262 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Plusia gamma has scarcel}' put in an appearance at all ; I believe 

 I have seen only two during the whole season. Over the New 

 Forest, where extensive defoliation prevailed about midsummer, 

 doubtless causing the starvation of mj'riads of newl3^-emerged 

 larvae, we might reasonably have anticipated a dearth of autumn 

 species ; but here no such denudation existed : it is therefore 

 difficult to assign any cause for the general scarcity of our 

 common species. It would be interesting to know the experience 

 of other collectors in other parts of the country. — W. M'Rae ; 

 Westbourne House, Bournemouth, September 21, 1881. 



Lasius mixtus, Nijl. : AN Ant new to Beitain. — On the 2nd 

 September last, at Bicldeigh, about eight miles from -Plymouth, 

 I had the pleasure of seeing a family of ants on an old bramble 

 stem. They were evidently enjoying themselves in the bright 

 sunshine, but their enjoyment was of short duration after I had 

 " spotted" them, for I at once prepared to box a few, which I did 

 by holding my box under and giving the stem a gentle tap. I 

 secured about a dozen, consisting of males and females. Below 

 them on the ground were the workers in great commotion ; of 

 these I obtained a few. At the time of capture I took them to be 

 Lasius umhi-atus. After reading Mr. Smith's description I dis- 

 covered my error. I visited the locality again on the 6tli and 

 several times since without seeing a single worker. They must 

 be ver}' retiring in their habits ; and my only chance of renewing 

 my acquaintance with them will be at their next family gathering, 

 when I hope to have the pleasure of being " an uninvited guest." 

 In order to ascertain what my captures were I sent specimens to 

 Mr. Saunders, who very kindly informed me that they were 

 Formica mixta of Nylander. They are of the race of L. umhrata, but 

 differ from it as follows : — In colour the males and workers are 

 very similar ; the female, however, is brownish black. The male 

 has the eyes destitute of hairs. The female has the head much 

 smaller, nearhi as wide as the thorax; the fuscous cloud at the 

 base of the wing is not so dark, but extends hei/ond the discoidal 

 cell, and the discoidal cell is smaller. — G. C. Bignell ; 7, Clarence 

 Place, Stonehouse, Plymouth, October 12, 1881. 



Haggerston Entomological Society. — On Friday, October 

 21st, this Society held its Annual Exhibition of insects of all 

 orders. The new feature of the year was the temporary migration 

 of the Society from its usual meeting-room, where the exhibitions 



