1918.] 249 



one or two examples in our neighbourhood, though some of our woods 

 appear eminently adapted for it. P. viegaera is in some years also 

 rather scarce, though in others, notably in 1917 and the present season, 

 it has been exceedingly numerous, especially in the second brood. 

 Epinephile ianira is abundant throughout the District, and a partial 

 second brood of richly coloured specimens is sometimes observed in 

 hot summers. E. tithonus is abundant in lanes and on roadsides, and 

 Apkantopics hyjoerantlius in most years is very plentiful at bramble- 

 blossoms in the woods ; the var. arete is occasionally met with at 

 Bagley, and I have taken a curious pale fuscous form at Cothill. 

 Coenonympha pamphilus is, as usual, plentiful in dry places, but I have 

 seen no striking variations of this species. 



Zephyrus hetulae is somewhat uncommon, but has been observed 

 in more than one of our woods, and has its headquarters at Bagley ;. 

 Z. q^uercus being much more common and widely distributed, and 

 occurring occasionally in numbers {cf. Ent. Mo. Mag. 1918, p. 211). 

 The entomological event of the present j^ear is the discovery by a. 

 schoolboy, Walter Burrows, of Strymon pruni on June 23rd in a 

 remote and not very accessible wood near the limits of our District; 

 he kindly disclosed the locality to the Museum staff, and in consequence: 

 I had the pleasure on July 3rd of seeing this very interesting little 

 butterfly alive for the first time, and of taking three or four good speci- 

 mens on the blossom of the privet. Thecla w-album is fairly common^ 

 about elms, and on bramble and privet-blossom at Radley, Besselsleigh,. 

 and Tubney. and Callophrys rttbi is plentiful in woody places. JRumtcia 

 phlaeas, abundant in most years (especially so in 1911) sometimes- 

 presents very interesting variations, the var. radiata Tutt having, 

 occurred to me more than once at Tubney, and in the Museum is a 

 beautiful example of the silvery- white form usually known as schmidtii, 

 which was taken by Mr. W. Holland at Hen Wood, Berks, in August 

 1903. Aricia astrarche is common, especially at Tubney, and Lycaena 

 icariis is usually plentiful in grassy places, but has been decidedly scarce 

 this season. Agriades corydon, so abundant on the chalk hills beyond 

 our limits, was up to 1916 known only from the District by single 

 examples found casually on Shotover Hill and elsewhere, but in August 

 of that year I found a station for the species on a limestone down 

 between Headington and Stanton St. John, Oxon, where it is not rare, 

 though very local. Cyaniris aryiolus frequents the Oxford gardens 

 and the " Parks," as well as the more rural lanes, and has of recent 

 years become exceedingly common, especially in the spring brood, which 

 is sometimes fully out in April ; this year it appeared, with Pieris rapaey 



