NOTES ON COLLECTING. 137 



she elects to oviposit, or he may search for the eggs in winter on the 

 bare blackthorn branches. He may be surprised to hear that the last 

 of these three methods is j)erhaps the most likely to be successful, as 

 not many years ago I saw, in the possession of a friend, something 

 like a hundred eggs of hetulae thus obtained in a western county. My 

 friend who had them, found that they were extremely easy to rear, 

 and most of them eventually produced perfect insects. — Rev. G. H. 

 Raynor, M.A., Hazeleigh Rectory, Maldon, Essex. May SnI, 1906. A 

 small larva of Z. qiiercfis and of Z. betulae would be very useful also. 

 —Ed.] 



Scarcity of early lepidoptera. — On May 5th, I went to Reigate, 

 in order to look up two or three matters entomological. One could 

 not but be struck, however, by the fewness of both species and speci- 

 mens observed. Only a single Nisoniades tages was noticed, a single 

 Callophrijs riibi, two Pieris rapae, one P. napi, one Goneptenjx rhamni, 

 one Ematurga atomaria, and two or three micros. It was a lovely day, 

 and, as far as weather was concerned, should have proved satisfactory, 

 although it got colder towards the end of the afternoon. On April 

 SOth, at Woking, the results were equally poor ; I only took larvte of 

 Coleophora pyrrliulipennella and C. juncicolella, with a few larvae of 

 Anarta myrtilli on heath. — H. J. Turner, F.E.S., 98, Drakefell Road, 

 New Cross, S.E. May 6th, 1906. 



Early specimens of Hesperia malv^. — I have to note to-day 

 that I took four specimens of H. malvae at Hazeleigh, and saw one or 

 two more. This is the earliest date I have ever recorded for the species. 

 May 9th, 1905, being the next earliest. — (Rev.) G. H. Raynor, M.A., 

 Hazeleigh Rectory, Maldon. May 5th, 1906. 



Pairing of Clostera curtula. — A 5 Clostera curtula emerged on 

 May 2nd, and I at once placed her with a (? in a sleeve out-of-doors, 

 but no pairing took place till May 5th. It then occurred during day- 

 time. I cannot say exactly at what hour, but I found them in cop. at 

 6 p.m., and they separated soon after 7 p.m. Another 5 was busy 

 ovipositing at the latter hour, when it was still broad daylight. — Percy 

 C. Reid, Peering Bury, Kelvedon. May 6th, 1906. 



Habits of 2 Hesperia malv.e when egg-laying. — On May 3rd, in 

 the Esterel, near St. Raphael, I saw a 2 H. malvae ovipositing. Her 

 flight was very different from that of the species wben disporting itself 

 in the sun. She flew very leisurely in short curves, for only a foot or 

 two, before alighting again. The plant selected was a Poteritilla with 

 cinquefoil leaves, most of the little plants had only two leaves ; she 

 settled on one of these, and on two occasions seemed to find the positions, 

 for some reason, unsatisfactory, but, on two others, being apparently 

 satisfied, she backed a little, and then, being partially on the edge of a 

 leaflet, curved her abdomen under it and deposited an egg ; from 

 settling until she was off again taking about 20, or possibly 30, seconds. 

 After laying the second egg she seemed to want a rest, and flew off less 

 than a foot and settled on the bare soil, to bask in the sun in the usual 

 way. The eggs are in both cases close to the edge of the leaflet, about 

 halfway along it, in one case on the central, in the other on the second, 

 leaflet. The leaves are very small, and the leaflets hardly half-an-inch 

 long. — T. A. Chapman, M.D., Grand Hotel, Ste.-Maxime-sur-Mer, Var. 

 France. May Srd, 1906. [It is very unfortunate that this note was 

 received just too late to include in our paragraph of the " egglaying " of 



