VII. 
NOTES ON LEPIDOPTERA OBSERVED IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 
OF SANDRIDGE, HERTS. 
By A. F. Griffith, M.A. 
Head at Watford , 18 th March , 1884. 
The notes that I have to lay before you this evening will chiefly 
be interesting as showing what has to be done by some energetic 
members of our Society before we can be said to have even 
well begun our work in the compilation of a catalogue of the 
Lepidoptera of Hertfordshire. Even the nucleus for such a catalogue 
has hitherto been wanting, and it is in the hope that the sub¬ 
joined list may form such a nucleus, that I have ventured to bring 
before you this paper. 
In the principal works on Entomology our county is barely 
mentioned. The Eev. E. 0. Morris, in his work on ‘British 
Butterflies,’ records but six species as occurring in it, and even of 
these, one (Coenonympha Davus) seems to have been included by 
mistake, as it is stated to occur on Barnet Heath, scarcely a probable 
locality for this moor-loving species. Stainton, in his invaluable 
‘ Manual,’ does not, to the best of my knowledge, mention any one 
species as occurring in the county. Newman also passes it over 
almost in silence. From these facts it may be inferred that the 
systematic pursuit of Entomology, or at least the recording of 
species of Lepidoptera, has hitherto been very much neglected in 
Hertfordshire. 
It will be seen, however, from the subjoined list that our Society 
cannot plead any special poverty in the county fauna as an excuse 
for this neglect. The list merely gives the species which have been 
observed by my brother, Mr. F. LI. Griffith, and myself, in a district 
about 6 miles long and 2 miles wide, having the village of Sandridge 
at about its middle point. The observations also have been very 
unsystematic, whole months together having frequently gone by 
when neither my brother nor I have been at home, so that no 
notes could be taken. Thus we have scarcely any means of knowing 
what species occur during May and the early part of June. Never, 
also, having made much use of the well-known methods of 
“sugar” and “light,” the list of Noctuse must give a very in¬ 
adequate notion of the number of species which are to be found 
in the district. In fact, the list is published in the hope that 
others, noticing so many omissions in it, will be impelled to fill them 
up; and not at all from any idea that it may be considered as even 
approaching completion. 
Our list of 29 species of butterflies, distributed among 14 genera, 
includes no rarities, and calls for few remarks. It includes con¬ 
siderably less than half of our 66 acknowledged British species. 
Most of them occur commonly. Colzas Hyale , however, is an excep¬ 
tion, as we have only observed two specimens, both seen in the 
autumn of 1875. C. JEdusa also has never been common, except in 
