132 



The Naturalist. 



very fine Noctua mhi and umbrosa ; Gonoptera libatrix ; Mania typica, 

 &c. Species taken away from the fen included, besides many of the 

 fen moths, Acidalia incanaria, Cilix spinula^ Herminia proboscidalis, 

 Botys verticalis (in swarms), B. fuscalis, Scopula lutealis, Crambus 

 pinetellus, Melia sociella, and the pretty PteropJwrus pentadactylus in 

 profusion. One day, calling at Bailey's (a local collector) house, he 

 showed us an old beehive from which he was breeding plenty of the 

 interesting Galleria cerella, along with the more generally common 

 MelipJiora alveariella. 



I did not take much interest in the micro-lepidoptera, but Mr. 

 Daltry worked hard amongst them, and took (chiefly on the fen, 

 though some were beaten out of thatch, &c.) a good many species. 

 Of Tortrices, besides Tortrix dumetana already alluded to, T. heperana 

 and T. costana ; Veronea ShepJierdana was common, after Mr. Warren 

 of Cambridge had shown us the right way of looking for it : this was 

 to go on one's knees and carefully search on the ground close to the 

 roots of the various fen plants. Half-a-dozen specimens would thus 

 sometimes be found at a single bunch of Eupatorium. Bactra uligino- 

 sam^ P. variegana, Bictyopte7'yx Holmiana, SciopMla perterana^ 

 Grapholita nigromaculann, Hypermecia augustana, Batodes angustiorana, 

 EpliippJiora epliipana, Semasia Wceherana^ Bicrorawplia politana, B. 

 sequana and B. petivorana, Catoptria scopoliatia, Angyrolepia dubisana (?), 

 Sericoris fuligana. Of Teineina, Orthotalia sparganella came to the 

 lights, but only DepressaricE were taken much account of. Of them, 

 no less than nine species occurred, viz., liturella, arenella, subpupin- 

 quella, conterminella, angelicella, carduella, yeatiella^ applaneMa, and 

 pastuciardla. This I think will finish our list. 



The reader will already have formed a fair idea of what Wicken 

 itself is like. It is a rural village of the first type ; its low, white, 

 thatched cottages, overgrown with vines and other creeping plants, 

 with neat little flower gardens and bigger kitchen gardens attached, 

 have a charming effect, and the liking for the place grew on us day 

 by day. The church is at one end of the village, and would certainly 

 be the better for " restoration," though I do not approve of the 

 restoration of old churches generally. Though very interesting, it is 

 one of the most " tumble-down " places we have seen for a long time, 

 and is propped on two sides. It would make a good hunting-ground 

 for the botanist, being overgrown with lichens, mosses, grasses, and 

 various plants. Probably the " old complaint " operates here, as in 

 many other parishes. The vicar is an exceedingly nice person, and 

 evidently greatly respected by his parishioners. He called on us on 



