^50 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



North London Natural History Society. — The annual excursion 

 to the New Forest took place on Friday, May 11th, 1894. The party 

 journeyed down, as usual, by the 5.50 p.m. train from Waterloo, and 

 arrived at Lyndhurst about half-past nine. The gentlemen were 

 quartered at No. 2, Lyuwood, where the accommodation was in every 

 way satisfactory ; the ladies, under the charge of Mrs. Bobbins, were 

 at the Swiss Cottage. The weather during the journey was dull and 

 often rainy. Saturday morning broke with a lowering and murky sky, 

 and a north-east wind, but undeterred by these unpleasant weather 

 prognostications, Messrs. Battley, Tremayne, and Nicholson put on 

 mackintoshes and sallied forth to work the fences before breakfast. It 

 immediately began to rain, but this had no effect on the lepidopterists, 

 who, having finished their round, and only taken two Melanippe 

 Jiuctuata and one Eupiiliecia vulgata, started larva-beating up Beechen 

 Lane. The rain ceased for a time, and then came down harder than 

 before. Off the very first oak Mr. Battley beat a young larva of 

 Afjriopis aprilina, and Mr. Tremayne subsequently beat another. Other 

 larvae beaten were Oporabia dilutata, Hcmithea strigata, Miselia oxy- 

 acanthcB (some very nice lichen forms), Hiinera pennaria, Hybernia 

 defoUaria, H. aurantiaria, Phigalia pedaria, Nyssia hispidaria, and 

 Calymnia trapezina. Asphalia ridens was conspicuous by its absence ; 

 Eupithecia abbreviata was also not seen in t)ie larval state, and all the 

 larvae were in a very backward condition. After breakfast, when the 

 sun was shining brightly, the whole party started up Beechen Lane 

 for Denny Wood. Aryynnis euphrosyne was the first insect taken on 

 the wing, and these were subsequently discovered to be out in fair 

 numbers. So also was Euchlo'e cardamines, whilst hybernated Gonop- 

 teryx rhamni might be called plentiful. One or two eggs of the latter 

 were found, but the buckthorn was not well advanced. The trees 

 generally were fairly forward, except the oaks, amongst which there 

 was a very vast difference, some of them being almost fully out, v/hilst 

 others, perhaps close by, were only just shooting. The bracken was 

 very low. More larva-beating took place, and the birch in particular 

 was thrashed for larvce of Brephos imrthenias and Asphalia Jiavicornis ; 

 but although one or two small examples of the former were taken, the 

 latter was not seen. As the members proceeded towards Denny, soli- 

 tary specimens of Lycana argiolus turned up in some numbers. Their 

 condition was very variable, except the females, all of which appeared 

 to be fresh. The same remark applied to Paran/e egeria, which was 

 also about. Scarcely any Geometry appeared to be out. Genista 

 anglica, on the well-known "Bombyx heath," was searched for larvae 

 of Fseiidoterpna pruinata, but although two specimens turned up on the 

 very first plant searched, no others were found. Messrs. Smith, Bob- 

 bins, Battley, Harvey, and Woodward pushed on across Denny Bog to 

 Stubby Copse, and succeeded in taking several specimens of Macro- 

 glossa bombylifoimis by working along the railway line, where the insect 

 was found last year. They also obtained Syrichthus malvff,, Nisoniades 

 tages, and EucUdia glypldca in lovely condition, the colouring of the 

 specimens being unusually fine. On Sunday morning Messrs. Smith, 

 Tremayne, Bobbins, Battley, Harvey, and Woodward worked through 

 Holland's Wood to a spot where Melitaa aurinia is said to occur. This 

 species was not seen, however, and was probably not out. A few 



