A Raid for Moths 
age time from the appearing of the first specimen until 
the last has gone to rest is about twenty minutes. 
Velleda is content with less time. 
Here I may pause to explain. We are out on a raid 
for moths, and have arranged our plan of campaign to 
suit the various times and places where we know, from 
past experience, we are likely to meet with success. 
Our equipment is simple; we carry an ordinary collect- 
ing net as described in “British Butterflies,” a large 
vasculum filled with nested pill-boxes, a pocket-lamp, 
and a tin of “sugar ”’—a 1-pound cocoa-tin filled with 
cane treacle to which have been added a tablespoonful 
of honey and a teaspoonful of rum. We have a small 
coarse brush with which to apply this mixture to tree 
trunks, an operation which I shall describe presently. 
Our pockets are large and plentiful. Our rule is to fill 
the right and left outer jacket pockets with unnested 
boxes of various sizes, and, as these are filled, to put 
them with their contents into the inner skirt pockets ; 
then as the boxes are used we apply to the vasculum on 
the back for more. We carry upwards of 200 boxes. 
The flight of Velleda being over, we cross to the 
softer meadowland to get amongst the Yellow-Rattle 
(Rhinanthus Cresta-galli). The Grass Rivulet (£. 
albulata) 1s everywhere, and soon we have a few 
fluttering in the net; selecting the best, and rejecting 
damaged insects, within ten minutes we have a score of 
picked specimens. But we are after rarer game; 
E.. plumbeolata and E. pygmeaia both occur here, the 
former fairly commonly, the latter is rarer, and, on 
C.B,M. 17 3 
