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INSECTS

actively by day about the trees, but the females not till the evening. These are not easily obtained, except by rear- ing ; but this is facilitated by the ease with which the pupa is found, in plenty, under moss on the trunks and roots of the beeches

Platypteryx lacertinaria, Linn. ; lacertula, Schiff. (Scalloped Hook-tip). Halton, Chalfont St. Peter, Chalfont Road; not very common

Cilix spinula, Schiff. ; glaucata, St.C. Buckingham, Chesham, Chalfont St. Peter, Halton, High Wycombe ; probably generally distributed about hawthorn hedges

Cerura furcula, Linn. (Kitten). Buckingham, Halton ; not common, the larva on sallow

—— bifida, Hb. (Poplar Kitten). Halton, Chesham, Buckingham

—— vinula, Linn. (Puss Moth). Generally distributed about willows and poplars

Stauropus fagi, Linn. (Lobster Moth). Halton, Aylesbury, Marlow, Chesham, Chalfont St. Peter, High Wycombe, Black Park. This county is a portion of the central home or metropolis in Great Britain of this fine species, and here the rare black variety has occurred. The larva is most curious, having long legs, and a body so strangely humped that, from the time of its hatching from the egg, it bears the most singular resemblance to a lobster. It has been found here to feed, not only on oak and beech, but also on birch, hazel, hawthorn, apple and wild rose, and spins up between leaves or in moss before becoming a pupa.The moth sits on the trunks of trees——often small trees in woods

Notodonta dictaea, Linn. (Swallow Prominent). Halton, Marlow, Chesham, High Wycombe ; among poplars

——dictaeoides, Esp. Marlow and Halton ; among birch, on which the larva feeds. Difficult to rear except singly, since the larvae are disposed to devour each other. They have a habit of clinging so closely to their food that it is difficult to shake or beat them off

—— ziczac, Linn. Chesham, Halton ; not rare, the larva feeding on sallow and poplar

—— trepida, Esp. Marlow, Halton, Chesham, High Wycombe, Black Park ; not common

—— dromedarius, Linn. Black Park, Halton, Chesham ; not common

Drymonia chaonia, Hb. Black Park, Stonor Park, Burnham Beeches, Chesham, Halton, Marlow ; rarely taken in the perfect state. The Rev. Bernard Smith wrote that at Marlow he found only larvas, that they seemed to prefer isolated oak trees of moderate size, and were to be found, by the aid of a ladder, up to the very summit of the tree, usually lying along the midrib on the underside of the leaf, the best time for searching for it being from the middle to the end of June

Drymonia dodonaea, Schiff. ; trimacula, St.C. Marlow, Halton, Chesham ; also about oaks, but uncommon

Lophopteryx carmelita, Esp. Two specimens were taken in Black Park in the year 1857. This appears to be the only record in the county

—— camelina, Linn. (Coxcomb Prominent). Halton, Chesham, Black Park, woods of the Chiltern district ; larvas found by the Rev. J. Greene in profusion in Beech Wood feeding upon beech, oak and hazel ; also the pupæ commonly under moss on the tree trunks

—— cucullina, Schiff. ; cuculla, St.C. Marlow, Halton, Aylesbury, Chesham. The county of Bucks seems to be, so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, the metropolis of this beautiful species. The Rev. Joseph Greene says, ' At the time I was at Halton, cucullina was among the rarest British insects. Little or nothing was known about it in any stage. The first larva I found was while examining a maple shrub. I found these shrubs the most productive, especially such as were situated in the denser parts of the wood a very unusual circumstance so far as my experience goes I beat out about forty fine larvæ in the Beech Wood. When my notice of my captures at Halton appeared in the Zoologist (. 4184) a swarm of dealers hastened down to the place, and would speedily have exterminated the species, but were happily warned off the ground by Sir Anthony Rothschild's keepers for damaging and destroying the trees and shrubs.' It is satisfactory to be able to say that the species has not been exterminated, nor indeed seriously reduced in numbers ; specimens in plenty have also been reared by the Rev. Bernard Smith of Marlow and others from eggs obtained by pairing reared specimens and thus continuing the breed in confinement. The moth is very rarely captured, but Dr. Churchill

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