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THE BRITISH NATURALIST. [October 



close together, giving the appearance of a band; altogether a very nice 

 insect. —E. Sabine, The Villas, Erith, August, 1891. 



Var. of Lyc^na Agestis. — Referrint^ to the last described of Mr. 

 Sabine's varieties, I took at Black Hall Rocks in July last, a very 

 similar underside variety of hyccBna agestis. The upper side has no 

 peculiarity, but on the underside the black spots instead of having a 

 pure white ring, have a ring only very slightly paler than the ground 

 colour. In varieties of the underside of this species, it is generally 

 the black spots that disappear, and specimens are not uncommon with 

 white spots only. In the var. Artaxerxes this nearly always obtains. 

 I have one with no spots at all and many with fewer than the usual 

 number, but I have only once before met with a specimen like that 

 now discussed. John E, Robson, Hartlepool, Aug. 25th, i8gi. 



Hesperia lineola. — We are indebted to Mr. F. W. Hawes, (a 

 member of the South London Entomological and Natural History 

 Society) for the addition of this interesting httle skipper to our meagre 

 list of British Butterflies. It somevv^hat closely resembles Hesperia 

 linea = thn2imas, but when once its characters are seen, one feels 

 astonished that it should so long have been overlooked in this country. 

 Its principal liabitat with us is evidently in the Essex marshes and 

 rough places adjacent. In July, 1890, wishing to obtain this, then, 

 novelty, I paid my first visit to Leigh, Essex, and worked the rough 

 hilly meadows on to Hadleigh Castle, here, I found a few lineola flying 

 with linen, the latter being very much the commoner insect. Failing 

 to obtain a good series, I went again to Leigh a few days later and 

 this time, I struck out on to the fringes of the Salt Marsh, here I 

 found lineola only, not a single linea amongst them, it was almost too 

 late for them, the bulk being considerably worn, but cne thing was 

 evident, the home of linea was found, it only remained to go again the 

 next season earlier, to obtain as many as one wished. This year^ 

 on July 25th, the South London field excursion was to Leigh, under 

 my guidance, and favoured by most propitious weather, all our party 

 (some 20 nets) not only obtained their full series, but will be able to 

 supply the cabinets of their friends. 



Given fine warm weather the best time to go for the species would 

 be from the 2nd to 3rd week in July, and. then working along the rough 

 grassy fringes of the Salt Marsh from Leigh to Benfleet and probably 

 other such like places, any lepidopterist may obtain lineola freely. 



