4 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



NOTES ON BRITISH ODONATA IN 1920. 

 By W. J. Lucas, B.A., F.E.S. 



For myself the season commenced rather late with the 

 capture of Pyrrhosoma nymphula, Sulz. (a female) and Enallagma 

 cyathigerum, Charp. (also a female), both in teneral condition, 

 on 3 May at the Black Pond on Esher Common, Surrey. 

 Thence onwards dragonflies were met with till towards the end 

 of October. 



Libellulidje. — Leucorrhinia dubia, Lind. was very common 

 at Abbot's Moss, Cheshire, in May and June (Jackson). A male 

 and a female of Sympetrum striolatum, Charp. were sent to me in 

 teneral condition, with the note that they were in remarkable 

 profusion (14 August) on the sand dunes of the South Lanca- 

 shire coast about Formby Point. They seemed very partial to 

 resting on the Ragwort, which is a feature of the vegetation 

 (Dallman). It was met with near Lewes, Sussex, in September 

 (Blair). There is one record of Sympetrum flaveolum, Linn. — a 

 female taken on 19 Aug. by the River Wey in the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's Gardens near Wisley, Surrey (Fox- 

 Wilson). Sympetrum scoticum, Don. was on the wing at the 

 Black Pond, Esher Common, on 15 July, but examples seemed 

 to be teneral and probably the species was only just appearing. 

 By 7 Aug. it was common there and a few were black in colour, 

 but most were of a saffron tint and no doubt represented teneral 

 males as well as females. On 7 Oct. a number were seen on 

 the Common, and at least one was noticed on 25 Oct. (Lucas). 

 Stowell met with it on Parley Heath (apparently in August), 

 and strange to say this seems to be almost or quite the only 

 record of its occurrence in Dorset. Libellula depressa, Linn, 

 was common in Alice Holt, Hampshire, on 24 May (Stowell). 

 On the 21st of the same month one at least was sighted in 

 the New Forest. On 25 May it was seen on the shore near 

 Mudeford, Hants, presumably having bred in the pools there, 

 the water in which was no doubt brackish. An Orthetrum 

 cancellatum, Linn, was taken at the same pools on the same 

 day and presumably also bred there. On 25 June a nice male 

 L. depressa was taken in the New Forest, where the species 

 appeared to be pretty common. Several L-. depressa were seen 

 on 3 June and a yellowish teneral male was taken at Stanmore 

 Common, Middlesex (Lucas). One Libellula quadrimaculata, 

 Linn, at least was seen on 25 May over the marshy ground 

 (no doubt brackish, if not salt) between Hengistbury Head and 

 Christchurch Harbour, Hants. Possibly the species breeds 

 in the marsh ! One was almost certainly seen on 7 Oct. 

 at Esher Common ; if captured, this would have been a 

 remarkably late record, for the species often appears upon 

 the wing in April (Lucas). On 21 June Orthetrum ccerulesce?is, 



