108 [^'^y. 



1. — E. auhei Cussac. 



I have not been able to examine the aedeagus of this rare insect, 

 of which only three or four specimens have been found in Britain. I 

 adopt the name under which it was well figured and described, as 

 I have no belief in its being the jjetro of Herbst. 



Brockenhurst : 



March 30th, 1917. 



The habits of Farabagous binodulus. — As this species is so very rare in our 

 collections, I think it wortli while to call attention to M. Gadeau de Kerville's 

 notice of its habits (Ann. Soc. ent. France, 6.V.1885, p. 425). It lives in Normandy 

 on Stratiotes aloides, and jjnaws both the leaves and the perianth, usvially keeping 

 under water but t'requentlj' letting itself float to the air for respiration. It was 

 observed in May or June in the imago state, and the insect hibernates in that 

 condition on the ground in the neighbourhood of the plant. Probably a little 

 attention from those who live where this plant is well at home, would lead 

 to its rediscovery in this country. — D. Sharp, Brockenhurst: April 4^th, 1917. 



Birch Wood and Hammersmith Marshes. — These two localities are now 

 " portions and parcels of the dreadful past." They, with Darenth Wood, were 

 60 years ago amongst the very best spots in Britain for Entomology. In 

 answer to Mr. Donisthorpe's inq\iiry, I may say that he will get the kn(-)wledge 

 he asks for from Shield's " Practical Hints respecting Moths and Butterflies," 

 p. 56, and from Crutchley's Map of the envii-ons of London and 30 miles roimd, 

 published by Arrowsmith in 1824. The latter was one of the best maps I have 

 ever consulted, and it was my guide in my entomological wanderings about 

 London, now from 50 to 60 years ago. At that time I not only collected at 

 Bii'ch Wood but dined at the Bull Inn there with the members of the old 

 Entomological Club. Birchwood Corner is on the Maidstone road a mile-and-a- 

 half due west of Swanley, and the Wood started from the corner, extending 

 due south. When I was residing at Dartford thirty years ago I revisited the 

 spot, but found it covered with houses built by some speculator, and several of 

 them in ruins though they had never been inhabited. 



When in London last year I went to Hammersmith to try and identify the 

 old collecting ground. I quite failed; and what a falling off I found ! What 

 people call the advance of civilisation produces a very depressing effect on 

 those of us who recollect the beauty of suburban London 60 or 70 years ago. 

 Hammersmith Marshes and Notting Hill Marshes were the same locality ; when 

 entered from the north they were called Notting Hill, when from the south, 

 Hammersmith. A walk of a mile-and-a-half north-west from Holland House 

 would traverse these old marshes. The way to identify this spot from Crutch- 

 ley's map is to note " Notting Barn Farm " and " Atley's Farm," which were on 

 the outskirts of the Marshes. — D. Shaep, Brockenhurst: April 4th, 1917. 



