1385.1/ isr 



the district, described by Mr. Goss on pp. 107 — 9 of this volume ; 

 nor was it until 1869 that I traced it northwards to other and more 

 prolific localities. 



The season, May and June, 1868, was hot and brilliant, and I 

 found Sesia tipuUformis emerged in my garden as early as June 1st, 

 i. Avion appeared June 5th, which is the earliest date I ever heard of 

 the species being out ; but although rather more plentiful than 

 the ])revious year, it was still rather scarce. 



In 1869 (another fine or partially fine season) it was more abund- 

 ant, and I find from my diary that on June 19th I took ten at rest 

 about sunset. Early the following morning I again traversed the 

 ground, but saw none, so spent the day elsewhere ; returning about 

 five o'clock in the afternoon. I then saw over a score, of which I 

 boxed about half, letting the others pass. 



The year 1870, however, is the one to be marked with a white 

 stnne by the lovers of Lyccenidce. I have not my notes for this year, 

 but it was about the 11th June that L. Avion was first seen, and for the 

 next ten or fourteen days it was fairly common, and it appeared much 

 more widely distributed than in any other year I know of, either before 

 or since. It would, I am sure, have been possible for an active col- 

 lector, of the greedy school, to have caught over 1000 "large blues" 

 during the season, for in a few visits I secured about 150, not netting- 

 half of those seen, and turning many loose again. Nor was it L. Avion 

 only that w^as common ; all the " blues " appeared unusually abund- 

 J>ant this season, and one memorable evening, just at sunset, I found 

 ;:at rest on the long grass in a disused quarry, no less than seven L. 

 ■ Agestis, so close together on one stalk of grass, that I easily got six 

 of them into a pill-box at the first attempt. Within a few inches 

 were five beautiful L. Avion also at rest. These twelve butterflies 

 were all within a space less in size than the crown of a man's hat. It 

 ,may be in place here to note that when the weather has been fine and 

 ^bright, and promises to continue settled, L. Avion rests at night high 

 up on coarse stalks of grass, and is then very conspicuous ; whereas, 

 lin dark unsettled weather, they betake themselves to low thick tufts 

 [of grass or nettles. 



( During the next few years L. Avion continued to appear, but very 

 'irregularly, as regards numbers. The best seasons since 1870 being 

 "those of 1876 and '77, the latter especially, but on no occasion has it 

 "been nearly so abundant as in 1870. As the years '76 and '77 have 

 ■been fully described in Mr. Gross's paper, I need not dwell further 

 Vpon them. 



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