81 The Macro-Lcpidoptera of the 
any considerable distance : it must have been bred on the 
spot. 
The next class of butterflies includes those that may be 
termed “local and rare,” including VanessapolychJoros, Thecla 
w-album , T. betulce, and Nemeobius lucina. The first two are 
of general occurrence round Maldon, the two latter very 
restricted in their habitat. Beyond these species, nothing 
occurs that is worthy of very special remark. The “Fritil- 
laries” are fairly represented, but the larger species are not 
common. Vanessa cardui is sometimes abundant in the 
spring, but I have never noticed very many in the autumn. 
Of the genus Thecla every species, except T. pruni, is to be 
found. Thecla rubi, being a broom-feeder, occurs commonly, 
and T. quercus abounds in oak woods. Of the “Blues,” 
Lyccenci aryiolus is the most interesting: its food-plant is 
abundant, but the butterfly itself never seems to occur in any 
numbers. Hesperia comma is absent from the list, but may 
possibly occur at Danbury. 
The next great division of Lepidoptera, the Nocturni, is 
represented with us by exactly fifty species. All the more 
ordinary “hawk-moths” occur, including Acherontia atropos 
(which one would expect to be commoner round Maldon, as 
it is abundant near Southend) and Sphinx convolvuli, which 
occurred singly in 1875, when the species occurred in such 
numbers in this country. Of the clear-wings I have not 
come across any really rare species, but Sesia ichneumoniformis 
cannot be considered a common insect. Limacodes testudo, 
Nola strigula , and Lithosia quadra next attract our attention : 
they have not occurred in any numbers, and evidently only 
just succeed in maintaining themselves. Orgyia fascelina, an 
insect much commoner in the North of England, used to be 
abundant on the hedges lining a certain part of the road 
from Maldon to Danbury. I find a record in my diary of 
having taken as many as sixty larvae in 1872; and I continued 
to find the species there till 1875. The nature of the locality 
has not changed in any way, and I am quite at a loss to 
account for the disappearance of this species. Of the 
remaining Nocturni, Trichiura cratceyi and Gastropacha querci- 
