NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 203 



weeks. Although larvae of ocellatus and populi fed up side by side with 

 them, and turned to pupce about the same time, I have had none of the 

 typical specimens emerge. Why should the hybrid emerge and not the 

 others? — P. Kirk, Dura St., Dundee. October, 1890. 



[Mr. Kirk has generously sent me five specimens of the ten he reared, 

 as well as a preserved larva. Theyj^are perfectly intermediate between 

 the two species. The fore wings have all the characters of both 

 species, the basal line as in populi, b it with distinct traces of a 

 shade showing the angulation of the basal line in ocellatus, the hind 

 wings have the fulvous basal patch of populi (no red colour) and in- 

 distinct eye spots characteristic of ocellatus. My five specimens are 

 four males and one female, the sexes appearing to be quite distinct. — Ed.] 



Aphytoceros vagans (mihi), a Species new to Science. — A few 

 weeks ago Mr. Mason, of Clevedon, sent me a Pyralid moth, taken 

 at Chepstow, asking me if I could get it named for him. I handed 

 it over to Mr. Cockerell, who, after carefully comparing it with the 

 British Museum species, has come to the conclusion that it is 

 probably new to science. It is, apparently, a native of South America 

 or the West Indies, which has been accidentally imported. The 

 species has close affinities with Aphytoceros nigrolinealis . It has 

 a strong superficial resemblance to our Hydrocatnpidce, with the 

 anterior wings iridescent bluish-white ; the basal portion of the wing 

 dark brown, slight traces of stigmata, with a strongly iridescent patch 

 on the inner margin of the wing, crossed transversely by a pale 

 brownish band ; posterior wings silvery white. A full description of 

 the species by Mr. Cockerell will appear shortly. — J. W. Tutt. 

 November, 1890. 



^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Eupithecia venosata in Silenk inflata. — The larvae mentioned 

 {^Record, p. 180) as being captured in Silene ijiflata and supposed to 

 be Efnmelesia affinitata, proved to be E. venosata. I found E. 

 affinitata larvae afterwards, but only in red campion. — M. Kimber, 

 Newbury, Berks. Noveinber 6th, 1890. 



Notes of the Season (Lepidoptera). — Deal and Dover. — From 

 the 24th July, I spent a month collecting at Deal, the first three weeks 

 in the company of Mr. Tutt. As every one knows who has visited this 

 locality, success is greatly dependent on the amount of sunshine and 

 absence of wind. Of the former no complaint could be made, but the 

 westerly and south-westerly gales which blew, especially during the last 

 ten days of our stay, made collecting at times nearly impossible. 

 Admittedly a bad season, if not the worst, in the memory of most of us, 

 it was accentuated by the unattractiveness of sugar. The year opened 

 well and continued so until the end of May ; at that time the majority 

 of the species were at least ten days in advance of their period of 

 emergence in recent years; but the cold nights of June and July 

 gradually forced everything back, until, by the end of the latter month, 

 nearly everything was a fortnight late. 



Our record was not remarkable for anything new or particularly rare. 

 Rhopalocera were conspicuous l)y their absence, and we only noticed such 



