Cidaria, and the "Thorns" are especially conspicuous. Arctia caia, Spilosoma lubricipeda, and S. menthastri are always certain to come in their season by the dozen. I helped an A. caia one night no less than three times out of my net, and over the hedge, until it returned a fourth time and fell a victim to a bat. A. fuliginosa I never even saw. Hepialus humuli rarely allows itself to be trapped, although dancing over the grass by the dozen; and H. lupulinus never, though equally common.

The best nights for lamp-hunting are those that are warm, dark, and still. Insects are very sensitive to temperature, therefore a thermometer below 50° F., marks a paucity of sport. Few moths, if any, will be abroad in moon or starlight. A strong wind is equally unfavourable. If the weather-vane points at all to the east, the entomologist may certainly rest indoors.

I have always observed two chief flights of moths in a night. With the dusk appear the Geometers; these are afterwards followed by the Noctuas; and this flight goes on till eight o'clock. After an apparent rest of a couple of hours, the second flight begins at ten, with diminished Geometers but increased Noctuas, and continues till midnight. The entomologist may then turn in and empty his cyanide bottle. He should have in readiness a large wide-mouthed pickle bottle, half-filled with chopped and bruised laurel leaves. On the top of the leaves, which should be well pressed down, a piece of perforated card should be placed, and fitting the bottle. On this the insects may be laid, when they will remain perfectly natural and relaxed for a week or more. Moths of a green colour, like the Emeralds, should be set at once; in fact, they should be removed from the cyanide bottle as soon as killed, pinned into a pocket-box, and set on reaching home. This is the secret in preserving the exquisite tint of an insect like Geometra papilionaria.

The entomologist at the top of his ladder on a favourable night looks into a veritable insect world. Thousands of gnats, many in their last struggles for existence, cover the bottom of the lamp. These gnats, when seen on the wing at the approach of dusk, are sure harbingers of successful sport. If it be the month of August, half a dozen Noctuas may be inside, sullen and quiet. A beetle or two, with numerous earwigs and three or four Geometers, swell the company. Some of the lepidopterous insects are scorched by the flame, but the greater proportion are fit for the cabinet. The whitish eggs on the glass inside are probably those of Luperina cespitis. Outside there will be more earwigs, a G. papilionaria if birches are in the neighbourhood, Noctuas, more Geometers; and all these, as a rule, will be as fresh as if straight from the chrysalis. Spiders are feasting busily on the dying gnats, and a bat flies up and down and about, taking, the meanwhile, a liberal tithe. The great pest

to the collector is a red ichneumon; a friend labels it, with a query, Ophion. This insect is a little larger than a wasp, and possesses a sharp and down-curved sting or ovipositor, which it can use in a very unpleasant manner. I have often small lumps the size of a pea, and more, raised on the back of my hands by these creatures, although the pain is by no means equal to the sting of a wasp or bee. The ichneumon gets into the lamps, or buzzes outside by the dozen, and seems to angrily resent all intrusion. The whole scene reminds one of the early Greek and his moral, viz., that these seductive lights are as fatal to the insect tribes as the sinful pleasures of this world are to women and to men. I will now append a list of Chester captures. Those marked with an asterisk are rare :—

JANUARY.-Cheimatobia brumata, Hybernia defoliaria, Phigalia pedaria, FEBRUARY.-H. rupicapraria, H. marginaria (progemmaria), P.

(pilosaria).

pedaria.

MARCH.-Selenia bilunaria (illunaria), P. pedaria, Anticlea badiata, Anisopteryx ascularia, H. rupicapraria, H. marginaria, Eupithecia abbre

viata.

APRIL.-S. bilunaria, H. marginaria, A. ascularia, A. badiata, Triphosa dubitata.

MAY.-S. bilunaria, A. badiata, Melanippe fluctuata, Cidaria suffumata. JUNE. A. badiata, Coremia unidentaria, Melanippe montanata, M. fluctuata, Timandra amataria, Camptogramma bilineata, Cabera pusaria, Acidalia aversata with var. remutata, Rumia luteolata (cratæyata), Caradrina quadripunctata (cubicularis), Arctia menthastri, A. lubricipeda, Triphana pronuba, Agrotis exclamationis, A. segetum, Leucania comma, Scopula olivalis.

JULY. Phorodesma pustulata (bajularia), by Mr. J. Lyon Denson, Chester; Uropteryx sambucaria, A. aversata with var., A. inornata, C. exanthemata, Geometra papilionaria, Abraxas grossulariata, S. illunaria var. juliaria, Cidaria fulvata, Metrocampa margaritaria, Iodis lactearia, Camptogramma bilineata, Phibalapteryx vittata (lignata), Arctia caia, Liparis similis (auriflua), L. pallens, L. conigera, Noctua augur, N. plecta, Mamestra brassica, M. anceps,* Xylophasia monoglypha (polyodon), Grammesia trigrammica* var. bilinea, C. morpheus. C. alsines, Luperina cespitis, Plusia gamma, P. iota, Hepialis humuli (?), Ebulea sambucalis, Perinephele lancealis, Edematophorus lithodactylus, Scopula prunalis, S. lutealis, Zanclognatha tarsipennalis, Diurnea fagella, Lemnatophila phryganella, Tortrix viburnana, T. rosana, Teras contaminana, Platyptilia gonodactylu, Crambus tristellus.

AUGUST.-G. papilionaria, Pseudoterpna pruinata (cytisaria), Hypsipetes sordidata (elutata), the dark form; A. grossulariata, Epione apiciaria, Crocallis elinguaria, Eugonia alniaria (tiliaria), Cidaria truncata (russata), Coremia unidentaria, C. designata (propugnata), M. fluctuata, C. pusaria, Eubolia limitata (mensuraria), E. cervinata, Boarmia repandata, T. dubitata, C. aversata, S. illunaria var. juliaria, Halia vauaria (wavaria), Neuronia popularis, L. testacea, Noctua rubi, L. cespitis, L. pallens, A. caia, Anchocelis lunosa, Orthosia lota, Calymnia pyralina, C. trapezina, Bryophila perla

(a very diminutive form), Triphana ianthina, T. orbona, T. pronuba, P gamma, Cœnobia rufa, L. guenéei,* Rhacodia caudana, Conchylis straminea, Scoparia truncicolella, Tortricodes hyemana, Paraponyx stratiotalis, Botys ruralis (verticalis).

SEPTEMBER.-E. alniaria; C. truncata, vars. centum-notata, commanotata, perfuscata; C. immanata and var. marmorata,* M. fluctuata, E. apiciaria, C. testata, Hydræcia micacea, A. pistacina, A. lunosa, Xanthia fulvago (cerago), X. flavago, X. citrago, Nonagria arundinis (typha), Cirrhædia xerampelina,* Amphipyra tragopogonis, L. similis.

OCTOBER. Oporabia dilutata, Himera pennaria, C. miata,* A. pistacina, Diloba cæruleocephala, Hydræcia nictitans, Scopelosoma satellitia, O. lota.

NOVEMBER. O. dilutata, H. pennaria, C. miata,* Hybernia defoliaria (four well-marked forms), C. brumata, O. lota, O. macilenta, Pacilocampa populi, D. cæruleocephala, Xylina ornithopus (rhizolitha),* S. satellitia, Asteroscopus sphinx (cassinea).

DECEMBER.-C. brumata, H. defoliaria, S. satellitia, P. populi. 2, George Street, Chester.

ENTOMOLOGICAL NOTES, CAPTURES, &c.

ON THE NEED OF THE REVIVAL OF THE 'ENTOMOLOGISTS' ANNUAL' In a short notice of vols. ix. and x. of the 'Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club '(Entom. 24), a remark is made on the need of the collation and indexing of the proceedings of the various local and metropolitan scientific clubs or societies. This undeniable want appears to me to have been, practically, the very one so ably met for many years by Mr. Stainton and others, in the Entomologist's Annual,' which has now been defunct for sixteen years. Would it not be practicable for a conclave of our working entomologists to collate the various papers and notes published in the different journals since the Annual' disappeared, and publish the results, with such plates as could be afforded; and then to continue the work year by year? It can hardly be doubted but that subscriptions or contributions would be obtainable to supplement the deficit, if any, of the funds needed to bring out such a work; that is, supposing the sale by itself did not suffice. I have never, myself, ceased to regret the disappearance of that prime necessary to working entomologists, the annual yellow volume; and I feel sure a very large number of us would gladly aid in its resuscitation. Will not some of our leading entomologists move in the matter?—(Rev.) O. P. Cambridge; Bloxworth Rectory, January 11, 1890.

HESPERIA LINEOLA, Ochs.—In his record (Eutom. 3), of the interesting discovery of Hesperia lineola as a British butterfly, Mr. F. W. Hawes seems to indicate that there is some divergence of opinion as to the specific distinctness of H. lineola and H. thaumas. Besides the rather slight but constant colour differences, there are also structural differences between the two species. These are shown in the genital armature of the males. It is impossible to give in words a good idea of this structure, but in the Transactions' of the Linnean Society, Second Series, Zoology, vol. i., pl. lvii. figs. 26 and 27, will be found illustrations of the parts.-F. BUCHANAN WHITE.

NOTE ON CIDARIA IMMANATA FROM ICELAND.-After careful examination of the specimens of Cidaria that I captured in Iceland during July and August, 1889, Mr. South arrived at the conclusion that all are referable to Cidaria immanata, and none to the closely allied C. truncata (russata). By far the larger proportion of the specimens of C. immanata were taken at Arnefjord, Dyrafjord, and Onundafjord, on the west coast of Iceland, July 30th and 31st, and the greater number belong either to the dark typical form, or to the reddish one so common at Rannoch. The Rannoch form, so far as my observation went, is, on the whole, the most abundant, though typical C. immanata is widely distributed, occurring at Saudarkrok and Akureyri on the north, and Eskefjord on the east coast. I only captured five specimens of C. immanata at Reykjavik, and these were all of the Rannoch form. Its comparative scarcity in the neighbourhood of the capital may be attributed to the fact that it was then (July 26th), only beginning to emerge from the chrysalis. Its scarcity at Isafjord, on the west coast, and at all the fjords on the north and east coasts (after it had appeared in plenty elsewhere), can hardly be assigned to the supposition of its disappearance at so early a date as the first week of August; it is far more reasonable to suppose that the higher latitude of some districts, and the more Alpine character of other regions, or both causes combined, account for its absence or scanty appearance. It is perfectly true, that as I landed at thirteen fjords where no previous visit of any entomologist has been recorded, to my knowledge, I had no means of knowing the best locality for insects during the one or two hours or one day that I was enabled to spend there; but, on the other hand, it must be borne in mind that at certain of these fjords above-mentioned Geometrida were easily discovered, occurred in plenty, and very near the landing-place, and also that my experience of the rarity of moths at Siglufjord tallies with that of Finsterwalden in 1856, this being the only place adjacent to the Arctic Ocean that was similarly surveyed by the German Expedition of that year. Var. marmorata, among the Iceland specimens, is somewhat sparingly represented. Of the form of marmorata in which the reddish tint is suffused over the whole of the fore wings, instead of being confined to the base and extremities, as in the ordinary type of this var., there are only two specimens, and these are from Dyrafjord. There is also one specimen of "pythonissata" of Millière, from Arnefjord. As regards Icelandic varieties, I took two specimens of this moth, shortly before leaving Reykjavik, that I named "cjornensis," as found in the sloping meadows above "cjorn,' or the lake in rear of the cathedral, but which I found to have been previously discovered by Staudinger, and by him named "thingvallata,” from Thingvellir, the place of its capture. The name cjornensis may, however, possibly be allowed to stand, in reference to an intermediate form between the ordinary marmorata and the thingvallata of Staudinger, of which I also took two specimens, one above the cjorn or lake, and the other a few days later, at Dyrafjord. It is remarkable that this last var. exactly corresponds to one in Mr. South's collection, taken at York.-(Rev.) F. A. WALKER, D.D.

SUGARING. My own experience quite agrees with all that has been written recently, respecting the comparative failure of sugar in attracting Lepidoptera. I think the subject of interest, and should like to see the opinions of experienced collectors as to the cause of this unproductiveness, which has been noticed by so many. Somewhat indifferent health has

necessitated my confining my sugaring-grounds to the trees surrounding our house, and in our own neighbour's garden. There is a tolerably good variety, comprising elm, lime, poplar, willow (Salix alba), with hedges of hawthorn and blackthorn. In some years my sugar-patches rendered a good return of moths, my captures numbering about fifty different species. Now, for three or four years past, night after night, sugaring has been almost of no avail. Can it be a case of inherited instinct? and are the rising generations of moths getting too wise to be trapped by the sugaring baits? The evolutionists tell us many wonderful stories; can they help us to arrive at some conclusion in this instance? Why is it that certain species of Lepidoptera are so rare? Is it to be attributed to the female laying but a limited number of eggs, to a delicate constitution in the larva and pupa, to more than ordinarily persistent attacks from ichneumon flies and other enemies, or, more probably, from a want of knowledge of the habits of these species? In the year 1878 I had the good fortune to capture at sugar the specimen of Leucania albipuncta mentioned in my list. The late Mr. Buckler was very anxious to obtain ova, and asked me to do my best in procuring some for him. In company with a friend, I have yearly made a strict search in hope of finding another, but without success. Again, in the case of Laphygma exigua, taken here in a clover-field by my brother last year; although we tramped the same field day after day, over and over again, both last year and this, not another was to be seen. It is easier to understand why some insects should be local; this may arise from the food-plants being confined to definite areas; but why a moth, capable, I should suppose, of by no means a long-sustained flight, such as these two species, should turn up only here and there singly, remains to me inexplicable. We cannot, I think, conceive that these, like the swift and strong-winged Sphingidæ, which perhaps often are so, are immigrants from distant lands; there can be little doubt of their being "true-born Britons"; and it seems to me likely that many species are rare, mainly on account of some particular and curious habit of concealment of which we are not cognisant.-JOSEPH ANDERSON, Jun.; Chichester.

Sugaring seems to have been rather a failure this season in most places; but in South Devon, where I was staying early in September, I found it by no means unproductive. Some twelve common species of Noctuæ were abundant, while a few specimens turned up of Noctua glareosa, &c., and one each of Thyatira batis, Hydracia micacea, Noctua umbrosa, and Luperina cespitis. A few common Geometridæ, such as Cidaria truncata and Larentia viridaria, also came to the sugared patches. All these were taken from six or eight trees skirting the north-west side of a wood. The moon was shining during each of the six nights that I sugared, which were for the most part cloudless.-R. M. PRIDEAUX; 9, Vyvyan Terrace, Clifton, Bristol.

FORCING PUPE OF D. GALII.-In the 'Entomologist,' xxii. p. 202, I read the words, "By all means force your galii pupæ." Not being the fortunate possessor of galii in pupa at the time, I obtained three, as much for the experiment as otherwise. I commenced forcing under the directions given by Mr. J. Arkle, placing my pupæ under a glass, beneath which I placed a small thermometer, keeping the whole near a fire. The highest temperature reached 120° Fahr., the lowest 40°. I placed my three pupæ beneath the glass on Nov. 11th, and on Dec. 15th the first emergence took place, the second on the 26th, the third on the 30th of the