The First Night's Sugaring in England. 33
sleep. The only fine and presentable specimens of the great
Noctuae tribes then shown in cabinets were obtained by
breeding the insects from the caterpillars or pupae, or by
searching for the perfect moths on palings or trunks of trees.
But the bulk of the Noctua in collections were miserable
objects, and even the best cabinets exhibited frequent blanks.
The discovery of the method of sugaring changed all that.
During the period already alluded to, the summer of 1843,
Noctuae were very abundant: much more so, I think, than
they have been during late years. One fine evening I was
walking about my garden, net in hand, when I noticed a
number of Noctuae flying over and settling upon a plum tree.
I was soon busy at work, and at the close of the evening
thought I had made up a good box ; but of course the
majority of the moths were in the usual plight, with thorax
rubbed and wings abraded. I asked myself what was the
cause of such numbers of Noctuae congregating at that par-
ticular tree; no other tree in the garden was so patronised.
On examining the plum tree the next morning, I was soon
satisfied that the moths were attracted by the "honey-dew"
with which the leaves were covered. The idea quickly
occurred to me that sugar dissolved in water might be
brushed on the leaves, so as to make a kind of artificial
"honey-dew," which possibly would prove a good bait for
our furry friends. As the evening approached I became eager
to carry out my experiment. I brushed nearly all the leaves
of the plum tree with sugar and water, and awaited the
result. A more anxious time I never experienced in my
entomological career. As the shades of evening crept on,
Noctua after Noctua came in constantly increasing numbers,
till the air around the plum tree seemed alive with moths, all
soon settling on the leaves, and, to my great surprise, many
cared not to fly away or even move.
I now brought my lamp, and, turning the light upon the
tree, I beheld a scene such as I had never before witnessed
except at sallow blossoms in spring, and the analogy held
only in numbers, not in the variety of species which then
gladdened my eyes. There were, of course, the usual garden
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