NOTES ON THE LARIDJi:. 
85 
<They are difficult to discover when in the grass, the colour of which at that time 
of the year much resembles theirs- 
The large trees cannot be shaken, and the insects seem to frequent rather 
the lesser trees (especially Oaks) which are easily shaken; they generally appear 
to have one tenant, and some have three or four. The overseers of the “ Woods 
and Forests,’’ as I afterwards heard, made sad complaints about the injury to 
the bark of the young wood from the kicks of the sturdy entomologists, who were 
there most hours of the day. I once went myself, at four o’clock in the morn- 
dng, being unable to spare any other time for the purpose, and I think the earlier 
hours to be favourable for capturing the insects, which appear to be more sleepy 
or dull before the sun has risen, and enlivened them- I have heard, from many 
quarters, that besides the numbers taken here, a great many others appeared 
last year in various parts of the country, and in the letter above alluded to, Mr. 
Curtis informs me, that a friend of his had had two hundred caterpillars feeding 
since last year’s brood, and that he possesses two himself 
Nothing can exceed the beauty of this lovely insect when first taken. The 
superior wings vary, in different individuals, from dark brown to cream-coloured, 
with intermediate shades of a greenish hue. My specimens were very fine, so 
much so, that Mr- Curtis asked in his letter if they had been bred, with a view 
to the treatment of the larvse in his possession. Mine, however, were all taken 
in the perfect state; and were killed instantaneously, without any injury to 
them as specimens for the cabinet, by compression of the thorax. I was very 
happy in being able to supply my friends with series of this interesting insect. 
NOTES ON THE LARID^. 
By Beverley R. Morris. 
During the autumn of 1836 immense flocks of the Gull family visited the 
Dorset coast, being engaged in the pursuit of the Sprats and Mackarel which 
then approached the shore. Among them I noticed the following species:— 
Blackbacked Gull, Larus marinus .—Adults of this species are at all times 
tolerably common in Dorsetshire; but at this season they were in great numbers, 
though not so abundant as several other species. The young birds were exceed¬ 
ingly numerous. The keenness of its eye almost precludes the possibility of 
obtaining perfect specimens, though the young may often be procured. This ac¬ 
counts for adults being so rare in collections. 
Fuscous Gull, Larus fuscus^-^The Fuscous Gull, which had previously been 
