this insect sitting on hedges when I have 

 been larva hunting at night during March 

 and April. 



Phybalapterx lignata — At flowers of ragwort 

 after dark in August. 



Cidaria teslata — -Very abundant on sallow 

 beds, and easily disturbed by walking over 

 them. 



C. fulvata — Very common on the flowers of 

 ragwort at night during August. 



