Notes on collecting. 



]H\ 



specimens of TaenioramiKi /iidrenilnita. On referring to the notes on 

 this species (British Noctuac, vol. ii), I cannot find any reference to a 

 form anything approaching the dark forms which I have taken. — 

 James C. Haggart, St. Andrew Street, Galashiels. April 8th, 1902. 



VARrATIoN AND EKSTING-HABIT OF HyBERNIA LEUCOPH.EARLI. On 



January 22nd-23rd, just before the snow came, lli/bernia nipirajiraria 

 was very abundant near Knutsford. The day after the snow melted 

 off the fields (February 23rd) H. Icxco/ihacaria appeared very plentifully 

 in Tatton Park, near here, and continued till ^larch 14th, the proportion 

 of dark aberrations being much greater than usual. The insect varies 

 here from unicolorous smoky-brown to the usually mottled light cream 

 colour, with a good many of the strongly-marked black and dirty- 

 white forms. In connection with this species, I noticed that it almost 

 invariably rests on the tree-trunks in an oblique or horizontal direction 

 with the tips of the wings pointing up and down (vertically), and as 

 there are often splashings of white on the bark made by bird-droppings, 

 it looks to me as if this were a case of protective resemblance. Of 

 course the dark forms are protected by similarity of colouring to the 

 bark.— G. 0. Day, F.E.S., Knutsford. March 2,1th, 1902. 



:i^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Lepidoptera at Burgess Hill in 1901. — As a central position from 

 Avhich to work. Burgess Hill in Sussex would appear to ofit'er great 

 facilities to the lepidopterist who is desirous of studying and obtaining 

 southern species. The wide extent of the South Downs, which are 

 but four miles south of the town, stretches for miles on either 

 hand — away to Lewes and on to Hastings, by Abbott's \Yood, 

 in the west ; while eastw^ards is the grand sweep of rolling hills which 

 are broken only by the valley of the Adur, to lie for miles, on past 

 Chanctonbury Ring to Amberley by the Arun, and again, still on, 

 eastward. This fine district can hardly be surpassed for the num- 

 bers and variety discovered of those species which find their home 

 in a chalk district. It is, moreover, a free country over which to 

 wander. Lewes is within easy reach from Burgess Hill, or rather 

 Wivelsfield, which is the same thing, and is but a nine miles' ride by 

 train. This is a locality which needs to have no comment made 

 upon it, being so well known. To the north of Burgess Hill lies 

 the splendid tract of the forests of Balcombe and Tilgate, the best way 

 of approaching which is by train to l^alcombe, some nine miles, and so 

 on by walking through both forests, to return by train from Three 

 Bridges. To the east of these forests lies St. Leonard's Forest, which 

 can be easily approached from Balcombe Station, by a four mile walk 

 through Handcross. Thus it will be seen that the lepidopterist who 

 makes Burgess Hill his head-quarters will have a fine choice of fields for 

 his labours. During the past year the writer had the pleasure of 

 occasionally staying at this town for short or long periods, and it may per- 

 haps interest the reader to have a summary of theresultof investigations 

 during these visits, which, while they may not record rarities and will 

 include a variety of species, cannot be taken as a complete summary of 

 the year, for, as will be seen, the locaUties were not visited during 

 much of the best time. From April 4th until the 21st of that month 

 things were fairly quiet, as weather was unpropitious both for the 



