THE DRAGONFLIES OF EPPING FOREST. 281 



wood and bark. As late ns October 21st a male was captured on 

 the winf!f, a date later by a full month than our previous latest 

 record for the species. 



(12) Si/mpctrnm striolatum was not taken earlier than July 

 29tli. We did not find it really common until October 14th, 

 and it was still pretty plentiful a week later (October 21st), when 

 it was last met with. A female of extraordinary size was 

 taken on September 9th ; it measured 43 mm. in length, and 

 65 mm. across the hind wings. On the same date some females 

 were obtained having a considerable amount of red upon the 

 abdomen. 



(13) Lestes sponsa. — As was the case last year, this pretty 

 little insect was not found within the limits of Epping Forest, as 

 strictly defined. On August 8th, however, a visit to Coopersale 

 Common, one of Doubleday's favourite localities to the north- 

 east of Epping, revealed an abundance there of both males and 

 females. 



(14) Sijmpetrum Jiaveolum. — We took this species, which has 

 not been previously recorded from the British Isles since 1900, 

 pretty plentifully in Epping Forest from August 8th to Septem- 

 ber 2nd. On the first -named date a single male was obtained 

 near Epping. On August 12th, when we revisited the old gravel- 

 pit which had produced Brachijtron pratense earlier in the year, 

 we were fortunate enough to get a female, in addition to four 

 males. The same pit yielded eight more males a week later. 

 The last specimen, a solitary male, was taken on September 2ud 

 at a neighbouring pit, at which not a single example had been 

 hitherto seen. It seems almost certain that these insects had 

 not originated at the ponds where they were taken, for they 

 appeared suddenly, at the principal site at all events, fully 

 matured ; moreover, several of them presented broken wings or 

 legs. We found this dragonfly to differ in some of its habits 

 from the common species of the same genus, for not only did it 

 seem to be as active on dull days as on bright ones, but it mani- 

 fested none of the fondness of its congeners for returning again 

 and again to precisely the same spot. It is worthy of remark 

 that a search for the species at the larger sheets of water proved 

 unavailing. Our specimens were got at wet hollows more or 

 less overgrown with rushes ; and in all cases we found the 

 insects, when not on the wing, resting about midway down the 

 stems of the rushes. The general agreement of their coloration 

 with that of the rush flowers, added to the grasshopper-like 

 spring with which they commenced their flights, rendered suc- 

 cessful pursuit a matter of great difficulty. Their flights were 

 neither very rapid nor very prolonged, but, when an individual 

 was very closely pressed, it sometimes took refuge in the tops of 

 tall trees. The large saffron patch at the base of each hind 

 wing readily distinguished S. jiaveolum from its allies, even on 



ENTOM. — DECEMBER, 1906. 2 B 



