THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 25.] SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1856. [Price Id. 
LARVA-HUNTIN G. 
At this season of the year the pursuit of 
larvae engages, or ought to engage, the 
attention of the greater number of our 
readers. 
It is rare sport, hunting for larvae — far 
more attractive than deer- stalking, and 
beats grouse-shooting or pheasant-shoot- 
ing hollow. 
A nice plump larva — never mind of 
what kind — is something pleasant to look 
at, whether it be a Smerinthus from a wil- 
low, an Enrlromis from a birch, or a 
Saturnia from the heather : to say no- 
thing of a Death’s Head from a potato- 
field, or an Elephant from the willow- 
herb growing in the moist places at 
Hackney. 
Then, when you systematically look 
for larvae, you find such lots of queer 
things — things that you never saw be- 
fore, and had no idea that you had them 
in your neighbourhood. 
It is much better fun collecting larvae 
than collecting insects only in the perfect 
state ; for, in the first place, you have 
double pleasure — you have first the plea- 
sure of finding the larva, and afterwards 
the pleasure of breeding the perfect in- 
sect: you get two bites of your cherry, 
and hence a more complete enjoyment 
of it. 
And larva collecting is independent of 
weather, and now that the weather seems 
completely broken for a time, it is no 
small advantage to an entomologist to be 
able to collect, even though it rains inter- 
minably or blows an equinoctial gale ; 
and, as we have elsewhere observed, 
“ only adapt your clothing to the weather, 
and you may collect larvae whenever you 
choose ,” so don’t attempt to excuse your 
growing idleness, at the close of the 
season, by saying, “ It was so wet, it was 
no use going out.” “ Where there’s a 
will there’s a way,” and if you wish to 
collect insects you can do so ; those oak 
boughs, well thrashed, may produce you 
a shower-bath, it is true, but they may 
may also produce you some game worth 
bagging ; those sallows which you think 
not worth going amongst are held in 
greater esteem by sundry caterpillars,' as 
you might learn if you looked for them. 
Many of our rarer species would be- 
come common if larvae were more deter- 
minately looked for, and as we know that 
frequently, at this time of the year, people 
begin to complain that their game is 
scarce, and that their sport is well nigh 
over, we think it advisable to remind 
them that they may collect insects other- 
wise than in the perfect state, and that 
now is the very time for those who have 
not yet tried their hands at it to com- 
mence in good earnest the noble sport of 
“ Larva-hunting.” 
c c 
