936 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the evening of July 15th, Mrs. Bird and myself boxing them as 

 fast as it was possible. Other species, local and otherwise, I have 

 also seen or captured in equal plenty on good nights ; and, so far 

 as my experience goes, I attribute the " scarcity," " failure," and 

 what not, to the unfortunate proportion of fine weather. — G. W. 

 Bird ; Hurley Lodge, Honor Oak, S.E., August 14, 1882. 



The bad season for Lepidoptera. — It will perhaps be of 

 interest to some of your readers to know my experience of the 

 present season with regard to Lepidoptera. I agree with your 

 correspondents that the present is the worst season I have ever 

 known, so far as number of species is concerned ; but along with 

 this fact is the curious and interesting one that some common 

 species have been unusually abundant. Butterflies have been 

 very scarce ; I do not think that I have seen more than six 

 species in this district during the whole season. The spring 

 broods of Pieris rwpce and P. napi were plentiful, but not a single 

 P. brassica was to be seen ; Satyrus Janira has been b)' no means 

 abundant ; and these, with the addition of one specimen each of 

 Anthocharis cardamines, Vanessa lo, and V. urticcB, about com- 

 plete the list. Many species of moths, usually very abundant, 

 have this year been scarce ; but, on the other hand, the following 

 have been swarming: — Tortrix viridana, many oaks were nearly 

 stripped by this species ; Coccyx argyrana in scores on the trunks 

 of oaks; Sciapliila suhjectana in thousands everywhere; Argy- 

 resthia retinella swarming in hedges. Besides these Micros some 

 Macros have been very abundant: — Chelonia caja, sometimes as 

 many as a dozen came to light in one evening ; Mamestra brassica 

 was unusually abundant ; Char'ceas gj'aminis has been more 

 frequent than usual. I leave it to other entomologists to draw 

 deductions from these facts. — H. H. Corbett ; Ravenoak, Cheadle 

 Hulme, Stockport, August 17, 1882. 



Captures of Lepidoptera. — There appear to be very 

 opposite reports from collectors as to their captures this season. 

 I see from the August number of the 'Entomologist' that one 

 correspondent has given up collecting as a bad job, another has 

 rarely had such a bad season, whereas the next has taken rather 

 more insects than usual. For my part the few Lepidoptera I have 

 come across have appeared in large numbers. I spent the last 

 two weeks of May at Shanklin, in the Isle of Wight, and never 



