NOTES OF 1885 ON SOME INJURIOUS AND OTHER COMMON INSECTS

Extract

The past season was remarkable, in our locality, for the general scarcity of diurnal Lepidoptera, and also of many of the Coleoptera, especially among the Scarabeidæ, Cerambycidæ and Buprestidæ. Many species of these, usually plentiful, seemed rare this year, and even Lachnosterna fusca was not nearly so abundant or injurious as it is generally. Perhaps, with the exception of Colias philodice, the most common butterfly was D. archippus, which I have never seen so common. I do not think I saw a single specimen of P. cardui, although it was very abundant last year. Pieris rapœ was less numerous and appears to be decreasing in numbers every year, largely owing, no doubt, to the attacks of the parasite Pteromalus puparum. The birds also, especially the Fly-catchers, do not get full credit for the good work they do. Insects of all other orders seemed to be about as abundant as usual, and several species proved to be more than usually numerous and destructive.