102 THE entomologist's record. 



^g^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Lepidopteea captured in 1899. — During a very busy year I 

 was only able to get a few afternoons and evenings at my favourite 

 pursuit, but as these proved fairly successful, the result may perhaps 

 be interesting to those London collectors, whose outings, like my own, 

 are limited to occasional half -holidays and evenings. A North Londoner 

 is severely handicapped by the early hour at which the G. N. Ey. Co. 

 runs its last train home. All the best localities lie south of the 

 Thames, and the late trains from these places arrive just after the 

 last G. N. starts home for Highgate. Thus from Chattenden, I have 

 to catch the 9.20 from Cliffe, instead of the 10.39 from Higham, 

 cutting oft' the best part of the evening, and similarly from other 

 places. Mill Hill : I generally run down to Mill Hill early in the 

 summer, to see how things are getting on, and on June 1st, paid my 

 usual visit for a couple of hours at midday. I found Thanaos tages, 

 SyricJitJiiis malvac, and Eiichlo'e cardamincs well out, and Heliodes 

 arhuti very plentiful ; a fortnight later Adscita s^tatices, Tancujra 

 chaerophyllata, F/mmtieda albulata, and Timandra amataria, always 

 occur abundantly and generally a few Anthrocera tnfolii, Emmdesia 

 decolorata and Asthena Inteata. The railway (G.N.) cutting towards 

 Edgeware is perhaps the best collecting ground, until you are turned 

 off, and then the neighbouring meadows. Here you are also liable to 

 disturbance, but the diplomatic offer of a "drink" is all sufficient. 

 Chingford : The following evening I went to Chingford, after Zcphyrm 

 hetulae, and beat a few larvee from a favourite corner, where it usually 

 occurs. In this corner also Lif/dia adiistata is always common, and was so 

 upon this evening, but I have never come across it elsewhere in the forest ; 

 Ephyra trilinearia was very plentiful, and many commoner things. 

 Chattenden : On June 9th, I managed to work in a whole day, and 

 spent it at Chattenden. I was delighted to find Scoria dealhata still 

 holding its own well. There were some numbers of them, and I could 

 have taken a long series had I been so disposed, but contented myself 

 with selecting a few specially large males — all were very large in fact. 

 Lithosia aureolawa,s also fairly common, and among dayfliers — Ccdlojdtrys 

 rnbi, (Jyaniru arfiiohis and Macroylofim fiicifonnis occurred. Aspilatcs 

 strifiillaria was walked up, and great quantities of Corycia taminata 

 beaten out, with C. temerata, Ephyra omicronaria, Asthena Inteata, and 

 Erastria fuscula less commonly, but yet in sufficient numbers, and a 

 single very fine Flatypteryx hamula. Altogether a pleasant day, with 

 something useful at every turn. At my next visit, on July 11th, 

 hoAvever, the place had a very different aspect, and only two species 

 beyond the very commonest occurred in any numbers. One of these 

 was CalUyenia miniata, which was very common in its characteristic 

 way, half-a-dozen or so within two or three yards, and then no more 

 at all, until the next colony was reached ; I came across a number of 

 these little colonies, and could have taken a long series. Thecla 

 iv-alhnni, the other species referred to, was local, but abundant where 

 found ; in fact, on one fair-sized privet bush, I counted nine specimens 

 at once, and they also frequented the bramble-blossoms. Later in the 

 day, they showed a marked predilection for the small ash trees, and a 

 fair number was shaken out of these after sunset. Besides these 

 species a few Zephyrm qiiercus and Melanaryia yalatea occurred, and 



