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abnormally cold. There has been some correspondence in some of the 
journals remarking on the fact that insects have been seen remaining 
in one position without moving for several nights in succession, and 
it seems that with a low temperature moths of both sexes have no 
inclination to move. I myself have noticed Spilosoma menthastri doing 
the same thing. I have also tethered up a female A. prodr omari a, which 
remained out a whole week without pairing, owing to a spell of cold 
weather, and on another occasion in almost the same locality under 
better climatic conditions, the looked-for result was brought about 
almost immediately. 
The interest taken in the capture of our rarer species or occasional 
visitors is, perhaps, not so great as it used to be, but even allowing for 
this, the number of specimens recorded this season still seems very 
small. There is one notice of D. livornica being taken in the early part 
of the year, and my friend, Mr. Willsdon, took a couple of L. vitellinci in 
South Devon in September, but the other rareties which were in such 
evidence last year, particularly L. eccigua, have entirely failed to establish 
themselves, and H. peltigera, which last year was in great abundance in 
Devonshire, has only turned up very sparingly. It is seldom that a 
year goes by without some special insect being in extra abundance, but 
it would appear that this year, both rare and common insects have 
been adversely affected with but very few exceptions. Perhaps one 
of the exceptions has been that of Mania tnaura, which at any rate in 
some places has been unusually plentiful. 
In the matter of rearing lame I have always been inclined to think 
that cool weather is rather beneficial than otherwise, more particularly 
when the larvae are kept indoors, as I have frequently noticed that a 
burst of heat has proved most disastrous to many species; but I learn 
from some of the large breeders of insects in our society, that the 
result of the year’s work has been anything but satisfactory. My own 
experience has been very varied, commencing with an almost 
complete failure with broods of Oporabia autumnaria and 0. Christyi, 
with which genus I had hitherto been very successful, and the manner 
of treatment of which was the same as before. On the other hand, 
with that troublesome species T. opima , I was successful in getting about 
100 to pupate. A little later on I was again unsuccessful with a 
number of D. fascelina and N. zonaria lame, which were sent me from 
Lancashire. These species are well-known to be difficult when sent 
away from their native air, but as the fascelina were nearly fullgrown 
when I received them, I reasonably hoped for better results. I once 
before had an example of what appeared to be the change of air up¬ 
setting lame. I had been collecting some numbers of Heliothis 
dipsaceus larvae on the Suffolk coast, and whilst staying there my 
larvae were doing perfectly well, and some were pupating; but on my 
return home to London air the larvae began to sicken at once, and 
scarcely another larva pupated. I had a few eggs of N. lapponaria and 
I don’t think I lost a single larva, yet in some other years they have 
been almost complete failures. With other commoner species, 
T. consonaria so far has been a complete success, and D. falcula did 
fairly well also ; but these two species are generally easy to manage. 
As might be expected this has not been a year for any generally 
single-brooded species to develop a second brood, but rather for double- 
brooded species to lay over until the spring. This has been pointed 
