NOTES ON COLLECTING. 293 



Abundance of Pyrameis cardui. — On September 22nd 1 cycled 

 from Lyndhurst Road Station, across the New Forest, to Fritham 

 Down, and was much struck by the number of Pi/raincix cardui fiyin.f^ 

 about and sunning themselves, together with a swarm of Pliisia 

 (laiiiitia. On the next day I went out to Burley, New Forest, where 

 Mr. Smallpiece informed me he had found them equally plentiful, and 

 on the 24th, at Brockenhurst, Mr. Lyle said that various collectors 

 there had been taking large numbers. On the same day I got a letter 

 from Mr. Harwood, of Colchester, saying that it was quite plentiful 

 there. On September 25th I returned home, and my wife informed 

 me that they had been quite common in our garden at the flowers, 

 and on the same evening some friends came over from Nun head, in 

 great excitement, with two specimens of the same species, which they 

 had managed to secure in their garden, where the insect was also 

 numerous. On the 26th, I saw specimens flying in the streets at 

 Greenwich, in the morning, and in the afternoon I paid a visit to 

 Dulwich Park, where I found them extremely abundant. They were 

 everywhere, sunning themselves in the road, and on clumps of a pink 

 flower I counted as many as six at once. I only saw one P. atalanta, 

 and this v»'as in good condition. It being late in the afternoon, I sat 

 down on a seat to watch them, and was presently rewarded by seeing 

 them one by one fly up to roost in a small laburnum tree. I marked 

 one or two down, and found that they generally roosted upside down, 

 on the underside of a leaf, with the antennse slightly expanded. On 

 October 1st I again saw a number of the above msects near Poole, 

 Dorset. I should mention that all the above insects were more or 

 less worn, and that the winds for a fortnight preceding had been east 

 and southeast, after months of west, southwest and northwest 

 winds. — C. W. Colthrup, 127, Barry Road, East Dulwich, S.E. 

 October lUh, 1903. 



Influx of Pyrameis cardui. — I have been much struck at the 

 sudden appearance of i'liraiueu cardui in various localities in and near 

 London. They were first seen about September 20th, and have 

 continued till October 15th, in some places occurring in abundance. 

 This has led me to search the thistles in many localities, but not a 

 sign of larvffi or pupte or traces of where feeding larviB had been at 

 work could be found. A special visit to Ilford (where it appeared in 

 abundance) in search of larvse or pupse proved equally fruitless, and I at 

 once came to the conclusion that they had not bred there. Visits were also 

 paid to East Ham, Hackney Marshes, Leyton Marshes, Tottenham 

 Marshes (in Essex), Raynes Park (Surrey), and other localities near 

 London where P. cardui was seen, but not a trace could I find where 

 larvie had been feeding. Whilst on my holidays in August at Dover 

 and Folkestone, only a few larva' were taken — at Dover, eight ; at 

 Folkstone, three. Almost all thistles seen were thoroughly searched, 

 so that this abundance cannot be put down to the larva being common 

 on the south coast. Pj/raiiieis atalanta larva, on the other hand, were 

 common, but not a larva of At/lais nrticac was seen, and only one 

 imago of the latter species was observed on the wing. Most of the P. 

 cardui seen during the September to October period, were more or less 

 worn, and seemed to prefer the open roads and sides of walls to the 

 usual haunts of the species. I append a list of places where I have 

 seen them, with dates — 



