212 [September, 



again in great profusion ; at least 50 or 60 specimens of both sexes were seen in 

 the space of a few yards, walking about on the lower leaves, and when disturbed, 

 dying t'oi- a few seconds and settling abruptly. It was easy lo examine them 

 quite closely, or even to catch them with the fingers, but they were getting 

 decidedly worn, especially the c? 's. On searching for any possible source 

 of attraction in these particular trees, I found that while they appeared to be 

 quite free frL>m A])hides or honeydew, they were the only ones in the neigh- 

 bourhood that bore any acorns; these were of course in a very immature 

 condition, and I several times saw the butterflies sucking with evident relish 

 the slightly glutinous moisture which they exuded. None of the other oaks 

 in the line had any " Hairstreaks " about them, and very few were seen in 

 other parts of the wood. On August 12th I found the butterfly equally 

 localised and almost equally plentiful, but on this occasion nearly every 

 specimen was worn to rags. — James J. Walker, Oxford: August \7th, 

 1918. 



Bombus terrestris L. at midwinter in Neio Zealand. — This morning whilst 

 walking through the Wellington Botanical Gardens I observed a queen Bombus 

 temstris L. flying along a steep clay bank, possibly seeking a suitable place to 

 establish her nest. The morning was mild and sunny, like many in the New 

 Zealand winter, but I do not remember seeing B. terrestris on the wing so 

 early in the season before. This Humble Bee has made a good '•' settler " in 

 New Zealand and is common and generally distributed throughout the country. 

 The black varietry harriseUus Kirby is also abundant, and Dr. Longstaff in- 

 formed me when here that it was proportionately very much more numerous 

 than it is in England. — G. V. Hudson, [lillview, Karori, Wellington, N.Z. : 

 June 2Wi, 1918. 



Rhadinoceraea micans Khiy in Cheshire. — On May 21st last I took at 

 a pond a mile or so from lluncorn several specimens of a sawfly which the 

 Rev. F. D. Morice, of Woking, has very kindly identified for me. He states 

 the species to be Rhadinoceraea micans Klug, and as it would appear not to 

 have been previously observed in the north of England, the matter may be 

 worth recording. The insects were fluttering round and about or resting upon 

 the stems of the yellow iris. I took half-a-dozen specimens, but could have 

 taken ten times that number had I been so disposed. Possibly the species 

 has occurred there in previous years, but I have not noticed it. — F. W. 

 HuTTOx, 53 Greenway Road, Runcorn : ^Ist June, 1918. i 



The European species of Microielia. — Dr. Bergroth informs me that in 

 1916 IJorvath published a paper in which he showed that the correct 

 synonymy of the two European species of Microvelia is as follows : — 

 1. pyymaea Duf, Fieb., ^w.i. = nilicola Costa; 2. reticulata Bnim. =pi/gmaea 

 Curt., Flor, Dough, Sunnd. = sehneideri Scholtz, Sahib, Put. The former 

 species occurs in Southern Europe and Northern Africa, while the latter 

 occurs in Northern and Central Europe. Under these circumstances, our 

 ]3ritish species would be known as M. reticulata Burm. In consequence of war 

 conditions, I have been unable to see the paper referred to, and can therefore 

 express no opinion on the matter. I may add, however, that I have long thought 

 Puton's description of M. schneideri in his " Synopsis," more appropriate to our 



