SOME
INTERESTING
CAPTURES
(Lophopteryx cucullina Schiff.) I N W E S T Mr. William Reid of Sheffield teils me that while collecting near Tuddenham, Newmarket, in late June, 1955, he took a specimen of this Prominent at his mercury vapour light. This species has not often been reported in the Eastern Counties and there are not many Suffolk records so that this one is of particular interest. Mr. Baker who lives at Reydon just outside Southwold has been running a mercury-vapour trap this summer with very good results. His most important capture was nine specimens cf the Varied Coronet (Hadena compta Fab.) in early July. T h e first Suffolk record was a single example taken by Mr. Aston in 1953, while Mr. Austin Richardson secured two near Southwold in 1954. T H E MAPLE PROMINENT
SUFFOLK.
Mr. R. Demuth informs me that he took two of the Varied Coronet at light on July 21st, 1955, near Southwold. The species is evidently getting a hold in the county, especially as it is now quite common in the Colchester area wherever sweet Williams are grown. Mr. Baker was surprised to get a Maple Prominent (Lophopteryx cucullina Schiff.), an unexpected visitor so near the coast. The Starwort Shark (Cucullia asteris Schiff.) was particularly plentiful this summer at his light. By day he found a number of the Poplar HĂśrnet Clearwing (Aegeria apiformis Clerck) on old poplars just on the outskirts of the town. Yet another fine capture was a remarkable aberration of the Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata Linn.), a female almost entirely white except for the orange band on the forewing and the discal spot. This form appears to be referable to centralipuncta and is extremely rare. C.
G.
M.
DE W O R M S .
NOTES ON REAR1NG LEPIDOl ERA A L D E R M O T H (Apatele alni Linn.). In August, 1954, I was given a few nearly fully grown larvae of this interesting and uncommon moth. Within a few days they pupated inside hollow stems provided for the purpose ; here they remained for the winter. Eight moths emerged, the first on 21st May, 1955, and the last 29th May—there were four males and four females. They were kept in an airy box and fed on sugar water, and on 27th May, a pairing was obtained. Eggs were laid, slowly at first, and then at a greater rate ; they were round and finely ribbed ; for the first two or three days they remained pale cream in colour without