296 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
been a great deal of interest manifested lately in the Lepidoptera 
of the New Forest, I wrote to George Gulliver, of Brockenhurst, 
who collects in the district the greater part of the year, and 
asked him what his experience had been, as I had not been 
able to visit the Forest myself. He says that in some parts the 
larvee of Lithosia quadra (as already noted by several corre- 
spondents) were in swarms; the perfect insects, however, were 
not plentiful. The whole question of the sudden appearance of 
the L. quadra larve in such large numbers calls for explanation. 
It is possible that the damp in the early part of the season may 
have caused a luxuriant growth of the lichens on which they feed, 
which both fed and sheltered the larve while small; the continued 
wet, however, probably prevented their pupation, or destroyed 
them in the pupa state. The fact that such large numbers of 
insects were bred in confinement from the larve taken would 
seem rather to prove that this was the case. Calligenia miniata 
was fairly abundant, and also Aplecta herbida, while Plusia gamma 
swarmed, as it has done in most places. Catocala sponsa and 
C. promissa were both scarce; they were also scarce last year, 
but swarmed the year before that (1877). Two Acronycta alni 
were taken at least, but the rarities seem to have been few and far 
between. Of Hulepia cribrum only two specimens were taken, 
although in some years it is fairly plentiful in one or two 
localities. Hverything was three or four weeks late in the Forest, 
and both day-work and sugaring were unproductive. Taking the 
whole season Gulliver says that it is the worst that he ever knew ; 
one would expect to hear this, but the accounts from some parts 
of the country are by no means bad. One of our best known 
collectors of Micros told me, a few days ago, that in spite of the 
wet he had done better this year than ever before, and I know of 
others who have fared by no means badly.—W. W. Fow er; 
Repton, Burton-on-Trent, November 12, 1879. 
ASTHENA SYLVATA.—To-day I have been beating alder between 
Plym Bridge and Cann Quarry, trying to obtain larve of Asthena 
sylvata. After beating several hours I gave it up in despair, not 
having obtained a single specimen. Ten days since I beat out 
one, which was full fed and went down on the 14th. Last year 
Thad only one, which was not full fed until the 29th. I then 
walked to Cann Carn, and in the brake close by, and away from 
any alder, [commenced beating blackthorn (Prunus communis), and 
