178 



The Na.turalist, 



Northern Range of the Sand Lizard. — As Messrs. Roebuck and 

 Clarke are evidently under the impression that the true Sand lizard is 

 not found so far north as Yorkshire, (Nat. ix., p. 149), they will be in- 

 terested to know that it occurs abundantly on the sandhills, at Southport, 

 in Lancashire. I have captured numbers there, and seen many more. 

 The Natterjack toad too, is common in the same locality. — G. T. Porritt. 



Effects of the Mild Winter on Insect Life. — The unusual mildness 

 of the past winter has not been without its influence on insect life. 

 Coleoptera have turned up in abundance, and as regards the lepidoptera, 

 the spring feeding larvse of the Noctuid^e are in greatly increased 

 numbers, and I think this promises well for the abundance of the late 

 summer and early autumn moths. Hybernated larvae have appeared 

 early, and the same may be said of lepiclopterous imagos. Gonepteryx 

 rhamni was flying about Cambridge very shortly after- New Year's day, 

 and Vanessa io woke up the third week in February. The first specimen 

 of Vanessa nrticoe I saw, was in the first week in March, and Pieris rapos 

 was out near the end of the month, and flying about in numbers. 

 Toeniocampjoe began to come out the second week in February ; I speci- 

 ally noticed Tceniocampa instahilis at that time. I drove over to Kirtling, 

 near Newmarket, a few days after the commencement of the year, and 

 found mines of Neyticula aurella, with living larvae inside very numerous ; 

 and a day or two afterwards I found them at Cambridge, although in 

 much less abundance. — Albert H. Waters, Mill Road, Cambridge. 

 AprH 8th, 1884. 



OBITUARY. 



It is with very deep regret that we have this month to chronicle the 

 deaths of two prominent members of our Union. 



William Prest was born at York, on May 7th, 1824, and died after a 

 brief illness on April 7th, 1884. His loss will be severely felt by the lepi- 

 dopterists, not only of his own county, but of the country generally, for he 

 had been for probably more years than any other person now living in 

 the county, an exceedingly diligent and energetic collector, and had 

 consequently taken and distributed among the collections of the country 

 scores of rarities, from localities in which many of them had scarcely been 

 suspected of occurring. His best single take was perhaps the fine 

 Euholia mceniata, among broom, near York, on August 19th, 1866 ; but 

 very many other species of almost equal interest were secured by him. 

 His enthusiasm in his favourite study never seemed to flag, and we have, 

 when out collecting with him, often been struck with his pleasure on the 

 capture of beautiful and perfect specimens of comparatively common 

 species, and species which indeed he must, one would think, have taken 

 almost every season for years. Nor shall we soon forget the delight with 

 which he brought to us on the ground, the specimens of Eupithecia 

 suhciliata, taken in the Copgrove Woods, August Bank Holiday, 1876 ; 

 and those of Acidalia straminata (which, whilst capturing, he believed to 



