HESPERIA LINEOLA.-In the report of Proceedings of the South London Natural History and Entomological Society (Entom. 296)," Mr. Tugwell expressed an opinion that this species occurred on the salt-marshes, and that those taken on the hills had been blown there." This is only a bare idea without proof. What I did say was, that I had made two excursions to Leigh for Hesperia lineola. My first captures there I had carefully examined, and found all to be lineola, and then, working on to Hadleigh, I had boxed all the Hesperia, thinking them to be lineola, but on reaching home I found 75 per cent were thaumas. On my second visit I commenced collecting at the same spot, and found nearly all my captures on the lower ground were lineola. I then met Mr. Turner, and he had been nearer the marsh than myself; he had secured some thirty specimens of lineola; together we worked over the ground to Hadleigh, and found thaumas much more common than lineola. We then struck out into the marshes below; there we secured a long series of lineola, but not a single thaumas amongst them. This indicates pretty clearly that its habitat was the marshes, and not the higher ground.-W. H. TUGWELL.

SIREX GIGAS IN DEVON. On the 5th inst. I captured a specimen of the above insect, making the third I have taken here. They seem to vary considerably in size. No. 1, length to point, 1 in.: expanse of wings, 24 in. No. 2, length to point, 1 in.; expanse of wings, 2 in. No. 3, length to point, 1 in.; expanse of wings, 1 in. - JOHN N. STILL; Langstone, Horrabridge.

MACRO-LEPIDOPTERA IN THE NEW FOREST.-Your correspondent. Mr. E. G. Alderson, has given such a melancholy account of the Lepidoptera to be met with in the New Forest this season (Entom. 258), that I should like to record my experiences of the collecting there. I took up my quarters at Brockenhurst on the 28th of June, and stayed there until the 17th of July. The weather was not at all propitious for collecting, being stormy, with very few bright sunny days. The following were the most noteworthy Macro-Lepidoptera that I met with :-Gonepteryx rhamni, hybernated specimens; Argynnis selene, fairly numerous; A. aglaia, abundant in one locality; A. adippe, scarce; A. paphia, males abundant before July 17th, but females scarce even then, consequently the variety valesina was very rare; Limenitis sibylla, fairly numerous in certain localities, but very much damaged by the stormy weather,—it was very seldom one could net a perfect specimen; Pararge egeria, very abundant; Satyrus semele, a few specimens seen on July 16th; Epinephele ianira, very abundant, a few "bleached" forms taken; E. hyperanthes, abundant; Lycæna agon, very abundant on certain heaths; Syrichthus malvæ, a few specimens noticed, but these were somewhat passé; Hesperia thaumas, abundant in certain places by about July 13th; H. sylvanus, very abundant; Zygana meliloti, I saw several specimens, taken by the local collectors; Z. trifolii and Z. filipendulæ, both plentiful; Calligenia miniata, not uncommon; Lithosia mesomella, a few specimens taken; Gnophria rubricollis, I saw specimens recently taken, but did not meet with this species myself; Emydia cribrum, taken in large numbers by the local collectors this season; Euchelia jacobæa, both imagines and larvæ common; Nemeophila russula, common; Arctia caia, common; Hepialus hectus, common; Bombyx quercus, larvæ taken on heath; Thyatira batis, fairly common; Moma orion, I saw one specimen which had been taken at rest by a brother collector; Acronycta psi, very abundant; Leu

cania turca, a few taken at sugar; L. impudens, a few taken on the bogs; L. impura, very abundant; Xylophasia lithoxylea, X. hepatica, Dipterygia scabriuscula, Miana strigilis, M. fasciuncula, Grammesia trigrammica, all at sugar, sparingly; Acosmetia caliginosa, taken by a local collector; Rusina tenebrosa, at sugar; Agrotis strigula (= porphyrea), common on the heaths; Noctua plecta, N. festiva, at sugar; Panolis piniperda, one larva taken, which proved to be "ichneumoned"; Phlogophora meticulosa, at sugar; Aplecta nebulosa, abundant; Hadena dentina, H. thalassima, at sugar; H. genista, one, at light; Anarta myrtilli, taken on the heaths,-several larvæ also taken, which subsequently proved to be ichneumoned; Phytometra viridaria, not uncommon; Urapteryx sambucaria, Metrocampa margaritaria, both common; Boarmia repandata, very abundant, some nice forms taken, including the variety conversaria; B. roboraria, not uncommon; Pseudoterpna pruinata, (= cytisaria), not uncommon; Phorodesma pustulata (= bajularia), one specimen taken; Acidalia immutata, common locally; A. emutaria, abundant on the bogs; Macaria liturata, Bupalus piniaria, amongst the firs; Aspilates strigillaria, locally common on the heaths; Hypsipetes sordidata (= elutata), common; Eubolia limitata (= mensuraria), E. plumbaria, both abundant; Tanagra atrata (= charophyllata), common; Pyrausta purpuralis, abundant; Herbula cespitalis, common; Endotricha flammealis, locally common. Certainly entomologising in the New Forest this season was disappointing work, especially at night, when "sugar would attract but few insects; but I think the above list of species met with shows that the Forest was not, entomologically, such a desert as Mr. E. G. Alderson's letter would lead one to suppose it to have been. I may mention that I found insects at the Forest to be fully a week later than at Abbot's Wood, in Sussex, where I had just been collecting, and also considerably later than I had found them at the Forest in previous seasons.— E. W. H. BLAGG; Cheadle, Staffordshire.

A WEEK AT SHERWOOD FOREST. On August 18th of this year, accompanied by my friend Mr. James Batty, of this town, I arrived at Edwinstowe, a small viliage situated close upon the Forest, and found most comfortable accommodation at The Royal Oak' Inn, which I can safely recommend to any entomologist visiting the locality. Every evening during our stay, with the exception of Sunday, we tried the seductive allurements of old Scotch black treacle, beer, and rum, but, except on one occasion, with very poor results. The one exception referred to was on Monday, August 25th. Directly we had put the treacle on the trees the rain commenced to pour down, and did not cease the whole night. As soon as rain began to fall my friend Batty wished to go back, as he said insects never came out in the rain; at least he had not known them to do so in forty years' experience. However, I persuaded him to accompany me just for one round, and, greatly to our surprise, we found the trees literally swarming with moths. Well, in that one round I filled about 120 boxes, all with good insects; and I think any enthusiastic entomologist would not have minded the thorough soaking that we got if the same good fortune attended. By far the commonest insect at sugar that night was Noctua dahlii, which swarmed on every tree. Euperia fulvago is a dead failure this year in its head-quarters, and I do not think we took eighteen specimens all the time we were there. Another curious thing was that we did not see even one specimen of Amphipyra pyramidea, which is usually an abundant species in the Forest. A few Noctua glareosa, in excellent

condition, were taken. One of the most amusing episodes of the wet night was that nearly all the insects on the trees were wet through, as far as their scales would allow them to be, and yet seemed quite to enjoy the bath, which was certainly more than we did; one Triphana fimbria in particular, I remember, was situated just under a leaf from which the rain was dropping every second, but this seemed to be a source of pleasure to the insect rather than otherwise. Ragwort flowers also had a large share of attention. All the villagers thereabouts say that never in their memories has there been more bloom than this year; in fact it was almost too abundant. Amongst the larger patches we had no success, but the more solitary plants bordering the roads repaid us the best. Our first night was the most successful at this mode of capture, though we tried it every night, as well as the treacle, about fifty N. dahlii, twenty-five Agrotis tritici, and one Hydrocia nictitans (the only one seen during the visit) being the result of an hour and a half's work on this particular evening. Heather-bloom produced literally nothing either by day or night, though carefully worked; one E. fulvago was taken at rest at night upon it, and Cidaria testata was rather common flying around the bloom at dusk. One Luperina cespitis, one Charcas graminis, and a clearwing (taken by Mr. Batty, the species of which we are not quite certain about yet), all taken at ragwort in the day-time, completes a meagre list of imagines. Of course the redeeming feature was the abundance and splendid condition of N. dahlii, but then everything else was very scarce, except A. tritici. Larvæ were also a most utter failure, beating birch and oak hour after hour and day after day producing absolutely nothing; Ephyra punctaria and E. pendu laria, of which one can generally get fifty of each in one day during a good season, I only took three of the former and two of the latter. T. punctulata was represented by about half-a-dozen larvæ. The day before we left some small, large-headed, Tortrix-like larvæ, beaten from birch, puzzled us considerably at first, but we have since found them out to be Cymatophora duplaris, and wished we had taken more. Ragwort produced larvæ of Eupithecia absinthiata and E. centaureata fairly commonly, but required a good deal of finding, as there was so much food to look over; the latter species was considerably the commoner. Altogether the year has been a very poor one for most insects, though some have been more than usually abundant; but it has been the larvæ more particularly that have been so conspicuous by their absence. In Mr. Batty's long and my own short entomological career we have never known such an utter absence of even the commonest of autumnal larvæ, or when beating and searching alike have been so unproductive.-A. E. HALL; Norbury, Sheffield, September 3, 1890. [If any entomologist has found larvæ in their usual numbers during the past August and September, perhaps he will be good enough to communicate a note on the subject.-ED.]

NOTES ON SUGAR.-The reports of captures at sugar during the past year or two have been so conflicting, and on the whole so discouraging, that any little information on the subject may be worth recording, and therefore the account of three evenings at sugar in this immediate neighbourhood, may not be altogether devoid of interest, especially as they appear to agree most completely with news received from other localities. On each occasion I sugared some twenty trees growing in a lane not half a mile beyond the continuous lines of bricks and mortar, of which this neighbourhood is chiefly composed, and where the hedgerows largely

consist of bramble and nettle. On July 12th the night was cool, air clear, sky overcast, and wind S.W., fresh breeze. Hardly had I got the sugar on the trees when the moths began to come to it, and continued to do so freely as each succeeding round was made. Between the trees were large patches of bramble in full blossom, but I failed to find any Noctuæ at them, nor was I any more fortunate at the nettles; but these were perhaps hardly sufficiently far advanced to be likely to prove attractive. July 19th, night chilly, air clear, sky cloudless, wind N.E., light breezes. Moths were decidedly common at the sugar, and continued to arrive until, having filled, all my boxes, I left. Bramble was still in full bloom, and nettles fairly well well out; but although both plants were carefully searched, no Noctum were taken at them. August 6th, the day had been hot and the evening at starting was very warm and calm, a slight haze hung in the valleys and the sky was clear. While applying the sugar, an ominous chattering of the aspens foretold a coming breeze, which ultimately proved to be from the E. Not one moth visited the sugar. Nettles were now n full bloom, but produced nothing in the way of Noctuæ, nor were any seen on the wing; the only representative of that group observed being Triphana pronuba, a solitary example in most dilapidated condition, feasting on a somewhat over-blown cluster of bramble. Reports have reached me from time to time during the summer from various localities, extending over the greater part of the kingdom, and they all agree that up to the middle of July sugar was most attractive and then suddenly became absolutely useless, and my own experience in other parts of the London district are quite in accord. Ragwort, thistles, rush, and sundry other flowers, appear to have produced some few Noctuæ, but the general report is that the numbers are but small,-too small indeed to explain their complete absence from the sugar; nor do the meteorological conditions appear to offer a satisfactory solution of the problem, for if the east wind and clear sky were the cause of the dearth of moths on the 6th of August, we might reasonably have expected them to exert a like influence on the 19th July. -ROBT. ADKIN; Lewisham, Aug., 1890.

NOTES ON THE SEASON. When I first took up the study of our Tortrices and Tineæ I am afraid that I handled the latter very roughly; this I ought not to have done with youth and good sight on my side. Now not being quite so young, my main hobby is the Nepticula, and of these I have this year set more and better than ever, both as regards pinning and setting. Now to begin an account of my doings. All my pots were left outside until April this time. I wanted to break the back of breeding before active service began, so I brought the said pots into my breedingroom, that was kept at a moderate temperature. The first insect to appear was N. sorbiella, from mountain_ash; next came N. hodgkinsonii, from wild rose, ten specimens; then Trifurcula pulverosella, from wild apple; N. floslactella, from nut; N. aucupariæ, from mountain ash; N. ignobilella, from hawthorn; N. lapponica, from birch; N. splendidissimella from raspberry; N. gei, from dewberry; N. malella, from wild apple, from the highland district; this I had not met with before and mistook them for N. desperatella. After spending days and walking miles looking over all the old crab-trees for what I supposed to be desperatella (but I did not neglect the few well-known local trees), I found desperatella. I thought what an observer Dr. T. H. Wood was when he found larvæ of this local

species! Well, the result is that I have bred about forty specimens. They are as easy to breed as N. tiliæ, which also put in appearance in fair numbers. B. hippocastanella, from lime; a few N. ruficapitella, from oak; N. salicis, from the silver-leaved osier, the larva feeding nearly at the tip, quite a different way to the usual well-known salicis mine. Mr. Threlfall did not recognise the mine, more about this next October; one odd N. poterii only out of five larvæ; N. argentipedella and N. betulicola, from birch; a series of N. plagicolella, from sloe; only two N. angulifasciella; I find this bad to breed; out of twelve N. serella I bred about ten; they were the latest of all, if I may except N. luteella. Now, here is a puzzle:-In October I got some mines close to home, expecting them to be some new species. I sent mines for Dr. Wood's opinion, and he referred them to N. lapponica; well, I sent him the moths, having bred over a score, and said all had come out N. luteella. He suggested I had made a mistake, or that they were in a pot where the pupa of luteella had lain over. I am pretty sure I had not, because I only put the queer salicis and the mines referred to in a pot separate from anything else and labelled the pot carefully. Now we will leave Nepticula and proceed to odds and ends. Only two Coccyx scopariana came out; I did not want any, so spent no time after the larva last July. Penthina postremana came out until the end of May very large and fine; good series of this from the stems of the balsam (C. noli-me-tangere). By the way, I have omitted to say I bred about fifty fine specimens of Coccyx vacciniana, from bilberry. I met with a small patch with the leaves all stripped off; the larvæ had rolled themselves round the stem with the dead leaves. The second week in May I went two rather long journeys for Micropteryx salopiella, and only got four and some M. sparmannella. Third week in May, a very unfavourable day, a glimpse of sun now and again with a high wind, I got a dozen fine Catoptria aspidiscana among the golden-rod; a few of the lovely P. lewenhoekella were walking about on the barest place where the Helianthemum grows. On the sunny side, sheltered from the strong wind, I boxed about eighty mixed Nepticula woolhopiella and N. argentipedella. The tips of the birch produced several species. On a little shady bank of Vaccinium C. vacciniana were flying in plenty. With two nets all boxes were soon filled. My son said, "This is moth-catching made easy." He sat down, smoking his weed-" and here is another; hand me the other net." Do not think this would be so at any time,-no sun, no moths; they drop instantly, whenever the sun is obscured. By the way, when I looked in a pot in which I had put a lot of seeds from angelica, expecting that probably T. mediana (= aurana) might turn up, to my surprise there were nine E. lucipara out; I did not notice any larva. Now Ecophora flavimaculella is appearing; Ornix anglicella and two Lithocolletis cavella have turned up at my own door. On Whit Saturday I took advantage of a cheap trip to Windermere. Until the season sets in it is too dear-8s. 2d. for return, 52 miles. I have not had such a chance for years. The woods were nearly dried up. I was surprised to see such a lot of moths stirring. Geometers pretty common, in fact C. corylata, M. albicillata, and even Eupithecia plumbeolata was out among the Melampyrum arvensis; I used to take this in July. There were very few Lithocolletis. An odd green silver-lines (H. prasinana) swept into my net from time to time. The old places where I used to take M. mansuetella have yielded none for years. I got entangled in a rough thicket, and made for a light place about ten