NOTES.
255
Mr. Fitch had worked with untiring zeal and energy for the instruction and enter-
tainment of the meeting, and the inveterate punster of the party hit the general
feeling in declaring that everything had been "couleur de 'Hose,' with the excep-
tion of the wind which never 'rose!'"
[At Maldon the Chelmsford contingent hired a drag to get home that night, but
the main body of members went home on Sunday morning, and others on the
Monday. Reports of the meeting were given in most of the county papers, but
we may specially mention the excellent accounts of each day's proceedings
which appeared on the following mornings in the "East Anglian Daily Times."
The report of Friday's proceedings, extending to 300 lines, was read on the
water on Saturday. We have to thank Mr. E. M. Holmes, Mr. Shenstone,
Mr. Crouch, Mr. T. V. Holmes and, of course, Mr. Fitch, for lists and other
information.—Ed.]
Colias edusa.—I am no entomologist, but seeing in the Essex Naturalist
(ante, page 170) a statement respecting the rarity of Colias edusa of late years, it
may interest some of our readers to know that during the partridge shooting in
September, I commonly see two or three examples every season, and this year I
should say that the number seen exceeded twenty.—Darell Stephens, F.L.S.,
F.G S., Trewornan Wadebridge, Cornwall, Nov. 12th, 1888.
Catocala Nupta with Black Underwings.—On September 30th of this
year (which, it will be remembered, was a very cold day), I was coming out of a
cottage near Butler's Bridge, West Bergholt, when I noticed at rest on the wall a
specimen of C. nupta, and wishing to see it spread its beautiful red under-wings,
I touched it with my finger. To my surprise, instead of rushing off, as this insect
usually does on being disturbed, the specimen simply raised the front wings (the
cold weather apparently having made it very sluggish), and exhibited to my
astonished eyes a pair of black under-wings. Of course I transferred it to my hat
("chimney-pots" are very useful at times) as quickly as possible, and took it to
my friend Mr. Harwood, with a request that he would set it for me. The varia-
tion is that instead of the splendid red under-wings, the whole surface of these
wings is suffused with black, but the black borders, etc., are still visible. The
upper wings appear to be normal, but the insect is somewhat under the
usual size of the species.— Henry Laver, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., Colchester, No-
vember, 1888. [By the kindness of Dr. Laver we have been enabled to show
this interesting specimen to many experienced entomologists, but no one appears
to have seen or heard of such a remarkable aberration in this moth. We should
hardly describe the upper wings as being quite "normal"—the ground colour of
the wings is much whiter than usual, the markings somewhat darker and more
distinct, and there is an entire absence of the yellowish-brown scales.—Ed.]
Atomaria linearis, Steph., Destructive to Mangold.—Upon my return
from the Colchester Meeting of the Club on May 22nd, the news greeted me that
all my young mangold plants on Northey Island had disappeared ! The eight
acres of mangold in question had been sown on May 1st, and when I had last seen
them about a week previously, the three thin green rows of young plants on each
stetch were visible from one end of the field to the other. Now there was scarcely
a healthy plant to be seen, and upon examination it was evident that the mischief
had been done to the stalk, which was completely barked, and blackened in most
instances, the cotyledons being entire, although withered and dead. I looked for
wireworms, in vain; but at each plant were a few minute brown beetles, some-
what resembling in miniature an Elater, which speedily moved off into hiding
from the hot sunshine as the earth was disturbed around the plants. The little
beetles were just below the surface of the ground, from two to twelve specimens
being found around each freshly eaten plant. They were somewhat active in their
movements, but I collected about a hundred specimens, and upon examination at
home, made them out to be Atomaria linearis, Steph., the specimens varying in