169 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



AcRONYCTA ALNi IN THE New Forest. — The Other day I met 

 Mr. Blanchard, of Parkston, who informed me that he had just 

 succeeded in breeding ten fine perfect imagines of A. alni, from 

 larvae collected by himself in the New Forest last season. This 

 is a most hopeful and encouraging sign to other frequenters of 

 the New Forest.— W. M'Rae ; Bournemouth, June 21, 1882. 



Pachetra leucoph^a at Box Hill. — On the 22nd ult., in 

 company with the Messrs. Church, I visited Box Hill, and took 

 a female of Pachetra leucoplicBa at rest on the trunk of a white- 

 thorn. It deposited eggs, which have duly hatched, and are 

 feeding well on Poa annua. — B. Arthur Bower; Eltham Road, 

 Lee, S.E., June 18, 1882. 



Catephia alchymista near Dover. — Calling on Mr. Davis 

 yesterday morning to report on the curious moth I showed you 

 in London, I found him busy setting his captures of the night 

 before. They consisted of varieties of Agrotis exclainationis, with 

 the exception of a gloriously perfect and fresh specimen of 

 Catephia alchymista. The workable woods for sugar are, as a 

 rule, singularly unproductive, and at some distance from the town 

 of Dover, so it is gratifying to think that the perseverance and zeal 

 of an enthusiastic artisan have at length been rewarded by taking 

 such a rarity. — Sydney Webb ; 3, Luther Terrace, Dover. 



Psyche villosella. — I took two males of this species at 

 Lyndhurst in June, 1880. I found them at rest on a fence. — 

 L. F. Hill ; 4, Craven Terrace, Ealing, W. 



Notes on the Season. — This is, without exception, the 

 worst season for insects I remember during all my entomological 

 experience. Comparatively speaking there are none. Fidonia 

 jnniaria, which in our woods used to be in such extraordinary 

 numbers, seems almost to have disappeared. Again at Edlington 

 Wood, where two years ago, and again last season, Asthena 

 sylvata was to be seen at rest literally by hundreds — so many as 

 twenty on a single tree — it has appeared only in the most limited 

 quantity. In one whole day's collecting I only saw four specimens. 

 The same applies to Abraxas ulmata, Melanippe hastata, and 

 Epione advenaria, in the same locality. Although I have given 

 sugar a fair trial in several localities in Yorkshire, it has proved 

 quite useless ; frequently not a moth appearing. The absence 

 of butterflies is also • most remarkable. The mild winter has 



