244 THE entomologist's record. 



only two, and since then have seen nothing more of them. A day or 

 two after this I was told that a similar flight had been observed at 

 Boulogne-sur-Mer on June 1st. — T. Baxter, St. Anne's-on-Sea, 

 Lancashire. June Qth. [This is a very interesting note. Lucas, in 

 Brituh Bragnnfiiei^, 1900, says, " I have no records for this species 

 . . . north of Chester." He also refers to two recorded instances 

 of migratory swarms of this species, although in neither is any 

 information given as to the direction in which the flight vv^as taking 

 place. I understand that in the above record the flight was from 

 south to north. — Ed.] . 



Immigrant Lepidoptera. — Pliisia ijannna appeared at Valerian 

 blossoms, with me, first on June Qth, and has swarmed since. Vanessa 

 atalanta was seen on May 2ith, but nob again. A fine female Maiuiuca 

 atropos was captured in a pea field, neighbouring to a potato field, and 

 brought to me on June 19th. I fed her (or did my best to supply her 

 with a suitable food) and kept her warm. But she refused to lay, and 

 died during the night of June 29th. The following morning I removed 

 from the abdominal cavity 218 fully formed eggs, and also observed 

 long series of eggs not filled out. Your readers will remember perhaps 

 that our late Editor failed to find any published description of this egg. 

 I am disappointed that my efforts to induce the insect to lay should 

 have been unsuccessful. — (Rev.) C. R. N. Burrows, F.E.S., Mucking 

 Vicarage. June 80th, 1911. 



Showers of Peppercorn Oak-galls, etc. — Under this title is a 

 letter in the TiDies of August 9th, by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson, calling 

 attention to the abundance of the galls of Andricus ostrens, Giraud. 

 It so happened that I had noticed these galls forming quite a carpet to 

 the roadside under oaks on the way from Dorking to Leith Hill on 

 August 7th. Some trees had very few, but under most there were 

 surprising quantities all over the road, and especially run together in 

 little accumulations in all irregularities towards the borders of the 

 road. These were, of course, the produce of only the portions of the 

 trees over the road. An actual estimate is difficult, but possibly some 

 trees would have supplied several pints if they could have been swept 

 up. They are very beautiful little objects, spherical or ovoid, 2mm. to 

 2'5mm. in diameter, varying in colour according to age, regularly 

 spotted, with pink on yellow or green, becoming nearly black or dark 

 brown, and finally nearly quite black. There can be little doubt that 

 these galls are more numerous than usual, but the appearance of great 

 abundance is probably dependent on the exceptional weather, partly by 

 early ripening, leading to the whole crop falling nearly together, but 

 chiefly perhaps because the continuously dry roads and paths keep 

 them in evidence, and enable them to drift together conspicuously, 

 instead of their being rapidly lost in wet and mud and practically 

 unseen, except on the trees or when actually falling. Cameron gives 

 October as the period for the appearance of the imago, but they are 

 already (August 30th) coming out abundantly. 



I have had no opportunity for noting the efiect of this remarkable 

 season on variation in lepidoptera. We shall certainly miss Dr. 

 Hodgson in this subject, but doubtless many interesting observations 

 will be forthcoming. Prof. Muschamp tells me he has found some 

 varieties of Agriades coridon unusually frequent. I have noticed in 

 this neighbourhood that the abundant Pieris rapae presents an unusual 



