146 THE ENTOMOLOGIST, 
bar on the upper wing is obliterated, being filled up with black-brown 
instead of grey. The position of the bar is, however, marked by indistinct 
black boundary lines. The exterior margins are bounded, as in the other ' 
three forms, by a thin black line of minute crescents, beyond which is the 
slightly paler fringe. The wing-rays are delicately pencilled in black. My 
other captures were a common humble-bee, which I set free again ; H. mar- 
ginaria (progemmaria), four males and two females ; half a dozen Anisopterya 
ascularia, males; three Nyssia hispidaria, males (this is now a scarce 
insect in the forest); three Phigalia pedaria (pilosaria), males; and a 
dozen or more of the fussy little Tortricodes hyemana. I also took a small 
brown Geometer larva (probably one of the Hupithecia) crawling up an oak. 
This caterpillar, together with the small brick-red one, mentioned in my 
forest notes for February 18th (Entom. 122), has since spun a few threads 
for a cocoon, and changed into a greenish brown chrysalis. My next visit 
was on the 26th, and, as the train sped on through the green fields, it was 
evident, from the catkins in blossom on favoured willows and the water- 
grass stretched upon the surface of the ponds, that I must be prepared for 
a march of the season in the forest. My chief object was to secure a female 
N. hispidaria, and as the three dials in the morning ‘ Standard’ showed a 
falling barometer all over England, no time was to be lost. I found the 
early moths had almost disappeared. Three male 4. @scularia, about a 
dozen male H. leucophearia, and one female, showed that the time had 
been reached between Hybernia and Teniocampa. As the female H. leuco- 
phearia is rare, I will venture to describe it. Head, thorax, and body 
silvery grey, with minute black spots. ‘Thorax ornamented with a wide 
black /\, the angle pointing towards the head. The Ist, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th 
segments of the body have each two dorsal and conspicuous black spots ; 
these spots are rectangular, and largest on the 2nd and 38rd segments. 
Antenne black; wings microscopic; legs black, long, and very spider-like. 
The sport was poor until about 3.30, when a moth, with rapid movement, 
suddenly started on the wing from an oak trunk. I had no net, but the 
resources of civilization were not yet exhausted. Seizing my hat I gave 
chase, and knocked the insect down. It turned out to be a fine female 
Brephos parthenias, the first recorded capture for the district. For years 
back I have undoubtedly seen this species in the forest on the wing. 
Shortly after this capture I came across Messrs. Mason Bros. from 
Manchester, with whom I had the pleasure of working for the remainder of 
the afternoon. On comparing our captures at the close of the day, I found 
they had each secured a specimen of H. leucophearia, Form 4. Their other 
good things were N. hispidaria (three males), Larentia multistrigaria, and 
Asphalia flavicornis.. I took a female N. hispidaria, which unfortunately 
declined to oblige me with eggs, and a couple of A. flavicornis, females ; all 
by trunk-searching. Each of the latter afterwards laid eggs; those of the 
first were infertile. The egg of this moth is a beautiful object, even to the 
naked eye. Under the microscope it is an irregular ellipse, with an indis- 
tinct “apical zone” (this is a most descriptive phrase, and I borrow it from 
Dr. Chapman). From this zone proceed rough longitudinal furrows down 
the entire length of the shell; but the beauty of the egg lies in the different 
colours assumed within the first week, all being perfectly visible to the un- 
aided eye: on the first day it is white; about the second, cream-coloured ; 
third day, yellow; fourth, cherry-plum ; fifth day, coral-red. I had a few 
of these eggs on a piece of white cotton-wool, together with some of 
N. zonaria, which are bright pea-green, and the picture was an exceedingly 
