1901.] 277 



Philalocera quercana attacking rhododendrons. — In July last I received a 

 letter and parcel from Mr. H. Ewart, of Belfast. The parcel contained an imago 

 and pupa case of the above moth, and the letter explained their presence in the 

 following terms : — " Hitherto rhododendrons have been singularly free from the 

 attacks of insects, but this year I have had several fine old well-established bushes 

 literally strijjped by a green caterpillar, which develops into the moth of which I 

 send you a specimen by the same post." In my reply I suggested to Mr. Ewart 

 that in case of a renewal of the attack some insecticide should be applied to the 

 bushes with a syringe ; and he replied, " We washed off a great many of the green 

 caterpillars, but I fear we were not sufficiently alive to the numbei's to be dealt 

 with." This shows that the attack was very severe and there must have been 

 something particularly favourable to the moth, as Mr. Ewart further remarks, " I 

 have found no one about here so far who has seen the moth before." There are no 

 oaks in the vicinity of the rhododendrons, but there is a large beam tree, and Mr. 

 Ewart found " two or three leaves of it attacked in the same way." Another 

 curious point about this attack is that it was confined to the one place, for Mr. 

 Ewart says he could not hear of any one in the neighbourhood having suffered in 

 the same way. 



The moth was here, for I obtained a specimen, but it was not abundant, and I 

 did not notice any indications of its presence on oak or any other tree or shrub, as 

 I should have had there been a severe attack. It would be interesting to know if 

 any one else has met with anything similar to the present case. — W. F. Johnson, 

 Acton Glebe, Poyutzpass ; October 10th, 1901. 



Saliiis notatulus, Saund., and Crabro aphidum, Lep., in Scotland. — Mr. Saunders 

 has asked me to record the occurrence of these two rare Aculeates in Perthshire. 

 At Aberfoyle, on July 8th last, I took a male of Salius notatulus, Saund., on the 

 hills, flying over a raised up sandy bank ; with it occurred Pompilus niger. Fab., in 

 great numbers, and a few Salius pusillus, Schiodte. On June 30th, the first day of 

 my stay in the district, I was fortunate enough to take a female of Crabro aphidmn, 

 Lep., flying in a woodland path at Loch Ard. I believe this is the first record from 

 Scotland for these two species. Mr. Saunders, with his usual kindness, has identified 

 these insects for me. — A. E. J. Carter, Selville Cottage, Portobello, Edinburgh : 

 October <dth, 1901. 



Andrena polita. Smith, in Kent. — On July 6th last, whilst collecting on the 

 chalk hills near Hailing, Kent, I had the good fortune to capture a fine specimen of 

 Andrena polita, Smith. It was visiting the flowers of the trailing dog rose, Rosa 

 arvensis, L. I again visited the spot in August, but failed to obtain another speci- 

 men. Mr. E. Saunders has been kind enough to confirm my determination of the 

 species. — H. Elgar, 3, St. Michael's Terrace, Fant Eoad, Maidstone : September 

 2nd, 1901. 



[This is a most interesting capture, as the species has not been recorded from 

 this country since F. Smith's time ; he took it in the chalk pits at Northfleet in 

 July some years prior to 1855. — E. S.] 



