THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



245 



of Halt a wavaria may be found by turning 

 over those leaves with holes in them, and the 

 beautiful larva of Abraxas grossulariafa will 

 be met with on the branches low down during 

 the day at this season, or it may be beaten off, 

 or gathered on black thorn bushes, and in the 

 evening every curled leaf should be collected 

 in order to breed the Tortrices, they are 

 numerous on almost every sort of shrub or 

 tree, and will give the young collector more 

 pleasure as they appear at the end of the 

 month or in July, in his feeding jars then he 

 is likely to anticipate from their wriggling 

 habits in the larva state. This family and 

 all the Tineina I should especially recommend 

 to the, ladies, as they alone, except in rare 

 instances, can be expected to do them justice. 

 The care requisite for the breeding of our 

 smaller moths, and the delicate handling 

 absolutely necessary in pinning and setting 

 these little gems, give the ladies an advantage 

 over us rough and ready men. Though I am 

 recommending this now, it is just possible I 

 may hereafter regret having done so when 

 their superior manipulation has showed our 

 work ; poor in comparison, well, let it be so ! 

 I write for learners, and it is to the young we 

 must look for men — and may I say women — 

 why not ? to take our places. None will be 

 more happy than myself to see our young 

 naturalists close at our heels to-day, and a 

 long way ahead of us to-morrow. With this 

 month may be said to commence our regular 

 sugaring season, the true night tlying moths 

 are to be got by this process in abundance, 

 where otherwise few could be found, and as I 

 am writing for the young I may as well 

 describe the procedure. To one pound of 

 common brown sugar add one glass of ale, 

 boil until the mixture is slightly syrup-like, 

 bottle off when cold at dusk, just before using 

 add a little rum, and one drop only of oil of 

 aniseed, or essence of oil of almonds. With 

 a small paint brush smear a patch up, not 

 across, on tree trunks in lanes, or open places 

 in woods, or in gardens, taking care to finish 

 just as the Dung Beetle ( Gcotropus Stercoraria J 



is flying. Light your lantern and return net 

 in hand to starting point, if rather early; rest 

 until dark, for should the night be favourable 

 , there will be no rest afterwards until you 

 I have been twice or thrice over the sugar, say 

 one mile long. Then, as a rule, it is useless 

 remaining, but on some nights moths come 

 all night. As a last word let me say take plenty 

 of pill boxes with you, and never put two 

 moths into one box. 



Here I may say most Noctuas are quiet on 

 the sugar and in pill boxes, but some are not, 

 notably the genus Tkyatira, Cymatophora, and 

 Heliotkis, all of which come freely to sugar, 

 to meet such cases get a pencil case and insert 

 three fine needles into the end of the pencil 

 J after the point is cut off, the points of the 

 j needles must spread slightly outwards, that 

 ; is must be wider apart than at the end of 

 i insertion into the pencil 



with this little known, but most simple and 

 useful instrument you may pierce T. derasa 

 easily, one of the most skitish insects I know 

 at sugar. Afterwards pin all such unquiet 

 moths into a small pocket box, instead of 

 pill boxing them. 



Those who cannot remain out at sugar late 

 at night should attend to "mothing," which 

 as here applied means catching moths 

 (Geometrina), &c„ as they fly about lanes, &c, 

 before it is dark. Pay great attention to the 

 flowers of the blackberry, if in a garden then 

 note the turncap-lily, and especially so the 

 scarlet martagon lily. If in the fields keep a 

 sharp look out for the ghost moth, as it hovers 

 like a white flower being blown about by the 

 wind. If the yellow iris grows in or around 

 any ponds or pits near you, then your more 

 prizable game — D. clpenor, the elephant hawk 

 may be netted as it hovers about the flowers, 

 and if near the sandhills, or the Bidston 

 Marsh, it will have for company D. porcellus. 

 About the flowers of Lychnis dioica, Dianthacia 



