NOTES ON COLLECTING. 237 



sometimes show the faintest trace of fulvous, but usually do not. 

 Comparison with Hiibner's figs. 319-321, tirei^ias, shows that the speci- 

 mens in the Brit. Mus. coll. and Hiibner's figures are identical. In 

 spite of an occasional apparent approach between arniades. and alcetas 

 in the roundness of the spots, in the direction of the submarginal row of 

 spots of the forewings, and of the faintness of the fulvous crescents, 

 one is convinced that these alcctas are a thing apart, and that the 

 similarities are parallelisms in two different forms, and not variations of 

 the same form. We are inclined, therefore, to take these items as 

 differential, i.e., the characters that Hiibner figured, rather than those 

 he described. Looking at the spots in mass, one sees that (1) K. arf/iades 

 has the dots on the underside of the forewings almost always elongated, 

 in the form of little streaks, very analogous to those of Celastrina 

 anjioliix, and almost always seven in number. (2) E. alcetas has the dots 

 more rounded, with a slight tendency to elongation in the form of 

 little streaks, rarely so much as in ft', ari/iades. The dots may number 

 seven, but vary greatly. 



(To be concluded.) 



Agrilus biguttatus, F., etc., in Sherwood Forest. 



By H. St. J. K. DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S. F.E.S. 

 I spent two days in July last at Sherwood, chiefly with the object 

 of trjing to find Fj/roptents ajfinis. In this I was successful, as I 

 captured aconsiderable number of this very local beetle. Most of them were 

 at the foot of a large tree, on and under dead leaves and bits of bark, 

 but I swept other specimens off' bracken in various parts of the forest. 

 My best and most remarkable capture, however, was the very beautiful 

 and exotic-looking Buprestid, Agrilus biijiittatus, F. ! I found the first 

 specimen on a fallen tree, and could hardly credit my good fortune. 

 After a long and exhaustive search, I traced it to its headquarters in 

 a large oak-tree near by. I found its borings in the thick bark, and 

 observed what looked like the face and mandibles of a Chrysid or 

 Hymenopteron, at the entrance to a small hole, this, on being dug out, 

 proved to belong to the Agrilus. After this, more were noticed, and as 

 many as five at a time were dug out of a few inches of bark. Later 

 in the day, specimens came out on the tree, and on the bracken and 

 low branches. In all I took over 60 specimens, but could have taken 

 600 if I had wanted to, as I only removed a very small portion of the 

 hark. This is a very interesting capture, and a fine addition to the 

 Midland fauna. It io 4bout 30 years since the beetle occurred in 

 Britain. It used to be taken by Dr. Power and others at Daren th 

 Wood, but seems to have quite disappeared from that locality. This 

 is its only locality, beyond a few old records in Stephens. Of other 

 things I took may be mentioned, Cistela ccramboides in an old tree ; 

 several Enj.v ater under bark ; Cnjptocephalus querceti, beating oaks ; 

 Anaspis garnei/si and Mgcetoporus angularis by sweeping; and Mega- 

 crunus cingulatus in rotten wood. Specimens of Clems formicarus 

 were found in the bark with the Agrilus, and flying and settling on the 

 trunks of the tree. This looks as if they were parastic on the Agrilus. 



:^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



A DEAD SPECIMEN OF AnOSIA AUCHIPPUS FOUND ON THE CLIFFS AT 



Bembridge. — On September 13th I was searching the grass with a 



