NOTES ON COLLECTING. 103 



Anf/erona prunaria was not uncommon at dusk ; an odd Mi/elopJdla 

 cnbrnm was found at rest on a thistle, and single CrambKs pincllus and 

 Asthena luteata were beaten, but nothing else of note. I had in con- 

 nection with this day a curious experience. A specimen of Phorodesma 

 hajularia, faded to a pale salmon colour, which I boxed for ova, was 

 accidentally put in the ammonia over night, and in the morning, I 

 found the colour restored to a brilliant green. As the effect of the 

 fumes went off it qaickly faded again, but was immediately restored 

 upon holding it over the ammonia bottle, and again fading in a few 

 seconds when removed. The effect was quite as rapid as that produced 

 by ammonia upon red litmus paper. I have always noticed that the 

 colour of this species is quite uninjured by ammonia, but I have never 

 before heard of a case of its being restored. Oxshott : Two other 

 very successful evenings, spent at Oxshott, on each occasion only 

 having from 6 p.m. to 9.25 p.m. between arrival and departure. On 

 the first occasion (.June 27th), I spent half the time amongst the pines 

 and heather, getting a fine lot of female Bupalus piniaria, plenty of 

 Macaria liturata, five Eupithecia indi(jata, two Acidalia stibsericeata, a 

 single Dioryctria ahictella, and plenty of Pempelia palumbella. Then 

 working through a small copse, and into a grassy glade through a 

 clump of birch trees, quite a different lot of species occurred. Here 

 Lomaspilis marijinata simply swarmed, but I noticed no decent vars. 

 A fine Eucosmia undidata was the best capture, and besides this a 

 couple of 2Ielanthia alhicillata, three Platijiiterij.v falctda, three 

 Eupisteria heparata and a finely coloured Erastria fuscula were beaten. 

 Amongst the B. piniaria taken is a very curious specimen. It is 

 coloured as a female, with the exception of one small patch of male 

 colouring, but the antennte are neither simple as in the female, nor 

 pectinated as in the male, but about half-way between. The proportion 

 of females here of this species is very curious. You can get any 

 number in an hour or so, while my experience has always been in the 

 New Forest, that you have to beat for an afternoon to get one or two, 

 although males are plentiful enough. My second visit was exactly a 

 calendar month later; B . piniaria and M. liturata were still in evidence, 

 and Plebeiiis aci/on was dotted about at rest on the heather. I did not 

 work the pines much, but after boxing a few Scoparia duhitalis, made 

 straight for my copse and birches again, where I got another E. undii- 

 lata, nine very fine Platijpterijx lacertula, three each P.falcida, EjjJiyra 

 pendidaria, E. inmctaria and Crambus pijiellns, and in a corner among 

 some alders, a nice lot of Eupristeria heparata. Calligenia miniata 

 occurred here as at Chattenden — it has certainly been a " footman " 

 year — and in the copse a nice specimen of Rirula sericealis — surely 

 rather a strange locality. While waiting for my train, I found 

 Pachycnemia Idppocastanaria and Eycophotia striyida [porphyrca) 

 common over the heather (where I had also noticed Endotricha 

 fan}meali>i very abundantly before dark) and regretted that the train 

 turned up sharp to time. Betchworth : My last afternoon excursion 

 was made two days later (July 29th) to Betchworth for Pamphila 

 comma. They were very common, but how diflicult to get at ! Never 

 settling but on the bare sun-dried hillside, at the steepest part, it took 

 me two or three hours of the hottest work I have known to get four 

 specimens. This year I mean to tackle them with the aid of spiked 

 shoes, which would greatly assist, as many a specimen was lost, by a 



