126 NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



and tojk two of the pale forms, one a genuine Iielice, and the other intermediate 

 between //^//c^ an 1 the ordinary female. The butterfly did not appear to show 

 any preference for locality, but was found in equal profusion along sunny lanes, 

 over the swampy meadows bordering the river Otter, and over the grazing fields, 

 reduced almost to dry stubble by the drought, high up on the new red sandstone 

 cliffs. Although not an Essex observation, it may be useful also to note as one 

 effect of t'lis extraordinary season, that in a garden on the Exmouth road a 

 laburnum tree was in full flower at the time of having on September 14th. The 

 abnormal results of this season must surely have made themselves manifest in 

 Essex, and it would be of interest if some of our own observers would record their 

 experience. The humming-bird hawk-moth was fairly common at Budleigh 

 Salterton, and, as 1 was informed by a friend, very common at Torquay. A few 

 Cvnthiu cardui were seen ; not a single specime;i of Vanessa w, but V. atalanta 

 and V. uriicce were common. 



May I in conclusion express the wish that Essex collectors would make The 

 Essex Natukalist the regular medium of recording their captures ? This course 

 would very much facilitate the compilation of the insect fauna of the county, which 

 we all hope to see at some future period among the special memoirs issued by the 

 Club. — R. Meldola, F.R.S., September, 1893. 



Entomological Notes from Mersea; Scarcity of Lepidoptera. — The 



magnificent weather of the spring and summer, and the abundance of many 

 species of early larvce, naturally led us to anticipate a goodly show of late sumn"er 

 and autumnal scecies. In this wish Essex entomologists have been woefully 

 disappointed. The coast line and the clover fields at Mersea were continuously 

 under the observation of my brothers, B. G. C. and H. A. C, and myself during 

 August and the first half of September, and with the exception of one or two 

 species, the dearth of butterflies was most marked. In places where last summer 

 Colias ediisa., Vanessa io, and Cynthia cardui were so common they were entirely 

 absent — indeed, we have not seen a single specimen of any of the three species 

 in tlssex this season. The only butterflies commonly seen were ]'anessa alalanla 

 and Polyominaliis p/ihvas, as well as Chortohius pamp/iilus, Satvrits megcrra, and 

 Lycivna icarus. It is pleasant to observe that the two first-named beautiful species 

 have taken a new lease of life in Essex ; we quite feared, a few years ago, that 

 P. phliras at least was becoming rare, if not entirely disappearing from our lanes 

 and commons. It was a matter of wonder that we saw not a single specimen of 

 Salyrus iithonus ! Certainly the vagaries of butterflies are endless. The rarity 

 of C. edusa this summer appears to be a general phenomenon all over England, 

 with the exception, noted by Prof. Meldola above, of Budleigh Salterton, and yet 

 countless thousands flew in the clover-fields last autumn. 



Sugar was with us comparatively unproductive — the only "good" insects 

 coming to it were Agrotis saiicia, much less continuously than last season, and one 

 Ziinthi.2 gilvago. 



One startling capture was a Mctrocampa margariiaria (a May or June insect) 

 on September 2nd, in good condition ! — W. CoLE, Buckhurst Hill, September, 

 1893. 



A Butterfly on the Warpath.— On a branch of one of the mighty oaks at 

 Maundon one day this summer, I witnessed an interesting encounter between a 

 Large-tortoiseshell butterfly {Vanessa pol\chloros^ and three or four wasps. The 

 wasps had apparently found some luscious treasure on the branch and were busy 



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