I9I4. 
Notes. 
2t 
Erythraea littoralis at Portstewart. 
Mr. J. J"^ Saul and 1 observed a species of a Centaury growing in damp 
spots in the sandhills at I'ortstewart, Co. Derry, which we both recognised 
as E. littoralis, Fries. He was familiar with this species on the Lancashire 
coast, and Mr. Somerville had once pointed it out to me growing on the 
Ayrshire coast of the Clyde. Mr. Saul found more of the same plant 
later on on the flats by the mouth of the river Bann. 
E. littoralis had been found at Bangor and the Copeland Islands by 
Templeton and by Millen at Groomsport in Co. Down, and by Macka\' 
at Portmarnock in Dublin County, but doubt was thrown on all these 
records, apparently only because it was considered a form of E. Centaurium. 
Whether E. littoralis be a good species and distinct from Centaurium is 
another matter, but I think there can be no doubt that it should have a 
place in the Irish list. 
I sent .some of our gathering to Mr. J. A. Wheldon, who replied " The 
specimens sent are undoubtedly E. littoralis, Fr.,a similar form to that of 
our Lancashire coast. It has larger flowers and more scabrous calyx 
than original examples of Fries' plant which I have examined, or than 
the examples in Wittrock's exsiccata sub nom. C. vulgaris. I have in 
my herbarium separated this form as var. occidenfatis." 
I also found a dwarf form of E. Centanriinn growing, not on the sand, 
but on marshy banks by the sea, which is evidently the var. capitatum, 
and which is probably the plant from Portstewart named E. latifolius in 
Dickie's Flora of Ulster. This variety seems to be merely a state caused 
by the grazing of cattle. 
C. H. Waddell. 
Gre\'abbey, Co. Down. 
ZOOLOGY. 
Schoenobius mucronellus in County Fermanagh. 
I was out collecting Lepidoptera on the shores of Upper Lough Erne 
on July 17th last, and about 10 o'clock at night I took one specimen of 
5. mucronellus, flying over some Equisetum (I am not certain of the correct 
name of the plant, but it was an Equisetum or Hippuris). On looking up 
5. niticroiicllus on 'Sir. Kane's "Catalogue of the Irish Lepidoptera," I found 
that only one specimen of this insect had been taken in Ireland when he 
publislied his book, so determined to try for others. I thought I would 
try the next night round some Equisetum growing round the edge of a 
small lake on this demesne. Owdng to the swampy nature of the bank, 
I could not get near the patch of horsetail, so went in a boat, and directly 
it was dark I took 7 specimens flying over this plant ; I found them 
difficult to distinguish on the wing from the innumerable caddis flies and 
Hydrocampa nymphacata that were also on the wing, but their flight 
was somewhat faster. I went again the next night and took 5 more, 
but stupidly left this lot in their pill-boxes all night, and next morning 
I found they had all damaged themselves and were useless as specimens for 
