138 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



dacfylus, flying over the brambles. Finding the wood somewhat too 

 dense at this point, w^e proceeded a Uttle further along the road till 

 we came to a broad ride covered with low-growing brambles — a very 

 likely spot for many of the typical woodland species. That ride will 

 long live in my memory as the most beautiful piece of woodland I 

 have ever seen. Immense patches of willow herb of several species 

 splashed the opening with their vivid colour, and contrasted strongly 

 with the golden star of the upright St. John's Wort, which grew in 

 the greatest profusion. Around all immense masses of meadow- 

 sweet stretched to the very horizon. Never have I seen such 

 quantities. For miles along the roadside it ran in a broad white 

 ribbon and made the air heavy with its fragrance. Notwith- 

 standing its attractive appearance, the ride yielded nothing except 

 a few common whites and a single specimen of Dryas imiykia, and 

 lunch-time having arrived we sought refuge from the attentions 

 of the most exasperating flies I have encountered since I last visited 

 the New Forest in the wide meadow between the two woods. Here 

 there was evidence of a distinctly more interesting local fauna. 

 Hundreds of cocoons of the familiar Burnet moth of the south coast 

 [ZygcEua fiUijendulai) smothered the grass stems, and towards the 

 centre of the meadow the insects themselves appeared in the greatest 

 profusion, every thistle-head being crowded with as many as it could 

 comfortably accommodate. We took two nice varieties of this species, 

 one with an extremely small spot at the anal angle, the other with 

 the two hinder spots coalesced into a broad red patch. The next 

 thing of interest to appear was the Marbled White, which was 

 apparently just hatching out, the specimens being in perfect con- 

 dition. This insect is one of the most curiously local of all the widely 

 distributed species, being often found in the greatest abundance in 

 one field and hardly to be seen in the next. A large number of 

 specimens of Argynnis aglaia were seen in the meadow from time to 

 time. Had the day been sunny I imagine there would have been 

 swarms of this elegant species. The edge of the northern wood on 

 this side looked an ideal place for the Hairstreaks, but close scrutiny 

 failed to reveal any of these in either form, but the variety and 

 beauty of the wild flowers growing on the margin of the encircling 

 ditch was most striking. A couple of hours here yielded nothing 

 further of special interest, so we took the road once more and came 

 round to the north-western corner of the same wood. There was 

 a striking difference in the appearance of the vegetation here, some 

 mallows and other local plants being noticed which were not to be 

 found on the southern side. It was growing well past four and, no 

 sun having appeared, there seemed little probability of seeing any 

 more butterflies. We walked along the rough track at the edge of 

 the wood, which was here composed largely of young oaks, but saw 

 nothing of special interest until just near the end, when a solitary 

 female of Zej)hyrus (Thecla) quercus was found resting on the 

 ground. Well satisfied with a most enjoyable day, we turned our 

 wheels towards the line of double telegraph poles that marks the 

 great Eoman highway to the north. On the whole, although we did 

 not, as was perhaps hardly to be expected on a cloudy day, meet with 

 any of the rarities, it was made quite clear that there are still great 



