CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 195 



no butterflies about until the middle of December, when the two coppers, 

 ChrysopJiamis salustiiis and C. enysii, were very abundant in the clearings 

 in the bush. By far the rarest and one of the most striking of the 

 New Zealand butterflies is Dodonidea helmsi, and Mr. G. V. Hudson 

 having kindly told me of its locality, I went in search of it on February 

 15th. The day was very hot, and after leaving the railway there was 

 a climb of three miles to the top of the hill ; however, the sight of a 

 splendid specimen flying across the road and then returning to the 

 bush was great encouragement. At the top a small watercourse led 

 into the dense bush, which here consisted of tall trees (birch), and, very 

 unusual for New Zealand, very little undergrowth, and here, in the 

 darkest part of the forest, there were several specimens about, but, 

 owing to the rough nature of the ground (fallen trees, tussock grass, 

 and marsh), I was unable to catch any specimens. Pushing on through 

 the forest, I presently came to another clearing, and here there were 

 several D. helmsi, sailing about like our Limenitis sibylla, and coming 

 out of the dark forest, hovering over a sunlit leaf, and then returning 

 into the darkness again, but almost always through the same opening. 

 Standing beside this, on a small mound, I succeeded in obtaining 

 fourteen specimens. It was a splendid day's work, and most exciting, for, 

 although a slow flyer, the insect is difficult to catch, and, added to that, 

 frequent falls occur owing to the roughness of the ground. I may add 

 that when settled, as it frequently does in the sunshine, on the midrib 

 of a leaf, it is most difficult to see, owing to the peculiar colour and 

 marking of the under side. The ground is very hilly here, and at one 

 place, standing on top of a hill, I was level with the tops of the trees 

 only a few yards away, and around which were several D. helmsi 

 sunning themselves. On February 22nd I obtained an example of 

 Lyaeiia phcebe, and later saw another, and in March I got a few V.fioneiilla, 

 but about this time a sharp attack of pneumonia put a stop to collecting. 

 In Heterocera I got two examples of Declana atronivea, a very hand- 

 some insect, with silver and black upper wings and smoky grey under 

 wings. The only other things worth mentioning were our old friends 

 Aqrotis ypsilon and Heliothis armiyera, a single example of each. — 

 Hubert W. Simmonds; 23, Hill St., Wellington, N.Z., April 13th, 1903. 



Lepidoptera at Light during April and May, 1903, — It may be 



of interest to record my captures at the gas-lamps in Dorking up to 

 the end of May. I have worked fairly regularly, and sometimes as 

 late as 1 a.m., the best times being between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. I 

 append the date on which each species was taken for the first time : — 

 Smerinthus ocellatus, May 27th. Euchelia jacobcece, May 25th. Spilo- 

 soma lubricipeda, May 24th. S. menthastri, May 10th. Dasychira 

 pudibunda, May 28th. Pterostoma palpina, May 23rd. Lophopteryx 

 carmelita, May 1st. Notodonta dictina, May 28th. iS! . dictceoides, May 

 31st. N. trepida May 31st. N. trimacula [dodojiea], May 23rd. Gram- 

 mesia trigrammica, May 31st. Afp'otis puta, May 18th. A. cinerea, 

 May 28th. Pachnobia vubricosa, May 8th. Tceniocampa gothica, April 

 27th (taken also in March). Rumia luteolata, May 18th. Selenia 

 hilxinaria, May 8th (taken also in March). S. lunaria, May 28th. 

 Odontopera bidentata, May 18th. Tephrosia crepuscularia, May 10th. 

 Strenia clathrata, May 28th. Panagra petraria, May 20th. Ligdia 



