MO NOTES — ORIGINAL AND SELECTED. 



Frogs and Snakes in Mersea. — If the country people here are faithful 

 observers, this head-line parallels that of the famous chapter in the Natural 

 History of Ireland, for they tell me that there are no frogs or snakes on the 

 island. I have certainly seen none, although many places appear to be fitted for 

 them. Is a like absence of these animals in other places on the Essex coast 

 known to any reader? Possibly the animals cannot cross the salt-water fleets, 

 and any individuals accidentally introduced may be speedily destroyed by the 

 numerous herons and voracious sea-birds always on the look out for anything 

 promising a suitable meal. — W. CoLE, East Mersea. 



Clouded Yellow Butterflies in Essex. — Since the date of my last note 

 (apte, p. 130) we have kept a good look out for Colias in the clover fields here. 

 The changeable and somewhat stormy weather of a fortnight back, followed by 

 exceedingly cold nights, apparently much diminished the numbers of these 

 butterflies ; but we have taken two specimens of Colias hyale, and several others 

 were seen. C. eciusa has been fairly abundant when the weather was favourable, 

 and this day (September i6ih), in spite of a stiff breeze blowing, I saw a 

 considerable number of specimens (males and females), together with al)undance 

 of Cvnthia cardui, in a large clover field on the borders of an escarpment over- 

 looking the sea, but partially sheltered on one side from the wind by a high 

 hedge. We were pleased to take, some days ago, two examples of the variety 

 helice^ together with an interesting specimen intermediate between that and the 

 ordinary form of the female edusa. We had not previously seen Colia helice alive 

 since 1877, when we found it somewhat commonly in a clover field at Woodford 

 Bridge, Essex (see Essex Naturalist, vol. ii., p. 170).' A large number of 

 records in the current entomological periodicals attest the extent of the migration 

 of Colias edusa this year, and the wide range of the irruption. Mr. Lane says 

 (" Entomologist," Sept., p. 208), that it was fairly abundant at Chingford on 

 August 14th, and one helice occurred. — WiLLIAM CoLE, East Mersea, Sept. l6th. 

 [Since writing the above, my sister saw edusa in our garden at Buckhurst 

 Hill on September 20th, and again on the 28th, and other records have come in 

 from Forest Gate, Woodford, High Beach, etc., as well as Mr. Fitch's interesting 

 news from Maldon below. Mr. Harwood notes the capture (" Entom. Record," 

 iii., 208) of five specimens of C. hyale at St. Osyth, Myland, and Lexden ; and 

 two others were seen. — W. C] 



Colias edusa and C. hyale near Maldon. — This has been quite an edusa 

 5"ear again. The butterfly has been common, almost abundant at times, 

 everywhere in this neighbourhood, but not in the numbers that it occurred 

 in 1877. I first saw C. hyale on August l6th ; on the 23rd of the same month 

 it was fairly common. My boys chased and caught over twenty, and I caught 

 two at once in one sweep of the net. Several specimens of this same species 

 were again seen on August 27th. — EdvvarD A. Fitch, Maldon. 



Lycaena corydon, and Colias edusa and helice in Epping Forest. — 



It may be interesting to note that on the 22nd of August I captured a freshl}' 

 emerged male specimen of Lyccena corydon on Fairmead, Epping Forest. I may 

 also add that during the past week I caught, besides many good specimens of 

 Colias edusa, a fine example of the var. hetice. — J. BernakI) Argent, Woodford 

 Wells, 23rd August, 1892. 



1 Errata.-^ln the two notes above alluded to, two printer's errors have escaped correction — 

 in E.N., vol ii., p. 170, line nine from the bottom, for 1887 read 1877, and in vol. vi., p. 131, three 

 lines from top, make the same correction. — Ed. 



