>.' "'.:■•''■• ENTOMOLOGIST'S RECORD JOURNAL OF VARIATION J. W. TUTT, F.E.S, T. HUDSON BKARE, B.sc, f.k.s., f.k.s.k. M. BURR, B.A., F.z.s., F.L.S., F.K.s. T. A. CHAPMAN, ji.D., F.z.s., f.e.s. I,. B. PROUT, P.F..S. H. St. J.K.DONISTHORPE, f.z.s. f.e.s. VOL. XVI. JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1904. PRICE 7s. 6d. Special Index (with every reference) Is. LONDON : ELLIOT STOCK, 62, Paternoster Row, E.G. BERLIN: R. FRIEDLANDER & SOHN. 11. Carlstrasse, N.W. NEW YORK: Ph. HEINSBERGER, 9, First Avenue, New York, U.S.A. PREFACE. Another volume has been completed, and "we tender our heartiest thanks to the subscribers, contributors, and everyone who has in any way helped towards the continued success of the magazine. An over- flowing supply of most interesting material has always been on hand, and we apologise most heartily to those whose contributions have not yet been published, and hasten to assure them that arrears will be cleared oft' as quickly as possible. We were afraid at one time that the arid theme of synonymy and usage of names were about to overwhelm us, and, whilst not wishing to stifle such discussion altogether, on particular and essential difficult points and facts, we object to occupy- ing valuable space with opinions, criticisms, and unimportant details, and prefer greatly to publish notes about the insects themselves, rather than about the names they do, or ought to, bear. We have been again particularly indebted to Professor Beare and Mr. Donisthorpe for their share of the work in providing and editing a continuous supply of notes on the Coleoptera, and also to Mr. Burr, who has kept alive the interest in the Orthoptera. Few of our recruits appear to take up the less worked orders, Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, absorbing most of the work done. For the General Index this year we have to thank our friend, the Rev. C. R. N. Burrows; and for the Special Index, Professor Beare, Mr. Burr, Mr. Eoutledge, and Mr. Turner. These gentleman, by sharing the work, have already completed the index. The idea was to publish it with this number, but it appears that this can scarcely be done without delaying publication for a few days, which is hardly desirable. It will be sent out if possible with the January number, so as to lessen as much as possible the delay in binding. Our supply of plates this year has exceeded that of any previous volume. For help in producing these we are greatly indebted to Dr. T. A. Chapman, Mr. J. A. Clark, and Mr. J. C. Dollman. The three- colour photograph that was to have been published with no. 12 of the last volume, to illustrate Dr. Chapman's new Psychid, could not be completed until the publication of no. 8 of the current volume, with which it was published. We propose to make no marked alteration in our conduct of the magazine during the coming year. We shall be glad to receive, at anj- time, from contributors, blocks to illustrate insects described, or localities worked. Our series of " Practical Hints " will be continued during the spring and summer months. We particularly thank our subscribers for their kind response to our appeal as to the payment of subscriptions last year. Never before have the subscriptions been paid so promptly and with so little waste of effort. We trust that this satisfactory c(mdition of aft'airs will be maintained with the coming volume. ^^voranlcow/'^ AND 'llf JOURNAL, OF VARIATION. Vol. XVI. No. 1. January 15th, 1904. On a Second Generation of our Forres Triphsena comes, Hb. [melanozonias, Gmel.] . (efr. Ent. Record, xv., pp. 217-222.) By LOUIS B. PBOUT, F.E.S. "With his usual alertness in seizing opportunities for advancing our • knowledge of the workings of heredity in the lepidoptera, my friend Mr. Bacot tried for and obtained pairings in the brood which I have described in my previous article as brood A. On account of the diffi- culty of making sure of the sexes of the Triphaenas when alive, he placed four specimens in a pot together, which, as the event showed, proved to include at least two females, the others both being prohablt/ males. All four were of the melanic {curtisii) series, but I cannot say what were the precise shades of colour. Two were observed in cop., and from the ? of these — which were of course removed from the pot — ova were obtained, which yielded the brood that I shall describe as brood C. Ova were laid in the pot after this segregation, thus proving the presence of at least one other $ . The parentage of the batches which I shall discuss as D, E, F and G, is not quite so certain, but Mr. Bacot believes it was different from that of C. Of course the grandparentage was identical in all cases. The ova were laid in March, and resulted in imagines from June 25th to the first week in September, so that we completed our second generation in scarcely over the twelvemonth from the first eggiaying. My notes are based on my own specimens (four only, bred June 25th to July 6th, belonging to brood C, some infectious disease most unfortu- nately carrying off" the rest of my larvte), Mr. Bacot's (73, also brood C, bred throughout July, and stragglers afterwards, the two latest — both very small specimens — not until the first week of September), Mr. J. E. Gardner's (24, bred July 12th to July 28th, from about 24 ova, which I call brood D ; Mr. Gardner has no recollection of a single death in the larval or pupal state and there are no cripples), Mr. W. J. Kaye's (five only, brood E), Mr. A. W. Mera's (eleven, brood F, bred in July, a good many dying in pupa), and Mr. V. E. Shaw's (28, brood G, many ova did not hatch). The moths show no sign of degeneracy through inbreeding, being quite fully scaled, and well up to size. Mr. Bacot's extremes measure 43mm, (two dark) to 3imm. (two " typicals "), mine 40mm. (my brightest red) to 37mm. (my blackest), Mr. Gardner's 44mm. (four or five, all of the curtmi — clarki section) to 39mm. (two, one " typical," one citrtisii). The average size of Mr. a THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. Bacot's is not inore than 38mm., but this is evidently a question of treatment ; Mr. Kaye's of the first generation were smaller than this, whilst Mr. Gardner's of the second generation are at least as large as — perhaps Inrger on an average than — Mr. Bacot's and mine of the first. On the whole, as in the previous brood, the brighter red clarki average the largest. Brood C.^Here, as in the parent brood (A), there are no true intermediates between the melanic and the non-melanic series ; where there is any infuseation at all, it is well pronounced, and is participated m by both pairs of wings. The total number of moths is 77 (Bacot, 73 ; Prout, 4), of which 52 (Bacot, 60 ; Prout, 2) are melanic, and 25 (Bacot, 23 ; Prout, 2) non-melanic. Thus Mr. Bacot obtained 68*5% melanic, against 31 -5% typical, while my unfortunate brood (too few to be of any use for generalisation) yielded half and half ; resulting in a total percentage of roughly 67'53% melanics. Of the melanic section, about seventeen are ab. clarki, six or seven being of the brighter phase {Entn)ii., xxii., pi. vi., fig. Cl), the rest more mixed with black (reaching to Clark's fig. C2) ; two or three others have still a suggestion of a bright red ground-colour but are very strongly and handsomely marked with jet-black, leaving only the clear red in the costal area, with scattered red scales elsewhere. The remainder, as ni the parent brood, shade oft' very gradually into ab. niijrcscem, indeed, the gradations throughout the whole melanic section are very gentle. I am mclined to call about 20 or 21 intermediates (ab. cnrtisii, Newm., Prout restv. = nifo-iU!in'scens, Tutt), though some half-dozen might almost as well be placed with the extrenier form ; six or seven are to be referred to ab. nii/rescens-'-. The ab. nu/m (with black hindwings) is still not entirely reached, though one of my two comes very near to it, having very glossy black forewings, with the markings nearly obliterated, and strongly black-powdered hindwings. The " typical " series presents one or two features of considei-able interest. Mr. Bacot's 23 consist of one with rather dark grey forewings (ahnost agreeing in this with Clark's fig. D^ — conmjtia, Adkin, nee HI)., yet certainly not " melanic " from my point of view)f , ten ab. pallida (of very much the prevailing tone of Clark's fig. Al and A2, though two or three have less of the red tint and more of the greenish- grey) and twelve ab. (/risea (without exception rather strongly tinged with pinkish, whereas less than half of the (/risea of the parent brood took this peculiar hue). One of the last-mentioned dozen is decidedly darker and, at the same time, pinker than the others — a pretty and uncommon aberration. My two " typicals " are ntterli/ difterent from any of Mr. Bacot's 23, one being a bright ab. nifescena, Tutt (Clark, fig. Bl)|, and the other being also distinctly referable to ab. nifescens, though somewhat duller and greyer. It is not a little remarkable that three out of my four (these two and the very black one mentioned above) should be different from any in Mr. Bacot's long series, and it * A few (five) of Mr. Bacot's more or less melanic specimens, which were sacrificed for ova, are too much worn to classify with exactitude. t Described (i)i/ni) as ab. firiseo-fuxcu. I I may take this occasion to remark that I have now, thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Gervase F. Mathew, seen a southern English example of this aberration. There is one, virtually as brifiht as the Scotch ones, among some interesting forms which he has sent me for inspection, taken in his own (the Harwich) district. ON A SECOND GENERATION OF OUR FORRES TRIPH^NA COMES, HB. 3 almost justifies the vague suspicion Avhich I expressed that, contrary to my previous ideas on the subject, little differences in breeding conditions may tend to modify the resultant forms. The matter, at least, demands further investigation/'' Brood D. — As I have already stated, this brood (Mr. Gardner's) had probably different parents from brood C, but still it is a part of the off- spring of brood A, The 17 " melanics " run from a fine crimison-red form (with so little black freckling on thehindwings that it is, perhaps, the neared thing to an " intermediate " with which I have yet had to deal in these broods) to a dark curti-tn (_ni dnnzelii as it was crossing the road. The following afternoon we went up the Steinenalp, but it turned very cold, and Heaperia var. cirsii, P. orbittdiis, a single P. optilete and a few Colias palaeno were the only species found. The next day I went again to the top of the pass, and, joining Mr. Lowe there, went some distance up the Schonhorn in search of E. f/lacialis, but found only E. i/on/e, and this was flying so rapidly over broken ground that none were actually caught, which was a pity, as they seemed mostly to run towards var. erinm/s. The 28th was marked by the departure of Mr. and Mrs. Lowe, but not by any captures, for it rained most of the day. On the 29th I returned to Simplon, walking over the pass, and on the way going to the moraine at the foot of the Kaltwasser Glacier, where, at last, I succeeded in taking Erebia (jlacialu ; it was flying over stony, but fairly flat, ground, and very slowly, so that I took several specimens, but after 20 minutes the sun went in and not another insect was to be found. A last look at the Laquinthal on the 30th produced magnificent specimens of Chrymplumus virt/aitreae, some of which had three small black spots near the apex of the foreAvings upper side, but nothing else of interest, and the afternoon was again hopelessly wet. Starting in good time on the following morning, I returned to Berisal, again looking for E. glacialis, but in vain, the clouds and biting wind keeping all insects at home. Below the 5th Refuge, however, I took one Pieris callidict', an unusually low elevation for this species. Taking the diligence at Berisal, we descended to Brig, and thence took train to Sion, walking up the next morning to Vex, on the Evoleua road. This was with a view to Carcharodns althaeae var. boetica, which I did not find, but the whole roadside was swarm- ing with butterflies, Polyonimatus damon, P. corydon and P. astrarehe being most in evidence, Epinephele jurtina, the $ s being principally abs. grisea and violacea, was also very abundant, and I took two (? Polyommatus meleayer, a little worn, and a very fine large fresh $ of the steveni form, but larger than any I have seen in the Pfynwald. Carcharodiis lavaterae, E. lycaon and Liiiienitis Camilla, very fresh, were also on the wing. The same evening saw our return to Lausanne, where I remained for a week without seeing a butterfly, and on the following Saturday I went to join Mr. Fison at Champery. Clouds of Polyommatus corydon enlivened the road with a few small Nomiades sewiaryiis and Chvysophanns dorilis, also very small ; Goneptcryx rhamm, Dryas paphia, Aryynnis aylaia A. niobe var. erift, and Pampkila comma were the only other insects to be seen. Sunday was cloudy and showery, and on Monday it rained from morning till night, but on Tuesday, August 11th, I took my long-expected walk to the Chalets of Anthemoz, on the slopes of the Dent du Midi, in company with Mr. Fison. Shortly after starting we came upon Erebia liyea. but, entering the pinewood, we saw nothing more till we emerged about an hour and a half later on the pastures just below Anthemoz, It was a 16 THE entomologist's RECORD. magnificent day and butterflies were abundant, especially Erebias ; the first species to appear were Coenoni/mp/ta satj/rion with very small eye-spots, Erebia manto, rather small and sometimes verging towards ab. caccilia, E. ti/ndanis, very large and generally of the dromus form, though Mr. Fison took one very fine ab. caecodroinua, E. iDelampufi, very small, E. euryalc and ab. ochracea, and a single E. var. pitho : going on past Anthemoz (where excellent milk is very cheap), and rising for some considerable distance, E. pharte, generally very small, and ab. phartina, together with a form of E. manto, closely approaching, and sometimes actually reaching, var. jnjrrhnla, became very abundant, asalso were -^.//o;y/<;, with an occasional ab. erinnys, and Brcnthis pales, generally var. isis, the ? s approaching ab. napaea ; rising higher still and keeping to the right, E. (lorye continued to be abundant, and here also a very small form of K. epiphron, approaching ab. ohsoleta and E. lappona, were to be found, together with a few Pieris callidice, and, finally, on reaching a small bed of shale, some E. ylacialh and ab. plitto were found, mostly rather worn, but I took a $ in very good condition with a white-pupilled eye-spot on the underside forewing. The other butterflies taken on the slopes were Pien's rapae, common even at a great height, Aglais urticae, Vanessa in and Pijrameis cardui, all unusually brilliant, Goneptenjx rhamni, Ar(/;/nnis aylaia and one specimen each of Hesperia cacaUac and H. alveus. After this orgy I found it necessary to remain quiet till Friday, when I again accom- panied Mr. Fison to Barmaz, the path to which passes a broad, steep, shaly grass slope, on which were a number of Paniassius apulln, the 2 s very dark and some of the $ s being of the form nevadensis : this I put down to wear and tear, as they were very old, but eventually Mr. Fison took one in good condition and quite yellow, though not so brilliant as a grand specimen which he took at Faido earlier in the season. On the same slope yveve An/ijnnis ai/laia var. nana, in very good condition, A. adippe, including a beautiful ab. vmiata, A. niobe, type, innumerable Pohjontmatus corijdon, very small, E. acthiops, E. yoante, &c.; at and above Barmaz we found nothing remarkable except that I took E. liyea and E. tyndarns, both quite typical, within a few feet of each other ; E. euryale and ab. ochracea, a few E. manto, and one specimen each of E. var. pitho and E. f/orye were the only other Erebias seen. Two days later, being for a few hours at Lavey, I looked round, but saw only one thing which struck me as remarkable, viz., that while the ^sof Enodia diyas were very fresh, the 2 s were mostly worn and torn. On the 17th I returned to Lausanne, but was unable to leave the house, the next fortnight being only enlivened by a visit from Mr. Tutt, on the 21st. The two or three expeditions I have since made to Charpigny and Martigny have produced nothing of interest beyond the fact that the few Polyonniiatns alc.vis I found at the former place were generally ab. arena, and that Epinepliele jurtina $ , as at Sion, had mostly a tendency of the yrisea and violacca forms. A few of Mr. Fison's experiences this year are too interesting to be passed over. His capture of Chrysophaniis ajnphidaitias I have already mentioned, and amongst his other captures of this year the following seem to me specially worthy of note. On May 22nd, at j\Ioute Salvatore, several specimens of Prenthis eiiphrosyne, very light on the upperside and washed with yellow beneath, almost as markedly as COLEOPTERA. 17 Anfynms adipjye var. deodoxa ; a melanic form of (I think) Melitaea part/icnie, but possibly of 21. athalia, from Monte Bre, on May 28th, and a beautiful ab. navarina of the latter from the Val Solda, on the 26th ; two aberrations of 21. phiebc, one approaching ab. aethena, from Mendrisio, the other with the black marks of the central band under- side hindwino- much exaggerated, from Gordola, taken respectively on the 18th and 19th ; two ? Brenthis selene, the upperside of which almost resembles B. pales ab. napaea, both of which he took in the Meienthal on July 3rd ; a RACTICAL HINTS. The moths on Clematis vitalba. — 1. The newly-hatched larvfe of (jrennietra reriiaria can be found on, or tapped from, the opened buds of (Jleiiiatis ritaiba in August and early September. They are extremely small and stand amongst the stamens of the flower upon which they feed, which they resemble almost exactly in size and colour. As the blossom dies, and falls, the young larvte adjourn to the dark stems of the growth, and gradually turn dark in 20 THE entomologist's RECORD. colour until they are not to be readily distinguished from their support. This is the colour they afiect for the wintei', until the young growth returns on the bush in the spring, when they cast the dark skin and assume the vernal green colour which they retain until pupation. The darkening of the young larvse when the blossom falls is not accomplished by what is known as a change of skin, but is a very gradual darkening of the existing cuticle, which commences about the thoracic segments and extends in both directions until the entire larva is in its winter colour. 2. The eggs of Enjiithecia coronata can be found on, or at the base of, the buds of Clmiiatis ritalba in August. The egg is oval in shape, cream-coloured, and is fairly conspicuous. 3. Tryphaena iiitcrjecta is very partial to flying round the blossom- ing bushes of clfinatis ritalba, in the afternoon, at the end of August, which it will continue to do until dusk. 4. To secure a goodbagof Kupithecia isofjrain mar ia , collect all the un- opened buds of Clematis ritalba which show a mark on the enclosing skin. It is not necessary to look for an open drill as many of the young larvae obtain an entrance by the merest nibble. The larva grows quickly, if supplied with fresh unopened buds, and is no trouble to breed. 5. Melanijipe prorellata, P/iibalapteri/.r tersata and P. ritalbata are three speecies of which the larvae can all be found on Clematis ritalba in August. They are all three extremely easy to rear. Be careful that there is not the slightest loophole for escape from the breeding- cage, as the larvae are all of a restless and inquisitive turn, and avail themselves of the smallest opportunity to get at liberty. — J. C. Doll- man, F.E.S., Hove House, Newton Grove, Bedford Park, W. Decem- ber 1st, 1903. :igiOTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. Lepidopterolouical Notes from the Tring district. — On two occasions this year, 1903, 1 cycled down to the Tring district in quest of lepidoptera, and met with very fair success. The first visit was on May 23rd, when Xisoniades taijes was the butterfly most in evidence, while only a single Si/richt/nis malrae was seen. Pieris napi, P. rapae, P. brassicae and Knchlne vanlamines were also noticed, and two Calluphrijs rubi netted. Of the Heterocera I took Coremia fernitiata, Strenia clat/irata, Xi/lopotia fabnciana and Kriopsela fractifasciana. On my second visit (July 25th and 2Gth) I was accompanied by my friend, Mr. T. F. Furnival, and, considering the inclement weather, we did fairly well. To us the most interesting find was Mimaeseoptilus phaeodartijliis, which was locally common among small patches of Onunis spinosa. This little moth seems seldom to take wing by day unless disturbed, and requires to be carefully sought amongst the shoots of the foodplant. M. pterudarti/lus was also taken amongst herbage, and flies more freely by day than the preceding. By beating and searching in hedges, &c., we obtained EpJtyra linearia {trilinearia), Larentia pectinataria (riridaria), Cidaria dutafa (pyraliata), Kiibulia bipiiiictaria, Butys /ii/alinalis, Scupiila liitealis, Phibalocera tjuercana, Didielia (/rutiaiia, Sericoris laiimana [lierbaua), Ortlidtaenia striana, Catuptria cana and Ypono»iei(ta plnmbella : whilst from a brick wall we took Bryophila perla and Eupithecia subfidrata. After dark we searched a large patch of NOTES ON COLLECTING. 21 thistles with a lantern and boxed odd specimens of Leucania impura, L. pallens, L. lithan/i/ria and (Jaradrina inorpheus. On neither day were butterflies much in evidence, as during the greater part of the time it was wet and dull, but we took Enodia hijperanthi(s, Epinephele janira and Polynw Hiatus cori/don. Pi/raiista pnrpuralis was common in one meadow late in the afternoon of the 26th when the sun made its appearance. Hypaena pi-obnacidalis was also taken. Just before leaving we hunted round the stables at the Hotel and were rewarded with a number of very good A(jlofisa jungninalis, one Pi/ralis farinalis and about half-a-dozen Tinea tapet:.ella (tapetiella) on an old horse- collar. — Philip J. Barraud, F.E.S., Bushey Heath, Herts. Novewber 25th, 1903. Variation in the flight of Apamea ophiogramma. — Until this season I had always been under the impression that each insect had its own particular method of flight and that it always flew in the same manner. This year I found out that such was not the case, but that the weather appeared to bear a direct influence on the motions of some insects. On July 28th I went to a favourite hunting-ground of mine for Apamea ophiuuyaiinna. I arrived at dusk, and found the insect buzzing about in the usual way. The night was warm, still and cloudy. On July 29th I again went ; this time it was a cold night, and a very bright moon shed its light upon the herbage. I found A. ophionramma sitting quietly on the flower-heads of the betony, sucking the nectar. On July 31st I again visited the hunting-ground ; this time it was warm, but very windy, and I found A. ojihidiiranuiia flying at a height of about nine feet, sometimes quite out of reach, dashing along with great rapidity, and looking very much like Leucania pallens. I found the season an exceptionally good one for a A. ophionrainuia, my take in a week was over seventy. — E. Crisp, 31, Union Road, Cambridge. Xovcwber 29th, 1903. Pyrameis cardui at Sudbury, Suffolk. — During last September, Pyrameis cardui was very abundant here, and also in the Essex district of this neighbourhood. I saw this species here in the spring and early summer, so they probably breed in this locality. — Edward Ransom, 16, Friars Street, Sudbury, Suftblk. Ihxeinber IQth, 1903. Xylophasia zollikoferi as a British insect. — With regard to the record of the capture of Xylophasia zollikoferi at Middlesborough, Mr. Lofthouse {Nat., p. 456) makes the remarkable statement that Mr. Barrett says, " There is one certain previous British specimen in Mr. Doubleday's collection in Bethnal Green museum, and, it is said, one other." In British Noctuae, etc., i., p. 71, there are full details of the two specimens hitherto recorded as British. The one in the Doubleday collection was caught by Harding, the well-known Deal professional ; the other was caught by Mr. Tait, a well-known Aberdeen- shire amateur, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at a mutual friend's house, that of the late Mr. W. H. Tugwell, about a dozen years ago. If any doubt is to be thrown on the l>o)ia tides of either of these captures, as one who knew the captors of both specimens personally, I state most emphatically that the one in the Doubleday collection is to be the more doubted. For myself, I have little doubt that both are genuine, and I think that Mr. Lofthouse should have looked up the literature of the subject — surely easily enough obtained — ^before publishing a doubt on the bona fides of Mr. Tait, even on the authority 22 THE entomologist's record. of so eminent — although one suspects in this instance imperfectly- informed— a lepidopterist as Mr. Barrett. — J. W. Tutt. Lepidoptera at Eumsey in 1908. — The only butterfly that has been abundant here during 1903, is Fierin brassicae, and that has been much more numerous than usual. Eitgojiia polychloros I saw in the spring, but not one this autumn. No Colias eduaa, a few Pijrameis atalanta, Vanessa io and Pi/rameis cardui. The best thing I have obtained among the butterflies is Lycaena arion, a single rather worn specimen from Gloucestershire. At Lustleigh (Devon) I took a specimen of Si/rirht/iKs malrac ab. taras ; here also Arctia rillica was abundant, and eggs obtained on June 16th hatched on June 30th, I have now a number of larvie feeding. Does Acidalia retnutata usually hybernate as larva ? Larvte that hatched on June 25th evidently mean to hybernate. They have fed on knotgrass, I do not know their proper food. In September and October I had about a dozen larvae of DiantJioi'cia capsincola feeding in Lychnis capsules, without any sign of silk, the rest spun a light cocoon under moss. One moth emerged after being in the pupal state about a fortnight. A batch of eggs of Hahrastnla triplasia hatched on September 25th, and the larva? had all pupated before October 25th. — E. Buckell, M.D., Romsey. November 2nd, 1903. Lepidoptera at York in 1903. — The weather has been as bad here as everywhere else since June, and collecting has been done in snatches, otherwise I fancy lepidoptera would have proved to have been fairly plentiful. Larvae were certainly so up to August, and might have been obtained in numbers if it had been possible to have gone for them in comfort. As it was, some capital sugaring nights were enjoyed in the district I worked. Species came fairly to date in May, and, by the 23rd, Enddo'e cardainines, Xisoniadcs tayes, Platypteryx falcida, etc., were common at Sandburn, whilst larviE of Fhiyalia pedaria, tlybernia defoliaria and Geometra paprilionaria were fuUfed by the end of the month. I swept the first Epione respertaria larva on June 18th, and the last on June 27th, and, as they mostly pupated in a few days, they were up to the average time. I tried sugar at Askham Bog on July 3rd, in the hope of getting yellow examples of Noctita rnbi, but I was unsuccessful, although 1 boxed Acivnicta leporina, Xyliijdiasia snbliistris, Leucania iinpudens, Pharetra ruiiiicis, etc. Geometrids were almost entirely absent, doubtless the ground fog which came on kept them at rest. As July 15th saw the appearance of the first Epianc vcspertaria in my breeding-cages, I paid my first visit to the old ground on the 17th. in company with the Rev. Storrs Fox, and we did well up to 11.30 p.m., when a drizzling rain gave us a final check, and we retired for the night. We bagged altogether a score of males and a brace of females, all at rest, whilst Acidalia inurnata, A. emar- yi)iata, Litliosia mesomella, Geometra papilionaria, etc., were netted. Sugar was attractive, but the species observed were common. On the evening of the 23rd, I was again at Sandburn, with Mr. T. A. Lofthouse who came over to take E. respertaria, and, as the night was a really good one, we did well, taking a good number of both sexes. At sugar we found Vyschorista suspecta, Ayrotis ralliyera, Leucania litharyyria, Caradrina blanda, Trijihaena comes, Xoctiia trianyuliim, L'ymatophora diipiaris, with a host of Triphaena pronuba, and one Cosmia paleacea, the first I had ever taken, and new to the York NOTES ON COLLECTING. 23 district I believe. It was not a stray visitor, as I boxed, on two subse- quent visits, four more specimens in fine condition. A specimen of Cuspid ia meni/anthidis tbat emerged in the open on August 6th, from a larva that had pupated three weeks earlier, may be worthy of note. — S. Walker, York. Nncember 15th, 1903. EUCN^MIDOPHORUS RHODODACTYLUS AND iEoERIA SPHEGIFORMIS IN Essex. — I was particularly pleased to find, between June 16th and 21st, near Thorndon Park, in this county, several larvse of Encnaeniido- phorus rJiodudactylus. I do not know whether my larvae were ichneumoned or whether I treated them wrongly, but I only succeeded in getting one moth. In the same neighbourhood and at the same time there was plenty of evidence of the presence of .S^/eria sphef/iformis in the alders. — F. G. Whittle, 3, Marine Avenue, Southend. November Vdth, 1903. Note as to rearing Cymatophora fluctuosa. — Has anyone worked for larvtB of Cijmotophura fiiictuosa this year ? I took some 50 examples late in September, not half-grown, and having no tree which could keep its leaves to sleeve them on, and green food for them being hard to get, I lost them all. Owing to the birch-leaves turning and falling so early in the district where I found them, I should imagine few, if any, would get through in nature. — B. W. Adkin, F.E.S., Trenoweth, Hope Park, Bromley, Kent. Lepidoptera at the New Forest and at Boscombe in 1903. — I must add my wail to that of the majority and complain of the badness of the season, especially the unattractiveness of sugar. I have put on dozens of pounds of treacle, and have not set more than a score of moths taken by that means. Larv^ were fairly common at intervals, but T found nothing like the numbers taken last year, which was also bad. The most noticeable larvae, fairly common in some years, were almost entirely absent, viz., N« »/j(7, which appeared in hundreds and was in grand variety, it could not be accounted satisfactory. However, I sugared in the garden throughout the autumn, with the result that, although autumn moths were very scarce, I captured on September 26th a large Noctuid, which has proved to be Xylophaaia zollikoferi, particularly worthy of note as being taken at the time that large numbers of F)/ra)iieh cardui were noticed all along the coast here from Redcar to Sunderland. This last species was particularly abundant at Redcar and Hartlepool, specimens also occurring in my garden, where I first noticed them on September 20th, it was also observed commonly at Redcar on September 21st, and at Ingleby Greenhow on the 28th. — T. A. Lofthouse, Middlesborough. Xoirinber 19th, 1903. Lepidoptera at Oxton. — Sugar and light have both been equally useless here since I returned at the end of August. The only insects I have turned up of any interest being San-othripa midiilamiK, which has been rather more plentiful than usual, and beaten, as is usual here, out of beech trees in September and October, and a few^ Peronea spoHsana, I', cristana and CoHsciinii siilphiirelliiui. From larvae collected on apple in the same orchard as last year, on June 2nd, I bred NOTES ON COLLECTING. 25 from July lst-13th about 20 of the curious form of Paedisca profandana, which I have noted before, in this magazine, as in no case approaching any other iormot P. jtrofioidana, and, contrary to last year's experience, three or four larvse found on oak some distance from the orchard and entrusted to Mr. Bower produced ordinary forms. I do not know how many, but I think three or five larvae were all I could find on June 3rd in a whole afternoon's searching on oak, whereas I got 44 of that of the variety on apple in about half-an-hour on the 2nd. This seems curious. At the present time Asteyoscopus spliin.i- is coming fairly freely to light.— E. F. Studd, Oxton, Exeter. Xoveinber 25th, 1903. LEPmoPTERA at Knutsford. — With regard to the past season, there is no doubt that the autumn has been the worst for collecting we have had for many years, but I must say I found July and the first half of August fairly good for sugaring. On several evenings insects abounded, and, on one night especially, July 28th, I think I am well within the mark in saying there were at least 1000 moths at my sugar at one time. The round, moreover, was not an extensive one — not more than 50 trees — and I counted over 50 moths on one patch of treacle. The species were chiefly Ortho.sia sasptecta, Xoctiiabaia, Apamea didi/ina, Noctxa festiva and that class of insect. The sugaring was not bad either in early July when I was in Dorset.— George 0. Day, F.E.S., Knutsford. October 21th, 1903. Cossus cossus at sugar. — I occasionally see a record of Cossus cosstis being seen at sugar. I had a similar experience myself on Aiigust 1st last, at a place called Rudheath, a few miles from Knuts- ford. The moth which arrived after I had put the treacle on, was resting just above the patch. I could not see if it was attempting to imbibe the sweets or not. The curious part is that the wood consists principally of fir-trees. — George 0. Day, Knutsford. October 27th, 1903. Lepidoptera at Market Drayton, in the New Forest and Cornwall. — I think every one must allow that, on the whole, it has been a bad season. It began badly, for the sallows were all in bloom and spoiled before the moths emerged. Then the April frosts spoiled everything and rendered larva-hunting after Easter quite useless. In May, many species usually common here, were scarce, e.;/., Macaria notata, Xola confttsalis, etc., even Cidaria cori/lata was comparatively rare. Triphosa certata, however, was unusually numerous, and, between the 20th and 30th, I once or twice netted 20 in a single evening, flying at dusk in a lane having many barberry bushes in the hedges. Zonosoma pendularia was very scarce, and the type this year was commoner than the variety. In early June, usually our best time here, the woods produced almost nothing, but, in my cages, a brood of Xotodonta trcpida emerged from the proceeds of a batch of ova obtained from a wild parent taken June 25th, 1902. About 80% of the pupte produced imagines, the remainder lying over. I also hatched a large number of Coccipv strobilana, from spruce cones gathered in the New Forest in the previous October, in the vain hope of getting Knpithecia toi/ata larvie ; curiously enough they are the first recorded specimens from that district. I say "curiously enough," because I am only a very chance collector of Tortricids. I also bred a very dark 5 Ladocampa /lena socia, eighteen A', nrnithojtits, two ('alo('a)iijio c.voleta, two Veridroma saiicm, one Hadena jirotea, one Aviphi/pra pyraiiiidea, and swarms of A'/riopis oprilina, about 40 Ortluma niacilenta, and half-a-dozen (J. lota. Except of A', tiocia, these numbers represent about 20 per cent, of what I saw last year. H. protea was abundant last year, almost absent this. Cidaria psittacata appeared in small numbers this year, but was almost absent last year. This year I worked ten nights, last year fourteen nights, from October 2nd-18th, beginning a fortnight earlier and ending a week earlier than last year. I was told that beating in the forest for larvfe this autumn was an utter failure. For the second time I have tried forcing larvie of Arctia caia, and again have bred about 100, all of which might almost have been marked with one stencil. The only attempt at variation has been that one has got a pinkish ground in the primaries instead of white. — F. C. Woodforde, B.A., Market Drayton. October SOtJi, 1903. Tephrosia bistortata in Yorkshire. — With reference to my local form of Te/ihrotiia bistortata, which Mr. Tutt says resembles the Perth- shire specimens, I may mention that it was very scarce this year, three or four visits to its localities resulting in only about ten specimens, all of the dark aberration. The first two examples were taken at Kildale on May 16th, and, on May 23rd, at Eston, I took five or six. Last year, in the same localities, I could have taken the insect in numbers ; larch and fir are the principal trees in the localities in which I take 2\ bistortata, and they are situated at an elevation of between 700ft. -800ft. above sea-level. — T. A. Lofthouse, Middles- borough. Novewber 19th, 1903. SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. Proportion of males and females in a brood of reared butter- flies.— I was somewhat surprised that, in a batch of eggs laid by Mycalesis subdita, there resvilted 12 <3^s.and 27 ^ s. Can any one tell me what is usually the proportion of the sexes resulting from a batch of eggs laid by the same female butterfly? I shall also be glad of references to literature showing that a male butterfly can successfully impregnate a second female. — N. Manders (Major-Surgn.), 7, Salisbury Terrace, Stoke, Devonport. December Qth, 1903. @^URREN T NOTES. At the meeting of the Entora. Soc. of London, held on November 18th, 1903, Professor Poulton said that, during the past summer, he 28 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. had been experimenting on the eyes of the larvae of Ktinomos autumnaria. In the attempt to ascertain the physiological significance oi the eyes, some of these larvfe had been blinded with a photographic varnish rendered opaque with lamp-black. It seemed impossible to imagine a more innocent material, and, furthermore, the application was but of short duration, for the varnish did not adhere well to the smooth chitin, and it was soon rubbed off — probably an accidental result of the ordinary movements of the larvie. Nevertheless, when the corres- ponding imagines emerged, the speaker was intensely surprised to find that they were entirely devoid of eyes, and that the antennae were generally rudimentary. He could only suppose that something in the varnish, perhaps the spirit, penetrated the pores in the chitin and injured the subjacent tissues. Owing to the large quantity of MSS. in hand at the present time, the twelve nos. of the current volume will appear as follows : January loth, February 15th, March 1st, March 15th, April 15th, May 15th, June 15th, July 15th, September 15th, October 15th, November 15th, December 15th. This Avill throw the number hitherto printed on June 1st to March 1st, and so relieve us of some of the immediate pressure on our space. The list of Officers and Council for the Entomological Society of London, for the ensuing year, is as follows : — President : Prof. Edward B. Poulton, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. Treasurer: Robert McLachlan, F.R.S. Secretaries : Herbert Goss, F.L.S., and Henry Rowland-Brown, M.A. Librarian: George C. Champion, F.Z.S. Council: Lieut. -Colonel Charles Bingham, F.Z.S. , Dr. Thomas A. Chapman, M.D., F.Z.S., Arthur John Chitty, M.A., James Edward Collin, Dr. Frederick A. Dixey, M.A., M.D., Hamilton H. C. J. Druce, F.Z.S., Williain .John Lucas, B.A., the Rev. Francis D. Morice, M.A., the Hon. N. Charles Rothschild, M.A., F.L.S., Dr. David Sharp, M.A., F.R.S., Colonel Charles Swinhoe, M.A., F.L.S., Colonel John W. Yerbury, R.A., F.Z.S. (CHRISTMAS MDCCCCIII. Forget the year, the faithless year, That knew not warmth or sun : Let it fi,o hence without a tear : Ah ! well that it is done! The March-buds promised fair. We cried, On May-day we shall see In hedgerow and by forest-ride A-fiower the Hawthorn-tree! The swallow came, the cuckoo came, And the shy bird of song : But shame upon thee, Spring ! and shame Upon thee, Summer! Long, How long we waited, and in vain I The stricken days went by, To ceaseless drip of rain on rain From out the sodden sky. Ah ! Autumn, it will mend our ill, Prisoners of hope, we cried : And Autumn came as poor and chill As the Spring or Summer tide. And now the barren Winter's here. And now we know the end. Go bury the false, fallen year. Dying without a friend. But still over all the Sun's i' the sky And it's Life that shall still be sung ; For the sap yet stirs in the thicket dry, And the old, old Earth is young ! Selwyn Image, M.A. * Published by kind permission of the author, who v.'rote this for private circulation among friends.— Eu. Vol. XVI. Pl. I. JLQ VENTRAL D.^PHMS XEEII L.\RV.\ ANU PrP.\. The Kiitom. licand, etc., 1904. \V' .' (A'J RETROSPECT OF A COLEOPTKRIST FOR 1903. 29 Retrospect of a Coleopterist for 1903. By Professor T. HUD80N-BEARE, B.Sc, F.R.S.E., F.E.S. In the " Retrospect" for 1902 I was able to chronicle the addi- tion of nine new species to our list, in addition to several previously unnoted varieties. The past year has been equally fertile, and when it is borne in mind that we have passed through one of the wettest seasons on record, it is certainly a rather striking fact that I am again able to chronicle nine new species, and these, too, not obscure insects, three of them being additions to our scanty list of longicorns, and another being new not only to our list but to science ; I will deal with this latter first. Sc!/))inus liuioiiii, Donis., was taken by Mr. Donisthorpe in August last, in a saltmarsh at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight ; a full account of the capture, and a description of the species, is given in the A'nt. Record, vol. xv., p. 287. The fortunate discoverer, having had an opportunity of examining species of Sci/ninas in other collections, has found that it had been taken in similar localities else- where, but had hitherto been confused with miihantl, or with redten- bacheri. The three new longicorns are all close allies of Aseuium striatiuu, L. (Jriocephalns poloniciiK, Motsch., was found by Mr. Willoughby Ellis in the New Forest ; the insects were all taken in the larval stage, feeding in Scots fir, and were bred out. There is little doubt, he says, judging from the conditions under which they were found, that the colony has been in existence for many years in the forest {Hnt. llerord, vol. xv., p. 259). In the same locality (New Forest) Dr. Sharp took Tetropiii))7 fusciiiii, Fabr., by sweeping between Brockenhurst and Denny (Ent. ISIo. Ma;/., vol. xxxix., p. 198) ; after the appearance of this record, Mr. E. Saunders {loc. cit., p. 228), in a note, recorded a previous capture of this longicorn at Betchworth, Surrey, in July, 1901. The larva? of this species are apparently also attached to the Sects fir, and, like Aaeiuum striatiuv, this species has probably been introduced into the south of England in recent years, the extensive plantations of the fir forming a suitable home for it. The third longicorn, Tetropinm caxtaneiDit, L., was taken by Mr. Bouskell in June last in a wood near Market Bosworth, Leicestershire {Ent. Record, vol. XV., p. 288) ; larvfe, pupae and imagines were all taken in this case from one fir-tree. It is probable that T. caataneiun and T. fuscum are really one species ; they are both feeders in the larval stage under bark of pines and firs, and Mulsant is of opinion that T.fusciwi is merely a variety of T. castaneiim. The conditions under which at least two of these three longicorns have been captured, point to the fact that, whether they were originally introduced or not, they have now fairly established themselves in this country, and are as much entitled to be considered indigenous as several other of our longicorns upon whose claim to be British insects no one now throws any doubt. Of the other novelties, Oedeniera virescens, L., is recorded by Mr. J. Edwards {Ent. Mo. Ma//., vol. xxxix., p. 64) from central Norfolk; it is dull sage-green in colour like larida. Marsh., but the males have " incrassate femora ; " it appears from Mr. Edwards' note to be very local. Mr. Chitty {Ent. Mo. May., vol. xxxix., p. 143) introduces Hydrojinrtts bilineatus, Stm., which was taken at Deal, as far back as 1891, in ditches, and confused with H. (/ranalaris, L., to which insect it has an extremely close resemblance. Mr. Newbery contributed later to the Ent. Mo. February 15th, 1904. 30 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. Mail, a very interesting note (p. 223) on the characters by which H. bilineatus and H. (jranularis can be separated. Mr. Bouskell has the credit this year of adding also another new beetle to our list in Aphodius stitniii, Harold {Eat. Record, vol. xv., p. 92) ; the beetle was taken by Mr. Keys near Plymouth, and sent to Mr. Bouskell while he was working at the variation of the genus ; it is superficially not unlike nitiduluK, but is very much smaller. Mr. 0. E. Janson records (Ent. Record, vol. xv., p. 128) Pentaplnjllus testaceiis, Hellwig, which he took in June, 1876, under a decaying Boletus in the hollow trunk of a partially decayed oak in a field at Hornsey. Lastly, Mr, Donisthorpe, who has also added two species to our list this year, was fortunate enough to take Aphanisticitx eniari/inatKs, F., in large numbers in Park- hurst Forest, Isle of Wight, in August last {Ent. Record, vol. xv., p. 265) ; it is a more elongate insect than A.pmilliis, 01., and more narrowed in the middle. Considering how rare the other British species of this genus, A. pusillus, is, it is interesting to note that the new species was found in large numbers. In addition to the above new species, we have one new variety in (Hhius fulripennis ab. donisthorpei, which was taken by Mr. Chitty in the New Forest, and has been described and named by him {Ent. Record, vol. xv., p. 151), and another in an unnamed variety of PhytosvH ni;/riventris, Chevr., found by Mr. Keys at Whitsand Bay {Ent. Mo. Mai rapae and P. napi were the common whites, Oonepteryx rhainni was not seen, and strangely enough only a single ('alias phicomone (on the Brevent) was noted. Between Chamonix and Argentiere there appears to be little entomo- logical work to be done, and the most frequent species that crossed one's path in August, 1902, were Colias editsa and ab. helice, hsoria lathonia, Pararye fiiaem, and the common Pieris rapae, but, beyond the village of Les Praz, insects began to become more abundant. Here, in a field by the wayside, one found Anthrocera lonicerae and A. tranmlpina, the only two burnets found in this part of the valley, with Dryafi paphia, 36 THE entomologist's record. Arf/i/nnifi adippe and PampMla comma, the latter in great numbers on the H if ran II III flowers, Si/rirJitlnis alreiis, Epinephele ianira (mostly worn), Mditai'a iiartlienic, and a few other species that, however, became commoner a little further up the valley, where (on the right- hand side facing Argentiere) there are some lovely sloping flower-clad banks that come down right to the edge of the rushing torrent of the Arve, and, above, lead up towards the village of Lavancher in a number of parallel flowery hollows divided by rough rocks and bushes. In these hollows I spent two or three delightful mornings from about 9 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., about August 14th, 15th, and 16th, 1902, and here I sampled the butterflies that evidently haunted this part of the Chamonix valley. They were mostly common species, and none plentiful except Dri/as papliia and var. valesina, that were then getting rather worn, Ari/i/nnis adippe (the $ s only good), A. of/laia, and some magnificent A. ninbe, the $ s of which were very dark. Here, too, I took a single example each of Pmiiassitis (li'liiis and Coliaa palaeno, evidently wanderers from the higher levels, and Enodia hyperant/nia in great abundance, though worn, whilst Kpinep/icle ianira and Brentlm amathuMa were in similar plight. Paranje inaera and P. vii'i/aera were scarce, and Lfptidia ninapiR not common, whilst Lijcaena arinn, strangely enough, was represented by three or four examples in good condition, though small. Three Chrysophanid species occurred here, viz., Chri/wjiJuntns rinjanreae, the commonest, C. var. (/(irdiiia, and C. Iiip/mtlioe, going over. Two or three freshly- emerged Po!i/i/onia r-albiiiii, several Pijraiiieis cardui, and a single Kiuionia poli/chloros, were taken, whilst F.rehia melaiiipus was the only really common Erebiid. Typical Krehia liijea occurred with equally typical K. enn/ah, whilst the blues were extremely disappoint- ing. Single females of Pcdi/ommatus hi/las, P. baton, and Xoiiiiades seiniari/iis alone kept the common P. aatrarclie in countenance, besides the L. avion already mentioned. A few specimens of Melitaea parthenie were netted from flowers, and occasionally a Colias ednm was brought down as it swung quickly up and down the slopes, and two or three specimens of Apovia cvataciii sufficed to show that here this species had its habitat, whilst Pierix napi appeared to be the only common white. One of the most delightful days of 1902 was August 17th, a perfect morning, when I started about S a.m. for the Montanvert inn. As everyone knows, the delightful ascent through the pinewoods is in shade in the early morning, and it is not imtil one comes out on the final slopes on which the hotel is situated that ^/y///»»/.s- iiiobt' and A. af/laia show themselves. But I did little entomology that day. Once at the inn I took the little footpath that winds up to the loase of the mighty rock of the Aiguille de Charmoz, among the rocks and shrubby masses of alpine rhododendron. A Parnassid was not uncommon here, but whether /'. apollo or P. dcliiis, I could not capture one to deter- mine. Anthvnceva twiilans was in countless thousands, Pvcntkis pales, of a very tiny form, common, Colias palamiu, not rare, l^ipimaena fiisca, Paiiijdiila coiiiina and a few other things made up the whole of the lepidoptera observed. It was noon before I returned to the hotel to lunch, and then immediately after crossed the Mer-de-Glace, amongst the crowds of other visitors, and reached the other side, and stayed A DESCRIPTION OP THE LARVA AND PUPA OF DAPHNIS NERII. 37 some time on the lower slopes that lead up finally to that magnificent rock-mass, the Aiguille du Dru. The whole of the slopes between here and the Chapeau forms a by no means bad collecting-ground, although rough and difficult of access. Among the species that constituted my bag, I found ('oenonyinplta satyrio)! not uncommon, SyrichthuH alvens, fine large examples, Melitaea aiirinia var. iiicrojn', Chrysophanns hippotho'e, Erehia inelawpus, K. yoante, E. styyne, E. veto, E. tyndariiii, Thynieliciis lincola, Polyoininatus optilete, &c., and, also, quite unexpectedly, a beautiful Colias ednsa ab. Iielice, whilst among the moths, Larentia ribicaiia, L. caesiata, and Setina aiirita, with one or two species of Pyralids, were all 1 appear to have captured, but, as I stated before, it was a recognised holiday trip, and insects held quite second place. Quite unexpectedly, for I had not at first intended to go to Chamonix in 1903, I found myself taking the same walk on almost the same day of August this year. Strangely enough, some of the insects observed last year were not seen, whilst others were more or less abundant. I crossed the Mer-de-Glace almost directly after my arrival, and spent a longer time on the slopes of the other side. This time I found Erebia )iidatiipiiH and E. tyndariiR in abundance, some of the latter specimens with no fewer than four spots on each of the forewings, whilst E. mnestra and E. mmito were in good condition — the latter not at all uncommon on the slopes directly at the com- mencement of the Mauvais Pas. On the other hand, only a single E. epiphrun was observed. Pawphila comma, too, was in abundance, much more so than SyricIit/iuK alreus. and Cuenonympha satyriun was not uncommon, but rather badly worn. Polyomvmtns coryJon was the only blue observed, but ('Iirymphaniis phlaeas and 0. rinjaureae were both taken, as also Avere Pbisin intrrroyatioius and Setina atirita, whilst Eidonia hrxnneata was abundant among the alpine rhododendron. Aylai^ urticae and Avyynnis niohc were abundant round the Chapeau, whilst directly below, Erebia yoante was frequent and a single Parnaasiux apollo was taken, and two or three Anthrocera purpuralis and A. transalpina were added to the bag. Possibly the difference in the captures made was due largely to a difference in the season, for 1903 was cold, late, and unsatisfactory everywhere through the Alps during the last summer. At any rate, I feel convinced that the morainic slopes above the Mauvais Pas would prove in a good season to be quite one of the best lepidopterological localities in the famous Chamonix district. A description of the larva and pupa of Daphnis nerii (idth plate). By J. C. DOLLMAN, F.E.S. On October 9th, 1903, a fine larva of Daphnis nerii was kindly sent to me by Mr. H. Powell, of Hyeres. It was not a larva of the typical green and yellow form, but of the scarce variety, which is mainly fawn and soft liver-coloured in appearance. When extended it was rather more than 4in. in length, lithe and slender of form, and of great grace and daintiness in construction. The head was small and oval, to be partly received into the prothoracic segment on occasion, which was just sufficiently large so to take it. The segments sharply increased in size to that of the first abdominal, and. 38 THE kntoiniologist's record. though partaking of the character of the " elephant " larvae in the increase of girth at this point, the segment was not so dilated as is found in the British Eumorphid species. From this segment to the Hth abdominal the larva was full and fleshy in form, and the elevation, which there bore the caudal horn, was steep and emphatic. The transverse skinfolds upon the segments were firmly fashioned, but did not destroy the breadth and simplicity of form of the segments they traversed. The horn was small, and directed backwards and downwards. The prolegs were powerful nipple-shaped limbs, which carried the weighty larva with ease. The colour of the larva was simple and delicate, though of extreme beauty, being a combination of quaker-like fawn and grey liver-colour. The head, which had a porcelain-like surface, was of a soft dove- coloured grey, and the main colours of the body were buft" and fulvous, with the rather darker portions coloured by the soft liver-grey. A thin, well-defined, mediodorsal line of the liver-colour was traced from the crown of the head to the posterior edge of the metathoracic segment, where it terminated. At the lateral line was the boundary of the grey liver-colour which covered the lateral and ventral surfaces. The outline of this boundary was carried obliquely" upwards and forwards to the anterior edge of each segment, after abdominal segment 1, almost to the dorsal centre, thus leaving a series of broad dorsal triangles, or rather pointed dome- shaped spaces, of the fawn- colour. Along the centre of these, the intestinal canal suggested a faintly darker mediodorsal line, particularly so at the segmental junctions. The liver-colour of the lateral surface encroached most freely upon the dorsal fawn-colour at abdominal segments 4 and 5, consequently making the dome-like triangles smaller there than at either end. On the spiracular region there was a series of blurred blotches of the fawn-colour, fulvous at the base, in some cases resembling in shape an inverted letter Z. There was one of these blotches on each segment, but, on the thoracic segments, they were fused, leaving a blurred top edging of the liver-colour, which here suggested a short lateral line, as the dorsal surface of the thoracic segments was of the fawn-colour. These Z-shaped blotches of fawn- colour bore the spiracles, which were tall, narrow, upright ovals. They were jet black in colour, with a very fine light lavender ring around them, and outside this a warm buft-coloured edging, which was suft'used into the ground colour. The spiracles were slightly recessed from the body surface. Commencing at the posterior half of the metathoracic segment, and, starting from a large ocellated spot thereon, was a bright fawn-coloured lateral line, very suft'used at the edges. At the second abdominal segment this lateral line became wider, and was of a suft'used white, in which condition it continued to the centre of the 7th abdominal, where it abruptly ceased, to be almost at once continued, of a bright fawn-colour, upwards and backwards to the base of the caudal horn, where it terminated in a fine point. The whitish part of this lateral line was very suft'used on its lowest edge, and it was strongly emphasised by a series of small pure white spots, set in vertical rows, in a broken manner, upon the segmental skinfolds. These spots were often encircled with a fine buft" ring, and stood in colour relief against the ground tint as vividly as small white porcelain beads would have done. They were arranged A DESCRIPTION OF THE LA.RVA AND PUPA OF DAPHNIS NERII. 39 on each segment, in vertical lines, on the liver-coloured portions which enclosed the dorsal triangles of the fawn tint. Thus, the first line of dots on the 2nd abdominal segment consisted of five dots, one above the other, and nearly meeting the dots from the reverse side at the dorsal centre. The next line of dots on the same segment would be shorter, and also the following ones, but irregularl_y, until they were merged into the whitish lateral line. It will be understood from this that the ends of these lines of dots on each segment followed the shape of the dome-like marking on the dorsal area. This they did, but did not cross the boundary of the liver-colour. These dots were found vertically placed on the lateral line on each segment, from the. 2nd abdominal to the 7th, but they gradually diminished in the altitude they reached on each succeeding segment posteriorly. For example, the first row on abdominal segment 2 consisted of five dots, on the next segment there were but four in the first row, in the next but three, the next two, and the remaining two segments that possessed dots had but one each on their first row, and only suggestions of others following in their last two segments. The true legs and the powerful prolegs were of the liver-colour of the lower portions of the larva, the prolegs having fulvous edges on the pedal formations. The true legs were not shiny, but had a dull gloss on their surface. The ventral surface was shiny, and of the soft liver-colour of the lateral colora- tion. There was also a slight indication of a very fine suft'used lighter- coloured medioventral line. The caudal horn was small, and hung like the horn upon the larva of Mandnca atropos. It was of a bright orange-sienna colour, and very shiny. Its surface was roughened by projecting excrescences, and it was irregularly marked with a few dark dots around its base. The end of the horn was not pointed, but finished bluntly. Allusion to the principal beauty of the larva has been kept to the last, so that what has been described of its general features, in their refined sobriety of colour, may give effect to the brilliancy of this particular detail. The larva was a sober-coloured creature of simple quaker-like tints, but at the commencement of the lateral line, on the metathoracic segment, was the most gorgeous single ocellated spot of electric bluish sheen that contrast could offer. This spot existed, of course, on each side of the segment, and suggested in colour the phosphorescent gleam of the glow-worm's light. The larva was placed upon a young potted oleander plant on its arrival, and it at once made for the topmost leaves. Its hold upon the foodplant was tenacious, and it possessed a voracious appetite, evidently preferring the young growth on the plant to the fully expanded leaves. It fed freely and systematically, finishing each leaf in a workmanlike manner, with the exception of the larger leaves, which it either did not like so well, or else itwould not leave its hold upon the stem of the plant to work to their extremity. In fact, it never left its hold upon the stem. With the smaller leaves it would extend itself to the full and drag them back until they were bent nearly double, to be held by the legs, when it would commence feeding on one side at the tip, and then eat right across the leaf, including the midrib. They were bent backwards, with the upper- or underside uppermost, as was convenient. The larger leaves were attacked at about the centre of one side, and the larva would feed backwards from 40 THE entomologist's recgrd. thence, evenly, to the midrib, which it did not, however, attempt. When eaten awaj" to the stem on the one side it would eat the other side of the leaf in the same way, leaving the leaf untouched, on both sides, forwards, from where it began feeding. When it had devoured the young leaves at the top of the plant, which it ate to the last morsel, and in some cases also the supporting shoot, it tried some of the larger and more matured leaves, and, after dealing with them in the manner described, it descended the main stem in search of the lateral shoots, which it ascended and stripped of the young growth, as it had done at the top of the plant. When moving on the foodplant in search of a fresh leaf, it had a peculiar action in progression. It woiild gently sway the head and segments forward, from the 2nd abdominal, and, at the same time, accompany this action with a movement of slow recoil and extension. Had this movement been a quick, instead of a very measured, one, it might have been described as a darting action. Whether the larva, when thus occupied, was searching by sight or scent for its next point of attack upon the food- plant can only be conjecture. It did not once leave the plant until the morning of the IBth of the month, when it was found on the flooi' of the cage that covered it, entirely changed in colour, contracted, and preparing for pupation. The change had been accomplished with a startling rapidity. At eleven o'clock the preceding night it was feeding as usual, and giving no sign of the coming change. At eight o'clock the next morning it was in the condition alluded to. This was a great disappointment, as it had been projected to take photographs of the larva for publication with this description. A drawing had, however, been made from it, and it must form the illustration in default of more accurate representation. The larva had greatly changed in appearance. The whole of the fawn-colour had turned to deep fulvous. The dorsal area from abdominal segment 2, extending to the caudal horn, and reaching down laterally just below the lateral line, had become a dark umber-brown. The dome-like triangles had disappeared entirely. The lunules of the head were of the same dark umber tint, as was the fine mediodorsal line on the prothoracic dorsal surface. Of the same colour had appeared a half-circular plate- like marking on the dorsal surface of the prothoracic segment, the straight side on the anterior edge, where there was a narrow fulvous edging between it and the head. The light fawn portions, as before- said, had turned to a deep fulvous, but the anal end and prolegs were the strongest of those parts in colour, being quite deep sienna in tint. The ocellated marks on the thorax had lost their beauty, for they Avere now suft'used with black from the jet black of the bordering rings, and the only indication of the gleaming blue centres was a small core of dull purplish colour. Those portions of the larva which had been of the grey liver-colour were now of a dull coffee tint. The sufl'used white lateral line had almost vanished, but the transverse rows of small white spots showed in strong relief on the dark ground. The horn was of the same colour as before, but looked more brilliant by contrast with the dark dorsal development. Taken as a whole, the larva appeared more like the typical form in these changed colours than it did in those which preceded them. It was placed in a large riower-pot on soil composed of fibre, sand, and loam, but wandered round and round the pot in the familiar style until mid-day, when it NOTES ON PYRAMEIS CARDUI IN DURHAM. 41 became quiescent and torpid. On the next morning, the 14th, as there were indications of spinning on the surface, some layers of Hannel were placed on the soil. The larva had not altered much from its appearance of the day before, except that it was rather more contracted, and was getting horny and shiny-looking. On the morning of the 15th it was found to have spun up in the flannel. During the days when it was feeding it would sometimes assume a posture that was sufficiently striking. Sustaining itself by the last three pairs of prolegs only, it would stretch out and bend over its thoracic segments until the head rested on the first pair of abdominal prolegs. This attitude brought into strong notice the two ocellated blue spots, which, stretched to their full extent on the dilated segment, resembled two staring eyes, while the pendent segments, and head below, looked like a long proboscis. More generally, the attitude of repose was that of quiet extension, with the thoracic segments contracted. On these occasions all that was visible of the ocellated spots was a slight suggestion of the posterior edging of their black circumscription, as the rest of their form was covered by the heavy enwrapping skinfold of the mesothoracic segment. {To be concluded.) Notes on Pyrameis cardui in Durham. By J. W. H. HAEEISON, B.Sc. Perhaps a few notes on the recent influx of Pyrcoiieis cardui from a more northern locality than any previously mentioned m the Ent. Record, may be interesting. It is necessary to mention that, for some years, this insect has been practically absent from this locality. The latest captures, here, were one in July 1902 and one in September 1901. About ten years ago it occurred in fair numbers. Its congener, Pi/ra)neis atcdanta, on the contrary, has been abundant, and was, in 1900, one of the commonest autumn butterflies, frequenting sunflowers. It occurred also, commonly in all stages, in 1901. P. atalanta did not occur last year (1902). In the early part of this year (1908), P. cardui did not appear, but, on July 81st, a very much worn female was taken by my friend Mr. Chas. Robson at Shotley Bridge, Durham. Thinking this to point to the fact that there had been immigrants there, I examined nettles, thistles and mallow, wherever possible, in the Wear, Team and Derwent valleys, for larvse, but in no case did I find one. I saw no further trace of the insect until September 14th, when I found a single specimen on a thistle-head in the old stone quarry at Birtley. Its wings were in an awful state. In fact, those on the right side were almost gone. Having then my vacation, I spent the next few days around this place, but did not get another. On September 17th, however, one was taken at Vigo, about one mile south of this place. The Friday after this was unsuitable for collecting, so I did not get out. On September 19th, however, I was up the Derwent valley and almost the first butterfly to meet my gaze was P. cardui at Winiaton Mill. Here I saw about a dozen on thistle-heads. Proceeding further to a bed of Pier is liieracioides, I was delighted to see the flowers alive with P. cardui. Hundreds were to be seen fighting for the flowers, accompanied by Plnda (javima. Wishing to see whether the females contained ova or not, Mr. Johnson of Gateshead, who was with me, 42 THE entomologist's record. captured 30 and kept them alive. These were put in a cage with nettles. A few days later, we were pleased to find that a fair number of ova had been deposited on the upperside of the nettle leaves. A few were deposited at intervals till the first week in November, when the last female died. Up to this time, the eggs have not hatched. Perhaps some reader will give us details of his success in a similar experiment. To continue, however, with the occurrence at various localities at Durham. Proceeding further up the Derwent valley we found that they still were fairly plentiful but in decreasing numbers. On returning to Birtley, I went out two days later and found it in hundreds, in the old stone quarry mentioned above, and on the old slag heaps from the blast furnaces. In all cases the insects were at the heads of Picris and were accompanied by Pludn i/amma. Struck by this unusual abundance, Mr. Johnson and nayself suggested asking for reports from observers throughout Durham and Northumberland. With the kindly help of the Rev. W. J. Wingate, secretary of the Durham County Naturalists' Union, this was done with the following result : — I, On the sea coast. — North l>i(rliavi. — A few seen. South Durham. — Ryhope to Castle Eden, flowers alive with them ; Trimdon Grange, scores seen ; Hartlepool, very common. Xorth Vorks. — - Middlesborough, abundant ; Eedcar, numerous. The general remark accompanying the above records was that they were abundant and fresh. II. Inland. — j\J id -Durham. — Derwent valley, very abundant but worn ; Gateshead, common even in the streets, worn ; Birtley, abun- dant but very ragged; Durham, absent ; Bishop Auckland, practically absent. West Durham. — Reports generally say that the insect was absent except at Burnhope, where one was taken, and at Bollihope where several were captured. As our dates are a few days in advance of most other records, I would suggest that this migration had reached the Durham and Yorkshire coasts first. From Northumberland no specimens are mentioned. In Durham the insects seem to have reached the coast. Then they had travelled up the Tyne valley branching thence up the Team and Derwent valleys. I should like a suggestion as to why they were absolutely absent from the Wear valley. Synopsis of the Orthoptera of Western Europe. By MALCOLM BURR, B.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S. {Continued frofii p. 10.) Genus 7 : Chelidura, Latreille. This genus includes a number of mountain forms, apterous, with stout or slender forceps, separate at the base, and not dilated ; in the males, the abdomen is more or less dilated from the middle to the roots of the forceps. In addition to the European forms, there is one American, one South African, and one Madeiran species. 1. Elytra free, longer than broad. 2. Subanal plate d produced beyond pygidium, with 2 points .. .. .. .. .. ..1. ANALis, Ranibur. 2.2. Subanal plate s not produced beyond pygidium. SYNOPSIS OF THE ORTHOPTERA OF WESTERN EUROPE, -13 3. Anal segment cf with hinder border swollen and bent down ; forceps ^ toothed at base 2. sinuata, Germar. 3.3. Anal segment ^ not swollen, with 2 tuber- cles ; forceps tf toothed in middle . . 3. orsinii, Gene. 1.1. Elytra not free, transverse. 2. Abdomen broadest in middle. 3. Pygidiiim - in appearance, coarsely ribbed longitudinally, and with almost equally coarse cross-ribbing. Towards the base the longitudinal character fades out, and is replaced by a coarse and irregular cell-ribbing. The longitudinal character of ribbing is most pronounced on the upper two-thirds, the longitudinal structure being here aided by the way in which the dark-brown cement with which the egg is stained, is arranged. The ribbing, as before noted, is very coarse and rough, giving the egg the appearance of being constructed of basket- work. The colour is pale sepia-brown, stained and streaked irregularly, but chiefly at the micropylar end, with a dark brown, almost black, cement. The longitudinal ribs run in towards the micropyle, giving a distinctly Noctuid appearance to the top of egg. The cross-section in some instances is almost, if not quite, circular ; in others it appears to have a slightly oval shape. As before stated, the egg appears to be a two-diametered egg, possibly slightly transitional, or, as 1 am inclined to think, slightly retrograde towards an earlier state. [Received from Mr. .T. W. Tutt. Described .July 4th, 1903.]— A. W. Bacot. LaphjitjDia e.viijua. — ^Mr. Gervase F. Mathew kindly forwarded me two batches of ova of this species and writes under date October 7th, 1903 : "Two females and one male captured between September 22nd and 25th, have been kept together and fed ever since. The females commenced to lay on the 2nd inst., and a few eggs have been deposited on the muslin cover of their jar every night since. I find one or two batches of eggs deposited on paper, so I send you some of these, as they are covered with down from the parent's body ; the down over those laid on the muslin has, in most cases, been rubbed off by the fluttering moths. I see the male is dead, feut both the females are still alive, though one looks in extrcinis.'"] ■■'■ The ova on the muslin are laid in a loose and somewhat irregular patch containing 28 eggs, many of the eggs are tilted and, in one instance, an egg almost entirely overlies another, but this I fancy owing to the lower egg having been thrust through the network of the leno. A few fine silk threads or hairs are scattered over this batch. The second batch is rather smaller and is laid on paper, this patch is so thickly covered by a loose felt of silk threads or very fine hairs, that the ova themselves are scarcely visible. In colour this felt is of a very pale wainscot-brown, and is of about the texture of fine cotton-wool. It reminds one of the silk that the Tephrosias use to cover their egg-masses (see Dr. Eiding's paper Ent. FleconI, vol. ix., p. 118), but is, I think, less dense (unfortunately I have no material for comparison). I should imagine this wool to consist of silk threads rather than hairs, the fibres are so long, even, and pliant. The ova are bright yellow in colour and very shiny, and their appear- ance is rather unusual for a Noctuid egg, owing to the primitive style of sculpturing. Their shape is, however, fairly typical, though perhaps a trifle flat, the horizontal diameber being rather more than the vertical one. Horizontal diameter about •4mm., height slightly less. The micropyle is neither raised nor depressed, and does not perceptibly break the contour, it is surrounded by an inner and an outer ring of coffin-shaped cell outlines, the inner ring being somewhat faint and looking not unlike the fringe of petals round some flat-topped * The second female died October 14th.— G. F. Mathew. 56 THE ENTOMOLOCtIST S RECORD. flower in outline, the outer ring is much more strongly marked. and coarser in aj)pearance ; beyond these central rings the egg is covered by a strongly marked and rather coarse network of irregularly-shaped cell outlines, for the most part oblong, but, in some instances, even triangular, but few, if any, perfect hexagons. The longitudinal divid- ing-walls are a little accentuated, giving just a hint of vertical ribbing. On the whole, the cell-pattern is bold and deep, and, though fainter at the micropyle, it is very sharply cut. Towards the base the cellular pattern becomes faint, and fades out at the base, which is by no means flat in a detached egg, but as this has been laid on leno, and is in other directions somewhat misshapen by detachment, this may not be the natural form. [Described October 8th, 1903.] Anarta inyrtillL — About -GTSmm. diameter and -Smm. in height, roughly half a sphere, but the base is somewhat bulged. The egg is bright orange-yellow in colour ; surface smooth and shiny with numerous, rather deeply cut, longitudinal ribs ; these turn well under at base and join up above the shoulder in normal course ; the cross-ribbing is very indistinct ; there is a saucer-shaped depression at top, out of the centre of which rises a central cone bearing the micropyle at its summit. The ribs are about 50-55 in number. Only two eggs were laid. [Described June 13th, 1903.] Pamn/c incf/afra. — Eoughly speaking, the eggs are tub-shaped, having a flattened base with tapering sides that curve over to a much flattened top. Diameter at base about •9mm. to 1mm., at top between •7mm. and -Smm. ; height •9mm. The shape is somewhat irregular and dented or depressed in places. SciilptKrint/. — The cellular pattern and ribbing is rather coarse, irregular, and poorly marked, but towards the micropyle the cells are reduced in size and are sharper and more clearly cut, forming a tolerably well-marked niicropylar rosette. [Described July 1st, 1903. Eggs received from Mr. G. Sloper.] / 'apiliii iiiacJiaon. — A flat-based, dome- topped egg. Viewed laterally the outline appears to be almost exactly •To of a sphere. The diameter is quite •9mm. to 1mm. ; height -Smm. to -Gmni. The surface is tolerably smooth, no cell-pattern or ribbing visible. This and its shape gives it an appearance somewhat like the egg of a Notodont, but it dift'ers in colour, being pale red-brown for the lower two-thirds, above this, dull gi'een with a small patch of the red- brown hue at the top. This central patch is of irregular shape and is apparently composed of a mass of small spots. [Laid June 26th. 1903. Received from Mr. G. 0. Sloper. Described July 1st, 1903.]— A. W. Bacot. @URRENT NOTES. The Oflicers and Council of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society for 1901 are :— President, Alfred Sich, F.E.S. ; Vice-Presidents, H. Main, B.Sc, F.E.S., and E. Step, F.L.S. ; Treasurer, T. W. Hall, F.E.S. ; Librarian, A. W. Dodds ; Curator, W. West {GrecHiricli) ; Hon. Secretaries, Stanley Edwards, F.L.S. , (to. {t'orrvxpotuUiKi), and H. J. Turner, F.E.S. (Report). Council : R. Adkin, F.E.S. ; F. Noad Clark, F. B. Carr, H. S. Fremlin, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., F.E.S. ; W. J. Lucas, B.A., F.E.S. ; H. A. Sau/e ; and W. West {Streatham). Vo/. AT 7. y/w Ent. Record. PI. 2. " ■ ^ ~ ^i'^ .S. r 'X ^ r^^^.^' IS Horace A'liig/it, del. Atidre &■ S/eig/i. Ltd. Pyropsyche moncaunella. Chapm. RETROSPECT OF A DIPTERIST FOR 1908. 57 Retrospect of a Dipterist for 1903. J. E. COLLIN, F.E.S. Our list of British diptera has been increased during the year past by fourteen species, three of which were new to science. Dr. J, H. Wood has introduced Afiathntnijia viduella, Ztt., and described the male which was previously unknoAvn (Ent. Mo. Mag.). Dr. Sharp, in the same magazine, has introduced Chamoc'^t/rphits lunitanicua, Mik, Parhi/fiaster minutissiina, Ztt., Phortica {Amiota) variegata, Fin., and confirmed Loxocera nit/rifr())ii<, Mcq., from specimens taken in the New Forest. W. H. Imms has introduced Clnnio birolor, Kieff. {Trans. Liverpool Biol. Soc). F. V. Theobald in the third volume of his Mononraph of the Culicidae, has included the genus Theohaldia, described by Neveu- Lemaire in 1902, of Avhich our C, annnlatiis, Schrk., is the type, and has founded the new genus GrahJiamia for our species ilormlii^, Mg., and pidehripalpi.'i, Rnd.; he has raised his variety {^ylvae) of C nigripi'^ to specific rank, and has described Cidcx terriei from Kent. Kev. Wingate, in a "List of Durham Diptera" (XatKralist), includes two Tachinidae new to our list, E.ioyista (Parexnrista) fi(fiax, Rnd., and K. ///us.srt, B. and B., identified by Mr. C. J. Wainwright, our authority on that family, and two new Anthomf/idae, Coenoftia tricolor, Ztt., and Lispocephala alma, Mg., identified by Herr P. Stein, of Genthin, Prussia. Mr. P. H. Grimshaw has continued publishing local lists of Scotch diptera (Ann. Scot. N. Hint.), adding Sciara rufiventrifi, Mcq., to our list. Hon. N. C. Rothschild has described two new species, and added two other species, to our list of Pulicidae. Mr. T. H. Taylor has given a note upon the larval habits of Chiroiomnn {Ortho- cladiiifi) sordidellus, Ztt. {Trans. Ent. Soc. London), and Dr. T. A. Chapman a note upon Asphondylia iilicis. Trail {EntomoloijiM). On the continent. Th. Becker has published a revision of the species of the genus ilf)(/?V), Ltr. {Zeitschr. Hyiii. Dipt.), and an elucidation of the types of v. Roser's Muscidae acahjpterap {Jahr. Wiirtt. Ver.); he has also concluded his work on the diptera of Egypt, the complete work consisting of 196 pages and five plates, forming a valuable addition to our knowledge of the Egyptian fauna of diptera. Several new fleas {Pulicidae), have been described by Hon. N. C. Rothschild from Egypt {Ent. Mo. Mag.) and from other parts of the world {Novit. Zool.); other writers upon the Aphaniptera include the names of Wagner {Hor. Soc. Ent. Hos-f.) and Wahlgren {Arch. Zool.). P. Stein has given a mono- graph of the genus Hydrotaea {Verh. Ges. Wien.), and a paper on Aricia marmorata, Ztt., and its allies {Wien. Ent. Zeit.). P. L. Czerny has published a revision of the Heteronearidae and of the species of (-reoiiiyza {Wien. Ent. Zeit.), and F. Hendel has given various sys- tematic notes on the Muscidae accdypterae in the same publication. M. Bezzi has described a new species of Amrcina, inhabiting Italy, giving a synopsis of the genus (Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital.), a note on ('aUiniyia auriantiaca and wankowickzi [Wien. Ent. Zeit.), and an article upon diptera inhabiting caves {Plir. Ital. Speleol.). Villeneuve {Bull. Soc. Ent. Erancc) has published various notes on diptera, including an elucidation of Meigen's types of the Bombylidac, and a contribution towards a catalogue of the diptera of France and Belgium [Eeuille dc Jeirn. Xatiiral.). Kertesz, in collaboration with other dipterologists, has started to publish a ('atalor/ne of the Palaearctic Diptera (Budapest). March 1st, 1904. 58 THE fntomoiooist's rkcord. Kill! Jiorner has desci'ibed a new genus of Sciarinap, the species of which are wingless in the female [Zool. Anz.). The study of galls and gall-makers is still continued in the Italian periodical Man-rllia. With regard to the fauna of North America, Kellogg has published a M(iiio;irap/i of the Blephaioveriilae [Proc. ( 'al. Ac. Soc), and Melander a Monoi/raph of the Empididae [Trans. Ent. Soc. Phil., 1902) of which latter family Coquillett has published an account of the genera (Pror. Knt. Soc. JVash.), in which he revives several old names, and he has also written various small articles in other different American magazines. Hine has written on the Tabamdae of Ohio, giving a list of the North American species (Spec. Pap. Acad. Sc). Adams has described a number of new species {Kans. ['nir. Bull.), and Johannsen has published a paper on "Aquatic Nematocerous Diptera'" (.V. Y. State Piidl.). Various American authors have written upon Calicidae, which still continue to attract a great deal of attention; Theobald having published a third volume of his Monograph, and descriptions of a number of new species in different magazines, while Nuttall and Shipley have concluded their exhaustive studies on the ■' Structure and Anatomy of Anopheles " [Jonrn. of Fiyi/iene). F. \V. Hutton has continued to add new species to the fauna of New Zealand (Trans. N. Zeal. Inst., 1902). Grinishaw has produced a supplement to " Fauna Hawaiiensis," and a second supplement on the Diptera ]iupipara is the work of Speiser. Austen has published a Monoiiraph of the Tsetse jiies ((ilossina)'' (London, 319 pp., and numerous plates and figs.), and notes on the Hippobosridae of the British Museum [Ann. Mafi. Xat. Hist.). Other writers on exotic entomology include Bishoi (Berl. Hut. Xeit. and ll'ien. F.nt. Zeit.),\.\,n([ Kertesz (Termes Fnzetek, etc.). Morphological and histological papers are very few in number, but special mention may be made of Iv. Triigardh's Anatomie mid Entwirk- ehincfsgeschirhte der Tarre ron Ephi/dra riparia. Fin. {T\. Vet. Ah. Stockhobii). Notes on the habits, distribution and variation of Phragmatobia fuliginosa. By J. W. Tt'TT, F.E.S. I am afraid my knowledge of this species hardly warrants a paper ; my only excuse for bringing this before you is that, from some eggs I was fortunate enough to obtain in April last, Mr. Bacot has reared a considerable number of imagnies, made somewhat extensive notes on the larva^ and pupie, and 1 thought that his paper on these stages might very well be supplemented by a note or two on the distributu)u and variation of the speecies and on its imaginal habits, so far as I have observed them. I first remember seeing Phraiiinatuhiu fidiiiimmi in the imaginal stage in June, 1874, when iNlr. Ovenden and 1 captured a few males, Hying in the morning sun, on some rough ground between Cuxton and dialling. A few were seen on the same ground in the following years, but the specimens we captured in those days appear largely to have disappeared into the limbo of the past ; the one or two I have, show * Paper read before the Citrof London Entomologicnl Society, November Itjth, 1903. THE HABITS AND VAKIATION OF PHRAGMATOBIA FULIGINOSA. 59 that they are of the well-scaled, brightly-coloured, central European type. Then, in the early •' eighties," the Galashiels collectors sent me large supplies of larv?e, concerning which, I am ashamed to say, my only anxiety was to roar a " good series," and, having nursed the larvae with care and taken every precaution with the pupse, I murdered the imagines as they appeared with a light heart, set them carefully, stuck them into the cabinet without having made a single observation relating to them, duly filled my series, and thought with satisfaction what a clever scientific fellow I was. These, judging by individuals still in my possession, were almost uniformly of the small northern form. In the early " nineties " — August 1891 and 1892 — I canght a fai number at light in Wicken Fen, mostly, but not entirely, /atr). By .J. C. DOLLMAN. F.E.S. {Concluded frn))i p. 41,) On the evening of the 20th of the month, successful pupation was found to have been accomplished, the larva having improvised a pupal cell from the foldings of the flannel which had been laid upon the surface of the earth in the flower-pot. The edges and the ends of the material forming the chamber had been slightly connected with a few threads of web, and, by gently opening one end the pupa was visible. It had, apparently, but recently assumed the condition, and was very delicate and fresh in appearance. The fore part of the pupa, the head and thorax, was of a bright, light, greenish-grey, while the posterior portion was of a light butter-coloured yellow tint. The whole of the surface was translucent and shiny in eftect, and the pupa seemed to be extremely lively and active, taking alarm at the least occasion. The 70 THE p:ntomologist's record. whole of the dark markings, hereafter described, were quite as pronounceed at this date as they were afterwards, but were wanner and more red in colour. The pupa was a rather slenderly formed and graceful object, and was 2|in. in length exactly. The form of the head, antennte, legs, and wings was to be traced under their separate sheat'hings. The wingcases were long, and, at the point where they terminated, the segment was sharply incised ; the segments from the head to this point being full and firm in character. The body, posterior to the termination of the wingcases, was smaller in circumference, and tapered gradually to the anal segment, where it rounded off suddenly to the anal point. On the 25th of the month the papa had deepened in colour to a rich light sienna, freely freckled, though minutely, with a deeper shade of the colour. The head and thorax were large and bold in form, and after a slight depression in the out- line at the 1st and 2nd abdominal segments, the pupa swelled gradually to the posterior edge of the ith abdominal. Here it was emphatically scored all round by the segmental division and marked with a deep sienna band. The following two segmental boundaries were also similarly accentuated. These three segments were much more heavily depressed, as well as coloiired, at their posterior divisions, than the re- mainder ; though all were distinctly and sharply defined. The anal end was the richest in colour of any part of the pupa, gradually becoming deeper in the sienna colour as it neared the anal point, which was about xVi^- ^^^S ! projecting backwards and slightly upwards, finishing in two minute points, diverging laterally. This anal point was of a deep brown in colour, and not smooth or shiny in surface. On the head, in the extreme front between the eyes, was a short, broad, intensely dark line, suffused at the edges. This commenced immedi- ately on the forehead between the eyes and travelled upwards, to stop when vertically over their centre. It was set in an edging of unfreckled sienna colour. This dark line commenced again behind the head on the junction of the thorax with the skull. It is here dilated into two rather diamond-shaped swellings, then traversed the thoracic covering as a mediodorsal line, to stop again, abruptly, on the posterior end of the thorax, where it again expanded into a diamond- shaped blotch. These markings, in dark brown line, were most vividly and decidedly drawn upon the pupa, and were thick and firm in character. From this point the mediodorsal line extended, in a broken and interrupted manner, to the anal segment, but was only faintly indicated upon the centre of the segments. On the anal segment there was a small but very distinct dorsal spot. There was a subdorsal series of small darkish marks on the anterior edge of each segment, beginning at the 1st abdominal ; these were gradually more removed from the dorsal centre as the segments widened, and, as they decreased in size again, approached it more nearly. There were also two dark subdorsal dots on the thorax, each side of mediodorsal line — one on each side of the prothoracic segment, and one on each side at about the junction of the meso- and metathoracic ; below these last was a small elongated dark mark. The bases of the antennal sheaths were also defined with a dark, thin, transverse line. The spiracular mark on the prothoracic segment was visible in the dorsal view, as was also a suggestion of that upon the 2nd abdominal segment. As these Avere shown in large intensely dark brown blotches, they were sufficiently evident. A DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVA AND PUPA OF DAPHNIS NERII. 71 The lateral view of the pupa was distinguished by two main characteristics, the long wingcases and the series of large and very dark blotches which marked the position of the spiracles. The first of these blotches was on the prothoracic segment, just above and behind the eye (which possessed a fine semicircular dark marking), and resting on the sheath of the antenna. On the 1st abdominal the dark blotch was not visible, or only very faintly suggested, so faintly, that it could hardly be recorded with certainty, for here the wingcases enwrapped it rather deeply. On the 2nd abdominal the spiracular blotch was un- interruptedly in view. On the 3rd, the lower half of the blotch was concealed by the angle of the wingcase. That on the 4th abdominal was the largest of the series, and was roundish in shape, though jagged and suffused at the edges. The remainder were all rather smaller and more elongated in form, inclining to a posterior tail-like point in the marking. On the 8th abdominal, just below the spiracular blotch, was a small dark marking consisting of two finely drawn vertical marks, side by side, and, on the anal segment, was a small round dark dot on the spiracular line. The wingcases were extremely thin and trans- parent, and while possessing the longitudinal sheathings for the nervures, distinctly showed the segmental divisions, with their local colour, through their transparent texture. The ventral view of the pupa was remarkable for a most distinctive feature. This was a broad strongly drawn, intensely dark medioventral line extending from the base of the proboscis on the head, but separated from the short dark mark on the forehead, to the termination of the wing sheathings on abdominal segment 4. The line was as firmly and sharply drawn as if it had been made with a J pen running along a ruler. In the centre of this dark line was an extremely fine light thread-like line. The packing of the proboscis, legs, antennae, and wings was wonderfully neat, and the form of all could be fairly well discerned by their coverings. On the abdominal segments which bore V.: ' prolegs there was a large brownish red blotch where each proleg Ii '. 1 existed, except upon the anal segment, where there were no such marks visible. On the 7th abdominal segment there were three small dots on its anterior edge, a central one, and one aligned with it on either side. The two vertical subspiracular marks on abdominal segment 8, were also visible in the ventral view of the pupa. A faint suggestion of a medioventral line ran from the thick dark line's termination on the posterior edge of abdominal segment 4, to the anal point, broken only, just short of that, by the anal aperture and generative organ. A careful examination was made of the ventral view of the pupa to determine, if possible, the position of the legs belonging to the embryo insect, together with that of the antennae and the undeveloped wings. The forms of these details could be fairly well made out by slowly moving the pupa so that the light was reflected upon the various prominences, but it was not easy to come to a decision concerning the smaller points, as the packing of the insect was so delicately arranged that the pupacase did not define with much exactness the limit of the limbs. The serrated sheath of the antenna started squarely from above the eye-covering, and descended downwards and backwards to be inserted just past the junction of abdominal segments 1 and 2, between the 2nd leg and the costal line of the wingcase. Leg 1 shows 72 THK entomologist's RECORD. its upper visible segment close behind and below the glazed eye, and between here and the maxillffi, on the upper edge of the prothoracic segment ; from this point the next segment (the tibia) descends ob- liquely backwards, its lowest point being situated near the thick dark medioventral line before alluded to, at the junction of the meso= and metathoracic segments ; whilst the last segment of the leg (the tarsus) terminates upon the 2nd abdominal segment, lying close against the broad dark medioventral line. The upper visible segment (the femur) of leg 2 commences at about the centre of the mesothoracic segment, against the tibia of leg 1. The junction of this segment of leg 2 with the tibia is not definitely visible through the pupacase, but the tibia terminates on the anterior edge of abdominal segment 1. From thence the tarsus extends, packed closely against the broad medioventral line, to the centre of abdominal segment 3, where it terminates. The detail of leg 3 could not be made out, as it was packed beneath and behind the wing-costa ; but, as the pupa advanced towards the emer- gence of the insect, its lowest joint could be faintly discerned through the wings on the posterior portion of abdominal segment 2, from whence its last member doubtless lay beneath the wing-costa, but its termination could only be guessed at. The wing-casing extended to the extreme posterior edge of abdominal segment 4, where it was carried slightly round the full edge of the segment almost to its deeply depressed division from the next segment. From here it ascended upwai-ds and forwards in a graceful curve to an angle on the lateral centre of abdominal segment 8, the point of the angle impinging upon, and covering, the lower portion of the spiracular blotch there. It then was carried forward in a hollow curve to the shoulder on the thoracic region. The ridges covering the wing-nervures were well-defined, and were firmly, though delicately, traced upon the surface, and the marginal edging to the wingsheath was sharply and neatly incised. The lines upon the head and thorax marking the structural divisions of the casing were defined in thin brown lines, slightly, but sharply, depressed at their edges. The habit of the pupa became much quieter after its first week of existence, and it would seldom move or show signs of life when the covering of flannel was lifted to inspect it. It very gradually deepened in colour to an appearance of distinct sienna colour, especially on the dorsal surface, and by October SOth seemed to have reached its final stage in this direction. The ventral surface and the wing-sheathing remained fairly light and clear in colour, the latter possessing very little of the freckled appearance which was noticeable on the other portions of its surface, and which had now turned dark, almost to blackness, on the anterior part of the dorsal area of the segments. On November oth the pupa had changed scmiewhat in appearance, and had lost its transparent and shiny look. The whole of its surface was opaque in eftect, and, while being warmer and more ochre- coloured than putty, it suggested the dull, dead surface of it. The ventral portion of the thorax containing the legs was lighter and rather greyer in colour than the rest of the pupal skin, hut showed no tendency towards the colour markings of the imago yet. The darkening of the pupa from this time onwards was very gradual, and the first portions to turn in colour were the head and eyes. These parts A DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVA AND PUPA OF DAPHNIS NERII. 78 gradually deepened to a blackish -biown, and, by the 15th of the month, the antennae and legs had asserted themselves darkly through the skin. The entire pupa had become strongly marked with minute dark freckling, on the dorsal region these freckles had taken the form of transverse lines, doubtless on the basis of the larval skinfolds. The ventral area and wingcases also developed a quantity ol dark freckling, but it was not until Noveuibei- 20th that the pattern of the wings began to be visible through their casings. These quickly intensified, and, on the 23rd, were fully pronounced, and the wing- cases were almost covered with the markings in a dark olive-black. The dorsal region had also darkened to a like degree of the same colour, and the transverse series of freckled lines were almost lost in the general deepening of the olive-black tint. The pupa had for some three weeks led a most quiet existence, and would not move when touched, in marked contrast with its alertness in the earlier stage. On the 25th of the month the pattern of the wings through their casings was most distinctly defined, and the ocellated spot on the metathoracic segment sharply visible. This is the marking which is found on the shoulder of the fore wing in the imago. The entire pupa was now ver}^ dark, but the pupacase had a semitransparent appear- ance as if made of tracing-paper. It was still very quiet in its habit. On the morning of the next day, the 26th, at eight o'clock, the imago had emerged, a perfect male insect, and was fully formed, hanging from the top of the case, drying off. The date of pupation having been October 20th, it will be seen that the insect remained in that stage for '61 days. It was kept in the flannel, on earth, in a cage- covered flower-pot, which stood in a large bowl of water. This arrangement was placed by the side of a day-and-night burning stove giving a temperature, where the pot stood, upon an average of 70°F. The water in which the pot was placed kept the earth and flannel damp, though not wet, and the cage (of gauze on wire- framing), placed over the pot, permitted free circulation of air. As the larva of this insect is not frequently seen, it may be of interest to have some quoted information from the records of pulilished books upon it, especially as the individual example which forms the subject of this paper was of an abnormal type. The two main points where variation occurs, apart from the general coloration of the larva, are the shape and colour of the ocellated spot on the metathoracic segment, and the construction and position of the caudal horn. In Eoesel's Inxecten, vol. iii., pi. xv, are three illustrations of the larva of D.nen'i. They are beautifully drawn, and were evidently studied from nature with a faithful observation and able hand. The first figure is that of the normal or green type of larva of the species. The head is green, the thoracic segments yellow, the dorsal and lateral surfaces green, with a suggestion of yellow, laterally, on the anal segment. The lateral line is white, with white spots in transverse rows. The ocellated spot is shown in the form of a double lobe, with a black line bordering it. The colour of the spot is blue, with two white cores. The horn is represented as a blunt and pendent object, and not pointed at the end, but terminating in a rounded manner. The second figure is evidently of the form with which this article deals. The head is grey, the thoracic segments and the whole body sienna- coloured, with greyish liver-coloured lateral markings, leaving the 74 THE entomologist's RECORD. dor-ill dome-shaped spaces of the main ground colour. The lateral line is white, with the transverse rows of white spots. The ocellated spot is double-lobed in shape, blue in colour all over, with no light cores, and is surrounded with the usual deep black line. The horn is sienna-coloured and is pendent, finishing bluntly without a point. The third figure is another abnormal form. The head is dark grey, thoracic segments and anal segments reddish-brown. The dorsal and lateral surfaces are dark blackish-grey, and the lateral line and spots are pale drab, as are the spiracular line and claspers. The ocellated spot is double lobe-shaped, blue, with no light cores, and carries, out- side, the thick black line. Horn reddish-brown, pendent, with blunt termination, as is shown in all three of these figures which were unmistakably drawn from nature. Kirby's Butterflies ami Moths uf Kurnpe has a plate of the larva of the green type, with lavender- coloured markings on the lateral surface. The thoracic segments are yellow, the dorsal surface green, the lateral surface bears large confluent lavender-tinted markings, with white lateral line and spots. The ocellated spot is double lobe-shaped with white cores, and a black outer ring. Horn pendent, blunt at the end. Hofmann's Taafalter- raupen Papiliones shows a figure of the larva of the green form. Head green, thoracic segments yellow, dorsal surface green, lateral surface lavender, lateral line and spots white. Ocellated spot single, round, blue with two small white spots, and black ring. Horn pendent, small, finishing sharply in a fine point. Kayser's Deutsc/ilaiuls SrIniietterUn;ie figures a variety of the larva with a green head, thoracic segments and anal end ; the dorsal and lateral surfaces are a very light bluish-white. The lateral line is dark green with a dove- coloured line below it, both crossed by the transverse rows of white spots. The ocellated spot shown in this plate is singular in character. It is of the double lobe-shaped type, but, instead of being placed horizontally, it is vertical in position, the one lobe above the other. It is blue, with two white cores, and the black line edging it as usual. The horn is pendent, and blunt at the end. Westwood's British Moths illustrates a larva of the ordinary green form. The ocellated spot is single. It is blue with two white cores, and surrounded by the black line. Horn nendent, terminating bluntly. Barrett's Lepiiiop- tera of the British Islands has a plate of the same ordinary type of larva. The ocellated spot is a single circle of blue with a thin black line dividing it, vertically, in the middle. The surrounding ring is grey, outside which is a yellow ring. The horn is pendent, and terminates bluntly. Johnson's Illustrations of British Haul,- Moths and their Larrae shows another example of the green larva. The ocellated spot is formed of two white ovals surrounded with blue rings, which touch each other. The horn is represented as pendent, but turned up at the end, as in the case of the larvae of Mamhtca atropos, and finishing in a point. I^es iJ.pidopteres de F Europe, by Dubois, shows a similar figure, in which the ocellated spot consists of two white ovals surrounded with blue rings, which touch each other. The horn in this case is represented as springing upwards from the summit of the anal segment in a curve, and then inclining downwards. It is l)lunt at the end. The Handbook on the Lej)idoptera of Sireden. \iiruaif, Denuiark, and Finland, by Aurivillius. has a plate of the larva of the more common type in which the ocellated spot is of the double lobe-shape. THE REVISION OF THE SPHINGIDES. 75 It is blue, with wlaite cores, and surrounded by a black line. The horn is pendent and is blunt at the end. It will thus be seen that the ocellated spot is of a very variable nature, and, by the fact that, of the eleven figures mentioned, only two represent the horn as terminating in a point, we may assume that the blunt ending of it is the normal type. The Revision of the Sphingides— Nomenclature, Classification, Geographical Distribution. (Cuncluded fro)ii p, 47.) A. true classification must present us with a series of dichotomous (rarely trichotomous or more highly divided) divisions, of which the two portions are more likely than not very unequal. In the Sphinges we have a decisive division into two branches, which the authors of the Revision tell us they recognised before they discovered a very valuable typical character in a sensory patch on the palpi, present in the Choerocampids [Semanoplwme) and absent in the Sphinges {Aseinaiiophorae). These two branches are now represented by species distinguished in the larval state in the Choerocampids by having a more primitive tuberculation when young, and an adult pattern of markings of longitudinal stripes and ocellated marks. The Sphinges have larvas more advanced when newly-hatched, and leave the longitudinal markings behind in their early instars and assume the well-known oblique stripes. As pup^e, the primitive Sphinges retained earlier characters, which still remain in one section (the Smerinthids). In their further evolution both sections developed long tongues, and both tried to accoinmodate them in the pupa by throwing the head back, in a way that does not occur in any other long-tongued groups. In Sphinges this only progressed a certain length before the tongue-horn of the pupa developed and relieved the strain. In the Choerocampids the head was pushed further and further back, until it became quite dorsal, and the tongue formed a long, flat, projecting keel round the front of the pupa, and only after this had become extreme did it take the form of a horn. This, in Rhyncnlaha acteus is quite anterior, and not ventral as in Sphinges. The Sphinges {Asemanophorae) again divided into Sphingines {Acherontiinae) and Smerinthines {Ambulicinae) . The reality of these two branches is fully recognised in the Revision, but we are told that there is no single distinguishing chararacter applying to all species. This is more or less true at many points in most classifications of insects, and it is especially true in Sphingides. We have, for instance, broadly said above, that the Sphinges {Asenianopliorae) have obliquely- striped larvie, yet Hyloicus pinastri has the primitive longitudinal stripes when it is small, and also has much the same stripes when adult. These are, however, entirely comparatively recent adaptive modifications, the ancestor of H. pinastri was no doubt obliquely striped. Now, it happens, that there is one good character separating the Sphingines from the Smerinthines, a character in which the * .'( Rcvidoti of the Lcpiclopterous Family Sphingidae. By the Hon. Walter llothsehild, Ph.D.,' and Karl .Jordan. M.A., Ph.D. Supplement to Nov. Zool., vol. ix. Pp. cxxxx + 972. PI. 67. Tring, April, 190B. 76 THE entomologist's record. Smei-inthines are more primitive than the Sphingines ; the pupa of Smerinthines has a suture down the prothorax, that opens on emer- gence, but in all the rest of the Sphingids has become obsolete. The use of this character brings the Sphingulicae into the Smerinthines, a position to which we unhesitatingly assign them. In ihe Revision they are placed in the Sphingines, but with qualifying remarks to show that they would be about as well placed in the Smerinthines. So that we really are to no serious extent at issue with the Revision in so modifying their positions. Our ignorance of early stages is abundant enough to make it very possible for exceptions to this distinction, even large ones, being yet discovered ; at present we do not know of any, but, if so, it would still be at the same level as nearly all other distinctive characters in the family. This position of the Sphintiulicac had not been recognised, we believe, before the publication of the Revision. Our having independently arrived at the same conclusion, makes it tolerably certain that it is a sound one. It used to be regarded as closely related to Hyloicus or Dolba, The Revision divides the Sphingines (Acherontiinae) into three tribes, Acherontiicae, Sphiwiieae and Sphin(/tili(-ae. This last we have already referred to ; we are equally in agreement with the Revision in refusing subfamily rank to Achevontia, but we think that, in separating it with a few other genera from Sphini/icae as a separate subfamily, the authors are still affected by the traditional idea from which we freed ourselves by very slow gradations. We are still, indeed, so far dominated by it, as to think, that if Achevontia is of tribal value in the sense of the Revision, then Achevontia by itself is more separable from the others here associated with it under Acherontiicae than these are from many other Sphingicae. In short, if Achevontia is to be separated tribally, say from Protoparce or Hyloicus, then Sjihingicae must be divided into a number of tribes. If this be not done, then Achevontia is merely a genus of Sphingicae, but one that might have a separate tribe to itself without much misrepresentation of its true position. To place Hevse (Agvius [convolvuli]) in the same tribe with Achevontia, and leave out all the genera that follow in the Revision down to Cocytius, and even Protoparce and Kuryglottis, on the ground of the very peculiar specialisation of the second palpal joint (why did not Megacornia have a tribe to itself by virtue of its first palpal joint), seems to us to do violence to the actual phylogenesis of the group, tierse appearing to be near the common ancestor of all these, and not a recent modification as Achevontia is. Many of the species in Sphingicae show traces of this peculiar cave and dome of the palpus, which are more likely to be recessions of the structure found in Herse, than examples of its earlier stages. Nevertheless, the interpretation of the facts that the /iVcisiot. adopts, is perhaps more calculated than any other to call attention to the true place oi Achevontia, which is as a deri- vation from the higher Sphinges after they were well elaborated, and not like the Sphingulicae and Smerinthines, a branch from a fairly basal position. The imago may suggest, the pupa almost proves, that a very recent ancestor of Achevontia had a proboscis quite comparable in length with that of Cncytius or Herse. It is curious that the shortening and thickening of the proboscis, which was probably the selective point, should be accompanied by a shortening and thickening of legs and other parts. THE REVISION OF THE SPHINGIDES. 77 The Smerinthids are certainly the group retaining the largest number of ancestral characters. They have not gone forward with the others, but have retreated, especially in the matter of proboscis and wing power. They took the Sphinges with them in those characters which make both Axemanophorae. The Choerocampids, however, are more primitive as larvae, so far as having preserved early stages goes, less so in so far that one type of larva was early reached by the Asemanophorae, and was adhered to, whilst the Choerocampids developed in various directions. Darapsa, Ceratomia, Smerlnthus are related together in characters that seem to us to be ancestral, but in the Revision are treated as highly evolved by recession. As regards the proboscis, it no doubt relies on these having shorter proboscids than we postulate for the ancestral Sphinx. Granted that these have receded in this matter, and we must go to sundry Sesiads to find genera in which neither recession nor advance has obviously occurred. The abdominal spines also seem to us to have originated all over the surface of the segments, to have failed except at the margins, where they persisted in several rows, but as they got larger and stronger one row became sufiicient. In this matter we think Pseudo- sphinx tetrio is probably at the highest stage of development. In this and other characters, to regard this species as ancestral in the sub- family Sesianae seems difficult to accept. Haeinurrhagia, for instance, is in many points more primitive, highly specialised though it is in others. These spines are not, as the Rerision says, altogether special to the Sphingides, but occur in some Noctuids and Geometrids (in Nyssia hispidaria they are rampant). We fully agree with the sinking of all subfamily or tribal distinc- tion between the Amorphid and Ambulicid sections of the Sineriuthinae {Aiiihulicinae) unless a number of smaller divisions be made. The Seinanophorae (Macro(/lossi)iae and Choeyoccanpinae, Auct.) include some 480 species. Amongst these they describe the subfamily Choero- campina as being sharply circumscribed. It includes 144 species. The majority of our British Choerocampids (Auct.), belong to this sub- family— elpenor, t/allii, eelerio, etc. The genus Xijlophanes, with 50 species, is confined to the western hemisphere. In the arrangement in the phylogenetic table, we believe, chiefly on larval characters, that Pe)yesa {elpenor, etc.) is wrongly placed with ('elerio {(jallii, etc.), and away from Hippotion and Theretra {eelerio, etc.). "The remaining groups of Semanophorae are not so obviously distinguished from one another in all their members owing to the preservation of generalised forms linking the groups together, and to the dift'erence becoming obscured by the recurrence of similar structures in phylogenetically widely difterent genera." This is so true that it seems impossible to criticise the arrangements of these genera, any other being probably open to at least as much objection as those in the Revision, though there are one or two points, perhaps, worth considering. The Dilopkonoticae appear to be a well-defined group, and have such a Sphingid facies that they have usually been classed as Sphinges and not as Choerocampids. The larvae and pupas are definitely Choero- campine. Burmeister separated them as a distinct subfamily without distinctly stating their Chcerocampine affinities, which is first done, we believe, in the Reoision. 78 ■ THE ENTOMaLOCJlST's RECORD. The wide separation of Sesia [Hemorrhagia =:Bee-ha,vf\i moths) from Macrofflossa (Humming-bird) is unquestionably correct. The Philampelinae consists practically of the genus Pholm (= Pliilampelus, a name here sunk as a synonym, then why Philaiiipelinae .-). PJioliis would appear to be a derivation of Daplnm (DeilepJnla) hardly entitled to tribal rank. Phikniipelinac seems to us to be related to the Daphnid section of Xephelinw, in much the same way as the geo- graphical subspecies are to each other, as say Celerio lineata is to (J. livornica, so that to separate them as tribes seems at variance with uniting lineata and livornica as one species. The remainder of the Choerocampids (Semanophorae) are placed in the Nephdirae, which includes 199 species, rather a sort of dumping ground for the remainder. " The genera of this tribe are in more than one organ either similar to the Semnae or the L'hoerocampinae Very often a genus inclines towards one subfamily in one stage, and towards the other subfamily in another stage. Maeroi/lossian for instance is Sesiid in the imago and larva, but Choerocampid in the pupa. Anipe- lophaga is Choerocampid in the imago and larva, and Sesiid in the chrysalis. The imago of Atewnora is Sesiid in the strong fiat spines, Choerocampid in the large friction scales." We approve, rather than otherwise, of merely recognising as sub- species certain allied forms, such, for instance, as the ten subspecies of Celerio enphorhiae, of which four or five at least have been held to be "good" species. We cannot, however, say positively, as we think the Revision does, that this is recognising a fact. In the present state of our knowledge, we think it merely a well-founded opinion. In looking over our remarks, it seems to us that we have given adverse comment a full share of our space, and, in one instance, where our opinions are very decided, have indulged in somewhat strong language. This seems, however, necessary if we are to make any effort to deprive opinions, that do not appear to us to deserve it, of the prestige that must attach to them from being advanced in a work that marks not only an advance in the study of the Sphinges, but is a step forward in the systematic treatment of the lepidoptera, and must inevitably command the admiration of all who can appreciate it. drOLEOPTERA. Tropiphorus obtusus, Boisd. — The known range of this species has been appreciably extended since the publication of Fowler's British Cnleoptera. It was then only known from Dumfries, but subsequent researches seem to be showing that its range is co-extensive with that of many other northern species in these islands. Messrs. Johnson and Halbert record it from four Irish counties— Derry, Armagh, Carlow and Kilkenny- — in their admirable List of the Beetles of Ireland, and I can add a fifth, co. Antrim, as I took it in 1902 in White Park Bay. Mr. Kidson Taylor took one last year at Miller's Dale, in Derbyshire, and I detected it some time ago mixed with T. tomentosus. Marsh., and collected by Messrs. Day and Britten in the Carlisle district. T. obtusus has a duller, more abraded look than T. towentosus, without any metallic reflection on the scales. — B. Tomlin, Chester. Januorj/ dOth, 1904. NoTKs ON Wi(iTowNSHiKK coLKopTERA. — The foUoM'ing notes are a COLEOPTERA. 79 supplement to my list of Wigtownshire coleoptera, which appeared in the February number of the Bemrd for 1903, and contain only species added since then. Professor T. Hudson Beare has most kindly examined almost all the specimens. In March, Sci/dmat'iixs rollaris, MiilL, and Stenus paganus, Er., were taken on stones in a field, while under stones Micropeplu.^ staphylinoirlr.H, Marsh., Tac/u/poruft nbtiisiix var. vitidicollis, Steph., and Quedius semiaenens, Steph., were not uncommon. In April, a single specimen of ('hri/somelo fastuom, L., was captured under a stone in a field on the 6th, also Tarln/ponis hi/pnoyinn, F., a dark aberration ; Aphodius pusillus, Herbst. plentiful in sheep-dung on the moors, and Cytihis ran'Ks, F., on a stone by the sea. The hotbed near the garden was again swarming with beetles, and produced a single hister biniacidatus, h., on the 80th, besides Faloi/n'a sulcata, Grav., Philonthus rentralis, Grav., O.vxjtelns tetracarinatm, Block., and Cri/ptoliypnus dernieMoides, Herbst. During May much more work was done, and several interesting species were taken. Xotinphilu^ aqtiatinoi, L., among flood refuse ; Leistus rufescenft, F., two under stones ; Anchinveivifi ericeti, Pz., one on a dead bird on the moor on the 7th ; Staphyliiutx latehricola, Grav., one under a stone on the shore of the White Loch, on the 18th ; Stoixs tarsalis, Ljun., S. bifovealafita, Gyll., S'. mtidiiixciduii, Steph., and .S'. impressiis, Germ., swept in a damp meadow; S. piibesceus, Steph., swept off rushes growing in a loch. On the 8th, a fine, bright, sunny day, Subcoccivella 24:-pi(vctata, L., was very plentiful on nettles, as many as six on one leaf, on the seashore near Kirkmaiden, in company with Cnccinella 11-piinctato, L., rather scarce, and C l-punctata, L., simply crawling on everything ; Melanopthalma yibbosa, Herbst, on blackthorn ; Micrmnbe vim, Pz., common on whins ; Parnus prolifericnrnis, F., and P. aiiiicidatits, Pz., under stones on the shores of lochs; Aphodius putridns, Cr., and A. nierdarim, F., not uncommon in sheep-dung on the moors ; Helodeft niaryinatKs, F., Telephorns paliidosiis, Fall., and T. jiyuratiia, Mann., swept among rough herbage near the Malzie burn ; MaltJiodes wispRiix, Kies, two swept near together on a flat moor ; Jhmacia nbitciira, Gyll., one swept among reeds growing in deep water from a boat, Loch Chesney, on the 24th ; I>. simpleir, F., D. discolor, Pz., and GaMroides polyyoni, L., swept on reeds in wet places : Hydi-othassa aiicta, F., sitting on boards in the sun near Newton-Stuart, and (rcdcrncdla nymphae, L., common by sweeping plants in the middle of a ditch, and a single (asdda equestris, F., swept from rough herbage near the Malzie burn on the 31st. In June, the following turned w^^Hydroporit^ nicwnnnius, Nic, and H. pnbescens, Gyll., were swept in a damp meadow; H. tristis, Pk. and GyrinnH iiiinutiis, ¥., in Loch Chesney ; while Orectoehihia villoms, Miill., haunted water-lily leaves in the burn. Sweeping rough herbage and grass in woods produced HdopJianis brevipalpis, Grav., CryptopJuuius dnitatiis, Herbst, (dryuibefpfi /jnereiis. Gyll., and var. oc/iropUrns, Steph., Ayrintes pallididioi, 111., Adrastiis linihatiif;, F., several; Hehidrs wiuutus, h., Malt/iodrs moryinattis.Jjat., M. flavoyitttatiis, Kies, Teleporiiff niyriranx, jNIiill., Atoniaria atn'rapillus, Steph., and < repidodcra fcnuyinca, Scop. : a few (/rytoeephaliis lahiatits;, L., on heather. Under sand-boxes on the golf course, at Glenhice, several Heliopathes yibbus, Marsh., on the 11th ; while a single Ajdwdiiis xcybolariKs, F., new to the Sol way, was found in cow-dung at the same place on the 28th; Ant/iop/iagus tefitaecus, Grav., Atlioiis hafmorr/ioidalis, 80 thb: entomolo(tIst's record. F., and Anaspis nt/irollia, ¥., by beating rowan trees. Under a stone below the Garheugh rocks, a single < 'istda miiiina, L., black form, on the 12th ; Qnciliiis iiiaiirnn(fus, Grav., and Stenus pallitarsii:<, Steph., were swept from reeds in lochs, and another Chrysnntda fastuosa, L., on the IHth, this time by sweeping in a hayfield near the White Loch. In July, collecting began to languish owing to the counter attractions of tennis, but y>ro//r//(.s ^/^cr/c/.s, 01., was taken on the shore; Lnnifi- tamits lacris, Duft., swept on the moor ; a couple of the rare Aleochara rnficoniis, Grav., were swept from grass under trees, in a wood, on the 3rd. Sweeping herbage produced nolitobius pyrimaeus, F., Mierocara livifla, F., and P/n/lhnlerta rtilf/ot.issinia, L., and Leistotrophns nchulosus, F., was brought into a house in Newton- Stewart by a cat, and given to me alive and none the worse for its adventure. In Aiigust, Annhium itnwf'sticiiw, Fourc. turned up in the house, and Aphodiiifi rnfesircnx. F., was taken in cow-dung on the moor in September. The above insects were again mostly taken in the immediate neighbourhood of Corse- malzie. There are still a good many other captures to work out. and which I hope to record shortly. — J. G. Gordon, F.E.S., Corsemalzie, Whauphill, Wigtownshire. January SOtli, 1904. Remarks on M. Louis Bedel's " Coleopteres du Bassin de la Seine," Tome 5, Fas. 2. By E. A. NEWBERY. Although dated 1897-1901, this part has probably only recently been issued in a separate form, since I have not hitherto been able to obtain it. M. Bedel's work needs no commendation : like the former volumes, it repiesents a vast amount of original study of the insects described therein, and a comparison (where possible) with the original types. M. Bedel has been peculiarly fortunate in having access to the types of Allard, Foudras, and other writers on that difficult group, the Halticidae, and has been able to clear up many obscure points in the synonymy. British coleopterists may not be able to accept all his conclusions, but the general accuracy of his work cannot be doubted. The short time that the book has been in my hands has rendered it impossible for me to do much more than call attention to certain changes in synonymy, to reproduce some of M. Bedel's distinctions where they appear to be new or useful, and to make a few miscellaneous remarks. For the purpose of comparison, I have taken the order of the genera and species from Sharp and Fowler's ( ataloyue of 1898. The analytical tables of this " fascicule " commence with Liiperufi, but the "Catalogue" which follows includes all the I'lii/tnp/iaiia, the footnotes being by no means the least interesting part. In what follows it must be observed that all names in the British catalogue referred to are omitted, in which no change takes place. So also, as a rule, are the names which accord with those in the last (1891) European catalogue, since it must be presumed that our catalogue- makers are cognisant of these changes, but have not thought fit to adopt them. Where, however, I have wished to emphasise these changes, believing that 'Si. Bedel's investigations have given them an added value, I have inserted them. In the unfortunate genus Thmacia we have the following alterations: D. craxaipes. F.. becomes inirans, Hoppe('?(7-«s.s/y;('.s,F.). l>.ilintipcs,F. = coccim'n-fa»iata,lis,vvev. D.liiiibata, KEMAKKS ON BEDEl's " COLEOPTERES DU BASSIX DE LA SEINE." 81 Vz. = war('/H.s, Geoff"., becomes L^jj^/vf.s, Miill. L.nigrofasciatu^, Goeze = circiiiirfiisns, Marsh, the old name restored {iwjrofaaciatus, Goeze,he\ng a T/u/aiiiis). (ralrnicella saf/ittariae, Gyll., is reduced to a var. of nijiiipliac, L. Adiwonia, Laich, becomes Galeruca, Miill., and a suggestion is made that the larvae recorded by H. W. Kew {Ent. Mo. Ma;/., xxiii., 107) as feeding on Scabiosa succisa msbj have been those of poiiKinac, Scop. This is surely an error, as this insect has never been regarded as British. A. ocZrt^f/iiVrt, Boh., appears to be Q^vax.oiinU'rriipta, 01., but I am not quite sure that this is what M. Bedel means. We come now to the difficult genus Thyamis, and I must again remind the reader of the exceptional advantages M. Bedel has had in having access to so many original types. The old generic name of T/n/amis is restored. T. eehii, Koch, is said in error to be British. T.pulex, Fond.— .nbliterata, Ros., and atra, F.=parrHla, Pk., both old names restored. 2'. rtis/»f/(//,Kuts., is not mentioned. T. casta iica,Dnit.=brmmea, Duft., lurida, Scop., and the brunnea of the catalogue being but one species. T.fuscnla, Kuts., is not mentioned, but it is probably only a 82 THE entomologist's record. small form of liirhla, and will have to be deleted. This would leave us with but two species in this group, i.e., brunnea, Duft., a marsh species Avith long apical setfe to the elytra, and the ubiquitous and protean lurida, Scop., in which they are inconspicuous. I am, however, at a loss to know what M. Bedel means in referring to brunnea (cat>tanea, Brit. Cat.) as having " facies des Crepidudera roux." The var. fifscicollis, Steph., is raised to a species, and takes the place of atricilla, L., a name considered enigmatical ; patruelh, All., is made a var. of ninrofaaciata, Goeze, but possibly this is not the species we call jiatrnelis. T. vielanocephala, AH., and atriveps, Kuts., become one species, i.e., melanocephala, DeG. T. diatiwiuenda, Rye, is said to be probably confined to Britain, and to be very close to the var. y>rt^/v<('Z/.s mentioned above. T. abdominaliii, k\\. (Duft., of the i)'?77. Cat. .') — iinicic(da, Foud. 'T. iraterlKnisri, Kuts., -dxid ferrKi/inea, Foud. are not mentioned at all. M. Bedel regards ccrina, ]3ritish catalogue, as probably menthac, Bed. (n.s.), found abundantly in several places in France on Mentha aquatiea. T.fiaricornis, ^iQ]^h. = rubiijinona, Foiid. T. fenioralis, Msbvsh. =:e,voleta, L., the old name restored. T.pnsilla, Gyll.=: liratetms, Pz., with which inedicaijinia, AIL, and reichei, All., are synonymous, the form with black thorax being the vai'. eollaris, Steph. T. f/racilis, Kuts., and the vdv. jwireri, All. (the latter the most widely spread in France), is said to feed on TiiHulaiio farfara. If this is so poiveri is probably distinct, since, as remarked by Fowler, >jracilis feeds on Senecio jacobaea here. As we appear to have T/ii/aniis aerui/inosa, Foud., jielliicida, Foud., and succinea, Foud. {=laeris, All., nee Duft.). 1 subjoin Bedel's diagnosis : — 1. Elytra not, or very shortly, ciliated at their apex, antenriiE of normal length (l-.5nim. to 2-8mni.). 2. Elytra with some rather long hairs towards apex, and one hair still more long and projecting at the sutural angle ; antennae wiih joints four to ten very elongate. Insect usually apterous, rarely (var. luctator, Weise) winged. On Kupatorium cannabinum, rather common. T. aernginona, Foud. 2. Elytra sub-depressed above, with shoulders usually well-marked and punctuation distinct. On (\mvoli'Ulits nrvensis, common. T. pellucidd, Foud. Elytra reguhu'ly convex, shoulders nearly always etiaced, and punctuation obsolete. On Acliillca iiiillefoliioii, Lcueanthexnim culiiare, Artemisia (■(iiiipextritt, etc., common. T. succinea, Foud. The lacris of Fowler, appears to be aertKiinosa, a species I have taken aljundantly on Enpatoriuin, both on the coast and inland. Fowler, however, gives the foodplants of succinea to his laeris {Brit. Cnl., iv., 853). Ilaltiea tairtarieis, Schr., is not found in the Seine basin and should be deleted also from the British list. //. eori/li of the British catalogue -—hrericollis, Foud. H. palustris, Weise, does not occur in the Seine basin. U.pusilla, All. {nee Duft.) is a synonym of tderaeea, L. M. Bedel observes that all the " pusilla " taken in the Paris basin are nleracea, L., and that the true jiusiUa, Duft., is a mountain species. Whatever the var. nwntana of our collections may prove to be, most, if not all, of the " pusilla " ought probably to be referred to oleracea, L. Pln/llotreta l>itnetulata, Marsh, of the Q-d>i.=aerea, All., and it appears likely that diaileiiiata, Foud., ma}- also be British, since it is a very near ally, and mixed with it in many French collections. P. erudferae, Goeze=paeci- NOTES ON COLLECTING. 83 loecras, Com. The true jiiwaom, 111., is not found in the Seine basin. Aphthona non-striata, Goeze, is not found on the Continent with jnoiilot>fii, Koch, recently reinstated as British by Mr. H. Donisthorpe, is said to feed on Stachi/a recta, according to Kutschera. Neither Pai/llioden fijanoptera. 111., nor P. Inridipcnnis, Kuts., appears to occur in the Seine basin. P.cuprea, of the catalogue =/*crfcrtcrt/, Foud. (JassUla mnrraea=niurra>ii , L., the green form being var. uiacidata, L. ('. sanuuinolenta, "F.," should be " Miill." C cJdorU, tinf^v. =j)rasina, 111. f'. siibfcrrwiinea, Schr., appears to equal ferriifpnea, Goeze (nee L.). M. Bedel gives the following characters to separate rittata, Vill., from Hobilis, L. : — Facial grooves forming a V, of which the branches commence at the insertion of the antennae ; thorax scarcely less shiny than the elytra, convex behind. C. vittatn, Vili. Facial grooves almost in the form of a Y, their two branches in part united on the median line ; thorax very dull, not convex behind. C. iiobilis, L. It would be premature to offer an opinion on a large number of these changes. The effect of them in modifying the British list may well form the subject of future enquiry. :^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. Pyrameis cardui in 1903. — I think Mr. ]\IcLachlan {P!nt. Mo. Ma;/.) is right about Pi/raiiwis cardui. The butterflies were abundant about Vienna in the autumn of 1903. It is well known here, too, that it is a great migrant. A very large number of larvte was collected, but they were nearly all ichneumoned. Probably next year the butterflies will be rare. — A. HiRscmiE, Wien. Janjianj %th, 1904. British Alucitides. — LiFE-msTORiES and habits. — Little by little our material on the British plumes is accumulating, but it is on a remarkably small number of species. Many of our lepidopterists will find Pterophorns inonodacti/la as soon as the sallows are out, probably before. Eggs are wanted badly ; there is no description of which we know extant, and either the eggs, notes thereon, or living $ s. 84 THE entomologist's record. from which they could be dissected, Avould be most acceptable. Do (? s of this species go over the winter '? Similarly eggs of Aiiibbjptilia acanthor (lactt/la and A. jjunctidarti/la are required, and, if Minutescnptiliis zopho- ilartijlus does hybernate, any scrap of information would be welcome, and eggs a gift from the gods. I have no doubt that, with their usua.1 generosity and kindness, our lepidopterists will get us lots of material as soon as the plants are on the move. We want the tiniest possible larvfE, for it is the earliest larval stages that are practically unknown. One of our correspondents tells us that Mvnaescoptiliis ptemdactyliis {fuscHs) hybernates as an egg — a most remarkable fact. Still, we do not know where the larvte of Flatyptilia ochrodactijla {Tanact'tuui species), /'. bertrmni [Achillea s'pec\eH),F.iionudactyla [Tiii»mo species), P. tessera- dactifla (0)ia]dialiiiin species), Alucita niegadacti/la (spilodactyla) [Marrnbiiiiii species), A. pcntadactyla [Convolvulus species), etc., hyber- nate, nor have we the remotest knowledge of any of the Leioptilid or MiiUieseoptilid species, except Lcioptilus lieniyianus, and L. iiiirro- dactifla, whilst our knowledge of Plattiptilia zetterstedtii (the Lynmouth and Folkestone species) is practically a blank. It is marvellous, when one comes to think of it, that not one of our keenest micro-lepidop- terists has any knowledge whatever of the autumnal, winter, and early spring habits of more than two or three species of our plumes, and that the Continental lepidopterists possibly know less. The earliest and latest dates of capture — larvfe or imagines — should be carefully noted, and every locality chronicled. We may then, by our co- operative method, get the material for a book on ]>ritish plumes before the end of the year, that shall be worthy of British entomology. Material should be sent to Mr. A. W. Bacot, 154, Lower Clapton Road, N.E., as Dr. Chapman expects to be abroad from mid-^larch to the end of May. — J. W. Tutt. (grU RR E N T NOTES. The January meeting of the Entomological Club was held in The Entomological Salon of the Holborn Restaurant on Tuesday, January 19th, at 6.30 p.m., when Mr. G. H. Verrall was the host. Supper was served at 8.80 p.m., when a large number of guests sat down. Among others we noticed: Professors R. Meldola, E. B. Poulton (elected club member), Colonel C. T. Bingham, Colonel Yerbury, Rev. Canon W. W. Fowler, Revs. E. N. Bloonitield, F. D. Morice, and C. F. Thornewill. Drs. T. A. Chapman, F. A. Dixey, and J.Tathom,Messrs. F.C.Adams, R. Adkin (club member), H. W. Andrews, H. W. Barker, F. Bouskell, W. C. Boyd, H. Rowland-Brown, H. A. Bryden, M. Burr, A. Cant, J. T. Carrington, A. E. J. Carter, G. C. Champion. A. J. Chitty (elected club member), F. Noad Clark, J. E. Collin, H. Donisthorpe (club member), Stanley Edwards, C. Fenn, F. C. Frohawk, C. J. Gahan, H. (toss. T. W. Hall (club member), A. Harrison, M. Jacoby, 0. E. Jan- son, F. Jenkinson, J. W. A. Jenner, F. B. Jennings, A. H. Jones, W. J. Kaye, 0. H. Latter, R. W. Lloyd, W. J. Lucas, H. Main, Claude Morley, B. G. Nevinson, G. T. Porritt (club member), E. A. Smith. H. J. Turner, J. W. Tutt, W. A. Vice, C. J. Wainwright, E. A. Water- house. A most enjoyable evening was spent. Two charming violin solos were given by Mr. Jacoby, and a recitation by Professor Poulton. The toasts proposed were " The Entomological Club," by ^Ir. Verrall,. and '• Our host," by Professor E. B. Poulton. f\ 1 V\ y 5 ?l-,^-\ *.,\i/i- si Z^\ ^ / / VsJlA ^ ^^^*-*iS-/*\ ■^ / y ^-^ {hh'S |s 1 V — -\ H J \/ ; m^i X K ^ ^ X f O-v ■v^ 1- iS /. 2» 2 •I'l 4' 1 •^ X 1 1 ^ ^ ?\ \l ' • « - \ ^ ■^. o Is ;i o ^ ^^-^y * ^ >i ( / - 7KP/7-^Wa' { ^. ' V 3 ^ — J .o ^ r ^ ^ ■*/- 1 , /^ ■•^^ '^^ ^5 -» 4 / ^\? ^ s. V -3 ^ r :^ ■rf tiv^ e dl \ y" C^ T >* ^sj •* 't fAPi>; 'Z "If j r 'i- \ J ; «/ s/yl^ o'H ^ i f x; L^ ~\^ * \ \ 2 ^r^ \ >r-/-Jr^ V J ^V , o;-' ^^ ■xy^"^ I J \ tJ ■s ^^-T^i s, «i\ ■ v — v/j / \ \ : « \ « ~7 { ( V ^ t r •« \ a ^ \ \ ^\ ( e 1 v \ o T" ^ 5 —~-^~f» •^* \ / -5 d \ ^. \ "^ / ('*^ >v/ V ^ ' ■ c; / ^• e g L. ^^^^5 ^ /^ { ¥^^ e ~~~|s ^. Ml rf^ 4 ^^ \ * ^ A k ) '>^ k I 2 5j % "t ( \ ^ ^/f ^T T V ^ 5 % - ) \ -^A' *ff^ s> \/^^ lO X* 1 '■ t \ *■' Jy \ 1 * ^ NOTES OF A TRIl' TO THE SIERRA DE LA DE^rANDA AND MONCAYO. 85 Notes (chiefly on lepidoptera) of a trip to the Sierra de la Demanda and Moncayo (Burgos and Soria) Spain {with wap and three plates). By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.Z.S., F.E.S. There is no doubt that Spain is a most fascinating country for the entomologist. Switzerhxnd does, or did, exercise such a fascination, not only for the entomologist, but for many other classes of tourists and travellers. Spain is, however, for the entomologist, much more attractive, whether it will still be so, when it is as well known as Switzer- land is, perhaps, another (piestion. For the moment and for myself, I must admit I coiild not resist the temptation last summer to visit it again. There are many drawbacks, and, if you really mean to get to good localities, you must be prepared to submit to many inconveniences, to rough it a little, or even a good deal, and this has fewer attrac- tions when one is on the downward, than when on the upward, grade. When there, one certainly says not unfrequently that one has had enough of it, but the disagreeables slip backwards in the memory, and the attractions ever assert themselves, and so it came about that Mr. Champion and myself found ourselves crossing the channel on June 22nd last, and on the following afternoon we arrived at (iuethary, a charming little watering-place, a few miles south of Biarritz and about as many short of the Spanish frontier. Here Mr. ( 'hampion found several of those curious submarine Staphylines, but I met with nothing of any importance, the only thing that interested me being Hermima crinalia, no rarity, but remarkable as possessing on its front legs a whole museum of those fans and brushes which are so frequent in the Deltoids. Thyineliciis actaeon and Melanarc/ia jialathea were common, and I found a larva of FJuvanessa antiopa hung up for pupation on a rush in the middle of a swamp, having travelled some 20 yards from the tree on which it had fed. On the 25th we moved on to Burgos, of which we formed a better opinion, entomologically, than we had done last year, realising that it had an elevation of 2800 feet. Though Mr. Champion got a good beetle or two, nothing, however, fell to my share here worth recording. Our stay was, in fact, too short for doing much. From Burgos we pro- ceeded to Canales de la Sierra. By the kindness of the Sierra Company we travelled by their mineral railway to Barbadilla and proceeded to Canales by cart. In connection with this portion of our voyage, I must express our obligation to the courtesy of the officers of the company at Burgos, especially to Mr. E. B. Smith and Dr. Frankland Dent, not only in regard to our mere travelling, but for the information they gave us of the nature of the Sierra to which we were going, with some useful details as to accommodation and likely localities. The railway passes through much country that looked more or less tempting entomologically, but nowhere passed very near any of the higher Sierras, nor did there appear to be any available accommodation by the way. At Pineda de la Sierra there was some likely-looking ground, and a considerable elevation was here attained. At Barbadilla, the present terminus of the railway, we spent a few hours and met with lAiiiqndes boetica in abundance, Fidonia fanuila in some numbers, and a small ^Egeriid (Sesiid) flying freely amongst sorrel and low plants. At Canales our adventures in securing accommodation were rather amusing and threatened for a time to wreck the expedition. We March 15th, 1904. Sfi THK RXTOMOT.OGIST's RKCOHD. expected to obtain lodgings witli a prosperous mercer, who had a good house and received guests. Unfortunately he had just been supplied with more than his complement by a large family which had, the previous day, returned from the Argentine, whither it seems many people go from this region, returning either for a vacation or perma- nently aftei- having, I suppose, made their pile. We had then to inspect the '• Posadas." The best of these was, from our point of view, quite impossible. After wasting some time in searches, inspections, and palavers, we were reluctantly coming to the conclusion that we must stay one night at the Posada and return next day, when a gentleman who had attended us throughout our researches, as is a common habit in these regions, all matters of negotiation and market- ing being matters of great general interest, volunteered the information that he thought something could be done. In fact, he had the key of a vacant house, in which he thought we could put up, and his wife could look after our commissariat and other domestic att'airs. We finally found ourselves installed in a large house with very good rooms, not entirely devoid of furniture, and, at a very belated hour, secured, not a sumptuous feast, but something to eat. Here we resided and got on very well during our stay at Canales. We found, unfortunately, that the house was not entirely uninhabited, but a little arrangement got over the difficulty. The Posada here, and our observations at the villages in the district, showed that the accommodation available in this region was much behind that that we met with in the Albarracin Sierra. Last year, at Bejar, Piedrahita, and Avila, we did not try the smaller villages, but fancy they also were not to be commended. We did not ascertain the exact height of Canales de la Sierra, where we stayed from .Tune 27th to July 9th, but it cannot be much over 2500 feet. It is a considerable distance below the Col between it and Pjarbadilla, and to that, one descends a good way from the highest point of the railway. Canales lies in a valley with a little stream, the Najarilla, that was quite dry a mile above the village, but a mile below was quite a little river. On the north there rises immediately, in somewhat steep slopes, a hill, the ridge of which runs east and west at a height of perhaps 5500 feet, certainly not more, passing round towards the northwest into a higher summit, which we took to be the Sierra de la Demandii, possibly about 7400 feet. This carried, during our stay, several considerable patches of snow. This appears to be the highest point in the group after Moncayo. which is, however, really distinct, the other summits are really parts of the same mass as the Demanda, and, though the maps say other- wise, we fancied the Urbion and Cebellera were a trifle higher than the l)emanda, but then we viewed these from the north and so their snowy patches made a comparatively greater display. Opposite, to the south, was a lower hill, a little further oil', ranging backwards to a hmg high ridge with much snow, the Sierra Campina. The top of this was some ten miles off', and we never got up courage to visit it. In fact, we could only have made a day's journey there and back, with no time to do anything when there. To the southeast, and some fifteen or twenty miles ofi', but over a very broken country, was the bold and precipitous summit of the Cel)ellera and the range of the Pico de Urbion. These we should much liked to have visited, but it would have been a full day's jo\u'iiey to get there, and we could hear of no accommodation \()TF,S ON A TIJIP TO THE SIKKHA ])K LA DEMANUA AND MONCAYO. 87 anywhere near the mountain. It was matter of much regret that we should be so near these tempting summits and yet find it practically impossible to visit them. Our hunting-grounds were on the lower slopes and broken ground at the foot of the hills on the north, along the top of these, and towards the higher points of the Sierra de la Demanda, and on some rather bare hills opposite. A little valley parallel to the main one, and to the south of it, presented some good ground and led up to the Pinar, an area of pine-wood about 1200 feet above Canales, and five or six miles off. The lowest slopes were usually rather bare, but had, in the little valleys between them, more or less blackthorn and (Teniata. Very soon a scrub of small oak-bushes of the woolly-leaved species was reached, and this continued more or less to a considerable elevation, in some places, very low down, was a good deal of heath, but this was not usually abundant till near the top of the oak-scrub. The oak-scrub reached behind Canales to the top of the ridge, on the other side of which was a thick beech forest. Elsewhere, where the true succession could be found, the beech followed on the oak at a higher level, and this happened at one higher portion of the ridge. It really also was seen on the north side of the ridge, where the oak was very low down. The difterence between the two sides amounted to 1000 feet or so, occupied by oak on the southern aspect, being on the northern occupied by beech. The difterence in climate on the two sides being thus something like 1000 to 1500 feet of elevation in favour of the southern aspect. The impression I received during the first few days at Canales, was that I had got amongst precisely the same set of insects that I left on the wing in the Riviera twelve weeks before. Pnli/omniatus baton, Xnmiaddi ci/llarus, Si/richthm sao, Thais ruinina, < 'alias edusa, C. In/ale, Kuchlo'e euphenoides, Xomiades iiielanops, Ci/aiiiris an/iolus, Brenthis i'iiphros}/nt', Krehia evias (at Locarno eleven weeks before), Adscita statices, Tanatira cliafritp/njllata, Fidonia atomaria, etc. The species were not remarkable as occurring anywhere in the south, the curious feature was their association together so long as nearly three months later than they were seen in the south of France, so much further north. The inland situation had perhaps as much to do with the lateness at Canales, as the elevation, which, as I have said, was not very great. On my first excursion on the slopes at Canales I met with a species of Hetfrni/i/itis, which appears to be specifically distinct, being attached to Genista .scor/^/^.s and having a very difterent habit in spinning its cocoon from the other species. The larvae of Afjlaopc infausta were extra- ordinarily abundant on bushes of blackthorn here, often stripping them quite bare and apparently rendering them suitable to the attacks of a large Buprestid, of the genus Ficnodis, that we often found basking on the bare branches. The Genista sror/iias, at Canales, atibrded by beating, though beat- ing so low, stift", thorny a bush was rather difficult, except when it grew on a steep bank, larvne of an On/i/ia, which were at first very small, but as they grew older, seemed, as in fact proved to be the case, to be Onijiia aurolinihata, they were also beaten, though less freely, from the oak-scrub, whence also came one larva, which was not reared, 88 THE kntomoi^ogist's rkcord. that must have been <). antiqua, though it may have been one of the (). crirac group, with whose larvRP I have no acquaintance; whatever it was, it seemed odd to get one, and one only. Larva of Thcda ilicis (and iipini .'), and of Orneria rnbea, were also fairly common on the oak-scrub, as well as of Malaco.^oina neiistria, whilst those of Malaeosoma franconica was often met with in odd examples on low growing plants. A very handsome larva (possibly Lachncis raia.r) also occurred on the oak, and a lai'va and a cocoon of Pharodi'siua jiustiilata were taken. The oak also afforded several larvse, none of which were reared, which were most probably Tricldura (/) iUcifi. The most interesting species on the Oem'sta scnrpias. was the Hetero- !l!/)iis, which has characters so far distinguishing it from the two recognised species of the genus, as to justify its claim to separate specific rank, though it is in many respects very close to //. penclla. T propose to call it ranah'nais from its habitat. It is larger than H.pcnella, has shorter cilia, a different tint on upper and lower wings, and is especially different in the peculiar elaboration of the female cocoon, with a corresponding difference of habits. [See Trans. Knt. Sac. Lorn}., 1904.] Although we reached Canales from the west, we found that the more regular way of approach is from the northeast, dz., by the valley of the Najerilla, in the upper valley of which Canales is. There is, in fact, a diligence service along this valley from Canales to Logrono, on the main railway line to Saragossa. This service is of a rather primitive and limited character from Canales to Mansilla, the first stage, and traverses a country very similar to that around Canales. Departing by this diligence, we were able the first day to reach Aguiano. Between Mansilla and Aguiano, the valley of the Najarilla, is one of the most picturesque defiles I have ever visited. The deep cutting the river has made serpentines interminably, and one often sees no way out in front, the banks are steep and broken by high and bold precipices, and varied by hanging woods, the dominant colour was derived from the great masses of the Gem'sta (like jiorida) seen at Canales, which here abounded in great masses, but the colouring was very varied by the rocks and trees, and the yellow never became monotonous. Aguiano is situated at a point where steep sharp ridges of rock nearly meet on each side of the stream, and with the high precipices they fall back into, and which follow the stream above and below, make a passage practically impassable till engineered, and no doubt most easily defended in times when that was a primary consideration. Below Aguiano, whence we proceeded the following morning, the valley is more open, but still very picturesque at very many points. At Aguiano we saw LiuriuKs rern(s somewhat freely on the wing, it seemed a spot where good collecting could be done, especially somewhat earlier in the season. The diligence left Aguiano at 4 a.m., and we had the pleasure of starting Avithout breakfast. We got on the same day by train from Logrono to Tudela and Tarazona. {Ttt he continued.) SOMK onSEKVATlOXS l)N THE LAKV.E OF COSSUS T.KiNIPERDA. 89 Some observations on the larvae of Cossus ligniperda, with special reference to the Coleoptera haunting its burrows. By NORMAN H. JOY, F.R.C.S., F.E.8. ( 'ossits lii/iiijierda, Fb., is such a coiumon moth in the Bi'adtiekl neinhbourhood tliat I have had an exceptional opportunity of observinj^- its depredations, although it is chieHy as a coleopterist that 1 have examined the trees it has attacked. These trees are in nearly all cases oaks, of which I know between 25 and 30. There are also two ash-trees in this neighbourhood, one quite killed, and one elm. In nearly every case about here the ('os.s•/^s- infected trees are found in small groups of three or four close together ; even in one large wood where there are a number of such trees they are arranged in four distinct groups. One often finds that one of the trees in a group is more severely attacked than the others, and is no doubt the original " source of infection."' It is pi'obable that, as a rule, the ? moth very seldom travels far before laying its eggs, generally laying them on the same tree it has been bred from, or at any rate on an adjacent tree. This would account for tliis grouping of infested trees. One also occasionally finds an old tree very much eaten, with no others in its vicinity. These solitary trees have obviously been attacked for many years by the moth, and it would be interesting to know if the tree is in all cases standing alone, i.e., without a tree within a few hundred yards of it, or is only surrounded by young and healthy trees. In the few cases I know of, one of these conditions prevails. I have noticed in every case that trees that have only recently been attacked have already got a large number of dead branches on them, and so no doubt are already on the down grade, and I have never yet seen a really healthy tree showing signs of attack. I believe that, as a rule, the moth lays its eggs on the tree from which it has itself bred, and here the young larv* have a good chance of living under the already weakened bark, but that if the eggs are laid on a young and healthy tree the vitality of the bark resists the attack of the very young larvte. If a forester wishes to clear himself of this pest the quickest plan would be to cut down all the infested trees at the end of July. By this time all the ? moths would have laid their eggs, and the full- grown larvie would not yet have left the tree, as one usually finds these wandering about in search of a place to hybernate at the middle or end of August. Of course, it would be necessary to keep a look-out during the next two years in case some eggs have been laid on a fresh tree. Besides this " radical cure," I believe good can be done in some cases by stripping off the dead and undermined bark in August and September; one thus often finds the larvie in all stages just under the bark, and they are destroyed. In a few trees where I have done this while searching for beetles, I have found that the next year the sap no longer runs from the tree, the bare place left dries up, and the living bark heals perfectly round the edges. The coleoptera that are found at the exuding sap and under the bark of r'os.s».s-infected trees may he roughly divided into four groups : (1) The species that are exclusively found in such a situation or to which this sap is certainly a special attraction ; (2) species usually found under bark or at sap, but which are not specially partial to the 90 THE entomologist's kecord. Coasuiy trees ; (S) species usually found in decaying vegetable matter and so are attracted by the fermenting sap ; (4) the accidental visitors including several very common predaceous species. The following belonging to the first group has occurred here : Tliaiiiiaraea hospita, Maerk., and Thainiaraea cinnawoniea, Grav.. abundant at most trees; Fhilonthns fuscns, Grav., six specimens under the loose bark of one tree ; Hoinaiiuin planiim, Payk., rather common; Hpuraea decemiiattata, F., and K. dip'iisa, Bris. The former common this year but rare last, and the latter common last year but quite rare this. There can be no mistaking typical specimens of these two species or forms, but I have some, only a small proportion compared with the numbers of typical specimens I have taken, which are very puzzling and are evidently mtermediate forms. Soeronia pimctatusiuia, 111., is very coumion ; N. urisea, L., which I do not include in this group, I have only taken once. Thabjcra sericea, Sturm, has turned up twice. ( 'ri/ptarc/ia atriiata, F., and i '. iinperalis, F., are both common at some trees. These pupate in the soft earth soaked in sap at the roots of the tree. Canon Fowler mentions Silnsa nibi(/i)i()sa, Er., as being specially attached to ('ossim trees, but I have not yet identified it from here. I have a list of eighteen of the bark-frequenting species that have been taken "at Cossus." Among the most interesting are — (jKedins rcntralis, Ar., which I have taken once; Hmnaliuw pUmiuii, Payk.; H. pnnctipennc, Thoms. ; Epuraea deleta, Er., the last two being two of the commonest species found at the exuding sap. l}is (juadiipitnc- tata, Herbst, is common in one small group of trees, but I have found it nowhere else. Rhhophaiim fcrn([/ineus, Payk., I take commonly at another group of trees. Besides these I have taken Dryocoetes rillnans, F., and Xi/leboriifi dri/ojiraphus, Ratz., in the dead bark around the " wound " in the tree. Among the species of the third group are the Honialuta, sometimes very abundant, but which I have not yet identified. Aleoehara tiiiccicula, Th., and Tachinns rnjipes, L., are two of the most character- istic of this group. The accidental visitors include such common species as Vterostichus madidus, F., and Tachy/iunis rhnisomiii)iUi<, L. DorcKs parallelopipedus, L., I have taken twice. Besides coleoptera the most conspicuous species of other orders which frequently visit the trees are EiKjonia pohjchlorns, L., and Vespa rufa. Wasps have been specially common this year at the ( 'o.s.s/^s-infested trees, as there has been such a short supply of fruit for them. I have on several occasions found a tree only recently attacked by the (.'ossus larvte, by noticing a conspicuous mass of wasps at the base of a tree, for it has been in eveiy case, but perhaps one, that I have found the primary attack within a few inches of the ground. As the sap does not run from the trees until June, this is the earliest month one can expect to find the beetles, but the best months are August and September, when apparently the larv* are particularly active, and the trees quite dry up again by the end of October. Agabus (Eriglenus) unguicularis, Thoms., and A. (Gaurodytes) affinis, Payk. By W. E. SHARP, F.E.S. To sufficiently discriminate between these species has, 1 think, been a difficulty which I have shared with many other coleopterists, and for this reason i venture to record the result of my investigation A(iABU!S LN(tUI(JUL,ARIS AND A. AFFINIS. 91 into the subject, although it is, perhaps, not quite as satisfactoi'y as could have been desired. A. affinis was described by Paykull in 1798 (/*«. Suet:, p. 211), A. (l\riv. Sharp's great work on the Df/tmidac the two species are described as follows : — Oblongo-ovalis, niger, vix supva subaenescens, antennis pedibusque lutis, feinoiibus pieescentibus, sublaevigatus, elytris guttula pone, medium maculaque apiciali pallidis, 6:Jx3J. A. affiiiis. Ovalis sat convexus vix supra subaenescens, antennis pedibusque rutis, t'emoribus pieescentibus, subtillisime reticulatus, nitidus, elytris guttula pone medium niaeulaque apiciale pallidis, elytris punctis subseriatis at apicialibus haud profundis, epipleuris basi rufeseentibus, (>J x 3^. A. tiiifiuicularix. Now it is obvious that the disparity here expressed is insufficient to separate satisfactorily the two species, and comparison between the Dumfries specimens and admitted A. tini/iticidaris hardly confirms the slight difference in sculpture thus indicated. In Canon Fowler's work more stress is laid on the shape, colour of body, and difference m colour of the reflexed base of elytra — pitchy -red in A. wiiindcidaris and black in A. affinis. An examination, however, of a number of specimens of obviously the same species from the same locality shows that this latter character varies considerably, and cannot be relied on as a specific character. Thompson [Skand. ( 'oL, ix., 102) says of A. an> : " Gaurodyti afhni simillimus, sed .... prothorace lateribus piceis, apicem versus magis angustato, capite minori, metasternique laciniis lateralibus angustioribus discedeus; " and of J. ajfinis : "Mas — tarsis anticis unguiculis brevibus, anteriore infra medium subtus dente valido acuto armato," and, further, " In mare structura ab aftinibus optima distinguendus." Bedel [Col. du Baasvn de la Seine, i., 245) does not mention A. uwjuicHlarh at all, but says of A.ajfinis: "g Ongie interne des tarses anterieurs arme d'un fort dent aigue." A.H there is probably no doubt but that the specimens on which both these species were originally described were Scandinavian, I was anxious to obtain authentic examples from that country. This, however, proved to be a matter of some difficulty, as A. a (finis especially seems to be a rare species there. Finally, however, through the kindness of Prof. W. Y. Sjostat, of Stockholm, I have had the opportunity of examining Swedish specimens both of A. affinis and A. nntiaicidaris. The latter differs in no respect from British examples of the species, and, as the specimens of the former were females, I was unable to verify the male characteristics as given by Thompson. There are, however, slight differences observable between the Swedish form and the A. affinis as known from Dumfries. The 92 THK KNTOMOLOOIST's RECORD. shape of the latter is distinctly more elongate and parallel-sided, thp le.^s and antonnsB a clear red instead of somewhat infuscate, and the occipital spots much more distinct and of a brighter colour. These differences do not, however, appear to me to be sufficient to justify the assumption that our Dumfries insect may not after all be the A. affinis of Thompson — in fact, careful examination of the males, both of these and the Carlisle specimens, reveals the male characteristics, which, I think, are undoubtedly specific, very distinctly. The much shorter anterior tarsal claws, the "dens validus et acutus " of the same claws mentioned by Thompson, and more especially, a character to which my attention was first drawn by Mr. H. J. Thouless, of Norwich — that is, the difference in the stridulatory file. In A. a/pnis the teeth of this file are deeper, set at wider intervals, and generally much more distinct ; the edge, also, of the abdominal cavity Avhich bears these teeth is more abrupt, so that the organ is probably a more effective instrument than it is in A. lOKiiiicidan's. These, of course, are all male characteristics, but quite sufficient to discriminate specifically between the two insects. I must confess, however, that I find the females exceedingly difficult to separate. I do not think the colour of the refiexed edge of the elytra is at all constant in either species, and the shape of body and colour of legs and antennae are certainly comparative and probably variable. As regards the relative shape and size of the wings of the metasternum, I can hardly detect much difference, certainly " not enough," as Canon Fowler says, " to warrant their being placed in two different genera, as is done by Thompson." The relationship between the two species seems closely comparable wath that which exists between A. fiitttatns, Payk., and A. bii/iittatKs, 01., which, similarly, can only be separated with certainty by the male characteristics. In conclusion, I would sum up the differences, as far as I have been able to detect them, as follows : — Form more parallel, colour deeper black, legs and antenutc a dearer red, occipital spotri more distinct. In male, anterior tarsal claws shorter, outer claw armed with a very distinct larRO sharp tooth which extends to middle of claw, teeth of stridulatorv file deeper and more distinct, edge of stridulatory cavity more abrupt. ' ^ A.alhtiis. Form more oval, colour with a slight aeneous cast, legs and antennas more infascate, occipital spots less distinct. In male, anterior tarsal claws larger, with an inconspicuous tooth at base, teeth of stridulatory tile finer, closer together, and less distinct, edge of stridulatory cavity rounded off'. ./. uniiiiicidaris. A. iiniiuiciilaris seems fairly widely distributed over Great Britain and Ireland, but of the occurrence of A. affinis further south than Cumberland more evidence is required. Both species probably belong to the " Celtic " or northern group in our fauna. The egg=laying habits of Polyommatiis admetus var. ripartii, with description of its ovum. By H. POWELL. This butterfly was fairly abundant, though local, in the Entrevaux district (Basses-Alpes) towards the end of July, 1903. Like nearly all the other species, it was quite a fortnight behind the usual date of appearance. In 1901 males were flying in the same locality as early as June 29th. Its favourite habitat is a rather bare slope of ground KMKTUH. Ofi below the oak and beech woods of the Montagne de Gourdou, and about thirty minutes' walk above the Neigeas cascade. Lavender grows abundantly here, also many small leguminous plants, including at least two species of ( hiubrj/chis, one of which, < hiohniclnx crista-ijalli, I subsequently found to be the foodplant of /'. var. ripartii. This is not the only locality for these insects. They are met with on some other lavender patches in the district, but I have found them nowhere so commonly as here. They are lively little butterflies, not over easy to take when the sun is shining strongly. After sundown, however, all one has to do is to bottle them from the lavender- flowerheads as they sleep. I have seen as many as half-a-dozen on one clump. On July Blst I observed several females evidently on the look-out for the foodplant. I followed one of these for an hour, and had the satisfaction of seeing hei- lay live eggs in that time. She Hew about in a fluttering fashion amongst the low growing plants, settling occa- sionally on a dry twig, but it was some time before she found the plant she wanted. Several times she alighted upon anothe)- species of (hm- hrijchis with a much smaller leaf, but never for long, and no eggs were laid upon this plant. Finding an (>. crista-i/alli at last, she settled on the top of a fruit-bearing twig, both fruit and twig being perfectly dry. She made her way slowly downwards, feeling carefully for a likely spot with the end of her abdomen, her antenna being bent towards the stem. She was very particular about finding the right place, and visited three or four twigs before deciding to deposit the eggs, digging the end of her body into all angles formed by the peduncles, bracts, and hollow cells on the fruit. At length she was satisfied, depositing hei- egg carefully at the base of a bract, between it and the stem. As soon as the egg was laid she flew oft' to a short distance for a rest, opening her wings to the sun. In a few minutes she again com- menced her search, and after awhile laid another egg, this time deep down between the fruit and the calyx. The rest of the eggs were deposited in similar well-protected positions, but never on the leaves or any growing part of the plant. In the intervals she frequently went to take her rest on a lavender flower, and so got a feed at the same time. The egg when fresh laid is light green, but it dries very rapidly, becoming whitish to the naked eye. Under the hand lens it strikes one at once as being very like a spikeless, dried sea-urchin. I ex- amined it the same day under a microscope, which the local physician, Dr. Liautand, very kindly placed at my service. Diameter at equator as nearly as possible 0-6mm.; height, 0"2mm.; shape, circular around the equator, but very much flattened top and bottom, being somewhat button-like. There is a small rather shallow crater above, leading to the micropyle. The egg is a very beautiful object, being thickly studded with white towers or knobs, each one the centre of a stellate arrangement of thin white walls or ridges. These ridges run up to the bases of the towers, dividing the egg-surface into elongated cells. The towers are hollowed out at the top. They diminish considerably in size near the micropylar depression, which is covered with minute cells, apparently modified from the surrounding star-tower system. The ground colour of the egg is pale green. To the naked eye, as stated before, it appears white when dry, though green when freshlv laid. This change is due to the thick studding- of 9-1 THK ENTOiiOI^OGISX's KECOKlJ. knobs and ridges, which, at first transparent, become opaque and white on drying. The ground colour also gradually changes. By August 8th it had become greyish-white, and remained so until the first week in Novem- ber, when it turned a distinctly darker grey, the egg hatching on November 10th. The young larva made a circular hole in the upper part of the egg, and through this it passed. It did not eat the empty eggshell. Synopsis of the Orthoptera of Western Europe. By MALCOLM BURR, B.A. F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S. {Contiiuted from p. 44.) Section II : Dictyoptera. Division : Blattodea. European cockroaches, excluding accidental visitors, represent four families, which may be distinguished in the following manner : — Table of Families. 1. All t'emoia spined beneath. Claws of tarsi witli a pad between. 2. Subgenital lamina ? broad and tlat ; principal (radial) vein of elytra with simple branching. 8. Supraanal plate cT and ? round, transverse and narrow ; wings, when present, with a clear, veinless, folded triangular area at the apex ; oothecffi arched, longitudinally keeled . . . . . . Fam. 1. EcTomiDyi;. 8.H. Supraanal plate »///(/fl(' are easily known; fjoboptera is black and apterous, somewhat resembling a woodlouse in appearance, and I'ln/Uodnnnia ifi'iinanica is now a familiar insect ; it can be recognised at once by the two long parallel black stripes on the pronotum. The wild cockroaches occur under dried leaves, moss, and refuse, on flowers and shrubs. The best way to take them is by sweeping. Family I : Ectobiid.^-;. Table ok Genera. Elytra perfectly developed, with distinct veins, sometimes abbreviated, never rudimentary . . . . . . Ectobia. 1.1. Elytra horny, veins not apparent, or hardly so, or elytra entirely rudimentary. Wings absent . . . . Aphleuia. SYNOPSIS OF THE OKTHOPTKKA OF WKSTKKN EUROPE. 95 Genus I : Ectobia, Westwood. Table of Species. 1. Disc of pionotum dark or black, with pale borders. •2. Side margins only of pronotum pale. (Elytra of ? shorter than those of d) 1. LAPP0NicA,Linn. 2.2. Disc of pronotum very black, all borders pale. 8. Margins of pronotum uniformly pale ; elytra of S short, wings absent . . . . 2. albicincta, Brunner. 8.3. Margins of pronotum speckled with black ; elytra and wings surpassing abdomen J ? 3. nic'.*;ensis, Brisout. 1.1. Disc of pronotum testaceous, pellucid or striolated. 2. Very small ; colour grey ; elytra short in ? . . . . 4. panzeki, Stephens. 2.2. Larger ; colour of straw, or pale ; elytra long in both sexes. 3. Pronotum and elytra with a few specks ; abdomen varied with dark . . . . -5. livida, Fabricius. 3.3. No specks on pronotum or elytra; abdomen S uniform beneath, or longi- tudinally striped ; in ? pale . . . . 6. vittiventkis, Costa. 1. Ectobia lapponica, Linn. Of the northern species, this resembles E. lirida in size, but K. IHinzeri in colour. It is very variable, and the black parts often change to reddish, so that it sometimes resembles K. liimla. The larva' are entirely black, except the sides of the pronotum which are pale. A good distinguishing character is the dark pronotum. with a clear, pale border. Length of body, Hmm.-llmm. S , Hmm.-9-5mm. 2 ; of elytra, Hmm.-lOmm. (iIST"s RKCOliD. A morning spent on the banks of the Rhone was not unprolific, on the way I picked up a fine Apatnra ilia, settled on the road, some Cupido aebnifi, with plenty of Riisticus ari/us {aegnn) and U. arf/yrognouwn. A fine form of Hipparchia seinele, approaching var. ariataeus, was plentiful. I was unlucky Avith Lycaena iolaa once more, half-a-dozen specimens were netted, but they were all mere rags, and this species can get ragged. Evidently I was two or three weeks too late. An afternoon round the " Tour de la Ratiaz " was chiefly notable for the number of female SatuvKs roniiila taken, including an aberration with four equal-sized white ocelli on each forewing, equidistant, in a line, and with black rings round, a very striking form. July 16th and 17th were spent at the Col de la Forclaz, a very charming locality, on a breezy ridge of about oOOOft. elevation, half- way between Martigny and Chamonix, and reached from either by a good road. I have not seen a more promising locality in Switzerland, the country all round teems with butterflies, and one can get amongst them by easy walks in all directions ; if one wants valley species, a walk down towards Martigny will give any amount, whilst if mountain species are required, the collector has a choice of half-a-dozen easy ascents, in addition to which, very many species are to be taken just outside the hotel, or on the walk to the Glacier de Trient. There is a very good and comfortable little hotel, w^iose proprietor is most oblig- ing, his cuisine excellent, and his charges five francs per diem, what more can one wish for ? Of the two days 1 was able to spend here, one was wet, and unsuit- able for collecting, consequently only the fringe was touched of the wealth of insects that abounded everywhere. In the meadows round the hotel, Erehia ti/vdarus swarmed, with many E. inelampia^, E. ceto, E. ■•ros : other species observed in the Steinenthal were PaniaKKtiis mneDiosi/nc, Apon'a ri-ataef/i, Pieris calliiiicc, f'olias pJiimiiuDic, Miiitaca aiin'nia var. inrropc, M. parfhcniv var. rarin, Krchia rnvrstra, and Lj/racua alcon. One day my sou climbed high on the Bortelalp, and lirought back. Mditam ri/ntJn'a, Ihenthis pnlfs, Pli-phia lappima and llcspcria alreiiK. July 24th and 25th we stayed at the Hotel at the top of the pass, and collected there. Specimens here, though not so numerous as at Berisal, were in far better condition ; ('olios polaeno a,nd ('. phicomone were not infrequent, and were in fine order, Pieris mllidicc were scarce and posse, Melitoeo aurinia var. merope occurred generally in odd specimens. The only blues observed w^ere Polt/omniatits optili'te, some half-a-dozen, and Lycaeno alcon, pretty abundant : Brcvtliis enphrosync still occurred, and P. pales was in swarms. We spent a very successful afternoon on the slopes above the fifth refuge, perhaps the best ground on the Simplon, where Pamassius tleliiis was to the fore, and my series was soon completed. Much wanted females of ('olios phicotnone were depositing ova in the sheltered hollows in some numbers, Krehia cossiojie, K. mnestra and /*,'. yoriic, flew here and there, and amongst the hosts of BrentJiis pales I netted a very fine ab. nopaea. On the morning of our departure, my son, on edelweiss intent, climbed to the foot of the Kaltwasser glacier, reporting, on his return, Krebio f/laciolis quite common, and he even caught one female with thumb and finger. July 26th Ave moved on to the Simplon village ; whilst here I had two mornings in the Laquinthal, my primary object being, of course. Krebio ehristi. I w^as unfortunately a fortnight too late for this species, and only obtained one imperfect female. The wealth of other species obtained here, how^ever, well repaid me. Brent his amathusia was in great profusion, and I obtained all I wanted in a few hours, including plenty of females. Krebia nieloinpits, F,. fynrlarns. and a small form of /V. liyea, were all abundant, and I netted here the only Krebia aet/iiops seen by me in Switzerland. ( 'rysop/ionos Idppotiioe var. eiirybia occurred, also ( '. dorilis and swarms of ('. riryanreae : Melitoeo ilicti/nva flew freely in the clearings, and a number of I'aniassins apollo females were in evidence. My son obtained, in the meadows below the village, 100 THE KNTOMOI.OCIST's RKfORD. a very line underside aberration of Lycaena avion, the only good one I ever remembered seeing, in which the usual ocelli on the inferior wings are elongated into a series of streaks, the spots on the left forewing are almost obsolete, those on the right one normal. Unfortunately the specimen, like so many abnormal forms, is somewhat crippled. Other species taken were Tiimticiis ari/us, It. ari/i/ronoiiioii, Polyommatiisi aatrarche, P. euinedon, P. In/las, and Ntniiiaili's se)niayi/us, all pretty frequent except the last named. Amongst the skippers we found Thy- riu'licH.^ lineola, Pnmphila cDniina and Hes])i>ria «Z/v'i/.s, whilst ('oenonymplio satyriiin was not infrequent. I could only get a few hours down the wonderful gorge of Gondo, but I much regretted afterwards that I did not spend more time there, for several very welcome and unexpected things turned up within a mile of the upper end of the gorge, including a fine specimen each of Aryyvnis adijipe var. dcodo.m and Mclanaryia yalatca var. in-orida. I believe but few specimens of these forms have ever been taken within the Swiss border. The latter specimen had a very striking appearance on the wing, very different from the typical M. yalatca, and, until I had it in the net, I thought I was pursuing a Limcniih, or possibly Xeptis lucilla. In addition to these two speci- mens, I obtained Erchia yoantc, commonly, /•.'. euryale, PoUyninnatus aatrarchf, Pyrytis sao, and Pararyc )ii(iera, strangely enough, for this late date, in fine condition. On .Tuly 2ftth we returned north, oi mute for Zermatt. After spending the night at Brigue, I spent a few hours collecting under the clifit's by the Rhone ; here, after two or three futile attempts at stalking, I managed to catch my first h'liranetisa antiopa, a fine large specimen in the pink of condition. One's first antiopa is an event for most of vts, almost as exciting as the experience must have been to the old collectors at Camberwell, and my specimen is certainly a much finer one. I obtained another new species, to me, in the fine Enodia dryan, almost as large as K. antiopa, of a rich brown hue, and with lovely blue ocelli, certainly one of the handsomest of European Rhopalocera. Plenty of Pobyviniiatns rorydon, P. baton, Colias ediisa, PyryuK .sy/o, and other things were flying about, and I obtained some fine Thi'da spini. From .Tuly 29th to August 3rd we stayed at the Riftelalp Hotel, above Zermatt, and were fortunate in having ideal weather whilst here. Collecting was not, however, the success one hoped for, the beautiful alpine Howers were almost gone, and, although certain butterflies were abundant, many of them were evidently past their best. This was to me rather surprising, considering the date, and tha,t the ground collected was from 7500ft., the height of the hotel, to over 10000ft. We walked up to the Gornergrat, chiefly with the object of obtaining Erchia ylarialis: on the way up we obtained a few /<;. yoryc, but I did not see any signs of E. ylacialin, and being in- sufficiently clad to face the keen breeze at this high altitude, over 10000ft., I soon had had enough of it, on the way down obtaining more /'.'. yoi'yc, some J'!, cassiopc, E. lappona, plenty of E. ninestra, a few Mclitaca ci/ntliia, Jliotthis pales, and Aryynnis niobc var. crii^. On my son's return I was suprised to find that he had obtained three specimens of Erchia ylacialis. The next day, however, we found a much better locality for this species amongst the rough boulders l)y the Findelen glacier. This is only at the sanu' altitude as the hotel, and thus saves the fatiguing NOTKS 0\ ('()I,T.F.<'TTN<;. 101 climbing which is usually associated with the capture of this, the most alpine of all European butterflies. Apart from the awkward nature of the ground frequented— it is a steep loose slope, strewn with huge boulders, and on which a slip would pi'obably mean a broken limb — and apart from the possibility, by no means remote, of starting one of the huge boulders down the slope upon one's self, E. ijlacialis is not difficult to negotiate, and we managed to get a dozen specimens in the afternoon, which I suppose is fairly good for this species, most of them would answer to the description of nb. olertn. K. iilacialis is an interesting species to hunt and observe ; the larva is said to feed upon grasses, but certainly neither grasses nor vegetation of any kind grow in the spots where I have seen it Hying, these are loose sandy slopes strewn with boulders. The butterfly, which is unmiscakable, on account of its large size, from all other Erebias occurring at these heights, is usually hrst seen moving with the slow flight peculiar to the genus, and occasionally sitting on the stones. Your best chance is to watch it down, and then stalk it, for it is next to impossible to progress at a sufficient rate on the difficult ground to overtake it in flight. Other species obtained on the Riffelberg were Pnlyowmntiis optiletc, plentiful in both sexes, P. rmn, P. orbituliis, Cupid n v)iniiniis, and one or two /'/V>-/x calliilirt', I'olias palaeno, and r. phicovione were frequent, and in good order, and I was able to complete my series of both species, Mrlitaea aini)iia var. mcropi', and .1/. parfhenip var. raria were plentiful; amongst the skippers I took Hrspiria cacaliac and Paiiiji/iila coniiiia : ( 'oenoni/mp/ia sati/n'ou was not infrequent, and I saw one ragged specimen of (Knein acllo, the only one observed this year; I also obtained a solitary female of hftoria lathnnia. From Zermatt we travelled straight to England, after spending a most enjoyable holiday. The weather was not invariably fine, but the rain generally fell during the night, and our collecting was not much interfered with by the elements, in fact, there was not a single day on which we did not get something, and the fact that we obtained, or observed, in all 118 species in 21 days' collecting, was fairly satisfactory, considering the extraordinary season that has just ended. Ig^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. Lkpidoptk,rolo(iical notes from the Middlesex and Herts BORDER FOB 1903, — The season of 1903 was the worst I have experienced, and very little of interest was met with, quite a numbei- of species being conspicuous by their absence. As in 1902, I found that the only method of taking moths which was at all successful was by means of a light trap ; bnt only two species {viz., Aqihalia rlilnta. September 2Srd, and liadcna thcdasaina, June 3rd) of those taken in this way were new to my list for this particular locality. Of those which had occurred before, the following were the best; the dates following the species indicate the earliest appearance : — Leiocampa (livtacoidex (July 19th). Diptcryrfia scobriiisrula (pina-^tri) (June BOth). Laperina rfspitis (August 30th), Pachnohia rnbricom (April 28th). (Jnnoptera lihatri.v (March 21st), Hahrostola tripartita (iirticae) (June 12th), Plioiia rhrt/fiitis (July 4th). XavrlotjnatJio tarsipcuitalis (July 9rh), Kpionr apiciaria (August 30th), Pcricallia '. liyala appeared, Does this species ever occur in woods '? I do not remem- ber seeing it on sugar in a wood. I never take it in the woods here, though it is common at ivy in my garden, and sugaring in the fields and hedgerows produces plenty. On the other hand, I do not find (>. ran in a m my garden. I should be glad to know if any reader has shared my experience with these two species. — F. ('. Woopforpk, Market Drayton. December l-ith, 1903. NOTES ON COLLKCTlNXi. lOo Apropos of Mr. Woodforde's question vc localities for (K li. raccinii, I take both at ivy in my garden. Here, as far as I know, O. vaccinii larvae feed on elms ; I have bred it from pupiB found at the roots. Are there elms near Mr. Woodforde's garden ? — W. S. Riding, M.D., Buckerell Lodge, near Honiton. ■lanuanj Htl), 1904. In answer to Mr. Woodforde's query, I have always taken O. lii/ula at sugar in the woods here. It is very scarce in this district, however, and 1 have never yet met with it at the sallow bloom, where (>. raccinii is so often abundant. — S. Wal,kek, York. Janaanj iHth, 1904. In reply to Mr. Woodforde, I get both (>. raccinii and <>. liijuia here, the former usually in swarms and the latter sparingly. 1 get them both at ivy on the garden wall and on sugared trees at the edge of the wood. (>. raccinii I also get commonly at light, but I tind no record of (>. iii/iila so occurring. (K raccinii here feeds on whitethorn, at least 1 have bred it from larv* found on whitethorn hedges, although, of course, it may feed also on many other things for any- thing I know. — E. F. Studd, Oxton. -Jannanj 'SOth, 1904. Notes from Hertford. — On March 28th (1908) we found numbers of larvye of ( 'alliinorpha il<»)i inula on a sunny bank under a hedge, with a ditch full of water below. The larv* were feeding on all sorts of low plants, chietiy dandelion, groundsel, etc. Later on they feed voraciously on prickly comfrey, which grows there, but which, at this time, had not yet appeared. Those we took did very poorly in con- finement ; many died, possibly because of the change from wet food to dry. — (Mrs.) M. E. (Jowl, Rhinefield, 89, Ware Road, Hertford. Februarif ISt/i, 1904. Hatching of Eggs of Poecilocampa popujl,i. — On April 13th last ova of /*. populi (laid on November 25th) began to hatch, a few came out each day for about ten days. — Ibid. Lepidoptera at King's Lynn, in 1903. — ^The last season was, I think, the worst I ever remember for lepidoptera, so far as this district IS concerned. When the weather was fine enough to do a little field- work insects appeared to be scarce, and, more frequently than not, worn to such an extent that recognition of species was by no means easy. During the first few days of June and the end of May I tried beating the oaks, etc., for larvae. I did not tind larvae very plentiful, but obtained a few Phorodcsmu bajidaria, several hli/lophila quercana, two or three I'dccilocatnpa iiupnU, and commoner species such as tiadena protea, Hiinera pennaria, ('heiniatubia briunata, etc. The last week in June, when netting a few Tenthredinidac, I noticed an insect buzzing at the bloom of wild raspberry, growing beneath alder trees, and, netting it, found i had a beautiful specimen of . Ktjeria s/diei/iforniia ; this was my first acquaintance with the species in the living state, although I believe Stephens gives Norfolk for it. In July, a few visits to the chalk bordering on the Breck sands were productive of a few good species, but mostly in small numbers, such as Acidalia rKbii/inata, A(jropMla sid})hi(rali.s, ,'^ti(/iiionota orobana, and a beautiful specimen of Anticlea sinnata. Both A.sidpliuralix. and S. orobana were met with by me for the first time. The latter Hies rapidly in the brightest sunshine, and is exceedingly difficult to net. Acidalia ornata was fairly com- mon, but small, and Cupidii tniniina in profusion. I only saw one (i.vijjitiluii distans, but Stenoptilia bi/ninctidacti/la was by no means scarce, .\lclanijific rirata occurred also, but llcliothis dipsacea was con- 104 THK KNTO.MOLOOISTS KKCOKli. spicuons by its absence. Two or three specimens of Kupoecilin ileirreyana are perhaps worth noting ; these occurred apparently amongst Plantar/o lanceolata, lAnaria rtilijaris being absent from the spot. My series of A', dciireiiana consists of some two dozen specimens bred from larva? obtained in thii-j district two or three years ago from flowering plants of lAnatia in August. Moths emerged the following September — no doubt a second brood ! Knowing that Mr. Warren once bred K. ileiiifi/aua from Planta, taken early in August, I should think the ova probably hatch during tlie first half of July, or even earlier. In August I have always found the larva^ on the flowers and upper parts of Stac/u/s sylratica, and they generally pupate on the main stem. I have examined the leaves of Stai late in the year, when searching for possible ova which i have never found, but have not noticed them mined. — W. S. Ridino, M.I)., Buckerell Lodge, Honiton. January St/i, 1904. J3UTTERFLIES IN SWITZERLAND TOWARDS THE END Ol JuNE AND EARLY IN July, 1903.— The following are some brief notes of captures of butterflies in Switzerland towards the end of June and early in July, 1908. The season was a late one and the weather not very favourable. Hence the record does not include some species that we had specially hoped to secure in the localities that we visited ; still it may be of interest to others working over the same ground. We reached Gos- chenen, on the St. Gothard Pass, on June 20th. On the two follow- ing days it rained almost incessantly. On June 23rd and 24th it was fine, but there was nothing like continuous sunshine. On l)Oth days I worked the St. Gothard between Croschenen and Wassen, and on the NOTES UN COLLECTING. 105 second day luy wife and my son worked some little way in the Gos- chonen Thai. There was no abundance of insects except at one spot, a little above Wassen, and in the Goschenen Thai. The most interest- ing captures were P?V/'/s )ia}n var. bri/dniac and ( '/iri/su/)hantis dDrilk var. fiubaljiina (approaching briDinea). The only Argynnid that we saw was Bn'nthis etiphroai/iw, the only Melita^id was Melitaea athalia, and the only Erebiid was En-bia sti/unc The blues were Liicaena arion, Xomiades i^ciiiiari/ns, Pnlyonnnatns ale.cis, and P. astrarc/w. We also caught Papilio machaon, Paniaxsiua apollo, Kucldue canlaiiiinex, Aiioria oataeiji, Coenonyinpha arcania var. darwiniana, Carteiocephalaii palac- 1)10)1, Xtsoniailes tar/es, and some other common species. On the even- ing of June 24th we moved from Goschenen to Lucerne, and on the following day walked part of the way up Pilatus, starting from liergiswyl. There were not nearly so many butterflies as when we took the same walk on August 8th, 1901. The sun was not, however, shining continuously. Amongst our captures were Colias hi/alc, ('upido niinima, C. sebrns, Chrn^ajduinna ddiilis (type), and Coendnyiiipha paiii- philus vai-. li/lli(s. From June 26tli to 29th, days which we spent at Engelberg, it was brilliantly tine. Between Engelberg and Schwand we caught ( 'alldplirys rnbi, ( 'Iirt/sap/tantis hippotJioe, Polyonuiiatiis istrair/ic var. aUoua, P. kt/la>,, P. beUanjus, Aniynnis cKjlaia, A. niobe (type), Xeincubius incina, and He»pevia alveus. In the Surenen Thai, on June 27th, Papilio inachaon and Pier in napi var. bryoniae were fairly plentiful, and L'lipido minima was extraordinarily abundant. There were sometimes nearly a hundred on a square foot of damp earth, and they seemed in their habits more like flies than butterflies. If disturbed they hovered round without flying away. Other captures m the Surenen Thai were Polymiimatas camedon, Chrysophanas doriliti var. subalpina (again approaching bninnea), and Melitaea dietywia. On June 29th we visited the Trubsee Alp, but were disappointed in flnding it entomologically barren. We were no doubt too early. The only fresh captures on this day were RhMichs fl(v/».s and Pararye liiera. On June 80th it rained heavily, and on July 1st, when we moved on to Meiringen, it was cloudy. On July 2nd, between Brunig and Mei- ringen our captures included I'olyommatuK eumedon, P. eorydon (very flne and abundant), /'. hylas, Aryymm niobe vav. eria, Melitaea pa r- tlienii', M. riiu'ia (a single worn specnnen), and Melanaiyia yalatea. ( 'olias kyale was abundant but difficult to capture. On July 8rd it was very fine up to 8 p.m., when a heavy thunderstorm came on. Between Meiringen and Rosenlaui we found the best hunting-ground to be near, and some little way above, the Upper Keichenbach Fall. The number of insects very much diminished as we got nearer to Kosenlaui. Our fresh captures were lieentliia aiitat/itisia (very fine and fresh specimens), P. selene (rather worn), PWebia liyea (one speci- men, just emerged, was very beautiful), A', melampti.s, and ('oenoityiiiplia satyrion. From Meiringen we went on to Miirren, where we stayed until July 9th, but during the whole of our time there we had not more than a few hours' sunshine. We made a few fresh captures, namely, Polyommatux baton (a single specimen only), Flrebia oemr (specimens showing considerable variety), E. euryale, A', aethiopa, and a species of Syrichthus which I have not yet identified. I judge that the country near Trachsellauenen would be a first-class hunting- ground ill more favourable weather, ^^'e left JMiirren on July 9tli. 106 THK KNTUAXOLOCjlSTls RECOHU. with snow lying thick all around, a very wintry scene. (3n the whole the trip was, entomoiogically, a little disappointing. Altogether we caught 65 species, 24 of which we had not taken in August, 1901. One of the advantages of going early in the season was that, with few exceptions, our captures were beautifully fresh specimens. — -J. N. Keynes, M.A., D.Sc, Cambridge. Jantiar;/ 'did, 1904. Lepidoptera of Southend in 1903. — My first note during the past wretched season refers to the emergence of a series of tiijbeniia iiianiiuaria (quite an ordinary lot from a black $ ), which appeared between February 21st and March 24th. My next note refers to Dasi/- xonia salicdla, an example of which I found on my coat when crossing Thundersley common on March loth. Troc/nlii(iit crabronituvmis (larva) and Dipludoma /wniiinata (larva) occurred, the former in, the latter on, a willow-trunk at Prittlewell, on April loth. The J), lu'ruiinata larva did very well for a time on a larva of T. crahnutijunins which I had unfortunately crushed when attempting its removal from a stump, but was later on devoured by Luffiid larva? which I had Introduced as food. Larvae of Enbulia ceninata were seen on the mallows at Fobbing, on May 10th ; Kuwielesia decolorata commenced to emerge on the 16th ; LithnroUetia mluifolella on the 19th ; Stitiuionota inter nana and Fidnnia at////;*« emerged on the 20th ; t'ldcop/iora i/n/pki- pfnnclla, on the 22nd; nri/otrop/ia (/(Hiirstico and Halia 'r«/'or/o occurred on the 2Uth close to North Shoebury chuichyard, where lies Christopher NOTES ON COTJ.F.CTINO. 107 Parsons, whose name will suggest to all Essex collectors thoughts of Pltorodeatna sinarofidario, Malacnsnma (■astrensis. Papilin mochaon and Th'pressaria defiresnella. August was a very poor month — Ephippiphora focnella (worn) occurred on the 2nd ; Sphaeroeampa ictericana, the largest I had ever seen, and Avf/i/rolepia hadiana the smallest example I had ever seen (5'" from tip to tip) on the 8th, on a leaf of burdock at North Shoebury ; Hi/droccia nictitam on a head of knapweed, and B. praean- lliista on a poplar trunk at Vange on the 16th. In September, larv,v of (TracilariannuKsrUawere common in blistered leaves of mugwort at Hhoe- buryness ; /.'. awiustinrana emerged on the 18th; I'l/romcifi canliii and A'///.s/rt//r//»//?(7 were common, andlarvfpof Sjiilodenpalcali^ rather scai'ce at North Shoebury on the 20th ; Ar^riiin fonrolvuli was seen at the electric light in Southend on the 23rd, and larvfe of (Jiirullia asti'n's were quite common on aster near Shoeburyness on the 27th. In October Pyrovifix rardvi was very common, I noticed large numbers on the 7th between North Fambridge and Woodham Ferris ; S. fabriciana was on nearly every fiowerhead at Barting on the 8th ; larvae of Eupithecia KHCcenturiota were very scarce on mugwort at North Shoebury on the 10th ; larvfp of Ehidea sawhiiraliK on elder at North Shoebury on the IStb. November 15th, cases of Colmphnra trofilndytt'lla (very like those of the insect I know as wnritimella and obtained from sea- wormwood) on EiipatnriiDii, and larvte of [.cioptilnx uiicrodactuhn^ were not uncommon in stems of Eiijiatoriiim at North Shoebury. (irarilaria siiiiwicUo. always common, was abundant during the past season. — F. G. Whittle, 8, Marine Avenue, Southend, .lamiary IQtli, 1904. Hydroecia paltjdis and H. nictitans. — As notes concerning these species from different localities may be useful, I may record that I get a small dark orange-red insect here in the woods, which I have always considered to be H. nictitans, and identical with an insect that I took at sugar near Southampton, some years ago, also in a wood, towards Eastleigh. I also take a considerably larger insect, which to my eye always appeared distinct, at sugar, in Dawlish Warren, and which exactly agrees with the fJ. paludis taken by Mr. Ovenden on the Med- way marshes. I remember that on the first occasion on which I took this insect Mr. Bower was with me, and we were both much struck with it, but supposed that it must be a form of H . nictitaiis. — E. F. Stttdd, M.A., Oxton, Exeter. Janvan/ 20th, 1904. At Torquay I have taken specimens very similar to those captured at Wallasey, and on the " mosses." by Mr. Day, and probably the same species as that taken by Mr. Studd at Dawlish Warren. These insects vary a good deal in size, some of them being no larger than an insect I take here, and which I assume to be the typical H. )uetitrivs. These occur occasionally in fields round my house, and as this country used to be entirely woodland, and is still very much wooded, this bears out Mr. Tutt's remarks that f/. nictitmiH is essentially a wood, and //. palndifi a marsh or coast, species. Looking at a row of the Torquay H. paliidis side by side with a row of the insect I get here, there seems to be a striking difference between the two species, and Mr. Tutt's remark, that the reniform stigma is much more conspicuous in H. tiictita us than in H. paliidis, iscertainly borne out in my specimens ; on the other hand some of my Torquay specimens are of a decided red colour, although even then they have, I think, a more glossy appearanct^ than //. iiiititaus. The specimens I take here are neai'ly all of one form. — (Rev.) E. C. Dobr^e Fox, M.A., Castle Moreton, Tewkesbury. Fehrnari/2vd. 1904. 108 THK K.NTOAror.OCUST's liKCOlin. W^AR I A TION. Variation in males of Pericallia syringaria, second-brood. — A number of eggs laid by a $ Poirallia st/riniiaria, captured in Dorset, duly hatched in July, 1903, and the larvse were fed on privet. Wishing to get a second brood I kept the larvif at a fairly high temperature, but only five fed up, the remainder (a hundred or more) evidently havmg deter- mined to hybernate. The five grew rapidly, soon turned to pupse, from which two J s and three 2 s emerged on September 23rd and the following days. It struck me that both the full-fed larvte and pupje were rather smaller than some I had previously reared in the first brood, but the moths emerged much about the usual size. What I particu- larly want to note, however, is that the iniion/ilo;iia IWitaiinica'-, neglecting the second one here, and that on the cover. The evolution of our know- ledge of every group of insects seems to take a definite course — (1) Muddle. (2) A systematic book of descriptions of the imagines by means of which they can be more or less accurately named by collectors. (3) General references in the magazines to their capture and breeding by collectors. (4) The accumulation and sifting of the records. (5) A scientific treatise dealing with the biology and oecology of the animals dealt with. It is something to have departed from the age of "muddle" in dealing with the Ichneumons, if only in one subfamily. An average man has now a chance of finding out what he has bred or caught, and, as a result, can give details of the economy of the species he has reared in the one case and its habits in the other. iNIr. Morley's glossary is interesting and ranges from the meaning of " abdomen." " head " and '"thorax" to " badious," " cribrary " and " hypopygium," some of the definitions being rather specialised, <'.//., a seta is "a Inntj isolated bristle," quadrate means "square," linear means " narrow and equilateral," etc. Some parts of the intro- duction make interesting reading, and the biological section appears to be taken from reliable sources, although the continued use of " areae " for "areas" reads stiltedly and looks strange. In the history of the study of the [chnein/ioniilac, the separation of the work of British authors from the consideration of that of those of " Pre-Linnean " and " Post-Linnean " times, not only gives us no idea of their work as brought into line with their contemporaries, but suggests, in some measure, to the present-day entomologist, that they must be a future race who will follow the "Post-Linnean" authors. The classi- fication appears to follow that recently published by the American authors, although, in his choice of terminology, he follows the older German authors in the use of the terminal " ides " for tribes instead of " idi," in spite of the fact that the former has been in use for divisions of superfamily value for some three- quarters of a century. In spite of the excellence of the descriptions of the species that Mr. Morley refers to given names, he fails, in not quoting the "original descriptions," to give the clue to students as to whether his species really is the same as that before the original author, when the species was first described. It may be urged that many of the earliest descriptions would cover equally well a dozen species (this is a common statement made by coleopterists), but this is really beside the point, for. in a case like this, the student wants to know that at least the species now being described does not disagree with, or contradict, the original description. The generic synonymy is bald, and gives no clue to the history of the genus and its contained species, * Ichiieumonolugia Britcnimca, The Ichiieumotis of Britain, etc., by Claude Movley, F.E.S. Demy 8vo., 31.5 pp. +lpp., 1 pi., many woodcuts, 1908. [I'nbished by .James H. Keys. Whimpk- Sheet, Plymoutli. Price '2.5s. net.] CURRENT NOTES. Ill whilst that of the species is often wanting in dates (without reference to the list of authors to whom reference is made). Of the economy of most of the species nothing whatever is known, and where a species has been bred, reference is rarely given to the original record, and one has to take the author largely on trust, «'.//., when he says that Ho/ilis- inenus pfrni(i(»latta, Linn. Blatta germanica. The only European species is familiar ; it is deep claret-coloured ; the 9 s are apterous, with minute flaps for elytra ; the ^ s have the elytra and wings developed, but truncate at the apex. Length of body, 20mm. to 23mm. 3 , 19mm. to 23nnn. ? ; of elytra, 12mm. to 13-5mm. ^ , 4-5mm. to 5mm. $ . A familiar pest in houses throughout Europe ; not known in the wild state. Geims 2 : Pemplaneta. liurmeister. Larger reddish insects, with the elytra and wings well-developed in both sexes, rounded at the apex. Tahlk ok Species. 1.1. Pionotum reddish, with the centre clouded ; elytra uniform red .. .. .. .. .. ..1. Americans, Linn. 1.1. Pionotum witk disc black, bordered with yellow; elytra blackish -red, with a yellow stripe on the costal margin .. .. .. .. .. 2. AiTSTi;ALASiA;,Fal)iicius. 1. Pekiplaneta amekkax'a, Linn. Known by its large size, red colour, with clouded disc of pronoium. Length of body, 28mm. -32mm. S ^ 28mm. -31mm. 9 ; of elytra, 2Bmm.-32mrii. S , 26mm. -28mm. 9 . A cosmopolitan species, established in many toA\ ns ni Europe ; in England, numerous at the Zoological (iardens and in several docks and wharves. It is abundant in simihii' circumstances in most large towns in Europe. 2. Pekiplaneta Australasia;, I'abricius. Resembles above, but disc of pronotum black, bordered with yellow; elytra darker, with a yellow costal stripe. Has occurred in Sweden, and in Great itritaiii at Kew Gardens, l>elfast, and several hothouses and docks. Family 1\ : PoLYPHACuD.^i. Members of this family, and of the only European genus, are easily known by the characters given in the synoptical table. Genus 1 : Polyphaua, BruUe {= Heti'iitiianua. iliirmeister). Table of Species. 1. i dark chestnut, $ chestnut, hairless, except for- the lateral bristles ; larger size .. .. .. ..1. .t.gvptiaca, Linn. 1.1. d yellowish livid, ? dark reddish ; body holosericeous ; size smaller . . . . . . . . . . . . 2. livida, Brunner. OENERIC SEPARATION OF " GNOPHOS " OBFUSCATA FROM GLAUCINARIA. 121 1. POLYPHAGA ^GYPTIACA, Linil. Length of body, 20mm. ^ . 27mm. -88mm. 5 ; of elytra, 2J:mm. S . 0mm. ? . Rare in western Europe ; recorded from Calabria and Sicily. 2. PoLYPHAOA LiviDA, Brunuer. Length of body, 11mm. S- 16mm. $ ; of elytra, 17mm. ius apidld was common, and three larvfe were taken at the same time higher up. There were, however, two moths that interested me more than any others: one of these was a new species of Psychid, which I have called Pymjisi/rhc moncaimrUa. It is a very handsome addition to the European species of that group (see Ent. Bfc, xv., pp. 82-1-330; xvi., pi. ii). The other was Oryyia spleiidida. which will deserve separate notice. [To be concluded.) SCIENTIFIC NOTES. 127 J^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. The preference of butterflies for sunlight. — I have been reading in the Transactions of the Entoniulot/ical Societij of London the brilliant and stimulating paper by Mr. Thayer, and the more cautious, if more subtle, summing up by Professor Poulton, on "Protective Coloration in its relation to Mimicry," etc. Although I have neither the scientific nor artistic knowledge and experience that is necessary for its adequate discussion, still, I feel as rashly compelled to offer a few remarks as I did when, without any first-hand experience of the tropics or living exotic Sphingids, I ventured to object to the use of such structural details as the size and position of the eyes, length of tongue, cut of wings, and shape of the abdomen, as generic characters, pointing out that differences of environment, such as lack of twilight and the large size of tropical flowers, together with the position of these latter above instead of below the insect's plane of flight, etc., were quite sufficient to account for, and in all probability had produced, the difference between the European specimens of Hijles euphorbiae and its Indian relative H. lat/ti/riis, Walk., in regard to which, even if authorities had joined issue as to its right to rank as a species, none cared to press its claim to generic rank. My rashness in the present instance will, however, be seen to be even greater, when I confess that I have never been out of Britain, and that my opportunities of observing butterflies, even under our cool grey skies, have been all but a negligible quantity of late years. But the fact that I have been present at entomological meetings off and on for the past twelve years, and have never yet to my memory heard the question asked or the point discussed, emboldens me to ask the question, " Why do the Rhopalocera only fly when the sun shines? " Here a doubt arises ; perhaps they do not do so abroad, and the few English exceptions become the rule under tropical skies. In spite of my expectations, I found to my surprise that Mr. Thayer did not discuss the point, nor did Professor Poulton refer to it ; so, at the risk of attempting to explain the obvious, I would suggest it is not alone the need of greater heat, nor yet because their sight is defective that they therefore require more light than the Heterocera. The bulk of the last-named group are twilight or night flyers, and the exceptions to this rule have for the most part either a rapid or buzzing flight, or are species that feed whilst hovering, or closely fold their wings and settle ; or if they have ample wings and fly at a moderate pace, they are brightly if not brilliantly coloured. There is undoubtedly a connection between brilliant coloration and vivid light, as Eimer pointed out, although his explanation breaks down under the most cursory examina- tion. Does this not greatly support Mr. Thayer's case "? After a perusal of his paper, we see why it is necessary, or at any rate politic, for the butterfly to settle and close its wings at the passing of every cloud. It is not due to a whimsical distaste to dullness or fear of the slightest chill, but to the danger it experiences in the absence of the brilliant illumination that safeguards it by producing its effacement. according to Mr, Thayer's theory. The marked disfavour with which most butterflies seem to regard the afternoon sun. may also be partly due to the difference in value of its lighting capacity as well as to the more commonly given reasons of dry heat and insufficient moisture. That the strength of the lighting is an important factor in the protective 128 THK entomologist's RPX'ORI). scheme of lepidopterous larv«, i called attention to long ago m a papBi- on " The genus Smerinthus " [Ent. Record, vol. vi., p. 175) ; and I have always considered that the coloration of black day-flying species such as (hio)ihria nibricollis and Tanaura atrata, was probably due to their obtaining protection owing to the strong contrasts between lights and shadows in our woods at the period when they are on the wing, although my opportunities of observing these species have been so few that I mention this with considerable diffidence. If my suggestion in regard to the butterfly's preference for sunlight is borne out by the facts of the case, it should afford a test as to whether the coloration of any particular species is of a cryptic or warning character, as the latter forms should show a certain disregard to passmg clouds (if such things ever happen in the tropics), in contrast with the former. — A. W. Bacot, F.E.S., 154, Lower Clapton Road. N.E. Jnniiani 21fh, 1904. " Types " in Natural History. — I am pleased to see that Dr. Chapman, in his notice of " The Revision of the Sphingides," has dwelt [Ent. Record, xv., pp. 310-11) on the meaning of the word " type," and has attacked the utterly unscientific position of those who hold that the type of a species is " the form which is i^tippoaed to be the commonest, the most widely spread, or the most ancient, etc." The italics are mine. Is it conceivable that any thoughtful entomologist has really imagined a "type "form exists in nature, apart from the subjectivity of the individual student ? If so, I should much like to be enlightened as to what it is, and how a stable nomenclature can possibly be based upon it. The words which I have just quoted are pregnant with suggestion, and embody a good deal of the matter which has been prominently in my mind for some weeks past, as the result of a conversation which I had with another entomologist on the subject. The only fault in Dr. Chapman's clear and valuable paragraph is at the very end, where he speaks of the " confusion of two different meanings, etc." The word " two " should have been left out, for certainly many more than two distinct meanings are possible when we begin to attach some pseudo-philosophical, or pseudo-biological significance to the word. Several have occurred to me, and there must be many others which I have not thought of, or which 1 have not clearly differentiated in thought from those which I shall mention. Firstly there is the iiiimeriral type, which is apparently what the author quoted by Dr. Chapman means -or thinks he means — by " the true type," /.''., the form of which the lai'gest number of examples exists on the face of tlie globe. ])ut this is manifestly undiscoverable, and even if we could become omniscient in this respect, we should, with many species, have to re-model our conceptions every day, or every year, according to the numerical fluctuations, to say nothing of the " personal equation," for which there would be plenty of room in the assigning of hosts of slightly aberrant forms, either to the type oi' to an aberra- tion. Secondly, there is the }>]ujloRACTICAL HINTS. Field work for IVlay. By ALFRED SICH, F.E.S. The Meadow, — 1. — In the latter half of May an afternoon can profitably be spent in a meadow, especially if Luzula and Achillea be among the " weeds " growing there. While the sun is up we may net a good series of fHrrorampha phunhcKiana and (Tli/phipteryx fum-ovii-idella, both species flying ove]' the herbage, though the Tortricid has much more dash in its flight than the Glyphipterygid. The latter frequently settling across a bent and " fanning" its wings. 2. — As the sun gets low a pale, narrow- winged Tineid may be seen softly flying from one grass bent to another, often settling on the Luzula. This wall be (Joleojjhora iiiininipcniidla. 8. — If we look closely into the herbage among Achillea, we may see miniatures of the Coleophorid, minute pale Tiueids, Bucctdatri.v crista- tella. While boxing these we catch sight of a small, compact Tineid sitting on a blade of grass, it looks black and white, and, if nimble enough, we may box Elachista ubscurella $ . 4. — As we continue our search almost among the roots of the grass, we notice one or two little white moths crawling on the lowest portion of the grass stems. These will be early specimens of Elachista cygnipenndla. As we leave the meadow, we notice several pale Tmeids flying along just above the herbage under the hedge ; these will be Elacliista rufocinerea. 5. — We know that Paiinne rhecUclla flies over the hawthorn bushes at noon in the sunshine, and so does Spideria {('hrysoclista) aurifmn- tella. about a fortnight later than the Tortricid. By H. J. TURNER, F.E.S. 1. — The cases of Coleophora caespititiella, are now to be obtained in quantity, on almost any clump of rushes in damp situations. The larvfB will be practically fullfed. A bunch of the seed-heads of the rush should be placed in an inverted glass-bottle, the bottom of which has been cut off', the stems being passed through the neck and standing in a jar with moist sand or water. The living cases can then be placed on the top of the rush-heads, and muslin tied over the bottle. In this way, if the apparatus be placed out-of-doors, abundance of imagines may be obtained. This method is a very con- venient and successful one for the breeding of many of our Coleophorids. 2. — In many places, if the plants of Hallota ni'jra growing '" Practical Hints for the Field Lepidopterist." Fts. I and II each contains some 1250 piaetical hints similar to these, but relating largely to the Macro- lepidoptera. Interleaved for collector's own notes. Price Gs. each part. PRACTICAL HINTS. 181 luxuriantly by the roadsides (even very dusty ones) be examined, one may frequently find the leaves, with large white membranous blotches. Upon looking on their lower surfaces, large nearly upright, side- flattened bunches of leaf -fragments are seen. These are the cases of the larvfe of Coleophora linenlea, and where they are found, it is gener- ally in abundance, but always considerably sheltered by a thick hedge. 3. — The larvae of two species, Cnlcophora solitaviella and C. oliva- ceella, are now to be met with on Stellaria holostea, that brilliant little hedgerow star, which is so conspicuous at this time of the year. The former is always in much greater numbers than the latter, indeed to get a respectable number of them is difficult. The cases are attached to the grass-like leaves of the foodplant, and the larvas make conspicuous blotches. C. olivaceella is easily distinguished from that of ('. solitaviella by its darker case and slightly different angle of attachment to the leaf. These species also feed under some sheltering hedge or bush. 4. — On bright afternoons in the middle and end of May the imagines of Coleophora niurinipennella maybe swept in numbers, flying low down in the fields near woods, where the wood-rush (Ltizala) grows. 5. — On most of our large heaths, assiduous sweeping near the shelter of trees and bushes, will produce a quantity of cases of Coleophora juitcicolella and C. pijrrludipemiella. The former is our smallest species of the genus, and the cases are most difficult to find. The best way is to save all the sweepings in a bag and examine each day to see if any larvje have crawled out. In the course of a week or ten days, no doubt a number will be obtained. The cases of the latter species are more conspicuous, and may easily be found by searching the sweep-net. To breed these species, one needs to have established plants of heath in pots and cover with muslin. Of course the plants must be kept out-of-doors. 6. — The broom should now be searched and beaten for the cases of Coleophora saturatella. They are large and rubbishy-looking cases, and the larvsp should not require much more feeding before they pupate. 7. — A visit to the saltings, where the seawormwood grows in abundance, may perchance produce the cases of Coleophora artemisiella and C. )iiaritima. It is best to place a sweep-net under the base of the stems of the bunches of Artemisia, and beat the plants and the basal rubbish into it for examination. This is a tedious process, but other- wise very few larvae will be obtained. The imagines can be bred by placing the larvte on the garden Artemisia, " old man." 8. — The cases of a species, which seems known to but very few collectors, viz., Coleophora ardeaepennella are now obtainable on birch. They are often mistaken for the cases of C. ibipennella among which they are usually found, both species often feeding on the same leaf. The cases of the latter species are almost prostrate, while those of the former are more upright in their attachment. 9. — Young larch plantations should be searched for the presence of Coleophora larirella. The needles will be extensively browned by the depredations of the nearly fullfed larvas if present, and large numbers of the cases may be obtained. As pine is an easy foodplant to keep, there will be little difficulty in breeding the imagines. 10. — Many elms we have been told in previous '• Hints " will pro- 182 THK entomologist's record. duce abundance oi L'oleophora fusccdineUa. Among them a (javpful search will produce the cases of two other species, the much darii-er, less bulky, case of ('. hudiipennella, and the longer, more compressed case of V. limonpcnneUa. The case .of the last species can never be mistaken for that of either of the others as its anal opening is two- valved and not three- as they are. This species also occurs on birch. but its case is then much more slender and fragile. 11. — If one meets with patches of Kupatoriuni camiabininii , they are worth going over to ascertain if Cnlenji/iora trot/lydotella is feeding on the leaves. The plants are found under the shelter of the cliffs in some coast localities. :^!^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. Notes on Plusia muneta. — Towards the end of April, 1908. 1 noticed that a large plant of helphinium had several of the terminal buds drawn together, and, upon parting them, found in each two or three small larvae, green in colour with brown heads, and on each segment three or four brown tubercles emitting hairs ; thinking from this and their wriggling habits that they were the larvse of some Micro- lepidopteron, I took away only two or three, with two larger larvae that were very different in appearance, and that 1 hoped were those of Plusia moneta. After keeping them about a week or ten days I was surprised to see that the smaller larvae had become identical in appear- ance with the larger ones. I consequently commenced to search in earnest for the larvfe, taking all I found, both small and large. Having access to a nursery (containing a large bed of delphiniums), and several large flower-gardens, I was able to obtain in all from thirty to forty larvffi, which fed up in my breeding-cage. For that purpose I use a horticultural bell-glass, inverted and fixed with plaster-of-Paris in a wooden stand, the top being covered with mineralised tiffany. I reared all the larvae in one cage, as I found that the larvffi emerged from the ova continuously over a considerable period and not all at the same time. I found my first full-grown larva3 on May 1st, the first pupation took place on May 16th, and on June 16th the first emergence. The full-grown larva is about an inch long, the head, pro- and meso- thoracic segments being retractile, the colour light green excepting for a white lateral stripe. When ready to pupate the larva spins a shuttle- shaped cocoon on the underside of a leaf ; in confinement the larvae often used the sides of the cage and the tiffany, in many instances several being joined and somewhat overcrowding one another. The cocoon when first spun is pure white, the larva after completion lining it W'ith a golden colour, sometimes very pale, sometimes almost orange. In a state of nature my experience points to the interesting fact that, while the larva before it casts off' its micro-like appearance lives gregariously in a net, drawing together the terminal bud of the foodplant, it afterwards feeds singly, and, as it grows, descends from the plant, finally pupating under the lower leaves. The habit seems connected with a certain amount of protection, for, as the delphinium grows taller, its lower leaves turn deep yellow and die, hence one meets great difficulty in find- ing the cocoons, owing to their colour being identical with the dying leaf; out of twelve or fourteen cocoons found, only, I think, two were on an upper or green leaf. On June 16th the first imago appeared. CURRENT NOTES. 138 and others followed in quick succession nearly every day, one, and sometimes five or six, on one day. The larvae were very easily reared, giving no trouble, though eating very voraciously. The pupa is intensely black on the dorsal surface ; the ventral surface, legs and antenna- cases are pale green at first, soon intensifying to a dull yellow, and one pupa, had the usual green parts of a pure white ; this I kept separately in hopes of an aberration, but the imago was quite normal. After emergence the moth clings with the two forelegs stretched out in front, holding on, apparently, by the small hooks or spurs, the other legs hanging beneath the body, which is held out as far from the surface on which it is resting as possible, the wings being placed flat against its sides, tent fashion. The emergence takes place early in the day, the moths remaining quite motionless until dusk. I was not successful in getting any to pair. I recommend all who wish to rear this interesting insect to search all delphiniums to which they can gain access; the drawn-up bud or eaten leaf will of course lead one to the small or large larva, and as delphinium seems to be the foodplant of so few British insects one can rely upon one's captures being likely to turn out the desired species. The perfect insect may be captured at dusk, hovering over, or feeding on, the flowers of the foodplant. — Harold E. Winser, Kent House, Cranleigh, Surrey. March 12th, 1904. (CURRENT NOTES. At the meeting of the Entomological Society of London, held on March 2nd, a discussion took place on " What is a species ? " We are informed that the discussion did not clear the ground very greatly, and that only theological terms seemed to fit the case. One gathered that a species is an invisible and incomprehensible entity inherent in a group of organisms, that may or may not differ vi:^ibly, either inter- nally or externally, from those of another coequal and equally incom- prehensible group, and which may also differ either internally or externally among themselves to such an extent as to deceive the experienced into the belief that they are each, separately and severally, the external signs of internal and invisible differences of the entities (to wit, different species), but yet, are, in reality, only the out- ward and visible appearances of different phases of one and the same entity, entitled a species. As to who is to separate species, one was left with the comfortable feeling that no man or woman is entitled to decide as to what is or is not a species (as defined supra) until he or she has acquired great experience in distinguishing the same, and that the greater the ex- perience the less the possibility of any such qualified person arriving at any definite conclusion. The meeting of the Entomological Club, held on March 15th, at " Wellfield," Lewisham, at 6.30 p.m., was a great success. The host and hostess, Mr. and Mrs. R. Adkin, received the members and guests, and there was a strong muster present. Among the guests were Pro- fessor Armstrong, Colonel Swinhoe, Messrs. Armstrong, jun,, Collin, Distant, A. H. .Jones, Lucas, South and Tutt, whilst it was quite a record meeting as far as members were concerned, for every available member was present, riz., Messrs. K. Adkin, Chitty, Donisthorpe, 184 THt ENTOMOLOCJISt's RECORD. Hall, Porritt, Vei-rall and Professor Poulton. The only absentee was Mr. Lowne, who has long since ceased to be present at these pleasant social gatherings. The number of full members is limited to eight, and the Club is to be congratulated on its strength and activity, and deserves the thanks of all entomologists in promoting, by means of these social meetings, a cordial feeling between the representatives of all branches of entomology, whose lines of thought are frequently most diverse, and who, the best of friends personally, often appear on paper to be at loggerheads, owing to their adoption of diametrically opposed views in the consideration of critical questions of opinion growing out of their work. The next few weeks will determine whether, during the current year, the knowledge of the life-histories of our British plume moths is to receive a push forward. The eggs and young larvae of most species ai-e unknown, and of the structure of many of the mature larvae we are supremely ignorant. Eggs of Ptemphorus mnnudactyla, Atnblyptilia pmicti(lacti/la,ar\d A.acmithodactyla have not yet been obtained, although the hyberuators should now be on the wing. In six weeks' time ova of Leioptilu>^ micnxlacti/la should be available, whilst all the spring- feeding larviE should be obtainable. All help will be gratefully acknowledged. Another meeting of the Entomological Club was held on March 23rd, 1904, at 68, Kensington Mansions, Earl's Court, at 6.30 p.m., when the menabers and friends were received by Mr. and Mrs. Donis- thorpe, the host and hostess on this occasion. After tea had been served, an adjournment was made to Mr. Donisthorpe's museum, where a considerable time was spent, a return being made at 8,15 p.m., an excellent supper being served at 8.30 p.m. An innovation at the last two meetings has been the introduction of a dainty menu card, showing considerable taste. Among the members and friends present on this occa- sion were Messrs. R. Adkin, J. Collin, Chitty, Druce, Ellis, Hall, Kaye. South, Tutt, Verrall, AVaterhouse, J. Walker, Colonel Swinhoe and the Rev. Theodore Wood. A most enjoyable evening was spent. Rarely, one suspects, have entomologists had such a chance of knowing each other personally as of late ; the many socinl gatherings, due to the initiative of the Entomological Club, bringing into close contact many who would otherwise remain comparative strangers. The Rev. C. R. X. Pjurrows (The Vicarage, Mucking, Essex) will be very thankful for eggs of Lieotiietra vernaria, Nenwria virUlata, lodis lactearia, Pseudoterpna pniinata, and any of their near neighbours, especially Apla.sta unonaria. Also for details and notes concerning the varieties and aberrations of Unnithea fttru/ata. We are in receipt of Mr. G. T. Porritt's Supplement to the List of Yorkshire Lejucinpterar' His original list was published some 20 years ago, and was, in a way, the model on which many of the best local lists have since been planned. This addition is continued on the same lines. A large number of species have since been added to the list, some of which, however, are included on the strength of single speci- mens, and can hardly, in the strict sense, be considered as belonging to the county fauna. A few included in the former list are dropped as having been originally added in error, whilst the long list of addi- * Published by A. Brown and Sons, Limited. Savile Street. Hull. Price 2s. 6d. CURRENT NOTES. 186 tional localities for many of the local species, testifies to the excellent work done in recent years by the Yorkshire lepidopterists. The niira- ber of species now recorded for Yorkshire is 1B79, i.e. 6-1-4 per cent, of the British fauna. We congratulate the author on so useful a piece of work. Mr. Champion separates Catnps sericeus, Panz., from ritish sPECiKS OF Bagois. — A CORRECTION.- —In my paper on the above subject (Ent. Rec., \o]. xiv ) there is an omission which obscures the sense. The second line of the " Table of the Species," page 151, should read thus: — Club indistinctly articulated, with first joint as long as the following joints united. The words '• with first joint " being those omitted. — E. A. Newbery, 12, Churchill Road, Dartmouth Park, N.W. January Uh, 1904. Vol. XVI. Pl. III. Aberrations of Mankdca atropos. 'J lie Entoiii. lieconl, etc., 1904. SOMK I\T-St:AI. FOKJIS OF M.\N])rCA ATKOPOS. 137 Some unusual forms of Manduca atropos (with plate). By (Eev.) C. 11. N. BUEIiOWS. I have always regarded this species, of which I have from time to time reared a considerable number, as being little liable to variation. I had, however, an indistinct recollection of having seen or heard of strange forms which good fortune had brought to other collectors, and I was very much surprised when I found that the account of such interesting aberrations did not turn up in response to Mr. Tutt's request for particulars, as material for his forthcoming vol. iv of llritisli Li'pidiijitera, so I took upon myself a search in likely directions, and T hope that the result will prove interesting to readers of the E'nt. Record. Everybody knows the ordinary forms of this tine insect well enough. There is a certain amount of difference in the area of the pale patch towards the apex of the forewing, and some variation in the development of the transverse yellow or white lines. But Linne's type is practically unicolorous. Beginning with this I will proceed to give an account of my discoveries, some of which, in response to my urgent request, have now been exhibited in London. (1) The tt/jit'. — I have in my own cabinet a 2 bred at Kainham, in 1896, which well represents this form. The upperwings are almost without markings, except for the discoidal spot, which, in this speci- men is quite tiny, and some short whitish streaks from the inner margin, four on the left upperwing and two on the right. Unfortu- nately, as is often the case with forced specimens, this one is not quite fully scaled towards the tips of the forewings, and there was a small aneurism towards the extremity of the right forewing. (2) In the cabinet of Mr. .T. A. Clark I found a female specimen, which appears to be a very good iUustration of what the late Mr. J. Jenner-Weir called " phfeism," i.e., incomplete melanism or duski- ness. Here the whole insect, a fine specimen of the form which has more extensive pale markings upon the upperwings, is entirelv siiftused. This does not strike one so much on the upperwings, but is most noticeable when it obscures, but by no means hides, the yel- low of the underwings, thorax, and abdomen. This specimen was bred by Mr. Clark from a Cambridgeshire pupa, on October 15th, 1892, and was exhibited by him at the meeting of the City of London Entomological Society, on November 17th, 1903. (3) Mr. W. Brooks, of Grange Hall, near Rotherham, possesses a most striking specimen (I think a $ , but it is difficult to be certain from a photograph), which he tells me has never been described or exhibited until he brought it to the meeting of the City of London Entomological Society, on November 3rd, 1903. This insect has the upperwings much more suffused with yellow and white than any I have seen before. So much is this the case, that the dark coloration which one is inclined to consider as the ground colour in other ex- amples of the species, is here reduced, until it forms two transverse bands, which (in the set specimen, whose portrait is before me), con- tinue the two black bands of the lower wings. This in itself consti- tutes, as far as my experience goes, not only a curious, but probably almost unique, variation, yet it is further intensified by the extra- ordinary increase in the number of white scales, which, though not May 15th, 1804. 138 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECOKIJ. rare in some specimens, are, in this instance, so numerous that they cover the whole of the upperwings, thorax, and abdomen. The effect of this is that when the insect is looked at sideways it appears to be perfectly white. Another strange point al)out this particular speci- men is that the blackened nervures on the hindwings are continued to the base. This specimen was bred by Mr. Brooks, in 1900, the pupa coming from Long Sutton, Lincolnshire. Mr. Brooks tells me that he has reared large numbers of specimens from the same district, and this intensification of the white scaling and development of bands and streaks, appear to be marked in several of his other specimens, but in none so greatly as in that described above. He has a somewhat similar, but smaller and less marked, specimen which he also reared in October 1900. Several of his earlier aberrations, with white scaling, and more or less banded and streaked, were exhibited by him at the South London Entomological Society, on November 8th, 1900. I have spoken of the particular aberration described above as being prob- ably almost unique. There is an indistinct recollection which haunts my mind, that some years since I saw in London two very gray speci- mens. As Mr. Brooks' best have never been south before, 1 am puzzled as to whether I have not dreamed. I hope, however, that these notes of mine may induce the owner of these phantom speci- mens to exhibit them again, if they exist, that those who are interested may compare them with Mr. Brooks' {.see note postm. — Ed.). (4) In Mr. Clark's collection I noticed another specimen, a very fine large ? , quite pale and faded looking, yet perfectly scaled and in good condition. (5) I have in my cabinet a 2 which has the inner line on both hindwings almost obliterated. I have seen this form nowhere else, but Mr. Clark, Mr. Brooks, and I have each a specimen with the line all but obliterated on one hindwing, and curiously enough in every case it is the left side. Freaks. — (1) Mr. Clark has a $ in which the inner band on the left hindwing, ends towards the abdomen, in a large black blotch, extending and enlarged towards the base of the wing, and also extend- ing, but narrowing, across the yellow space, through the outer band and into the fringe. This insect was exhibited by Mr. Clark at the meeting of the City of London Entomological Society, November 17th, 1908. ' (2) Mr. Brooks has a specimen in which the upperwing on the left side is divided from near the centre of the costa, to within one- third of the base on the inner margin, the basal portion being quite normal, but the outer and larger area yellow. [For the purpose of illustrating certain forms of this species in The Natural Histori/ of the Jlritis/i Lcpidojitera, vol. iv., I have repro- duced three of the examples in Mr. Brooks' collection, and a copy of this plate is being published with this article. These I have named respectively : — (1) ab. tiri/ata, in which the pale and dark areas of the forewings take on a distinctly banded form ; (2) ab. raricf/ata, in which the pale markings are so enlarged as to give the specimens a distinctly variegated and unusual appearance. This form is referred to at length by Mr. Burrows above, and is no doubt that exhibited by Mr. Brooks, at the meeting of the South London Entomological Society, November 8th, 1900, as I remember the exhibit well, and NOTES OF A TRIH TO THK SIKKKA DK \.A DK.MANDA ANH :\ION(:Ayo. 189 believe I made some remarks on the specimens (tlaere were two) at the time, although the exhibition appears to have passed out of Mr. Brooks' mind just at present ; (3) ab. e.vtcusa, in which the outer band of the hind- wing reaches to the hindmargin. In the actual specimen figured, both wings are of the same tint, the difference in the plate being merely due to the photography. I would here thank Mr. Brooks and Mr. Burrows, the former for the use of the photographs for the plate, the latter for his energy in obtaining for me the sight of an exceptionally fine lot of aberrations of this species, which I have dealt with at length in British Lepidnptera, vol. iv. Perhaps some day Mr. Brooks will give us a detailed paper on his work with this species, illustrating it with the other interesting photographs he has relating to various stages of this species. — J. W. Ttttt.] Notes (chiefly on lepidoptera) of a trip to tlie Sierra de la Demanda and Moncayo (Burgos and Soria) Spain {u-ith ma/t and tin-,;' /i/atrs). By T. A. CHAPMAN. M.D., F.Z.S., F.E.S. [Concluded from p. 126.) It is still supposed by many entomologists that female moths, and especially some butterflies, are much fewer in number than the males. I need not say, perhaps, as I have said it before, that I find it im- possible to believe that the- facts on which this belief rests at all justify it. It is very common at the beginning of the season of a species to see an overwhelming preponderance of naales, but, later, it is not uncommon to see hardly any specimens but females. One or two observations bear on this subject. Near Canales, Aporia crataeni was by no means rare in places, but the insects on the wing were nearly all males. On two occasions I found pairs, in cop., well hidden away amongst the foliage of blackthorn-bushes, and in one of these cases the wings of the female were barely fully expanded, and her empty pupa-case was close by. Various Satyrids, and especially Kpine- plu'lc pasipJiar, were observed to be common in places, at first few females were seen, but the males of E. pasiphae were always dodging in and out amongst the herbage, often hardly coming out at all from under the shelter of bushes of Gcuista scorpiiis or blackthorn, which protected the low plants from being grazed down. So much was this the case that it was rarely easy to net a specimen if desired ; and it fully explained how this somewhat delicate fly was so commonly worn and injured. One could not doubt that these butterflies were in search of the females, which remained hidden in such places, and did not fly till oviposition made this a necessity. Females were certainly rare at this period, but later were commoner than males. A very similar procedure was noted in E. ida, Epi)iephele titlmnus, and Pararffe ecferia. Papilio padalirina was not uncommon at Canales, and I saw there two exceedingly dark specimens, and was vexed at being unable to capture either of them, and satisfied myself wnth the paler form, of which I brought home only one specimen, this one proves to be really a very dark specimen, which makes me the more regret the escape of the dark ones. The Aporia crataei/i, which were common at Canales, usually presented a good dark line along the discoidal nervure, and one ? , notwithstanding her translucency, has this very large and repeated on the bin dwing, the underside of which has the light scales of a deep 140 THE entomologist's recorh. orange instead of the usual yellowish-white, and the dark scales are abundant. At Canales the larva of FAuionia pob/chloros was seen abundantly on aspen-trees, planted by the wayside for shade. The larva of An/i/nnis aglaia was picked up frequently on high ground near Canales, but I must admit that I did not recognise it until it pupated. One very fine ? and one cripple were reared. The larva differed from those I have seen, and seen figured, in being absolutely black, except the red lateral spots. No trace of paler dorsal lines or other markings. Comparing this with Jjuckler's figure and description, the difference is very great. As we picked up six or eight, all absohitely agreeing, it was obvioiisly no mere aberration, but a fixed variety. They were found marching at a great pace over grass or bare patches of soil. One of our excursions from Moncayo (July l8th) was across a shoulder of the mountain, then, descending the southwest aspect of the mass, we reached the low ground at a village called La Cueva de Agreda, because situated close to a long limestone cavern, which was the object of this raid — unfortunately no special cave-beetles were dis- covered ; a $ Arctia J'asriata was picked up here that laid a good batch of eggs. Near here two specimens of Mdanarfiia lachesis var. ratalenca were taken amongst swarms of that species, 'ilicda ilicis was common amongst scrub-oak, along with var. rerri. ( 'hryso- pJianus (jordius was common, and Pliisio moneta had left many traces in the aconite which abounded — one pupa was picked up. On some damp open ground, with oak-scrub, there were plenty of butterflies, but none of particular interest, .1/. lachcsis and 7'. ilicis being the most numerous. The tramp across the mountain, in a direction we did not otherwise traverse, might have given something worth catching, had it not been made during the outward journey through more or less dense fog. The Lycfenids were more numerous in species than on our previous excursions, but not, I think, so interesting. Twentytwo species were captured ; the few Polyoimnatm corydon taken were of the form hispana, but perhaps Kveres aniiadesi is of the most interest, as both Kane and Staudinger say it does not occur in Spain, Riihl, however, reports it from Bilbao. I took a specimen at Canales and another at Moncayo. Cnpido sfhrus was apparently common, but I took few, usually passing them by as Xnniiadcs soniarnKs. Imagines of ( 'ya)ri)is aniioltis were frequently seen ; at Moncayo the larva was abundant on heath (I fancy Krica arhorca). This larva was dove-colour, with brown markings, and had no trace of green, and it puzzled me a good deal to determine what it could be. Riihl quotes Krica ndyaris as a foodplant ; Kane gives holly and ivy, which accords with our British ideas ; Hofmann says Hhwiouis and Callinui. The colour of my larv* is, therefore, more worthy of remark than the foodplant. We took several other Lyctenid larvie, but Thccia ilicis was the only other one I was able to verify. From one of several larvae taken on Genhta scorpius at Canales, I bred a specimen of Pscmloterpna coronillaria. The larva I believed to be one of VscHiloterima pruinata {cytisaria). I believe so still. At the same time I quite agree thiit further evidence is necessary before it can be taken as proved that /'. cttranillaria is merely a southern form of P. pniiuata. I have not had the two larvsp side by side, but my mental picture of the larva of P. coronillaria absolutely agreed with it. NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE SIEKKA 1)E LA DKMANDA AND MONCAYO. 141 The fact that /'. jiniinata has a grey form in the south of France, and that Milliere succeeded in muddhng them up, goes a long way to sup- port my idea. In vol. iii., p. 463, of the IcdiKHjraphic, Milliere says that he has figured /'. rovonillaria Avhen presenting a grey var. of P. njtimria, implying that there is no grey var. of P. ci/tisaiia, but, in vol. ii, he says that the larva' of P. ci/tuaria yield about an eighth of the imagines of a grey colour, and one of them it is he figures, and refers to it in vol. iii. as being /'. cnnmillaria, an opinion accepted by Staudinger {('ot., 1901, part i, 2H61). His explanation leaves it to appear that /'. cytimria has an eighth part of grey forms, but instead of figuring one of these he inadvertently figured /'. i-onmillaria. In any case he confounded the two, and in his correction left so much con- fusion that one concludes he was still unable to distinguish grey l\ priiiiiata from P. coroniUaria. Rambur's P. carsicaria would seem to be abundantly distinct, and the real ground, so far as I know, for regard- ing P. coroniUaria and P. pruinata [cytisaria) as distinct from each other, is that Rambur was clearly of opinion that they were so, and T am quite willing to allow that I am probably more likely to make an error in such a matter than Rambur, whose powers of observation and judg- ment in such matters command my greatest respect, more than do those of many more widely-known authorities, but I am not aware of any definite attempt to prove or disprove their identity since the time of Rambur and Milliere. I have handed the Geometrids taken to Mr. Prout, who has examined them. One of his observations on them is that they contain a smaller proportion of characteristically Spanish species than those taken in previous years further south. This accords with my general impression in collecting that the species of general European aspect were proportionally preponderant to a degree, that suggested one was working in, perhaps, southern France rather than Spain — that is, as compared with my impressions in 1901 and 1902. Knrranthis /lenniiieraria was certainly the most notable, and perhaps abundant, (leometrid we saw. We first found it near Canales at a low level, large specimens, but rather rare and all worn. Later we met with it in immense numbers on the ridge to the north of Canales, or rather just below the ridge on the south slope amongst Krica arhorea, where the heath was rampant and the scrub-oak disappearing. Here it was not too easy to catch, though its abundance left no difficulty in the way of taking a fair series. It occurred less freely in a good many other places, and was seen on Moncayo. We met with no larv* of either (hnofiijna zoraida or Arctia latreillii ; they do not probably occur in these sierras. The Asilids were not seen in any numbers on this excursion, being less abundant here than in the drier and hotter regions further south. Several were, however, noted with beetles and other insects on their proboscids. Another experience, however, with diptera reminded me of M. Graslin's account {AiinaU's de la Sue. Hnt. de France, 1886, p. 556) of how Asilids would pounce on moths the moment he disturbed them from the grass and left him grievously disappointed of his prey. My fate was the same, but in a somewhat different manner, on no less than three occasions at Moncayo. Just as I was about to box a small moth at rest on a stone, a small housefly-like dipteron pounced on to my quarry and started it off. It was difficult to avoid believing that the fly (could he have spoken) would have said, and did in effect say. 112 THE ENTUMOJ.OGISt's KKUtJKD. " Look here, friend, wake up and be ott' as quickly as ever you can, or a fearful beast of prey will have you in a moment," and the moth certainly followed the advice with success. The truth probably was that flies, which were abundant enough, often select little prominences for settling on, and these happened to think the moths were such favourable resting-places, and the flight of the moth probably startled them as much as it annoyed me. On our way home at Guethary (France) we met with a most striking case of what appeared to be homoeochromatism, whether it be explained as a case of Miillerian resemblance or otherwise. The facts must be w^ell known, but I do not know that any attention has been called to them from this or any other points of view^ The three butterflies involved are Satijnis dri/as, (Joenani/nip/ia oedijms, and Heterujitenis morphens. These butterflies are all of a sooty dull black above, and have much the same black appearance on the wing. At Guethary they flew together in very restricted little bogs or swamps — swamps at the upper ends usually of the little streams of rarely more than three or four acres in extent, and lying in very sheltered hollows, perhaps lOOtt. below the general upper level. They were the only butterflies in these swamps, and they did not occur outside them. If really minute accuracy is required, as it ought to be, this broadly true statement must be modified by saying that S. dryas did fly a little way up the slopes bounding the bogs, and one or two were even seen on the upper levels. These were all, however, occasional stragglers, possibly because the swamps were so small as to be easily left by so large a butterfly. N. dnjas, however, as well as the other two, were often seen to get anxiously back to the bog if driven by the collector's net (or otherwise) only a few feet up the side slopes. Of other butterflies, ( 'olia>i ednsa flew across the bogs as it does across anything, and Breiitliis eiiphrasj/ue, ( '(lejioiiipiipha arcaniiis, Hesperia aylrantis aftbrded an occasional example. Many butterflies were abundant all around. Taking this to be a Miillerian association, it presents three species that might be grouped together, not only by the entomologist, but by a bird or any other predaceous animal, as a group dift'erent and easily distinguishable from everything else about. It dift'ers from the Neotropical Miillerian associations of butterflies, in its members having merely a broad but unmistakable resemblance, and none of the minutely detailed identity of size, colour, and markings seen in the Heliconine groups. At Guethary butterflies of many species abounded at this time, and any bird, say, could catch plenty without trenching on these bog species, and making it not worth its while to discriminate between them. Were other butterflies scarce, and one or other of these bog species edible, a bird would have no difticulty in ditterentiating them — .S. dryas by its size, H. niurpheiia by its hopping flight and underside shown at each skip, etc. That they were protected seemed probable from their lazy flight, rendering them of very easy capture, very difterent, for example, from Satynis aretlmsa, which was abundant close by, but very difticult to take. They could fly if they liked — (.'. oedipiis was the weakest, but S. dryas could go powerfully if frightened, and H. nwrplHiia possessed to the full the skipping faculty for a mysterious disappearance. My experience of these three butter- flies certainly does not present them as always associated. Last year NOTES ON A TRIP TO THE SIERKA l)E LA DEMANDA AND MONCAYO. 118 we took .S. cln/as and H. morpliens tiying together in a swamp m this same district, rh., at St. Jean-de-Luz, only a few miles south of Guethary, but ( . oeilipas was absent, the reason apparently being that the swamp was a large one in an open river valley, and, therefore, far from being as warm and sheltered as where we took the species this year. S. dryas occurs in many places where the other two species are absent ; it is, in fact, so common and widespread a species that I fear I have taken but little notice of the places in which I have seen it. It certainly atiects damp and shady places, but I think 1 have seen it in dry open places, and its slow, floppy flight never struck me as it did this year. The following is a list of our captures : — Papilio /lodalirins (very dark), Canales ; 77/rt/s- rninhia, Canales, June 28th ; ['arnatiuus apollo : Aporia crataer/i, abundant, Canales ; Pieris; hrassicac, seen ; P. rapcw, Canales ; P. napi, Canales ; P. daplidice : Kiicldo'e euphenoidcs, Canales, June 80th ; Leptoda sinapis, Canales; Colia.s hijale ; C fdiisa: Liinenitis lanulla, Canales ; Pyranieis atalaiita, seen ; P. cardid, abundant ; Ai/lais iiiticae : Phif/onia polt/c/doro.s : Kinanessa antiopa ; Mi'litaea athalia, Moncayo ; M, didynia, Canales ; M. phoebe, Canales ; lircnthis euphro^yne, Canales ; B. selene, Canales ; Issoria lathonia, abundant; Aryynnis aylaia, Canales, larvie; A. niobe var. eru, Canales; A. adipjie var. c/dorodippe, Agreda ; Jfryas pandora: Melanari)ia lachesin and var. eataleuca, Cueva de Agreda; M. iapyyia : PJrehia epiphrun var. ?, Canales ; PJ. stygne var. luapana ; K. evia.s var. Impana : Satyni» rirce, Soria ; .S'. briseis, Soria ; 8. semele, abundant ; [.S'. aretlmm, Guethary ; N. dryas, Guethary ; Pararge aeyeria, Guethary ;j P. meyaera : P. inaera, Moncayo ; Apliantopus hyperanthua, Canales ; h'jpinephele jurtina : K. tithonus ; p. ida : E. pasiphae : ('oennnympha arcania : [C. uedipm, Guethary;] C. pamphilu^ : Xi'iiieohiiis Incina, Canales ; Lai'asopis robot is, Moncayo ; Tliecla ilK-in and var. verri : Chrysophaniis hippot/ioe, Moncayo; C akipkron var. Hordius, Moncayo ; C. viryanreae var. mieyii, Moncayo ; C. p/daeas : Lampides boeticm : Everes aryiades, Moncayo and Canales ; Plebeius aryiis, Moncayo and Canales ; Polyomtnatu.s baton, Canales ; P. astrarche, not abundant ; P. icarus : P. hylam, Canales ; P. hylaa var. lUrescens, Agreda ; P. bellarym, very violet tint, Canales ; P. corydou var. Impana, Agreda, Soria; Z^. admetns, Agreda; i'upido sebrus, Canales ; yomiades semiaryus, Moncayo ; A', cyllarua, Canales ; N. iiH'laiiops, Canales ; Lycaena avion, Moncayo ; Cyaniria aryiolus, Canales and Moncayo ; Heteropterus vwrpheas, Guethary ; Adopoea thamiias ; A. actaeon : Syrichthus sao : S. iitalvae : S. carthaini : S. proto : Spilothynis lavaterae : Oryyia aiirolinibata, abundant, Canales; 0. splmdida, abundant, Moncayo; (>. antiqua (? Canales); Phcjiroctis ckrysorrhoca : Orneria rabea, Canales ; Malacosoina neustria, Canales ; M. franc onica, Canales; Achnocatiipa tlicis (/) ; Lavlineis catax [!) : Lasio- cainpa ijuercaa ; Hadena dentina, Canales ; Ayrotis conspicua : A. tritici, bred, Canales; Leucania Utharyyria, bred, Canales; [Hecatera dysodea, Guethary;] (Jatocala elocata : C. conversa; Phtdidia mi: E. ylyphica: Acontia liictuosa : Ayrophera trabealis: [Herminia crinalin, Guethary:] Arctia caja : A. fasciata : Nudaria mnrina ; Emydia striata : E. cribnun : Xeiiieojihila plantayi)m : PJndrosa irrorella ; Heteroyyna cana- lensis : Anthrocera lonicerac : A. .' achilleae, Canales; A. transalpina, Canales, very small; Aylaope infaasta: Adscita statices : A. yeryon : 144 THE ENT()M()I,()(;1ST's HKt'OKU. ('raiiibiis fidiiiellii.s : ('. caswntinii'Uxx .- ('. iilif/ind.'^ellii.'i \ ('. pratillus ab. alfacarellua : ('. pasciiellii>i : P. rcnisxcllns ; PJniris suhurnatella : A. iiiol- davica : Scoparia ainhvfiialix : S. lfince al a man's library will tell almost exactly the mentaJ equipment and intellectual capacity of the man. The advertised sale of the library of the late Dr. P. Brooites Mason, at Stevens' sale-rooms, on May 17th, reminds us at once that another of the best entomolof,'ical libraries in this country is to be broken up, and that, in a short time, this country will be the poorer by the loss of those volumes that will find their way into the libraries of the Con- tinent and of America. The last sale of equal importance was that of the library of the late Mr. H. T. Stainton, when many of the best entomological works were bought by the dealers at prices far below the lowest possible standard of value that could at all fairly be placed upon them, and were at once included in special sale catalogues at their true prices, often from five to ten times above that that had been paid for them, and, one surmises, found no lack of buyers (possibly mostly abroad), if one may judge by the fact that in scarcely one case was a second offer made of them. The low prices at which most of the books were sold in the sale-rooms suggest elocjuently how few scientific entomologists there are in this country, for one has not long to live in the entomological world to learn that the number of really good entomological libraries in tliis country is exceedingly few. and can ))ossil)ly be counted on the fingers of the hands. It has long since passed into a provei'b among naturalists that '' A collector is known by his specimens, the savant by his microscope and books " ; and one feels that only those who have ample collections for private work, and an extensive library for continuous study and reference, can ever reach a high place in the branch of science they study, or prosecute any line of original i-esearch with a fair prospect of lasting success. It is a remarkable fact that few men appeal' to l)ay books for study, and one is inclined to think that the numerous entomological societies scattered through tbe country do little or nothing to foster real research. So far as one can judge, the additions to their libraries are largely modern works, which any entomologist worthy the name will buy for himself, whilst the best works of the old masters — Linne, Keaumur, (ieottroy, Hlibner, Esper, Hasvorth, Curti-, Stephens, Herrich-Schiifier, etc. — with which our younger lepidopterists should be tempted to become conversant, are usually sought in vain on the bookshelves (and what is true of works on lepidoptera is still more so in the case of those relating to the less-worked orders) ; and, whilst a long series of modern present-day magazines (which any good library committee would recognise the more intelligent of its members possessed) is generally irUTHKK NOTK ON I'KKoNKA iKlSTANA XV.. (.LMPINANA. 115 available, one seeks in vain for a complete series of the old magazines — Fuessly's Manazin, Loudon's Mo;iazi)ie, Annalu anfl Mari/as jiapkia and var. ralesina and CalUmorpha Jiera made a brilliant show, whilst Epinephele ianira, Midaiian/ia ijalathea and Krfbia aethinps were also abundant, and Papil'm p<>daUrini^, Satyrus alcyone, several of each observed. Xeji/iynis bi'tiilae, a very large ,? , was in the nature of a surprise, whilst Theda ilicis was not so unexpected. The roadsides were swarming with I'olyoniniatiis damon and P. corydon, P. icaras and P. astrarrhf being less abundant, whilst Pararye tiiaera and P. nieyaera were both frequent, the latter quite abundant between Vex and Sion. In a coppice through which the road passes, near the entrance to the Val d'Heremence, Pararye eyeria was not infrequent, and, further on, a magnificent large and well-marked form of Anthroccra varniolica swarmed on the flowers by the roadside. Towards Vex many of the species became even more abundant, particularly M. didyuia, which appeared to be in quite as fine condition as it had been a fortnight previously. Lencophasia sinapis and Coliaa hyale were occasionally seen, but Kpinejdiele lyraon was, perhaps, the most abundant species. Among the Hesperiids only Pamphila co)in)ia, P. sylranns and SyrichthHs alfeusweve taken, and among the Lycaenids, except those mentioned, nothing better than a specimen each of Polyoui Hiatus hylas and /'. bellaryiis. The large numbers of Antidea berberata observed on this jaunt have already been noticed. MeUtaea phoehe appeared to be absolutely over, not a single specimen worth pinning was captured. The morning of July 29th, 1903, broke sunny and almost cloudless, and by 8 a.m. I was on the move from Evolene to Hauderes. The sun on the Ferpecle glacier shone brilliantly, and the peaks of the mountains all around stood out quite clearly against the sky. The fields on either side of the road swarmed with nqwly-emerged Tanayra atrata, the $ s clinging to the grass stems, the J s tlying i-apidly hither and thither, hundreds of paired specimens hanging conspicuously in every ilirection. I passed over the bridge, under which the rushing Ferpecle stream flows, and round the base of the Dents de Veisivi on which fine large typical fJrebia liyea flew with quite typical K. eiiryale, yet each apparently distinct, whilst two or three P'. styyne, in not at all bad condition, were also taken. Once over the Borgne and up through the tiny village beyond, one enters the Combe d'Arolla, and it was clear that it was to be a great butterfly day, but my two zinc boxes were already almost filled with the eftbrts of the two previous days, and only a little space was left for captures. The season was late, so the fields were in COLEOPTKKA. 149 many places uncut, and the tiowers swarmed with common butterflies and moths. Erehia aethiops so far up the mountains was somewhat of a surprise, but no Erebias were really common, although Erebia i/oante, E. ceto, El. melainpus, E. enrijale and, later, E. ti/nflanis were in greater or less abundance. In the lower part of the valley Ejrinepheh' hjcaon was really very common, as also was Paranie iiiaera, although the latter was rather worn. On the banks here, too, Anthrnrn-a Io)iirerae, fine, large, full-spotted examples, just emerged, were in lovely condition, as also were A. trnnmlpina and A. arldlleac, but A. pnrjnii-alis was here worn to shreds and was not to be found in good condition, until at least two miles further up the valley, after which, and all the way along to Satarme, it was both abundant and in very fair condition, many only just emerging ; Melitaea phoebe, here, was not common, but I was very pleased to take a tew fine Brenthis ino, and at the runnels in the road I captured a few of the dark alpine form of Melitaea cin.via, and some freshly emerged t? l^l- partlienie var. imria of dark colour, some worn ordinary looking specimens having been rejected nearer Hauderes. By the sides of the roads a little alpine form of Plebeian aef/on was in great abundance, but sadly worn, P. aviiyrniinonion {arijuf.) occurring just as freely, but of larger size a little farther up the valley. The large fritillaries here were Avfiynnis niohc and A. anlaio, but lircnthis aiiiathiisio and B. enphrosi/ne still gave rather worn examples. I'aly- (iDDiiatits (lam(i)i, P. cori/dnn and P. axtrarvhe were as usual the abundant species, but some very fine P. Ju/las and P. domelii were especially welcome, and I was much disappointed in not finding the latter all the way u p the valley to Arolla, but P. nrhitubis, rare here, became more abundant as we went on, ('iipido winiwa now and again, mostly worn, was met with, and Xoniiades se)inarfptfi was in lovely condition, but of the three abundant skippers at the water, riz., Syric/ithufi alceua, Pa}iiphila comma and Thipnelicns lineola, the last-named was in very poor condition. A single Poli/onimatiix hellargua, 2 , was in the nature of a surprise, although I am always picking up single specimens of this species where onemight expect it to be abundant, but where one sees no more ; a single /'. citmrdnn in fine condition was move expected. ( '/tri/.Http/iaviis hipiiotho'e was apparently only just coming out, a single 3 , at any rate, alone came under observation, and ('. rirf/aiireae was in good condition. So pushed was I for room that 1 practically discarded everything except types, just to remind me what I did see on the journey up, although I remember how abundant was Eidnnia bnnmeata in the pine woods. After leaving Satarme, at the last ascent to the Kurhaus after the road branches, Ilrenthis pales, Aifn/ini is niobe and Colias phicowone became very abundant, and AniJtrocera pnrpuralis, in splendid condition, was in numbers on every Cmtaurca head. It was one of the days of an entomologist's life, when every- thing combined to show ofi" nature at her best, and, crippled as I was at the time, and thoroughly fagged out when I reached the Kurhaus, I still retain the liveliest recollection of the vivid hues, and the many beautiful winged things, that gave colour to one of the finest Alpine pictures to be found anywhere on the continent of Europe. @^OLEOPTERA. Omalium septentrionis, Th., in Kent. — In Canon Fowler's L'uleuptera of the BritisJi Isles, ( >iiialin)ii sepfevtrimiis is only recorded 150 THE entomologist's RECORIi. from Scotland, and is said to be very rare. Since then, however, Mr. Blatch has recorded it from Knowle {Ent. Ma. Ma;)., 1890, p. 37), Mr. Day has recorded it from Cumberland (Ent. Mo. Man., 1902, p. 268), Mr. Champion from Guildford {Ent. Mn. Ma;/., 1903', p. 279), and Dr. Joy from Bradfield {Ent. Mo. Ma;/., 1904, p. 40). I have a specimen which I took at West Mailing, in Kent, on a dead hedgehog, in September, 1893, and now record for the first time. — Horace Donis- THORPE, 58, Kensington Mansions, S.W. A/iril 24th, 1904. Peritelus griseus, Ol., in Surrey. — I took a specimen of this very rare beetle at Purley, in 1888. At the time I did not know what it was, and it stood in my collection for some years as Tropipliont.s iiu;rci(Halis, until I took it to the Museum and identified it as Peritelus linaeiis. It has only been recorded from the Isle of Wight before in Britain, where it was said to have been taken by Sidebotham and Wainwright at Ventnor and Sandown. — Ibid. Experimental proof as to the distastefulness, or otherwise, OF certain Coleoptera. — In my paper on " Cases of Protective Resemblance, Mimicry, etc., in the British Coleoptera " {2'rans. Ent. Sor. Lond., 1901, Part III.), I write of Meloe, " These beetles are called oil beetles, because of the yellow fluid which exudes from their limbs when handled, and which no doubt possesses distasteful properties. They are large, heavy creatures, and crawl about regardless of danger. Their colours are doubtless aposematic." Having captured Meloe riolaceiis in some numbers this month, at Richmond, I took specimens to the Zoological Gardens on April 27th, to otter to insectivorous creatures. I first dropped a specimen into a cage which contained two lizards, when an Australian lizard at once seized the beetle by the body but quickly rejected it. He again attacked it, this time at the head but promptly let go. Froth was seen round his mouth and he wiped it many times on the pebbles which formed the ground of the cage. All the time the beetle " feigned death," exuding the oil from its joints. The keeper thought the lizard had killed it, but this was not the case, as before I left the gardens I went to have another look at it, and the beetle was crawling unhurt up the side of the cage. The keeper told me the green lizard had also attacked it twice, but neither would have anything more to do with it. A specimen thrown into the aviary which contained a plover and other birds, was unhurt, and escaped, as the other birds would not go near it. A missel-thrush- pecked the beetle several times, but eventually rejected it and would not touch it again. Two marmosets were afraid of the beetles and would not touch them, but a Capuchin monkey seized one greedily and endeavoured to eat it, throwing it down, however, in evident disgust. A grand Galago also seized a beetle, and made several attempts to eat it, looking in evident surprise at his keeper for giving him so nasty a morsel, he also threw it down and would not touch it again. I put two specimens into my observation nest of Eormira neniiestex iiiKiiuiis last year, which beetle I had taken in some numbers in Pamber Forest. In the paper befoi'e referred to, I COLKOPTEKA. 151 said of this beetle, that it was just one of those cases where experi- ment is required, to prove its edibility or otherwise. In these experiments the beetle was eaten readily by birds, lizards, monkeys, etc., in fact by everything it was offered to, and so proved to be undoubtedly edible. — Ibid. Stereocorynes truncorum. Germ., at Cobham Park, Kent. — Among a few unexamined insects left over from my 1902 captures, a specimen of this rare beetle has turned up. I can find no record of its appearance within recent years, and, therefore, think it well to notify my capture in the Knt. Record. Moreover, as the insect, according to Canon Fowler, appears to have hitherto only occurred in Epping Forest, and its presence in Kent is not noted on the Victorian County History it forms an addition to the fauna of the county as well as to Mr. J. .7. Walker's list of the coleoptera of Cobham Park. — E. C. Redwell, " Elmlea," Cleved m Road, Norbiton. Immi«ration Fi.iGHT OF Aphodius inquinatus. — In strolling along the shore between Birkdale and Ainsdale on the afternoon of April 16th, I came across Aphoditist in(iuinatm, Fab., in great numbers flying in from seawards. They gradually became less numerous as I progressed southwards, and after I had gone about five hundred yards further scarcely any were to be seen. Continuing my walk, I was surprised to meet with a still larger swarm, the insects being, however, rather more dispersed, and extending for a distance of over half a mile, stragglers being encountered, in fact, all the way to Seaside Railway Station, a quarter of a mile further still. The direction of the flight of both swarms was from the northwest, the wind at the time being light and almost due west. The main meteorological disturbance which had lain over the Atlantic earlier in the week had nearly filled up, but the fitful occurrence of shallow secondaries had imparted somewhat local and "patchy" conditions to the type of weather experienced over the western portions of England and Wales, at Birkdale, on the date in question, the general conditions being weak, both local and diurnal variations were traceable. Detached, but heavy clouds, which formed a distinctive feature of the morning, speedily cleared about eleven o'clock after slight precipitation caused by the flow of the spring tide, which reached its maximum at 11.33. A steady and rather cold wind from the southwest gradually veered during the day, moderating considerably towards the later afternoon, when the sun became scorching. I at first thought that both the columns of insects belonged to the same general flight, but found on closer observation that, in spite of their common direction, they almost certainly constituted two distinct swarms. In the first and narrower column the insects were flying low down and closer together, more especially along its northern border. Many alighted on the wet sand immediately on reaching land, others higher up on the shore or on the adjacent sandhills, and but few appeared to pass far inland. In the second and broader column the insects were more scattered, and flew at a greater elevation, scarcely any settling on the shore and few alighting on the bordering dunes, the vast majority passing over the railway and away landwards. On returning to the scene of the first swarm, after about an hour and a quarter's absence, I found very few chafers on the wing, and I think the njajority of these were msects which, having first rested on the wet sands further out, were now 152 THK kntomolo(jiht's kk<;okii. seeking higher ground. In the broader column I saw insects after settling on the sandhills, again take wing and join the main body moving inland, but none of the insects composing this swarm seemed to continue their flight, many, indeed, appearing content to remain on their backs as they fell. lender these circumstances I should have expected on my return to find more insects on the ground instead of less, and I think they must have burrowed in the sand. I, however, only saw one doing so, nor did the scraping away of sand in several places serve to disclose more than one other. As A. iu(iidnati<>i has been common in the neighbourhood this spring, it might be supposed that the insects had flown out from this coast earlier in the day, but the overcast sky, and the direction and steady increase in force, caused by the incoming tide, of the prevailing cold wind during the morning, would be opposed to that theory. Despite the parallel direction of their flight I am of opinion that there was a considerable difterence in the distance which had been covered by the two columns. In the first and narrower one the insects appeared fatigued, in the second they were comparatively fresh. Whence came then these doughty immigrants ? The direction of their flight would point to the Isle of Man as their starting place ; the direction of the wind would favour the Wirral or north Welsh coast. Dr. J. Harold Bailey writes me he has not so far observed the species in the island, and suggests they may have hailed from the north of Ireland. Should any have so crossed it would probably be the insects composing the narrower column as their flight from so great a distance, and across the wind, would account for their exhausted condition. The second swarm may have come from the dunes of Cheshire or north Wales, whence, having flown out to sea, with the wind earlier in the d R A C T I C A L HINTS. Field work for May and early June. By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 1. — The ova of Pctasia nubertdosa hatch from the beginning to the middle of May in normal seasons, and the young larvf^e will feed on birch or oak (preferring birch). 2. — In late May the young larv* of PetaHia ni(heridom are to be found on birch eating small holes quite through the leaves, and spin- ning a few silken threads in order to ensure a safer foothold. 3. — The larvte of Lithosia caniola are fullfed in May and June, and in confinement will eat clover (Buckler). 4. — The larva? of Litluma inmcerda are fullfed in May and June, and, in the Norfolk fens, the species attects the sallow bushes growing in the wettest parts of the fens, the larvfe most probably feeding on the lichens growing on these bushes throughout the autumn and winter from August to May. 5. — In May the fullfed larvfe of Setina irrorella are to be found feeding on a blackish-brown lichen growing on stones above high-water mark, and, in some cases, mixed with a yellow lichen. 6. — Larvte of CyboKia viesoturlla may be obtained in May on the trunks of oaktrees feeding on a pale lichen intermixed with the moss. 7. — The larvae of .F^r/eria clmjxidifdriiiis are to be found in May and June feeding in the thickest portion of the roots of Piunx'iv acetosa, ejecting heaps of brown frass at both ends of its mine, and spinning a tough brown silken covering over any part of the side which has been eaten quite through, so that an affected stem is easily detected. * " Practical Hints for the Field Lepidopterist," Pts. I and II each contains some 1250 practical hints similar to these, but relating largely to the Macro- lepidoptera. Interleaved tor collector's own notes. Price 6s, each part. 154 THE ENTOMOLO(iIST's RECORD. 8. — The full-grown larvae and pupfe of j^Jf/eria cj/nipifonins are best collected in late May and early June, the imagines appearing towards the end of the latter month and on into July. Care must be taken not to interfere with the pupse when they emerge from their cocoons, which they do some little time before the imagines appear. 9. — The pupa of .¥jieria tipuUforme is to be found in a gallery in the stems of currant bushes (pruned preferably) the thinnest possible layer of rind alone being left to separate it from the outside : in the gallery it spins a slight silken cocoon, woven with the sawdust-like frass. 10. — The earliest hatched larvse (May and early June) of Staiimpus faiii, frequently feed up rapidly, and produce pup;e and imagines in August. The extent of this partial second-brood depends much on the season. 11. — At the end of May and early in June, the fullfed larva^ of tiepialna hectus spin near the plants of Ptrris aquilina on which they feed, an oblong cocoon, covered with soil, on the surface of the earth under moss or among dried leaves, in which to pupate; the pupal stage rarely lasts more than a fortnight. 12. — The so-called Antlirocera filii>en(l idae c&Y>t\n'ed in late May and early June, with a tiny sixth spot (in male) should be put aside for examination as probable Anthrocera stepheim {hijjporri'pidh, St.). 13. — Full-grown larvae of Anthrocera trifolii are to be found in May ; they pupate low down near the ground, and are largely restricted to dry situations, the imagines emerging in early June (or even in late May in very early seasons). 14. — The larvae, pupte and imagines of Adscita (lenjon are some- times, in favourable seasons, very forward in their transformations. On May 18th, 1864, larva^, pupae and imagines were taken at the same time (Horton). 15. — The larva of Adscita neri/ou spins its tough little web-like cocoon in May or June, low down among the stems of HelianthctiiiDii vultjare ; the imago emerges in June or July. 16. — The larva of Piirariwatoecia arimdinis lives for two years as an internal feeder in the lower part of the stems of Armido phraf/ mites, i.e., underground, but comes up in May and June when the pupation- period is approaching. 17. — During May the larva? of Phianinatnecia arnndinis are of various sizes, but many quite full-grown. These pupate within the stems of the Arundo phraifwiten in Jiine, the imagines emerging in July. 18. — The young larvfe of Ceniro vinida are easily found on poplar and willow in May and early June, although their peculiar dark color- ation when young makes them very similar to the black curled edges so frequently seen in spring on quite young poplar leaves. 19. — The larv* of fji/dioptery.v rarmelita feed up very rapidly in May and June, only about four weeks elapsing from the time the eggs hatch until the larva- commence to spin, 20. — The eggs of Ajirotis cinerea laid at the end of May or in early June, hatch in about twelve days ; the young larvae should be fed on wild thyme (not on grasses), of which at first they gnaw the under- surface of the leaves. The larva- are almost fullfed by the time they are ready to hybernate in October. 21. — The larvae olAlucita pentadartyla re-comuience feeding in April, SCIENTIFIC NOTRS. 1-55 by the 15th are about iin. long, but by mid-May aie practically fuUfed. They are to be found on ('onvulri(li(s (Porritt). 22. — ^The larvte of Aciptilia tetradacti/la are to be found from mid- April to mid-June on wild thyme. They are difficult to detect and readily drop (Bankes). 23. — The larvje of Aciiitilia baliudavtyla are to be found at the end of May on the top shoots of marjoram, i}ri(ianum cidgare : they bite practically through the stems near the tops of the plant, causing them to hang down and wither, which is the sign betraying the presence of the larvae ; they eat large holes through the leaves as well as portions out from the edges (Grigg). 24. — The larval' of Aciptilia sjiilodactifla are to be found feeding on Marruhium nd'/are in late May and June ; they are to be found again in late August and September, a second brood of imagines occurring again in late September and early October (liuckler). 25. — The larva? of LeiuptilHn tephradavtylxs are to be found through- out May feeding exposed on the leaves of golden-rod, the pupa being attached by the anal segment to a stem or leaf of the foodplant (Porritt). 26. — The larvae of Miinafseoptilus fuscns are to be found during May and the first half of June feeding on speedwell in more or less exposed situations —banks, etc. (Porritt). They are generally found half-hidden among the flower- buds. 27. — The larviB of Miinaeseoptiliis bipiinctidactyla are to be found in mid-May working up inside the young shoots of Svabiosa roluoibaria, S.arroisisiind S.sHccixa : the infested portions of the plants are concealed by the healthy shoots, and the whereabouts of the larva are not to be discovered without difficulty (Barrett). 28. — The larv* of Maranmarr/ia phaeodacti/la aive to be found readily by searching plants of restharrow {Ononis) at the end of May and throughout the first half of June ; they are moderately exposed, and mostly towards the upper parts of the plants. 29. — Thelarvseof O.vyptilus hcterndacti/la are to be found on Teuiriuin scartHlonia during May ; they eat the stem about half-way through about liin. from the bottom of a shoot, causing the part of the plant above to bend down, and soon this withered portion on which the larva feeds is overtopped by the neighbouring plants (Greening). 80. — In the second week of May the larvae of Platyptilia isndactyla are to be found in marshy places mining the stems of Seneciu aquatirus, feeding in the thick main stem of the plant, in which each hollows out a space in which to assume the pupal state (Barrett). 31. — In the first fortnight of June the larva? of Platyptilia ochro- dactyla are to be found in various stages of growth mining in the stems of fanacetiim ndyarc, the mouth of the mine being generally between the axil of a leaf and the stem, with a few silk threads spun from one to the other, among which the blackish frass gets entangled and becomes conspicuous (Buckler). SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. HoMEYDEw. — An excellent paper- on the " Aleyrodids of California," by Miss Florence E. Bemis, will be of great value to all students * Procccdinf/s of the United Statea Nat. Miiseuiii, xxvii., pp. 471-507, pi xxvii.-xxxvii. 1904. 156 THE enI'omoi^tist's record. of this interesting order, whilst one paragraph at least will prove interesting to the collecting entomologist in general. Writing of the " pup* " of the group the authoress saj^s : " All the pupae secrete ' honeydew,' sometimes in such quantities that the leaf around the case and the dorsum of the pupa is covered with it. In some species there are seen minute, blunt tubes on the apex of the lingula, through which the fluid may be excreted (fig. 47, pi. xxxiii.). When the ' honeydew ' is emitted, the operculum is lifted, the lingula is pro- truded, dorsally recurved, and the drop thrown with considerable force (fig. 46, pi. xxxiii.). The liquid is sweet, and when exposed to the air it becomes thick and finally hardens. The frequent appearance of fungus in and about the cases is probably inducecl by the presence of this medium, as it is in the ( (iccidac On (^'/lainacdnrca sp., an intro- duced plant from Mexico, which was kept in the Golden Gate Park Conservatory, San Francisco, the author saw many large, black ants busily engaged in gathering ' honeydew,' acting as ants do with Aphids."— J. W. TuTT. Erroneous and faulty figures of Plumes and their larvae. — One is often in doubt whether, if one cannot equal what was done a century or half-century ago, it is fair to inflict inferior work on present- day scientists. The thought has just been called up by a glance through plates 413-416 of Barrett's Lepidoptera of the British Islands, published December, 1903 (in which a part of the plumes are figured), as they lie side by side with plates 1-7 of Herrich-Schafi'er's Schmetter- limie von Enropa, published in 1855, on a table at the South Kensington Museum. The latter are, in many instances, among the finest figures of the plumes ever drawn ; the former can only be compared with the poorest of those in Wood's Inile.v Kntoiiioloi/icus, to some of which it is next to impossible to attach even the name. Among the most remarkable in J^arrett's work are pi. 416, tigs. '6-Ha, called lithndact>/liis 3 and $ ; fig. 5, called lif'ni;)ianiis: tig. 6, called tephradactijln^, and fig. 1, called zophodacti/liis : pi. 415, figs. 5, oa. 5b, veievred to hi punrti- ilacti/la : pi. 414, fig. 7, called distans g , etc. A comparison of Herrich-Schiiffer's Oxyptilids, pi. iii., with Barrett's Oxyptilids on pi. 414 and pi. 415, his Stenoptilias, pi. iv., with those on the latter's pi. 416, says little for our modern methods, either in execution or produc- tion. Buckler's Larvae, ix., pi. clxiii.-clxiv., also lies here with them, and one observes that the transference of the larvs from the plates of the latter author to Barrett's work has proved a total failure ; how great can readily be seen in the larva of bijiinutidacti/la, pi. 315, fig. oc, in which the reddish longitudinal marks of Buckler, pi. 163, fig. 9h, are converted into reddish intersegmental transverse rings, and the ground colour is changed from green to yellow. Buckler's larva of teucrii, pi. 163, fig. 7, is a marvellous failure with its fine green hair-tufts, but the copy in IJarrett, pi. 135, fig. 'Sb, with the hairs green and black and the change in the ground colour, is even more remarkable. We may say that this larva has in nature raised warts with beautiful white hairs that can be only compared with spun glass or silvery filigree -work. Nearly all Buckler's figures of plume larvae are completely erroneous in their detail ; great complicated warts are converted into single hairs, arising anywhere and everywhere on the segments, and the colour of these hairs, usually white in nature, is almost always green or black in I)Uckler's figures, and one can only ask what scientific purpose is served by recopying badly these erroneous figures. In NOTES ON COLLK('TlN(i. 157 Barrett's work the figure of lu')ii(jianm, pi. 416, tig. 6«, is perhaps the worst where nearly all are bad. Why, too, have the Amblyptiliid imagines not got the tooth on the inner margin of the forewing ? The figures 4 and 5 of pi. 414 have the wing outline of Platyptiliids, but the markings of Amblyptiliids. Of course, no blame attaches to the author of the letterpress, who knows the insects in nature, for these remarkable drawings, except so far as he should guide his artist and colour-printer with his knowledge. Mr. Barrett, of course, knows his larvae, but so we might have thought did Buckler ; still, he leaves out the warts, and gives most of them green or black hairs, placing them often where no hairs of any kind are present in the actual larva. — J. W. TuTT. April SOth, 1904. IS^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. SpRiN(i LEPiDOPTERA AT AioLE. — I have already opened the ball here with a few ordinary species, I'ieris rapae, mostly of the ab. iiiinuu'tdata, being not uncommon, and yesterdaj'^ I took a ? Hue/due cardainines with orange in the apical cells of the forewings, which are usually whitish. The Leptidia sinapis are very typical. This afternoon I went up the Sepey Road and had three Papilio pudalirius under my net at once, although two very cleverly got from under it. There was nothing very special fiying, Papilio inachaon, P. podali rills, PnUpionia i-albii)n, Aijlais urticae, Vanessa io, Kuvanessa antiopa, Eiigonia pnlychloros, Pyrameis atalanta, Pararye metjaera, Noiniades cyllaria^, Cyaniris aryioliis, (_'all(jplirys riibi, NciiicdbiKs lucina, Brenthis dia, Issoria latlwnia, Pieris rapae, P. )uipi, Leptidia sinapis, (jroneptery.r rhamni, in quantity, Nisoniades tayes and Syrieht/ms nialvae, appear to be the species seen. Of G. rhamni I saw some 30 or 40 on one day, but this and the other hybernated species are only fit for breeding-purposes. I saw a ? /-". c-albmn lay an egg on the 20th inst. on hopbine. There is already any quantity of larv* of Aylais urticae in their first stadia, and, speaking generally, one sur- mises there will be an abnormal number of Vanessids here this year. Vegetation is exceedingly forward. We had the thermometer at from .S0°-70'F. for some days, but during the heat it blew a hurricane, and all the specimens that emerged were soon blown to ribands ; now, however, for the last few days we have had copious rains, and if the heat comes on again we shall be very busy. — Gr. 0. Hloper, F.E.8., Hotel Beau Site, Aigie. April 21st, 1904. Early lepidopterological notes. — I was very surprised to find so little moving during Easter week (April 2nd to 9th) in the Torquay district. In the sheltered grounds at Cockington were huge bushes of rhododendrons in full bloom, and there were others in some of the gardens on the outskirts of Paignton, but nothing lepidopterological seemed to be on the move during the daytime. The first Pieris rapae of the year was seen between Paignton and Torquay on April 6th, a lovely summery day, whilst at Dartmouth, on the 7th, one of the lanes just outside the town provided a fair supply of larva? of Callimorpha dominula, apparently in their penultimate skins, mostly basking on leaves of comfrey, although many were to be obtained by turning the plants back and carefully searching the ground afterwards, for they drop very readily when disturbed. Compared with three that have loH THE entomologist's RECORD. been carefully nursed through the winter, and that hatched from eggs laid by a $ captured between Useigne and Evolene in the Val d'Herens, one observes scarcely any difi'erence in size, although one might have expected the Swiss larvte to have been a little behind, the parents not having been taken till well towards the end of July ; the Swiss ones are, however, perhaps, a little darker. These larvfe have kept on the move very nearly all the winter, and only for a few weeks at the end of December and in January were they really quite still. The Dartmouth larvfe began to spin up on May 2nd. A few common Noctuid larvae were noted, but no micro-larvae worth collecting were met with. On the Hth, another lovely day. several I'ierh rapac were observed between Torquay and Babbicombe, whilst Af/lais iirticae was busy sunning on the flowers both at Torquay and IJabbicombe. With the exception of a moth on the wing, crossmg the road between Torquay and Paignton on the 6th, and which I believe must have been Brephos parthenias, and one or two, apparently Tacniocainpa (jothica, on the lamps, none of which were get-at-able, nothing else was observed during my stay. Searching for small larv* was quite time wasted. The first Pieris rapac noted in the southeast London district, was observed on April 25th, at Westcombe Park.— J. W. Tutt. Man 3'v/, 1904. BiSTON HiRTARiA IN SOUTH-EAST LoNDON. — Comiuon as I have seen the imagines of lliston kirtana in the Lewisham and Lee districts on the trunks of lime-trees, it was a new experience to me to see the <, close to the old rootstock. Still, it is not at all certain that this is so. Between April 10th and 14th I visited three localities where the species is common, but, altnough the leaves of the foodplant were up, and in some cases fairly grown, I could find no traces of larva>, sunning or feeding openly, of any kind. Agdistis bennetii : The autumnal larv* of ^//f//s^/.si^»»*'^// are read- ily found on the old dried stems, etc., of Statice, until the weather becomes too bad to search for them on their marshy habitat, i.t>., about mid- November; at this time they are exactly of the colour of the dried stems and seedheads, and the larva^ appeared to eat little or anything for at least a month prior to this date. On April 12th a search for lai vae proved unsuccessful ; every leaf of the foodplant was dry, brown, and as thin as a piece of tissue paper, with no sign of young growth, and although I beat and looked over a quantity of old flowering-stalks and seedheads I did not find a single larva. A single larva was, however, found a week later, and was then well grown, the vegetation, due to the hot weather, having come on by leaps and bounds. — J. Ovenden, Frinds- bury Road, Strood, Kent. April oth, 1904. Appearance of spring lepidoptera. — The first example of Aniaop- tetyx a CSC I da via observed this year in this district was noticed on April 4th on palings ; the season seems to be at least a month late, owing to the low temperature. On the evening of April 14th I went to Chattenden to work the sallows, but the results were most unsatis- factory, the only insects I took being Anticlca Uidiata, commonly, 160 THK KiNTOMOLOGIST's RKC0R1>. Taenioccniijia (jotlnca, T. /lulrcriih'nta, fairly abundant, and PacJinubin nibricnsa (two). I also took a few larvie, among others a small larva of Eutricha qnercifolia, but what astonished me most was the entire absence of Triphaena nmbria larvsp, of which, at this time last year we took several dozens. — Ibid. Lepidoptera at Southend. — tUibeniia rupicapraria was first seen here on February 1st, and on the 21st several larvae of Porthesia mnilis were found in their siken hybernacula tucked away in crevices of oak-bark, w^hilst the first Hybirnia nian/inajia was observed on the same day ; an example of the latter species, however, emerged in one of my breeding-pots on April 12th. Four examples of Pi'tama imhecidnaa emerged on April lst-2nd from puptt obtained from Rannoch larvfe in 1902. Auipliiiliti^iiii strataria emerged here on the 9th, and Eriocrania unhiiaculella was taken in lovely condition on the 10th. — F. G. Whittle, 8, Marine Avenue. Southend. April IHth, 1904. Lepidoptera at Lyndhurst. — The only real observation of importance made so far seems to be the extreme lateness of the season. I spent Easter (April 1st) onwards at Lyndhurst, but only captured the common Taeniocampids, r/:., 'raeniocainpa ifot/iira, T. pnlvf'ruloita, T. stabilin, in addition to a female Xijlena socia. Two examples of Panolu pirn per da were knocked out on April 6th whilst beating for larvae of Thera variata, and now AniHoptenjx (ifsi-iilaria and FJiipithi'ria piom'lata are just putting in an appearance. — R. B. Robertson, Forest View, Southborne Road, Boscombe. AprU 8th, 1904. Ten days at Hyeres (March 20tb-;-iOth, 1904).— The winter here, as in England and everywhere else I hear of, had been dull and damp and chilly, and now the season is certainly very late, the last ten days, corresponding perhaps to about the first ten days of March in an average season at Cannes, though, curiously, some things are earlier whilst the mass are late. March 28th marks the first Cist us in flower, the first Jiisnitello in blossom, and one odd luirhlo'e fiiphennides seen and taken. The ten days have had only one warm, four windy and two wet. The larvfe of Cliaro.rcs jasiiis are rather scarce, possibly due to the bad winter, but more probably to over-collecting. At present there are at Hyeres a good many butterfly people, and of these six at least have larviP of C. jai^iKs. With two friends I joined in a search for larvfe on the 28th, we picked up about 14 ; 1 heard of two persons going over the same ground next day, they found only one. Mine were handed over to another member of the party, but even so, I do not feel quite clear that I am not in some degree guilty of the overeollection referred to. ( '. jasius would certainly be extirpated very shortly, were it not that it had a summer brood, in which its efforts to increase are no doubt much less interfered with. Of those taken very few were in the last skin, illustrating the lateness of the season. Thestor ballits is certainly well harried, but from the extended nature of its habitat, is probably in less danger than < '. jasius. An odd specimen was seen on the 21st, two were taken on the 23rd, on the 29th it was very fully out, but not perhaps completely so, females being comparatively rare, and all, or nearly all. in first-rate condition. On the same date five specimens of 'Hun's int'drsirastc were taken. On the 21st the first T. pohj.rrna var. rassaiidra was taken, and three have since appeared, but only one per diem, they are line and fresh. Pohfoinniatiis baton is not CURRENT NOTES. 161 yet fully out, though the first was seen on the 20th, and one Xninlades uuiano/is was taken on the 29th. .V. ci/llarKs has not yet been seen. (iintfptrri/.r cleojiatra, i'icris ilajdi'lice and AuthocJuiris bcUa have been seen all the time in an abundance, fairly corresponding with the pro- pitiousness of the weather. An Kriocvauia, probably siibpio-piirdla, was taken freely round a woolly-leaved oak on the 28th, and a fine OjihiKsa liinaris on the 29th, when also a dark (for Riviera) I'ltnvitnatobia fidiijinom was taken. Kunmexm antiopa, F.iKionia poh/c/doros, Vanema iu, etc., frequently appear, and males of Satiirnia pavonia [carpini) are plentiful on the wing, but only one captured. Paran/t' egeria is rather over, and P. meiicwra just fully out. Several ('yaniru art/ioliis in fine condition have been seen, and Fapilio macluum and P. poilaliriiis are quite fresh. Notes on collecting at Hyeres without any reference to Mr. Powell and his work amongst butterfly larvae would be verj' defective. I had the pleasure of taking a stroll with him with lanterns tind seeing larvte of Mfkoiarijia si/lluis, Kpiiu'phele pa^iipliat', Sati/riis /iryiiiiinif, and others an natnrel. We were especially lucky in finding three larvfe of J/, si/lliiif: of the green form, which is so rare that, though Mr Powell had heard of it, he had never seen it before ; larv« of Aretia piidica and of various Noctuids were also frequent. A search by day for larvte of MeUtaea ilciimc was unfortunately not successful, but those of M. aiirinia var. prorincialls, and of M. rin.ria were seen in some numbers. Perhaps the most satisfactory discovery here is that of Lozopera deaurana. Four specimens have already emerged, so that there can be no doubt about the species. This is very pleasing, since there seemed considerable danger that it would shortly be exterminated, not by entomologists but, by hoiasewives in search of fuel in its hitherto only known locality (see Knt. Mo. Mckj.). I am much interested in the Tortricid in the asphodel here, which {Tortrix Injerana) with its foodplant, is so close to, and yet so different from, the Tortrix mucohirana in the asphodel in the Esterel. Another old Cannes friend, Hi/potia corticalis, seems to be very common here, its foodplant being much more abundant than at Cannes, and much more freely inhabited. Xola rhlaiiiydulalis, Tortrix pronubana, various Geometrids, larva- and imagines of Spilotlu/rKs cdthaeae, etc., make up abundant material of interest, notwithstanding the ungenial conditions of the weather. — T. A. Chapman, M.D., Hyeres. March dOth, 1904. mii RRENT NOTES. At the meeting of the Entomological Society of London, held on March 16th, 1904, Mr. J. E. Collin exhibited (1) P/iora forrnirarKni Verr., which is parasitic on the ant Lafiiiis ni;/er, obtained by sweeping the herbage in a paddock at Newmarket. In his book. Ants, Bees, and Wasps, Lord Avebury said of this species, "If the nest of the brown ants be disturbed at any time during the summer, some small flies may probably be seen hovering over the nest, and every now and then making a dash at some particular ant. These flies belong to the genus Phora, and to a species hitherto unnamed, which Mr. Verrall has been good enough to describe for me (see Appendix). They lay their eggs on the ants, inside which the larvje lives. Other species of the genus are in the same way parasitic on bees." Prof. Westwood, as long ago. 162 THK EXTOJIOLOGIST's RECORD. as ISJO (Intrn. Moil. ( '(assi/icatimi Ins.), recorded having '• repeatedly observed, on disturbing the nest of the common brown garden ant, a very minute species of Phnni hovering over and Hying upon the ants.'" This species has not been found or recognised by Continental dip- terologists. (2) Phnra sp., found in a garden at Newmarket, running about at the entrance (which looked like that of a mouse's hole) to the nest of a species of JJoiiibiis. Specimens received from Dr. Sharp, labelled " from Jio)nbus nest," are also of the same species. It is evident that its life-history is in some way connected with that of the Bninhus, but, because of the different shape and form of the female ovipositor, it is probably not parasitic on the bee like P. form tea niiii is on the ant, but acts as a scavenger, by living on the dead pup* in the nest. At the same meeting Dr. F. A. Dixeyexhibited a remarkable pale form of Maiiii'ntra hraasicar, taken by Dr. G. B. Longstaff' and himself at Mortehoe, North Devon, on July 16th, 1903. The specimen showed the usual markings of the species on a cream-coloured ground, faintly shot with pinkish or apricot. There was a slight smoky shade over the central area of the forewing, the hindwings were yellowish-grey, the thorax yellowish-brown, the abdomen apricot-coloured with a dorsal chain of dark tufts. Sir George Hampson had examined it, and pointed out that it was provided with the spur on the anterior tibia, which is characteristic of .1/. hraxsirai' among the allied European species. It is now a long time since Mr. J. Hartley Durrant published the preliminary work on which a decent list of the lepidoptera of Hertford could easily be constructed, and we understand that the Hertfordshire Natural History Society is, under the guidance of Mr. A. E. Gibbs, continuing the work begun so well and so long ago. There are sufficient lepidopterists in the county for the compilation of a really first-class list, and there are many county lists, those of Yorkshire (Por- ritt), Northumberland and ])urham (Robson), Cheshire, etc. (Day). Lan- cashire (Ellis), which might well serve as models on which it might be based. We still await the list for Cumberland and Westmoreland that the Carlisle Entomological Society was to have taken in hand, the War- wickshire list from the Birmingham Entomological Society, the Gla- morgan list from the Penarth Society, and many others. A natural history society, a good working secretary, who has the confidence of the entomologists of his county, an annotated list from each town in w^hicli is a working lepidopterist. a good referee to deal with doubtful species, and ji society that will finance an undertaking that need not, after all, be very expensive, are all that is necessary to secure a really first-class county list anywhere. There are times when we would give almost anything for a good county list of the le])idoptera of Cornwall, Devon, Hants, Berks, ^^'ol■cester, Lincoln, etc. There are surely enough county societies to take the work in hand. Of course, most of the Victorian county lists are practically w'orthless for entomological work. One wonders what some of them have been printed for, since the details that go to make such a list valuable are often entirely wanting. We should be exceedingly thankful for oval, larval and pupal material relating to any of the British Hepialids, Zeuzerids, Cossids. Nolids, Liparids or Notodonlids (as well as Plumes). Will any gentleman rearing any species belonging to these superfamilies please send us notes on (1) exact date of hatching of eggs, (2) CCRKENT NOTES. 163 exact dates of each larval moult, (3) exact account of the difference in the larval appearance following each moult, (-4) date of spinning cocoon, (5) actual date of pupation ? Any information on above lines will be useful. Eggs, larvje and pupye, including the commonest species, are w'anted for description. The Council of the Entomological Society is to be congratulated on the index to the Transactions for 1903, and we have at last a specific index that looks usable. Whilst the consideration of genera is on the board, and changes are necessarily of frequent occurrence, a specific index is the only practicable one if it is to be of the maximum of use to the worker. We have received the Tn-i'uti/-si'r<'nth Amnud lUiiort and I'rdcccd- iiu/s III' till' Lancashire andCheshirc Kntninolofiical iSnciety (IdO'd), und find it full of interesting matter. We are pleased to see that Mr. Capper still retains the Presidency, and there can be no doubt that,, under its active Secretaries, new life has been of late infused into the proceedings. The style of the reports of the meetings is this year based on that of those of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society, and make excellent reading. The address of the Vice-President, Mr. W. Webster, ^I.R.S.x\.l., entitled " The Entomologist before the law," is an excellent resume of the position of entomologists with regard to trespassing, rights of way, the introduction of noxious insects, and other interesting details, and should be carefully perused by all field- workers. Two other papers, " Specific differences in Lithosiid*," etc., by Mr. F. N. Pierce, F.E.S., and " Some notes on Entomological Antiquities and folk-lore of insects and other creeping things," also by Mr. Webster, are reprints, having already been published elsewhere, and are not continuously paged with the rest of the Report. Both papers will, however, prove quite interesting to entomologists who have not yet seen them. The price is only Is., and can be obtained from Mr. E. J. Burgess-Sopp, 104, Liverpool Koad, Birkdale. The excellent account of The lit'c-liistori/ and habits of the im/iortcd Urown-tail moth {Kaproctis chri/s)W(lartt/la, Oxtj])tilt(s lietcrodactyla, Mhnaescojitihis fascHS, Leiuptiliix lienifiifmiis, Aciptilia tetradactyla. A. baliodacti/lu, A. f/alactodacti/la, and A. /loitadarti/la. We shall also require pupne of all these, as we are permanently preserving a good deal of the larval material for reference and illustration. Larvae of any species not mentioned above will be gratefully acknowledged. Criti- cal species particularly wanted are — Platyptilia isodactyla, I', nc/ini- darti/la and P. hertrauii, Oji/ptiliis dintann and O. pam'darti/lo, Miiiia- ('sc(i/itilt(s bipiiHctidartj/la [jdayioilactyla) and .1/. lo/diodactyla, I'tcio- jdtonis tiionodacti/la. Lciojitilus te/diradactyla and />. dfitcodacti/la, and AcijitiUa paluduiii. The early stages give fundamental classificatory characters, which will prevent the lumping of phcwodacUjla and iiiirrodaetyla (see Marasiuarclia, Meyrick, Handbook, p. 48H), of oxteo- dactyla, tepliyadactyla, licnyianiis, unoiodactyla, and lithodactyla (see Alitcita, op. cit., pp. 488-9), etc. Will those gentlemen who are so kindly helping us please pot up a plant of the different foodplants now on which to enclose imagines later in the season, so as to get eggs, and from these larvae in their 1st instars? In the Knt. Zeits. (inben is a description of a new aberration of I'haretra )iienyantliidis, named ab. sarton'i, Hockemeyer, its peculiar character being the dark coloration of the basal area. The specimens were bred in quite the normal way by Sartorius, at Hamburg. What has happened to the Froceedinys of the South London Knto- inoloyical Sorirty and the Tianmctions of the City of London F^ntmiio- loyical Society for 1908 '? It is a great pity these cannot he brought out quite early in the year, and without unnecessary delay. ;i^OOK NOTICE. Practical Hints for the Field Lepidoptehist. — Part III and [Specific Index to Parts I, II and III. — This will be put in hand as soon as 120 guarantors (at 4s. 6d. each) are forthcoming. The fol- loAving names have been received up to the present : Miss Alderson. Rev. F. E. Lowe, Rev. W. W. Flemyng, Capt. E. W. Brown, Dr. J. N. Keynes, Messrs. A. Bacot, E. R. Bankes, P. J. Barraud, C. W. Col- thrup, J. W. Corder, E. Crisp, G. Fleming, J. E. Gardner, G. C. Griffiths, A. Harrison, O. Harrison, H. Main, J. F. Musham, -T. Ovenden, V. E. Shaw, A. 8ich (2), F. Wallace, C. J. Watkins. Vol. XVI. Pi. VIII. Pekidkoma \psilon (suffu.sa). The Kntom. Record, etc., 1904. PROGRESSIVE MELANISM IN LEPIDOPTERA. ] G5 Progressive Melanism In Lepldoptera. The attention of working lepidopterists is called to the collective inquiry into progressive melanism, which has been set on fooc by the Evolution Committee of the Royal Society. This inquiry was begun in 1901, and, in response to the circular then issued, a good deal of information was sent by collectors in various parts of England, to- gether with a few returns from continental entomologists, some of exceptional value. To assist in the maintenance of systematic records a coloured plate has now been prepared, showing the most characteristic varieties of the melanistic s^Decies. A copy of this plate, with forms for recording, has been sent to a large number of those who might be interested in the subject of the inquiry. Anyone who has not received these circulars and would wish to see them is requested to communicate with W. Bateson, Grantchester, Cambridge. As an investigation of this kind is one in which the help of local organisations for the promotion of the study of natural history may be of the highest value, the circular and the coloured plate have been sent as far as possible to the secretaries of all natural history societies and field clubs which were believed to have entomological members. To students of evolution the subject is one of exceptional import- ance. It is well known to collectors that, within the last 50 years, melanism has rapidly progressed in the case of some thirty species, and that the change is steadily going on. It is certain both that within the last decade many new species have become affected, and that the distribution of the melanic varieties formerly known has extended to districts where no such varieties formerly occurred. The melanics, therefore, provide an unparalleled opportunity of watching an evolu- tionary change proceeding at a sensible rate under our very eyes. It is obvious that a record of the steps by which such a significant change is being accomplished will give evidence of great weight in any attempt to ascertain the nature of evolutionary processes in general. Collectors are, therefore, urged to miss no opportunity of noting the first appearance of melanism in their districts, and, as far as possible, to ascertain the proportions of melanic to non-melanic indi- viduals in cases where both are already present. Precise numerical information is, of course, most desired, but general statements as to the present condition of any given species in a district are also of great interest in view of the certainty that some ten years hence, at least, an alteration will have become perceptible. As to the state of things in the districts most affected, which may be spoken of as the northern midlands, the information received is fairly complete, but records, ichether neiiatire or posifin', in regard to the counties south of this area are greatly desired, and particular information is wanted regarding Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincoln- shire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshii-e, and Northamptonshire. In view of the belief, to some extent supported by the facts, that the spread of urban conditions favours the spread of melanism, the appearance and spread of these varieties in the metropolitan area is worthy of special study, and a good deal of important information on this point has already been received. It is not a little remarkable that June 15th, 1904. IGG THE entomologist's record. the chief centre of melanism on the continent lies in the neighbourhood of Crefeld, Barmen, and the other great manufacturing towns of western Germany. One of the most important questions which the collective evidence may be expected to decide is the question whether the change takes place by the comparatively sudden appearance of unmistakeable melanic varieties in a species or a district previously unaflected, or by a gradual change in the "population." Thus far the evidence suggests that the answer to this question will not be the same for all the species concerned, and that the manner of the change must be separately studied in the case of each. The coloured plate above referred to represents some of the distinctive varieties met with in the best known species which are believed to be exhibiting melanistic changes. The figures were made by Mr. F. W. Frohawk from specimens kindly lent for the purpose by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher. The forms represented are as follows : 1 — 2. Venimia camhrica. 1, light ; 2, dark. & 3 — 4. Hemerophila abniptaria. 3, light ; 4, dark. 5 — 8. Boarmia rJiomboidaria. 5, light c? ; 6, light ? ; 7, dark ^ ; 8, dark 9 . 9 — -11. Acidalia aversata. 9, light d ; 10, yellowish d" ; 11, banded cf . 12 — 13. Amphidasys hetularia. 12, light ? ; 13, black ? . 14 — 17. Phigalia pilomria. 14, 1.5, light c? s ; 16, medium c? ; 17, dark 3. 18—23. Boarmia repandata. 18— 20, light forms ; 21, medium ? ; 22,23, black ? s. 24 — 27. Miana strigilis. 24, 25, light or mottled form ; 26, 27, dark form. 28—30. Polia chi. ' 28, light ude parent specimens emerging September, 1902, were larger, brighter, and well spotted. Mr. Montgomery's scries had, unfortunately, nothing but memory to co-relate the specimens with the facts of their education. They formed a long series of about 800. They were from four 5 s taken at GEOGRAPHICAL AND SEASONAL VARIATION OF HEODES PHL^AS. 171 Greerford, Middlesex. The four broods were raised together. Eggs laid August 5th-31st. There was considerable mortality in the larvte and some of those that were smallest on September 24th were turned out. The first emerged September 13th, and up to October 9th, 240 emerged. On October 6th, the temperature fell decidedly, especially the night temperature, and remained low for two or three weeks, 60 emerged during, and just after, this period — October 10th-20th, 50; October 28rd-28th, 9 ; and one on November 7th. Of the whole number five or six are slightly suffused and with dark veins. These were amongst the earliest emergences (up to the date of first emerg- ence the mean maximum temperature was 71*2°F.). Amongst the mass of emergences of ordinary aspect were five remarkable for their small size (about 19mm.), and not very different from 20 to 25 that emerged amongst the last 50 or 60, of which some were as small as 21mm., these were also pale in the copper and rather weakly spotted. Apart from discoverable temperature effects, some specimens were remarkable for having the row of spots less in pairs than usual, but more in a con- tinuous sweep (like hippothoe and cDiiphidaums), and others had them very close up to the discal spot ; there is much variation in width of dark margin, and exact position and size of spots without anything strikingly extreme. Blue spots were fairly represented in all forms. The American H. hijpoiMaeas, as described by Scudder, agrees very closely indeed with the Lapland form. The specimens differ in one point. The three large apical spots that lie in a slightly curved line, one in each interneural space, are con- tinued, in my specimens bred at 95°F., by one or two others in the next one or two spaces, continuing exactly the sweep of the curve of the three below. Average English and many European examples are without any trace of these extra spots, and Scudder makes no mention of their occurrence in any American forms. In the European specimens, the first of them is not unfrequently present, but does not continue the line of the three below, and occupies a more apical position. This spot is always present (or almost always) in the Lapland specimens, and, in them, is very decidedly more apical, so as to seem moved outward, just as the lowest of the three is beyond the upper one of the pair below. In a considerable proportion of the Lapland specimens the second of these extra spots is present, and lies in the line of the three spots, without reference to the dislocation of the preceding one. Beneath, the spots are repeated, and where both are present, they look like a pair standing above, and one to either side of, the top of the three usual spots. Although the dislocation of the first extra spots is so variable in amount, or even absent (as in my bred ones), I have not seen sufficient specimens possessing them to say how far it marks a peculiarity of race. It is certain, however, that this pronounced development of these spots in the Lapland specimens, contrasts very decidedly with their absence in American forms. One, would, however, expect to meet with them in some American speci- mens, even although so careful an observer as Scudder had not seen them. Mr. jMoore showed a specimen from the Himalayas, from whose upper Avings all copper had disappeared, except a few spots outside the row of spots, though the hindwing was nearly typical and with blue spots. American specimens from Indiana (U.S.A.), Cape Breton and 172 THE entomologist's record. Halifax, were small (26mm.) but otherwise very like the Lapland specimens. I also exhibit some other species of the genus rliii/aujihcoiiiiy — rinfaiin'ar, the var. iiiier/ii taken this year in Spain, a very fine form of /lippot/ior, and some very large, finely coloured alciphroa var. nordiKs, taken this year and last in Spain. Mr. Tutt has kindly lent me his drawers containing this genus. The pJilaeas would probably att'ord a fuller disquisition than I have ventured to give, to anyone who studied them more minutely, whilst the other species are definitely beyond my grasp. The parallel variation of the several species is remarkable. The Early Stages of Colias edusa. By J. W. H. HARRISON, B.Hc. On September 24th I got a fine female of ( nlias c/Ikso ab. helice. AYishing, if possible, to rear a series from the egg, I enclosed the insect over a growing plant of Dutch clover {TrifoUum rcpem). On the morning of the 25th I was delighted to find that about 30 ova had been deposited. On the three following days I kept watch on the insect, and found that the ova were deposited about 11 a.m. to 11.80 a.m. with unfailing regularity. They were all laid either upon the underside of a leaf or upon the petiole of the leaf. In the act of ovipositing the female grips the edge of the leaf with her feet, and curving the abdomen round deposits one, two, or three ova, and then moves to another leaf. This female laid about 80 ova. Taking the average of about a dozen females I have had at various times, I should say about 65 or 70 was the usual number. I kept most of these eggs but some were given to two friends. Mine were kept in a room facing the south, and hatched on October 2nd, 3rd, and -Ith. Those I gave to one friend were kept in a room with a north aspect, and hatched on October 11th. A few I gave to another friend were kept in a cold out- house, and exposed to the frosts of October. At the beginning of November, these, though apparently fertile, had not hatched, so they were removed to a warm kitchen, when all, without exception, hatched during the first week of November. Egg. — The egg is shaped like a ninepin, and is, in form, not unlike those of I'ieris rajiaeund Lrplosia sinaiiia. While not so elongated as those of the latter, it is more so than those of the former. Its length is -ymm., and greatest breadth about one-half that. It tapers towards both extremities. To the naked eye it appears to be finely and regularly ribbed longitudinally. It presents a great difference, hoAvever, when under the microscope. The longitudinal ribs seem to vary from about 12 to 15. These ribs are very far from being regular, sometimes coalescing close to the base and then separating. In one example I had, I counted 15 ribs, and the 5th and 6th, 10th and 11th, 15th and 1st, coalesced at about one-seventh the distance down from the apex, and thence continued as one almost to the apex. Transversely, there are also ribs, not so strong as the others, and not at all continuous, as they terminate in both directions by merging into those placed lengthwise. The space between the two series of ribs is very finely punctuated. This punctuation is very iri-egular. At the apex the ribs degenerate into a series of irregular cell-like spa,ces. Similarly, one ovum which I detached, and so arranged that I could examine the point of attach- THE EARLY STAGES OF COLXAS EDUSA, 173 ment, showed at the base a cell-like appearance. When first deposited, the eggs are of a creamy-white colour, which changes to a delicate pink on the third day. A depression appears in the side, and the pink gradually merges into a decided red. A day before hatching the colour changes into a dull metallic black. Lakva. — The young larva emerges from a point about one-sixth of the distance from the apex, and proceeds to eat a portion of the egg, but rarely eats even one-half of it. The larvte as they emerged were placed, some upon Trifulium repenx, some upon T. pratense, and some upon Lutits cornicnlatti^i. The larva described in the following notes fed on T. prnteme. Without exception, the larvag fed readily on the plant oftered to them, and, at any period of their existence, if removed from Trifoliniii to Lutus would continue to feed without cessation. One point I consider worthy of note is that they irutdd eat ;irass. By chance, in digging the foodplants, I brought in some grass. I was astonished to find it being eaten, so I put some larvae on the grass, and found that they ate it readily enough. The larva, chosen to describe, hatched on October 2nd, and was placed on clover on the lower side of a leaf, but it immediately, without eating, proceeded to the upperside. This each larva did, utterly refusing to feed on the under- side. The reason of this I afterwards discovered. First instar : The larva soon after hatching was l-5mm. long. In colour the body was of a bright brown. No traces of hairs were visible. The head was jet black in colour, and was small in com- parison with the body. The larvte fretted out irregular holes in the upperside of the leaf but did not eat the epidermis on the underside. They fed constantly during the day. When done feeding, they went to the midrib of the leaf and stretched themselves at full length along it. When the clover leaf closed for the night, the small larv* were safely folded up in it and thus protected. On October 8th my particu- lar care ceased to feed, and attached itself to the leaf, remaining motionless for two days. It moulted on October 10th and entered its second stadium. Second uistar : The larva was now 8mm. in length — exactly twice its original length. A change in the body coloration had now taken place. Although the head was still jet black the body was no longer brown. Ventrally it was decidedly green, but dorsally it was green with a suggestion of brown, giving it a rusty appearance. No spiracular lines were visible, but the larvae had now distinct hairs, and each segment could be distinguished as being subdivided. The larvte still continue to have the same habits of feeduig and rest as in the first stage. They feed by day and rest in the folded leaf at night. This continued until October 16th, when my first larva again ceased to feed, and rested again for two days, casting its skin on October 18th. Third imtar : It was now 4-5mm. long. There again had been an increase of l-5mm. in the length. It was now uniformly of dull sage- green. The head, if anything, was a lighter green than the rest of the body. One individual, and only one, kept its head of a shining black even to this stage. The body, as also the head, was distinctly hairy, and each segment was divided into six subsegments. The larva ta,pers both to the head and the last abdominal segment, from the last thoracic segment. A faint indication of a lighter spiracular line was visible as the green shaded oft' almost imperceptibly. In this 174 THE entomologist's record. stage the larval habits underwent a decided change. No longer did the larva feed by day on the upperside of a leaf. By day it rested on the petiole of a leaf head downwards, and fed only about sunrise and sunset. I do not think I observed one to feed by day after this stage. When they did feed, they ate at the edge of a leaf as large larvae usually do. They also ate the stalks and stipules of very young leaves. On October 26th, the larva observed again set for a moult, which was successfully accomplished on October 28th. Fourth imtar : The larva was now 7mm. long. It is of a dull green colour dorsally. Ventrally it is of a bluish-green colour, in fact, it is quite glaucous. The head is decidedly lighter than the rest of the body. The body is very rough, but under the lens is found to owe its roughness to the subsegments mentioned above. On these transverse divisions are black dots. Each dot emits a short stiff hair, giving the larva the appearance of being bristly. This is particularly noticeable immediately after a larval moult. Around each of the black dots is a ring of a light green colour. The head likewise, is covered with black dots emitting hairs, but the black dots are not surrounded with lighter coloured rings. The green of the dorsum shades oft' to the spiracular line, which is of a white colour. The larva still tapers to last segment, and to the head from the last thoracic segment. On November 5th it again set for a cast, which took place on November 7th. Fift/i instar: Its length was now 10mm. Generally, in all its coloration, hairs, etc., it is the same as in the last stadium. The spiracular line, however, is diti'erent. It is yellowish in colour on the last segment, and of a pure white on the others, and generally is more distinct than before. On November 14th, when the larva was l-6cm. long, the spiracular line was now blotched with yellow upon every segment, between the 8rd and 4th transverse divisions. This yellow mark was not noticed until seven days after the moult, so must have developed m the meantime. On November 19th, when l-9cm. long, the spiracular line again underwent a change. Although the blotch remains yellow on the prothorax and on the last abdominal segment, yet on all the others it is orange-red, shading oft' to yellow on the 5th subsegment. Immediately below each red spot is a very conspicuous black dot. The last moult took place on November 25th, the larva having prepared itself on November 22nd. Hii-th imtar : It was then 2-Ocm. in length, but was not described until full-grown. It reached its full size on Dec. 22nd. Its length then was 2-8cm, (measured when at rest on the foodplant) ; width of broadest segment, 4mm. ; width of head, 2-75mm. ; width of pro- thorax, 3-26mm. ; width of last segment, 3mm. The 2nd abdominal segment is the largest. Thence the larva tapers to the head and last segment. Dorsally each segment is divided into six divisions or sul> segments. The first of these six is the broadest, being almost of the width of two others. For this reason it does not seem so rounded as the others. These divisions are not so recognisable on the ventral portion. In colour the body is of a deep velvety-green dorsally, but ventrally it is quite glaucous. The head is also green, but is of a lighter shade than the rest of the body. Under the lens, the body is found to owe the deepness of the green to black dots, arranged upon the subsegments, each giving rise to a short hair. Upon the first of I THE EARLY STAGES OF COLIAS EDUSA. 175 the six subsegments, owing to its breadth, the small black dots are less orderly arranged than on the others. Around each l)lack dot is to be seen a lighter ring. Under a lens of higher power, smaller secondary black dots are discernible, from which smaller hairs issue. Ventrally, the black dots are not surrounded by lighter rings, and the hairs are much longer and stiffer. The hairs, when microscopically examined, all appear unicellular. There are no dorsal lines, but on some specimens the contractile vessel is discernible. Upon some of those upon which it can be seen, on each side of it, on the prothorax and mesothorax, are faint, rusty-brown lines. The spiracular line is of a Avhite colour, merging into yellow as it proceeds ventrally. On each segment, along the spiracular line, is a reddish spot, which is found to be wedge-shaped. It is found on the 3rd and 4th sub- segments most conspicuously, shading to yellow on the 5th. At this point the spiracular line expands in width considerably. Immediately below it, and about halfway along it, is a large black dot, which reaches its maximum size upon the 7th and 8th segments, and is almost obsolete on the prothorax and mesothorax, where the anterior portion of the red blotch seems more orange than red. The portion of the spiracular line upon the last abdominal segment is totally pale yellow. The head, too, is covered with black dots, giving rise to short bail's. These black dots are more sparsely scattered than on the body. Upon the head is a faint depression in shape like an inverted Y. Between the two arms of the Y the hairs are much closer together. The head is slightly retractile into the second segment (prothorax). The mouth-parts I did not describe fully. The maxillye are edged with black, which passes imperceptibly through dark brown and yellow to green. The antennte are slightly clubbed, and are tipped with black, which extends closer to the base above. Attached to the antennae above is a long hair, fully three times as long as the body-hairs, which is periodically vibrated even when at rest. This hair is also much finer than the body-hairs. Underneath is one very short stiff hair. The eyes, six in number on each side, as usual, are arranged four in a row ; three of these are close together ; the fourth is at about twice the distance of the others ; the other two are outside these— the first in a line with the iirst of the four, and the second intermediate to the second and third ; the first three are dark brown in colour ; the fourth is decidedly brown, but not so much so as the first ; the last two are colourless. The legs and prolegs are green, but it was found impossible to describe the latter owing to the larvcB clasping the prolegs together. However, it could be seen that the hooks were dark brown. Immediately below the spiracular line, and of the same average breadth, is a sort of flange of the same colour as the back. This is very sparingly covered with hairs. Its outline on the lower side on each segment is that of the letter W, the part of the W sloping to the head appearing to be more deeply impressed. Above the spiracular line are small irregular wrinkles or puckers (not to be confused with the transverse divisions or subsegments mentioned above). The spiracles are dirty white in colour, and are surrounded by a dark brown chitinous ring. In the centre is a black dash. The first spiracles are not placed centrally in the spiracular line — their lower extremity is slightly below it. The last pair of spiracles are nearly central. The last pair but one are least central, and are 176 THE entomologist's record. rounder than the others, which are elliptical. The full-grown larva rests at full length, with the thoracic segments slightly raised, and the head bent under. The first pair of legs do not rest on the stem. When irritated, the larva does not fall ; but when forcibly knocked oft", it forms a complete ring, but soon unfolds and climbs up a fresh stem. It is very sluggish, only moving when compelled. When not feeding, it rests habitually on the petiole of a leaf, with its head down- wards. If brought near a bright light, such as an incandescent gas- burner, the larva? would immediately commence to feed. If heat were applied, the larv« would not feed, but would move about in a frantic manner. They spun up in the manner of the Pierids, with a central cincture and silk pad, to which the anal hooks were attached. The head was turned upward. The larvfe readily spun up, but not one safely pupated, and all I have left is one which is half-grown, in its last stadium, and seems up to this date (January 7th) to be in a very healthy condition. Notes on the egg, larva, pupa and cocoons of Phragmatobia fuliginosa. By A. W. BACOT, F.E.S. On April 20th, 1903, I received from Mr. J. W. Tutt, a box con- taining a number of ova of Phrai/matubia fnliijinusa laid by a specimen taken at Pegomas, near Cannes, on the 6th, with a request to count the ova and rear as many imagines as possible, with a view to study- ing their variation. OviPosiTiox. — Eggs examined April 20th, 1908 : The eggs were laid in patches on the sides of a medium-sized glass-topped box (about l^in. diameter). Their arrangement was fairly regular, laid after the usual Spilosomid fashion ; the smallest patch contained 10 ova, the largest 168, and between these extremes there were patches contaming 74, 51, 14, 84, 108, 46, 48 and 17 loose, in all 610. A few patches were still of a pearly-cream colour, but most were of the delicate flesh - pink, which is their most beautiful phase, and one was already dal'kening to a lilac or dove-grey prior to hatching. This batch commenced to hatch on April 22nd, and the last on May 1st. The hatching occurred, apparently, strictly in the sequence of laying, and it was most interesting to see how the successive darkening of the eggs brought out the composite nature of the larger patches. The large patch of 168 eggs proved to be composed of at least three separate layings. About 40 or 50 ova would seem to be the normal batch, and so far as later observations on the egglaying of the resulting imagines showed, probably the result of one day's laying, or, possibly, an even- ing's labour, a second batch being perhaps laid in the early morning, the moth taking a rest between. I much regret that I was too busy when the moths emerged and I was obtaining pairings to make sufficiently frequent observations to definitely settle the point ; but those I did maiie, lend some support to the above explanation, which I think may be taken as fairly reasonable. Temperature is pi'obably a most important factor in extending or shortening the period of ovi- position, as it certainly is in regard to the number of hours or days that are allowed to elapse before pairing takes place. I think, there- fore, it may be taken as probable that tlie egglaying period of the specimens captured by Mr. Tutt extended over some ten days, the NOTES ON PHEAGMATOBIA FULIGINOSA. 177 moth laying on average some 60 eggs per day. Some further support to this view is perhaps aftbrderl by the analogy with the'ova of Spilosoma niendica, which Mr. Tutt forwarded at the same time. These did not show any large composite patches, the numbers in each patch being comparatively regular, only ranging from 34 to 52 in five patches, con- taining some 200 to 220 eggs. In shape the eggs form as nearly as possible f of a sphere, possibly they are, when first laid, quite spherical, but become flattened at base while still soft, and the slight h'regularities of surface which occur are probably due to stresses at laying and during development. Ovum. — The horizontal diameter is between -Gmm. and •7mm., generally nearer to the latter ; the vertical axis is, at a guess, 'Smm. to 'Gmm., but it is difficult to gauge exactly, owing to the base being depressed centrally, and consequently the vertical diameter is con- siderably less than appearances Avould warrant. The surface is slightly reticulated with a cellular pattern, but not sufficiently to deaden the shining and pearly iridescence of the egg. The micro pyle is not very specially differentiated from the surrounding surface, but owing to the way in which the cellwalls run into the centre it is somewhat sugges- tive of a lunar crater. Lakva. — Itit instai : In their 1st instar, after a short period of growth, the larva* are quite normal Spilosomas in shape, with promi- nent segments and deeply-cut incisions. No subsegments are apparent ; the skin is covered with a coat of very minute spicules ; the tubercular plates at base of primary setae are very large ; the sette or hairs are mostly very long, stout, and thorny. The head, scutellum on prothorax, anal plate and tubercular plates are pale brown, the general skin- surface pale green. Tubercles : The dorsal tubercles on meso- and metathorax bear two black hairs, probably i and ii conjoined ; iii on all segments (mesothorax to 8th abdominal) bears two hairs. On the abdominal segments i is small, and bears a very small, pale hair, and is noticeably the inner ; ii, the outer, is very large, and bears a very large and long dark hair. The lateral tubercles are not at all easy to homologise ; iii is large and bears, as previously noted, two long hairs on segments from 2nd thoracic to 8th abdominal. The spiracles are small but distinct, with brown chitinous rims, and set rather anteriorly on the segments ; the prothoracic is somewhat, and the 8th abdominal much, larger than the others. On the meso- and metathorax, beneath iii, and rather posterior to it, is a small plate bearing a minute slender hair (? iv) ; below this, and slightly anterior to it, is a large plate bearing a single long hair (? v), and below this again is another large plate bearing two hairs." On the abdominal segments, immediately beneath, and slightly posterior to * I am by no means certain as yet as to the exact homology of the thoracic tubercles in this and the allied species. In larvae of Nenieophilu plant acjinit^ there is another exceedingly minute tubercle and hair behind the large single-haired tubercle below iii (? vi), and this is observable on the larva of Phrcuiinatohia Uiliginoaa in later stages. (I have traced it on one larva in 2nd or .^rd instar, and it is generally present in 4th or 5th stadium). According to Dyar's arrangement, taking his figure of C'os.su.s co.s.sifs as a type, the meso- and metathoracic setae would be upper dorsal plate bearing two hairs i and i(/, the plate beneath it, or sub- dorsal or upper lateral area also bearing two hairs, ii and iia, and I presume the strong hair and weak one above it would be iii and iii«, and the lower double- haired plate be iv and v. 178 THE entomologist's record. spiracle, is a tubercle with large basal plate bearing one long hair ; this I take to be iv ; well below it, as far below as iv is below iii, is another similar tubercle and hair ; this, from its position, is at first difficult to homologise with v of other groups, but a comparison with the position in Noetaid larvae leaves no doubt in my mind that it is really v, in spite of its great distance beneath the spiracle. Its unusual position is to a great extent explained if we consider that the trend of evolution in Arctiid larvfe, like that in the Anthrocerids, is to increase the girth of the segments at the expense of their length, thus causing a shortening of the distance between the tubercles in a lowiitmUnal direction and an increase in transverse direction, so that there is a tendency in the direction of the tubercles forming a single ring round each segment. Close to the spiracle, but slightly above and in front of it, is a minute point that proves on close examination"" to be a very small tubercle, bearing a mmute, but proportionately short, stout hair or spine ; in spite of its minuteness, it is abundantly distinct from the spicules. A second and exactly similar minute tubercle occurs on the anterior margin of the dorsal area, slightly further from the median line than is ii. The one situated dorsally on the anterior margin of segment I have previously alluded to as no. 0. That in front of and slightly above the plane of spiracle, might be called no. iiio, were it not for the fact that Dyar has already used the term iiirt {Knt. Record, vol. xi., pi. i) to signify an accessory hair situated behind the spiracle on Alucitid (Pterophorid) larvre, wliich I much doubt to have any relationship to the prespiracular point above referred to. It may, therefore, be provisionally termed no. 00 until its exact relationship has been worked out. 2n