TWO days' collecting in LANCASHIRE AND CUMBERLAND. 9 



lifted, I determined to wait where I was in the hopes of the 

 weather improving. After some time the mist cleared right 

 away, and at once the atmosphere became very appreciably 

 warmer, and soon I saw fom- or five cassiope slowly crawling 

 up the grass stems ; others followed, and I collected nearly 

 twenty in this way, or found them hanging to grasses, generally 

 amongst the larger tufts. About one o'clock the sun appeared 

 very feebly for a few minutes, but apparently with enough 

 strength to arouse cassiope into liveliness, for at once they began 

 to fly, and I was able to take a nice series of perfect specimens : 

 it was quite extraordinary how little sun they required to 

 tempt them into flight. They Hew strongly up and down the 

 gully, and looked rather large and conspicuous on the wing. As 

 soon as the sun went in, which it very quickly did, they dis- 

 appeared as if by magic, and were novv^here to be seen, and there 

 was more rain and fog ; later in the afternoon it again cleared 

 and became warmer, and again one saw them crawling slowly 

 up the grass stems. They did not, as so many species of Erebia 

 do, drop down on open ground, with outspread wings, directly 

 the sun went in, but these cassiope entirely disappeared at once. 



They were extremely local, and I only saw them in one small 

 gully; ni fact, considering the terrible weather and the lack of 

 time at my disposal, I was very fortunate to find them at all, 

 and, as it turned out, my leave proved to be long enough for 

 my requirements. 



I also })icked up in the same place C. pamphilits and two 

 fresh Parasemia {Ciielonia) plantaginis. Searching one of the 

 tufts of grass {Nardus stricta) I found a half-fed larva of cassiope, 

 I presume a very late and backward specimen. All the butter- 

 flies I took were quite fresh and both sexes were well represented. 

 That evening I started on my return to Reading, well pleased 

 with my four days' collecting trip. 



NOTES FROM CAIRO. 

 By F. W. Sowerby, F.E.S., Lieut., R.N.D. 



As most of the collecting in this part of the world has 

 probably been done during the " season," perhaps a few notes 

 on the specimens I obtained during part of July and August, 

 1915, may be of interest. 



An attack carried out on July 13th landed me unexpectedly 

 in Cairo a few days later.- During my first few days I was 

 confined to hospital, but the few insects which visited my ward 

 filled me with a great longing to get out among them. The 

 most interesting visitors were the magnificent metallic green 

 Chrysids, an enormous bumble-bee {Xt/locopa cestuans), and a 

 very big black wasp [Eiuiienes maxillosa). I also found in the 



