74 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



tions of a highly enjoyable, and by no means unprofitable, fortnight 

 spent in the New Forest with two of my brothers. Not having visited 

 this favourite hunting-ground since 1898, it was with great satis- 

 faction that I once more journeyed to the old familiar haunts. Having 

 on previous occasions made Brockeuhurst our centre, we determined to 

 settle at Lyndhurst, and arrived at that charming village on July 10th, 

 after an uneventful journey, with the exception of the discovery, on our 

 arrival, that a tin of treacle liad broken loose in transit, and rambled 

 round my brother's portmanteau, with effects which can be better 

 imagined than described. Thus began our sugaring. We lost no 

 time in getting to work, and on the evening of our arrival started out 

 with a large acetylene lamp of seventy-candle power, which we used 

 most of the evenings during our stay. Unfortunately, nearly the 

 whole of the time we were troubled by that enemy of entomologists — 

 the moon, so that it was only on two or three evenings that light had 

 at all a fair chance. We soon found things were rather backward, 

 and that there was little to be got in the way of imagines in the thickly 

 wooded parts of the forest ; for after netting good series of Argynnis 

 paphia (including one or two var. valesina), Limenitis sibylla, and 

 Melanthia alhiciUata, there was very little besides. Consequently, 

 nearly the whole of our time was devoted to working the swamps and 

 heaths, with the result that a different class of insects was obtained to 

 those taken on our previous visits. 



Like most tourists this year, we cannot give the weather very high 

 credentials. The first three or four days of our stay were magnificent, 

 and St. Swithin's day being the last of these, we felt there was hope 

 of the good weather continuing. But, alas for the old tradition. 

 St. Swithin proved to be a very worthless sort of dignitary, as the next 

 day was pelting wet, and this was followed, during the rest of our visit, 

 by dull and at times rainy days, succeeded by cold clear moonlight 

 nights, about as unfavourable for light and sugar as well could be. 

 Hard work, however, produced good results, the following insects being 

 taken in the swamps by day : — Aniynnis adippe, Zygcena tnfolii, very 

 abundant, and yielding some good pale and confluent forms. Euthe- 

 monla russula, most active ; we met with it before sunrise, at all hours 

 of the day, and it came dashing around our lamp at night. Both males 

 and females were taken, and from the latter several batches of ova 

 were obtained. Drepana falcida was occasionally noticed, and Hydrelia 

 uncula flew in fair numbers when the sun shone, as also an occasional 

 Hyria muricata. On the 14th we got up before sunrise and sallied out 

 to seek this insect at its natural time of flight, but without success, 

 and we came to the conclusion that it was not yet out. This proved 

 to be the case, as by adopting similar tactics near Brockenhurst, on 

 the 25th, we each obtained a long and variable series of this beautiful 

 little insect, one of my prime favourites. It flew briskly among bog- 

 myrtle, commencing its flight precisely at six, and continuing on the 

 wing about three-quarters of an hour, after which it was very difiicult 

 to find a single specimen. By tapping the trunks of saplings and trees 

 of small growth we obtained Erastria fascula, Cleora glabraria, Minoa 

 murinata, Eucosmia undulata, Eupisteria heparata (in numbers), Ephyra 

 orbicularia (one only, very worn), and both sexes of Bupalus piniaria. 

 Acidalia iimmitata was also noticed in the swamps, and more frequently 



