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Three more lists of Essex Lepidoptera were published
within the space of a few years. In 1837 "A list of
the lepidopterous insects found in the neighbourhood
of Witham" by E. H. Burnell appeared in The Magazine
of natural History and five years later William Gaze,
a customs and excise officer living at Sudbury and friend
of the Doubledays, published "A list of Lepidoptera
captured on the borders of Suffolk and Essex" in the
first volume of The Entomologist. In the same volume
there appeared "Captures of Lepidoptera during an
excursion of four days between Walton-on-Naze and
Brightlingsea, Essex" by the famous microlepidopterist,
J. W. Douglas, a brief list but one which included
four species new to science. These three lists,
together with Henry Doubleday's, give us a good picture
of the Lepidoptera of the county 150 years ago.
In 1879, J. T. Carrington, editor of The Entomologist,
began a series of articles entitled "Localities for
Beginners". The very first was Epping Forest because
of its proximity to and easy access from London. One
Londoner who was a regular visitor was William Machin.
He described his procedure. He would travel by train
to Chingford, traverse the Forest collecting and
recording as he went, and fetch up in the evening at
Loughton, whence he would take the train back to
London. A friend and frequent companion was George
Elisha. Elisha named a new species which had been
taken in the Forest and another new species discovered
in Essex by Machin was named in his honour. A third
contemporary was Charles Healy who was a student of
entomology rather than a collector and used the Forest
as his outdoor laboratory.
Yet another contemporary was Professor R. Meldola, a
founder member and past President of the Essex Field
Club. His list entitled "The Lepidoptera of Leyton
and neighbourhood, a contribution to the county fauna"
was published in the Essex Naturalist for 1891 and it
is interesting to compare his list with that of
Doubleday written half a century earlier. Another