THE BULLETIN ~~ OF THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGISTS’ SOCIETY VOLUME 29 1970 Edited by DAVID CORKE. B.Sc., L.I.Biol. (No. 286) and JOHN BOCOCK, B.Sc., F.R.E.S. (Nos 287-289) Index compiled by PAUL BOSWELL, M.B.. Ch.B., M.R.C.Path., F.R.E.S. The Amateur Entomologists’ Society 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex wo 2 AES BULLETIN, Vol. 29 |) INDEX. CONTRIBUTORS Bailey, J. C., 64 Berman, H. J., 29 Bocock, J., 33, 69, 76, 101 Brown, A. J., 5, 36 Cilia, J., 90 Corke, D., 1,32; 112 - Cribb, P. W., 15, 21, 38, 73, 78, 105 Crow, P. N., 67 Dolling, M. H., 28 Emmet, A. M., 1, 34, 70, 102 Fearnehough, T.D., 62 Finbow, P. W., 106 Gilchrist, W. L. R. E., 65, 83 Grey, P.R., 17 Hancock, E. G., 100 Heath, G. and J., 92 Hilliard, R. D., 12, 59 Knight, J. E., 37 Lonsdale, D., 116 Measday, A. V., 43 Moss, E. H., 67 Muggleton, J., 12 Perceval, M. J., 45 Plester, L., 109 , Prior, G., 97, 111 Robertson, T.S., 6, 7, 40 Samson, C. P. J., 107 Siggs, L. W., 114 Smith, J. K., 13, 15 Spoczynska, J. O.1., 79 Swindells, R. J., 115 Thomas, J.A., 11 Thomson, G., 117 Waddington, L. G. F., 119 White, |. M., 42 SUBJECTS Attacus atlas Linn., Some observations on Bipediog and Rearing. 76 Bats, Moths taken by, 37 Beetles of Speyside, Notes on the, 13 Black and Brown Hairstreaks, The Conservation of, 11 Blue Butterflies in Gloucestershire, 12 Book Reviews: Animal Partnerships, 27 Macrolepidoptera of Buckinghamshire, 28 Brimstone, An Early Appearance, The, 115 Brown Hairstreak, The, 38 Brown Hairstreaks, The Conservation of Black and, 11 Bulgaria, Nature Conservancy in, 12 - Killing Jar, Bulletin - A few Short Words, The, 117 _ Bumble Bee Distribution Maps Scheme, 66 Butterflies in the Northern Tyrol, 17 Butterflies of Lauteret, Haute Alpes, 45 Butterflies, Some Thoughts on the Reinforcement of, 73 Butterflies, Some TipsonBreeding, 78 Cameroons: Part II, Collecting in the, 79 Coleoptera from Ham Street, Kent, 42 Collecting Notes, 1, 34, 70, 102 Collecting, The Case against, 112 Collection and Conservation in Entomology, 65 Conservancy in Bulgaria, Nature, 12 Conservation Group, The, 116 Conservation of Black and Brown Hairstreaks, The, 11 Conservation of British Insects, Joint Committee for the, 9 Conservation Year, Look Out - It’s European, 32 Cordulegaster boltonii, 28 Council, Annual Report of the, 97 Diptera; Syrphidae, Collecting Notes, 5, 36 Editorial, 1, 33, 69, 101 Exhibition, 1969, Annual, 59 Gloucestershire, Blue Butterflies in, 12 Haute Alpes, Butterflies of Lautaret, 45 Hertfordshire, Distribution of Certain Insects in, 43 Hypena obsitalis Hubner, 100 g Kent, gy from Hamstreet, 42 Simple and Safe, 64 Killing Jar for Lepidoptera, A, 106 Letters to the Editor, 65, 119 Light Teeeee Lepidoptera, Some notes on, 111 Mantids, Outline of Two Years’ Experience in Collecting, 92 Meloe variegatus Donovan, 90 Migrant Specimen, Rare,107. Monochamus sutor (Linn.) from Teesside, Moths Taken by Bats, 37 Orange Tip Butterfly, Rearing the, 40 Quick and the Dead, The, 62 Red Admiral Butterfly, Rearing the, 7 Red Admiral, The, 67 Red Admiral, Mid Winter Visit by, 67 Reinforcement of Butterflies, Some Thoughts on the, 73 Scottish Sortie, A, 15 Setting Lepidoptera, A Simple Guide to, 83 Setting Lepidoptera, More about, 114 Setting Lepidoptera (letter), 119 Smaller moths, Collecting Notes - The, 1,34, 70,102 — AES BULLETIN, Vol. 29 a os SD ‘Spain, Expedition to, 21 Speyside, Notes on the Beetles of, 13 Swallowtail Butterfly, Colour forms of the Pupa of the, 105 Syrphidae, Collecting Notes - Diptera: a 36 Teesside, Monochamus sutor (Linn.) from, 15. Tyrol, Butterflies in the Nothern, 17 Wall Butterfly, Breeding the, 6 Wingspan in Live Lepidoptera, Measuring, 109 Youth Section, 29 (Note - pages 47 - 54 were a Supplement to the Membership List). “ARACHNIDA thoracica, (Scytodes), 32 ‘COLEOPTERA abietis, (Hylobius), 14 aedilis, (Acanthocinus), 14. affinis, (Dorytomus), 43 atripes, (Lagria), 42 bifasciatum, (Rhagium), 14 campestris, (Cicindela), 14, 43 cupreus, (Corymbites), 14 decemiineata, (Leptinotarsa), 24 elongatus, (Elater), 42 formicarius, ( Paradis), 14 horticola, { Philopertha), 44 indagator, (Rhagium), 14 lineola, (Orsodacne), 42 melolontha, (Melolontha), 44 moschata, {Aromia), 43 notatus, (Pissodes), 14 pini, (Pissodes), 14 populi, (Bytiscus), 42 punctata, (Xylodrepa), 44 rufipes, (Thanasimus), 14 serraticornus, (Pyrochroa), 44 stratum, (Asemum), 14 subspinosa, (Zeugophora), 42 sulcatus, (Acilius),42 surtor, (Monochamus), 15 variegatus, (Meloe), 90 vesicatoria, (Lytta), 24 viridis, (Agrilis), 42 DICTYOPTERA aridifolia, (Tenodera), 94 urbana (Creoboter), 94 Referred to by genus only: (Sphodromantis), 92 —- DIPTERA albipila, (Cheilosia), 5 asilica, (Criorhina), 37 berberina, (Criorhina), 37 caecutiens, (Chrysops), 45 campestris, (Rhingia), 5, 37 citrofasciatum, (Xanthogramma), 5 cuprea, (Ferdinandea), 5 elongata, (Baccha), 36 equestris, {Merodon), 5, 37 floccosa, (Criorhina), 5, 37 florea, (Myiatropa), 37 fulva, (Arctephila), 36 grossa, (Cheilosia), 5. lenta, (Xylota), 5 /ucorum, (Leucozona), 5 major, (Bombylius), 45 obscuripennis, (Baccha), 36 pedisequum, (Xanthogramma), 5 pendulus, (Helophilus), 5, 37 pertinax, (Eristalsis), 5 pyrastri, (Scaeva), 37 ribesii, (Syrphus), 5 rufipes, (Physocephela), 45 scalare, (Melanostoma), 37 scolopacea, (Rhagio), 45 silentis, (Sericomyia), 37 tenax, (Eristalsis), 5 vitripennis, (Syrphus), 5 Referred to by genus only: (Eristalsis), 36 (Neoascia), 37 (Platychirus), 5, 37 (Syrphus), 36 HYMENOPTERA albicans, (Andrena), 45 crabro, (Vespa), 45 /uteus, (Ophion), 45 noctilio, (Sirex), 45 LEPIDOPTERA (BUTTERFLIES) acaciae, (Strymon), 24 aegeria, (Pararge), 7, 20 agestis, (Aricia), 58 aglaia, (Argynnis), 44, 107 alberganus, (Erebia), 58 alceae, (Carcharodus), 58 alchymillae, (Reverdinus), 23, 58 alciphron, (Heodes), 25 alcon, (Maculinea), 26 alcyone, (Hipparchia), 25, 58 alexis, (Glaucopsyche), 46 allous, (Aricia), 18, 58 alveus, (Pyrgusi, 55 andromedae, (Pyrgus), 58 anuepes (Vanessa), 22 _ iV AES BULLETIN, Vol. 29 OL apollo, (Parnassius), 56 arcania, ( Coenonymphal, 24 argiades, (Everes), 26 argus, (Plebeyus), 20, 55 arion, (Maculinea), 1Z, 20, 23, 46 atalanta, (Vanessa), 7, 22, 67 athalia, (Mellicta), 19, ‘24, 58, 75 aurinia, (Euphydryas), 44, 74 australis, (Colias), 19 bathseba, (Pyronia), 26 bellargus, (Lysandra), 12, 20, 23,55 75 betulae, (Thecla), 11, 38 britomartis, (Melitaea), 20 bryce, { Satyrus) 55 bryoniae, (Pieris }, 55 cacaliae, (Pyrgus), 55 c-album (Polygonia), 44 callidice, (Synchloe), 25, 55 camilla, (Limenitis), 44, 75, 78 cardamines, (Anthocaris), 20, 23, 40, 55 cardui,|(Vanessa), 8, 20, 25, 58 carthami, (Pyrgus), 22, 58 cassioides, (Erebia), 46 charlotta, (Mesoacidalia), 46 chiron, (Eumedonia), 57 cinxia, (Melitaea), 55 coridon, {Lysandra), 12, 26, 58 crataegi, (Aporia), 58, 74 cydippe, (Fabriciana), 26 cynthia, (Euphydryas), 55 damon, (Agrodiaetus), 55 daphne, (Brenthis), 24 debilis, (Euphydrvas), 18, 55 dejone,; (Mellicta), 58 diamina, (Melitaea), 20, 25, 55 didyma, (Melitaea), 27, 58 donzelii, (Aricia), 58 dorylas, (Lysandra), 46 epiphron, (Erebia), 15, 24, 46 eros, ( Polyommatus), 55 escheri, (Lysandra), 46 eunomia, (Proclossiana), 19 euphrosyne, (Argynnis), 20, 23, 44, 55, 78 euryale, (Erebia), 23, 55 galathea, (Melanargia), 24, 45, 58 glandon, (Agriades), 23, 55 gorge, (Erebia), 55 gorgone, (Erebia), 24 hippothoe, (Palaechrysophanus), 46 hispania, (Erebia), 23 hyale, (Colias), 25, 58 hylas, (Lysandra), 23 hyperanthus, (Aphantopus), 20, 109 icarus, (Polyommatus), 20 idas, (Lycaeides), 24, 46 ilicis, (Strymon), 24 ino, (Brenthis), 58 io, (Nymphalis), 20, 58, 67 iphis, (Coenonympha), 46 iris, (Apatura), 1, 74, 78 refebvrei, ( Erebia), 23 lineola, (Adopoea), 58 lucina, (Hamearis), 20 /upinus, (Hyponephele), 26 — lycaon, (Hyponephele), 58 machaon, (Papilio), 16, 23, 30, 58, 78, 10& maera, (Pararge), 58 manni, (Pieris), 27 malvoides, (Pyrgus), 58 medusa, (Erebia), 20 megera, (Pararge), 6 melanops, (Glaucopsyche), 23 meolans, (Erebia), 23,55 minimus, (Cupido), 12, 20, 22, 44, 58 mnestra, (Erebia), 55 montanus, (Erebia), 58 morpheus, (Heteropterus), 27 nap, (Pieris), 20, 58 niobe, (Fabriciana), 46 oeme, (Erebia), 18 optilete, (Vacciniina), 46 orbitulus, (Albulina), 46 palaemon, (Carterocephalus), 20 palaeno, (Colias), 46 pales, (Boloria), 46 pamphilus, (Coenonymphal, 18, 58 pandora, (Argynnis), 108 pandrose, (Erebia), 55 paphia, (Argynnis), 44, 78 petropolitana, (Dira), 20 pharte, (Erebia), 46 phicomone, (Colias), 46 Phlaeas, (Lycaena), 20 phoebe, (Melitaea), 58 Phoebus, (Parnassius), 56 pluto, (Erebia), 55 podalirius, (Papilio), 23 polychloros, (Nyiiphetel 74 pruni, (Strymonidia), 11 quercus, (Thecla), 44 rapae, (Pieris), 20, 58 rebeli, (Maculinea), 46 rhamni, (Gonepteryx), 20, 115 ripartil, (Agrodiaetus), 26 rivularis, (Limenitis), 26 roboris, (Laeosopis), 24 rubi, (Callophrys), 44,55 russiae, (Agapetes), 24 satyrion, (Coenonympha), 18, 46 sebrus, (Cupido), 57 semiargus, (Cyaniris), 20, 58 sertorius, (Spialia), 18, 58 simplonia, (Euchloe), 46 sinapis, (Leptidea), 20, 58 spini, (Strymon), 58 tages, (Erynnis), 20, 22, 58 titania, (Clossiana), 58 tithonus, (Pyronia), 16 tityrus, (Heodes), 25, 55 urticae, (Aglais), 20, 25, 58, 67 varia, (Mellicta), 55 venata, (Ochlodes), 20, 58 virgaureae, (Heodes), 46 AES BULLETIN, Vol. 29 — ‘LEPIDOPTERA (MOTHS : ‘Macro’) alcinoé, (Bunaeu), 80 atlas, (Attacus), 76 brassicae, (Mamestra), 38 chi, (Antitype), 38 olathrata, (Chiasama), 112 o-nigrum, (Amathes), 38 comes, (Euschesis), 38 oynthia, (Philosamia), 31 2xclamationis, (Agrotis), 38 ‘errugata, (Xanthorhoe), 111 ‘avago,4(Gortyna), 38. gamma, (Plusia), 38 ylareosa, (Paradiarsia), 38 cterata, (Eupithecia), 111 mpura, (Leucania), 38 psilon, (Agrotis), 38 anthina, (Euschesis), 38 ibatrix, (Scoliopteryx), 38 itura, (Anchoscelis), 38 naura, (Mormo), 112 neticulosa, (Phlogophora), 38 nicacea, (Gortyna), 38 nonoglypha, (Apamea), 38 obsitalis, (Hypena), 100 gubie, (Nudaurelia), 81 verla, (Cryphia), 111 20rphyrea, (Peridroma), 38 arocessionea, {Cnethocampa), 26 sronuba, (Noctua), 38 yumilata, (Gymnoscelis), 111 auta, (Agrotis), 38 yyramidea, (Amphipyra), 38, 112 epandata, (Alcis), 111 ubi, (Diarsia), 38 segetum, (Agrotis), 38 sexstrigata, Vaathes!, 38 spadicearia, {Xanthorhoe), 112 ipuliformis, (Aegeria), 30 ragopoginis, (Amphipyra), 38 ripartita, (Unca), 38 ristellus, (Crambus), 111 vulgata, (Eupithecia), 111 ranthographa, {Amathes), 38 -EPIDOPTERA (MOTHS: ‘Micro’): albifrontella, (Elachista), 4 a/burnella, (Telphusa), 34 amyotella, (Phyllonorycter), 104 argentella, (Elachista), 4 avellanella, (Parornix), 104 betulinella, (Anacampsis), 70 bisulcella, (Elachista), 4. blattariella, (Anacampsis/, 70 carpinicolella, (Phylonorycter), 104 2inereana, (Epinotia), 72 sinereopunctella, (Elachista), 4 Vv coryli, (Phyllonorycter}, 104 cygnipennella, (Elachista), 4 distentella, (Phyllonorycter), 104 floslactella, (Nepticula), 104 forsterana, (Lozotaenia), 36 gangabella, (Elachista), 2 gemmella, (Stenolechia), 70 gibbosella, (Psoricoptera), 72 hortella, ( Crylone yetery 104 insertana, (Zeiraphera), 72 intimella, (Dechtiriaj, 105. Junoniella, (Lithocolletis), 36 literana, (Acleris), 72 maculana, (Epinotia), 72 messaniella, (Phyllonorycter), 102 megerlella, (Elachista), 2 mygindiana, (Olethreutes), 36 myrtillana, (Ancylis), 36 nicellii, (Phyllonorycter), 104 microtheriella, (Nepticula), 104 nisella, (Epinotia), 7 paykulliana, (Epinotia), 72 perplexella, (Elachista), 4 populella, (Anacampsis), 70 quercifoliella, (Phyllonorycter), 102 rhomboidella, (Chelaria), 72 roboris, (Phylonorycter), 104 rufocinerea, (Elachista), 2 salicicolella, (Phyllonorycter), 105 salicis, (Nepticula), 105 scriptella, (Telphusa), 34 solandriana, (Epinotia), 72 spinolella, (Phyllonorycter), 105 subocellea, (Elachista), 2 taeniatella, (Elachista), 2 tenerella, (Phyllonorycter), 104 truncicolella, (Eudonia), 72 unifasciella, (Elachista), 2 ustomaculana, (Rhopobota), 36 vitisella, (Coleophora), 36 vulgella, (Telphusa), 34 weaveri, (Fomoria), 36 zonariella, (Elachista), 4 Referred to by genus only: (Argyresthia), 72 (Phyllonorycter), 72 (Stigmela), 72 ODONATA boltonii, (Cordulegaster), 28 ORTHOPTERA migratoria, (Locusta), 30 i rat OW vi AES BULLETIN, Vol. 29 >LANTS abies, (Picea), 20 #/ectorolphus, (Rhinanthus), 18 apestris, (Dactylorhiza), 18 annua, (Poa), 6 I/folia, (Platanthera), 19 ystorta, (Polygonum), 18 2alceolus, (Cypripedium), 20 erris, (Quercus), 104 >espitosa, (Deschampsia), 2 shamaedrys, (Veronica), 75 sonfluens, (Lecidea), 112 >onopsea, {(Gymnademia), 19 sruciata, (Gentiana), 26 Yemasonium, (Cephalanthera), 21 Jacca, (Carex), 2 uschii, (Dactylorchis), 19 Wlomerulata, (Dactylis), 2 vedraianthifolium, (Phyteuma), 18 nsectifera, (Ophrys), 19 lex, (Quercus), 103 acobaea, (Senecio), 78 2ptoceras, (Pinguicula), 18 utea, (Gentiana), 23 nascula, (Orchis), 19 nonorchis, (Herminium), 19 nontanus, (Lathyrus), 19 nyrtillus, (Vaccinium), 36 ixycantha, (Crataegus), 25 valustre, (Peucedanum), 16 valustris, (Caltha), 18 vetiolata, (Allaria), 41 iratense, (Melampyrum), 19 ratensis, (Cardamine), 41 ratensis, (Salvia), 18 eptans, (Ajuga), 19 pinosa, (Prunus), 11, 39 y/vaticum, ( Brachypodium), 2 Niginosum, (Vaccinium), 46 ‘stalata, (Orchis), 19 ‘triculosa, (Gentiana), 19° erna, ( Gentiana), 19 itis- idaea, (Vaccinium), 36 iviparum, (Polygonum), 18 ulgare, (Foeniculum), 105 ‘eferred to ae genus only: Festuca), 4 Yalcus), 2 : ey i =, oon ~ A . 4 aT hog S 9 es ogee. 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' ‘ Epi } 7 > r y <1" a | r ' a b “4 f i os rl ie Hi , a ; ‘ ~ R ¥ vf n { i ¢ ! al f "ah ; ” | Ww if rn ¥ \ } 2 ’ 7 4 J ‘ 1 “ oP 7 t ‘ EBRUARY, 1970 OF THE AMATEUR -ENTOMOLOGISTS’ SOCIETY World List abbreviation : Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. EDITED by DAVID CORKE, B.Sc., ‘L.I.Biol. CENTIPEDES of the BRITISH ISLES Dr. E. H. Eason This authoritative book will fill a gap in the literature of British Natural History in which there is no work pro- viding a comprehensive guide to the study of centipedes. Although the book is intended for the identification of species, details are given on structure, life-history and an account of the natural history of the group as a_ whole. Nearly 500 line drawings; four pages of half-tones; four- colour frontispiece. 63s. net. Warne 1-4 Bedford Ct., London, W.C.2 AES NOTICE Membership applications and first subscriptions to: Changes of address and non-arrival of Bulletins to: Advertisers and for Prospectus of Society and Application forms to: Offers to lead field meetings, etc. to: Manuscripts, drawings and books for review to: Subscription renewals (25/- per annum, 12/6 under I7 years) to: Youth matters to: Offers of help, queries, etc. to: Annual exhibition matters to: Hon. General Secretary: BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS WORLDWIDE SELECTION OF PAPERED LEPIDOPTERA Price List from:— DOUGLAS E. DODWELL 28 SUMMERLEAZE PARK YEOVIL, SOMERSET — where to write D. Keen, 4 Staffa Road, Loose Court, Maid- stone, Kent. P. Taylor, 18 Old Manor Drive, Isleworth, Middlesex. R. D. Hilliard, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Mid- dlesex. GRimsdyke 0460. R. H. Allen, 26 Burnside Road, Dagenham, Essex. J. Bocock, Biology Dept., Institute of Educa- tion, Malet Street, London, W.C.1. P. R. Grey, Ashleigh, St. George’s Road, Weybridge, Surrey. H. J. Berman, St Ivo School, St Ives, Hunts. G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, North Harrow, Middlesex. ~ P. W. Cribb, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, North Harrow, Middlesex. HYMENOPTERISTS HANDBOOK This volume is a comprehensive guide to collecting, rearing and the study of ants, bees, wasps, sawflies, gall-wasps and parasitic Hymenoptera; including keys to all the British families. Originally published in 1943, it has been unobtainable for many years. To meet the continuing demand a facsimile reprint of the original edition has been prepared; and is available from the AES publications agent. Price 30/- Size Octavo, pp 160 with 2 plates and 183 text figures AES Publications Agent, 137 Gleneldon Road, Streatham, London, S.W.16, England. Do not send remittance with your order as an invoice will be sent with the publications and will include the correct postal charge. ADVERTISING IN THE AES BULLETIN Advertisements in the AES Bulletin are seen by a wide cross section of entomologists and others interested in natural history generally. Subscribers include collectors in many overseas countries as well as foreign libraries and museums. Despite a continued increase in printing costs, we have maintained our advertising rates at the lowest possible level and it is with regret that we decided that a small increase is now essential. As from November 1969 for new advertisers and from February 1970 for current advertisers, the rates will be as follows:— WHOLE PAGE £5 HALF PAGE £3 QUARTER PAGE le SS A discount of 10°/% will be allowed on four, or more, consecutive printings of the same advertisement. Please address all enquiries to the: AES Advertising Secretary, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Middx. ‘THE RAJAHBROOK’ LONDON’S BUTTERFLY CENTRE NOW OPEN JACEYS GALLERIES 523 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.1 (100 yards Marble Arch Station) Lepidopterist gifts and equipment. Large selection of set and papered specimens. Specialist manufacturers of entomological cases and cabinets—made to order and also to customers’ special requirements. The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation A monthly illustrated magazine, founded by J. W. Tutt in 1890, is devoted mainly to the Lepidoptera of the British Isles. It also deals with other orders of insects especially Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Orthop- tera. Its articles include descriptions of new species and varieties, reports on collecting trips, distribution, habits and habitats of insects and of collecting and study techniques suitable for novice and expert. It circulates in 47 countries. Annual subscription - 35s. post free Write for specimen copy to F. W. Byers, 59, Gurney Court Road, St. Albans, Herts., enclosing 5/-. This amount will be taken into account in the first year’s subscription. 4 AES No. 286 BULLETIN FEBRUARY, 1970 EDITORIAL Firstly, | must apologise to members for the delay to the previous issue of the Bulletin. Although some delay was anticipated in the editorial of the August issue an illness following my return from Africa extended this delay to two months and also meant that some of the regular Bulletin features were not included. So many members wrote to various officers of the Society, to enquire about the delay, that it was impossible to answer all of the letters; for which we also offer our apologies. Enclosed with this Bulletin is an appeal concerning a fine area of woodland in Sussex. This area is very important entomologically being one of the few remaining haunts of the Purple Emperor (Apatura iris Linn.). | am sure that even members who live far from Sussex will wish to contribute towards the cost of making this area a nature reserve. This is the last Bulletin that I shall be editing—like my predecessor. Mr Danks, editing must give way to the demands of thesis preparation. Mr John Bocock has kindly agreed to become the new Bulletin editor, his address appears in the “‘where to write’ panel. Members can greatly simplify the new editor’s difficult task of producing his first few Bulletins by submitting plenty of copy and by following as closely as possible the guidance for authors which appears ai the end of this issue. I have enjoyed my short spell as the editor and would like to thank all the Council members, the Bulletin contributors and the printer, all of whose help and encouragement made my task a pleasant one. David Corke (2962) COLLECTING NOTES—FEBRUARY 1976 The Smaller Moths This article is devoted to the Elachistidae, which are suitable for the February issue since the larvae of many of them feed in the early months of the year. Mr Bradford has drawn two species by way of Front cover illustration: Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni Linn.) among ivy leaves; drawn by Mr D. P. Golding. 2 FEBRUARY, 1970 illustration, but, as I have bred them while he has not, he has left the notes to me on this occasion. Before we come to the moths themselves, a few general notes on how their larvae feed and how to look after them in captivity may be helpful. They mine the leaves of grasses or sedges and, unlike other leaf-miners such as Lithocolletidae and Nepticulidae, they are generally prepared to change to a fresh blade when their foodplant begins to wither. So the best way to breed them is to keep them supplied with fresh food regularly; if, however, the appropriate grass is not readily available, the plant on which they are feeding should be dug up and replanted in a flower-pot or broken off as low down as possible and thrust into wet sand. This is preferable to keeping it in water since, even if the mouth of the water bottle is plugged with cotton-wool, the larvae still manage to get through and drown themselves. When looking for larvae, it is a good idea to run the mines which you find very lightly between your finger and thumb, and you will feel if the larva is still there. This speeds up the search and makes it possible, in a good area, to locate up to a hundred mines comprising several species in an afternoon. Parasitisation may be as high as eighty per cent, so you will be well advised to take plenty. When full-fed, the larvae pupate either on a blade of grases or on rubbish; they do not make a cocoon but spin a girdle of silk round their “‘waists’’ and lie fully exposed like many species of butterfly. Many entomologists, like me, are not good at the identification of grasses: this is a handicap, but it is also a challenge. A helpful botanist is better than a handbook. If you propose to look for the species referred to below, you should learn to recognise Glaucous Sedge (Carex flacca Schreb.) and the following grasses: Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata Linn.), Soft Grass (Holcus spp.), Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa Linn.) and Wood False-brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum Huds). At any time during winter you may look for Elachista gangabella Zell. on Brachypodium. (This is the species described as EF. taeniatella Staint. by Meyrick and Ford: their gangabella is apparently E. unifas- ciella Haw.). The larvae make conspicuous white mines in the autumn and overwinter in them. Then, about the end of April, they leave the mine and pupate on rubbish. If you put the mines in a linen bag or a nylon stocking and hang it outside, or even throw it on the ground, the larvae will come through all right. When you bring them indoors in the spring, tie the nylon cover of their new container on tightly. for the same wedge-shaped head which helps them to mine grass will help them to escape—lI speak from experience. Two other species which | bred from Brachypodium last year were FE. megerleila Staint., whose larva feeds at the end of March and in April, and F. swbocellea Steph. which occurs a little later. One of the earliest species in the year is the abundant -. rufocinerea Haw.. which is the subject of Mr Bradford’s first illustration. The larva AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 E.S.BRADFORD Elachista rufocinerea Haw. ree. LZ ZZ Li fa ij ii ine i Z mee ce | ve = i £.5. BRADFORD. Elachista albifrontella Hiibn. is to be found in February and March feeding on blades of Holcus. It is best to look for it (and this goes for most other members of the genus) on grasses growing under the shelter of hedges or bushes or at the fringe of a wood. Not only is the larva to be found in this quarter of the year, but the moth too, for it is well out by mid-April, and is sometimes found abundantly if you hit the correct time of flight in the evening. If you 4 FEBRUARY, 1970 are an early riser, you can try for them at dawn too; I have been told that this is the best time to see many species of this group on the wing. Mr Bradford’s second drawing is of the pretty FE. albifrontella Hubn., another widely distributed species and one which will almost certainly be bred by anyone who hunts for Elachista mines in the spring. It is most commonly to be found on Dactylis, but its other food- plants include Deschampsia and Holcus. Many of the mines on Dactylis will house FE. argentella Clerck (cygnipennella Hiibn.) which may be found in situations ranging from downlands to salterns. It mines other grasses too, and in the case of one of these, Festuca (grass not included in your ““homework’’), the blade is so thin and the larva so fat that the bulge looks like a goat in the tummy of a boa constrictor, or the Guinness bottle down the ostrich’s throat. Ford says that the larvae pupate on rubbish on the ground, but a batch I bred last year on potted plants showed a preference for dead stalks with which their colour harmonised so as to give them excellent conceaiment. More conspicuous are the pupae of FE. cinereopunctella Haw. which are to be found at the base of the Carex flacca leaves which they mine downwards from the tip. The red-spotted larva shows up well when the blade is held up to the light, and the pupa is coloured similarly. I suspect that this larva is averse to changing leaves, but as I have always potted the sedges on which I found them I have not put the matter to the test. The larvae may be looked for on downland in open as well as sheltered situations; mid-March is the time to look for the larvae, mid-April for the pupae and my earliest date for the moths is the end of that month. Deschampsia (the Aira of our entomological text books) is easy to recognise and rewarding to the Elachista-hunter. It is the food-plant of several species, two of which I find commonly. The first is E. per- plexella Staint., whose yellow larvae make broad mines, nearly always working downwards from the tip of the blade. April is the month for them. The other species may also be found near the end of that month making a narrow gallery near the tip which slightly puckers the leaf. This is FE. bisulcella Dup. (zonariella Tengst.). It feeds very slowly, but eventually debouches into a broader, flatter mine. Because of this slow growth, and because Deschampsia is a difficult grass to keep (the blades may be up to two feet long}, the larvae may be marked down early in the spring but should not be collected until they are nearly full-grown in June. It is easy to distinguish the larva from that of perplexella because it is whiter and has a conspicuous black plate on the first thoracic segment. I find the larva of one of these two species in late winter when, still minute, it is hibernating in a mine it has worked upwards along one of the ribs of the grass blade. When it starts feeding again it evidently abandons the old leaf for one which is young and tender. | would be interested to know which one it is; as the dark thoracic plate is not visible it may be perplexella. A. M. Emmet (1379) AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 5 REFERENCES BRADLEY, J. D. (1963). A Review of the Nomenclature of certain species in the Genus Elachista, Ent. Gaz. 14: 150. Forpb, L. T. (1949). A Guide to the Smaller Lepidoptera, South London Ent. and Nat. Hist. Soc., Lond. Meyrick, E. (1928). Revised Handbook of the British Lepidoptera, Watkins and Doncaster (reprinted 1967 Classey). CORRIGENDUM. Vol. 28: 106. The caption to the first of the two moths should tread Mniophaga affinis Haw. The Diptera: Syrphidae It is possible to find Syrphids at any time of the year, because some species, notably members of the genus Fristalis, are known to hibernate in human dwelling-places. Collecting really starts at the end of March and in April, when such species as Eristalis tenax (Linn.) and EF. pertinax (Scopoli) and Cheilosia albipila (Meigen) and C. grossa (Fallen) will be found in woodlands, and a few early species of Platychirus may be captured near streams and in water meadows. Towards the end of April and in early May, things really get going, with the apperance of more members of the genera Cheilosia and Eristalis. More Platychirus appear, and Helo- philus pendulus (Linn.) and other members of this genus are quite common, especially near damp ground. At this time of the year, and indeed at any time between April and October, Rhingia campestris (Meigen) will be found in a wide variety of habitats. Also abundant from April onwards are members of the genus Syrphus, especially S. ribesii (Linn.) and S. vitripennis (Meigen). Ferdinandea cuprea (Scopoli) is quite common at this time of year. Other species which put in an appearnce in April or May include Leucozona lucorum (Linn.), the Melanostomas, Merodon equestris (Fabricius) and all its varieties, and the Neoascias. Criorhina floccosa (Meigen) may be found from April onwards. Xanthogramma citrofas- ciatum (Degeer) and X. pedisequum (Harris) first appear in May, and the former will not usually be found after June. Xylota lenta (Meigen) is only about in May, June and July. Some of the Cheilosias and some of the Platychirus and Helophilus species tend to disappear after about June. Several of the smaller species seem less abundant later in the year, but this may be due to the presence of larger species, which tend to catch one’s eye more, and also the thicker foliage which tends to hide smaller insects. In March and April a stroll with a net on a sunny afternoon will often yield several of the early species in woodlands or meadows. At this time of the year an organised collecting trip would probably be a disappointment, however. In May and June, collecting can start in earnest; in fact, it must if some of the species mentioned above are going to be caught at all. 27.12.1969 Alan J. Brown (3854) 6 FEBRUARY, 1970 BREEDING THE WALL BUTTERFLY (PARARGE MEGERA Linn.) In my experience this is a very easy species to rear and breed, and an excellent one for the beginner to experiment with. In the southern half of England it is still quite common and easy to obtain, and since the larvae feed on grass, there are no problems of maintaining the food- plant. For a few miles of its length the M4 motorway runs through Buckinghamshire, and the south-facing slopes of embankments carrying minor roads over the motorway are potentially magnificent habitats for wild life. Unfortunately, these are sprayed annually with weed-killer which destroys many wild flowers and adds the sickly smell of chemicals to the pungent odour of diesel fumes. Few butterflies survive, but one which does, and seems to thrive, is the Wall. On August 15th 1966, I collected on such an embankment near Slough a female with a good cloudin: of dark scales in the orange band across the forewings. This form approaches, but does not quite reach, the variety fasciata. Some people are methodical, but I am not. so I had to improvise a breeding cage. A 15in. x 12in. offcut of five-ply served as a base and four 12in. pieces of in. dowel were screwed on to the corners. A piece of old curtain net was thrown over this rude frame and tacked from below with drawing pins. I stole the dog’s tin platter. went into the garden, and pulled up three or four clumps of Annual Meadow Grass (Poa annua Linn.)—a weed which grows in abundance in my ill-kept garden. The grass was washed very thoroughly. placed in water on the platter and thrust, with butterfly, into the cage. Plenty of sunshine and frequent sprinkling of the netting with sugar solution. and watering of the grass, were all that was needed, and the butterfly laid numerous eggs. She was released a few days later in the spot where she had been captured. The only attention the resulting caterpillars received was the addition of more clumps of grass as they exhausted the old. As they reached full growth in February and March of 1967 this became fre- quently necessary, an excellent example of killing two birds with one stone, for in feeding the livestock I was weeding the garden! In March the first caterpillars began to pupate among the grasses, and these were removed by snipping off the grass with scissors and placing the pupae in plastic boxes. The first butterflies emerged on 30th April and by 12th May all had hatched. Some of the females resembled the original parent and some were normal. All the males were normal in appearance. Three males and three of the darkest females were placed in the original cage. and on 6th May one pairing was observed. It was possible to recognise the paired female by a tear in the wing, and after the pair had separated. all other butterflies were removed from the cage. On the following day the paired female laid several ova on grass, and when about thirty eggs had been laid she was released. Aes BULEBETIN, VOL. 29 7 As an additional experiment an attempt was made to obtain a hybrid between the Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria Linn.) and the Wall. Several male Speckled Woods were collected and placed in a cage with freshly emerged female Wall Browns. No pairings were observed and, although a few eggs were laid, these proved infertile. The stock of Wall Browns was reared in the same makeshift cage as was used for the previous generation, and the first butterfly emerged on 5th July. All the females had some clouding of the orange band on the forewing and a few were full fasciata. The males were normal. Several of the best specimens were kept for the collection and the rest of the stock was released. There is no doubt that this species could be bred in captivity for many generations, without difficulty. a procedure I have adopted from time to time with the Speckled Wood butterfly. By selective breeding and by subjecting the pupae to very warm conditions some interesting varieties could be obtained. I feel, too, that an attempt at hybridisation of the Wall and Speckled Wood would be an experiment worth repeat- ing. By in-breeding for several generations both species simultaneously one would select a strain of each species which pairs readily in captivity. It is possible to discriminate the sexes of the pupae by their shapes. After several generations one could place male Speckled Wood pupae and female Wall pupae in one cage and female Speckled Wood pupae and male Wall pupae in another cage. If the two cages were placed side by side, I have little doubt that the emerging butterflies would attempt to interbreed. Alternatively, hand-pairing could be tried. It needs someone more persistent and methodical than myself to do this, but I would commend it as an experiment to someone with the time and inclination. It is the kind of long-term project which, carefully docu- mented, would be of great value to any sixteen-year-old intending to enter later a university biological department. Even if the attempt at hybridisation failed, a full description with an analysis of reasons for success or failure, would be worth submitting to an editor for publi- cation, and, if accepted, would be valuable experience and evidence of one’s interests, when the rat-race of university entrance applications comes round. T. S. Robertson (2417) REARING THE RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY (VANESSA ATALANTA Linn. ) Ten years of my life were spent as a school teacher. They were ten years of mixed enjoyment and purgatory. On a day in May, 1961 at Harrow in Middlesex everything was wrong. The sixth-formers had stolen the stock bottle of iodine (for the illicit synthesis of explosives) and I could not therefore conduct my intended demonstration of starch- production by plants. I resented the whole process of casting my 8 FEBRUARY, 1970 educational pearls before swine and, against all regulations, I shut my class in the laboratory and took a short walk outside in the sunshine. I rounded the corner of the building in time to see a Red Admiral drop down out of the sky, settle briefly on a patch of nettles and fly off again. I was able to mark with my eye the spot where she had landed, wade into the nettles and pick off the leaf on which she had deposited an egg. The leaf was placed in a 3in. x lin. corked glass specimen tube and this rested on my school table, among the chalk-dust and chemicals, for the next few weeks. I was able to observe the growth and development of this specimen through to the pupa stage. The pupa was then placed in a larger box, for the adult to emerge in due course. It is with very simple equipment that some rearing can be done and, for the odd single specimen such as this, very little attention is necessary. It does require a lot of luck to see a species such as this lay an egg but, on the other hand, there are seasons when the larvae can be fairly readily found. This year (1969) has been one such season and on 12th September I explored a grassy bank with patches of nettles near the town centre of Maidenhead in Berkshire. Looking across each patch of nettles, it was possible to detect several curled-over leaves, each the hiding-place of a caterpillar of the Red Admiral. I collected a few and reared them to maturity in a plastic box. They emerged as butterflies between 3rd and 13th October and I was able to release them in my garden to join the other Vanessid butterflies which were still around the Michaelmas Daisies. Looking back through old diaries, I find that I first reared this species from the larva in 1947, when I found larvae on June ilth and 18th at Medmenham in Buckinghamshire and again on 3rd September at Market Harborough in Leicestershire. In July 1949 I was on the Island of Eigg in the Hebrides and found one larva on nettle on 25th of that month. My next record was of finding a pupa on a wall in Dalkeith, Midlothian on 7th August 1950. All of these records were of fairly casual observations, with no very great effort to search for the species. I have little doubt that in most years one could find larvae fairly easily by searching patches of nettles on warm sunny banks in late August and September. In some years, too, when there has been a good early summer immigration, one could have some success in finding larvae in June and July. I have had no difficulty in rearing these collected specimens, but my friend Vernon Shearer recorded parasites emerging instead of butterflies (1961). He also tells me that this year, in collecting Red Admiral larvae on nettles on Dartmoor, he found also the Painted Lady (Pyrameis cardui Linn.) The most frequent larval food-plants for this species are various species of thistle, so one could regard it as a Ye pers se a possible extra bonus! T. S. Robertson (2417) REFERENCE SmitH, A. and SHEARER, V. (1961). Butterflies. Puffin Picture Books No. 115, Penguin Books Ltd., Harmondsworth. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 9 JOINT COMMITTEE FOR THE CONSERVATION OF BRITISH INSECTS The Royal Entomological Society called a meeting on 21st June 1968 to set up an independent, broadly based committee for the conservation (Insect Protection) Committee and the Entomological Liaison Committee of the Nature Conservancy. At its first meeting, on Ist November 1968, the scope and representation of the new committee was widened so that it now consists of representatives of the Royal Entomological Society, British Trust for Entomology, British Entomo- logical and Natural History Society, Amateur Entomologists’ Society, British Butterfly Conservation Society, a representative of the Keeper of Entomology (British Museum, Natural History) and regional repre- sentatives. The Forestry Commission sends an observer, and the Nature Conservancy and Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves are also represented. Mr N. D. Riley, C.B.E., has accepted the chairmanship of the Committee. The Committee’s terms of reference are: 1. To prepare a register of species requiring conservation and to investigate their status. 2. To consider what form of conservation (if any) would be the most suitable in any given case. 3. To act as a forum for the consideration of any matters relevant to items 1. and 2. above. 4. To initiate and promote any action that appears necessary for the purpose of securing the conservation of threatened species or habitats, including the promotion of legislation. 5. To act in liaison with the Nature Conservancy, the Conserva- tion Committee for the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves and other appropriate bodies in all matters concern- ing the conservations of British insects and their habitats. Populations of insects are threatened by many factors in our modern industrialised society. These threats may be summarised as: 1. Destruction of habitat. This is an important factor which is under the control of man. It has been estimated that between 1951 and 1971 750,000 acres of agricultural land will have been taken for building in England and Wales. 2. Changes in land use. Forestry, when it concenirates on the pro- duction of conifers, is particularly harmful to insect populations, and so are many aspects of agricultural improvement, such as the destruction of hedgerows, ploughing-up of old pasture and the draining of fens and marshes. Neglect or abandonment of former management practices, such as the coppicing of woodland and grazing of chalk grassland has an adverse effect on populations of some species. Public pressure on the countryside for recreation also affects populations of insects, and this is _ likely to increase considerably in the future. It is particularly important to manage wisely those areas of country- 10 FEBRUARY, 1970 side which have not been changed greatly for the conservation of insects and other forms of wild life, so that they can be properly enjoyed by all. 3. Toxic chemicals and pollution. Pesticides (including herbicides) undoubtedly affect many insects adversely. The threats to wild life posed by the use of pesticides are sufficiently serious for a government com- mittee to be considering the restriction of use of certain especially persistent substances which can contaminate the environment well away from the point of application. The chemical pollution and heating of rivers, streams, lakes and ponds frequently kill aquatic insects on a large scale. Atmospheric pollution from industrial sources may destroy the food or habitat of insect species unable to adapt quickly to change. It is the task of the new Joint Committee to advise and co-operate with the conservation movement as a whole in finding solutions to these problems. Particular attention will be given to species of national rarity and those in special need of conservation. The problem of overcollecting is also one which causes the Com- mittee serious concern. Entomologists of all lands are being brought into disrepute by the actions of a number of collectors, mainly lepidop- terists, who are plundering rare and local insects without regard to the need to conserve our insect fauna. Both Trusts for Nature Conservation and members of natural history societies who wish to protect colonies of rare and local species have expressed their disapproval of such activities in strong terms. Certain species inhabiting well-known areas, which attract both local entomologists and those from other regions. either on holiday or on a special trip, are subject to a disproportionate amount of collecting which cannot be tolerated if the colonies are to survive. There is little doubt that if the activities of these entomologists continue in this way the goodwill of the Country Trusts for Nature Conservation, other organisations in the countryside, and those interested in other branches of natural history, will be alienated, and such good- will as at present exists will not be extended to entomologists in general. The committee urges all entomologists, of whatever depth of interest, to: (a) give serious thought to their collecting requirements and the need to conserve our more local species, (b) encourage fellow entomologists to do likewise, (c) and, in the case of butterflies, to pursue their interests in all stages of the insects with the aid of photography whenever possible. All entomologists are invited to bring matters of conservation interest to the attention of the Committee. For further information contact: Dr M. G. Morris (Hon. Sec. Joint Committee for the Conser- vation of British Insects), 41 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington. London, S.W.7. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 i] THE CONSERVATION OF BLACK AND BROWN HAIRSTREAKS The Black Hairstreak (Strymonidia pruni Linn.) and the Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae Linn.) are both very local woodland butter- flies, although their foodplant. blackthorn. is widespread and common. S. pruni is known only in a few Midlands woods whilst T. betulae is found very locally over a large area of the southern half of Britain and Ireland. The widespread destruction of woodland habitats throughout Great Britain endangers both species with extinction, and their most hopeful prospect of survival in our fauna is probably on Nature Reserves. There are three supporting S. pruni already and several with T. betulae. Most reserves require careful management to maintain suitable con- ditions for such species of special interest on them, and many of us are concerned at our lack of knowledge about the factors regulating the distribution and numbers of these butterflies. Oice this problem has been solved it should be possible to maintain some sites under optimum conditions to ensure the survival of large and healthy popu- lations of S. pruni and T. betulae on a few Reserves although they are disappearing from many former localities. To this end I have been awarded a three year National Environment Research Council grant to investigate the problem at Monks Wood Experimental Station. Blackie briefly examined the case of S. pruni in 1957. He con- sidered its range to be delimited by the need for ancient forests on boulder clay of altitude below 400 ft. These must contain large quan- tities of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa Linn.), have an annual rainfall of around twenty-six inches to thirty inches. and an average mean tem- perature of about 48°F. My preliminary investigations largely concur with his conclusions, although any clays. not necessarily boulder clay. will suffice. In addition cold dry winters and warm sunny summers seem more important than the average annual temperature. and the Blackthorn must be mature and relatively sheltered from gales. The range of 7. betulae suggests the need for a long term summer for its lengthy period of growth and maturation. As yet there is insufficient data to explain why both insects are so scarce and restricted within their overall ranges; S$. pruni for example. occurs only in limited areas within the few woods it inhabits. The success of this research project requires the help of fellow entomologists, and already many have been extremely co-operative. I would greatly appreciate it if entomologists familiar with either insect in Great Britain or abroad. would contact me. Not only is it important to establish where the butterflies occur and where they do not, but also to discover any fluctuations in their status over the years, and all aspects of their Natural History that have been recorded. Disclosures of new localities would be treated with strict confidence should this be requested. In addition experiments to test theories require specimens of all stages of both insects. and should anyone 12 FEBRUARY, 1970 have live British specimens of other species, I wouid be extremely grateful to receive any surplus stock he could spare. Finally, this programme requires the intensive study of popula- tions of both species in Monks Wood Reserve, which includes popu- lation counts using marked individuals. Such studies need completely undisturbed colonies and the collecting of S. pruni and T. betulae is not being permitted in this wood over this period. It is hoped that disappointed collectors will appreciate the need for such an action until more is known about both species, and until a conservation programme is planned ensuring large populations of both butterflies in the Reserves they inhabit. J. A. Thomas Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Hunts. REFERENCES BLACKIE, J. E. H. (1950). Entomologist, 83: 246-8. BLACKIE, J. E. H. (1952). Entomologist, 85: 93-4. BLUE BUTTERFLIES IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE The Gloucestershire Trust for Nature Conservation is now under- taking a survey of the breeding sites of certain Blue butterflies in Gloucestershire. The butterflies involved are: Large Blue (Maculinea arion Linn.), Chalk Hill Blue (Lysandra coridon Poda), Adonis Blue (Lysandra_ bellargus Rottemburg) and Small Blue (Cupido minimus Fuessly). It is hoped that it will be possible to classify the breeding sites according to their breeding potential, so that a sound programme of conservation can be planned. These butterflies are a characteristic feature of the Cotswold grasslands and the Trust considers them to be an ideal group for conservation. The Trust would therefore be grateful to receive any information on the locality and status of past or present breeding sites of these butterflies in Gloucestershire. All information received will be treated as confidential. Information should be sent to John Muggleton, Department of Botany, The University, BRISTOL. BS8 1UG. 2.10.69 John Muggleton (3253) NATURE CONSERVANCY IN BULGARIA Some of our members who were in London during August may have been privileged to visit the Exhibition of Nature Conservancy Se AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 13 in Bulgaria, staged at the Royal Exchange. I feel certain that they were impressed at the enthusiasm and effective action being undertaken. Bulgaria is a relatively small country, a little over 100,000 square kilometres in area and a population of some 8,000,000. Occupying the the eastern half of the Balkan Peninsula, it borders the Black Sea on the east, the River Danube to the north. Yugoslavia to the west and Greece and Turkey southwards. The relief is varied with Alpine peaks, fertile plains and a third of the country forested. With these contrasting features and temperate continental climate. it is rich in natural life and scenic beauty. Only liberated from the Turkish yoke in 1878 after five centuries as a backward agrarian community. an appreciation of nature has always been a national theme. In common with most advancing nations. the onset of industry with air and water pollution, the demand for land and the more effective agricultural methods are seriously affecting the countryside. During the years following the liberation. a flow of laws were passed protecting the forests and wild life and the Society for the Protection of Wildlife was formed in 1928. In 1933 the first National Park was opened and the first Nature Conservancy Act passed. Sub- sequent Acts followed with the comprehensive legislation in 1967. Responsibility is vested in the Ministry of Forestry who work through the County Associations and the numerous voluntary bodies. Of these, the “‘green patrols” recruited from schools and local clubs, carry out a large proportion of the field work. Laws without active support are ineffective but a list of this small and far from wealthy country’s current measures is impressive. 55 Nature Reserves, five National Parks, full protection for twenty-five rock formations, twenty-nine caves, eight oakwoods, over 400 individual trees, 370 historic places, 60 species of plants and 360 species of animals including fourteen beetles and butterflies. Penalties for breaking the conservancy laws are extremely severe by British standards but the spirit of the Law is expressed in the opening sentence of the Act, ‘““Nature conservancy is a national task”’. R. D. Hilliard (99) NOTES ON THE BEETLES OF SPEYSIDE In June 1969 I again visited Speyside Inverness-shire and spent a considerable time looking for beetles. The areas covered were Feshie Bridge, Loch Garten and Loch an Eilean, ie. the same as in my previous visits reported in the Bulletin. The weather was hot and sunny, being much warmer and drier than on any of my previous Visits. 14 FEBRUARY, 1970 Two local species were recorded that J had not previously found in the area. These were Corymbites cupreus Fab. including several var. aeruginosus Fab., which were found near Loch Garien on 8th June and a few Pissodes notatus Fab. also at Loch Garten on 11th June. The Timberman beetle Acanthocinus aedilis Linn. was found quite commonly, sixteen specimens (twelve males) being noted in six days. On the 8th July near Loch Garten two maies and a female A. aedilis were found on the same log. The males appeared to be fighting and were making loud clicking noises. They were “‘rearing up” and stretching their forelegs and gripping each others’ antennae in their mandibles. This probably explains the fact that many of the males found had damaged antennae. The other species of longhorn recorded were Rhagium indagator Fab., again being the most numerous of its genus, several specimens being found near Loch Garten and a single specimen of R. bifasciatum which was seen in flight at Loch an Eilean on 12th July. Asemum stratum Lin. was also found on several occasions at Feshie Bridge and Loch Garten. Thanasimus formicarius Linn. was quite common in several locali- ties, up to fifty individuals being found in one day. _ The status of this species in the Loch Garten-Nethybridge area seems to have changed considerably since G. H. Ash wrote in the Entomologists Monthly Magazine in 1952 that “Curiously enough T. rufipes was the dominant form in this locality and plentiful, while T. formicarius was rarely found’’. Of the hundred or so Thanasimus specimens I found all were formicarius. The many examples of T. formicarius found varied considerably in size. The red colour of the head and thorax also varied in intensity with different individuals. A habit of the species was to “‘fall off’ logs when approached. It was not necessary to touch the beetle or the log, a close approach being sufficient to cause the insect to drop to the ground. The warm weather was very suitable for Tiger Beetles, Cicindela campestris Linn. and hundreds were seen especially around Loch an Eilean. Other common beetles found included the two weevils Hylobius abietis Linn. and Pissodes pini Linn. both being very numerous on every pile of cut timber. I would like to thank my wife Hazel for helping with the search for specimens. 10.12.69 J. K. Smith (3795) REFERENCES Asu. G. H. (1952). Coleoptera of Nethy Bridge Inverness-shire. Ent. Mon. Mag 88: 165. SmitH, J. K. (1966). Records of some local Scottish beetles. Bull. amat. Ent. Soc 253" 145% SmiTH, J. K. (1969). Beetles of Speyside. Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 28: 27-9. RES GUEPETIN;, VOL. 29 15 MONOCHAMUS SUTOR (Linn.) FROM TEESSIDE Mr I. Lawson recently gave me a Cerambycid beetle which he had found alive in a woodyard at Norton, Stockton-on-Tees. The insect was a perfect specimen of Monochamus surtor (Linn.), a species not indigenous to Britain but occurring in Germany, Sweden and the U.S.S.R. The timber in the yard at the time was from Yugoslavia and the tUS.5.R: I have found one previous record for this species in Teesside. A specimen in poor condition, in the Dorman Museum Middlesbrough was collected in 1909 at Middlesbrough Docks. This specimen was originally labelled Saperda carcharias (Linn.)! J. K. Smith (3795) A SCOTTISH SORTIE Following my little write-up in the Bulletin on the Small Mountain Ringlet, Erebia epiphron Knoch., of Mid-Perthshire and the newly described form, thomsoni Cribb, I decided to make the journey to the area in July 1969 to observe the butterfly in its habitat and try to assess the incidence of the form in the population. I and my wife, together with our camping equipment, set off along that very long road, the Al, for Scotland. We spent a night at York with relatives and then took the road to Jedburgh and Edinburgh. We had left London in blazing sunshine but met our first cloud as we entered Scotland. Northwards appeared great banks of cloud but it was not yet raining. Our second night was spent in a field near Kinross; the wind was cold and we experienced our first genuine “‘scotch mist”. However the following morning was bright although cloud hung over the mountains By mid-morning we had reached the target area and parked the car by the roadside above the pitch black Loch. The mountains on the far side of the Loch were shrouded in drifting cloud but our own slopes were still in the sunshine as we climbed up the track to the first suitable resting place. My wife stopped here to enjoy the view and the few mountain flowers while I climbed higher. The whole slopes were covered with damp boggy areas thick with sphagnum moss and cotton grasses and I soon put up my first “‘epiphron’’, a fresh male. The sun became very fitful, covered by low drifting cloud, and it was only when it appeared from behind this screen that the butter- flies flew. By hard work I eventually managed to net ten specimens in all, all males, and of these three were of the form “‘thomsoni’’. It then started to rain with a fine drizzle, so returning to the car we cooked a mid-day meal of sausages and hoped that the weather would clear. After the meal it cleared slightly and I set off up the 16 FEBRUARY, 1970 slopes again, this time above the hydro-electric barrage formed lake. I disturbed two black grouse in one hollow, the first I had ever seen, and higher up the slope came across a pair of ravens but the rain started again and now became a downpour. Camping here seemed out of the question so we decided to drive south in search of better conditions. We were passing on our route through Dunblane and made a brief visit to George Thomson’s home where we enjoyed a hospitable cup of tea and a chat before pressing on towards Stirling. The rain was becoming very heavy so we sought “‘bed and breakfast” south of Stirling and were glad to get out of the rain. On the following day as the weather looked to be clearing to the South we drove on towards the Lake District; our goal being the Langdale Pikes. On the way we stopped for lunch and while washing my hands in a roadside brook I noticed trout rising. I had my fly rod with me and we had six trout between us for supper that evening, camping in the N.T. Camping site at the foot of the Great Pike. During the night a gale blew and the dawn produced torrential rain while the mountains were again wreathed in mist and cioud. We waited until mid-day but on hearing the weather forecast from the local farm we decided to make our way homewards. The rain followed us all the way across the Yorkshire Dales until we reached Wensley- dale where we came out into blazing sunshine. The lady in the Cheese shop informed us that “it had been like this for two weeks” — even in the best of Southern summers it seems that Scotland and the Lakes are still doubtful propositions. I was left wondering how the butterflies get a chance to mate and lay their eggs in the “bad” years. We crossed the bulb fields of Lincolnshire and spent the night camped outside Kings Lynn like gypsies in the hedgerow. Gatekeepers. Pyronia tithonus Linn., were common around the tent next morning as we cooked breakfast in the early morning sunshine which was already hot. Our journey then took us skirting along the north Norfolk coast via Cromer (shades of Brighton) and then down to the Broads for a brief look at the Swallowtail, Papilio machaon Linn.. now in the larval stage. We parked near one of the large Broads and I told my wife I would be about an hour. | intended to photograph larvae in their natural surroundings as well as some of the interesting flowers to be found in the reed beds. I took a path cut out by the reed cutters into the vast area of reeds edging the Broad and then left the path to push in among the reeds and sallow carr which rose well above my head. The going is very heavy, for not only is the vegetation very dense but the ground is spongy and crossed by small dykes full of water. The sun was now shrouded in cloud and as I made my way the day became overcast and very close. I photographed the Hog’s Marsh Fennel, Pewcedanum palustre (Linn.), I found the first P. machaon larva, almost full fed. Careful searching produced a dozen or sO more in all stages from being black with the white band round AES BUEEETIN, VOL. 29 17 the middle to fully fed resplendent specimens as large as my little finger. Several of the small ones were feeding on the flower heads but the majority were down on the small side sprays of leaves hidden among the reeds. After nearly an hour wandering around I decided I had better make by way back but suddenly realised I had no idea in which direction I should go. The reeds closed off any sight of landmarks; there were no trees to be seen and without the sun I was unaware of my bearings. I must have wandered much farther than I had thought and | tried to back track through the reeds but soon found that I was going round in circles following the circuitous journey of my entry and passage through the reeds. After about two hours I was beginning to become exhausted and the effort of forcing my way through the reeds and sallow was becoming too much for me. I fell over several times and once into a dyke. Eventually I had to lie down and rest and it was then that I heard a motor boat engine. I fixed its direction and again set off in as straight a line as I could and after about 200 yards nearly fell into the Broad. I then coasted along its edge fighting through brambles and mixed scrub, not sure whether I was heading in the right direction. After about fifteen minutes a sailing boat came in view and I hailed it, asking the way to the nearest village. I was told to keep going in the same direction and some twenty minutes later | came out near the boathouse where the car was parked. My wife was unconcernedly reading while I was completely bedraggled, spattered in marsh mud, _my knees torn and lacerated by the sharp reeds and about in the last stages of exhaustion. When I said I had expected that by now she would have been organising a search party, her reply was ‘‘Well - you always say ‘an hour’ but it is usually three’. The drive home via Norwich and a brief stop at Thetford Chase for a picnic tea settled my jaded nerves and I looked forward to a few days’ rest to recover from our “‘holiday’’. To have taken three of the form ‘“‘thomsoni’’ in ten specimens indicates that the form is well represented in this Mid-Perthshire race but it would need a much longer stay and better conditions to reach any real conclusion. However, I did learn one important thing during the trip—never go collecting in difficult terrain without a compass and something to drink. HehOP L969 PW Cribb:(2270) BUTTERFLIES IN THE NORTHERN TYROL Inspired by Peter Cribb’s articles on butterfly hunting in the Alps, my wife and I decided that a holiday in the Austrian Tyrol might | provide more excitement that the Mediterranean coast or islands. 18 FEBRUARY, 1970 Without any guidance as to a good area and with dates governed by my having to work for a living, we chose the little mountain resort of Lermoos which lies in a valley at 3,000 ft. not far from the Bavarian Border and about 40 kilometres N.W. of Innsbruck. At the end of May I had qualms lest the earlier butterflies should be over and larger ones not yet emerged; with the factor of elevation to consider as well as the time of year we just hoped for the best and persuaded ourselves that butterflies were only the by-product and not the true aim of the holiday. We little imagined how lush would be the Alpine meadows sloping up the mountainsides almost from our doorstep; the mass of wild fiowers and accompanying insect life had to be seen to be believed. Needless to say, the south facing slopes tended to have a different fauna and flora from those facing north. On the south facing side the meadows abounded with yellow vetches and trefoils. cowslips and clovers, an abundance of a local type of Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus alectorolophus Poll.), a tall blue Labiate called Meadow Clary (Salvia pratensis Linn.), a local species of Rampion (Phyteuma hedraianthifolium Schulz), various yellow and golden Compositae, some Campanulaceae, scabiosae, two species of Bistort (Polygonum viviparum and P. bistorta Linn.) and an over-riding white umbel similar to our spring Wild Chervil. In the damp areas where small streams threaded down through the meadows there were plenty of the insct eating Butterwort (Pinguicula leptoceras Reichb.) with their star-like rosettes of leaves and blue flowers, and a lush Alpine marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza alpestris Pugsl.), deep purple in colour with varied lip markings. There were also beds of King Cups (Caltha palustris Linn.) but these had almost finished flowering. The first butterfly we noticed on these slopes was Euphydryas debilis, similar to, but duller in colour than, our Marsh Fritillary (FE. aurinia) and this proved to be the most abundant species although at the end of May, at 3,000 ft. they were beyond their best. Close to these in numbers were the local browns, Erebia oeme oeme and the delightful littke Coenonympha_ satyrion which was ten times more numerous than the Small Heath (C. pamphilus). All were very active in the bright sunshine and were extremely hard to photograph. With the many vetches and trefoils the pressure of large numbers of blues was inevitable. In descending order of numbers we recorded Adonis, Common, Mazarine, Small and Silver-Studded, together with the local species of Brown Argus (Aricia allous). A few dingy skipper and Spialia sertorius (similar to our Grizzled Skipper) were also iden- tified. The best way of studying the various blues was to find a muddy area, such as where a stream crossed a path, around mid-day and there they would be found drinking in large numbers along with a few Erebias. Here they were easy to photograph provided that you didn’t mind muddy Knees! AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 19 Other species on the south facing slopes were Colias australis, which were present in fair numbers and were the only Colias we saw, a small number of a finely marked small fritillary (Proclossiana eunomia) and also some Heath Fritillary (Melitaea athalia) and two other species closely similar. Sprinkled among the many other flowers present on these slopes were the Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorchis fuchsii Druce.) Fragrant Orchid (Gymnademia conopsea Linn.) and two of the smaller gentians (Gentiana verna Linn. and G. utriculosa Linn.). About half a mile north of the village there is a wide rocky watercourse which leads steeply down the mountainside and over the top of the railway tunnel; there is a rough track beside the tumbling stream and a strip of woodland on either side. This provides a different ecology from the open meadows and in this relatively barren area we found Speckled wood, Pearl-Bordered Fritillary, Orange Tip, Wood White and Large Blue. To our surprise the Speckled Wood had the whitish spots similar to the English form instead of the more orange markings generally associated with the warmer European climates. The Pearl-Bordered Fritillary was relatively easy to photograph, flitting among the flowers of Bugle (Ajuga reptans Linn.) just like in England. The Orange Tips were beyond their best and were smaller in size than the English breed despite their damp habitat. The Wood White although apparently weak in flight never seemed to settle and the only one | photographed was busy laying single eggs among a small area of Tuberous Pea (Lathyrus montanus Bernh.) quite close to the stream. Some of the blues and also Colias australis ventured into the area. Some tiny Burnt Tip Orchids (Orchis ustalata Linn.) were growing on the grassy banks lower down towards the railway tunnel; here also we saw a few Painted Lady, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Brim- stone butterflies. On the other side of the valley the north facing slopes had a somewhat different vegetation; instead of shining flat onto the meadows the sun strikes a “glancing blow” onto the hillside. There are also some little streams near the ski-lift which are sheltered by scattered Spruce trees and here we found two species of Trumpet Gentian and a profusion of orchids; the Fly Orchid (Ophrys insectifera Linn.) and Early Purple (Orchis mascula Linn.) were almost over but the Spotted Orchids and Lesser Butterfly (P. bifolia Rich.) were large and fresh. One of the musk orchids (H. monorchis Linn.) was 25cm. in height. In this area we found Cow Wheat (Melampyrum pratense Linn.) growing; this gave good reason for the presence of fair numbers of M. athalia. There were a few Green-veined Whites, including the female form bryoniae, and a few Chequered Skippers. FE. debilis was again abundant but in fresher condition than on the opposite slopes of the valley. Not far south of Lermoos is the Fernpass through which lies the main road to Innsbruck and Imst; there are four lakes in the pass 20 FEBRUARY, 1970 LIST OF BUTTERFLIES IDENTIFIED Parage aegeria Linn (Speckled Wood) Plebejus argus Linn Dira petropolitana Fab. (Silver-studded blue) Erebia oeme oeme Hbn. Aricia allous G.-H. Erebia medusa Schiff Polyommatus icarus Rott. (Ssp. brigobanna) (Common Blue) Coenonympha satyrion Esp. Lysandra bellargus Rott. Coenonympha pamphilus Linn. (Adonis Blue} Aphantopus hyperanthus Linn. Cyaniris semiargus Rott. (Ringlet) (Mazarine Blue) Argynnis euphrosyne Linn. Maculinea arion Linn (Large Blue) (Pearl-bordered Fritillary) Lycaena phlaeas Linn. (Small Copper) Proclossiana eunomia Esp. Pieris rapae Linn. (Small White) Euphydryas debilis Obth. Pieris napi Linn. Melitaea athalia Rott. (Green-veined White) form Celadussa (Heath Fritillary) Anthocharis cardamines Linn. Melitaea britomartis Assm. (Orange Tip) Melitaea diamina Lang. Colias australis Verity Vanessa cardui Linn (Painted Lady) Gonepteryx rhamni Linn. (Brimstone) Aglais urticae Linn Leptidea sinapis Linn. (Wood White) (Small Tortoiseshell) Erynnis tages Linn. (Dingy Skipper) Nymphalis io Linn (Peacock) Spiala sertorius Hffsgg. Hamearis lucina Linn Carterocephalus palaemon Pall. (Duke of Burgundy) (Chequered Skipper) Cupido minimus Fuessly (Small Blue) Ochlodes venata Br. & Grey (Large Skipper) and some magnificent Norway Spruce forest (Picea abies Linn.). A system of footpaths enables one to keep away from the main road and there are many sunny rides where the various woodland species of butterfly previously mentioned were to be found; there was another Erebia there (FE. medusa ssp. brigobanna) and a type of Wall Brown (Dira petropolitana) also a large form of Duke of Burgundy. One of the advantages of Lermoos is the railway which runs from Innsbruck via Garmisch Partenkirchen to Reutte and northwards into Bavaria; the efficient train service facilitates visits to other parts of the valley. At Heiterwang, ten kilometres north of Lermoos there are two lakes round which there are picturesque tracks abounding with butterflies, orchids and gentians. Our choice of holiday resort was purely fortuitous and no doubt other parts of Austria are just as productive of entomological interest. It transpired that the lower meadows have their first hay cut about mid-June but prior to that they were an. incredibly abundant hunting ground. Most members of our Society take a keen secondary interest in the flowers that are so closely allied to the insects which they study so I will mention one more which | had not expected to see and which set my camera clicking madly; this was the Ladies Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium calceolus Linn.) of which we found eleven plants in a AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 21 small area of woodland: two of them had two flowers on the stem which | believe is unusual. The find was made by an old lady whose hill-climbing power was severely restricted and caused her to stop every few yards to recoup her boost, looking around at the flowers while doing so; she described to me “‘this thing with the yellow ball” which (fortunately) was too high up the bank for her to pick! The White Helleborine (Cephalanthera demasonium Druce) was also to be found in the wooded areas. In this short account I may have given the impression that we had perfect weather; this was far from the case but while the sun was shining it was extremely clear and bright and very warm. We did not investigate the higher levels and even in the valleys I am sure I have failed to record many species which sharper eyes than mine would have noticed; I include a list of species, again with thanks to Peter Cribb for much of the positive identification of the photographs and the few specimens which I brought back. Hillside hunting is exhausting for an ancient chap such as myself, and even going across the slopes one might have wished that one leg were longer than the other but at least there was the advantage that I didn’t have to bend down so far to take photographs, the usual snag being that the specimen almost invariably flitted away just as I was getting it into focus. There must be some reason why we do it! P. R. Grey (3820) EXPEDITION TO SPAiIN—continued We left early next morning with the sun already hot. Along the deserted roads we saw many of the large Eyed Lizards sunning in the roadway. They lay with their heads raised in the pathway of the car almost to the last minute and then dashed for cover. Our way back to the Pyrenees lay again through Zaragossa and then taking the right fork to Huesca. We crossed arid plains and occasionally irrigation canals and pipe lines, stopping only to take a drink from our water bottles. By mid-afternoon we reached Sabinanigo in the foothills of the Pyrenees where a new Renault factory has been built. We were able to get petrol here and then climbed up through a winding pass over the mountain to Biescas. The slopes were yellow with Genista and so soft and green looking after the Sierra. Biescas had changed since our last visit when we had driven over a dirt road and a rickety bridge to reach Ordesa. Now the road by-passed the town and a new bridge spanned the River Gallego, though the road to Ordesa had not improved. We got to the village of Torla as the shadows lengthened. It stands above 22 FEBRUARY, 1970 oma FE / et . co~ orem” NV 4 eae aw \ “SLs \ C Sa g x solvent “ NSA N 4, Sees Ges ) re Banos ~ Sn PD de Pastioosas! me : Rt O Gearne ee Fonicoso Nx. pt aa ee OE | Vexeeig daa Ordesa . Mt. ferdido | Re by, xR : ONE : a (3355 ™.) ie 7 fe was ae 7 fuerte eet ee Krage see Torlo. Btescas nee \ 5) t Notina Q | Bo Park of ~ g Ordesa. & ou ° 9 Boltana 0 Toca ae Onceen Fyrences (968 the river at the mouth of the Ordesa Valley and has a farming com- munity with some new development to cope with the visitors coming to the Parc. We decided to stay in the village rather than try the Refuge in the Parc and gct a nice room at Buena Vista Hostel whose cooking was of a much higher standard than that at Albarracin and still very reasonable. After we had a real mountain storm with thunder which lasted most of the night. However the morning broke fine and the sun soon lifted the mists from the valley as we drove up into the Pare and as far as the road ran. The valley of Ordesa is heavily wooded on each side of the road and river which both run at the valley bottom and the trees stretch up almost to the cliffs above. By the road and river are small meadows like alps, full of flowers and insects. The undergrowth and grass were still very wet but already butterflies were on the wing. Along the path we disturbed Vanessa atalanta Linn. and V. antiopa Linn. and in the meadows were Erynnis tages Linn., (the Dingy Skipper) Cupido minimus, and Pyrgus carthami Hbn. Coleridge decided to collect in this area and I took the path going towards the head of the valley. The path wound up through a coniferous forest by a pony track —eSE— ee ee ee ee ee AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 23 which two local mule owners used to take visitors to the Cirque. The Spruce turned to Beech and I went higher and all was so thickly planted that very little sunlight got through. I came out below a huge waterfall, the Cascade de la Cueva, rushing through a gap in the rocks. The path led up the side of the fall and I came out onto a track which allowed the sun to come through and tall yellow Gentiana lutea, orchids and other flowers grew on either side. Here I took my first Erebia, E. euryale Esp., and then several FE. meolans de Prun. Some rubbed specimens of the Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Clossiana euphrosyne Linn., and fresh specimens of the Orange Tip, F. cardamines Linn. drifted along the rides and one Papilio podalirius Linn. sailed down from the trees. This path then climbed up past a series of seven cas- cades to come out into the beginning of the Cirque. This Cirque, the Circo de Soaso, is well worth the long climb. The valley is of velvety grass decked with alpine flowers, Gentians and Edelweiss—the stream runs down the centre and from each side other streams tumble down the rocks and across the grass to join it. This is the home of the high mountain butterflies and skipping over the grass were many Frebia hispania rondoui Obth. In the Cirque were groups of cattle feeding and the cow-pats were a centre of attraction for many butterflies. I netted two Swallowtails, P. machaon Linn., settling on them and there were swarms of Blues feeding too. Among them were Lysandra hylas Esp. (dorylas Schiff.), and Agriades glandon de Prun., a brighter form than those I have taken in the Alps. L. bellargus was also quite common and a few very dark M. arion flew on the slopes. The commonest Skipper was Reverdinus alchymillae Hbn. in perfect condition and I took several Mellicta parthenoides, much larger than those of Albarracin. A surprise capture was the Blue, Glaucopsyche melanops Bdv. as this bright Blue is out in April in the Basses Alpes. One continually finds this with many species—the insect which is an early Spring butterfly in the hot plain can be a Summer one in the high mountains. After a climbing walk of some three hours { reached the Cirque itself—an amphitheatre of green sward ringed on three sides by steep rock with the towering snow capped Monte Perdido as a backcloth. The Ordesa valley is due south of another famous Cirque—that of Gavarnie, the home of Erebia lefebvrei Bdy. I hoped that I might find this butterfly here so found a path leading up beside the cascade which fell into the Cirque and by this reached the scree above. There were a lot of Erebia sp. flying here but it was impossible to chase them. Eventually I did net one or two but found them to be FE. meolans. At this point the sun clouded over from Mt Perdido and rain started to fall. I descended to the Cirque again and found now that all buterflies had disappeared. There was no point in wasting further time in the circumstances so I started back. In the meantime Coleridge had become worried at my long absence, some five hours, and briefed the Spanish policeman in the Parc in case I should have come to some misfortune. I was unwise perhaps to have made the trip alone as a slip on the rock might mean being stranded for some 24 FEBRUARY, 1970 long time. However I eventually reached the small restaurant near the end of the road and we had a coffee with some English visitors Coleridge had met and then returned to the Hostel for the usual evening storm. During the day Coleridge had taken a single specimen of F. gorgone Bdv. Our next trip was back along the road towards Biescas through the tunnel of Puerto de Cotefablo. We stopped just outside the tunnel where we took some fine specimens of Lycaeides idas Linn. also some freshly emerged Coenonympha arcania Linn. and the Fritillary Brenthis daphne Schiff. Everywhere were flying Marbled Whites, A. galathea Linn., several being of the dark form procida Hbst. Among them were also quite a few of our Albarracin friend, A. russiae. It started to rain and we drove via Biescas on the road leading to the French frontier. A new roadway is being constructed here to by-pass the old route over the Col du Portalet and we found the going difficult with construction lorries and bulldozers on the road. Some distance from the frontier village of Sallent we took the right-hand road leading to Panticosa and at a short distance past this village we stopped to have our lunch and watch the rain falling. Our view was across the valley and River Gallego to the distant peaks. Below us was a quarry and some rough meadows full of a tall Umbellifera. As we finished our meal the sun came out and butterflies were soon on the wing. A stream ran under the road by the quarry and the first butterfly I netted there was that lovely Hairstreak-like butterfly, Laeosopis roboris Esp. flying round some Ash saplings. The upperside is very like a female Thecla quercus Linn. and the underside a soft grey with an orange margin with a row of spots. The insect flies fast and settles with its wings folded on bushes and small trees. We were able to take fifteen specimens in fair condition in this area. The Apollo was quite common flying up and down the slopes, much smaller than the Albarracin form. Other species here were M. athalia Rott., M. arion, S. acaciae, S. ilicis, A. galathea of which many of the females were the form leuwcomelas Esp. which has no black markings on the underside. I also took some specimens of the Spanish Fly beetle, Lytta vesicatoria Linn., and the small potato field by the road was smothered in Colorado Beetle, Leptinotarsa decem- lineata Say., in all its stages. I picked some thirty specimens from one plant and nearly every plant was the same. This spot was very rich in insect life as it caught the sun and apart from the potato field was untouched, making a rendez-vous for the inhabitants of the mountain slopes above the road. We then drove on up a narrow very winding road with many hairpins to the village of Balaneiros de Panticosa which stands round a small lake made artificially from the river coming down from snows above. The lake is crystal clear and the stream runs out at its end over a flattish area strewn with rocks where we were able to collect. There was short grass here with orchids and mountain flowers and we netted several specimens of Erebia epiphron Knoch of the ssp. pyrenaeica Bes BUEEETIN, VOL. 29 25 H-S., and &. meolans. On the roadside Coleridge picked up a perfect specimen of Synchloe callidice Esp., a fast flying Alpine Pierid, which must have been struck by a passing car. A little lower down the road we found Heodes alciphroi, ssp. gordius and M. diamina, C. euphrosyne and M. arion, also Heodes tityrus ssp. subalpina Speyer. and the now ever present Apollos. As we had a twenty-two mile drive back to Torla we finished early and drove home, the journey taking 14 hours because of the road conditions. That evening I went to the little church in the village and during the service a whirlwind swept through the valley, hitting the church tower like a bomb. Torrential rain followed. This same wind we found later had felled a great swathe of trees in the Landes and Basses Pyrenees and eventually deposited sand from the Sahara in South England. By the next morning the rain had again cleared away and the hot sun was lifting the mists, racing them up the tree covered slopes to the peaks above Ordesa. We had our usual breakfast of toast with peach jam washed down by a large cup of coffee and then drove up to the Refuge in the Parc where we left the car. Coleridge decided to collect around the Refuge in the meadows and I took my share of the lunch and climbed up a narrow track behind the Refuge through a very dense pine wood. I hoped to get above the woods but found the under- growth in my path too dense to allow me to climb up to the rock face direct and the path petered out. I retraced my steps and took a side path going westwards which eventually led out into a deep rocky ravine down which tumbled the remnants of what had been a torrent, now dried to a trickle. The water had worn large bowls in the rocks, smooth and rounded, and it was pleasant to undress and have a bathe in one of the larger pools. The water was quite warm and full of the ubiquitous tadpoles. Afterwards I lay on the hot rock face and dried out. Above the ravine I found small alp-like fields, full of flowers and grasses. | had my lunch beside a shepherd’s bothy while Apollos and Black-veined Whites danced around me and Fritillaries skimmed across the meadows. I noticed that the Black-veined Whites were laying eggs on the Hawthorn (Crataegus oxycantha Linn.) bushes around the clearings. On one bush I found twelve batches of the bright yellow eggs. They are laid in batches on the upper or lower side of the leaves indiscriminately and again the size of the bushes and the numbers of eggs made me wonder how they could support such a host. I collected up a lot of batches and these eventually were passed to Mr David Marshall for breeding out. Other species here in the meadows were M. diamina, C. hyale Linn., H. alcyone, S. ilicis, Vanessa cardui Linn., and Aglais urticae Linn. Although butterflies were plentiful there was nothing unusual and as further progress was barred by the nature of the terrain and undergrowth, I climbed down to the Refuge to do some collecting there until my rendez-vous with Coleridge at 4 p.m. The sun was now very hot and I walked slowly through the meadows. Coming 26 FEBRUARY, 1970 into a small field by the roadside I saw a pair of unusual Blues in copulation and netted them. They turned out to be Maculinea alcon Linn. and further search discovered several others in this field. I knew the foodplant to be among the Gentiana species and found a small group of Gentiana cruciata Linn. in one corner. A female was in the act of laying an egg in the head of one plant. The flowers were not yet developed and the egg was laid in the upper whorl of leaves on the upper surface of the leaf or petiole. On this plant there were nineteen eggs, all laid closely together. Several other plants in the group had nearly as many eggs present. The butterfly is a close relative of M. arion, whose larvae are known to be cannibalistic, and if the same trait is present in this butterfly it might account for its scarcity. The larvae are also symbiotic with ants of the myrmica sp. as are those of M. arion. Flying with them were a few M. arion, very darkly suffused on the upperside. I also took a female Everes argiades Pall., the Short- tailed Blue, and Brenthis daphne, F. cydippe and L. bellargus. Both species of Beehawk were on the wing and flying around the pines were many Processionary Moths, Cnethocampa processionea Linn. A large number of the trees had the old larval nests, hanging among the branches like bird-nests. They are composed of silk, pine debris and the larval skins and hairs. This moth is widespread in the area and must cause some damage to the trees. Ravens were flying along the cliff face but I saw no large birds of prey—the Bearded Vulture breeds here and the terrain seems ideal for other large Raptores. Coleridge picked me up at 4 o’clock. He had been down below Torla on the way to Broto above the River and found an excellent spot on the slopes there. He had had our only meeting with the Spanish police while parked partly on the road. It appears that it is illegal to leave even part of the car on a roadway—an excellent law in some respects. However, I think they decided that non-Spanish speaking butterfly collectors must be an accepted exception. Thursday, July 12th was to be our last day and we spent it on the slopes above Broto. There were more butterflies here than we had found in the Ordesa valley. One little meadow produced as many L. roboris as there were tufts of Thyme and with them were S. acaciae and Agrodiaetus ripartii Fir. This last named is one of the ‘brown’ Blues, being a soft brown on the upperside in both sexes and greyish underside with black spots. A faint white streak occurs on the underside lower wings. I found a few G. cruciata growing here and once again a few specimens of M. alcon. Some of the species taken at Albarracin were also here including H. lupinus, P. bathseba (very common). H. alciphron and S. ilicis. | saw one L. rivularis and our Silver-washed Fritillary. Beyond Broto we had our lunch and explored some small meadows on the mountainside. Again there were plenty of butterflies includes a fine form of L. corridon, very large and pale. Our final collection spot was back on the road between Torla and Linas de Broto. Here were again several terraced meadows rich in AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 DE flowers and insects. The M. arion here were very large and well-marked and one Blue which I netted appeared to be intermediate between L. bellargus and L. coridon. Its status is still to be established but provisionally it would seem to be L. coridon asturiensis Sag. This was perhaps our hottest day in the Pyrenees and even walking was hot work. Pieris manni Mayer., second brood, were just emerging, also some beautifully marked females of Melitaea didyma. We returned to the hotel early and packed for an early departure the next day. Our drive home was back south at first to Jaca where we stopped to buy some presents for home and then over the Col de Somport into France. This Pass is so gentle a one that it is surmounted almost without realising it. It was cold and overcast and we pushed on towards the Pau road. When we stopped for lunch we had reached the lowland woods and made a small sortie into an oak wood lying beside the road. I found a sloughed snake skin which measured just over 5ft. and we then caught a few specimens of the Skipper, Heteropterus morpheus Pall., dancing up and down above the bracken. Then on to Biarritz to entrain and travel through the night back to Dieppe, across a rainswept Channel and Newhaven and home. Only a taste at the possibilities o1 fascinating Spain but enough to whet the appetite for more. 1.1.69 P. W. Cribb (2270) BOOK REVIEWS Animal Partnerships, by Maurice Burton, D.Sc. pp 101, illustrated 14 black and white photographs. Numerous text drawings by R. B. Davis. F. Warne and Co., price 21s. (£1.05). This is an extremely readable introduction to the study of the various types of relationships by which different animals live together —commensals, fellow travellers, symbiotics and parasites and_ the stages that lie between these groupings. For the entomologist the chapter on ants and their guests is of particular interest and may encourage more to study this particular aspect of the insect world. The association between the genus Maculinea (the Large Blues) and ants is one which still requires study and the Coleoptera of ants’ nests is a subject in its own right. The hitch-hikers among the mites, using beetles, butterflies and ants as a means of transport. are only touched upon but the book does not attempt to go into detail, giving only hints and glimpses of the great ramifications of the “‘living together” associations that exist in the animal kingdom. The final chapter considers those animals which have entered into a special relationship with Man. 28 FEBRUARY, 1970 The excellent line drawings, almost one to a page. add considerably to the interest of the book and the whole will have been well worthwhile if it whets the appetite of the student and makes him look more closely at the inter-reiationships of animals within his own area of study. PEWIE: The Macrolepidoptera cf Buckinghamshire, by Sir Eric Ansorge, C.S.I.. C.LE., M.A., F.R.E.S., pp 140 and map, published by Bucks. Archae- logical Society, price 21s. (£1.05). This work is by one of our older members and is the first complete County list of the macrolepidoptera of Buckinghamshire since the Victoria County History list of 1903. 623 species are dealt with. Their recorded localities and initials of recorders together with notes and comments make this much more that a mere check list. The author advertised for some time in our own Wants and Exchanges list for details of Bucks lepidoptera, and it is to be regretted that not more of our members responded. This is just the kind of work where members of a society like ours can assist in the furthering of entomological knowledge. An excellent map and a list of place names where the recordings have been made is included, and this should spur on the many lepidopterist among us to research in the blank spaces. The book is not interleaved but this should not prove a very difficult task for anyone to do for themselves, and this would help in keeping one’s own methodical records. The printing is very well done on fine white paper. with a stout paper cover, in a handy size for the pocket. The price at 21s. is well worth it, and I can well recommend it as-an important addition to the library of any lepidopterist in the Midlands and South of England. GaP: CORDULEGASTER BOLTONII On the hot sunny afternoon of July 17th 1969 I saw at very close range in my garden in Strood, Kent, a large (over 3in.) strikingly yellow and black banded dragonfly which I am convinced was Cordulegaster boltonii Don. | am informed that, if this is correct, it would be a new record for Kent, but not having taken the insect, I have no proof. Would members, therefore, keep a look out, particularly in this area, next year about the middle of July, report any sightings and, if possible, obtain a specimen? M. H. Dolling (4461) Bes BULEETIN; VOL. 29 29 YOUTH SECTION (Somewhat late owing to influenza and pressure of work . . . sorry folks). Here then are the successful competitors in the May 1969 quiz: Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Fisher (4181j) received a set Monarch butterfly, would particularly like to see more articles on Lepidoptera breeding. Colin Hingston (4237}) is twelve years old, he received an A.E.S. Badge. He is particularly interested in breeding Silk Moths and would like various species dealt with in the Bulletin. He already has some Squeaking Silk Moths R. fugax. Richard Leaver (4335j) is thirteen years old and wants to see Bulletin articles on Conservation and recording projects. Richard feels that one can learn so much while doing this type of work. I am reminded that 1970 is European Conservation Year ... What are you doing about it? A set Monarch Butterfly was Richard’s quiz prize. Some live Indian Stick Insects Carausius morosius were requested by eleven-year-old Ian Fletcher (4329j) as his prize while thirteen-year- old Julian Joseph had to put up with some assorted exotic beetles instead of the Goliath Beetle he had set his heart on. Sorry Julian I haven't a spare one of those. He says he would like more written in the Bulletin about beetles, especially tropical species. I am sure he enjoys Jonathan Cooter’s excellent drawings and articles on these magnificent creatures. Another successful entrant was sixteen-year-old Helen Marcan (3763]), who wanted Indian Moon Moth larvae for her prize. Lance Chilton (4198}), fifteen years, also wanted Silk moth larvae, he suggests a survey in the Bulletin to find out which is everyone’s favourite species of insect. Mine is a live Goliath Beetle. An AES Badge was awarded to Donald Firth (4199}), who was unfortunately struck down by Chicken pox just as he finished his entry for the May quiz. However he did manage to send in a nice long news letter after he recovered. There has been considerable interest shown in Donald’s Moth light trap mentioned in the Bulletin. He has offered to describe it in more detail for the benefit of those of you who would like to make a cheap one. Among the specimens caught by his light trap was an Eyed Hawk Moth with a punched out hole in its left forewing. He wonders whether this was made by a well aimed bird’s beak or a recording naturalist . . . any ideas? He also wonders whether it is quite usual to find two perfectly formed pupae in one silk moth cocoon as he found in one of his. During August and September of 1968 Donald Firth was in Turkey which he describes as absolutely fantastic but entomologically dis- appointing as the climate was so severe. The vegetation was very dry 30 FEBRUARY, 1970 except round actual stretches of water which is not surprising with day temperatures of 50°C. and night temperatures of 5°C. It was not quite so bad in Istanbul. day temperature was 30°C. and he saw butterflies such as the Swallowtail Papilio machaon. In the South West of Turkey where Donald did most of his hiking he came across several Locusts Locusta migratoria which were quite different to the ones he had seen bred in England (solitary phase perhaps?). He also saw several species of Blue Butterflies, snakes, storks and besides camel trains a number of wild tortoises. Before going to Turkey Donald managed to spend a week on a National Trust Work Camp in Dorset. He says he was lucky enough to come across a colony of Currant Clearwing Moths Aegeria tipuli- formis Clerck. He was told that in the previous year two rare moths, a Convulvulus Hawk and a Striped Hawk were found in the camp site. Another quiz winner with news is 14 year old P. Heath. He received a set Great Horntail Wood Wasp Urocerus (Sirex) gigas Linn. for his efforts as he was especially interested in that group of Hymenop- tera. He found that collecting Ichneumon ‘Flies’ was made difficult by the lack of popular books on the subject. Mr. C. Tacconi of the Cambridge Zoology laboratories suggested a few books which might be of interest: — Ants, Bees and Wasps by Step. British Ichneumons (4 volumes) by Morley. Ichneumoninae of Britain by Morley. Revised British Ichneumons also by Morley. (I trust they are not about Mongooses). ‘P’ isreaily anallround entomologist and writes quite enthusiastically about his experience with Poplar Hawk Moths and his observation of an extra large Lesser Stag Beetle. I am only sorry that I do not have room to include all his M.V. Moth Trap results as they are very detailed. He particularly noticed that on some nights the vast majority of the moths taken where males. During the Summer of 1968 our junior ‘Fabre’ was camping in Southern France at a place called Chambon sur Lac in the Massif Centrale (I was there in 1967). He says he could not help having mar- vellous time amid all that Entomological wealth. His list is really too long to print here but he does say that Black Veined Whites where common and that many other quite rare British Insects were very common there including lots of lovely beetles. Like a true naturalist ‘P’ Heath has turned his attention to Arachnids (one of my favourite non-insect groups). He has taken special notice of those little “strap hangers’ the Pseudoscorpions (which are British through and through). The last Quiz winner is David Crook (4241}) who is 14, he settled for an AES Badge and would particularly like more advice in the Bulletin on producing entomological equipment on ‘a shoe string’. | mes BULLETIN, VOL. 29 3] David’s special interest is collecting Lepidoptera. In 1969 his best catch was a Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus Fourer). and two Commas Polygonia c-album. David reports either catching or seeing all the common British butterflies. He saw twenty Red Admirals although only one was in flight. Breeding is now taking up more and more of his time. The species he has are the Emperor Moth, Lime Hawk, Privet Hawk, Elephant Hawk, Oak Eggar and Red Underwing. All four of his Poplar Hawk Moths died when they hatched prematurely. David would very much like to correspond with any members who are particularly interested in Hawk Moths with a view to exchanging livestock or pos- sibly experimenting with hybridisation. He looks forward to the AES Exhibition when he can spend his saved up pocket money on desirable livestock. I wonder whether we ought to start a hotel for Members Insects. Andrew Kent of 22 Alter Drive, Heaton Bradford 9 Yorks. had a boarding problem when he went away last year so much so that he bravely left some of his livestock with me. I did not do too badly with his japanese Silk Moth (Antheraea yama-mai) but I only managed to hatch one Puss Moth caterpillar. If any of you would like the responsibility of looking after other peoples valuable animals you might like to let me know. You can learn an awiul lot from killing other peoples livestock. While in northern Italy, Andrew saw many butterflies and moths including twelve Humming Bird Hawks. He brought back two battered Silk Moths (Philosamia cynthia) which produced forty eggs. It is hoped that at least half should hatch. This species actually originates in South East Asia. Anthony Fulton (4387}) wrote after some Indian Stick Insects and some Common Silk Moths Bombyx mori. The former were easy to fit him up with but the latter are not so easy to get now that it is easier to keep the more exotic species. Did you manage to obtain any Silk Moths Anthony and if you have, are you having any difficulty in keeping them? I wonder how Michael Isaac (4394j) is progressing with the Madagas- can Flying Stick Insect (Sipyloidea sipylus) he recently acquired? An observation made last Summer by Michael Dixon (4401j) may interest you. He noticed that the two Poplar Hawk moth caterpillars he caught not only shed their skins but also turned round and ate them. This is supposed to be a common occurrence but how many of you have actually seen it happen? St Ivo School Entomology and Natural History Society went on safari last summer to the New Forest, Isle of Purbeck and Romney Marshes and is off to Belgium next summer. It is to be hoped that I shall enjoy one as I did the other. I thought that the 1969 AES exhibition was very much an improve- ment over the previous years market. Do not miss the next one. 32 FEBRUARY, 1970 I obtained some real jewels last September. They are three gorgeous bronzy green Longhorn Beetles from South Africa. They came out of some wood sent for carving to somebody in the Monks Wood Nature Concervancy Station. I have kept them alive for over four months on apple in a special place of honour in my sitting room. Their only draw- back is the occasional puffs of camphorated oil perfume they give off. Still, it is supposed to be good for colds. Before I climb back on to my setting board I must crow about a spider I found in Huntingdon. It was one of those rare Gum Spitters Scytodes thoracica which I told you about. It was in an old shop and looked just like a little tank as it stalked a tiny fly, Bye for now, H. J. Berman. LOOK OUT—IT’S EUROPEAN CONSERVATION YEAR! So what? If I ignore it, it will go away in about ten months. But if it is not ignored it may be the start of a Conservation Decade. At last conservation is becoming newsworthy—and even a subject for political speeches in preparation for the coming election. Here are some of the things you can do to make conservation year a success: — 1. Join the Naturalists’ Trust in your county and the Trust which covers your favourite holiday area as well. There are thirty-six Trusts covering England, Wales and Scotland and one for Eire too. You can get the addresses from the Secretary, Society for Promotion of Nature Reserves, Willoughby, Alford, Lincolnshire or look them up in the book ‘‘Nature Conservation in Britain’ by Dudley Stamp published by Collins. Supporting the Trusts is most important—your subscription helps buy and run reserves (and allows you to visit most of them), your knowledge helps the Trust succeed in preserving insects and their habitats; your energy can be used for practical conservation tasks and a big membership means that a Trust’s views receive more respect from politicians and planners. 2. Offer to help your local natural history society run exhibitions, meetings and nature trails to help convert others to conservation. 3. Sell your butterfly net and buy a camera. David Corke (2962) Printed by Ellis & Phillips Ltd., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop’s Stortford and published by the Amateur Entomologists’ Society, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. 1970 GUIDANCE FOR AUTHORS All authors of articles for the Bulletin are requested to follow these guidelines. Very short notes, articles by junior members and solicited articles can be retyped by the editor, if necessary, but articles by adult members which do not follow these simple rules may be delayed until the editor has time to type them. (1) All material should be type-written, double spaced, with wide margins, on one side only of quarto or A4 size paper. Author’s correc- tions to his typescript should be in pencil. (2) The title should be in capital letters throughout and must not be underlined. Please choose a title which will make reference easy when your article is indexed. (3) The author’s (authors’) name(s) followed by AES membership number in parentheses, should be placed at the end of the article, on the right hand side, on a different line from the text, and not underlined. (4) All living organisms, where exactly identified and relevant to the article, should be given their full scientific name. (Only if the article is of literary rather than scientific interest should mention be made of irrelevant, unidentified organisms.) The full scientific name consists of the name of the genus and species followed by the name of the author. The generic name has a capital initial letter and the specific name a small initial letter, both names must be underlined. The name of the author may be abbreviated if well known but single letter abbreviations are not used. (5) If you wish well-known English names may be used in addition to the scientific names. Either of the following forms is per- mitted: ‘Pieris brassicae Linn. (Large White Butterfly)’ or “The Large White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae Linn.)’. English names should have a capital initial letter for each word in the name. This does not apply if the name is used as an adjective, e.g. ‘yew hedge’. (6) Once fully named an organism may be referred to by its English name alone or by its scientific name which may be abbreviated as in the following example: P. brassicae. (7) If the name of a genus is used on its own it should be under- lined and followed by ‘sp.’ (singular) or ‘spp.’ (plural). These abbrevia- tions for species should not be underlined, e.g. Pieris sp. (8) Abbreviations should be followed by a full point (.) only if the last letter of the word is missing, e.g. Mr for Mister but Linn. for Linnaeus. Ciphers such as AES and BBC should not have full points. (9) Any published work which is mentioned in the article should be referred to only by author and date of publication. Either of the following forms is acceptable: “Ford (1955) states that... or ‘It has been found that .. . (Yarrow, 1955)’. All the references must be listed on a separate sheet at the end of your typescript. References should be listed alphabetically by author and should take the form exampled below: FORD, E. B. (1955). Moths. New Naturalist Series. Collins, London. YARROW, I. H. H. (1955). Some ways of distinguishing between the two common wasps Vespula germanica Fab. and Vespula vulgaris Linn. Entomologist, 87: 5-9. The names of journals should be abbreviated as in the World List of Scientific Periodicals. (10) Numbers below fifty should be written in full, except when giving dimensions of apparatus, etc. Numbers above 51 should be given in arabic numerals. (11) Measurements should be given in metric units. This does not apply to instructions for making apparatus where materials are normally sold in British sizes, nor to conversational use of distance, e.g. “...a few miles down the road....’ (12) Illustrations must be drawn in indian ink on white board or faint, blue-lined graph paper. Illustrations should be at least twice as large as they will appear in print. Lettering should be kept to a minimum and done in light pencil. Assistance is usually possible if you are unable to submit illustrations drawn to these specifications. (13) Normal minor editorial changes to an article will be made automatically; but major factual alterations will be agreed with the author. (14) Proofs will not be sent to authors unless requested. Reprinis of longer articles can be supplied to authors, at cost, only if they are ordered at the time the article is offered for publication. (15) Submission of an article implies that the author is offering the AES the right of reproduction without payment. This apart, the copyright of accepted articles remains with the author. Articles must not be offered for publication in the Bulletin if a similar article is being offered to, or has been accepted by, another journal. Worldwide Butterflies Ltd. Over Compton, Sherborne, Dorset. Tel: Yeovil 4608-9 Write MOW for a copy of our new Summer Catalogue! THE AES PROSPECTUS CONTAINING FULL DETAILS will be sent to anyone interested Please apply, enclosing 8d. stamp, to: Hon. Advertising Secretary, AES 18 GOLF CLOSE, STANMORE, MIDDLESEX “The Butterfly Farm Ltd. (Founded in 1894) _ BILSINGTON, ASHFORD, KENT Telephone: Hamstreet 513 Our comprehensive service is rapidly extending and we can supply many | | world species of butterflies, moths and other insects—living, set or papered. 4 | Also all apparatus, equipment, books, and other biological needs of pal "entomologists. We cater for collectors, schools, and research workers. aS Visitors, are welcome (Please be sure to telephone for an appointment)— ta there i is no charge this year. ____ Many items are on display and a visit is most rewarding. R. N. BAXTER Suppliers of EXOTIC INSECTS to - | Museums, the research worker, the amateur entea 3 etc. i ie Lepidoptera and Coleoptera a speciality } z of 16 Bective Road, Forest Gate, London, E.7, England | 2, MAIL ORDERS ONLY In your reply please Sie AES L. CHRISTIE 137, GLENELDON ROAD, (Postal Business only) STREATHAM, LONDON, SW16 sot = New and Used Entomological Equipment BEE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION HILL HOUSE, CHALFONT ST. PETER, __ GERRARDS CROSS, BUCKS. ENGLAND | FOR ALL INFORMATION ON BEES E. W. CLASSEY LTD. 353 Hanworth Road, Hampton, Mddx Entomological Literature CATALOGUES ON REQUEST (le No. 287 s >. 30 VOL. 29 MAY, 1970 THE BULLETIN OF THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGISTS’ SOCIETY World List abbreviation : Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. EDITED by JOHN BOCOCK, B.Sc., F.R.E.S. ANIMAL PARTNERSHIPS BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS Maurice Burton, D.Sc. a ‘... a wealth of examples of re- WORLDWIDE markable partnerships so vividly de- scribed and pictured that naturalists young and old alike will read it with SELECTION OF delight . . . ’ Countryside. Size 82” x 6”, 120pp, Case binding, colour jacket. £1 net. P APERED LEPIDOPTERA Price List from:— DOUGLAS E. DODWELL 28 SUMMERLEAZE PARK YEOVIL, SOMERSET 1-4 Bedford Court Warne Candon wWCo AES NOTICE — where to write Membership applications and first cen. subscriptions to: D. Keen, 4 Staffa Road, Loose Court, Maid- stone, Kent. Changes of address and non-arrival of Bulletins to: P. Taylor, 18 Old Manor Drive, Isleworth, Middlesex. Advertisers and for Prospectus of Society and Application forms to: R. D. Hilliard, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Mid- dlesex. GRimsdyke 0460. Offers to lead field meetings, etc. to: R. H. Allen, 26 Burnside Road, Dagenham, Essex. , Manuscripts, drawings and books for review to: J. Bocock, Biology Dept., Institute of Educa- tion, Malet Street, London, W.C.1. Subscription renewals (25/- per annum, 12/6 under |7 years) to: P. R. Grey, Ashleigh, St. George’s Road, Weybridge, Surrey. Youth matters to: H. J. Berman, St Ivo School, St Ives, Hunts. Offers of help, queries, etc. to: G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, North Harrow, Middlesex. Annual exhibition matters to: P. W. Cribb, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. Hon. General Secretary: G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, North Harrow, Middlesex. Worldwide Butterflies Ltd. Over Compton, Sherborne, Dorset. _—‘Tel: Yeovil 4603-9 vVrite mow for a copy of our new Summer Catalogue! Are you Each year we issue 2 catalogues which give details of seasonal livestock, specimens, books, and equip- ment. They are sent out in Apr./May and Nov.- on OUT Dec. In addition we send out periodical lists of a preserved specimens. These include rare and mailin unusual species not in our regular catalogues. Certain equipment items and special offers are - ) included. 1St The annual Mailing List subscription for these catalogues is 3/6d and runs from each autumn. We publish a Monthly Information Sheet from May to September (details oi: request). Subscribers pay only 5/- to receive this including all other publications that are sent to Mailing List Sub- scribers. Worldwide Butterflies Ltd. Over Compton, Sherborne, Dorset. Yeovil 4608-9 THE AES PROSPECTUS CONTAINING FULL DETAILS will be sent to anyone interested Please apply, enclosing 8d. stamp, to: Hon. Advertising Secretary, AES 18 GOLF CLOSE, STANMORE, MIDDLESEX HYMENOPTERISTS HANDBOOK This volume is a comprehensive guide to collecting, rearing and the study of ants, bees, wasps, sawflies, gall-wasps and parasitic Hymenoptera; including keys to all the British families. Originally published in 1943, it has been unobtainable for many years. TO meet the continuing demand a facsimile reprint of the original edition has been prepared; and is available from the AES publications agent. Price 30/- Size Octavo, pp 160 with 2 plates and 183 text figures AES Publications Agent, 137 Gleneldon Road, Streatham, London, S.W.16, England. Do not send remittance with your order as an invoice will be sent with the publications and will include the correct postal charge. ADVERTISING IN THE AES BULLETIN Advertisements in the AES Bulletin are seen by a wide cross section of entomologists and others interested in natural history generally. Subscribers include collectors in many overseas countries as well as foreign libraries and museums. Despite a continued increase in printing costs, we have maintained our advertising rates at the lowest possible level and it is with regret that we decided that a small increase is now essential. As from November 1969 for new advertisers and from February 1970 for current advertisers, the rates will be as follows:— WHOLE PAGE £5 HALF PAGE £3 QUARTER PAGE £1 15s A discount of 10°/, will be allowed on four, or more, consecutive printings of the same advertisement. Please address all enquiries to the: AES Advertising Secretary, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Middx. a, AES 4 BULLETIN No. 28/7 EDITORIAL During the last few weeks I have been discussing with various members what they consider to be the role of the AES Bulletin. I have also tried to consider the Bulletin in relation to other publications in this field. My impression is that the main value of the Bulletin has been in providing information on the rearing and breeding as well as the general study of insects. It also has a recording function, but I suspect that the bulk of this material is best dealt with elsewhere. Certainly the cries I have heard so far have been for more rearing, breeding articles, so lets be having them from you! The BBC as part of its contribution to European Conservation Year is running a Wildlife Tape Recording Competition. One of its classes is for individual species of insects. For further details write to BBC Natural History Unit, Broadcasting House, Whiteladies Road, Bristol. It has been suggested that the society draw up a list of those members willing to give talks on Insects. Several of our members have been doing this for a long time with great success, but at the moment we have no means of knowing who and where they all are. Maybe those interested would drop me a line. One of the problems of insect breeding is knowing who has, or wants stock at any one time. Our own Wants and Exchange list is useful but limited by the three month intervals between its publication. In an attempt to solve this problem at least as far as the Silkmoth rearers are concerned an information service is to be set-up for those having or wanting surplus ova, larvae or pupae. Those interested should contact myself on 01-636 1500 (before 5 pm) or Mr Brian Wraxall on 01-578 8817 (evenings). Please note we do not want livestock or money sent _ to us, only information that can be passed on to others. At the time of writing there are still a few places left on the weekend Insect Ecology Course to be run from 19th to 21st June at Haslemere Museum by Dr R. F. Chapman. For further details write to The Deputy Director, Dept. of Extra-mural Studies, University of London, 7 Ridgemont Street, WC1. Finally my thanks to David Corke for his help during the last few weeks and our hope that his research will soon be satisfactorily completed. John Bocock (4211) 34 MAY, 1970 COLLECTING NOTES—MAY 1970 The Smaller Moths The two moths which are the subjects of Mr Bradford’s drawings belong to the family Gelechiidae which may be recognised by the abruptly emarginate termen of the hindwing, which is another way of saying that the apex is pointed in a way sometimes compared to a finger pointing from a clenched fist. The genus Telphusa is characterised by the presence of tufts of raised scales on the forewings. Of Telphusa vulgella Hiibn., Mr Bradford writes, ““The drawing is of a specimen reared from Hawthorn leaves gathered early in the spring, the moth emerging on the second of June. The general appearance of the forewings and hindwings is greyish, with the darker markings, scale-tufts and scattered scales of the forewings black. The larvae can be found spinning the leaves of the Hawthorn and Blackthorn together in April and May. If one collects a quantity of these spinnings early in the year, with luck one can rear a number of species; I have done so, and have had 7. vulgella along with the other things. The adult moth is on the wing in June and July, it is a fairly common species and I frequently find imagines at rest on a fence at the bottom of the garden.” The second drawing is of 7. alburnella Dup. | took two specimens of this moth in late July 1966 at a field meeting of the (then) South London Entomological and Natural History Society held on Stanmore Common; Mr P. A. Goddard (2206), who led the meeting, also took two or three. I have taken it at Scratch Wood as well, another locality in Middlesex. The larva feeds on Birch, but I have not yet seen it or bred this moth. ‘The overall colour of the forewings is a creamy white with blackish brown markings and a dusting of darker scales. The two main tufts on the wings are more of a lightish brown colour. The hindwings are grey. The adult is on the wing in July.” While Mr Bradford’s first species is as common as its name (viil- gella) implies, the second is a rarity and a new species not to be found in Meyrick. For the history of its discovery I will quote from L. T. Ford’s Presidential address to the South London Entomological and Natural History Society delivered in January 1947. He stated ‘‘This moth was discovered by Mr A. Smith at Strensall, Yorks. in 1927 but was not recognised as a new species until 1935. Mr S. Wakely (1860) noticed the moth as something new in Mr Smith’s collection and sent specimens to Mr Pierce for examination. No doubt it escaped previous notice Owing to its resemblance to pale specimens of 7. scriptella Hiibn.. and to its restricted locality.” Pierce featured this species in his Genitalia of the Tineidae. I do not think the moth is now as restricted as Ford suggested: it is probably extending its range and increasing in numbers and quite possibly its headquarters is in the south-east. In 1968. after Mr Bradford had drawn his illustrations and written the note mes BUELETIN, VOL. 29 35 Telphusa alburnella, Dup. rm i —Y yy Uy Wy f /| HH €.S, BRABFCRD Telphusa vulgella, Hubn. reproduced above he and I reared single specimens, his haling from Bricket Common in Hertfordshire and mine from Chobam Common in Surrey. His remarks on the varied products of Hawthorn spinnings apply to some extent to those on Birch, and our success in rearing alburnella out of a mixed bag was in each case a happy fluke. Not being aware that we had this little-known species, neither of us recorded any details of its life-history. We can, therefore only say that Birch spin- nings collected in April or early May, especially at a known locality, are quite likely to produce alburnella. Incidentally, my moth emerged on the nineteenth and his on the twenty-ninth of June, a little earlier than the date he first gave. It was Mr Bradford’s drawing that enabled me to identify my moth, and I hope others will find his figure equally useful. 36 MAY, 1970 Living in the south-east of the country, I naturally tend to write about the species I encounter there; so for a change I propose to con- clude this article with a few remarks on some insects with a more northerly range. Mr Michaelis, one of our most knowledgeable authori- ties on north-country microlepidoptera, took me one day in early May to a locality in Derbyshire where, at an altitude of 1,000 feet, Cowberry Vaccinium vitis-idaea Linn., was growing: this is what we found. Everywhere its leaves were blistered by the larvae of Lithocolletis junionella Zell., while more rarely we came across the mines of Formoria weaveri Staint. The latter is one of the few “‘Neps” which pupates in its mine. Typical Coleophora “‘window”’ feeding places led us to the cases of C. vitisella Gregs., the larvae feed on the undersides of the leaves, but by May they have attached themselves to the upper surface for pupation. Spinnings in the terminal shoots were ubigitous, the majority being the work of Rhopobota ustomaculana Curt., though some contained larvae of Lozotaenia fosterana Fab., or Olethreutes mygindana Schiff. On Bilberry V. myrtillus Linn., growing nearby I found neatly spun dead leaves housing pupae of Ancylis myrtillana Treits., a species whose imagines were just beginning to appear on the wing. The heather might have produced other interesting insects, had we had time to work it. This was an entomological day with a differ- ence and one that might well be emulated by other southerners: perhaps its history will give some north-country naturalists a suggestion for an interesting excursion to their own highlands. A. M. Emmet (1379) REFERENCES BRADFORD, E. S. (1968). Telphusa alburnella Dup. (Gelechiinae) In Hertfordshire- Ent. Rec. 80: 236.. Forb, L. T. Presidential Address: the Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. and Nat. Hist. Soc.. London 1947-48. MEyRICK, E. (1928). Revised Handbook of the British Lepidoptera. Watkins and Doncaster (Reprinted) 1967. Classey- PIERCE, F. N. and METCALFE, J. W. The Genitalia of the Tineid Families. The Diptera: Syrphidae July and August are always a little disappointing to the collector of Hoverflies. The early broods have died out, and the later ones have not yet emerged, so there is little in actual numbers. Also, there are several unpleasant insects in evidence, such as mosquitoes and _ horse- flies, which add to one’s displeasure. I personally usually ignore collecting for five or six weeks and concentrate on sorting out the earlier catches. After the second week in August, things get better. Baccha elongata Fabricius and B. obscuripennis Meigen appear in the woods, and Arctophila fulva Harris may be found. The members of the genus Syrphus are more abundant and varied. The Fristalis species continue Aes BUEEETIN, VOL. 29 37 to flourish, and one can generally reckon to find most members of the genus. Criorhina floccosa (Meigen), C. berberina (Fabricius) and C. asilica (Fallen) may be found in woodlands until early September. Several Cheilosias are still about, but the species which appeared in April will not usually be found. Rhingia campestris Linn., Meigen and Helophilus pendulus Linn. continue, and in fact can be found until October. The latter half of the season sees the appearance of some new species, such as the Chrysotoxums, the Volucellas and the Xylotas. Sericomyia silentis Harris appears, and in August and September Scaeva pyrastri Linn. may be found in large numbers almost everywhere, especially if there has been a migration from the continent, as often happens. A woodland stroll in October may prove fruitful, especially after a warm spell, and may in fact yield a few new species. Several of the Eristalis continue until October, as does Ferdinandea cuprea Scopoli, Rhingia campestris Meigen, Myiatropa florea (Linn.) and some of the Neoascia and Platychirus species. Melanostoma scalare Fabricius is also still out. The winter months do not usually yield much, though one may be lucky enough to find the odd hibernating Eristalis. On rare occasions a larva of Merodon equestris (Fabricius) may be found in a Narcissus bulb, for instance. In the last two articles in this series I have not tried to include every British Syrphid, but I hope that I have given some idea of what may be found at certain times of the year. 27.12.1969. Alan J. Brown (3854) MOTHS TAKEN BY BATS It is well known that collections of moth wings can be found in caves inhabited by bats, but I am unaware of any record of remains found under the perch of what would appear to be a solitary example. In the corner of an old building I found a collection of wings; I gathered these and arranged a box to collect further droppings. These I removed approximately every other day and the results of my findings are tabulated below. I did not see the bat concerned as it did not roost at this site, it apparently used the perch only to consume its catch during nocturnal activity. The first collection was the largest, representing the catch of an unknown number of days. No wings were found the 19th and none after the 21st. My method of counting was somewhat arbitary: one left and one right forewing of a species I counted as one, any odd ones over were also counted as one. Thus the figure of 21 P. gamma for the 17th was derived from 21. left and 13 right forewings. This is probably not the best statistical method but at least I have been consist- ant. The early hibernation of S. libatrix is indicated by its presence in the 38 MAY, 1970 first collection only and the abundance of P. gamma by the high numbers throughout. But why only one P. meticulosa as against three of the less common A. chi? Did A. xanthographa disappear after the 9th? My light trap records ought to answer this but they are not sufficiently detailed. 3.11.69 John E. Knight (94) September 1969 Ist 3rd Sth 7th 9th 11th 17th 21st — 1 —— 1 Agrotis segetum, Schiff. = Agrotis puta, Hubn. Agrotis exclamationis, Linn. Agrotis ipsilon, Rott. Peridroma porphyrea, Schiff. Diarsia rubi, View. Paradiarsia glareosa, Esp. Amathes c.-nigrum, Linn. Amathes sexstrigata, Haw. Amathes xanthographa, Schiff. Euschesis comes, Hibn. Euschesis janthina, Schiff. Noctua pronuba, Linn. Mamestra brassicae, Linn. Leucania impura, Hubn. Apamea monoglypha, Hufn. Phlogophora meticulosa, Linn. Gortyna micacea, Esp. Gortyna flavago, Schiff. Amphipyra pyramidea, Linn. Amphipyra tragopoginis, Clerck. Antitype chi, Linn. Anchoscelis litura, Linn. Plusia gamma, Linn. Unca tripartita, Hufn. Scoliopteryx libatrix, Linn. Totals :—26 species. 212 moths. NHN | wre | i—— | w | — — | | wm | | — NMmAwWHRN WN | | WBnl[Rewt nl Ble | nN w | | | | -wWrNre | | | | | | | | { — | | | { — ARN | Ree | THE BROWN HAIRSTREAK, THECLA BETULAE Linn. Following the request in the Bulletin for information on the Brown Hairstreak, another member, L. D. Young, and I made a sortie into West Sussex in mid-March in search of the ova of this local butterfly. We commenced our search at a spot where we had beaten the small larvae in the previous May and quickly found some of the small whitish eggs in the first few yards of our search. The eggs. we found, are laid most often on the young shoots either on the main stem or adjacent to a crotch and not near the buds. Occasionally they are laid in pairs but for the greater part singly though along the length of a shoot there may be as many as six or seven eggs. The most favoured bushes are those which have sprung up from suckers just outside the hedgerow and are young and tender with widely spaced nodes. Some of these bushes were dotted with eggs while the older bushes in the hedge row were devoid of them. In all cases we found the most favoured hedgerows to be those facing AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 39 south or west and those with an easterly or northerly aspect were avoided except where an angle or projection gave a favourable aspect. During the day we did a round tour from our first place of call and covered an area approximately nine miles by eight miles stopping off in eight areas which appeared to be likely spots, having a good supply of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa, Linn.) in the hedgerows. In all of these places we found ova fairly easily, indicating that the butterfly is wide- spread over the area concerned. It is not strictly a woodland species as all laying areas were hedgerows, several of which were well removed from woodland although most of the hedges had Oaks growing in them. The most fruitful spot was a field lying between two woods where a brake had been left, presumably for pheasants, which was thick with young Blackthorn bushes. These were smothered with eggs and we could have collected hundreds. This brake had a westerly aspect. The south- facing hedge was an established one which had recently been trimmed. On searching the cuttings I found eggs on every other one and these we did collect as they were doomed if left. The method of collection is by cutting away the stem with the egg on it by means of a good pair of secateurs. In several spots in the area which might have otherwise been favourable, extensive hedging operations had been carried out with a machine which appears to trim both the top and the sides of the hedges and many of the larger farms obviously make use of this type of machinery and the local Council also appeared to have used it along most of the roadsides. As the indication is that the eggs are laid on the younger shoots and on the new outlying growths of Blackthorn any hedging practice must mean the destruction of a very high percentage of the eggs and our observations would indicate that the frequency and range of the butterfly in West Sussex is controlled to a very great extent by the application of the farming community and the local councils to the cutting of hedgerows. Regular hedging work or the removal of hedges would quickly wipe out the insect in that area. We visited one roadside spot which I knew from early years was a favourite laying spot and here the hedges were shorn right back and there was no evidence of any eggs. Obviously Blackthorn must be controlled as it is a very vigorous coloniser of land but a conservation plan for areas holding the butterfly would be for hedges to be treated on at least a three yearly cycle so that each year only a third of the eggs would be affected. We examined a lot of old bushes, thick with buds, but found only occasional eggs and those bushes infested with lichen produced nothing. Conserva- tion must be directed at ensuring a liberal supply of young wood coming through the winter each year and being allowed to support at least one brood of the insect. The eggs are laid from about a foot above the ground up to and just above eye level so that tall hedges are not necessary though they may serve some purpose in giving protection from northerly and easterly winds. The butterfly is fairly easy to breed if treated naturally. The small twigs bearing the eggs are tied to a potted or sleeved Blackthorn, Plum 40 MAY, 1970 or Greengage shoot and with proper protection from predators can be left out in the weather until the eggs hatch. The larvae will bore into the newly opened buds and when they are large enough to handle they may either be transferred to plastic containers and fed up on fresh leaves introduced each day (a single larva to each container) or they may be left sleeved onto the foodplant. The danger in the latter instance is that the larvae are cannibals and if left sleeved together they will attack each other and often their numbers are severely reduced. The disadvantage of feeding them singly in plastic boxes is that the imagines emerge much earlier than those in the wild which is not very useful for release purposes although the insect is apparently very long living (see below). Probably the best method would be to sleeve each larva outside separately which may be a lot of hard work but as the larva does not consume a lot of food there would not be the need for moving the sleeves. In plastic boxes I have had the imagines out at the end of June but the normal time of emergence is mid-July, with the males normally preceding the females by a week or more. All that I have bred have always been emerged before the end of July yet in the wild I netted a worn female flying along the edge of a field in Surrey on the 10th October. It had laid all its eggs but was quite active. There have been several observations on this particular point but a lot more observa- tion is needed to ascertain whether these very late insects are freaks or part of a normal pattern. Unfortunately I have found the butterfly extremely difficult to observe—not only is it difficult to see at all even in areas where it is known to exist but a fairly long journey is required to reach its haunts and observations would need to be taken over many weeks if a picture of its life as a butterfly was to be established. The research at Monks Wood may help to clear up some difficulties. The pale green larvae, which have black heads, feed normally on the underside of the leaves where their pale green matches better the background but they are bright enough to be found fairly easily by searching and can also be beaten in early June. 1.4.70. P. W. Gribb (2270) REARING THE ORANGE TIP BUTTERFLY (Anthocharis cardamines) Nearly every year I collect a few ova of this species to rear through to the adult stage. I first started to do this when I needed some female butterflies to incorporate in my collection. The males are, of course, readily recognisable and easy to obtain in the southern half of Britain, but the females are much less frequently seen on the wing. Long after the need to add specimens to the collection had passed, I continued to rear the butterfly for the enjoyment it gave. Rearing is not completely straightforward, for the caterpillars are strongly cannibalistic and must be kept solitary. Since they do not wander from the food plant, it is ee AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 4] sufficient to place each specimen on a sprig, in separate jars of water. These jars can then be placed in a breeding cage. The cage I have always used is an old metal meat-safe. Eggs can be obtained in May and June on Hedge-Garlic Allaria petiolata (Bieb.) (also called Jack-by-the-Hedge) and on Common Cress. Other foodplants are also listed but these I have not investigated. Solitary plants in sunny positions seem to be best. When the foodplants grow in great masses, searching is too much like looking for a needle in a haystack. On the white flowers of Hedge Garlic the eggs are readily seen—pale lemon when first laid, turning after a few hours to bright orange. They are laid on the flower stalks. On the yellow flowers of Common Cress they are less easily seen, but are still not too difficult to find. The egg is shown in a drawing in the Puffin Picture Book of Butterflies by Arthur Smith and Vernon Shearer and, if the reader con- sults this book, he may find recognition of the egg in the field easier. If, as sometimes happens, more than one egg is discovared on a flower- spray, these should be separated, because of cannibalism when the caterpillars emerge. In 1967-68 I reared eleven specimens, four English and seven Irish. The Irish form of the Orange Tip is distinct from the British. The back- ground colour of the underside is yellower and the upper side of the hindwings is more cream in colour, especially in the female. A corres- pondent in Belfast sent me seven ova collected on flowers of the Lady’s Smock Cardamine pratensis. These I received on 3lst May. I had already collected six specimens locally, two on Hedge Garlic beside a footpath skirting a field between Slough and Eton (Buckinghamshire) and one on Cress on a roadside bank beside the M4 motorway at Datchet (Bucks.). Development was very rapid and by the end of June all had pupated (except that I had lost two of the English specimens, probably by cannibalism—the cage being rather overcrowded). No fur- ther attention was required and the cage, with several pupae spun up on its sides and others on dried-up foodplant twigs on the floor, was put away in a shed until Spring of 1968. I had kept note throughout of which were the English and which the Irish specimens. The cage was brought indoors in early April and the butterflies emerged in the course of that month. The English and Irish specimens, reared under identical con- ditions, were quite distinctive. A desirable experiment with this species would be to rear from Scottish stock. I do not recall ever having seen a Scottish specimen (though there are probably examples in the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh). The Scottish population seems to be completely isolated from the English population, for it appears to occur only in the North of Scotland, several hundred miles from the nearest English colony. It would be interesing to see whether it is identical with the English form or whether, as with several Scottish species, it approaches the Irish form. The chance of obtaining a live female Orange-Tip in Scotland, from which to rear offspring, must be pretty small, but the entomologist with 42 MAY, 1970 experience in finding ova and rearing the butterfly might be successful in comparing the Scottish and English forms. It seems to me that the value of much entomological fieldwork and breeding lies in providing answers to some of the problems of speciation and genetics, and the aesthetic pleasures of entomology should be linked with scientific enquiry and careful recording. T. S. Robertson (2417) COLEOPTERA FROM HAM STREET, KENT Ham Street Woods are now owned by the Forestry Commission, Orlestone Forest, and the Nature Conservancy. It first became known as an entomological collecting ground before these organizations acquired it, through the work of Dr E. Scott in 1929. Scott wrote a comprehensive list of the Lepidoptera around the area of Ashford. Entomologists now speak of Ham Street Woods as the best in England. The woods stand on Wealden Clays which influence plant life and therefore insect life. The forestry commission part of Ham Street Woods is chiefly coniferous while the other part is mainly deciduous. Orlestone forest is traversed by a network of open rides lined with the occasional young poplar. As a comprehensive list for the wood is impossible I will just men- tion some of the more interesting species which have been found in the past. Acilius sulcatus, Linn. On the 13th of October. 1968 a damaged specimen in a puddle. was pointed out to me. A grilis viridis, Linn. A rare Buprestid recorded from the woods. Elater elongatulus, Fab. This bright red Elaterid is easily mistaken at first sight for a small E. balteatus, Linn., although in this species the black on the apex of the elytra covers the whole of the apical third. It occurs in Oak and Fir stumps. On the Ist of June, 1969 I was able to get one by beating. Lagria atripes, Muls. & Guil. This is the only British habitat in which this beetle has been found more than once. In fact it is now very well established there. Zeugophora subspinosa, Fab. On the Ist of June, 1969 I took one specimen of this local species. Orsodacne lineola, Pz. On the Ist of June, 1969 I took one specimen of this local species. At first I was not certain of my identificatioin of this beetle as I did not realize that it has many aberrant forms. Bytiscus populi, Linn. This is a beautiful green Attelabid which is very well established in | . Res BUELETIN;, VOL. 29 43 , . Wo NS 4 . Je ‘\ vA t 4 ws f yY Src } Leo ARS { teen \ Pe: ‘ Elater elongatus, Fab. Byliscus populi, Linn. Saperda populnea, Linn. the woods. I took one specimen on the Ist of June, 1969. Dorytomus affinis, Payk. This is an extremely rare weevil found in the Woods. (Allen, 1967). I would like to thank all those who have helped me in the field especially Mr K. C. Side and Mr E. G. Philp of the Natural History Department, Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, Maidstone, Kent. I would also like to thank the staff of the British Museum (Natural History) for their help in the identification of some of the more difficult species. I. M. White (4377}) REFERENCES ALLEN, A. A. (1967). Dorytomus affinis, Payk. (Col. Curcilionidae) in Kent and Notes on its British allies. Ent. Mon. Mag. 103: 264. FOLKESTONE NATURAL History SOCIETY (1968). Some Aspects of the Natural History of the Folkestone District. Invicta Press, Ashford. Scott, E. (1964). Annotated List of Lepidoptera Occurring in the Neighbourhood of Ashford, Kent. Trans. Kent Field Club, 2. Maidstone. DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN INSECTS IN HERTFORDSHIRE By compiling some of my observations built up over a period of twenty one years, I am attempting to analyse in a very brief way my own idea of the distribution of a few species of Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera, in the Watford and Tring area of Hertfordshire. Clearly it would be impossible to cover a large number of species now, but I am hoping that this article may arouse some interest in AES mem- bers with some knowledge of the area in question. If enough interest is shown, possibly further species could be discussed in the future. The following notes are in simplified form, and I am indicating with an asterisk* all species which are less common or rare locally, as a result of development taking place in their natural habitat, e.g. a wooded area being cleared for a housing estate. Coleoptera: Watford My first ever recorded specimen was a Musk Aromia moschata (Linn.), taken in July, 1947. Since that time I do not have any record of seeing this species locally. The Tiger Beetle, Cicindela campestris (Linn.) often made appear- 44 MAY, 1970 ances on a sunny spring day between 1948 and 1952, but 11.4.52 pro- duced by last record of this attractive species. Fortunately Pyrochroa serraticornis (Scopoli) the Cardinal Beetle has made appearances almost every year, during my observations, but never in very large numbers—about five to a dozen in most years. Another beetle is the Garden Chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (Linn.) which I am pleased to have recorded every year since 1948 in some degree or other. During the years 1952, 1959, 1960 and 1967 this species has been common locally. On 2.6.56, I took a specimen of the plant beetle Malachius aeneus (Linn.) from a wheat field, but this is my only local record of this species. Similarly, the carrion beetle Xylodrepa punctata (Linn.) was recorded only once locally on 30.5.50. I suspect the Common Chafer Melolontha melolontha (Linn.) is less common locally nowadays, it made frequent appearances in the fifties, but I have hardly any record of seeing this species during the sixities at all. Lepidoptera The following species were all either quite common or moderately distributed at one time, but for a number of reasons have, in my opinion, become much less common or rare locally. Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Argynnis euphrosyne (Linn.)* Well distri- buted in the early fifties in one area only. Not recorded since 1956— habitat cleared. Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia (Rott.), Tring. Very common on a few hillsides in the early fifties, but much less common during the sixties in the same areas. White Admiral, Limenitis camilla (Linn.)*—although always rather uncommon, in local distribution this species is tending to decrease further. Only two or three specimens seen during the last nine years. Dark Green Fritillary, Argynnis aglaia (Linn.), and the Silver Washed Fritillary, A. paphia, were both frequently recorded in the same area during the late 1940’s, and throughout the fifties, but in both cases, my last record is 1959. Green Hairstreak, Callophrys rubi (Linn.), Watford and Tring— quite well distributed during the entire fifties, but very few records during 1967 or 1968. Purple Hairstreak, Thecla quercus (Linn.), only a very few speci- mens recorded in the early fifties, but none recorded for more than twelve years. Small Blue, Cupido minimus (Fuessl) Tring—at one time extremely common in some areas, but only a few specimens recorded in recent years. The following species appear to be re-appearing after an absence, or following several “‘poor’’ years. Comma, Polygonia c-album (Linn.)\— well distributed until 1953; not recorded at all in 1954, 55, or 56. This species has slowly increased in numbers during the years 1965, 66 and 67, but not recorded during 1968. : i AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 45 Marbled White, Melanargia galathea (Linn.) Watford and Tring following frequent appearances throughout the fifties, this species almost disappeared during the period 1960 to 1965, but has, during the last three years shown an increase in numbers. Diptera: Watford The striking Thunder Fly, Chrysops caecutiens (Linn.), has been recorded only twice by me on 19.6.65 and 15.7.67. On the other hand the Bee Fly, Bombylius major (Linn.), can I am pleased to say, be seen well distributed throughout the area. Another widely distributed species is the Snipe Fly, Rhagio scolo- pacea, (Linn.), which always appears in large numbers. I would like to see more of the Thick-headed Fly, Physocephela rufipes (Fab.) which I have only recorded on three occasions, the last time in August 1962. Hymenoptera: Watford The Hornet, Vespa crabro (Linn.)* was often recorded in the early fifties, but my last note of this species was in 1954. This species has been driven from several local haunts by development. Ophion luteus (Linn.) the Yellow Ophion is another ‘‘steady”’ local insect. It appears in small numbers most years. The Mining Bee, Andrena alb.cans is always very well distributed in the spring months. Sirex noctilio (Fab.), the Horntail, has been recorded on two occa- sions locally—18.9.54, and 3.9.65. I hope this species may increase in time. If these few observations can ferment further discussion, either supporting or disagreeing with my various conclusions, I feel our know- ledge of this vast subject can only be improved. I will look forward to your observations. A. V. Measday (3917) BUTTERFLIES OF LAUTARET, HAUTE ALPES In 1968 and 1969 I spent five weeks studying the butterfly popula- tion and collecting in the Lautaret area of the French Haute Alpes. Col du Lautaret is about fifty miles from Grenoble on the N.91, the road through the alps between Grenoble and Briancon. The Col itself at 6,752 ft. is the highest point on this road. Just five miles north, however on the N.202 is the Col du Galibier at 8,385 ft. At this height even in July there was still quite a bit of snow. We camped below Col du Lautaret in the valley of the river Romanche at about 5,500 ft. and my collecting was done between this height and about 8,000 ft. In 1968 we arrived on the 18th July and stayed for two and a half weeks, the weather being hot and sunny throughout this period. In 1969 we arrived on the 10th July, again we 46 MAY, 1970 were lucky with the weather, except on the day we arrived when it snowed. not just on the mountain tops but on our tent! Next day how- ever was hot and sunny and the snow was gone in no time, although at higher levels there was considerably more than there had been the previous year and this persisted through our two and a half weeks stay. The local inhabitants informed us that the 1969 season was at least two weeks later than usual which. combined with our arrival a week earlier than the previous year, made a considerable ition to the butterfly population on the wing. While of course all the area is of a mountainous nature there is a range of habitat and a substantial variation in the butterfly population from place to place. Some species occur throughout the area but others were restricted to very small localities where their special requirements were met. Our camp was beside a small side road off the main N.91 above Villa d’Arene. Between the two roads is an area of small fields most of which were cut for fodder. These proved unproductive except for an area beside the small stream running down from the Col to join the Romanche and in the very steep terraced fields above it. These were not cut and were alive with butterflies especially Lycaenidae including Glaucopsyche alexis Poda. Maculinea arion L., M. rebeli Hirschke. Lysandra dorylas Schiff., the coppers Heodes virgaureae L., and Palae- chrysophanus hippothoe L. In the V formed by the stream from the Col and the Romanche rise the grassy lower slopes of the Roc Noir. a mountain of about 10,000 ft. These slopes are reminiscent of steep downland. short grass grazed by cattle and sheep. They differ from downland in this country however as they are covered by an abundance of alpine flowers. As one progresses up the slope the butterfly population changes. The lower part abounds with Erebia epiphron Knock.. E. cassioides R and H. Coenonympha iphis Schiff.. and C. satyrion Esp.. C. satyrion Esp. being earlier than C. iphis Schiff.. and also slightly less numerous. The most common blue was Lycaeides idas L. and the bright little Albulina orbitulus de Prun. was also quite numerous. The fritillaries Fabriciana niobe L. and Mesoacidalia charlotta Haw. dash about from flower to flower and Boloria pales Schiff. could also be seen almost everywhere. Higher up the mountain above an area of scrub is a slope where Vaccinium uliginosum grows, two local species for which this is the food plant fly here, the purplish blue Vacciniina optilete Knock. and the attractive Clouded Yellow Colias palaeno L. At this higher level E. epiphron Knock. was replaced by FE. pharte Hb. The other Clouded Yellow C. phicomone Esp. was common throughout the whole area. Instead of climbing up these slopes one can walk along the path that follows the Romanche. The large bright blue Lysandra escheri Hbn. can be found here, and further on where the path starts to climb more steeply Euchloe simplonia Bdy. was quite numerous If one does not go up the valley but crosses the river over the small AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 47 THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGISTS’ SOCIETY NEW MEMBERS TO DECEMBER 3ist, 1969 ALBERTINI, M. V. (4447). 72 Dropmore Rd., Burnham, Bucks. ent. ALDRIDGE, M. C. (4351). 21 Abel Close, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. L. BD: ANDREWS, Dr. P. T. (4439). 6a Sunnyside, Liverpool L8.3TD. L. AOYAMA, S. (4417). Maruseppo-cho, Monbetsu-gun, Hokkaido, Japan. Lk ARTHURS, D. L. (4434). 21 Bordesley Rd., Bridges Farm Estate, Whitchurch, Bristol. L. ATTEWELL, P. J. (4396). 69 Thornbury Gardens, Borehamwood, Herts. H. ent. BABBAGE, T. L. (4467). 84 Mill Lane, Earley, Reading, Berks. L. BAILEY, A. C. (4410). 21 Harcourt Rd., Wigston Magna, Leicester. [bve: BAKER, R. H. A. (4482). Kymmings Hill, Kirdford, Billingshurst, Sussex. L. ent. BALDWIN, R. (4407). 13 Silverthorne Drive, Southport, Lancs. L. BAND, G. H. (4491). 29 Tarn Rd., Thornton, Blackpool, Lancs. L. ent. BARBER, T. J. (4465). 42 Nicholas Way, Northwood, Middx. L. BARFOOT, R. A. (4392). 8 Hale End Rd., Waithamstow, London, E.17. Le BARNARD, R. J. (4343). The Wick, Boxted, Bury St. Edmunds, Suf- folk. L. BASSEY, J. (4368). Wade Cottage, Old Farleigh Rd., Warlingham, Surrey. C. BENHAM, B. R. (4393). 9 Victoria Terrace, Durham. C. e. BERGEL, T. D. (4346). 6 Iffley Turn, Oxford. L. BLACK, P. (4425). Mayville East Lane, Chievely, Newbury, Berks. L. BLOWER, D. W. (4358). 69 Hall Green Rd., Bell Green, Coventry, CV6.7BT. Warks. L. BODENHAM, S. (4352). 33 Heol Cledwyn, Birchgrove, Swansea, Glam. SA7.9LE. L. BOURNE, E. J. (4495). Elms Farm, Bramham, Chippenham, Wilts. H. D. BRADFORD, D. (4490). 20 Powlett Rd., Hartlepool, Durham. Orth. BRADY, J. R. (4388). 6 Kingsmead Avenue, Tolworth, Surrey. L. BRAGG, P. L. (4496). 28 Oakhill Rd., Dronfield, Sheffield. L. C. BROOKBANK, A. R. (4463). 39 Hillside Rd., Earley, Reading, Berks. ele be, BULMAN, S. I. (4359). 173 Bowers Ave., Mile Cross Estate, Norwich, Norfolk. L. ent. BURNARD, N. C. (4403). 17 Thackerays Lane, Woodthorpe, Notting- ham. L. 48 MAY, 1970 CADMAN, R. J. A. (4498). 80 Wolsey Rd., East Molsey, Surrey. L. ent. CAMM. R. C. (4469). 8 Danesbury Park Rd., Old Welwyn, Herts. L. CANHAM, M. (4389). Cornerways, Mill St., Nr. Harlow, Essex. L. C. CARY, N. R. H. (4350). 23 Bath Rd., Chiswick, London, W.4. 1. CHAMBERLAIN, D. L. (4489). 85 Oakleigh Drive, Orton Longueville, Peterborough. L. ent. CHAPMAN, W. C. (4385). Regional Accounts Branch, Min of Public Works, Cusseldorf. B.F.P.O. 34. L. CHEWTER, P. S. (4413). Springfield Farm, Scaynes Hill, Haywards Heath, Sussex. L. CHRISTIE, M. E. (4500). 51 Woodlands View, West Looe, Cornwall. a C8 CLARK, P. S. (4488). Science Dept., Bishop Lonsdale College of Education, Western Rd., Mickleover, Derby. ent. Orth. COCK, M. J. W. (4450). Lyon House, Kings School, Bruton, Somerset, ies CRADDOCK, P. T., B.Mus., A.T.C.L. (4468). Ashbourne House, 22 Tudor Ave., Emsworth, Hants. L. CRANE, J. R. (4432). (Darwen Rd., Bromley Cross, Bolton, Lancs. L. CRUICKSHANK-LIFE, Miss S. J. (4334). 113 Hivings Hill, Chesham, Bucks. C. L. Hem. DANKWERT, R. V. (4476). 88 West End, Kemsing, Sevenoaks, Kent. C. D. aq. DAVIS, Mrs. G. R. (4484). 41 Marine Estate, Lower Drive. Dawlish. Devon. Orth. DIXON, M. (4410). 14 Poplar Terraces, Elmsell, Pontefract, Yorks. L. DOLLING, Mrs. M. H. (4461). 61 Rede Court Rd., Strood, Rochester. Kent. Ec. DONAGHY, S. (4362). 45 Acresfield, Adlington, Lancs. C. DOUGAL, A. C. (4478). 84 Bulstrode Rd., Hounslow, Middx. L. C. DOWNING, J. C. R. (4373). Hawthorns, St. Brides super Ely, Cardiff, Glam. L. DURDEN, L. A. (4336), 93 Colne Rd., Twickenham Rd., Middx. L. C. Orth. DURKAN, P. J. (4422). Pilgrims School, Firle Rd., Seaford, Sussex. L. EMPEDOCLES, Mrs. M. (4464). 7 The Drive, Kingston Hill, Surrey. L. ESCHBACHER, C. J. (3731). 38 Frith Rd., Bognor Regis, Sussex. L. FARRELL, C. J. (4442). 39 Reynoldstown Rd.. Bromford Bridge. Birmingham 34. L. H. FERGUSON, Miss G. (4406). Ingleby Lodge, | Victoria Rd., Ealing, Wiese. FISK, Miss C. (4420). The Mount, Debden Green, Loughton, Essex. L. FOWLER, M. S. (4379). Minerva, Kelston Rd., Bath, Somerset. L. C. FULTON, A. J. (4387). 27 Stanks Rise, Seacroft, Leeds 14. L. Orth. FYLES, M. D. (4448). 42 Durham Close, Canterbury, Kent. D. H.C. Orth. PES BUEEETIN, VOL. 29 49 GIDDINGS, R. S. (4378). 62 Canterbury Rd., Holland-on-Sea, Essex. L. GILCHRIST, C. W. (4437). Rook Hill, Monks Sherborne, Basingstoke, ants 21: GILLINGHAM, R. P. (4386). 2 Agnes Gardens, Dagenham, Essex. ent. GLASER, A. E. (4363). Malew, Lower Hampton Rd., Sunbury-on- Thames, Middx. L.H.D.C. HACKETT, D. S. (4357). 9 North Hill, Highgate, London N.6. L. HALE, C. J. (4492). Newgale, Bridgewater Rd., Langford, Bristol. C. HALL, J. G. (4459). 39 Lulworth Drive, Pinner, Middx. ent. HAWKINS, L. L. (4497). 39 Graeme Rd., Enfield, Middx. HEATH, G. L. (4409). 34 Oakland Rd., Dovercourt, Harwich, Essex. Orth. HENDERSON, P. A. (4452). Wingfield Lodge, Wingfield Ave., High- cliff, Christchurch, Hants. L. H. HOCKIN, D. C. (4361). Flexbury End, Poughill Rd., Bude, Cornwall. L. HOLDEN, C. I. (4460). 78 Cecil Park, Pinner, Middx. ent. HOLDEN, I. D. (4493) 8 Sandiland Crescent, Hayes, Bromley, Kent. L. HOLTON, D. C. (4453). Sutton End, Crockerton, Warminster, Wilts. Cia: HOSKER, J. P. (4384). 91 Drewitt Crescent, Crossens, Southport, Lancs. is HOWELL, S. K. (4348). 27a Jessop Street, Norwich, Norfolk. Nor.92F. [sg HUGO, P. D. J. (4370). 38 Cotswold Crescent, Chipping Norton, Oxford. Ox7 SDT. EL. HUSSEY, S. C. (4487). 11 Castle Court, Castle Lane, Hadleigh, Essex. L. HUSTWITT (4360). 6 Suffolk Rd., Enfield, Middx. ent. ISAAC, M. (4394). 112 Garrod Ave., Dunvam, Swansea, Glam. SA2. 7XQ. C.H.O. JENNINGS, P. A. (4335). 16 Tong Street, Chuckery, Walsall, Staffs. L. JOHNSON, T. F. (4455). 28 Rough Common Rd., Canterbury, Kent. L. JONES, B. L. (4399). 22 Pole Hill Rd., North Chingford, London, E.4. lig JORDAN, E. (4337). 12 Arthur Street, Prestwich, Manchester, M25.7HS. ent. JOSEPH, J. (4391). 55 Endcliffe Hall Ave., Sheffield 10. L. C. Orth. KEESING, J. L. S. (4414). 23 Albany Passage, Richmond, Surrey. L. ent. LANDSBOROUGH, E. (4483). 46 Ormond Street, Hampton, Middx. L. LANE, D. (4457). 13 Thornwell Court, Borstow Passage, London, W.7. L. LARGE, L. H. T. (4424). Bulls Brow, Ditchling Common, Hassocks, Sussex. L. LEAVER, R. J. (4355). Beech House, Eaglebrow, Lymm, Ches. L. LEE, K. P. H. M. (4374). G.P.O. Box 16323, Hong Kong, z. LEE, M. D. (4474), 10d Peabody Estate, Chelsea Manor Street, London, S.W.3. ent. Ar. 50 MAY, 1970 LEECH, A. C. (4430). Farleigh Lodge, Hillview Rd., Mill Hill, N.W.7. IE. LOE, L. W. (4341). 25 Fairfield, Upavon, Pewsey, Wilts. L.C.D. Hen. LOVERIDGE, G. J. (4412). 22 Redlees Close, Isleworth, Middx. L. H. MALLETT, B. J. (4367). 10 Tadbourne Rd., Romsey, Hants. L. C. par. MALLETT, J. L. B., (4486). Du Boulays, Winchester College, Win- chester, Hants. L. MATZKE, C. C. (4380). 1817 Wesley Ave., Janesville, Wisconsin, 53545, WiSsAE. MAY, H. J. (4347). 188 Upton Road, Bexley, Kent. L. McCORMICK, Miss J. C. (4444). 28 Lilian Rd., Streatham Vale, S.W. 16. L. MERRIEFIELD, R. K. (4470). 35 Abbotts Crescent, Highams Park, London E.4. L. D. MIDDLETON, D. A. (4371). 55 Bourneville Rd., Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. L. MILES, S. R. (4415). 27 Abbey Way, Farnborough, Hants. L. MILLARD, S. P. (4372). 3 Ockenden Close, Eaton Socon, St. Neots, Hunts. L. MONTFORT, Dr. F. (4435). D.69 Heidelburg, Weberstrasse 13, Bundes- republic, W. Germany. ent. lit. MOORE, H. W. (4344). Church Cottage, Batheaston, Bath, Somerset, L. MORAN, P. M. (4349). St. Josephs College, Upholland, Nr. Wigan, Lancs. L. C. MORAN, S. A. (4383). 115 Hotham Rd., Bricknell Ave., Hull, Yorks. L. MORRIS, A. J. (4397). 25 Sussex Crescent, Northolt, Middx. C. hem. O. MUNNION, J. N. (4364). 8 Bristol Gardens, Kemp Town, Brighton, Sussex. L. MUSTILL, P. L. (4345). 138 Park Ave., East Ham, London, E.6. ent. P. NASH, D. R. (4471). 266 Colchester Rd., Lawford, Manningtree, Essex. C.D. NASH HUNT, M. (4466). 31 Shakespeare Rd., St. Marks, Cheltenham. Glos. L. NETTLETON, S. J. (4405). 13 Willow Grove, Welwyn Garden City, Herts. L. ORMOND, P. (4481). c/o W. O. I. Ormond, S.S.O. Bielefeld, B.F.P.O. 39. ent. PATTENDEN, L. D. (4428). 37 Faraday Rd., West Molsey. Surrey. L. PEARCE, D. (4436). 89 The Ridgeway, London, W.3. L. PONS, M. A. S. (4376). 5 Alverstone Rd., Wallasey. Ches. L. POULTER, P. L. (4485). 202 Limes Ave., Chigwell, Essex. L. ar. POWELL, M. W. (4501). The White Cottage, 60 Victoria Rd., War- grave, Berks. L. C. PRATT, J. D. (4479). 3 Thames Reach, Lower Teddington Rd.. Hamp- ton Wick, Surrey. L. PRICE, T. R. S. (4443). 18 The Broadway, Knaphill, Woking, Surrey. L. P. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 5 QUAIL, M. J. (4454). 87 Fairholme Ave., Gidea Park, Romford, Essex. H. REED, S. T. (4416). 79 Edengrave Rd., Byfleet, Surrey. ent. RENSHAW, C. P. (4418). 53 Links Rd., West Wickham, Kent. L. RIPPON, A. S. F. (4381). 83 Elm Rd., Earley, Reading, Berks. L. ROBINSON, W. (4449). 9 Stonair Close, Sandwich, Kent. L. ROBINSON, M. J. P. (4441). Dingley Dell, Glaziers Lane, Normandy, Guildford, Surrey. L. ROOK, Mrs. S. J. (4356). 25 Brandenburg Rd., Canvey Island, Essex. L. ROGERS, M. W. (4354). 23b Princesfield Rd., Waltham Abbey, Essex. ent. ROSTRON, A. (4413). 22 Longbridge Close, Tring, Herts. H. ROWSE, A. D. (4375). 197 Marldon Rd., Paignton, Devon. L. C. RYDE, D. E. (4353). Chidden Farm Cottages, Hambledon, Hants. L. C. D. SALMON, C. (4342). Drayton, Buckleigh, Westward Hoe, N. Devon. IExent. SAUL, D. A. (4395). 8 Blankney Crescent, Ermine East, Lincoln. L. SCOTT, D. (4433). Shoarns, Belchalwell, Blandford, Dorset. H. SEARLE, C. A. (4475). 8 Mansfield Close, Ferndown, Dorset, L. C. ar. SEYMOUR, S. M. (4445). 36 Greenway Rd., Redlands, Weymouth, Dorset le. 2: SHAW, G. (4390). 8 Glentrool Village, Bargrennan, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scot. SHEPPARD, C. T. (4431). Long Furlong, Holt, Norfolk. L. SIMPSON, I. (4426). State Hospital, Carstairs Junction, Lanark, Scot. L. SMITH, R. (4494). 143 Monteith Drive, Clarkston, Renfrew, Scot. C. SNOWDON, S. F. (4503). 14 Woodley Close, Romsey, Hants. L. SOKOLOFF, P. A. (4456). 54 Napier Rd., S. Croydon, Surrey CR2.6HG. b€. STRIBLING, C. R. M. (4428). 32 Streetly Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfied, Warks. SUTTON, J. C. (4340). 31 East View, Belper Rd., Holbrook, Derby. le €; Flet- SUTTON JACKSON, G. A. (4339). 36 Champion Hill, Camberwell, London S.E.5. ent. TAYLOR, W. A. (4382). 445 Birmingham Rd., Walsall, Staffs. D. TORRIE, P. J. (4388). Crossways, Broomrigg Rd., Fleet, Hants. L. P. TURNER, D. (4458). 5 St. Giles Ave., Ickenham, Middx. L. TUROK, N. J. (4502). 19 Abbotts Gardens, E. Finchley, London, N.2. C. TURTON, M. J. L. (4477). Baulker Farm, Everingham, Yorks. L. TRASENSTER, M. W. D. (4451). Compton House, Upton Way, Basing- stoke, Hants. L. VANDERPLANK, A. L. (4427). 51 Cambridge Rd., Clevedon, Somer- set; L. VEITCH, C. G. (4473). Forth House, Carstairs Hospital, Carstairs Junction, Lanark, Scot. L. 52 MAY, 1970 VINCENT, J. P. (4408). 112 Harrison Street, Bloxwich, Walsall, Staffs. O. Orth. WADDINGTON, F. A. (4499). 6 Brackley Road, Heaton Chapel, Stockport, Ches. L. WALL, B. N. (4398). 42 Conrad Street, St. Albans, Victoria, 3021, Australia. L. WALLACE, CL. M. (4440), 38 Fowlers Rd., Salisbury, Wilts. R. L. WARNER, G. (4366). 5363 Home Gardens Drive, Reno, Nevada, WS Acide GC. WEBSTER, Mrs. B. H. (4438). 39 Trelawney Rd., Hainault, Ilford, Essex. L. ent. WHITE, I. M. (4377). Ashkeys, Whitepost Lane, Culverstone, Graves- end iwents Gree WHITE, M. L. F. (4467). 11 Blenheim Rd., St. Albans, Herts. C. WHITE, R. J. (4411). Boscavene, Mount Hawke, Truro, Cornwall. L. O. WILLIAMS, C. V. (4446) Trostan, East Street, Chulmleigh, N. Devon. i, WILLIAMSON, B. L. (4369). 425 New North Rd., Hainault, Ilford, Essex. H. WILLIAMSON, D. G. (4404). 79 Fellbrigg Rd., East Dulwich, London, S|E.22, ent: WILSON, Mrs. J. M. (4421). apt. A. Symington Court, Barassie, Troon, Ayr, Scot. L. WISEMAN, P. F. (4419). 3 Eastwoodbury Lane, Southend, Essex. L. Orth El WOODS, P. M. (4402). 513 High Rd., Harrow Weald, Harrow, Middx. Le YATES, R. M. (4472). 55 Throckmorton Rd., Alcester, Warks. L. YOUNG, R. (4480). North Frith Farm, Hadlow, Kent. L. ZATLOUKAL WILLIAMS, R. C. Z. (4400). 16 Bourne Street, London. SaWele Highest number: 4503. Address Changes and Corrections—January Ist, 1970 ANDERSON, L. S. (4121). Flat 19, 169 Queens Gate, London, S.W.7. ATHERTON, Dr. R. S., B.Sc., Ph.D. (4324). 35 Fyfield Close, Wantage. Berks. BAILEY, J. C. (4079). 60 Morley Rd., East Twickenham, Middx. BARKER, L. F. (4291). 69 Ellenborough House, White City, W.12. BENSUSAN, J. (4113). National Army Museum, Sandhurst, Camberley. Surrey. BOORMAN, S. R. (4145). 1 Bullswater Common, Pirbright, Surrey. BRANT, Miss B. (3893). 40 Castlebar Park, Ealing, W.5. COLERIDGE, W. L. (2194). Grey Walls, Bishops Teighnton, Teign- mouth, Devon. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 53 COOTER, R. J. (3166). 29a High Street, Banstead, Surrey. CRAW, R. C. (4087). 15 Allen Terrace, Linden, Wellington, New Zealand. CUNLIFFE, R. T. (4314). Box 3833, Salisbury, Rhodesia. EVE, Dr. A. (2601). Ford Hill, Hillfarrance, Taunton, Som. EWART, S. G. (4287). 3 Wortlin Drive, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. FILBEE, A. G. (2279). 4 Camborne Close, Springfield Green, Chelms- ford, Essex. FITZJOHN, J. R. (3707). 65 Furzehill Rd., Borehamwood, Herts. FORD, P. (4150). 95 Hobart Drive, Hythe, Southampton, Hants. GOODEN, R. C. (2614). Worldwide Butierflies Ltd., Over Compton, Sherborne, Dorset. HATCHEL BROWN, J. (3329). North Street, Yea, Victoria, Australia. HENWOOD, G. A. (3714). 23 Thrush Close, Kempshott Park, Basing- stoke, Hants. HERRING, Capt. D. P. (4168). 30th Signal Regt., Blandford Camp, Dorset. HOOKER, J. (3062). 91 High Street, Westerham, Kent. HOPE, J. I. (4174). 45 Winterbourne Rd., Solihull, Warks. HUMPHREYS, R. (4111). H. Q. Coy, 3 B.O.D., c/o G.P.O. Singapore. JANES, C. T. (1635), 154 Woodland Rd., Hellesdon, Norwich, Norfolk. LEE, H. C. (4323). 65 Randall Rd., Kenilworth, Warks. LEECH, A. R. (3446). Upwood Park, Besselsleigh, Abingdon, Berks. LEECH, R. A. (3950). 34 Northfield Rd., Headington, Oxford. LE PARD, D. A. (4160). Silver Crest, Silver Street, Sway, Hants. LE PARD, G. (4162). Silver Crest, Silver Street, Sway, Hants. LE PARD, G. F. (4161). Silver Crest, Silver Street, Sway, Hants. LINDSLEY, P. E. (3363). 24 St. Peters Way, Montpelier Rd., Ealing, W.5. LOUGHBOROUGH NATURALISTS CLUB (3298a). 6 Valley Rd., Loughborough, Leics. LUCAS, B. (3711). 8 Cambourne Drive, Fixby, Huddersfield, Yorks. HD2.2NF. LUDLOW, Miss K. A. (4123). 61a Claremont Ave., Rose Hill, Marple, Cheshire. LYLE, T. J. (4126). 18 Myrdle Court, Myrdle St., London N.1. McLEAN, I. F. G. (3848). Ganavan, Guise Lane, North End, Bassing- bourne, Royston, Herts. MILLS, J. R. (4326). 27 Greenlands, St. Mary Platt, Sevenoaks, Kent. MILNE, M. (4135). Oak Lodge, Ambleside Rd., Keswick, Westmorland. MOBBS, P. G. (3956). Cross Farm, Waldron, Heathfield, Sussex. MORLEY, P. J. (4290). 4 Three Oaks Close, Vinlake Ave., Ickenham, Middx. MORTEN, H. (3637). Maisonette 4, Sugar Factory Site, Brigg, Lincs. MYALL, M. G. (3503). 23 Ketton Close, Luton, Beds. ORPIN, C. (2996). 8 High Street, Glassington, Bangor, N. Wales. PALMER, Miss J. A. (4183). 90 Westbury Rd., New Malden, Surrey. 54 MAY, 1970 PALMER, R. M. (4139). 2 Glenhome Gardens, Dyce, Aberdeen, Scot. PAYNE, R. M. (2982). 49 Galton Rd., Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. PECK, S. (4066). Westbury House, Westbury-on-Severn, Glos. PORTER, J. M. (3187). Mermaid Cottage, Slipper Rd., Emsworth, Hants. PRICE, J. M. (3978). 6 Kelvon Close, Glenfield, Leics. PRICE, L. (1478). 17 Glen Park Crescent, Kingscourt, Stroud, Glos. PRICE, G. G. (2561). Woodlands, Rolleston-on-Dove, Burton-on-Trent, Staffs. RICHARDSON, N. A. (431). 8 Central Ave., Newport Park, Countess West, Exeter, Devon. RIGOUT, J. (4318). 29 Rue des Rossays, Bat. d. 4, 91 Savigny sur Orge, France. RIVERS, P. (4028). High Winds, Cumnor Rise, Oxford. ROBERTSON, G. D. (4131). 5 Ancaster Rd., Leeds. LS16.5HH. ROBERTSON, T., B.Sc., F.R.E.S. (2417). The Mere, Upton Rd., Slough, Bucks. RUSSELL, L. P. (3974). 11 Enslow Close, Caddington, Luton, Beds. SACKETT, A. W. (3981). 145 Main Rd., Sutton-at-Hone, Dartford. Kent. SCHLOEMER, J. (4073). 2595 Greatwood (Riverwoods), Deerfield. Illinois, 60015, U.S.A. SKINNER, H. (3416). c/o Inducomsa, APTDO. 82, La Victoria, Estada Aragua, Venezuela. SNOWDEN, J. M. (4147). Sundial House, Main Street. Wroxton St. Mary, Banbury, Oxon. STURGESS LIEF., C. P. (3933). Gyminge Brook Cottage, Sillindge. Ashford, Kent. TAYLOR, J. S. (4176). 27 Howick Centre, Howick, Natal, South Africa. TEBBS, H. F. (1897). 46 Grange Ave., Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, Northants. TREGLOWN, Miss M. (3407). 90 Streetly Lane, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, Warks. VIGAY, J. F. (1554). 14 Victory Ave., Horndean, Hants. VINCENT, J. P. V. (3027). 6a Flaxman Close, Earley, Reading, Berks. WALFORD HUGGINS, A. P. (3076). P.O. Box 169, Cairns, North Queensland, 4870, Australia. WATERS, A. P. (2615). 1 Bentsbrook Rd.. North Holmwood. Dorking. Surrey. WHITE, Mrs. O. M. (140). 6 Northwood Street, Stapleford, Notting- ham. NG9.8GH. WILKINS, R. (3968). 2 Park Rd., Baddesley Ensor, Atherstone, Warks. WOOTON, A. (3331). 13 Bishopstone Rd., Stone, Aylesbury, Bucks. WOOTON, R. D. (4075). 27 Weslea Rd., Watford, Herts. WRIGHT, Capt. W. S. , B.Sc., F.R.E.S., F.R.H.S. (1961). 8 Drainhilly Street, Newcastle, Co. Down, N. Ireland. YOUNG, P. (4031). 32 Newbury Gardens, Stoneleigh, Epsom, Surrey. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 55 bridge, it is possible to climb the steep rocky slope on the other bank. At the bottom there is a small grassy area where Plebejus argus L. as well as L. idas L. were common. Higher up there are small areas of grass and flowers between the scree and rocks and here was the only place I encountered the small Fritillary Melicta varia Meyer-Dur. Also on this slope were Erebia mnestra Hbn., FE. meolans de Prun. and later E. euryale Esp. the latter was also the most common butterfly round our camp with Polyommatus eros Ochs. running it a close second and Melitaea diamina Lang, not far behind. As I have already mentioned the late season and our earlier arrival in 1969 was interesting. I found a number of species I had not en- countered in 1968. Anthocaris cardamines L., Pieris bryoniae Ochs., Melitaea cinxie L., Clossiana euphrosyne L., Callophrys rubi L., and Lysandra_ bellargus Rott. were still on the wing. Most were rather worn and I had found none of them the previous year. Another very common species was Euphydryas debilis Obth. again most specimens were worn and had obviously been on the wing some while. The previous year I had only encountered a few at a much greater height. Some species which had been quite numerous in 1968 were only just starting to appear by the time we left in 1969; these included Satyrus bryce Hb. and A grodiaetus damon Schiff. So far the areas I have mentioned are all within easy walking distance of our camp and it was here that most of my time was spent. I did however make a number of trips by car to collect higher up on the road between Col du Lautaret and Col du Galibier. Up here the effect of the season was even more marked. Whereas round our camp it had been to increase the number of species encountered as the earlier ones were still on the wing, up at 8,000 ft. on the Col the reverse was the case. Places that had abounded with flowers and butterflies in 1968 were just emerging from under the snow or were still under it. The butterfly population up here was almost entirely different from that in the areas previous mentioned. The only species abundant in both places was B.pales Schiff. The most numerous of the Eribia was EF. pand- rose Bkn. these were fresh in 1969 but very worn in 1968. Also en- countered were FE. pluto de Prun. and FE. gorge Hb. In 1968 the small pale mountain blue Agriades glandon de Prun was common, it had how- ever not appeared by the time we left in 1969. This was also the case with Heodes tityrus Poda. Another interesting species from this area was the Fritillary Euphydryas cynthia Schiff. in which the ground colour of the males is white. Encountered here in 1969 but not in 1968 was the white Synchloe callidice Esp. a species with a good turn of speed which I found needed intercepting as chasing was usually out of the question. I have so far not mentioned the Skippers who are well represented in the area. At high level up on the Col Pyrgus cacaliae Rambur. was numerous. At lower levels a number of different species exist the most common one being Pyrgus alveus Hb. The whole area proved to be a very rich one and I encountered 89 56 MAY, 1970 CoOL pu GAaLiBieRr LA ceave CoOL Bu LAUTARET different species of butterfly. There were however notable absentees, including perhaps the most well known alpine butterflies the Apollos. In 1967 I spent three weeks in the Valais, most of the time in Lots- chental. The number of species encountered there was much fewer (49) but all three of the Apollos were numerous, especially Parnassius apollo L. itself. At Lautaret I saw one lone specimen of P. apollo L. in 1968 and a single specimen of P. phoebus F. in 1969. These two being the sum total of the Apollos seen. I attach a full list of all the species I noted. I have given much thought to the best method of categorising the numbers observed. Mr Grey in his note in the December 1969 Bulletin has put his finger on a problem here, but I do not think his suggestions can be universally adopted. There are three basic factors involved. In addition to the number of specimens observed consideration must be given to the time spent doing it, and the size of the area involved. Under Mr. Grey’s classification a dozen specimens would make a species “frequent”. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 57 This would be alright if it referred to an afternoon’s collecting in a small area, but a dozen in five weeks collecting would qualify the species as definitely uncommon. Unless one is actually resident in the area or near to it and thus able to maintain observation throughout the season, one is also likely to classify a species on the basis of incomplete information. It might be classified as uncommon on the evidence of only one or two specimens observed, while it might well be abundant a week or so earlier or later. Another problem in field observation is that the larger and more showy species being more easily seen are assumed to be more common than the smaller less conspicious ones like the Skippers and dark Lycaenidae such as Cupido sebrus Hb. and Eumedonia chiron Rot. when the reverse may well be the case. I have attempted to allow for these factors. As species are not uniform in their distribution it has been necessary to divide the area studied into a number of main areas of observation. These have already been referred to and I have given each a reference letter as follows: — The small fields. The lower slopes of Pic Noir. The path beside the Romanche. The rocky slope on the other side of the Romanche. The slopes beside the road to Col Galibier. Around our camp. The sketch map shows their locations. The method I have adopted to describe my assessment of the degree of incidence of each species is to number them 1-5 as follows: — 1. Very common, will be seen in large numbers. 2. Common, less numerous than 1 but still sufficiently numerous to be noted by the casual observer. 3. Less common than 2 but can be found without too much difficulty if looked for. 4. Should be able to find a few but not numerous. 5. Decidedly uncommon might see one or two if lucky. For additional clarification a further figure is given in brackets for category five species, this indicates the number I saw. All my observa- tions apply to July and where a species was noted as specifically occur- ring early or late in the month this is also shown by a capital E or L respectively. An indication that a species is found in one area does not mean that it is completely restricted to that area but this was the locality where it was most numerous. The area has a very rich flora and fauna apart from its entomo- logical interest. The number and variety of alpine flowers is immense. Marmots are common, choughs, ravens and buzzards can all be seen and a red backed shrike had its rather gory larder behind our tent. Finally a bit of practical guidance for anyone not familiar with this kind of terrain and considering a collecting trip to it. Although the nights get quite chilly the sun can be very hot during the day. Most of my TMO OW > 58 MAY, 1970 Erynnis tages Linn A 4 Satyrus bryce Hubn AD) n; Sis Carcharodus alceae, Esp. A 4 Hy ponephele lycaon Kuhns. A _ 3 Reverdinus alchymillae, Hubn. A 4 Coenonympha iphis Pyrgus andromedae Wallgrn. A_ S5(1) Schiff. -ABCF 1 Pyrgus cacaliae Rambur. |e 2 C. satyrion Esp. ABC +2 P. carthami Hbn. : ABS C. pamphilus Linn “eh, coh) P. malvoides El. & Ed. A 4 Erebia euryale Esp. DF 2 P. alveus Hubn. ABCD 2 E. epiphron Knoch. Bin2 Spialia sertorius Hffmsgg. ABD 4 E. pharte Hb. B 4 Adopoea lineola Ochs. fees) E. alberganus de Prun. A 4 Ochlodes venata Brem. & Grey A 3 E. pluto de Prun. j Si Papilio machaon, Linn C 5(1) E. gorge Hubn E 4 Parnassius phoebus Fab. C 5(1) E. mnestra Hubn iDess! P. apollo Linn C S(1) E. cassioides Hohenwarth BD 2 Leptidea sinapis Linn A 4 E. montanus de Prun. Cus SGD Anthocaris cardamines Linn A 4E_ E. meolans de Prun. D- 3 Euchloe simplonia Bdv. CE 3 E. pandrose Borkh. EB 2 Synchloe callidice Esp. E 4 Strymon spini Schiff. Dp SsCy Pieris rapae Linn jee ) Collophrys rubi Linn A 4E P. napi Linn AF 4 Heodes virgaureae Linn A 4 P. bryoniae Ochs. Co2E He tityrus: Voda: j Exe ae Aporia craiaegi Linn AF 2 Palaeochysophanus hippothoe Colias hyale Linn As. ts) L: 3 C. phicomone Esp. alllijoe) Cupido minimus Fuesslin. CD 35 C. palaeno Linn B 3 C. sebrus Hubn A 4 Euphydryas debilis Obth. ABC 1E = Glaucopsyche alexis Poda. A‘ 4E E. cynthia Schiff. E —5(4) Maculinea arion Linn ABCD. 3 Melitaea didyma Esp. A 4 M. rebeli, Hirschke. 3 M. cinxia Linn AB 3E_ Lycaeides idas Linn ABCD 1 M. phoebe Schiff. AB 3 Plebejus argus Linn D2 M. diamina Lang. Vad R72 Avicia agestis Schiff. Ey 3 Mellicta dejone G-H Ae 2D A. allous G-H. A 4 M. athalia Rott. DF 4 A. donzelii Bdv. By 51) M. varia Meyer-Dur. D 4 Eumedonia chiron Rott. ABI 2 Boloria pales Schiff. all Argiades glandon, de Prun. | ey © Clossiana euphrosyne Linn AC 3E_ Albulina orbitulus, de Prun. BE 3 C. titania Hubn A S5(1)} Cyaniris semiargus, Rott. AF = 3 Brenthis ino Rott A 4 Vacciniina optilete, Knoch. B23 Mesoacidalia charlotta Haw. B 2 Polyommatus icarus Rott. AB 4 Fabriciana niobe Linn Be P. eros, Ochs. ABCDF 1 Vanessa cardui Linn E S(1) Lysandra escheri Hubn C 4 Inachis io Linn B24 L. dorylas Schiff. AC 4 Aglais urticae Linn Bie L. bellargus Rott. A 4E Agapetes galathea Linn AS L. coridon Poda. A..-2 Pararge maera Linn D4 Agrodiaetus damon Schiff. ABDF 1 L Hipparchia alcyone D.& S. A 4 time I wore only a pair of shorts but carried a shirt. Watch out for sun- burn however if you suffer from it. If the weather looks unsettled it is as well to have a sweater as it can be cold at high levels when the sun goes in, especially if it is windy. I always wear light climbing boots the good grip and ankle support are very necessary on the steeper slopes. Climbers can keep going at a regulated pace and thus conserve their energy, the entomologist who needs to move quickly either up or down the slope cannot do this and it is important therefore that he should be as lightly equipped as possible, the terrain is tiring enough Without attempting to carry a great pack about. This could also be dangerous in causing loss of balance on steep unstable slopes and it is not really practical to have to struggle out of it before giving chase. All AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 59 I carry is a net and a small bag containing pill boxes. The area abounds with very unpleasant horse flies including large green eyed ones which give a painful bite. I was too busy trying to fight them off to bother about identification but they were Tabanus of some sort. I have discovered no insect repellant which is effective and I made do with netting and despatching as many as I could, in fact I became quite adept at it. The many hundreds I must have dealt with however seemed to make no inroads into the population of my attackers. However good ones defences they get through when your net is otherwise engaged and I accepted that a number of bites were inevitable. Active collecting in this sort of terrain is not something I could recommend to anyone who is not completely physically fit as it is hard _ work. The amount of level ground is very limited and most collecting must be done on the slopes. Personally however I find the clear moun- tain air and wonderful scenery very invigorating and I return refreshed to face another year of commuting and the English climate. I hope I shall be able to return to this area many times again. Zale O M. J. Perceval (3798) ANNUAL EXHIBITION, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27th, 1969 The increasing popularity of the Annual Exhibition demanded larger accommodation and a further move was made this year to a modern comprehensive school, Holland Park, Campden Hill, Kensing- ton, W.8. This was easily the largest and most attractive venue we _have ever enjoyed and was appreciated by all present. It is very pleasant to record that during my year as President, we had a record attendance and exhibits were more numerous and of a high quality. The catering, which was not available from the school, was undertaken by the ladies of the Council Members who graciously worked all day to provide a high professional service at a minimum cost. A further improvement was the ample seating accommodation which was welcomed by the older members and the less vigorous parents of the very enthusiastic youngsters. The larger space enabled the exhibits to be inspected more easily and our dealer friends, representing the major Natural History interests in this Country, showed their wares to advantage. The Wants and Exchanges table was fully utilised and surplus material, donated by members, was sold for the Society’s benefit. Continuously through the day, members’ colour slides were screened. The enthusiasm promoted in previous years by awarding a prize for the best Junior exhibit fully justified the policy and was continued. The general criteria are, presentation, work involved, originality and interest. It is stressed that the interest factor should not be to the detriment of less popular orders. By a narrow margin, the prize was 60 MAY, 1970 awarded to N. Burrows (3742 J) and M. Keen (4297 J) and Messrs. C. D. Warren Smith (3908 J) and D. J. Longman (4042 J) were highly recommended. Details of their exhibits appear in the general survey. In conclusion, the Council would like to place on record their debt to Mr P. W. Cribb who assumed the duties of Exhibition Organiser at short notice, to his son who manned the door all day, to Mr G. Prior who was instrumental in arranging the new premises and not least to all the members who worked so enthusiastically behind the scenes. In line with our usual practice, a brief note of exhibits follows although it is regretted that later arrivals and unnamed items are omitted. AES CONSERVATION GROUP. Details of the aims and current activities for conserving localities and species coming under special pressure. BARNARD R. J. (4343). Interesting collection of butterflies and moths. BENHAM B. R. AND MUGGLETON J. (3253). Series and records of 11 Spot Ladybird Coccinella 11-punctata. BIOLOGICAL RECORDS CENTRE. Progress of distribution maps for British insects. Also demonstrations of genitalia preparation for identification of difficult moth species. BIRCH M. Brush organs in Noctuidae and Arctiidae (Lepidoptera) with examples of the distinctive scents exuded by the various species. BRADFORD E. S. (3068). Typical species illustrating ten families of micro- lepidoptera. BRENT B. MISS (39933). Species and details of moths and butterflies taken in the first year of collecting. BRITISH BUTTERFLY CONSERVATION SOCIETY. Programme and distrivution of rarer species requiring protection. BRITISH ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. General activities of the Society. BURROWS N. (37423) AND KEEN M. (42973). A fully illustrated survey of the lepidoptera of the Hayes, Keston and Downe (Surrey) area, including species, maps and photographs. CHRISTAIN J. C. (44443). First year collection of butterflies and moths. COOTER J. (3290). Series of butterflies from West Sussex. COLERIDGE W. L. (2194). A collection of butterflies from the Hautes Alpes. COLLINS T. (42285). A natural history landscape fashioned from natural objects. CRIBB P. W. (2270). A comprehensive collection of continental butterflies. Races of E. epiphron Knoch. (Small Mountain Ringlet) illustrating local variation. DAVIE PROF. S. D., MUIR DR. M. and DAVIE MISS S. Micrographs of the wing scales of various lepidoptera. DERBYSHIRE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. Survey of insects occurring in this area. ELSE G. R. (3881). Typical lepidoptera of Southern Hampshire. AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 6] FINBOW P. N. (4261J). Butterflies occurring on the North Downs (Surrey). GARDINER B. O. C. (205). The results of in-breeding the various European Cabbage White butterflies. Also less common silkmoths and examples of iridescent lepidoptera. GOODBAN B. S. (217). Bred series of S. bilunaria Esp. (Early Thorn) to show extensive variation. GREY P. R. (3820). A collection of butterflies from Lemoos in the Austrian Tyrol. Also exotic silkmoth larvae. HILLIARD R. D. (99). The more frequent moths recorded at a suburban garden light trap, Stanmore Mddx., in sequence during 1969. Also 2nd brood larvae of Purple Thorn Moth S. tetralunaria Hufn. KITTLE W. G. Collection of moths recorded at a light trap in the Aldershot and Farnborough area of Hampshire. LEICESTER UNIVERSITY. Collection of insects, many un-named, made by the Arctic Norway Expedition, 1969, to the Lyngen Peninsula. LEWIS R. J. (40525). A survey, including butterflies, moths and beetles from Carra Island, west of Kintyre, Argyleshire. LONDON ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. The curator presented a selection of various orders, currently breeding at the Insect House. LONGLANDS D. J. (40423). A detailed survey of the time arrival and flight duration for moths attracted to a M.V. light trap. MAJERUS M. E. N. (4027). Comparison of the frequency of moths recorded at a light trap in Northwood Middx. for 1968 and 1969. MARSHALL A. D. (3972). Larvae of Purple Emperor Butterfly A. iris Linn. in their third Instar hibernation position on sallow. MCCORMICK R. F. (3375). British Lepidoptera from various localities, notably the Lake District and New Forest. MILES R. S. (4415). Colour photographs of British butterflies. MILTON A. S. DR. Large colour photographs of hawkmoths (sphingidae). MONKS WOOD RESEARCH STATION. Large vacuum type trap for sampling the smaller insects such as mosquitos. PAYNE R. M. (2982). Horseflies (Diptera-Tabanidae) from Essex. Up to date records required. Also a collection of British craneflies (Tipulidae). PENNEY C. C. (38803). Large collection of moths taken at an M.V. trap in the New Forest District. PERCEVAL M. J. (3798). Butterflies from La Grave, Lautaret (France). PLATTS J. (4300). Series of British butterflies, occurring in isolated colonies. PLESTER L. S. (2968). Photographs and specimens of Finnish insects with maps and charts showing typical habitats. POTTER D. and YOUNG L. D. Results of extensive in-breeding of L. phlaeas Fab. (Small copper butterfly). PRIOR G. (3909) AND MRS. B. PRIOR. Butterflies and moths taken this year in the Italian Riviera. ST. IVO NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. This very advanced School Society showed their large and varied collection of living material of many orders. 62 MAY, 1970 SHEARER V. B. (2827). Late brood of larvae of the Peacock butterfly N. io Linn. SILKMOTH REARERS STUDY GROUP. General exhibit of the work of the Group, engaged in studying the giant silkmoths (Saturniidae). SKINNER B. F. (2470). Local British moths and bred series of the Old Lady Moth M. maura Linn. WARREN-SMITH C. D. (39085). Maps and specimens showing the butterflies of the Sierra Nevada (Spain). STANSBRIDGE A. (40233). Mantids and lepidoptera collected this year in Southern France. TAYLOR P. (3571). Type specimens of butterflies noted in the Southern Alps this year. WAKELY S. (1860). Recent captures of British micro-lepidoptera. WATERS A. P. (2615). Records of lepidoptera from the North Downs. R. D. Hilliard (99) ® THE QUICK AND THE DEAD At the southern tip of the Isle of Wight there is an area of rocky wilderness and beauty much favoured by both entomologist and geolo- gists. Sometimes devotees of these pursuits chance to meet and a con- versation along the following lines might ensue. Entomologist: “‘Good afternoon; had any luck?” Geologist: ‘Not very much; only a rather nice brachiopod and half a trilobite. I don’t suppose you have found much in your line: rather early for butterflies I would think.” Entomologist: “‘It is, but there are a few hibernated Vannessiids about. Actually I am looking for Cinxia larvae but I have only found two webs, they are much scarcer than they used to be. I remember the time when you could come and fill a large biscuit tin with larvae, but now one can search for hours before finding a web. Geologist: ‘“‘Do you think the present scarcity could be due to overcollecting?”’ Entomologist: “‘Good heavens no, when you had filled your biscuit tin there would still be plenty left.” Geologist: “It’s the same with fossils. They have become much scarcer too, I have just put in several hours work for two specimens, whereas in years gone by when I put so many specimens in my haver- sack I couldn’t lift it. I had to go through them and discard the less perfect ones before I could carry it away.” Entomologist: “Perhaps the present scarcity of fossils is due to over- collecting. I say this because on one occasion I was down here when I saw a large party of geology students from one of the universities; and by the time they had finished smashing up the rocks with their hammers there was enough ballast to furnish a fair length of railway line.” Geologist: ““The youngsters do tend to be a little over enthusiastic. AES BULEETIN, VOL. 29 63 but there’s still plenty of rock to go round. The fossils just do not seem to be there these days. What do you yourself think may be the cause of this general scarcity of things? Entomologist: “‘Well of course there are many possible factors. For instance there are the motorists.” Geologist: “‘Ah yes, motorists! ”’ Entomologist: “‘Now later in the year this area will be swarming with them. They will be camping, lighting fires, digging up plants for their rockeries and trampling everything flat. I was here one day last year when I saw a family party who had put up one of those multi- coloured tent horrors right on top of a web of Cinxia larvae! The cater- pillars were crawling all over the tent and a fool of a woman was swat- ting them with a rolled-up newspaper.” Geologist: “‘It’s just the same with fossils. When they see part of a fossil protruding from a rock they can’t resist knocking it off. You will hardly believe this: but once I saw a wonderful specimen of ammonite on a cliff face, and some moron had carved across it ‘I Love Rosie’. On another occasion I saw a young woman lugging along an enormous ammonite which she had found on the beach. When I asked her what she was going to do with it she said it would make a marvellous door- stop. Entomologist: “It’s going to get much worse now, now that they are holding these nature weeks and conservancy years to encourage more thousands to trample around the countryside. Then of course there are the sprays! ”’ Geologist: “Ah yes sprays.” Entomologist: “‘In the Island here, the farmers have their fields sprayed, often by aeroplanes; the forestry people spray the woods; the local authorities spray the roadsides; the water authorities spray the banks of the streams; and the trigger-happy gardeners spray everything within reach. Indeed the whole Island has been drenched with insecticides, fungicides; and herbicides! It’s a wonder there’s any life leit.” Geologist: “‘It’s the same with fossils.” Entomologist: ‘But surely poisons can’t harm fossils, I mean they don’t breed like insects do.” Geologist: ‘‘Quite but you know these chemicals are very strong. They wash down into the soil and rocks and I wouldn’t be surprised if they dissolve out some of the more delicate fossils.” Entomologist: ““Then of course there’s the weather.” Geologist: “‘Ah yes the weather.” Entomologist: ““When we had cold winters and hot summers the hibernating stages of insects were alright, but now we get this mixed up weather, proper hibernation is very difficult for them.” Geologist: “It’s just the same with fossils. The cold winters used to cause the rocks to split and the hot summers dried and cracked the clays. It was much easier to get out the fossils.” 64 MAY, 1970 Entomologist: “‘Well time is going. I think I will try to find another Cinxia web and then call it a day.” Geologist: “‘I am just going to reduce that slab of greensand over there and then I shall go. Can I give you a lift? I have my car nearby.”’ Entomologist: ‘‘It’s very kind of you but I have left my own car in the lane at the entrance.” Geologist: ‘““Well cheerio then and good hunting.” Entomologist: ““Goodbye, and the same to you.” T. D. Fearnehough. A SIMPLE AND SAFE KILLING JAR Honey Jag tio Powpea Tin Lip VeENTiLATion Hole vA Nur 3 Bo.T per RvBBER WasHeR Having been converted some time ago to the use of ethyl acetate as a killing agent for both Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, I have always been faced with the problem of preventing contact between the victim and the agent which so often results in the dissolving of body fats which Stain or damage the specimen. My original idea was to have a pad of cotton wool in the base of the wide necked jar and pour a small quantity of ethyl acetate into this as necessary. The liquid vaporises slowly and kills the insect. However specimens will tend to burrow into the wool or get down between it and the glass side of the jar and come in contact with the residue of the liquid. I have now devised a new method which may recommend itself to members. The standard English 1lb. honey jar has a wide mouth and a screw- on lid which has a waxed card sealing wad inside it. Take the top of a talcum powder tin (the type used for babies) which has a flat top sur- mounted by a round domed head with perforations. Cut this off with a hack saw so that one has the flat top with the dome and press on lid as a separate item. Drill two holes through the flat top and two corres- ponding holes in the lid of the honey jar. The domed head of the lid is now packed with cotton wool and the powder tin lid portion is screwed onto the underside of the honey jar lid AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 65 by means of two small countersunk bolts and nut, using small sealing washers to make the holes air tight. Ethyl Acetate is poured into the cotton wool through the powder hole perforations and the cap slipped over them so that the fumes, etc. are kept in the lid. When the jar is ready for use, remove the cap covering the perforations and the fumes of the ethyl acetate will be free to pass through into the honey jar which is kept stoppered until an insect is popped in. There is now no chance of the insect coming in contact with the damp cotton wool and the cap over the perforations can be replaced as desired to conserve the ethyl acetate in the cotton wool. 1.10.69 J. C. Bailey (4079) LETTERS TO THE EDITOR COLLECTION AND CONSERVATION IN ENTOMOLOGY I should like to take issue with the outgoing Editor’s advice on conservation—“‘sell your butterfly net and buy a camera” (in February’s issue). Such appeals to give up collecting may well be essential to ornithology, but I believe they cannot be justified in the case of entomology and, indeed, are in the worst interests of both conservation and collection. Of course, wide-scale slaughter by collectors and dealers is un- forgivable: I think it is rare, but nevertheless I can appreciate why even one case causes appeals to stop collecting altogether. But, in en- tomology, this would be simply destructive. The large body of collectors are mostly keen naturalists and very concerned about conservation, and they find it essential to collect if they are to learn about their sub- ject in any depth. Whether or not we approve, man is filled with a collecting instinct, a creative one, which entomology can satisfy so well. Thus, by attacking the very basis of most entomologists’ interest, the conservation purists are alienating many people who can—and would like—to help their important cause. Who can blame a collector, when told to put away his net, for feeling that conservation is a personal interference with the progress of his studies? Taking up photography instead is not a simple way out. For one thing, photography is an art, a science, an absorbing hobby in its own right. For another, it can be extremely expensive. There is no need for this conflict between two sets of people who, after all, share basically the same interests and concerns. It is in the field of breeding that a meeting of the two sides is possible. Breeding is already an integral part of many collectors’ activities. The wastage rate in the wild from ovum to imago is exceptionally high—in the long term, a female manages to replace only herself and her mate before she dies, 66 MAY, 1970 in spite of laying perhaps hundreds of eggs. In captivity. however. a very high rate of successful emergences is possible. Provided the imagines are released in the same area from which the females or larvae were taken. large numbers can be returned to the wild state and a short series kept by the collector. We should not, perhaps, bluff ourselves that this will always increase a species in a particular area, or protect a threatened species from extinction, but the process can only be in the best interests of conservation. It is a pity that a similar process does not seem to be applicable to ornithology. However, it is possible that, by collection of seeds, cutting and division. it might apply to botany. In conclusion. I believe that conservationists and collectors can and indeed must work together to the advantage of both, and that the motto “give up your collecting net’* should be replaced by “breed and release”. This might bring in to the side of conservation a significant number of collectors. previously alienated. who would be prepared to provide active help towards conservation. There is much scope for more informa- tion about breeding: in no beginners’ book have I seen it stated. for example. that female moths taken in MV traps are likely to lay eggs. The AES is already a leader in providing this sort of advice. but I believe more is required—perhaps as regular feature of this magazine. The emphasis must be on British species and preferably from wild stock: breeding foreign species is fascinating, but it can add nothing to conservation in this country. I believe. too, that conservation societies would find that any money spent on subsidising the price of breeding cages would prove a sound investment. W.L. R. E. Gilchrist. BUMBLE BEE DISTRIBUTION MAPS SCHEME The Insect Distribution Maps Scheme currently operated by the Biological Records Centre has now been expanded to include Bumble Bees. Records of the occurrence of bumble bees of any species. and from all parts of the British Isles, are now needed in order that up-to-date distribution maps may be prepared. Offers of help from people willing to participate in the scheme—by providing present or past records. or specimens for identification—will be most welcome. Instructions and record cards for bumble bees are available from: BDMS/E, Bee Research Association, Hill House, Chalfont St. Peter. Gerrards Cross, Bucks. | AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 67 MID WINTER VISIT BY (VANESSA ATALANTA Linn.) On Sunday, January I1th, 1970, I spotted what I thought to be a dead leaf stuck to a towel which was hanging in the garden. On closer inspection however it proved to be a Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta Linn.) The weather was mild and damp temperature around 50°F. There had been a little sunshine but not more than 15 minutes. For a week or so previous to this we had experienced hard wintry conditions with snow, severe frost and temperatures well below normal. I am not a Lepidopterist but this must surely be an instance of V. atalanta hibernating and being coaxed out by the sudden rise in temperature. It could have come from my garden shed which was close by. The specimen was in perfect condition with no sign of wear, at the time of writing (Jan. 19) it is resting where I placed it on a piece of card in the shed. One knows it is not unusual for Aglais urticae (Small Tortoise- shell) or Nymphalis io (Peacock) to venture forth on mild days, although I would have thought January was rather early even for these two species, but a Red Admiral must be quite an unusual occurrence. 1170 E. H. Moss (3013) THE RED ADMIRAL In connection with the article by Keith Bradbury (2627) about the record for the Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta Linn.) on the 15th of June, 1969 at Aston-on-Trent, near Derby (Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 28: 113) _ I would like to say that it is extremely unlikely for this to be an instance _ of hibernation of this butterfly in Derbyshire. The Red Admiral is essentially an immigrant butterfly to Great Britain as it cannot stand our damp cold winters. Therefore with the greatest regularity each year this powerful insect flies to our shores from North Africa in May and June and on arrival rapidly disperses all over the country. These early butterflies from abroad, often in worn condition as Mr Bradbury says, are the parents of the butterflies which appear in _ the late summer months and remain with us until the weather gets too _ cold in the Autumn. They then attempt to return overseas by migrating back and readers will no doubt have noticed the sudden disappearance _ of all the Red Admirals in the Autumn when the weather turns cold. | In conclusion I would like to say that there are very isolated _ instances of the butterfly hibernating in Great Britain, but only in the _ South West of England. | 43.70 P. N. Crow (393) | INSECT DISTRIBUTION MAPS SCHEME Volunteer recorders are needed for this project which aims to survey in detail the whole of the British Isles. The Lepidoptera, Odonata, Orthoptera and Dermaptera are currently being studied. Write for details to: Biological Records Centre, Monks Wood Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon. AES SILKMOTH REARERS HANDBOOK Now out of stock, will shortly be available in a new facsimile form. This means the two coloured plates will be in black and white. The price will remain at 30/-. ANNUAL EXHIBITION 1970 The Annual Exhibition of the Amateur Entomologists’ Society will be held at:— Holland Park School, Airlie Gardens, Campden Hill, Kensington, W.8. on Saturday, 26th September, 1970 This is an advance notice to enable members to book the date and to plan their exhibit. Full details will appear in the next (August) Bulletin. Printed by Ellis & Phillips Ltd., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published by the Amateur Entomologists’ Society, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. 1970 The Butterfly Farm Ltd. (Founded in 1894) BILSINGTON, ASHFORD, KENT Telephone: Hamstreet 513 Our comprehensive service is rapidly extending and we can supply many world species of butterflies, moths and other insects—living, set or papered. Also all apparatus, equipment, books, and other biological needs of entomologists. We cater for collectors, schools, and research workers. Visitors are welcome (please be sure to telephone for an appointment)— there is no charge this year. Many items are on display and a visit is most rewarding. The Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation A monthly illustrated magazine, founded by J. W. Tutt in 1890, is devoted mainly to the Lepidoptera of the British Isles. It also deals with other orders of insects especially Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Orthop- tera. Its articles include descriptions of new species and varieties, reports on collecting trips, distribution, habits and habitats of insects and of collecting and study techniques suitable for novice and expert. It circulates in 47 countries. Annual subscription - 35s. post free Write for specimen copy to F. W. Byers, 59, Gurney Court Road, St. Albans, Herts., enclosing 5/-. This amount will be taken into account in the first year’s subscription. R. N. BAXTER Suppliers of EXOTIC INSECTS to Museums, the research worker, the amateur entomologist, etc. Lepidoptera and Coleoptera a speciality 16 Bective Road, Forest Gate, London, E.7, England MAIL ORDERS ONLY In your reply please mention AES L. GHRISTIE 157, GLENELDON ROAD, (Postal Business only) STREATHAM, LONDON, SW16 New and Used Entomological Equipment BEE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION HILL HOUSE, CHALFONT ST. PETER, GERRARDS CROSS, BUCKS., ENGLAND FOR ALL INFORMATION ON BEES EK. W. CLASSEY LTD. 353 Hanworth Road, Hampton, Mddx Entomological Literature CATALOGUES ON REQUEST A MINE OF INFORMATION Some of the more important items to be found in some earlier volumes of the AES Bulletin are given below. These volumes are a good investment. Why not order some from the Publications Agent for your bookshelves? Two complete volumes may be had _ for only 15/-d.! Vol. 14. Insects of Wayfaring tree; beetle parasites; collecting Flies, Fleas, Dragonflies; Hunting wasps; collecting Mayflies; Lepidoptera of Somerset, Essex and Perthshire; Monthly collecting tips; breeding Humming Bird and Convolvulus Hawks. Vol. 15. Importance of the Pyrenees; Light trapping; insects of leaf litter; pupa digging; relaxed storage of insects; Heath Fritillary in Sussex; the Australian Phasmids; the Wester Ross expedition; setting methods, Wains- cots; Leaf Miners; Membership, 1956. Vol. 16. Breeding the Genus Catacola, Jersey Tiger, Heath Fritillary, Toadflax Brocade; Spring Macrolepidoptera, making a simple beating tray and sweep net; studying Parasitic Hymenoptera; collecting Micros; Mites associated with insects; genitalia of Coleoptera; Melanism study; the Camargue Expedition, 1956. Vol. 17. Collecting the Welsh Clearwing; Grasshoppers; Notes from Aviemore; Microscopy—lenses; notes on the Purple Emperor, Black Hair- streak and Large Blue; Heath Fritillary on Exmoor; Butterflies of Glamorganshire; Houseflies; rearing the Fox Moth and Hybrid Hawk- moths; winter rearing of insects. Vol. 18. “Putting down”; beating Hairstreaks; breeding Death’s Head Hawk, the Marsh Fritillary; assembling moths; repinning old specimens; making store boxes; locality cards; moths of Caernarvonshire; pupae eee. collecting Grasshoppers. Vol. 19. Pieris napi in Hebrides; collecting at Aviemore, the Norfolk Broads, the French Alps, Provence; the British Coleophoridae; sugaring | and collecting hints; breeding Saturnia pyri; moths of the Sussex Coast; | Silver Jubilee number; Rheindalen Forest. | Beatames | ieee: 8 to 24 are available at 10s. Od. per copy, or 15s. Od. | for any two; Volumes 25 onwards at 25s. Od. per copy; obtainable i. from the AES Publications Agent:— ae 137 Gleneldon Road eae, LONDON, S.W.16 E one ‘not send remittance with your order as an invoice will be sent with q - the publications and will include the correct postal charge.) ANNUAL EXHIBITION 1970 The Annual Exhibition of the Amateur Entomologists” will be held at:— Holland Park School, Airlie Gardens. Campden Hill, Kensington, W.8. on Saturday, 26th September, 1970 _ 2 ae This is an advance notice to enable members to book the date a | : and to plan their exhibit. : P Full details will appear in the next paises Bulletin. ‘THE RAJAHBROOK’ LONDON’S BUTTERFLY CENTRE NOW OPEN JACEYS GALLERIES 523 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.1 (100 yards Marble Arch Station) Lepidopterist gifts and equipment. Large selection of set and papered specimens. Specialist manufacturers of - entomological cases and cabinets—made to order and _ ie | also to customers’ special requirements. = Tel.: MAYFAIR 0419 THE BULLETIN OF ) THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGISTS’ SOCIETY World List abbreviation : Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 3 EDITED by JOHN BOCOCK, BSc., : , F.R.E.S. Natural History of the Lake District Canon G. A. K. Harvey and J. A. G. Barnes ‘The ee of the “Natural History of the Lake District” published by Frederick Warne and Co. Ltd. is an event for everyone interesed in_ this countryside and_ its life, whether they are natives or visitors... Cumberland Herald ‘ . . a major contribution to the natural Lise of the Lake District . . . a standard work.’ £3 net. ; 4 Border Life Warne 1-4 Bedford Court, London WC2 AES NOTICE — where a . - Membership applications and first subscriptions to: Changes of address and non-arrival of Bulletins to: Advertisers and for Prospectus of Society and Application forms to: _ Offers to lead field meetings, etc. to: Manuscripts, drawings and books for review to: Subscription renewals (25/- per annum, 12/6 under I|7 years) to: Youth matters to: Offers of help, queries, etc. to: Annual exhibition matters to: Hon. General Secretary: - Middlesex. fla aia ee ae fee a > I pats ~ BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS | WORLDWIDE SELECTION OF aa PAPERED —s| LEPIDOPTERA Price List from:— ‘DOUGLAS E. DODWELL 28 SUMMERLEAZE PARK © S YEOVIL, SOMERSET | o err ‘ Yor. 2 iP ota) D. Keen, 4 Staffa Road, Loose Court, Maid- 4 stone, Kent. hi mee P: Tice 18 Old ‘Maw Drive, Isleworth, 4) Py ere. | . R. D. Hilliard, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Mid- dlesex. GRimsdyke 0460. — . R. H. Allen, 26 Burnside Road, Dogenham, 3 Essex. i di — we : os occas "7 ——__—_ j___ Sar J. Bocock, Biology Dept., Institute we Educa- | tion, Malet Street, London, W.C.1. he i ale k all — 2 ly TET OAS P. R. Grey, Ashleigh, St. Ecc: | Road, Weybridge, Surrey. a H. J. Berman, St Ivo School, St Ives, Hunts. 7 | G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, North a E Middlesex. 5 P. W. Cribb, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex. G. Prior, 23 Manor Way, Netti: Harrow, Middlesex. ms BK = | # 2 | Bn ‘THE RAJAHBROOK’ LONDON’S BUTTERFLY CENTRE NOW OPEN JACEYS GALLERIES 523 OXFORD STREET, LONDON, W.1 (100 yards Marble Arch Station) Lepidopterist gifts and equipment. Large selection of set and papered specimens. Specialist manufacturers of entomological cases and cabinets—made to order and also to customers’ special requirements. Tel.. MAYFAIR 0419 Lepidopterist gifts and equipment. Selection of set and papered specimens. Specialist manufacturers of entomological cases and cabinets—made to order and also to customers’ special requirements. Our modern entomo- logical cabinets feature our exclusive ‘touch release” drawers that lock firmly into the cabinet on return. All drawers are interchangeable in all units, either five, ten or twenty drawer sizes. Drawers are over 17 inches deep, corked, papered and have lift-off glass lids. Cabinets are stackable, finished in light coloured wood and extremely smart. The ten drawer size is approximately 18 inches square and 36 inches high and can be viewed at our premises or send 10/— for colour photo- graphs of cabinets and drawers (returnable). The ten drawers size costs £36 plus carriage and for the Junior collector we also produce a five drawer cabinet which is excellent value at £9 19s. 6d. SSS SG SU SY Wi Wi WU i Wi Wi Wi Wi Wa Wa Wa WS WW Wa Wi WO Wk ik i We Wa Wi WW a Wa Wa a Waa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Waa Wa Wa tea Wa ia Ws Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa a Wa Wa Wa Wa Sa a WW ANNUAL EXHIBITION 1970 The Annual Exhibition will be held on 26th September, 1970 at the Holland Park School, W.8. Full details of how to reach the school, etc.. are given on the back cover. The following further notes may be of assistance to those intending to visit the exhibition. Exhibits are not confined to specimens captured this season: an item need not be new to be of interest. Any exhibit related to entomology in its broadest sense (and nature study) may be shown. This includes not only set specimens, livestock and apparatus, but also the illustration of techniques, records and observations with or without specimens of the species concerned, etc. A covering for set specimens is advisable—a piece of “polyglaze” or similar material may be used as a transparent cover to protect storebox specimens, for instance. Exhibits from non-Members and Members of affiliated societies are welcomed. Good labelling of exhibits is essential, as the value of an exhibit often lies in the explanation of what the material displayed represents. The name of the exhibitor should be added as this allows not only contact to be made between the exhibitor and people particularly interested in the exhibit, but also allows a note of the exhibit to appear in the exhibition report in the Bulletin, so that Members who are unable to visit the exhibition are aware of some of the special interests of other Members. Juniors’ prize: There will be a special prize for the best Junior Member’s exhibit (a “Junior Member” is one who was eligible to pay the Junior subscription for this year). Group exhibits are allowed, and in the event of such an exhibit winning, the prize will be shared equally between the members of the group. Exhibits will be judged by the President. The method of presentation in relation to the subject will be the chief criterion used in judging the exhibits—it is therefore not necessary to exhibit large numbers of specimens, or species which are rare, to win the prize. Age will also be taken into account. Colours slides from the Society’s collection will be shown throughout the afternoon, and Members are invited to bring along interesting slides of their own to show other Members. Dealers. At AES Exhibitions it is no exaggeration to say that nearly every entomological supplier in the country is always represented. and this will be equally true of this year. Please bring an exhibit, large or small Wa Wa Wh Wh Wh Wh Wh Wh Wh Uh Oh Oh OO Wh Wh Uh OOOO Ok OOOO OOO ; i iM if ' ’ Fi i ae AES No. 288 BULLETIN AUGUST, 1970 EDITORIAL The annual exhibition is almost with us again. It is one of the few measures of that widespread interest in entomology that for the most part goes unnoticed. For some of us it offers a chance to meet old friends and to make new acquaintances. For others it offers a chance to gather information on rearing and breeding from the many experts present as well as the bargain or two in the way of livestock. It is an event that should certainly not be missed. At the time of writing (early June), the summer entomologically speaking has just got under way and has already shown signs of being a good insect year. We have already had reports of large local build-ups of the Lackey moth and if my fruit trees are anything to go by aphids too are going to have a bumper year. What many of us would be interested in knowing about are the patterns of development of some oi these insect population explosions and their accompanying parasites, predators and diseases. Your comments or articles on such items as this as well as your views on the exhibition would be welcome. It has been suggested that we have a series of articles on the activities of professional entomologists so that we as amateurs have some idea as to the ways in which entomological science is developing. These could have particular appeal to our younger members many of whom will themselves become professional entomologists one day. Finally a comment on the article by George and Judy Heath on the Mantids, part of which was first published in the Exotic Insect (formerly the Silkmoth Rearers) Group’s news-sheet. They say in their accompany- ing letter that they know little about entomology and are not very scientific in their approach. I would suggest that their article indicates how much useful information can be gathered by those prepared to spend time and effort and this is why it is here published in full. John Bocock (4211). Front cover illustration: The oil beetle, Meloé proscarabaeus Linn, drawn by Mr J. Cooter (3290). 70 AUGUST, 1970 COLLECTING NOTES — AUGUST 1970 The Smaller Moths Most former articles in this series have dealt with the rearing of microlepidoptera, because with many species this is the only most interesting and sometimes the only way in which to obtain the imago. In this number for a change we shall take a look at some of the micros that may be found as adults in the late summer while resting on tree- trunks. The searching of the boles of trees can be quite a pleasant change from the other forms of field work, and may be pursued in wet weather when there is little else to be done. In fact the old entomological handbooks recommend this form of activity particularly after a shower, when many moths have been dashed from their hiding places amongst the foliage, and have taken refuge in the first dry cranny they can find. But these are chance tree-trunk squatters; let us now consider some of those which make it their usual habitat. Mr E. S. Bradford’s first drawing is of Stenolechia gemmella Linn, of which he writes: “I have not bred this insect yet. The drawing is from one of several taken from the trunks of a row of oak trees during the last few years. I have found the adults sitting in the cracks in the bark of oak trees during the day. They can be easily overlooked. I must have overlooked them myself at times, for, when they sit tight where the new growth has stretched and pushed the old bark apart, the lighter growth is very similar to the colour of their wings. Those I did find in this situation were very well concealed. “The ground colour of the forewings is whitish, sprinkled with brown and blackish scales. The darker areas are more blackish brown. The hindwings are a light silvery grey. My specimens were taken in the latter half of August and early September. According to Meyrick the larva feeds in the buds and shoots of oak in June.” His second species is Anacampsis blattariella Hubn. I am particularly pleased to be able to include this drawing because it is of a “new” species not described by Meyrick. Though a common enough moth, it was formerly confused with its close relative A. populella Clerk and was only recognised as distinct some twenty years ago. Ford lists it as betulinella Vari, but this name has now been sunk in favour of the older Hiibnerian designation. A. blatteriella feeds on birch while popuella feeds on poplar, aspen and sallow. Mr Bradford’s drawing and the points he makes in comparing the two species should prove very useful to those who wish to learn how to separate them. His note reads as follows: “The drawing is from one of a number I bred during 1968. The food- plant was birch. I suspect it may have other foodplants but birch is the only one I have so far bred it from. The larva rolls the leaves together ees DUELETIN, VOL. 29 7| ES.BRADFORD. \ \\ eS Ss ~ = AYN S SS \ WMV WY Ww \ i E.S. BRADFORD Anacampsis blattariella Hiibn and pupates in the rolled leaves. My specimens emerged mainly in the first week of July. The moth can, in many instances be mistaken for A. populella. When looking at a number of dlatteriella and populella side by side, one at once notices the more uniform dull grey of populella. A. blatteriella is a much more striking and ‘“‘contrasty”’ insect, more black and white. A couple of my specimens have almost completely black forewings. The overall colour is black and white. In the one from which I did the draw- ing the pattern is quite easily seen, but in the dark specimens this is almost obliterated. I think it is a more variable insect. The hindwings are a grey-brown darkening towards the apex. I was foolish not to make a note of the larva at the time or to photograph it, so I cannot describe it here. | was unaware that it was a A. blatteriella which makes it the more maddening. Never mind I may find it again this year, in which case I will get its portrait.” 72 AUGUST, 1970 I have had the same sad experience as Mr Bradford, for I too have reared the moth without recognising the larva or describing it. A year later I collected rolled birch leaves from the locality in which I found it - but the resulting imagines all turned out to be Epinotia solandriana, Linn. As far as I know the larva has not been described in British entomological literature. Most of my specimens of blattariella have been taken off birch- trunks. I found them particularly plentiful in a Breckland locality in Suffolk in August, 1969, where, there being no poplars or sallows in the vicinity, I could be sure I was getting the birch-feeding species exclu- sively. A net is a necessary adjunct as the moth is easily alarmed. On the same trunks and on the same day two other species were common. The first was the pretty Epinotia paykulliana F. This moth, like most others that affect tree-trunks has a colouration that blends well with the tree it selects to rest upon. The other species, which was the most plentiful of the trio, was Eudonia (Scoparia) trunicolella Staint. I have often found this moth on pine-trees and pines and birches were mingled in the locality in question. Sallows and poplars have trunks which are well worth searching. Besides A. populella, the variable Epinota nisella Clerck will often be found in late summer, when its less commor close relative E. cinereana Haw. occurs on the stems of aspens. The latter also harbours EF. maculana Fab. (opthalmicana Htibn) in September; Ford says the moths rest high up the trees but I have found them often enough within easy reach. Oaks will almost provide Zeiraphera insertana Fab. (corticana Hiibn), but all too often the specimens are in poor condition. The small moths sometimes abound, but, of course a sharp eye is necessary to locate them. The second generation of Phyllonorycter (Lothocolletis) and Stigmella (Nepticula) is on the wing in August, and so are many of the Argyresthias. Moths of these families often occur in great numbers and are easily collected on smooth-barked trees or fences. In a wood near my home in Essex there is an old hut measuring about twelve feet by nine, and on its walls I once counted 176 mini-moths, almost all of which were Phyllonorycters, and on other days when I did not count, I suspect this number was exceeded. Admittedly this was in spring which produces the more plentiful generation, but August too, provides the same species in generous numbers. During the late summer I have sometimes found Chelaria rhombot- della Linn. (conscriptella Hiibn) on tree trunks in places where birch and hazel grew, and very strange and unmothlike it looked with its disruptive wing patterns. The allied Psoricoptera (C) gibbosella Zell. is a moth with which I still have to make my acquaintance; it is said to rest on oak trunks in late July and early August. Finally in this selection the attrac- tive Acleris literana Linn. may be found on the boles of oaks in early autumn before it goes into hibernation. Its green colouring blends admir- ably with the lichens amongst which it rests. This is a species which seems to be less commonly taken now than in the past, possibly because BES BUELETIN, VOL. 29 73 the necessary skill for finding it has been forgotten. I have heard it said that old collectors used to dislodge it by puffing tobacco smoke at the likely trunks. I have only two specimens, one taken at sugar, but the other was at rest on a tree trunk. As I am a non-smoker, I had to rely on my eyesight for this capture. A. M. Emmet (1379). REFERENCES ForbD, L. T. (1949). A guide to the Smaller Lepidoptera, Sth Lond. Ent and Nat. Hist. Soc., London. Meyrick, E. (1928). Revised Handbook of British Lepidoptera, Watkins and Doncaster (reprinted 1967 Classey). SOME THOUGHTS ON REINFORCEMENT OF BUTTERFLIES One of the subjects which have brought controversy to the pages of the Bulletin in the past is that of augmenting butterfly populations by releasing bred specimens. The dangers are several and important and must be appreciated by anyone who intends to release bred insects into a wild habitat. There have been several suggestions in the Press and on the air that in Conservation Year young amateur entomologists should purchase livestock for the purpose of release. Those who would like to act on these suggestions should note what is written here. The dangers are as follows: — 1. Bred stock may well be inbred and not genetically stable enough or strong enough to survive in the wild and if brought into a stable wild colony may upset them to the extent of destroying them. 2. Bred stock may also carry disease, as virus troubles are more likely to occur in the more intensive conditions of the breeding cage. 3. A local colony may be racially different from others and this unique status could be destroyed by the introduction of stock from other habitats. This is even more probable if the introduced stock is from abroad. 4. A locality may already be supporting the maximum of a species and the introduction of a surplus could endanger the existing stock. 5. The introduction of a species into an area which did not pre- viously contain it could set up ecologically adverse results (and mess up the local records). There are two possible ways of introduction: (a) to augment an existing colony and (b) to introduce a species to an area from which it has disappeared or to an area which is completely new to it. These require a different approach. In the case of augmenting an existing colony, this should only be done by using stock from that colony and only one generation should 74 AUGUST, 1970 be bred. An example of this is the augmentation of the Purple Emperor. Apatura iris Linn. This has been done by collecting up the ova in August and breeding the resultant larvae through to the adult stage when the newly emerged butterflies are reurned to the habitat from which they came. The purpose of this action is to offset normal losses and those due to forestry activities in a decreasing suitable environment. We know that in a stable population each batch of eggs laid produces a pair of new parents but natural and unnatural wastages can be offset by gathering in fertile females or the ova for breeding on in captivity and subsequent release of the imagines. In the case of species of butterfly which are itinerant and widespread there seems little point in augmentation but with a wide genetic mixture taking place all the time there would be little objection to releasing stock of such species into the wild at any place. However, stock which has been bred on in captivity for more than a couple of generations should not be released for the reasons given previously. Very often a localised species may be in danger, in its immediate habitat for reasons which are purely man-made, e.g. the ploughing up of a field or piece of downland, and in these circumstances it seems a com- mendable act to move stock on to an adjoining suitable area as quickly as possible. Whenever such an action is taken it is important to advise Monkswood Records Section that the habitat has moved. The alternative would be the total loss of the colony and possibly the disappearance of a local race for ever. : Because of changes in climate it is possible for species of butterfly to die out and this may be the reason for the loss of Nymphalis poly- chloros Linn., the Large Tortoiseshell, which may be finding our winters no longer suitable for it. I think that the re-introduction of such species from foreign stock might be a good idea if it had any chance of success but such stock would stand even less chance than our original races had as they are conditioned for a different environment. The Black-veined white, Aporia crataegi Linn, is a notable failure, having been brought in from the Continent on several occasions. Changes in agricultural activities, in forestry and the inroads of urbanisation have meant the loss of many species from particular areas as the habitat they enjoyed has gone. In these cases I must say that | am in favour of the re-introduction of the lost species from other suitable British localities. Although many suitable spots have been destroyed there are others, which have never supported the species, which are quite suitable, or appear to be so, and where there is hope of such places being unchanged for at least a few years, an introduction could be attempted. An example of a species which has suffered much from the ploughing up of marginal land is the Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia Rott., which in many of its old habitats existed in one or two damp fields. A subsidy for drainage and ploughing up such areas has meant that many such colonies have gone. However similar suitable areas occur and have cee as AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 75 carried introduced stock successfully for some years. The guide lines for such introductions should be: — (a) The species should be absent from the area and this should be carefully checked. There was a case of a large introduction of the Heath Fritillary, Mellicta athalia Rott.. being made at Abbots Wood in Sussex while the original race was still living in the woods around, a race which used Veronica chamaedrys as its main foodplant. This should never have been done. (b) The area should be examined to ensure that there is sufficient of the foodplant to support a colony of the insect to be introduced and that the general ecology is as near as possible to that of areas which are known to hold a viable colony. Often very minute details may effect whether an area is suitable or not and apparently good areas can prove to be unsuitable in practice. (c) The stock to be released must be released in sufficient numbers to overcome the initial losses which will occur while the insect is settling down into the habitat and also to ensure a good genetic mixure to main- tain a healthy colony. In my experience it is useless to release one or two specimens. The stages which appear to be most successful for release are freshly emerged imagines of both sexes or mated females or nearly full grown larvae. Larvae released will find the most suitable spots to pupate while released females will also seek out the most suitable places for laying their eggs. In the case of the Marsh Fritillary I have released large numbers of larvae in the last instance (several thousand) which have subsequently produced a well balanced colony. Species which have gregarious larvae are much more easy to deal with than those which are single feeders. I find that gregarious feeders’ females lay very easily in captivity while the reverse is true of those species which deposit singly. I have several times tried to get female White Admirals, Limenitis camilla Linn., to lay in captivity with no success and although I have been successful with Apatura iris 1 found that not all the eggs were deposited before the females died. With such species I think that the greatest success will be obtained by the release of mated females taken directly from a well- stocked area and released immediately. The Adonis Blue, Lysandra bellargus Rott., was reintroduced successfully into the Chilterns by this method. I would suggest that any member who wishes to take some action in the matter of releasing butterflies should consult with the appropriate County Naturalists’ Trust or equivalent body before taking any action and if a junior member or inexperienced in the subject he should enlist the assistance of more experienced members of this Society or other responsible groups. A joint effort can be more rewarding and ensures some continuity of interest. P. W. Cribb (2270). 76 AUGUST, 1970 ATTACUS ATLAS LINN SOME OBSERVATIONS ON BREEDING AND REARING Summary: As small stock of Attacus atlas was maintained through four genera- tions of hand-pairing techniques and rearing the larvae obtained in heated cages at temperatures around 80° F (27° C). There was a decrease in both numbers and size of the adults believed in part due to the deterioration of the foodplant under winter conditions. . The initial stock obtained as ova produced ten adults; one ovum failed to hatch, one died as a first instar larva. Incubation of the ova took place in tight-fitting screw-top transparent polystyrene storage jars. The ova were placed on filter paper with a few drops of water added to the jar before closing. The incubation and rearing cages were approximately twenty-five inches deep by twenty inches wide and twenty inches high and were con- structed from expanded polystyrene packing cases hollowed out and glued together. A panel of transparent acetate sheet in the front of the cage allowed observation. Heating was by tungsten 60W or 100W light bulbs connected in series with a cheap UNO aquarium thermostat, the light coming on at intervals of a few minutes. Within the cage there was a temperature gradient of some 3° C between top and bottom. No special provision was made for ventilation since it was intended to maintain as high a humidity as possble. the opening of the cage twice a day for inspection and changing of the foodplant being apparetly adequate for purposes of respiration. These cages would maintain some twenty-five final instar larvae, the limitations on numbers being due to the maximum amount of foodplant it was possible to get into the cage, at any one time. The first generation was fed in privet, the second was offered the choice of privet or rhododendron but opted for privet. The third genera- tion was fed on privet, which in the later stages around mid-November was beginning to age and tended to dry out rather quickly. Some of the fourth generation were put on an artificial diet based on that used by Hoffman et al. with the addition of two per cent powdered privet leaf, but were subsequently transferred back to privet after two days when an absence of frass seemed to indicate non-acceptance. Larvae were trans- ferred from the closed jars to the large cage after the second moult when the larvae were about three-quarters-of-an-inch. Abnormally small larvae were culled to reduce the likelihood of disease. The pupal stage lasted about thirty days at 24° C. The cocoons were hung vertically and after allowing a period of two weeks for hardening were carefully opened. This was done as a matter of course to determine the numbers of males and females present and ata later stage to determine | | | | AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 +5 the state of development. It was also found advisable to open the cocoons to ensure that the pupae were correctly orientated, A. atlas not in- frequently manages to pupate head downwards, and unless turned will fail to emerge from the cocoon. All pupae were left in their cocoons which act as restraining devices assisting the emerging moth in ridding itself of the pupal case. As far as can be observed the cocoon does not affect the rate of development whether opened or unopened. Of the second generation some twenty cocoons were sprayed with warm water. There appeared to be no significant difference in emergence rates. Mating. Since it was not possible to maintain both high temperature and humidity in an area large enough for a large flight cage, artificial hand pairing techniques were used similar to those described by Clarke. The method consists of persuading the female to protrude her ovipositor sufficient for the male to attach himself by means of his claspers. The procedure requires patience and a good supply of insects in the right physiological condition. If both insects are fresh, that is within a day of emergence but with fully hardened wings, they may couple with little trouble. Fresh males however often refuse to open their claspers; this they can sometimes be persuaded to do by applying gentle heat to the body. Placing the body near a warm tungsten lamp for a few moments usually has the desired effect. Similarly if the female is reluctant to protrude her ovipositor warming may cause her to do so. The bodies of the two insects are held between the thumb and third finger of each hand allowing the legs of the moths to grasp the index finger. Gentle pressure on the side of the body of the female will cause her to protrude her ovipositor. The male claspers as they open are pressed downwards over Chitmous plates so that the ovipositor is now enclosed. If coupling is satisfactory both insects will tend to make peristaltic movements of their abdomens, the male claspers remaining still. If he has not clasped the female satisfactory or has been unable to insert the aedegus (penis) into the female opening he will tend to open his claspers and separate. Even if an apparent coupling is achieved great care must be taken in transferring the insects to something from which they can hang. As with locusts there is a flying reflex which may come into action when the legs are unsupported; this is suppressed or reduced when the legs are engaged. Assuming the moths are coupled and are to be transferred to a place where they can hang quietly, the bottom of a curtain or an old cocoon suspended will do. After releasing the legs the moths are lifted to the hanging point and as the feet touch they are released with a slight downward pulling action. If the coupling is satisfactory the moths will stay together for between twelve and twenty- four hours. They may however become restless and separate within minutes in which case the procedure is repeated. J. Bocock (4211). 78 AUGUST, 1970 SOME TIPS ON BREEDING BUTTERFLIES However well ventilated a breeding cage may be, it will still main- tain a higher temperature than the outside air so that the rate of dehydra- tion of butterflies in a breeding cage will be higher than in the wild. Free flying insets will spend a lot of time seeking moisture either from nectar or from moist patches, animal droppings, etc. Such opportunities do not occur in a cage and one of the first essentials in keeping butterflies alive is to give them plenty to drink. As most species only lay freely in sunlight, the need for moisture is greater. A good method of providing moisture is to lay peat on the bottom of the cage and water this as necessary during the day. In my own cages I water them with a fine rose early morning, at midday and again in the evening. This is in addition to having a supply of fresh flowers for feeding which should also be watered. Ragwort. Senecio jacobaea Linn., is a useful flower for this purpose and other species which have flowers suitable for settling on and which do not wilt quickly. The food plant on which the butterfly is to lay should be potted Where this is possible as it will then support the young larvae when they emerge and save transference of the eggs to fresh material. Some species will lay near the foodplant rather than on it so that in these cases other material around the foodplant should be provided and kept with the foodplant until the eggs have hatched. The Pearl-bordered Fritillary. Clossiana euphrosyne, will lay on plants growing near to Violet plants as well as on the Violet itself while the Silver-washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia Linn.., lays its eggs in the cracks of oak bark and almost anywhere else in the breeding cage. As some species insist on flying to the top of the cage and crawling about there on the top muslin, the foodplant in these cases should be kept right at the top of the cage. I have found with the Swallowtail. Papilio machaon Linn., that this is the only certain way to induce the females to lay. If the fronds of Fennel are in contact with the top of the cage the butterfly will lay quite freely. The Purple Emperor, Apatura iris Linn., and the White Admiral, Limenitis camilla, Linn., are both species which lay their eggs in the shade and at least that part of the cage where the foodplant s placed should be shaded. I have not been lucky with the White Admiral and would be interested to hear from any member who has been, as to the method in use. Quite a few butterflies will take several days after pairing before starting to lay as the eggs are not always mature until some time has passd. During this period the females must be fed and in addition to the use of flowers and adequate spraying, the females can also be hand fed by using dilute honey water. The concentration of honey should be fairly low as there is a danger of recrystallisation within the body of the insect which causes premature death. I have had this happen with sugar solutions—the body becomes distended and hard. In hand feeding the solution can be soaked into a cotton wool plug and the tongue (proboscis) er Bes BULLETIN, VOL. 29 79 of the butterfly uncurled with a fine needle so that the insect tastes the liquid. Once this has occurred the butterfly will normally continue to feed until satisfied. Some will be able to taste the sweetness by contact with their legs and uncurl the proboscis voluntarily. Feeding is best done each evening when the butterflies are quiescent. If your first attempts are unsuccessful you will have learnt from your mistakes and your techniques and results will improve with perseverance. ies 1970: POW. Cribb: (2270): COLLECTING IN THE CAMEROONS: PART fi One morning shortly after my hunters had gone off into the bush for their day’s work, Dr Peter Moore turned up at my “‘base”’ at St Francis’s Training College, Fiango, and invited me to have supper with him and his wife and children that evening, after which he would set up in his compound a MV lamp which he used on occasions for insect- collecting in connection with his work on research into the insect vectors of various tropical diseases. I was thrilled at the prospect of this, as I had used one of these lamps from time to time in Britain with excellent results. It is a commonplace occurrence on a good night in this country to get several hundred moths to MV within an hour or so, provided that conditions are just right; how much more exciting it would be sur- rounded by great tropical moths which I had seen previously only in museums! Even the most blasé of experienced entomologists could hardly fail to be excited at such a prospect. Peter set up the lamp by hanging it from his Yoruba houseboy’s native spear stuck in the ground, plugging the working into the generator, and spreading a white sheet on the ground to reflect the light and render settled moths easier to see and capture. The light is too brilliant to look at with the naked eye without risking damage to the sight, and goggles are usually worn. I had only my sunglasses, but even looking at it through these was very uncomfortable. The best thing is to look at the moths and not at the light! Peter told me that he and his wife had to go out visiting for a little while and would leave me to work by myself. The houseboy would be within call and would, if I asked him, search for frogs and other creatures in the compound. I was asked to pop upstairs now and again 80 AUGUST, 1970 to keep an eye on the children, and it is a good thing that I did, as on one of these visits | had to rescue the younger daughter from a pre- carious position in which she had wedged herself by standing up on the doorhandle! She was clinging to the top of the door and was afraid to get down again, so she let out a piercing shriek, which brought both me and the houseboy rushing upstairs; I thought at the very least that a puff-adder had got into her room! I grabbed her and put her back into bed. and told her that if either she or her sister played about again at this time of night I would tell both her parents when they got back. I never heard another peep out of the bedroom! Joseph, the houseboy, had little success in bagging any reptiles, but I was soon in transports of delight. surrounded by hordes of great night moths sweeping towards me and not knowing where to start picking up the specimens which settled on the sheet. At one end of the scale were great Saturniids with a nine-inch wing-span. brilliant yellow. warm ochre or tawny brown, with huge transparent eye-spots in each wing. The rare West African Saturniid Bunaea alcinoé swooped apparently from nowhere and settled on the sheet—the very last thing I expected to see. Its wings are an exquisite shade of rich coffee-brown, streaked with cream and pink markings, and measure seven and a haif inches from wing-tip to wing-tip. I was so terrified of disturbing it by trying to get the killing- bottle over it that instead I netted it and then manoeuvred it into the bottle from the net-bag; normally, however, this is seldom necessary when collecting at MV light, the easiest procedure being to pop the bottle over the moth when it had settled. except for very wary species which vibrated their wings or moved restlessly on the sheet. But this was my first experience of collecting at MV light in the tropics... At the other end of the scale were dainty, tiny moths which had slender bodies and wings of delicate green patterned with a tracery of gold, filigree-like lines. At the time I did not know what these were. as they seemed so utterly unlike any of the familiar British groups. but I later discovered them to be a species of Arctiid related to our tiger moths. Anything less like a tiger moth would be hard to imagine. How- ever, on looking up this unknown species. I found that its larva is almost identical in appearance to our familiar “‘woolly bear’’, the larva of the garden tiger moth (Arctia caja). That such a delicate creature should result from a stockily-built, furry-bodied caterpillar of this kind seemed fantastic. Another common visitor to the light was a beautiful Noctuid which, although superficially like our Plusias, turned out, on investigations, to be a species from an entirely different unrelated group which is not represented in Britain. It was about the size of our Plusia festucae, and had metallic gold spots in almost the same positions as those displayed by the species above mentioned; but around these shining areas were a series of concentric lines which at the outer edges were a deep velvety AES SUELETIN, VOL. 29 8] black, gradually shading towards a delicate pearl grey, with a pinkish suffused area defining the edge of this innermost line. These moths had an almost unreal appearance, and I was in some ways more excited at seeing them than by seeing Nudaurelia oubié and the other great satur-: nids of bird-like proportions that swept past my head and dropped on to the sheet with a bang. A brown and cream Liparid moth with jet-black feathery antennae and a cream-coloured body was one of the commonest visitors, but none the less beautiful for that. It had a local reputation of being apparently so distasteful that no animal or bird would touch it, which may partially at least account for its numbers. It had a peculiar habit of dropping suddenly down on the sheet and scuttling off into the grass: a most un-mothlike trait. These moths were very easy to capture, and | soon had an adequate series. It was here that I had my first encounters with the Syntomidae, a group unrepresented in Britain. They are related to the Arctiidae and the majority of them are dark in colour with light stripes. One of the most attractive was slate grey with biscuit-yellow stripes; another was similar except that the yellow was replaced by red. The stripes were arranged on the wings to form a disruptive pattern, breaking the ground colour up into completely isolated patches; the stripes were narrow and straight, with almost a complete absence of curves, giving the wings a distinctly geometric-looking pattern. I found these Syntomid moths, which had immediately struck me with their peculiar fascination, among the most absorbing of all the African species. Fortunately a number of different kinds were all common, and I soon found myself neglecting some of the other groups and concentrating on obtaining a series of two males and two females of each species. As in Britain, males far out- numbered females to the MV lamp, but females did turn up, so I was able to complete the pairs. Syntomid moths are smallish—they average about the size of our Callimorpha jacobeae—and in shape they are quite different from any other group. When at rest they hold their wings in a perfect isosceles triangle, thus completing their uncannily geometric aspect. One or two kinds have a kind of elongated look, with long narrow forewings and truncated hindwings; as these settled on the sheet they looked weird and out of place, like alien bugs among the Lepidoptera. I must have overlooked quite a few big Saturniids while | was attending to these... Hawk moths were abundant, and included some exceedingly beauti- ful species. Among these were some fabulous green ones utterly unlike anything we have in this country. They were about the same size as our Elephant Hawk and, I understand, closely related to it. One species had two shades of green blending imperceptibly into one another on the upper wings; while the costal margins were a light olive, the hind mar- gins of the same wings were very much darker. The hind wings were the 82 AUGUST, 1970 saine colour as the lower margins of the forewings. Another species, which was a little larger, was a muted olive green all over, but had a light patch at the tip of the forewings containing a small silvery marking rather like the Greek letter £. Its specific name is “‘inscripta’’, and I had read about it before coming to Africa; but I had never visualised myself catching specimens at MV light in an English doctor’s compound in the Cameroons! I regret being unable to quote the names of a good many of the species I have described, as, unlike European and American Lepidoptera, the West African butterflies and moths are very sparsely represented in the available textbooks, neither keys nor colour plates being at all easy to come by. Comparing one’s specimens with museum collections is a laborious and time-consuming process (though it is none the less enjoy- able for that), and when one’s time is somewhat limited, it means that it may be a considerable time before one can get one’s collection named, classified and catalogued. Visitors to MV light in the tropics include not only the moths and the inevitable flies, Orthoptera and other invertebrates, but also a goodly assortment of geckos and other creatures which are not attracted to the light per se but to the rich harvest of insects which the light provides for them at little or no cost to themselves effort-wise! Even tree-frogs would leap out of the overhanging branches of the trees in the compound and join the fray, and lizards of all kinds apart from geckos—including the big Agama and Panoplis lizards and skinks—also invited themselves along to the feast. Unfortunately I had given all my cloth bags to the houseboy and left the reptile and amphibian-collecting part of the even- ing’s operations to him. Bats swooped about and also accounted for a share of the flying insects long before they ever reached the lamp and sheet. At about ten o’clock Peter and Amberley returned, and asked me how I had been getting on. I was able to show them about 400 moths. but this, of course, was nothing like the total number that had turned up. I was well pleased with my evening’s work, and Peter was glad that he had been able to allow me these facilities. Amberley prepared coffee and sandwiches for us before the drive back to St Francis’s, and just as we were setting off we almost forgot to ask the houseboy to return my reptile-collecting bags. Joseph, Icoking very crestfallen, appeared in the doorway holding out the bags, which were all empty except for one containing two small geckos. “IT so sorry, Madame!” he said. “No flog!” Joy O. I. Spoczynska (751) (To be continued) AES BULLETIN, VOL. 29 33 A SIMPLE GUIDE TO SETTING LEPIDOPTERA Introduction Detailed descriptions of setting lepidoptera are rarely found in texi books on collecting, with the result that beginners must learn from inadequate advice, spoiling many insects and wasting much time in the process. I have now developed a setting method which suits me and which I should like to pass on to other beginners in the hope that it may help them. I must stress that this method will probably need modifica- tion to suit any other individual, but if the description that follows helps beginners embarking on the tricky operation of setting, it will have achieved its purpose. a LOE igs PESTS! K? e, ROS i ? e, led , LIP OK Re SS Yate {) x \) o- vere “ D % ie ) vle'e AL om alte + ne “ / ' vi =e Fe: —_s~ m Jfs L = —- » 2 F - de : : » or H i i —_ Ams > % - & : af Loe rn | y ae: | % . wees 53 ee. Ge Br : - - ai ™, Re - = + - < — a oes » : F ~ 4 ow + -—_ ; F Soy 1 a fe , Z oe — #3 7 ‘ ~ a _ rid ; 1 " - rw. - i Say , ao ’ os : . ‘ = A q : mm) wr i } ; ‘ 1 a & ~_ i a y 4 ae > ; ; ; ‘ “ — y 4 t 5 iS ' a a : ; j > 7 - ; « ' Ny ay . ii’) - Z v= 7 - ke oe “d ' > = _— ‘ Leg ti | a 7 & a ie i a3 : 4 2% -— ~ at tee. _ a > Fe ie — + i 2 ; ae a , ar 33 - 5 : 4 ' ~ | = > A - » ti 7 ete = © Pas F Pag. ne a 7 ay 4 ‘ = » 7 . ‘ y 4 ; ‘ a P Se * = ‘ Koy, HYMENOPTERISTS HANDBOOK This volume is a comprehensive guide to collecting, rearing and the study of ants, bees, wasps, sawflies, gall-wasps and parasitic Hymenoptera; including keys to all the British families. Originally published in 1943, it has been unobtainable for many years. To meet the continuing demand a facsimile reprint of the original edition has been prepared; and is available from the AES publications agent. Price 30/- Size Octavo, pp 160 with 2 plates and 183 text figures AES Publications Agent, 137 Gleneldon Road, Streatham, London, S.W.16, England. Do not send remittance with your order as an invoice will be sent with the publications and will include the correct postal charge. ADVERTISING IN THE AES BULLETIN | Advertisements in the AES Bulletin are seen by a wide cross section of entomologists and others interested in natural history generally. Subscribers include collectors in many overseas countries as well as foreign libraries and museums. Despite a continued increase in printing costs, we have maintained our advertising rates at the lowest possible level and it is with regret that we decided that a small increase is now essential. 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CHRISTIE | 137, GLENELDON ROAD, = =—_(Postal Business only) | STREATHAM, LONDON, SW16 New ad Used eo a " » a t * ‘- is Si : cc: RESEARCH ASSOCIATION : HILL HOUSE, ‘CHALFONT ST. PETER, _ GERRARDS ae ‘BUCKS, EN GLAND ; . FOR ALL INFORMATION ON BEES . Ww. ‘CLASSEY LTD. on i 353 Hanworth Road, ‘Hampton, Mddx Entomological Literature CATALOGUES ON REQUEST THE BUTTERFLY CENTRE Butterflies of the World 3 We are pleased to offer an unparalleled service to the collector, both specialist and beginner. Our large stocks of world lepidoptera contain many rarities as well as the better-known species. We have contacts in all parts of the world and new material arrives daily. We may have just the specimen you are looking for among the large and important collections we are purchasing. If you are a collector of the butterflies of the world you should not miss our Monthly List. - Our catalogue of the complete range of collecting, breeding and storage equipment and details of our Monthly Lists are obtainable by writing to:— THE BUTTERFLY CENTRE PLUMMER TENTERDEN KENT - Printed by Ellis & Phillips Led., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published bythe = Amateur Entomologists’ Society, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex, 1971 0 i We Wd Nec z B @ a emt aie ope re etree Jonl tony . ! et nme at 9% viet el fmt i 4 o wl, Glue