NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 
207 
the phenomenon of “ protective resemblance,” the one a dark rich 
apple green, the other a very pale silvery-white green. Query : Could 
the change take place in one generation ? and would larvae, bred from 
the same batch of ova — the one lot on willow, the other on apple — 
differ so very strikingly in colouring? Two of the apple fed larvae had 
a row of red spots on each side, just over and between the spiracles. 
Not having met with this variety hitherto, I should like to know if 
it is of common occurrence. We also took S. tilice on elm, and Sphinx 
Hs^ustri on lilac. Mr. Gray was also fortunate in finding several larvae 
of Charocampa porcellus ^ and C. elpenor feeding on the purple loose- 
strife {Lythrum salicaria) growing on the banks of the Ouse. One of 
the former, which was of a pale green when captured, on changing its 
skin became of a dark olive brown ; till now I had imagined that 
the brown variety of this larva was always brown. The last larva we 
took was a full-fed specimen of Cossus ligniperda. On the whole I 
should think that the district of Bedford would amply repay careful 
working. I think the facts most worthy of notice were the times of 
emergence, etc., of some of the captures — for example, a specimen of 
Ptilodontis palpina at rest on poplar, August 9th, a pupa of Notodonta 
dictcBa taken on the 9th at poplar, hatched on the nth, and a pupa of 
Agriopis aprilina taken on the 15th, emerged on the 20th. I took 
about two dozen pupae of Cosmia diffinis at elm, and a few moths just 
hatched; these pupae continued to emerge from the 15th to about the 
30th, at intervals of a day or two, but I did not obtain any ova. — 
D. H. S. Steuart, North Leigh, Prestwich, Lancashire. September 
i^th, 1891. 
Essex Marshes. — I have obtained 16 Phorodesma smaragdaria larvae, 
and know of about 200 others taken on the same ground by different 
collectors. I was not surprised at only taking 16, as I was informed at 
the railway station that five other entomologists had been there during 
the previous week. I am afraid this insect will share the fate of other 
good local things and become extinct, at any rate in this locality. — 
Ambrose Quail, 15, Stamford Hill, Stoke Newington. Sept. 21st, 1891. 
Isle of Man. — The weather here during the past week or so has 
been more or less wet, and very cold, after sunset, consequently, I 
have been able to do but very little collecting. Sugaring has proved 
a failure so far. On the 20th and 21st of June, I sugared in the 
woods behind Glenduff, in the parish of Lezayre, and the only insect 
taken was one solitary Gonoptera libatrix. On June 22nd, I took six 
Fidonia piniaria, flying in the sunshine at 11.30 a.m., in the pine 
woods behind Glenduff, and at 5 p.m. on the same day I was fortunate 
enough to take a fine large Amphidasys betularia^ at rest, on the trunk 
of a lime tree in front of Glenduff house. The insect apparently had 
not long emerged from the chrysalis state. My best captures of the 
season have been Dianthcecia ccesia., D. capsophila., D. capsincola and 
Sesia philanthiformis. On the loth of this month (August), I went to 
Andreas, at the north of the island, for a few days, and took the fol- 
lowing butterflies on the morning of the nth : — Pieris rapce., P. napi, 
Vanessa urticce, Pararge megcBra, Satyrus seinele., Epinephele janira.^ 
Ccenonympha pamphilus., Polyommatus phlceas and Lyccena alexis. On the 
evening of the same day I took the following moths at sugar ; — 
^ Was this feeding on Ly thrum 1 — Ed. 
