6 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



forest, belted with oaks and an occasional beech. The beech 

 trees in this part — which appears to be little worked by collec- 

 tions — are seldom allowed to grow to any size; being cut down 

 periodically for use in toy-making at Brockenhurst, so the wood 

 is rather open, with a tangled undergrowth of brambles, primus, 

 privet, etc., with here and there a patch of heath and gorse. The 

 familiar forest streams are greatly in evidence, and make the 

 ground very boggy in parts, forming small mosses, whilst a large 

 area of elevated ground to the north having l)een thickly planted 

 with pines and other conifers, we get an immense variety of 

 plant life, which is not without its effect upon the insect popula- 

 tion. Seldom have I seen the gorgeous dragonfly Calopteryx 

 Virgo in such abundance as here, hanging to, and fluttering 

 about the thick growth of alders, sallows, and other bushes, 

 bordering the streams — which, small as they are, come down 

 with such force in the winter that in many places they have 

 worn out gullies, measuring from 6 to 8 ft. in depth. Like all 

 dragonflies C. vircjo is more easily seen than captured, the first 

 few strokes of the kite-net causing them to vanish with almost 

 astonishing rapidity, considering their slow and lethargic flight. 

 Butterflies were abundant in the open parts of the wood at the 

 beginning of June, and I found the following all flying together : 

 Brenthis euphrosi/ne a.nd Brenthis seleue (the latter just emerging), 

 Pararge egeridea, Nemeohius lucina, CaUophri/s riihi (also common 

 at Milford-on-Sea in May), Celastrina argiolus, Hesjyeria mnlrce, 

 Nisoniadis tages and the usunl Gojiepteryx r]iam7ii, Pierisnapi and 

 Euchloe cardamines. Larvfe beating produced a few full-fed 

 Zephyrus quercus, Catocahi promissa, and a number of commoner 

 oak-feeders, including Hadena proteus and many Geometrae. 

 The pretty carnivorous beetle Calasoma inquisitor also fell now 

 and again into the tray, but Coleoptera taken in this waj' were 

 scarce, even from whitethorn blossom. 



The great feature of the wood in June was the Odonata, and 

 it would be difficult to say which of the following was the com- 

 monest : Lihellida depressa, Cordulegaster annidatus, Pyrrhofoma 

 nym])]iula, or Calopteryx virgo. Orthetrum cceridescens, although 

 scarce in the Forest, was very abundant on the marshes bordering 

 the Lymington river south of Boldre, and I found a few Agrion 

 puella sharing the haunts of C. virgo. A splendid 2 Anax 

 imperator haunted an open part of the wood for some days (I 

 trying to capture it all the time!), but this beautiful species 

 disappeared from the Forest after a spell of bad weather in July, 

 although its almost equally handsome relative, Cordulegaster 

 annidatui^, continued in being up to September. 



I several times watched the latter ovipositing, which it does 

 with scarcely a second's interval between each thrust of the 

 abdomen, always choosing the pools in deep shade. 



Towards the end of June the flies, hitherto only an annoy- 



