76 [August, 
than the others ; the upper two are slightly sinuous, and the second bears a pale 
tubercular spot at the anterior part of each segment, and also touches the spiracular 
liae in the middle of the segment. 
The spiracles are black and circular. Below them is a broad stripe of very 
pale brownish-grey, edged above with a paler thread, and below with a little darker 
Btripe of reddish or greyish-brown, followed by another close above the legs of 
paler greyish-brown. The belly slightly deeper greyish-brown, with a central 
brown stripe bearing on the middle of each segment beyond the fourth a blackish 
round spot. Legs pale brownish-grey ; prolegs similar, and with a dark brown 
dot above their fringes. 
The head slightly hairy, and very pale greyish, having on each side four lines 
of black dots in continuation of dark stripes on the body. The second segment 
has a semi-lunar dull dark brovfn plate, through which run conspicuously the dorsal 
and sub-dorsal pale stripes. 
The pupa is subterranean. — Wm. Buckler, Emsworth. 
Moths at Nettles. — The Rev. J. Greene, in his interesting little " Insect Hunters' 
Companion " mentions, among other plants, nettles as a good bait for moths, which, 
he says, appear to imbibe something not from the flowers but from the leaves : why 
they evince a partiality for the latter he could not understand. Whether the reason 
has since been discovered and published I know not, but I have satisfied myself 
that it is not the leaves " pur et simple " which attract the moths, but that their 
efficacy is owing to a little white plant-louse which sometimes covers them, and 
the exudations commonly termed " honey-dew " is what the moths are so fond 
of; that this is the cause I have further proved by the fact that, whilst moths were 
plentiful on some Aphis-coveved nettles, not one was to be seen on adjoining but 
clean plants. 
Most of the moths which come to " sugar " also come to nettles, though some 
species, apparently, are not so fond of them as of sugar, for they come more 
sparingly. 
On one or two nights last month, when I paid a visit to some nettles in a field 
close to the Wallasey sandhills, I found moths literally swarming at them, as fast 
as I boxed those I wanted, some other moths came to take their place. Certainly, 
the majority of them were such commoners as A. exclainationis, X. polyodon, &c., 
but I took pretty freely corticea and alhicolon, as well as several each of L. littoraUs, 
L, comma, L. impura, L. lithargyria, A. putris, H. dentina, G. trilinea, A. basilinea, 
M. strigiUs, N, plecta, N. triangulum, N. C-nigrum, X. rurea, N. augur, A. valligera, 
L. paUens, H. adusta, G. morpheus, N. festiva, E. lucipara, one C. umiratica, A. ge- 
mina, and some other common species. 
This list does not include many " good things," but such as they were, they 
were all the species to be got at sugar in that neighbourhood, at that time, so that 
nettles, in more favoured localities, may prove better worth working. It is cer- 
tainly a very economical method of obtaining moths, but I find that " sugar " is a 
more powerful bait, for when laid in the neighbourhood of the nettles, the moths 
abandon them for the stronger smelling compound. 
Several of my friends complain that they get nothing at sugar ; why, I cannot 
conceive, unless it is that they choose unfavourable nights for their expeditions ; I 
