NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 
181 
the sun, bogtrotting, and got five more, but the insect was rare. I only 
saw about one every half hour, and, with a high wind blowing and a 
swarm of flies blinding the sight, it was difficult to capture. Other insects 
were very scarce, a few Chelonia plantaginis showing up, one Plusia 
(possibly interrogationis)^ and some very worn Ccenonympha typhon. On 
the day following, however, I captured two Selidosema plumaria in fine 
condition. At sugar I met with hosts of Triphana pronnba, Xylophasia 
77ionoglypha and other pests, and found X. lithoxylea plentiful but worn, 
a good many X. sublustris, some of which were in good order. Noctua 
festiva, N. augur, Cuspidia psi, Hadena pisi, Miana fasciuncula, and a 
few M. strigilis were in evidence, also several Phibalapte 7 yx Ug 7 iata, 
At Howth, friends of mine have taken Agrotis hmigera and other good 
things. Dumthcucia barrettii has come out earlier this season, the SileTie 
is in great bloom, but they do not seem to be attracted by it so much 
as in ordinary years. Three gentlemen have taken about one dozen 
between them. — W. de V. Kane, Sloperton Lodge, Kingstown. Ju?ie 
2oth, 1891. 
Isle of Wight. — I captured the first Sphmx convulvuli that I have 
seen this season on August 29th at petunia blossom ; it was in very 
fair condition, and I hope to secure some more. Sugar has proved 
attractive again, and in the woods the previous evening, 29 different 
species of Noctua visited sugared trunks or flower heads, including 
all the Triphcenas, excepting subsequa, and of which the most unusual 
was a single Dia 7 ithcjecia cucubali, of which species I was surprised to 
take a second the following evening on sugared posts on the Downs. 
A single specimen of the second brood of Vimmia riuiiicis also put in 
an appearance. Larvae of Agrotis ripce are not quite so plentiful as 
last year. I am also taking, upon the same foodplant (which I believe 
to be the Sea Atriplex), another larva, varying from bright green to 
brown with a yellow stripe on each side (? H. oleracea); this does not 
burrow in the sand like that of A. ripcB, but lies extended on the 
stems of the foodplant. — Albert J. Hodges. Septe 77 iber, 1891. 
Far 7 ibo 7 'ough, KeTit. — I noticed a freshly changed pupa of Gortyna 
flavago in thistle stem to-day, August nth ; the few nights I was out a 
fortnight ago, I found insects fairly plentiful ; Xylophasia hepatica was 
a little worn, but I never met so many before, I generally take a 
dozen or so at sugar each season, but this year I discovered they have 
a habit of sitting on the largest grass stems close to the top, and, by 
hunting with a light after their flight, I found I could take, on an 
average, about eighteen during an evening — of course a great number 
were useless — still I got a fair proportion of good specimens. Of Plusia 
ga 77 i 77 ia I have not seen a single one this season. Tima 7 idra aniataria, 
plentiful. Also a good number of Thyatira batis, Go 7 iophora derasa 
and Pericallia syrmgaria, of the latter I captured several $ ’s deposit- 
ing, but having been successful in breeding them this season I merely 
killed them. Last year I caught a $ which laid, and from the batch 
had twenty-seven imagines which nearly all paired, so I have or had a 
great number in the sleeve, I saw they had hatched a fortnight ago, but 
they remain extremely small and don’t begin to grow much until the 
spring is well advanced ; they pupate in a singular manner compared 
to other larvie I have bred, attaching themselves by a few slight 
threads or slim network head upwards, only two out of the twenty- 
