CAPTUEES AND FIELD REPORTS. 29 



pods of Silene inflata (I hope some may turn out Dianthcecia irregularis), 

 and two imagines of Acidalia ncbricata. I hear on good authority that the 

 draining of Wicken Fen is again in contemplation. If such should be the 

 case, I hope the Entomological Society, in conjunction with other societies 

 interested in Natural fiistory generally, will be in a position to save this 

 famous locality from sharing the fate of its neighbour (Burwell). The area 

 of the Fen is at present a very limited one, and should its most interesting 

 fauna and flora become a thing of the past. I am sure it would be deplored 

 by all those who can appreciate and see beauty in this home of Papllio 

 machaon. — Alfred T. Mitchell; 5, Clayton Terrace, Gunnersbury, W., 

 October 4th, 1893. 



Collecting at Dawlish. — As I recently spent a fortnight's holiday 

 with ray friend Mr. C. Nicholson at Dawlish, a few notes on the collecting 

 at that place may be acceptable. We left London on the 18th of September, 

 returning on the 5th of October. We found excellent accommodation at 

 Mrs. Hannaford's, a large grocer's shop on "The Lawn," where we were 

 boarded and lodged very cheaply indeed. We found Colias edusa common, 

 particularly on the railway banks, and in one large waste field overgrown 

 with thistles and hawkweed, at Luscombe. In this field there was also a 

 perfect colony of Vanessa atalanta ; I have never before seen this insect so 

 plentiful in one spot; they settled on the thistle-heads, flew up, one might 

 almost say, in shoals, at your approach ; we saw throe specimens which had 

 the red band on the hind wing slightly bleached, but Mr. Nicholson only 

 succeeded in capturing one of them. An occasional V. uriica, V. io and 

 V. cardui also turned up, and a few specimens of Panarge er/eria and 

 P. merfCEra ; the latter insect appeared to come out during our visit, for it 

 was certainly much commoner when we left Dawlish than when we arrived 

 there; no females were taken during the first few days of our stay, after 

 which their number gradually increased. There v/ere some lovely forms of 

 Plusia (jamma about, some of which we could not help taking for their very 

 beauty. Polyommatus phUeas was also common, the condition varying from 

 "just out " to the " very ancient." Larva-beating proved a failure, hardly 

 a larva of any consequence being taken. The woods at Dawlish, I may say, 

 look better from a distance, to the entomologist's eye, than on a closer 

 inspection ; they seem to be principally used as game-preserves ; oak is 

 comparatively scarce, the commonest trees being ash and edible chestnut. 

 Sugaring was also a failure ; the first night we obtained one Hadena protea 

 and an autiqu&ted Phlogoj^hora meticidosa ; the second night we obtained 

 one Anchocelis pistacina, and a specimen of Triphana pronuba, apparently 

 savfd from the flood ; the third night we obtained nothing whatever ; then 

 we gave it up in disgust. A much greater success was the ivy, which 

 abounds at and around Dawlish ; but, of course, we did not find the best 

 of it until a night or two before we left; however, our last four nights were 

 fairly successful. On Sept. 3Uth we took Orthosia macilenta, Xaniliia 

 femiginea, Ancliocelis pistacina, a splendid specimen of Xylophasia poly- 

 odon, Cerastis vaccinii, Hadena protea, Agrotis segetum, and P. gamma; we 

 also took one specimen of Cerastis spadicea (ligula), and a pair of Epunda 

 lichenea: I suppose these Uchenea were the best insects we got during our 

 visit ; unfortunately they are not in very brilliant condition. On Oct. 

 2nd we took, besides the common things mentioned above, three more male 

 E. lichenea, one specimen of Orthosia lota, and one of Agrotis saucia. On 

 Oct. 3rd we took another /i. saucia, several P. meticidosa, some more E, 



