104 



The Natuealist. 



attracted attention from its numbers, as it was flying in thousands all 

 over the heath. Colias Edusa also scampered at a fine rate, and gave us 

 some fine chases, for being in splendid condition we could not resist 

 them. Satyrus Semele was common, with the other still commoner 

 Satyridce, &c. Of moths, the very local Selidosema plumaria was most 

 abundant, but unfortunately for the most part in bad condition ; we 

 were, however, pleased to find a fair number of the female, which 

 usually is much less frequently met with. , Pseudopterpna cytisaria, 

 also, was very common about the whin bushes, on which we suspected 

 the larva had fed, as there was none of the usual foodplant (broom) 

 to be seen. Other species taken were — Gnoplios obscurata, Pachycnemia 

 Mppocastanaria^ Eubolia palmnharia, plenty of Stenopteryx liybridalis, 

 Cramhus pascuellus, Waringtonellm^ inquinatellus with pinetellua and 

 selassellus less commonly, &c., &c. 



After some time on the heath, we turned into one of the beech-woods 

 close by, and were at once struck with the grandeur of the trees, but 

 more particularly with the long hairy lichens which everywhere covered 

 their trunks and branches, even to the very tips. We afterwards found 

 that these lichens formed one of the characteristics of the Forest, as all 

 kinds of trees were perfectly laden with them ; the huge whitethorns 

 being so densely covered that it seemed marvellous they were not 

 perfectly choked, as indeed many of them evidently were. We were 

 no longer surprised that the Forest harbours so many of the rarest 

 lichen feeding lepidoptera. We did but little in the wood this day, 

 however, and as all we did get we also took in a more extensive but 

 somewhat similar wood on the following day, we will leave our 

 account of them until we come to speak of it. 



In the evening we went down to Hurst Hill, the great locality for 

 the two crimson underwings which perhaps more than any other two 

 species have made the New Forest so noted a collecting ground. Our 

 first night was not very productive, but a few Catacola promissa were 

 taken; hardly anything else visited the trees, a i&w A^npJiipyra pyramidea^ 

 Cosmia ti'apezina, with odd Thyatira batis, being about all. On 

 following nights we were more successful with the Catacolas, indeed 

 they became more plentiful as the days went by, and on some evenings 

 we could take as many as 60 or 70. Sponsa was the more plentiful, 

 but Promissa was also very common, and this year will no doubt be 

 reckoned a splendid season for both these species ; many hundreds, 

 perhaps thousands, must have been secured by the numerous collectors 

 on the ground during the ten days I was there. Closely allied as the 

 two species are, their habits are very difi'erent. Sponsa flies very early, 



