THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



1S7 



NATURAL HISTORY DIARY. 



By J. W. Carter. 



February. * 

 2nd. — Observed several specimens of the 

 beautiful little Water Shrew, burrow- 

 ing in the snow, with which their 

 shining black backs contrasted beauti- 

 fully. 



3rd. — Honeysuckle ( Lonicera pericementum ) in 

 leaf. 



5th. — Boreata, females still out. — (J. F.) 



12th. — Robin (Erythaca rubecula) in full song. 



13th. — H. defoliaria still out, and in fine con- 

 dition, which is the latest date or. 

 which this species has been observed 

 here, the earliest being (one specimen) 

 the latter part of September. //. 

 leucophearia out, Shipley Glen, Wils- 

 den.— (E. P, P. B.) P. pilosaria is 

 very common, I think they differ both 

 in point of size and color greatly from 

 those I took last year. Some are 

 very fine, and others exceedingly 

 diminutive. One I have taken is of 

 a unicolorous olive color, and a few 

 others very dark — not black — dusky 

 would be the more appropriate name 

 for them. — (E. P. P. B.) All I have 

 seen here, both of this species and 

 Leucophearia are considerably smaller 

 than usual, some indeed are not more 

 than half the average size. 



18th.--//. rupicapraria out, Apperly Bridge. — 

 (J. F.) Far less common in this dis- 

 trict than an)- other species of the 

 genus Hybernia. Missel Thrush ( Tur- 

 dus viscivorus J heard singing. — 

 (S. L. M.) 



iQt. — Great Snipe (Scolopax major) shot near 



near Wilsden. — (E. P. P. B.) 

 24th. — Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis) in flower 



in gardens.— (H, T. S.) 

 ' The prevalence of north and north-east 

 vinds, and the continual downfall of snow 

 ind rain, has considerablv retarded the pro- 

 gress of vegetation, and the appearance of 



insects in any numbers during the month, 

 consequently the records are very few . The 

 flowers of the hazel, &c., which we naturally 



expect to see in February have been looked 

 for in vain. 



DIFFICULTIES FOR 

 BEGINNERS. 



By John E. Robson. 



No. 5.— AGROTIS TRITICI AND 

 AlQUILINA. 



The difficulty of separating these species is 

 so great that experienced entomologists, who 

 haw not had good opportunities of becoming 

 acquainted with them, often fall into error 

 concerning them, and I have seen them 

 wrongly named in some of our best cabinets. 

 Mr. Doubleday, in a letter to the writer, 

 pointed out with his usual acumen the cause 

 of the difficulty, " The tritici group is a very 

 difficult one. as the species are closely allied, 

 and vary extremely." Both cursoria and obelisca 

 might have been included amongst the species 

 that are sometimes confounded for I have 

 seen undoubted tritici marked as varieties of 

 cursoria, while obelisca is very like a dark form 

 of it. I will however confine my remarks to 

 the two named, and may refer to the others 

 at another time, but if the separation of these 

 can be made easier, a careful observer will 

 put the others right himself. Mr. Newman 

 describes the two species in almost the same 

 words, and where the words are varied the 

 meaning remains the same. The only dif- 

 ference I can see in his descriptions is that 

 he speaks of a "crescent-shaped discoidal 

 spot," as being on the hind wing of AquUina. 

 and does not name it in tritici. Both species, 

 however, have this lunule on the hind wing, 

 but it is not always equally distinct. Mr. 

 Stain ton, who generally discriminates care- 

 fully between the most closely allied species, 

 would appear to have drawn his description of 

 tritici from specimens from the south of England 



