7 
The Collector at Work 
walking, we leave the broad road for less frequented by- 
paths, and by-and-by find ourselves on a footpath 
skirting the edge of some damp meadowland, Beyond 
us lies a pine-wood, flanked by a heathery moor with 
great patches of bracken and clumps of birch. We 
expected to arrive here about 9 p.m., but are half an 
hour early ; yet it does not look as if there will be any 
waiting to-night, for already the “Northern Swift,” 
H. velleda, is on the wing, making his way in and out 
of the bracken. This moth leads the collector a merry 
dance if one tries to run him down with the net. He 
frequents this path by the edge of the bracken, and here 
finds scope for a long, straight flight; he gets up steam, 
and shoots along full of the joy, and also the business, 
of life. He is searching for a partner now ; indeed, 
we too have been scouting for the lady Velleda since the 
flight commenced. In a few minutes we are rewarded ; 
we observe a sudden gathering of the clan round a tuft 
of long grass, and immediately our net is busy snapping 
up the males as they arrive. This gathering of the 
males lasts but a minute or two. We know there is a 
female hidden somewhere near, and that she is the cause 
of this sudden concentration of the males, of which, 
working rapidly, we have boxed a dozen without 
leaving the spot. The run ceases as suddenly as it 
began, and, stooping down, we soon find lady Velleda 
and her partner. In a few more minutes the flight of 
this species is over for the night. The short duration 
of the evening flights of moths is very remarkable : 
some species take wing early, some late; but the aver- 
16 
