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THE "ESSEX EMERALD" MOTH.
greyish colour, with darker lints along the body, the skin very rough, and the
head and legs brown ; but, owing to its being covered so entirely with the dead
and brown portions of the food-plant, it is extremely difficult to make out the exact
markings. It sometimes feeds at dusk, but more frequently during the morning
sunshine, and at times, when the sun is hot, it eats most voraciously, appearing to
be in a very excited state during the whole time the sun is shining upon it. This
necessity for sunshine constitutes one of the many difficulties the collector has to
contend with in rearing these larva;, for the sun is, of course, a great obstacle to
keeping the food fresh. The only way to keep the food comparatively fresh is to
dig up the Artemesia with a large clod of earth, so as not to disturb the roots, and
even then it rarely keeps longer than a week. To be successful therefore with
these larvae a great deal of trouble must be undergone.
"The perfect insects appear about the middle of July, generally during the
early morning, and remain motionless the whole of the first day; and I believe
until daybreak of the next, for I have looked at them as late as twelve o'clock at
night, and found them still motionless ; but, on again looking at them about seven
o'clock on the following morning, some had paired, remaining in copula during
the whole of that day, but parting towards the evening. By the following morning
the females had commenced depositing ova, and continued to do so for four or five
days, each laying about 150 eggs altogether, and some more."
Mr. Elisha is of opinion that the explanation of the apparent
rarity of this insect is to be found in the sluggish nature of the per-
fect insect, which keeps concealed among the Artemesia, and so
escapes the sharp eyes of the entomologist. The moth seldom
moves unless disturbed, and then will generally drop to the ground
and remain motionless ; but after pairing the male becomes more
active, and will fly about if touched, and soon gets damaged.
The "Essex Emerald" is a species of such great interest to all
local naturalists, and indeed appears in England to be almost entirely
confined to our county (if we except the Isle of Sheppey captures
mentioned above) that we make no apology for printing the foregoing
summary of its occurrences and habits. We shall be glad to have any
further records or observations from entomologists who may have met
with the insect.—Ed.
There were Giants in those Days.—"From hence the shore shooting out,
buncheth foorth as farre as to the Promontorie Nesse [Walton-Naze], which, in
the English-Saxon tongue, is called Eadulphesness. What hath been found in
this place, have heere out of the words and credit of Ralphs, the Monke of Cogges-
hall, who wrot 350 yeeres agoe. In King Richard's time, on the Seashore, at a
village called Eadulphnesse, were found two teeth of a certaine Giant, of such a huge
bignesse, that two hundred such teeth as men have now a daies might be cut out of
them. These I saw at Coggeshal (quoth he) and not without wondering. And
such another Giantlike thing (I wot not what) as this, was in the beginning of
Queene Elizabethe's raigne digged up by R. Candish, a gentleman, neere unto
this place. Neither doe I denie, but there have beene men, that for their huge
bodies, and firme strength were wondrous to behold : whom God, as S. Austin
saith, would have to live upon the earth, thereby to teach us, that neither beauty
of body, nor talnesee of stature, are to be counted simply good things, seeing they be
common as well to infidels as to the godly. Yet may we very well thinke, that
which Suetonius hath written, namely, that the huge limmes of monstrous Sea-
creatures else where and in this kingdome also, were commonly said and taken to
have beene Giants' bones."—Camden's "Britannia" (1610).