68 



The Naturalist. 



extensive fir-woods of the greensand around Rasen will yield it as 

 abundantly next April as a month later they yield Pyrola minor. The 

 Tseniocampae I have not worked for this season. Of the Xanthidse I 

 have already seen X cerago^ X. silago, X. gilvago, and X. ferruginea. A 

 large wood upon the oolitic gravels five miles west of Rasen, known 

 as Kingerby Wood, will probably well repay working. I have already 

 mentioned two good insects that occur there ; to this I have to add a 

 third — E. fulvago ! Of this rare insect I espied a specimen upon a 

 tree-bole near the ground, whilst walking through the broad ride 

 about a month ago. 



About six weeks to two months ago, I was hunting about amongst 

 some rank grassy herbage not above a quarter of a mile from the town, 

 when I came across the larvse of Eremobia ochroleuca. They were 

 feeding upon ScropJmlaria nodosa (Figwort). Last week, passing the 

 same spot, I saw an imago clinging to a grass-stem — confirming my 

 determination of the larvse, which I did not attempt to rear. This 

 species I never saw alive before, and Lincolnshire, is, I believe, a new 

 county for it. Familiar as I was with the habits of the Dlanthcecias 

 in Durham, I have not observed one here, perhaps because the 

 campions and catchfly are very sparingly distributed about this place. 

 Some larvae of Polia Jlavocincta occurred to me in July, feeding on 

 water ragwort (Senecio aquatica), but I have not yet seen the perfect 

 insect. A . nelmlosa, Kingerby Wood ; again a specimen, at rest, in 

 July. 



Of the Hadenid^e I have so far seen few ; H. deniina, oleracea, and 

 pisi complete the list. Of the " sharks," two species are common 

 hereabouts I find ; C. verhasci I observed in the larval state, feeding 

 on Scrophiilaria aquatica and nodosa in the same place as E. ochroleuca 

 and C. umbratica I have seen at petunias in a garden. 



I now come to mention the last insect of any note I have seen here 

 this season, and one I never saw alive before — Erastria fuscida. It 

 was very plentiful in Usselby Woods in July, flying about one at 

 every step, chiefly amongst the heath and bramble undergrowth ; but 

 scores were to be seen at rest upon the fir and birch tree trunks. I 

 thought it quite a southern insect, but then truly Lincolnshire is an 

 unworked county. I have no doubt from what I have seen in this my 

 first season here, that were Mr. Porritt to spend a month with me 

 next season, that many quite unexpected rarities would turn up. 



Plusia festucce and E. glypJiica end my list of the Noctu^ for this 

 year. 



