6 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



[January 



non-success. It is a very delicate species, and no doubt its habit, like 

 those of its allied genera, is to fly gently over the ditches at sunset, in 

 the calmest weather. As it was, all the time we were there, it was 

 either wet, or a much too strong wind was blov/ing on the fen to allow 

 any of this group of insects to fly. Even Leptocerus aterrimus was only 

 very occasionally seen on the wing, though plenty could be swept out 

 of the herbage. Next to ^. baltica perhaps the most interesting 

 species was the dragonfly Pyrrhosoma tenellum, which was found com- 

 monly on the ditches on Chippenham Fen on the only visit we made 

 there, on the 13th. Curiously it was not seen on Wicken Fen at all, 

 though I had found it there the previous year, up to which time it had 

 only occurred in Britain on heaths near Weybridge, and one or two 

 other similar South of England localities. Its usually common 

 relative P. minium was not seen at all. 



The district altogether proved very unsatisfactory for Neuroptera 

 and Trichoptera ; indeed the paucity of species in a locality so 

 exceedingly promising in appearance was most extraordinary ; and 

 although the weather was certainly much against us, we were 

 reluctantly forced to the conclusion that many of the species we 

 naturally expected in such a locality were not there at all. The few 

 species for which Tuddenham is given were taken on the 14th. 

 When the locality is not stated the record refers in all cases to 

 Wicken. 



NEUROPTERA. 

 Sympetnim striolatuui, S. sanguineum, not uncommon, but not nearly so 

 abundant as I found it on Wicken Fen in August two years previously. 

 y^schna grandis, common, and often seen "hawking" for insects at 

 dusk, a habit, I believe, not indulged in by any other British dragon- 

 fly. Several specimens of another ^schna prohsihly cyanea, were seen 

 but not captured. Lestes sponsa, common on both Wicken and Chip- 

 penham Fens; Ischniira elegans, common; Agrion piilchelhim, common 

 both at Wicken and Chippenham Fens ; one or two others of the 

 common Agrions, I think, also occurred, but as none were boxed I 

 cannot say with certainty which they were. Pyrrhosoma tenelhtm, 

 common on Chippenham Fen ; Nemoura ? one species common 



at Chippenham, but I am a little doubtful as to which it is. Raphidia 

 xanthostigma, Chippenham Fen; Hemerohius marginatiis and one or two 

 other commoner species of the genus occurred at Chippenham ; 

 Chrysopa flava, C. vittata, C. alba, C. tenella, and C. aspersa, all at 

 Chippenham; C . flavifrons, not uncommon at Wicken. 



TRICHOPTERA. 

 Phryganea varia, abundant and variable; Agrypnia pagetana, 

 common; Colpotauliiis incisus, common; Grainmotauliiis nitidics, not 



