100
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
estuary, which only lacked a touch of sunshine to give it perfection, was
obtained from it.
Tea was taken at a cafe in Mill Street, and afterwards some time was
spent in a ramble along the town promenade which has been formed
bordering the river ; whilst some of the party took the opportunity to
inspect the nearby church of St. Mary the Virgin, close to the Hythe.
At 6.30 o'clock, after some difficulty in collecting stray members, the
homeward journey was entered upon, and after a somewhat cold ex-
perience, Stratford was regained at 8.30 o'clock, the expressed opinion of
the party being that the expedition had been a most enjoyable one,
VISIT TO CANVEY ISLAND (629TH MEETING).
SATURDAY, 10TH SEPTEMBER, 1927.
Heavy rain throughout the night and continued until past midday-
did not constitute very favourable conditions for an outdoor excursion
on the windswept marshes of Canvey, but, nevertheless, a score of ardent
naturalists duly assembled at Benfleet Station at about 10.45 o'clock, and
were rewarded for their hardihood by getting thoroughly soaked. Crossing
Benfleet Creek by the ferry boats, the party attempted to proceed along
the Island sea wall in the direction of East Haven Creek, as per programme,
but the pitiless rain and the discomforts of walking through long grass,
in such weather conditions, compelled a retreat. After nearly an hour had
been spent in the inadequate shelter of a cattle shed, advantage was taken
of a lull in the rain to hurry back to "Winter Gardens," where hot coffee
was dispensed and lunch dispatched by the bedraggled visiters.
But all things have an end, and by 1.30 p.m. the rain had ceased, and
the reanimated party set out, nothing daunted by the morning's mis-
adventure, to search the saltings bordering Benfleet Creek, the remainder
of the day proving kind and the sun itself appearing to warm us.
Entomology, under Mr. Hugh Main's enthusiastic leadership, proved
to be the chief interest of the day, and intensive search was made for the
larva of the Essex Emerald Moth (Euchloris smaragdaria), which feeds on
the Sea Wormwood (Artemisia maritima) and has the curious trick of
covering itself with patches of the food-plant so as to render it very
difficult of detection. Success crowned the united effort, and no fewer
than nineteen specimens of this cunningly disguised larva were
bagged. Many specimens of the magnificent large spider (Epeira
quadrata), both male and female, were noted on the plants bordering the
sea-wall, and various lepidopterous insects, including a single specimen
of the emigrant Clouded Yellow butterfly (Colias edusa) were captured
on the wing, others being the Common Blue and Small Heath butterflies,
the Rosy Rustic moth (Hydraecia micacea) and the Silver Y moth (Plusia
gamma).
Of the plants, the usual salt-marsh forms, such as Sea Aster (Aster
Tripolium), both rayed and rayless, Sea Lavender (Statice Limonium),
Sea Purslane (Atriplex portulacoides), A. patula, Suaeda maritima,
Salicornia herbacea, Sea Spurrey (Spergularia media), Plantago maritima,
Triticum pungens and Triglochin maritimum were abundantly seen, and
other plants noted were Sinapis nigra, Lepidium ruderale, Sison Amomum,