$29 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
July or in August.—Gerrvase F. Marnuew; Dovercourt, Essex, 
November 17th, 1909. 
Scarcity oF VANEssIps.—One of the peculiarities of the past 
remarkable season has been the dearth of the Vanessids. Hybernated 
specimens of zo were tolerably plentiful in the spring, and a fair 
number of fresh examples appeared in August, but of the other 
species I have not seen more than half a dozen atalanta, and about 
a dozen wrtice, either in this district or in the neighnourhood of 
Instow, North Devon, where I spent the latter part of June and 
most of July. Cardui or polychloros I never saw at all, nor did I 
observe any nests of larve of either 20 or wrtvce.— GERVASE F. 
MATHEW. 
Nore on VANESSA 10.—With reference to Mr. F. W. Frohawk’s 
note (antea, p. 260), the recent abundance of Vanessa 20, to which he 
calls attention, must have been partial and not general throughout 
the country. In this neighbourhood the insect has, in my experi- 
ence, been no commoner than usual this season, in explanation of 
which statement it may be added that I rarely, if ever, set eyes on 
half a dozen specimens, and sometimes see none at all, in the course 
of a single year!— Eustace R. Bankes; Norden, Corfe Castle, 
November 17th, 1909. 
SrREX NOCTILIO AND §. GIGAS AT CHICHESTER.—A female Sirex 
noctilio was taken in the kitchen of the Rev. R. Codrington, The 
Close, Chichester, on September 14th of this year, where its intrusion 
created some dismay amongst the domestics. The treatment to 
which it was subjected in consequence had not improved its condi- 
tion when it reached my hands. On the 26th of the same month a 
Sirex gigas was captured in the neighbourhood.—JosEPH ANDERSON. 
CHARHAS GRAMINIS IN 8. Watzs, 1909.—There has been a plague 
of graminis larve on the hill pastures of this district this year. At 
the end of May and the early part of June the nearly full-grown 
larvee were crawling over the ground in thousands, and several 
farmers complained to me of the damage they were doing to the 
pastures. About the middle of July I found great flocks of crows 
and other birds were frequenting the hills, attracted by the abundance 
of pupe and full-fed larve. The grass and other plants were pulled 
up by the birds in their search, and after observing their modus 
operandi I entered into competition with them, and in less than two 
hours had obtainéd on a small area of ground over three hundred 
pupe. On pulling up a tuft of withered grass which showed signs 
of having harboured the larvee, I sometimes shook out as many as 
six, eight, or ten pups at a time. When the date came for the moths 
to emerge I found many had been ichneumoned, but I obtained a 
very nice lot of insects. I understand that some parts of Glamorgan 
had a similar visitation in 1884.—G. Fiemine; 9, Fairview Terrace, 
Merthyr Tydfil, October 5th, 1909. 
LEUCANIA L-ALBUM AT HastBourNE.—On October 14th I took a 
female example of the above-named species at ivy, which has since 
laid a few ova. I have worked the same locality every suitable 
