Notes, captures, etc. 261 



Catocala sponsa and C. fuaxixt at Wixchelska. — I caught the 

 above on the nights of Aug. 20th and 22nd respectively, at sugar, the 

 former during, and the latter immediately after, a strong W.S.W. wind. I 

 believe they are both new to the local list. — D. W. Caur ; Holbrooke, 

 Derby, September 8, 1889. 



CiDAR[A reticulata, LONG IN' PUPA. — I liavo proved to my satisfaction 

 that C. reticulata stays more than one season in the pupa state. I have 

 bred it this year from rubbish I collected two years ago. I have always 

 suspected this. I have also bred Eupithecia venosata this year from larvae 

 I took in the Isle of Man in June, 1887. — H. Murray ; Lowbank Villa, 

 Carnforth, September 14, 1889. 



Notes from the New Forest. — I went down to Lyndhurst on 

 August 2nd last, but bad weather setting in, I returned immediately. On 

 the loth I started once more and put up at Lyndhurst Road. During the 

 fortnight that I stayed in the Forest there was a good deal of rain off and 

 on, but the weather improved considerably towards the latter part of my 

 stay. It was evidently a bad season there for Lepidoptera, for very few 

 were to be seen on the wing, and I collected in nearly every part of the 

 Forest. Of the Diurni, Purarye egeria was very abundant in some of the 

 woods, and Goneptenjx rhamni was also plentiful and in fine condition. 

 Instead of the countless numbers of Argynnis paphia that I noticed in 

 Boldre Wood last year, this time only a few tattered individuals were to 

 be seen now and again. I took Satyrus semele in a number of different 

 localities, and the specimens were very good. The only other butterflies 

 that I saw were Pieris brassiccc, P. rapoc, P. napi, Vanessa urticm, V. io, 

 P. megoRra, Epinephele ianlra, and E. tithonus. Sugar was a com- 

 plete failure, for after going out night after night and trying a great many 

 different spots, my total " bag " only amounted to one Thyatira batis, one 

 Xylophasia vionoglypha (p)olyodon), one Agrotis suffasa, three AmpJiipyra 

 j)yramidea and two Mania maura, although on one occasion my brother, 

 myself, and a friend got almost " bagged " ourselves by a troop of about 

 eight or nine forest ponies, which, with piercing neighs, came full gallop at 

 our light, and had it not been for the friendly protection afforded by the 

 trunk of a large oak, behind which we jumped, after shutting off the 

 lantern, I expect that it might have been our last " sugaring" expedition. 

 I was not altogether surprised at this scarcity of insects, after the very 

 rainy cold weather of July and the severe gales at the commencement 

 of August. I met with two different collectors at Lyndhurst, and on 

 questioning them I found that their experience agreed entirely with mine 

 as to the bad season. — W. H. Blabeu ; Groombridge, Sussex, September 

 16, 1889. 



Forest of Deax. — The Forest of Dean, for various reasons, does not 

 seem to be a favourite hunting-ground for collectors. The ground is hilly 

 and uneven, and hard to work. The trees are mostly of young growth, 

 and too close together, and are nearly all oak. The soil is poor, and 

 vegetation is, for the most part, limited to a coarse kind of grass with a 

 sprinkling of bracken. There are, however, many places, especially near 

 the edge of the Forest, where the trees are of large growth, and there are 

 many beech, firs, holly and ash, with a few sycamore and birch mingled 

 with the oak. Some of the clearings also are covered with furze, heath, 



