RARE MOTHS MY youngest grandson who lives at Frostenden where his father is Rector, came for a holiday to stay with me during August. He was inspired by my old friend George Baker of Southwold, who equipped him with a mercury vapour light-trap which he has worked most nights with considerable success. Among a number of common species he brought me to look at was an undoubted specimen of the N I Moth (Plusia ni HĂźbn.). It puzzled me, as I always look upon it as a south coast immigrant and a westerly one at that. It was taken here on August 1 Ith. Apparently it is a NEW Noctuid moth for Suffolk, as it is not mentioned in the late Claude Morley's List published in 1937. On August 19th a Bordered Straw moth (Heliothis peltigera Schiff.) also appeared here. I presume this is also an immigrant. This seems to be a very good district for insects, light sandy soil with several lucerne fields close at hand and the estuary marshes not far distant. I have scanned the lucerne fields during sunny intervals, but have seen no Clouded Yellows in them this year. A.
P.
WALLER
(Canon).
BENTLEY WOODS AND CLAUDE MORLEY ONE of the favourite hunting grounds of our late Secretary and founder of the Society was what are generally called Bentley Woods ; these lie partly in the parish of Bentley and partly in the parish of Belstead, and are shown on Ordnance Survey maps as Baldrough Wood (the northern part), Old Hall Wood (the centre part) and Howe Wood (the southern part). A little way inside the wood from the Belstead end and some yards from the path is a small ring of Holly Trees, which, I am glad to say, has been left in position by the timber merchants, who have recently replanted the wood. Ă–n one of these trees Claude Morley used always to carve the year, whenever he visited the wood. The first year shown is 1892, and the last 1950. It is interesting to note that, in addition to the figures, Morley carved his initials in 1892, and again on his last visit in 1950 ; it would almost seem that he realised that this was to be his final visit, and that he was therefore " signing o f f " , as he " signed on " in 1892. An interesting feature of these carvings is that even the earliest are still perfectly clear, indicating the very slow growth of Holly trees. At a point five feet from the ground the diameter of the tree bearing the initials is only six inches. S.
BEAUFOY.