NOTES ON COLLECTING. 297 



an example like the latter, though I suppose our Scottish friends 

 ought to get it. Melanic forms of Ayrotin nigricans, Xylophasia 

 mnnocjliiplia, ^Soctna xnnthogrnpha, etc., are, of course, well known in 

 the north, and northern M. liter osa are, on the whole, quite percep- 

 tibly darker than ours. As regards rarities, only the faithful Lencania 

 alhipuncta has yet favoured me ; it put in an appearance on August 

 9th, a date intermediate between my 1896 record (Aug. 3rd) and 

 those of 1894 and '95 (Aug. 18th and 19th respectively). Last night, 

 however, I took a specimen of what is a great rarity to me, as 1 have 

 not yet discovered its habitat, namely, Plusin festucae, of which a 

 specimen came to my sugared fence, my only previous record 

 being of a specimen on the same sugared fence, about six years 

 ago. As for the rest, I have taken most of the ordinary things which 

 are to be got here, and which I have recorded in previous years. A few 

 of the species, which are usually quite "over" when I arrive here, 

 were not quite over this year, though nearly so ; for instance, Agrotis 

 <;orticea, Xylophasia subltistris, Hadena dentina. — L. 1>. Pkout, F.E.S. 

 August nth, 1897. 



Collecting in Switzerland. — The month of August, so far as my 

 own observations are concerned, was anything but satisfactory to the 

 collector. Day after day the weather at Berisal (first week), and later, 

 at Saas Fee, was overcast and wet, and, compared with the records of 

 1894, at the latter place my note book is extremely meagre. The best 

 time for Berisal and the Simplon is, I should think, at least a fort- 

 night or three weeks earlier ; indeed, by the middle of August, both 

 here and elsewhere, the majority of Alpine species have practically 

 gone over. Especially noticeable was the absence of ( 'alias plviconume, 

 as a rule, one of the commonest species at the higher elevations, and 

 Argynnidi were in many localities equally scarce. Indeed, with the 

 exception of a few "blues" — alcon, plwretes, donzeUi, orbitulus and 

 optilete {eros absent on the Mattmark road this year), I added but little 

 to my knowledge or my cabinet. Crossing over to the Friebourg 

 side at the end of the month, in the neighbourhood of Bulle, I 

 found only common lepidoptera on the wing, Zephyrus betulae in 

 the beech woods about Gruyeres, Pararge hiera and Polyommatus 

 bellargus, of which I saw one day when I had no net, a beautiful 

 specimen of the ab. cfronm. My advice to the collectors who can 

 choose their time for Switzerland, is, therefore, to go early, when 

 the hotels are less crowded, and mountain species more abundant. — 

 — H. Rowland Brown, M.A., F.E.S. , Oxhey Grove, Harrow- Weald. 



Tanagra atrata and Phorodesma pustulata at Brondesbury. — 

 In June last I obtained a specimen of Tanagra atrata, at Brondes- 

 bury Station, and on the evening of June 30th, a fine, fresh 

 specimen of Plmrodeama pmtidata flew in to light at my bedroom 

 window. — L. J. Tremayne, 51, Buckley Road, Brondesbury. 



Notes from Carlisle. — July was a poor month for lepidoptera. Of 

 butterflies, Enodia hyperanthus was abundant, Pampliila sylranus, 

 Polyommatus icanis, and Hipparchia semele moderately so, but though 

 I worked hard on two occasions in glorious butterfly weather for 

 Argynnis aglaia, I only captured four specimens. After sunset, 

 Hepialns relleda and H. sylranus occurred in fair numbers. In one 

 locality the ab. galliais of the former predominated. At light the 

 following occurred: — Agrotis nigricans, Charaeas graminis, Pelurga 

 comitata and Eupithecia oblongata, all in limited numbers. At 



