CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 317 



were flying at dusk near some old ivy, and I have seen no record of 

 its occurrence in Gloucestershire. — John W. Metcalfe ; Ottery 

 St. Mary. 



AcRONYCTA MEGACEPHALA IN OcTOBER. — -In ' Moths of the British 

 Isles,' vol. i. p. 193, it is mentioned that A. megacephala once 

 emerged on September 10th, from a larva taken on July 11th. It 

 may interest you to know that one emerged to-day (Saturday) from a 

 larva taken, almost fully grown, on August 31st, in the Old Kent 

 Eoad district of Peckham. — E. Everett Waeries ; 6, Lytcott 

 Grove, East Dulwich, S.E., October 10th, 1910. 



Spring Butterflies in the Forest of Fontainebleau, 1910. 

 — I had the good fortune to enjoy a perfectly fine day in the Forest 

 of Fontainebleau on May 27th last, and I write this note in the hope 

 of inducing entomologists to try a day's collecting there in 1911, en 

 route for Switzerland or the South of France, or in returning. It 

 makes a long journey much less tedious, and saves much sunlight, 

 given the correct weather. The best plan is to catch the nine p.m. 

 train from Charing Cross, by which you are able to reach the station 

 of Fontainebleau- Avon next morning at 8.30 a.m., leaving Paris 

 from the Gare du Lyon at 7.20 a.m., and this allows for a nice long day 

 in the forest. If proceeding further south, there is a suitable train 

 from Fontainebleau at 5.13 p.m. or thereabouts, which connects at 

 Dijon for south or east ; or there is an equally suitable afternoon 

 train from Fontainebleau to Paris to catch the night "Rapides" 

 thence. x\rrived at Fontainebleau Station, you are within a few 

 minutes' walk of excellent collecting ground in the forest, which is 

 practically all open ground to the entomologist. As you get out of 

 the train from Paris at Fontainebleau Station, walk back in the 

 direction of Paris, without crossing the line, for a very short distance, 

 then cross the first bridge over the railway and take the first turn 

 immediately to the right, and continue walking by the side of the 

 railway without deviating, until an excellent clearing opens up, 

 facing which, just across the railway, are some large advertisements, 

 too obvious to be missed. It was in this clearing at the edge of the 

 forest that I took a total of eighty-nine perfect examples of the 

 following : — Pyrgus sao, Nisoniacles tages, Thymelicus thaumas, 

 Hesperia malvce, Chrysophanus phlceas, G. dorilis, Cupido minimus, 

 Agriades thetis ( = bellargiis), A. coridon, Polyommatus icarus, P. 

 medon {astrarche),''- Celastrina argiolus, Callophrys rubi, Nemeobius 

 lucina, IpJiiclides podalirius, Papilio machaon, Aporia cratcegi, Pieris 

 brassiccB, P. rapa, P. napi, Euchloe cardamines (almost equal 

 quantity of both sexes), Colias hyale, Gonepteryx rhamni, Brenthis 

 euphrosyne, B. selene, B. dia, Melitcea cinxia, M. athalia, Pararge 



■•' It is interesting, in connection with Mr. Ashby's note on the occur- 

 rence of P. medon here, to observe that in a recent number of the ' Feuilles 

 des Jeunes Naturalistes ' (An. xxxix. ser. iv. p. 24) MM. Guiry and Guignon 

 report the capture by them of var. artaxerxes in the Forest of Fontaine- 

 bleau ; but of course it is impossible, without seeing these examples, to say 

 whether they are the real artaxerxes of the North Britain form or " approxi- 

 mates." So far as I am aware, there is no record of this form having ever 

 been found in France hitherto. — H. R.-B. 



