THE YOUNG NATTJBALIST. 



348 



A. valligera, A. tritici, A. aquilina, Charaxes- 

 graminis, and with it Agrotis obclisca, Luperina 

 cesp Us, and upon it near clover lands Agrotis 

 nigricans, on the roots of which it feeds, and 

 often does great damage in the north of 

 England, here they are quite dark, almost 

 bla^k, whilst inland in the south they are 

 dul' drab grey. 



The genus Triphana is always strongly 

 represented on Ragweed, but it is for T. 

 inkrjecta that the entomological student will 

 look most anxiously after his first season, and 

 this little fellow appears to be the aristocrat 

 of the family, and refuses to sup with his 

 vulgar relatives, and rarely comes until they 

 have been boxed, or have retired for the 

 night, say after n p.m. Keep a sharp eye 

 on petunia beds in gardens, and do not neg- 

 lect the pelargoniuns, especially towards 

 the end of the month be provided, with a few 

 rather large pins, and some oxalic acid in 

 solution, and have a 5 in. setting board ready 

 at home. 



But of our captures amongst the true 

 loctuae many species come freely to sugar 

 ind light. Where flowers are scarce we 

 ma}' secure noctua baja, augur, umbrosa, rubi, 

 iahlii, neglecta, the two latter in birch woods, 

 ind I am sure Xanthographa has already 

 jecome too familiar to you, for feeding upon 

 ;rass its home and its food is everywhere. 



The Autumn Butterflies are now appearing, 

 .nd will i'ladden the heart and tax the stay- 

 ng powers of the young entomologist, they 

 .re such grand things, such glorious game, 

 nd he is no naturalist, and never will be an 

 atomologist who, being young, can stand 

 •ith a net in his hand when they are about, 

 'et, mark ! the proper way to secure them 

 to stand still, and wait for an opportunity 

 ) strike sure, or don't strike at all.) Whoever 

 iw Vanessa Io, V. Atalanta, or V. C -album as 

 ley waved their beautiful wings up and 

 own without being entranced, when he was 

 oung. I confess I am entranced now I am 

 Id, when I see any of these glorious old 

 iends, the very type of liberty and beauty, 



and sometimes wish my set was incomplete 

 that I might have an excuse for taking them. 

 5. semele P, phUas, Agestis, both second broods, 

 and several others I need not mention will 

 give new pleasure wherever met with during 

 this month, but we must not give the whole 

 of our attention to insects on the wing. In 

 August commences the second larva season 

 of the year, and now the hedges and trees 

 require seeing to, the beating net, or its 

 always useful substitute an umbrella, must be 

 constantly employed after the middle of the 

 month, if we intend to be successful ento- 

 mologists (not mere pretenders, who simply 

 collect, but know nothing of the natural 

 history of the insects themselves), by larva 

 beating we obtain the larva, it may be small, 

 or it may be full-fed. but so we get at the life 

 history of our insects, and at the same time 

 have an extra pleasure as we feed and learn 

 to distinguish them, first the family 10 which 

 they are allied, then the genera, and after- 

 wards the species to which they belong. 

 From the insects so bred we obtain eggs, and 

 so at last we learn to distinguish the family 

 of Lepidoptera from the differentiation of 

 the minute eggs they lay for us, 



Towards the end of the month we may ex- 

 pect many species at gas or other lamps, and 

 a few will be quite different to any named as 

 coming to sugar, Sec, amongst them Dasypolia 

 Tempii, where Heracleum, Sphondilhtm grows 

 near, it feeds upon, or perhaps I should say 

 it feeds in the roots of this common plant. 

 A good many other species feed in the same 

 way, and the ground feeders may now be 

 met with on especially around waste land. 

 But desirous that my young friends should 

 discover the habits of as many species as 

 possible themselves, I simply throw out a 

 hint that whenever the central shoot of a 

 ragweed, or thistle, or other such like plant is 

 seen to droop and fade out with knife and 

 cut deep into the root, or split up the stem, 

 and if no trace of larva of pupa is found, 

 why, try again ! This is the month to 

 succeed. 



