CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 213 



Chrysophanus phlceas ab. schmidtii in Essex. — My friend Mr. 

 King, who only recently commenced collecting Lepidoptera, this 

 morning took a very fine specimen of C. phlceas ab. schtnidtii at Ching- 

 ford.— Wm. G. Pether; 24, Wallace Road, Canonbury, N., August 

 5th, 1906. 



Notes from the Wye Valley. — Whitsuntide this year was spent 

 in the Wye Valley, on the Monmouthshire side of the river, between 

 Bigsweir and Redbrook. Favoured with good weather on the whole, I 

 met with some success. The best place for the sun-loving insects was 

 the bank between the railway and the river. Here the three common 

 PieridsB, Euchlo'e cardamines, Argynnis euphrosyne, Syrichthus malva;, 

 Nisoniades tages, and Euciidia glyphica, were about in numbers, and 

 the following less commonly : Gonepteryx rhamni, Vanessa cardui, 

 Fararge megcera, Polyommatns phlceas, Lycana alexis, Euciidia mi; and 

 one Anaitis plagiata was found on a post in the full sun. Hellaca tene- 

 brata appeared in the same locality amongst the long grass towards 

 evening. From the railway bank a delightful path leads through the 

 woods back to the village, in a lateral valley where I was staying. By 

 beating and dusking along this footpath I obtained a lot of Geometrae, 

 including Epione advenaria, Ephyra punctaria, E. annulata {pmicro- 

 narla), Numeria pulveraria, Minoa murinata {euphorhiata), Emnielesia 

 affinitata, E. albulata, E. decolorata, Cidaria corylata, and Henninia 

 grisealis ; while a few Melanippe hastata were found flying in the sun- 

 shine. There were not many insects to be found in the higher ground, 

 but of course Venilia viaculata and Kmaturga atomaria were common 

 in suitable localities, and a few Gidaria sxiffamata were netted at dusk. 

 One Ligdia adustata was beaten out of a hedge near Bigsweir. I did 

 not do any larva-beating, but found a batch of forty TcEniocampa 

 miniosa on a twig of oak. Larvffi of Hyhernia defoliaria, and of course 

 Cheimatobia bramata, swarmed, and a few Abraxas grossnlariata were 

 noticed. From a bed of nettles near Llandogo I took twenty larvffi of 

 Botys ruralis in about half as many minutes. I was successful in ob- 

 taining a number of ova from Epione advenaria and Tortrix ministrana, 

 but could only induce females of Melanippe hastata and Ephyra 

 punctaria to lay a few each. 



Not much work was done with the Diptera, but with the kind 

 assistance of Mr. H. W. Andrews I have been able to name the 

 following: — Tipula gigantea (one), Atherix ibis (one), Dioctria celmidica, 

 Chilosia variabilis, Leucuzona lencorum, Rhingia campestris (common), 

 Volucella bombylans, Eristalis nemonon, E. pertinax, Xylota lenta. 



Very few Hymenoptera were noticed, beyond the common bumble- 

 bees, but I found two localities for Eucera loncjicornis, in one of which 

 it was very common. 



The following is a full list of the Lepidoptera observed ; — Fieris 

 brassiccB, F. rapce, F. napi, Euchlo'e cardamines, Gonepteryx rhamni, 

 Argymiis euphrosyne, Vanessa cardui, Fararge megcera, Folyommatus 

 phlceas, Lyccena icarus (alexis), Syrichthus nialva, Nisoniades tages, Hylo- 

 phila prasinana, Spilosoma lubricipeda, T<Eniocamp)a miniosa (larvae), 

 Heliaca tenebrata, Euciidia mi, E. glyphica, Epione advenaria, Rumia 

 hiteolata, Venilia maciilata, Odontopera bidentata, lodis lactearia, Ephyra 

 punctaria, E. annulata {omicronaria), Asthena candidata, Acidalia remu- 



