THE BULLETIN 
OF 
THE AMATEUR 
ENTOMOLOGISTS’ 
SOCIETY 


VOLUME 27 
1968 


Edited by 
H. V. DANKS, B.Sc.,. A.R.C.S., F.R.E.S. 
and 
D. CORKE, B.Sc., L.I.Biol. 


Index compiled by 
D. H. SMITH, F.R.E.S. 


The Amateur Entomologists’ Society 
355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, Feltham, Middlesex 


ii AES BULLETIN, VOL. : 


INDEX 


AAG Annual General Meeting, 1968, 36, 75 
ie RS Apparatus and Methods: 


ANSOrge, olf Ciic, so 
Badmin, J. S., 20, 116 
Berman, H. J., 33, 70, 98, 136 
Bradbury, K., 112 

Caiger, H., 93 

Caswell, W., 71 

Cook, N., 64 

Cooper, J. E., 54 

Cooter, J., 5, 36, 72, 104 
Corke, D., 73, 105 

Cribb, P. W., 83, 104, 132 
Danks Fi-Ve, 15-37 
Emmet, A. M., 4, 41, 79, 107 
Felton, J. C., 5, 42, 81, 109 
Finbow, P. W., 134 
Gregory, J. L., 110 

Heal, J., 132 

Heath, J., 120 

Hilliard, R. D., 45 

Hodges, G. B., 34 
Howarth, T. G., 77 © 
Jackson, J., 97 

Jeffares, M., 62 

Knight, T. F., 35 

Lassman, L. R., 52 
Longman, D. J., 51, 72 
Mason, B. A., 45 

McLeod, L., 88 

Mobbs, P., 70 

Morrison, B., 7 
Muggleton, J., 56, 90 
Perceval, M. J., 31 

Pickard, E., 46 

Plester, L., 27, 34, 60, 68, 128 
Smith, D. H., 92, 97 


Smith, L., 71 
Sutton, G. R., 134 
Taylor, J. S., 85 


Thompson, G., 9 
Uffen, R. W. J., 71 
Vincent, J. F., 18, 51 
Wightman, J. A., 13 
Williams, C. B., 134 
Willmott, K. J., 11 
Wragg, G., 133 
Wurzell, B., 34, 96 


SUBJECT 


Aims of the Amateur Conservation group, 9 


Annual exhibition, 
Gct., 1967, 42 
1968, 74 


Baits and traps, 53, 79 
Cabinets and setting boards, 94 
Cage for overwintering pupae, A., 132 
Hammond’s box, 20 
Hymenopterist’s trap nest, 42 
Insect cages, 91 
Marking moths, 51 
Relaxing Lepidoptera, 51 
Book reviews: 
Field and Meadow Life, 138 
Flies of the British Isles, 137 
Pocket Encyclopedia of plant galls 
colour, 138 
Warne’s picture reference books, 136 
Breeding for the reinforcement of species, 
Butterflies in the Crimea, USSR, 1967, 60 
Butterflies in France and Spain, Augus 
September, 1966, 27 
Clepsis costana, Fab. Observations on bree 
ing, 109 . 
Collecting in Scotland, 45 
Collecting methods: 
Light trapping. An ecological approach 1 
18 


see also, 5 
Collecting notes: 
February, 1968, 1 
May, 1968, 38 
August, 1968, 77 
November, 1968, 105 
Conservation group. The aims of t 
amateur, 9 
Corsica-East of the mountains, 56 
Council’s report, 1967, 74 
Distribution maps scheme. The Lepidopter 
116 
Ditto—Odonata, 119 
Distribution—Abroad: 
Finnish insects— 
Butterflies, 21, 123 
Lepidoptera, 22-25 
Yucatan—Mexico, 69 
Distribution—Home: 
Water beetles in a Cheshire pond, 92 
Editorial; 1, 37,-73;.105 
Entomological Liaison c’ttee of the Ni 
Cons. The annual Report of the Soc. re 
on the, 76 | 
Erebia epiphron. A new aberration of t! 
Scottish race, 81, 138 
European Holiday, 1967. A., 62 
Home-made cabinets and setting boards, 
Hormones in insects, 13, 47 
Hymenoptera Aculeata, 4, 41, 79, 107 
Identification advisors, 73, 139 
Junior Conservation prize, 37 
Junior News section, 31, 68, 97, 134 
Larval stage in Automeris aurantiaca (Wey 
—Prolonged, 54 


> BULLETIN; VOL. 27 iii 
a a 


epidoptera distribution Maps scheme, 116 ARANEIDA 
etters to the Editor: 

Gnats and sound, 134 

Land snails—love darts, 97 Scytodes thoracica, 33 

Latin names, 96 

Light trapping, 70 

Pale clouded yellow, 70 

White admiral in Essex, 134 
pecacory Lepidoptera in Sth Africa 1965-66, 

8 


loth marking, 51 
lotes and Observations: 
Clouded Yellow in Sussex. The, 34 


Comma in Basildon. Notes on the, 132 INSECT 

Death’s Head Hawkmoth in Bedfordshire. : 
The, 35 

Elephant Hawkmoth. Unusual foodplants 

for the, 34 CHELEUTOPTERA 


Glow-worm in Kent, 34 
Gnats with an antenna for music, 33 
Lepidoptera homing devices, 71 Carausius morosus, 135 
poner ralled Bue waco bs Aus Clonopsis gallica, 59, 90, 135 
oisonous nature of peach leaf on Cabbage Rutan elas 
maoenlicvac: 20 P g Sipyloidea sipylus, 90, 136 
Scale insects in Sth. England, 133 


Silver-striped Hawkmoth in Bucks. The, COLEOPTERA 
35 

Small Skipper numbers in Middlesex, 71 

otes from a Finnish diary, 64, 121 Aclypea (—Blitophaga) opaca, 7 

otes from Essex. Some, 45 Agabus bipustulatus, 6 


otes on breeding Zygaena carnicolica, 110 A. sturmii, 6 
otes on the flight activity of Orthosia Agonum ericeti, 6 


(Noctuidae-Lep) 112 A. scitulum, 6 

Dservations on breeding Clepsis costana, Anthobium unicolor, 6 

109 Aphodius aestivalis, 7 
Jonata distribution maps scheme, 119 A.ater, 7 

‘thosia (Noctuidae-Lepidoptera). A.depressus, 7 

Notes on the flight of, 112 A. fimetarius, 7 

rasitic insects, 52 A. lapponum, 7 

ypulations of Lepidoptera in E. Africa A. nemoralis, 7 

1965-66. Abnormally large, 85 Atheta aquatica, 6 

aring stick insects, 90 A.arctica, 6 

inforcement of species. Breeding for the, | A.hypnorum, 6 

88 Athous haemorrhoidalis, 135 
laxing Lepidoptera, 51 Atractocerus brevicornis, 108 
ottish entomology 1966, 5 Calathus melanocephalus v.nubigena, 6 
men in the insects. The transfer of, 11 C.micropterus, 6 

uthern Switzerland and northern Italy C.piceus, 6 

1967, 99, 128 Carabus glabratus var. lapponicus, 6 
ck insects. Rearing, 90 Cicindela campestris, 6, 135 
ichoptera. 7 C.hybrida, 102 

ater beetles in a Cheshire pond, 92 Coccinella 7-punctata, 65 
here to write. Reminder—, 36 Dendrophagus crenatus, 7 


gaena carnicolica. Notes on breeding, 110 Dictyopterus aurora, 7 
Emus hirtus, 102 
Eremotes ater, 7 
Euchroma goliath, 35 
. Geotrupes stercorosus, 7 
Harpalus aeneus, 135 
Hydrophilidae—local list, 93 


ARACHNIDA Hylobius abietis, 7 
Ilybius bipustulatus, 6 
SCORPIONIDEA Lampyris noctiluca, 34 


Lathrobium elongatum, 6 
Irpio occitanus, 60 Leptinotarsa !0-lineata, 63 


iv AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 
a a ee 


Lochmaea suturalis, 6 Lasius flavus, 4 

Lucanus cervus, 104 L.niger, 4 

Lytta vesicatoria, 104 Megachile centuncularis, 41 
Nebria gyllenhali, 6 Omalus aeneus, 41 
N.gyllenhali var. balbii, 6 Polistes sp., 60 

Ocypus brunnipes, 6 Rhyssa, 129 

Oeceoptoma thoracicum, 7 Sirex gigas, 135 

Patrobus atrorufus, 6 Urocerus, 129 

Philonthus marginatus, 6 Xylocopa sp., 60 


P.politus (—aeneus), 6 

Phoracantha tricuspis, 72 

Plateumaris discolor, 6 

Pogonocherus fasciculatus, 6 ISOPTERA 
Pterosticus diligens, 6 
P.oblongopunctatus, 6 
Pytho depressus, 7 
Quedius fuliginosus, 6 
Q.molochinus, 6 
Rhagium bifasciatum, 6, 135 

R.inquisitor, 6 LEPIDOPTERA 
Serica brunnea, 7 


Kalotermes flavicollis, 59 


Staphylinus erythropterus, 6 Abrostola tripartita, 46 
Stenus impressus, 6 Acherontia atropos, 35 
Thanatophilus rugosus, 7 Acleris variegana, 1 
Trichocellus cognatus, 6 Actias selene, 136 
Xantholina tricolor, 6 Agapetes galathea, 100 


A.lachesis, 29 

Aglais urticae, 28, 62, 66, 101 spp. ichnusa, £ 
Agonopterix (Depressaria) alstroemeriana, 10 
A.applana, 106 


PENOU ORME A A.heracliana, 106 
A.hypericella, 39 
Mantis religiosa, 59, 63 Agriades glandon, 130 


Agrodiaetus damon, 29 

Albulina orbitulus (pheretes), 102 
Anagasta (Ephestia) kuehniella, 77 
Anaphaesis mesentina, 85 


EUPUBL Antheraea harti, 136 
A.pernyi ,136 
Chironomus pseudothumni, 33 Anthocaris cardamines, 45, 100 
Melophagus ovinus, 53 Apatele alni, 45 
A.menyanthidis, 46 
A.rumicis, 135 
Apatura ilia form clytie, 131 
A.iris, 10 
Mareen Aphantopus hyperantus, 100, 130 
Aporia crataegi, 100 
Cimex lectularius, 13 Araschnia levana, 30, 31 
Pulvinaria, 133 Arethusana arethusa, 27 
Rhodnius prolixus, 11 Argynnis lathonia, 57 
A.niobe, 61 
A.pandora, 57 
A.paphia, 29, 61, 130 
ab. valezina, 57 
ENN ENCI eR Argyresthia brockeella, 3 
A. goedartella, 3 
Ancistrocerus albophaleratus, 41 Argyritis (Aristotelia) atrella, 39 
A.antilope, 41 Aricia allous, 102, 123, 130 
A.catskill, 41 A.agestis, 57, 123 
A.pictus, 41 Automeris aurantiaca, 54 
Andrena helvola, 108 Biston betularia, 109 
Anthidium manicatum, 81 Boloria pales, 130 
Apanteles glomeratus, 100 Bombyx mori, 15 
Euura amerinae, 65 Brintesia circe, 28, 61, 63 


Formica rufa, 65 Bupalus pinaria, 135 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


callophrys rubi, 102 
‘archarodus alceae, 29, 58, 62 
‘arterocephalus palaemon, 100 
caryocolum tricolorellum, 3 
catopsilia florella, 83 

cedistis farinatella, 3 
celastrina argiolus, 32, 57, 62 
-eramica pisi, 46 

Serastis rubricosa, 51 

Cerura furcula, 46 

*.vinula, 45 

charaxes jasius, 57 

chiasmia clathrata, 135 

citria lutea, 46 

clepsis (Tortrix) costana, 39, 109 
Clossiana dia, 28 
c.euphrosyne, 100 

c.selene, 63, 100, 131 

C.thore, 100 

C.titania, 101 

Coenonympha corinna, 57 
C.pamphilus, 57, 63 

C.tullia, 117 

Coleophora ardeaepennella, 77 
-.albidella, 77 
Z.anatipennella, 77 
¢.badiipennella, 79 
i.fuscocuprella, 78 
z.gryphipennella, 3 

z.hornigi, 77 

5.ibipennella, 77 
Z.limosipennella, 79 
c.milvipennis, 79 

C.orbitella (wilkinsoni), 79 
Colias australis, 29 
C.croceus, 29, 31, 34, 58, 62, 63 
C.electo, 87 

electo-pseudohecate, 87 

C.hyale, 27, 31, 58, 63, 102 
C.palaeno, 129 

C.phicomone, 102, 129 
Colocasia coryli, 46 

Cupido minimus, 101, 32, 120 
C.sebrus, 101 

Cyaniris semiargus, 100 
Danaus chrysippus, 84 
D.plexippus, 68 

Dasycera sulphurella, 3 
Dasychira pudibunda, 130 
Depressaria pastinacella, 106 
Dira petropolitana, 100 
Dolbina tancrei, 135 
Dysstroma truncata, 46 
Endothenia gentianaeana, 3 
“=piblema scutulana, 3 
=pinotia tedella, 3 

=rebia aethiops, 63 

=.cassioides, 28 

=.ceto (=alberganus) 100, 129 
E.christi, 129 

=.epiphron and sub-species, 81, 104 
_ transposition of names, 138 
Z.euryale, 103, 129 
=-flavofasciata, 102 

lat} 


oy ae” | 


E.melampus, 129 
E.medusa, 103 
E.mnestra, 129 
E.montanus, 129 
E.neoridas, 30 
E.pandrose (lappona), 102 
E.pharte, 81 
E.triarius, 129 
E.tyndarus, 102, 129 
Erynnis tages, 29, 62, 100 
Eulia ministrana, 110 
Eumedonia chiron, 101 
Eumenis semele, 61, 63 
Euphydryas aurinia, 119 
E.glacigenita, 104 
Euspilapteryx aurogutella, 38 
Everes alcetas, 30 
E.argiades, 28, 30 
Fabriciana adippe, 29 

form cleodoxa, 103 
Gegenes nostrodamus, 29 
Glaucopsyche alexis, 101 
Glycesthia aurota, 83 
Gonepteryx cleopatra, 58 
G.rhamni, 3, 66, 118, 131 
Heliothis armigera, 85, 87 
Heodes alciphron (ssp. gordius), 102 
H.tityrus, 30, 131 

ssp. subalpina, 101 
H.virgaureae, 30 
Hepialus hecta, 135 
Herse convoluli, 59 
Hesperia cirsii, 58 
H.comma, 28 
Heteropterus morpheus, 129 
Hipparchia alcyone, 28, 103 
H.serratulae, 58 
H.arastaeus, 57 
H.comma, 29 
H.fagi, 29, 63, 103, 130 
H.semele, 29 
H.statilinus, 61 
Hippotion celerio, 35 
Imbrasia epimethia, 87 
Inachis io, 30, 101 
Iphiclides feisthameli, 29 
|.podalirius, 57 
Issoria lathonia, 29 
Lampides boeticus, 29, 32, 57, 71 
Laothoe populi, 45 
Laphygma exempta, 84, 85 
Lathronympha strigana, 38 
Leptidea sinapis, 28, 58, 62, 104 
Limenitis anonyma, 28 
L.camilla, 31, 45, 130 
Limnoecia phragmitella, 3 
Lithocolletis amyotella, 107 
L. distentella, 107 
L.faginella, 3 
L.harrisella (cramerella), 107 
L.hegeriella, 107 
L.lautella, 107 
L.messaniella, 3, 107 
L.quercifoliella, 107 
! roboris. 107 


Vi 


L.trifasciella, 3 
Lycaena dispar, 10 
L.phiaeas, 46, 57 

ssp. eleus, 57 

var. coeruleopunctata, 57 
Lygris testata, 46 
Lymantria dispar, 63 


Lysandra bellargus, 10, 28, 32, 62, 63, 102 


L.coridon, 27, 31, 62, 100, 103 
L.dorylas, 101 

L.escheri, 103 

L.hispana, 28 

Macroglossum stellatarum, 59, 63 
Macrothylacia rubi, 31 
Maculinea alcon, 129 
M.arion, 100, 129 

Mamestra brassicae, 71 
Maniola ida, 57 

M.jurtina, 30, 57, 60, 63, 100 
Mellicta athalia, 100 
M.aurelia, 103 

M.deione, 27 

M.parthenoides, 28, 101 
Melitaea athalia, 10 
M.cinxia, 10, 31 

M.diamina, 101, 129 
M.didyma, 27, 101 

M.phoebe, 27, 63 
Mesoacidalia charlotta, 28, 100 
Minois dryas, 30, 130 
Mompha conturbatella, 40 
M.decorella, 40 

M. fulvescens, 39 

M. ochraceella, 40 

M. nodicolella, 40 
M.propinquella, 40 

M. raschkiella, 39 

M. schrankella, 41 

M. subbistrigella, 40 
Nemeobius lucina, 130 
Nepticula aurella, 4 

Neptis rivularis, 130 
Nomophila noctuella, 85 
Notodonta ziczac, 46 
Nymphalis antiopa, 32 

N.io, 31, 35 

N.polychloros, 101 

Ochlodes venata, 45 
Olethreutes lacunana, 40, 109 
Orgyia antiqua, 46 

Orneodes hexadactyla, 135 
Orthosia cruda, 112 
O.gothica, 51, 112 

O.gracilis, 112 

O.incerta, 51, 112 

O.munda, 112 

O.stabilis, 51, 112 
Palaeochrysophanus hippothoe, 101 
Panaxia dominula, 130 
Papilio demodocus, 84 
P.machaon, 29, 32, 57 
P.machaon gorganus, 63 
P.podalirius, 62 

Paramesia gnomana, 40 
Pararge aegeria, 29, 57, 60 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


P.maera, 30, 63 

P.megera, 57, 61, 63 
Parasemia plantaginis, 46 
Parnassius apollo, 100, 129 
P.phoebus, 101, 129 
P.mnemosyne, 103, 129 
Philotes baton, 57 
P.vicrama, 62 

Phlogophora meticulosa, 135 
Pieris brassicae, 58, 62 
P.bryoniae, 101, 129 
P.mannii, 100 

P.napi, 31, 46 

P.rapae, 58, 62, 100 
P.pylaon, 104 

Plebeius argus, 32 

Polygonia c-album, 57, 61, 132 
Polyommatus icarus, 28, 57, 62, 63 
Pontia daplidice, 58, 62 
Precis eonone, 86 

Pyrgus cirsii, 29, 100 
P.malvae, 58, 62, 63 
Rhodometra sacraria, 85 
Saturnia pavonia, 45 

Satyrus cordula, 63, 102 
Scolitantides orion, 130 
Selenia bilunaria, 109 
Setina irrorella. 63 
Simaethis fabriciana, 3 
Sphinx ligustri, 59 

Spialia sertorius, 29, 62, 129 
Stellaria holostea, 3 
Synchloe callidice, 104 
Syntarucus pirithous, 29 
S.telicanus, 57 

Syntomis phegea, 130 
Thecla quercus, 62 
Thymelicus sylvestris, 31, 45 
Tischeria marginea, 4 
Urbanus proteus, 68 
Utetheisa pulchella, 85 
Vanessa antiopa, 131 
V.atalanta, 30, 45, 57, 63 
V.cardui, 29, 57, 84, 87, 101 
Ypsolophus (Cerostoma) alpellus, 77 
Y.sylvellus, 77 

Zygaena carnicolica, 110 
Z.exulans, 104 

Z.lonicerae, 110 


ORTHOPTERA 


Acrida mediterranea, 58 
Blatta orientalis, 16 
Decticus albifrons, 59 
Oedipoda coerulescens, 59 
O.germanica, 59 
Tettigonia viridissima, 59 


SIPHONAPTERA 


Julex irritans, 60 


| STREPSIPTERA 


_tylopidae, 108 
| TRICHOPTERA 
|| 


Agrypria pagetana, 9 

\nabolia nervosa, 9 

_thaetopteryx villosa, 9 

-eptocerus aterrimus, 9 

_.fulvus, 9 

-imnephilus flavicornis, 9 

..lunatus, 9 

_.nigriceps, 9 
.rhombicus, 9 

..Sparsus, 9 


| 


AMPHIBIA 


dyla arborea meridionalis, 56 


REPTILIA 
CHELONIA 
| hermanni, 56 
SQUAMATA 


‘acerta muralis, 56 
viridis, 56 

.vivipara, 65 

“arentola maureticana, 56 


AVES 


-arus ridibundus, 4 
vasser domesticus, 4 
turnus vulgaris, 4 


MAMMALIA 
CARNIVORA 
eles meles, 53 

INSECTIVORA 


orex araneus, 54 


“AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Vii 


RODENTIA 


Apodemus sylvaticus, 54 
Clethrionomys glareolus, 54 
Marmota marmota, 162 
Mus musculus, 54 


PHANEROGAMS 


Aesculus hippocastanum, 61, 133 
Anemone hepatica, 67 
Arbutus unedo, 58 

Aster tripolium, 40 
Astragulus exscarpus, 104 
A. glycyphyllos, 110 
Brassica napus, 7 
Chamaenerion (Epilobium) angustifolium, 40 
Carduus sp. 3 

Conium maculatum, 105 
Corylus avellana, 78 
Crataegus, sp., 1 
Dipsacus sp., 3 

Elodia canadensis, 792 
Epilobium hirsutum, 39 
E.montanum, 40 

Fagus sylvatica, 3 

Ficus carica, 56 
Geranium sylvaticum, 101 
Hedera helix, 61, 133 
Hippocrepis comosa, 100 
Hypericum perforatum, 38 
Ilex aquifolium, 32, 133 
Impatiens glandulifera, 34 
Juniperus communis, 60 
Lemna trisulca, 92 
Limonium vulgare, 40 
Lonicera périclymenum, 3 
Lotus corniculatus, 111 
Malva verticillata, 87 
Olea europaea, 56 
Onobrychis sativa, 110 
Picea abies, 3 

Pinus sylvestris, 3, 7, 65 
Plantago lanceolata, 100 
Potamogeton sp., 7 
Potentilla palustris, 40 
Primula farinosa, 101 
Prunus spinosa, 1, 77 
Quercus ilex, 3, 107 
Q.petraea, 107 
Rhododendron ferrugineum, 100 
Robinia pseudacacia, 131 
Rosa sp., 1 

Rubus fruticosus, 4 
Rumex alpinus, 102 
R.hydrolapathum, 102 
Salix caprea, 46, 65 
Sambucus nigra, 62 
Saxifraga aizoides, 101 
Tussilago farfara, 65 
Typha sp., 3 

Urtica dioica, 3, 45 

Viola biflora, 101 

Vitis vinifera, 56 


rahe - Werld List abbreviation : Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 


> 4 ~ 


EDITED by H. V. DANKS, B.Sc., A.R.C.S., 
ved. F.R.E.S. | 


FREDERICK WARNE 


1-4 Bedford Court, London, WC2 


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EDITORIAL 


The advisability of breeding Lepi- 
doptera for release has recently 
become a topic of discussion in the 
Bulletin. The Members who consider- 
ed that such releases prior to full 
studies and without proper control 
were harmful, were further dis- 
quieted by the existence of the AES 
Breeding Group—which had the 
general aim of rearing butterflies for 
release. 

The AES Council have had in mind 
the necessity of conservation of our 
insects and their habitats, and there 
has now been derived an Amateur 
Conservation Group within the 
Society. The Breeding Group has 
ceased to exist, any activities in this 
direction being incorporated into the 
much broader-based Conservation 
Group, the aims of which are set out 
in an article in the following pages by 
the convener of the new group, Mr 
K. J. Willmott. 

The Council is able to give its full 
support to the new group, which will 
cooperate with the various existing 
local and national bodies for nature 
conservation but—unlike most of 
them—exists as representative of 
entomologists. There is certainly a 
need in the AES for such a coordinat- 
ing group concerned with conser- 
vation, and it is to be hoped that 
Members will give it their fullest 
support. There is a very great deal to 
be done along the lines indicated by 
Mr Willmott—and this requires that 
as many Members as possible share in 
the activities of the new group. 

The report on the successful 1967 


Front cover illustration: Stages in the life- cycle of the 
Camberwell Beauty Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa Linn.), 
drawn by Mr A. M. Freebrey (3359). 


a AES 


BULLETIN 


No. 27s 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


Annual Exhibition has unfortunately 
been delayed, and will appear in the 
next issue. The first and second 
Junior Exhibitors’ Prizes were 
awarded to Mr A. Lucas (3934J) and 
Mr D. V. Lewis (3963J) respectively. 
Fuller details will be published in the 
Exhibition report. 

Finally, may | draw the attention 
of Macrolepidopterists to Mr Emmet’s 
provision, in his Smaller Moths 
Collecting Notes following, of a 
pathway to take them into the 
rewarding study of ‘Micros’. 

H. V. Danks (2907). 


COLLECTING NOTES 
FEBRUARY 1968 


The Smaller Moths 


Acleris variegana Schiff. Mr E. S. 
Bradford drew the lower specimen 
some years ago and, forgetting that 
he had done so, drew the upper one 
last winter. As the two portraits 
represent different forms of the same 
species, | thought it would be of 
interest to show them together. Mr 
Bradford wrote two sets of notes to 
accompany the drawings; these | have 
amalgamated, as far as possible retain- 
ing his original words. 

“This, as its name suggests, is a 
variable species. The upper drawing 
is from a fairly normal specimen bred 
from Hawthorn (Crataegus  sp.), 
while the lower is from another bred 
from a rambler rose (Rosa sp.) in the 
garden. The larva also feeds on 
Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa Linn.); it 
folds a leaf of its foodplant or spins 
two leaves together. 


FEBRUARY, 196 


Pin 


atin... & 
dagen’ 


ragienty 
Kitan 


Acleris variegana Schiff. 


“The usual form of the imago, like 
the one in the upper drawing, has a 
creamy ochreous basal patch, the 
terminal patch being bluish or 
purplish black with reddish scales. 
The form illustrated in the lower 
drawing has the basal half of the wing 
of a pale cream colour. | have speci- 
mens in which the forewings are a 
deep bluish black all over. One 
feature common to nearly all speci- 
mens is the orange-brown cilia at 


the apex, fading towards the inner 
angle of the forewing. In fresh 
specimens one can see tufts of scales 
sticking up all over the wings; hence 
the old or common name, the ‘Rough- 
winged Button’. The hindwings are 
a pale greyish brown and in most 
specimens there are darker markings 
like a mosaic or tracery. The adult is 
on the wing from July till Septem- 
ber.”’ 


A general under whom | served in 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


the war recently became one of the 
writers of the Official History of the 
Second World War. Before accepting 
his invitation, he asked for whom he 
would be writing—staff-college 
students, those who took part, 
foreigners assessing the British image, 
the general public or posterity. It 
makes so much difference to what 
you say and how you say it. He 
received no very satisfactory answer: 
he would be writing for them all. If | 
asked the Editor a similar question, | 
would expect an equally evasive reply, 
for what could he say? Now in this 
article | have decided to write for a 
very limited class of reader—for the 
collector of ‘Macros’ who is attracted 
to the ‘Micros’, but is fearful of taking 
the plunge. | am going to suggest to 
him fifteen common species, the 
larvae of which he can readily find in 
most parts of the country before the 
next issue of the Bulletin appears. Let 
him search for them, rear them, and 
throw away his ‘L’ plates. So the 
hoary old campaigner should turn the 
page and go straight on to the 
Hymenoptera Aculeata. 
| have selected three species of the 
Tortricidae. Epinotia tedella Clerck 
feeds on the needles of Spruce (Picea 
abies (Linn.) Karst), spinning them 
together and blanching them; fresh 
feeding is of a greenish white colour. 
Collect at the end of February. 
Endothenia gentianaeana Huebn. feeds 
on the pith in the heart of the heads 
of teasel (Dipsacus spp.). The larvae 
are full-fed in the autumn, but do not 
-pupate until the spring: gather them 
at any time. If you put on stout gloves 
and rip open thistle (Carduus spp.) 
stems, you will probably soon locate 
the pinkish larva of Epiblema scutulana 
Schiff. If you wait until April, you 
should also find pupae. 
_ From the Gelechiidae | have chosen 
Caryocolum tricolorellum Haw. During 
‘late February or early March, collect 
the spun tender shoots of the Greater 
‘Stitchwort (Stellaria holostea Linn.)— 
| 


a plant which is common under most 
hedgerows. 

| have selected the largest of the 
Cosmopterygidae, namely Limnoecia 
phragmitella Staint; the larvae are 
found in the shaggy heads of bulrushes 
(Typha spp.). Among the Oecophori- 
dae is Dasycera sulphurella Fab. lf you 
prise off the loose bark from the 
dead stumps of oak or other trees (or 
even from fallen branches), you 
should soon come across its whitish 
larva—and, possibly, other more 
exciting species. You should wait 
until April for my Glyphipterygid: 
then almost any patch of nettles 
(Urtica dioica Linn.) will yield loosely 
spun leaves containing larvae of 
Simaethis fabriciana Linn. 

Here are three suggestions for the 
Hyponomeutidae. The needles of 
Pine (Pinus sylvestris Linn.) are mined 
in March and April by the larvae of 
Cedistis farinatella Dup. If you pick 
the catkins of birch (Betula spp.) in 
April, concentrating on those which 
are distorted, you should get larvae 
of Argyresthia goedartella Linn. and 
the more beautiful but slightly less 
common A. brockeella Huebn. 

It is rather early for the Coleophor- 
idae, but you should be able to find 
Coleophora gryphipennella Bouch. on 
rose shoots by the middle of April. 
Look out for the characteristic 
‘windows’ in the leaves, with the 
neat, round hole in the lower 
cuticle. 

You should readily be able to find 
three species of Lithocolletis. Search 
Beech saplings (Fagus sylvatica Linn.) 
which have retained their leaves and 
you will almost certainly find the 
mine of L. faginella Zell. on the 
underside; you can start collecting 
them right away. You should, how- 
ever, wait longer for the other two 
species. These are L. messaniella Zell. 
in Holm Oak (Quercus ilex Linn.)— 
passim—and L. trifasciella Haw. in the 
young leaves of Honeysuckle (Lonicera 
periclymenum Linn.); by mid-April, if 


4 


you search in woods, you should start 
finding the inflated, twisted and often 
discoloured leaves containing the 
larvae of the latter species. 

From the Lyonetiidae | have picked 
Tischeria| marginea Haw., which 
puckers the leaves of the evergreen 
bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg., part) 
with rather a pear-shaped mine. The 
larvae commence feeding in the 
autumn and complete their growth 
in the spring; so the leaves may be 
located in the early months of the 
year, but should not be picked until 
April. Much the same applies to 
Nepticula aurella Staint.—my final 
selection—which also hibernates in 
its mine and the long galleries of 
which are conspicuous in the leaves 
of the same foodplant; but these 
larvae ieave their mine to pupate and, 
if it is a mild spring, they will be 
gone early in the month. 

If you get all fifteen of these species, 
you are doing well. Just to see if you 
are on your toes and to make it a 
little easier, | have, in fact, given you 
sixteen! And you experts, if against 
my advice you are still with me, 
what different selection would you 
have proffered to a_ hypothetical 
beginner, bearing in mind that we 
should try to represent most of the 
families? 

A. M: Emmet, (1379): 


The Hymenoptera Aculeata 


Now is the time for taking stock of 
past seasons and looking forward to, 
and planning for, the future. One 
topic | have had in mind relates to 
ants, and in particular to the marriage 
flights of the common species of 
Lasius, L. niger Linn. and L. flavus Fab. 
Both these species are abundant and 
widespread and have important influ- 
ences on the ecological processes of 
our countryside. The winged forms 
emerge in summer, sometimes as 
early as July, but more usually in 


‘headed Gull, Larus ridibundus Linn.| 


FEBRUARY, 1968 | 


August, and on into September inj} %' 
some years. Nests of these species’ 
are founded by single fertilised |) 
queens. These, therefore, have to}! 
carry within themselves on their|) 
marriage flights sufficient nutrients) 
to support themselves for the period 
until the following spring and also to) “| 
allow the first few workers to be) 
reared. The production each year of) 
large numbers of these winged queens | 
obviously injects into the environ-| 
ment an important food source, and 
many predators take advantage of): 
this, the best known being birds. 10) 

The particular feature that has) 
interested me is the habit of gulls in| 
circling to take these flying ants in the 
air. The only species | have definitely 


identified doing this is the Black-j)\ 


-—~< 


if 
a 


The bare fact that gulls hawk for ants) 
is recorded by Donisthorpe (1927,) 
p.237). In quoting only one example}: 
(Putney, 20th August 1921) he gives’ 
this association equal status with the}: 
taking of winged ants by such birds as) 
Swallows (Hirundo rustica  Linn.),\): 
Sparrows (Passer domesticus Linn.)i} 
and Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris Linn.) 
(he also gives one record of a “‘Lesser|}: 
Tern’ (Sterna sp.)). However, | feel!) 
that this habit of gulls represents aj} 
significant adaptation of their normal/): 
behaviour. This is not the case with, 
the other birds named which habitu-)}, 
ally feed on the wing. : 

| first noted gulls taking flying ants) 
on 3rd August 1964 at Sittingbourne.) 
How often before that | must have 
seen them without really noticing, I} 
don’t know. Since then | have noted!) 
this behaviour each year in this area, } 
from Rainham to Herne Bay, they 
earliest date being 23rd July, in 1966,) 
the latest 19th September, in 1965. I}, 
have also seen the same behaviour on} 
the Belgian coast at Westende (I Ithiy. 
August 1965 and 22nd August 1967)./9) 
Indeed | now find that the behaviou 
of the gulls in an area is a ver 
sensitive indicator of the occurrence}, 


"AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


and extent of an ant flight. 

The behaviour of the gulls in such 
‘lights is very characteristic. The 
ndividual birds fly slowly round, 
‘liding interspersed with rather rapid 
ving beats noticeably fast for the 
actual speed of flight. During this 
tircling catching movements are 
nade, either of the head only or of 
“he whole body as the culmination of 
series of rapid wing beats. The flocks 
-eem rarely to be of less than twenty 
or thirty birds, and often more than 
00 are involved, circling up to 200 
300 ft. More rarely some birds will 
swoop down below tree-top height, 
vay 30-50 ft. 

_ Two points interest me. First, how 
song established and how widespread 
+s the habit, and can the occurrence 
if flocks be used to follow the area 
ssver which ant flights are synchro- 
viised? As to the first point, the Black- 
‘ieaded Gull is a species which has 
)narkedly changed its habits during 
Dhis century, changing from a coastal 
| ird to one that feeds widely over the 
) ountryside. The change of behaviour 
hat enabled this to occur proved a 
‘very successful one for the species, 
‘ind perhaps the present case is 
nother example. Tne species has 
| pcapted its normal circling behaviour, 
n thermals and up-currents by the 
| Pe to the taking of flying ants which 
jormally occur under conditions of 
hermal activity. 

/ On both points | now appeal to my 
veaders. If AES Members would make 
) point during the coming season of 
)vatching for the behaviour | have 
Jescribed and if they do see it make 
_ note of the place, date, species of 
cull, and whether or not the presence 
flying ants was confirmed, a picture 
J vould quickly build up of the present 
jistribution of the habit. It would 
‘Iso be apparent to what extent 
| bservations of this sort would form 
| convenient way of studying the 
()ynchronising of the marriage flight 
fants over wide areas. | look forward 


to hearing from Members at the end 
of the season. 


26.10.67. J. C. Felton (3740). 


REFERENCE 
DONISTHORPE, H. St. J. (1927). British Ants—their 
life history and classification. 2nd edn. Routledge, 
London. 


SCOTTISH ENTOMOLOGY 
1966 


[Continued from Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 
26: 109-14.] 


Coleoptera (by J. Cooter) 

My notes have been compiled from 
the list of Coleoptera collected by 
my father during May 1965 and June 
1966 when he was on holiday as a 
volunteer warden at the Loch Garten 
Bird Reserve near Nethy Bridge, 
Inverness-shire. Mr J. K. Smith kindly 
sent mea list of the rarer species that 
he collected in September 1966 at 
Loch Garten. Many of the beetles 
are not true Scottish species and 
quite a few are widespread occurring 
in most parts of the British Isles. 

(The collecting season—when the 
coleopterist stops using collecting 
methods he has been using in the 
winter—begins about a month after 
it does in the south of England, i.e., 
the end of May.) 

My father found that the best 
collecting method to use in early 
spring was to pull up handfuls of wet 
feathery moss, squeeze it gently to 
get rid of any excess water, then 
shake the moss over a white sheet, 
or old plastic table cloth—as my 
father used. Any large beetle can 
then be captured and put into a tube, 
whereas the small fry can be collected 
with a pooter as they run across the 
cloth. While in Scotland in June, my 
father found moss to be unproductive 
and other methods of capture had to 
be employed. 

Most of the beetles found in the 
moss belonged to the Adephaga, 


[os 


although large numbers of Staphy- 
linids were also present. Several rare 
and local species were collected, 
namely a short series of the rare 
Agonum scitulum Dej. and a single 
example of the pretty A. ericeti Panz. 
Several ‘northern species’ such as 
Nebria gyllenhali Schoenherr and the 
var. balbii Bonelli were taken. Tricho- 
cellus cognatus Gyll. and Patrobus 
atrorufus Stroem were not too com- 
mon. P. atrorufus, a moorland species, 
is more common in the north than in 
the south. It does occur in the south, 
however, and | have captured a 
specimen near Brockenhurst in the 
New Forest, Hampshire. Perhaps the 
most common beetles in the moss 
and elsewhere were three species of 
Calathus, namely C. melanocephalus 
Linn. var. nubigena Hal., C. micro- 
pterus Dufts. and C. piceus Marsh. 
Other species of the Carabids include 
Pterosticus oblongopunctata Fab. P. 
diligens Sturm and several smaller 
beetles which | still have to name. 
Among the Staphylinidae were lots 
of common species and only a few 
rarities from moss; a specimen of 
Atheta (Liogluta) hypnorum Kw. and 
two uncommon _ ‘staphs’—Atheta 
(Metaxya) arctica Thoms. and A. 
(Hypatheta) aquatica Thoms. Two 
specimens of the large Staphylinus 
erythrepterus Linn. were captured in 
mid-June under stones at the side of 
Loch Garten. One example of Ocypus 
brunnipes Fab. was taken while my 
father was taking the bark off a dead 
birch (Betula) tog. | have only found 
this beetle hibernating under bark. 
This may be only coincidence. Some 
of the more common ‘staphs’ were 
Quedius molochinus Grav., Q. fuligon- 
osus Grav., Philonthus marginatus 
Stroem, P. politus Linn. (=aeneus 
Rossi), Lathrobium elongatum Linn., 
Stenus impressus Germ., Anthobium 
unicolor Marsh (from fungus), and 
several very small species probably 
from the genus Atheta and related 
genera. Three specimens of Xantho- 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


linus tricolor Fab. from Glenmore)” 


were captured under stones. Mr Last 
informs me that this species is found 
more in Scotland than in England. 

By luck my father captured an 
example of the large Carabus glabra- 
tus Payk. var. lapponicus Born at the 
edge of a road running through the 
Abernethy Forest where he also took 
a specimen of Cicindela campestris 
Linn., a beetle usually found in the 
south or coastal districts in the north 
and midlands, on sandy heaths or 
sand dunes. This particular specimen 
was found in a peaty region. In early 
May the Hydradephaga and aquatic 
Palpicornia can be easily netted. 
Several specimens of Agabus sturmii 
Gyll. and A. bipustulatus Linn. as well 
as a single specimen of Ilybius fuligino- 
sus Fab. were captured. Unfortu- 
nately, they can be taken in almost 
every other pond in the United 
Kingdom! Smaller members of the 
family (probably Hydroporus) were 
also captured, as were a few un- 
interesting aquatic Palpicornia. 

Only two species of Chrysomelidae 
were captured. One copper-red 
specimen of Plateumaris discolor Panz. 
was found in moss at the loch side. 
Sweeping the reeds later in June 
failed to produce any more of this 
species or any more of the aquatic 
Chrysomelidae. Lochmaeda  suturalis 
Thoms., a very common insect in 
nearly all parts of the country, was 
abundant in mid-June on the heather. 

To my pleasure, two northern 
species of Cerambycidae were cap- 
tured by my father. One specimen o 
Pogonocherus fasciculatus Deg. appear- 
ed in the water net. This beetle is 
found in the south-east midlands 
(Lincolnshire?) but is believed to 
have been imported from the north. 
Three examples of Rhagium inquisitor 
Linn. were found early in the morning 
on freshly cut fir palings in the 
Abernethy Forest. Mr J. K. Smith 
found several of this species near 
Loch Garten. Rhagium bifasciatum 


) AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Fab. was also found. Some larvae 
brought home by my father proved 
| to be R. bifasciatum. Only two species 
of Curculionidae were collected, 
these being Hylobius abietis Linn., 
| presumed to bea pest in some forests, 
| the other being the rare Eremotes ater 
/ Linn., a northern insect. Although 
| listed by Joy (1932) as being rare, my 
| father has collected a series of this 
| beetle each time he has been in 
) Scotland. (He told me that he didn’t 
| take too many of them because he 
|) found it so commonly and thought 
| that | must have caught it myself!) It 
| can be found on decaying trees or 
| stumps in the Abernethy and Rothie- 
murchus Forests. 

A very good find was Dictyopterus 
| aurora Herbst. Several of this species 
| were found in a rotten tree stump in 
| the Rothiemurchus Forest. This is a 
‘truly northern beetle, being found 
/ only in parts of Scotland. 

* Mr Smith found a single example of 
| the rare and beautiful Pytno depressus 
Linn. under the bark of a Scots Pine 
/ log (Pinus sylvestris Linn.). Another 
Scottish beetle, it is found in North 
|) West areas of Scotland extending 
- south to Aviemore. 
 Geotrupes stercorosus Scriba was 
| fairly common in the Abernethy 
| Forest and was the only large member 
|| of the Scarabaeoidea noted. The true 
i) northern Aphodius beetles were fairly 
; common—A. nemoralis Erichson was 
;, to be found in deer or sheep drop- 


| nemoralis is rare and found in deer 
() droppings in Scotland.) Aphodius 
| lapponum Gyll. was not as common as 
| | expected. Britton states that A. 


i) Species, rare except in the Scottish 
, Highlands. It was also found in sheep 
y Or deer droppings. Other dung 
y beetles include Aphodius ater Deg., 
A. depressus Kugelann, A. rufipes Linn., 
(| A. fimetarius Linn., and A. aestivalis 
y Steph. A single specimen of Serica 
» brunnea Linn. was bred from a pupa 


found in the Abernethy Forest. 

Several specimens of Thanatophilus 
rugosus Linn. were found in carrion 
and in carcases. One example of 
Oeceoptoma thoracicum Linn. was 
found in a rotten Swede (Brassica 
napus Linn.) and several others were 
under pieces of wood, etc. Only one 
example of the handsome Aclypea 
(=Blitophaga) opaca Linn. was cap- 
tured. Mr Smith found five specimens 
of Dendrophagus crenatus Payk. near 
Loch Garten. 

| would like to thank Mr D. Tozer, 
Mr H. Last, Mr J. Balfour-Browne, 
and Mr R. Adams for identifying 
some of the insects that were 
collected, Mr J. K. Smith for supplying 
a list of the Coleoptera that he 
captured in Scotland and my father 
for collecting so many beetles for me 
in his spare time. 


Trichoptera (by Brian Morrison) 


During the past year, practically 
all my observations have been con- 
fined to a stretch of the Union Canal 
which lies on the boundary of 
Edinburgh and over which crosses 
the road (A70) to Mid-Calder. | 
decided | would try to record the 
times at which the various species 
could be found in the adult state in 
this rather restricted area rather 
than go on hunting expeditions far 
and wide over the countryside. 

With regard to the Canal itself, 
there is very little to say. The bottom 
is muddy with a dense population of 
water weeds of various sorts, particu- 
larly Fontinalis, Elodea (Anacharis) 
canadensis Michx. (Canadian Pond- 
weed) and near the banks there is a 
profuse growth of Potamogeton sp. in 
some areas. The surface of the water, 
particularly in summer, becomes 
covered with a mat of duckweed 
(Lemna sp.). The fauna is very rich in 
still-water species and caddis larvae 
are particularly numerous. The 
accompanying table (Table 3) gives 
the results of my researches on adult 


May | June 
PHRY GANEIDAE 
Agrypnia pagetana sso) S Sy 


LEPTOCERIDAE 


Leptocerus aterrimus 
L. fulvus 
LIMNEPHILIDAE 
Limnephilus lunatus 
L. flavicornis 
Anabolia nervosa 


Chaetopteryx villosa 


Table 3: Diagram showing flying times of several species of Trichoptera found by the| 


Union Canal. 


In addition to the above, occasional examples of other species were found: 


Limnephilus sparsus——8.8.66. 

L. nigriceps—3.10.66 and 10.10.66. 

L. rhombicus and Stenophylax sp.—22.9.66. 
emergence but | am certain that 
there are several other species 
present judging from the types of 
larval cases found. 

Instead of giving a long discourse 
on the subject | would just like to 
mention one or two points which 
might be of interest and which | feel 
are worthy of further investigation. 

As | mentioned earlier, part of the 
Canal runs under a road bridge and 
in the course of the season | made a 
number of visits to the bridge to 
look for insects which might be 
resting on the underside of it. | was 
able to examine parts of it from the 
towpath which was about six feet 
broad. 

The large Phryganeids (Agrypnia 
pagetana Curtis) were found almost 
always hidden in the crevices in the 
stonework rather than on the surface. 
Anabolia nervosa Curtis and Chaetop- 
teryx villosa Fab. were only very 
rarely found under the bridge, but in 
season were extremely common on 
grasses and other plants growing on 
the Canal banks. Limnephilus lunatus 
Curtis and L. flavicornis Fab. were 


July 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


Aug | Sept | Oct Nov Dec 


very common both under the bridge) 
(not usually in crevices) and on 
vegetation on the canal bank and at 
the edge of the towpath. 4 

Leptocerus spp. were found most) | 
commonly at a position resting on the) 
side wall of the towpath, very often! | 
near empty pupae, and also flying very, 
close to the bank, rarely straying far| 
from the water. Limnephilus spp. on) 
the other hand were never found at 
the towpath edge under the bridge | 
and were quite commonly found 100° 
to 200 yards away from the canal on) 
fence posts by the roadside. | 

One point of interest is that 
around the fifth of July | discovered 
several larvae at the edge of the 
towpath next to the arch of the ° 
bridge. | am not sure what specie 
they were but | am fairly certain that 
they were Limnephilids. The fact that - 
| subsequently found empty pupal — 
cases and Limnephilids with not fully | 
expanded wings on the arch of th 
bridge just above the towpath make 
me feel more certain about this. Ii 
this is so, it seems that these larva 
emerge from the water when full 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


grown and pupate on land. This has 
still to be verified. | have not come 
across any other such accounts of 
this behaviour. 

It will be seen from the table that 
L. lunatus is to be found right through 
December. Specimens dissected at 
that late date were found to be full of 
eggs. During the recent Xllth Ento- 
mological Congress in London, a 
paper was submitted in which it was 
stated that many Limnephilids which 
inhabit bodies of water which are 
seasonal in times of appearance, i.e., 
late summer and autumn, actually 
emerge in spring but remain in 
hiding until later in the year when 
they can lay their eggs in the newly 
formed pools. This makes me wonder 
whether Limnephilids might hiber- 
nate in certain circumstances. | am 
told this is very unlikely, but | hope 
to investigate the matter further. It 
seems to me interesting too that 
adults with eggs can be found as late 
as December. 

lfany Member is keen on taxonomy 
then the Trichoptera offer ample 
scope. Work has been done on the 
genus Limnephilus (and one or two 
other genera), and on the Leptoceri- 
dae, in more recent times, but a lot 
remains to be done. The trouble with 
the key in Mosely (1939), which is 
still the standard work, is that the 
diagrams are not always reliable and 
it is often impossible to determine 
single specimens if they are female. 

The following is a list of species 
taken in the area discussed: 

Agrypnia pagetana Curtis, Lepto- 
cerus fulvus Rambur, L. aterrimus 
Steph., Limnephilus lunatus Curtis, 
L. flavicornis Fab., L. nigriceps Zett., 
L. sparsus Curtis, L. rhombicus Linn., 
Anabolia nervosa Curtis, Chaetopteryx 
villosa Fab. 


Papers in other journals 


The following three papers on 
Scottish insects were published in 
1966. 


HARPER, G. W. (1966). Ent. Record, 
78: 50-2. Inverness-shire in 1965. 
MAITLAND, P. S. (1966). Entom., 99: 
72-81. The distribution, life-cycle 
and predators of Amphinemura 
succicollis (Stephens), Plecoptera, 
in the river Endrick, Scotland. 

PELHAM-CLINTON, E. C. (1966). 
Ent. Record, 78: 43-5. Cossus cossus 
(Linn.) in Scotland. 


General 


| find it a useful discipline to note 
when the first specimens of certain 
groups make their appearance, as it 
gives a general indication as to 
whether the season is an early or 
late one. Table 4 shows the compara- 
tive emergence dates for four main 
groups which have not been mention- 
ed in the report so far. Unfortun- 
ately it is not possible to give anything 


First red. 1966 First red. 1965 


Apis sp. [4cs2 ol 2 2018 
Bombus sp. 23.4 31.3 
Odonata 29:5 295 
Orthoptera it hed 29.6 


Table 4: Some first and last records. 


other than the name of the Order for 
two of them. Perhaps this will 
encourage some Members to con- 
tribute to these aspects of Scottish 
Entomology for my report for the 
season 1967! 


20.3.67. George Thomson (3689). 


REFERENCES 

BRITTON, E. B. (1956). Handb. Ident. Brit. Ins., 5: (11). 
Scarabaeoidea. R. Ent. Soc. Lond., London. 

JOY, N. H. (1932). A Practical Handbook of British 
Beetles, Vol |. Witherby, London. 

MOSELY, M. E. (1939). The British Caddis Flies. Rout- 
ledge, Londen. 

TINDALL, A. R. (1963). Ent. Mon. Mag., 99: 115-23. 
Keys for the identification of adults of the genus 
Limnephilus (Trichoptera; Limnephilidae). 


THE AIMS OF THE AMATEUR 
CONSERVATION GROUP 


|. The present AES Breeding Group 
will no longer exist, but will become 
a part of this new AES group and will 


10 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


have an entirely new constitution. 

2. The main aims of the Amateur 

Conservation Group are as follows :— 

—To assist and cooperate with 
county and local conservation 
groups in order to interest them 
in, and advise them on, the con- 
servation of insect fauna and suit- 
able areas which should be given 
special attention. 

—To collect and collate information 
on local insects and the status of 
the insects and their habitats for 
use when such insects or areas are 
in danger. 

—To breed and supply insects for 
nature reserves and special areas 
where it has been agreed with 
other interested groups that this 
is desirable. 

—To supply an annual report to the 
Society on the conservation activi- 
ties of the group and to encourage 
all Members to be active in this 
field. 

3. As regards the collection and 
collation of information as mentioned 
above, it is suggested that the group 
should undertake studies of various 
species, not only the rare and local 
species but also those termed un- 
common. Such suggested studies 
include work on the Glanville Fritill- 
ary (Melitaea cinxia Linn.) on the Isle 
of Wight; the Heath Fritillary 
(Melitaea athalia Rott.); the Purple 
Emperor (Apatura iris Linn.); and the 
Adonis Blue (Lysandra _ bellargus 
Rott.). These four species, along with 
others, need careful conservation 
studies within the next couple of 
years, and it would be wise to note 
details such as population numbers; 
distribution; rearing in captivity for 
possible release; distribution of food- 
plant and its conservation; and advice 
for future conservation efforts. 

4. \|f any Members could undertake 

other detailed work on_ species 

needing such a study, would they 
please contact the group convener as 
soon as possible giving details. 


5. The possible breeding and supply 
of insects for release relates to the 
late Breeding Group. Members would 
rear Lepidoptera for release in 
suitable localities to repopulate areas 
with species that have become un- 
common for some reason. | must here 
note certain conditions for rearing 
species for release, and | would be 
grateful if Members would inform me 
of any personal efforts in this direc- 
tion, giving the species they are 
rearing and the localities these are 
to be released in. 

Suitable methods and conditions 
for releasing bred stock are as 
follows: 

A. Augmenting a species by pro- 
tected breeding of additional speci- 
mens procured from that same 
habitat. Such breeding should be 
done in as near natural conditions as 
possible. This method is being used 
successfully with some species includ- 
ing the Large Copper (Lycaena dispar 
Haw.) at Woodwalton Fen. 

B. Putting down of a species in a 
new area where it has never occurred 
or from which it has disappeared 
owing to some detrimental factor 
such as ploughing up, forestry 
changes, etc. This is not always 
successful as it is difficult to gauge all 
the factors, and micro-climatic or soil 
factors may be disadvantageous. 
Whenever such a venture is pro- 
posed it is well to obtain the interest 
of the landowner and the County 
Naturalists Trust, and inform the 
Natural History Museum at South 
Kensington, S.W. 7, of what you are 
doing (Mr Howarth is an AES 
Member). 

C. General release of excess bred 
specimens of common species (e.g., 
Vanessids). This is a very haphazard 
business and little data are available 
on the effect or success of such 
operations. With species which natur- 
ally have a wide dispersal it is prob- 
able that no harm can be done. 

D. Release of introduced species. 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


This should be done only with species 
which are restricted in habitat if any 
proper records are to be kept and 
the chance of the introduction spread- 
ing is to be avoided. Parasites and 
virus diseases are of course a danger 
to our native species, which may not 
be prepared for them, and generally 
| would advise against any intro- 
duction of foreign species, or foreign 
stocks of our native butterflies. 


The Amateur Conservation Group 


A newsletter will be sent to each 
member now and then, and especially 
when group activities become inter- 
esting and important projects are 
suggested. In November of each year 
an annual report will be prepared 
with all members of the Group 
contributing articles. 

Members should keep the convener 
well informed of their activities 
throughout the season, and of their 


plans before they become active in 


<<a oes 


— 


the season, reporting such matters as 
species being reared, studies, released 
and successes and failures. 

A list of livestock is expected to 
circulate through the Group and will 


be published in March or April, 


listing spare livestock each member 


hopes to have and also livestock he 
requires for rearing. 


Membership lists will occasionally 


be published and circulated. 


series 


8.9.67. K. J. Willmott (3822). 


THE TRANSFER OF SEMEN IN 
THE INSECTA 


The two previous articles in this 
(Wightman, 1967a and b) 


have described the anatomy of the 
female and male reproductive systems 


and the production of gametes in the 
| insects. 
__methods by which spermatozoa are 


This article describes the 


passed from male to female. 


In general, true aquatic animals 


have no problems in effecting fertili- 
zation; a male and female merely 
come together and emit the gametes. 
Terrestrial animals have greater prob- 
lems, in that, if the gametes were 
shed into the environment, they 
would immediately be subject to 
dessication. To overcome this prob- 
lem several mechanisms have evolved. 
Land snails, for instance, transfer 
semen enclosed in calcareous ‘love 
darts’, whereas in terrestrial verte- 
brates the sperm is _ introduced 
directly into the reproductive canals 
of the female. Both of these processes 
necessitate internal fertilization. \n 
insects there is great variation in 
copulation methods, but they are, in 
general, analogous to the two 
methods mentioned above, ii.e., 
either a sperm is transferred directly 
into the female's genital tracts by an 
intromittant organ, the aedeagus, or 
they may be enclosed in a ‘packet’ 
secreted by the male, called a 
spermatophore, and inserted into the 
bursa copulatrix of the female. 

These two methods are scattered 
throughout the Insecta, quite closely 
related species employing the differ- 
ent methods. Oncopeltus fasciatus 
Dallas, the milkweed bug, has a long, 
eversible intromittant organ carried 
coiled up in the genital capsule. 
During mating the fluid is pumped 
into this organ so that it becomes 
distended, and enters the female’s 
bursa copulatrix. Spermatozoa can 
then be deposited in the spermatheca, 
where they are stored until needed 
for fertilization. In the closely related 
blood-sucking bug Rhodnius prolixus 
Stahl., a spermatophore is formed. 
This is a pear shaped object (see Fig. |) 
with the spermatozoa enclosed in the 
‘neck’. It is jelly-like in substance, and 
is the product of the male accessory 
glands. During copulation the intro- 
mittant organ, much shorter than in 
Oncopeltus, is inserted into the bursa 
copulatrix of the female, the spermat- 
ophore (with spermatozoa) is secre- 


12 


Fig. |. Spermatophore of Rhodnius. 
Key: GM = gelatinous matrix; OAS = 
Opaque accessory secretion; S = semen. 


ted, and the male withdraws leaving 


it behind. The whole process takes - 


about thirty minutes. The spermato- 
zoa are then transferred to the sperm- 
atheca by rhythmic contractions of 
the oviducts which are triggered off 
by a secretion from the spermato- 
phore. 

In Rhodnius the spermatophore 
merely acts as a plug to hold the 
sperm in place, whereas in the 
orthopteroid orders it is a more 
complex structure, composed of a 
number of membranous sacs. Female 
mantids have been observed to eat 


Fig. 2. Female genital tracts in Zygaena. 


Key: A = anus; AG = accessory glands; BC = bursa copulatrix; CP = copulatory pore; 
DS = ductus seminalis; O = oviduct; OP = oviductal pore; ST = spermatheca. 


FEBRUARY, 1968. 


the spermatophore after, it is pre-| 
sumed, it has discharged its contents. | 
Spermatophores do not occur so 
often in the higher orders. In the 
Diptera spermatophores are found 
mainly in the Nematocera, whereas | 
probably all Lepidoptera have them. 

Whilst on the subject of Lepidop- 
tera and as most readers will be! 
specialists in this order, the sperm) 
transfer of Zygaena will be described _ 
(Hewer, 1934). The separation of the _ 
egg-laying and copulatory pores com- — 
mon in the Lepidoptera is well! 
exemplified in this species. (see 
Fig. 2). The spermatophore is deposi-. 
ted in the bursa, whence the sperma- 
tozoa travel up the ductus seminalis 
to the spermatheca, a process which 
takes twelve to eighteen hours. The 
migration of the spermatozoa along — 
the ductus seminalis may be caused by _ 
a chemical gradient (chemotaxis). 
This basically means the spermatozoa 
seek a region of optimal chemical 
conditions, in this case the sperma-) | 
theca. However, contraction of the) 
various ducts (cf, Rhodnius) occurs in 
recently mated females. ! 

Another kind of semen transfer) 
not included in spermatophore for- 
mation or direct copulation is haemo-|_ 
coelic fertilization. This occurs in 
Cimicidae and similar forms (Heter-|_ 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


13 


optera). In Cimex lectularius Linn., a 
bed bug, the male penetrates the 
fifth sternite and deposits semen ina 
special receptive capsule, the Organ 
of Berlese, or spermalege. The female 
cuticle and aedeagus of the male are 
specially modified to effect this 
process. The spermatozoa are then 
released into the haemocoel, and 
next appear in pouches attached to 
the lateral oviducts. Hinton (1963) 
lists a series whereby haemocoelic 
insemination may have evolved from 
the accidental escape of spermatozoa 
from the bursa or oviduct to the 
situation as it occurs in Cimex. 
Probable intermediate stages are 
described. According to Hinton, the 
females may receive extra nutrient 
from the seminal fluid which may 
help to tide them over between their 
infrequent meals. 

Many other complex and intriguing 
variations occur in the mating of 
insects, many of which are described 
by Davey (1965) and Hinton (1963). 

The actual mating is usually accom- 
panied by a complex behavioural 
ritual in which a male approaches 
another insect and in essence finds 
out if it is of the same species, the 
correct sex, and whether, if all is well 
so far, she is at the correct state of 
development for mating. Some insects 
exhibit monogamy (i.e., mate once), 
cf, the honey-bee and screw worm 
fly, whereas in others their fecundity 
is improved by multiple matings. 

The transfer of semen in insects is 
a complex process and has only been 
described very briefly in this context. 
However, one or two generalities 
can be made. The whole process has 
been evolved to prevent the gametes 
being desiccated, and there are two 
main methods which bring this about. 
Either the male inserts his aedeagus 
into the female and deposits the 
Sperm in the spermatheca; or a 
Spermatophore is secreted which 
contains the sperm, and is placed in 
the female’s bursa copulatrix. A 


modification of the former method 
involves the penetration of the 
female’s cuticle and the translo- 
cation of the spermatozoa to the 
genital tracts via the haemocoel. 

J. A. Wightman, 58, Oakfield Road, 


Clifton, Bristol, 8. 
REFERENCES 

DAVEY, K. G. (1965). Reproduction in the Insects. 
University Reviews in Biology, 5. Oliver and Boyd, 
Edinburgh. 

HEWER, H. R. (1934). Proc. zool. Soc. Lond., 104: 
513-27. Studies in Zygaena (Lepidoptera). Part Il. 
The mechanism of copulation and the passage of the 
sperm in the female. 

HINTON, H. E. (1963). Sperm transfer in insects and 
the evolution of haemocoelic insemination. In Insect 
Reproduction, Symp. R. Ent. Soc. Lond. 

WIGHTMAN, J. A. (1967a). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 
45-8. The Female Insect Reproductive System. 

(1967b). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 87-9. The 
Male Insect Reproductive System. 


HORMONES IN INSECTS 
(PART ONE) 


This article is intended as a brief 
introduction to the study of hor- 
mones in insects, with one or two 
simple experiments which need little 
or no equipment to illustrate some 
of the functions and ways of function- 
ing of hormones. 

Hormones (or endocrines' or 
endocrine substances) are chemicals 
which circulate in the body fluids. 
They are produced from specialised 
nerve cells (‘neurosecretors’ pro- 
ducing ‘neurosecretion’) or from 
ductless glands in various parts of the 
body. In the lower animals there are 
no ductless glands, as far as is known, 
and it is only when a certain stage in 
complexity is reached, such as is 
found in the insects, that the ductless 
glands are found. The steroids which 
these glands produce are merely a 
particular class of chemical substance 
which need not concern us here. The 
neurosecretion is probably a protein. 
The ‘chain of command’ is simple in 
concept, and holds for all classes of 
animals from Hydra, a relative of the 
sea anemones and jellyfish, to our- 
selves. It may be represented in an 


14 


abbreviated form as in Fig. |. The 
‘target organ’ is the organ which is 
affected by the hormone. A hormone 
may have one or several target organs, 
and the accuracy of the ‘aim’ is 
determined both by the nature of the 
hormone and the nature of the target 
organ: a ‘‘square’’ hormone will fit 
only a target organ with a “‘square 
hole’’, and will exert no effect on a 
target organ with a ‘‘round hole’ 
(the analogy is purely pictorial, | 
hasten to add!). The response (every 
stimulus must have a response) is 
what the target organ does: it may 
change its rate of performing a 
certain process, or start a new one. 
One could consider the various 
organs and cells of the insect as the 
strings on a harp, and the hormones 


as the fingers of the person playing 


the harp. The harp will not produce 
organised sound unless the fingers 
hit the right notes at the right time. 
Thus the insect cannot function in an 
organised manner unless the hor- 
mones ensure that the right processes 
are going on at the right time. A 
further analogy may be made with 
the nervous system of the insect, 
which together with the hormonal 
system completes the basic short- and 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


long-term controlling systems. The 
insect cannot move unless the nerv- — 
ous system is telling the right 
muscles to move at the right time in 
the right way. Indeed, just as the 
control of muscles by nerves may be 
investigated by cutting the nerve and 
seeing what happens to the muscle, 
sO one can investigate the hormonal 
system by cutting off the supply of 
the hormone. 

In insects the main hormone pro- 
ducers are the neurosecretory cells 
which may be found throughout the 
nervous system in various well- 
defined areas. Thus there are large 
and important groups in the front of 
the brain in the middle where the 
two halves meet, also further out on 
the frontal lobes of the brain, and 
further back in the body of the organ. 
These are respectively the median 
and lateral groups of the protocere- 
brum, and the tritocerebral group. 
There are also several neurosecretory 
cells in each of the ganglia (the small 
swellings from which the nerves 
come) in the ventral nerve cord. The 
hormones from these cells control 
many processes such as_ growth, 
moulting, hardening and darkening 
of the cuticle, egg production and 


STIMULUS NERVOUS NEURCSECRETORY 
(Internal or SYSTEM CELLS 
external) ve 
NEUROSECRETORY 
HORMONE 
iui DUCTLESS 
GLAND 


RESPONSE 


ee 


STEROID 


TARGET Sea HE RMONE 


“ ORGAN 
RESPONSE 


FIG.ONE 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


formation, water retention or loss, 
ECC. 

The neurosecretion of the brain is 
released through the corpora cardiaca 
(sing. corpus cardiacum) of which 
there are two. The name means 
‘heart bodies’, and these organs are 
found just behind the brain in the 
wall of the dorsal ‘heart’ or aorta. 
If you want to see these organs, the 
best and easiest animal to use is 
probably the cockroach (Periplaneta 


-or Blatta). Cut the head off at the 


neck, then cut off one side of the 
head well to the side so that the 
cheek, eye and mandible are removed. 
Then pin the head with the cut side 
uppermost in a wax-bottomed dish 
and cover it with a very weak salt 


-solution. You will need also to use a 


low-powered magnifying glass to 
look through, and a strong light to 
illuminate the inside of the head 
capsule. Then, using a very fine pair 
of forceps or tweezers and a pin 
mounted in the end of a matchstick, 
carefully remove the odd bits of 
muscle and trachea. You will see the 
corpora cardiaca as two bluish-white 
bodies just on top of the gut behind 
the brain. The bluish white colour is 
caused by the very fine granules of 
neurosecretion contained in the cells 
reflecting and dispersing the light in 
much the same way that dust particles 


in the atmosphere make the sky 


appear blue (the Tyndall effect). On 
the end of each corpus cardiacum is 


another gland which is much more 
transparent, 


and may even look 
pinkish. This is the corpus allatum. 
Both the corpus allatum and the 
corpus cardiacum are supplied with 
neurosecretion from the median and 


lateral neurosecretory cells of the 
brain, but only the corpus cardiacum 
acts as the main releasing organ for 


| 


| 
t 
| 
| 
{ 
\ 


‘which 


these neurosecretory products. These 


then affect such processes as ovarian 


development, fat body metabolism, 
“Water metabolism, etc. The hormone 


activates the prothoracic 


IS 


glands (see below), the Activation 
Hormone (AH) is also released from 
the corpora cardiaca. The corpora 
allata are noted mainly for the pro- 
duction of Neotenin, the ‘‘juvenile 
hormone’, which controls the form 
of the insect at each moult. Thus it 
causes either a larva, pupa or adult; 
or a more adult-like nymph or adult 
to result. In the adult this same 
hormone is concerned with the 
reproductive processes and behaviour 
in each sex. 

Returning to the dissection, if you 
now take the brain out and look at it 
top uppermost (i.e., with that part 
which lies directly beneath the frons 
uppermost) you might be able to 
distinguish an area, rather oblong 
across the join of the two halves of 
the brain, which is coloured much the 
same as the corpora cardiaca. This 
area is where the neurosecretors 
which supply the corpora cardiaca are 
situated, and the bluish-white colour 
is again caused by the finely divided 
particles of neurosecretion. These 
median neurosecretory cells are, 
however, very easily seen in the larva 
of Bombyx mori Linn., and probably in 
the larvae of other silkmoths. It may 
be worthwhile looking at the brains 
of some last instar larvae of various 
species, to see if you can see these 
cells. Fig. 2 shows the corpora 
cardiaca and allata of Blatta. Periplan- 
eta has a similar arrangement, though 
the glands extend somewhat further 
back. Fig. 3 shows the brain of the 
silkworm (Bombyx mori caterpillar), 
with two median groups each of four 
neurosecretory cells. 

There remains one major ductless 
gland: the prothoracic gland. This 
gland, or its equivalent, is also known 
as the ventral, tentorial, pericardial or 
peritracheal gland in different groups 
of insects. The function of these 
glands seems, however, to be the 
same. Unlike the corpora cardiaca and 
allata, this gland is not directly con- 
nected with the nervous system, 


FIG. TWO 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


Hind brain 


Corpora cardiaca 


Hypocerebral ganglion 


Corpora allata 


Retrocerebral glands of 


Blatta orientalis 


though it is derived from similar 
tissues in the embryo. The prothor- 
acic gland is found only in the 
immature stages of the insect. It 
produces, under the action of the AH 
(see above), the moulting hormone, 
Ecdysone (or Ecdyson) which is con- 
cerned mainly with getting the 
insect’s cells to prepare for the next 
moult. The most obvious effect is on 
the epidermal! cells, which slough off 
the old cuticle and start to make a 
new one beneath. Ecdysone has also 
been shown to have more subtle 


effects such as altering chemical 
pathways in various other organs to 
produce the substances which will 
subsequently cause the cuticle to 
harden and darken after the insect 
has emerged from its old cuticle. It is 
also responsible for the ‘pre-harden- 
ing’ of cuticular spines and the 
mandibles before emergence from 
the old cuticle. Many authors quote 
Ecdysone as the growth and moulting 
hormone. There is no evidence for 
Ecdysone having anything to do with 
growth, so you are one up on the 


Growps of median 


neurOsecretory cells 


FIGURE 


THREE 


Brain of Bombyx mori caterpillar 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 17 


ANTENNAE LABRUM 

| EYES OCELLI 

| FRONTAL 

t GANGLION 
ECTOHORMONAL . 
(PHEROMONAL) 
FEEDBACK BRAIN 

| Pars intercerebralis Tritocerebrum 


: CORPORA | 
CORPORA CARDIACA : 
| ALLATA a, 
| SUB - ESOPHAGEAL 
I NEOTENIN GANGLION 
r ee PROTHORACIC 
Ko 


Maturation BURSICON GLAND 


| 
ECDYSONE 
Tao aC | 
(Cessation: > diapause) Colour 


1 (in larva) control 
of form 


2(in adult) control of 
yolk deposition; 
control of sexual 


variation 


Moulting, etc. 


Villth ABDOMINAL 
GANG 


IN 


receptivity Maternal control 
of diapause 
BURSICON 
Circadian 
FIGURE FOUR control of 
motor activity 
Hardening A POLYPEPTIDE 
and 
Darkening 


AN ORTHODIPHENOL ? 
PERICARDIAL 
CELLS 


A TRYPTAMINE ? 


1 Eventual decrease 
in motor activity 


2 Stops brain and 
sub-cesophageal gang. 
inhibition of phallic 


nerve Increased - heart rate 


rate of gut contractions 
rate of blood filtration 
control of water loss from rectum 


Fig. 4. Diagram of some endocrine effects in the insects. 


(Note: The labrum-frontal ganglion-brain pathway leads to the pericardial cell function by 
| way of the corpora cardiaca). 


| OO 


textbooks there! 

Well, that’s the ‘big three’ of the 
glands of internal secretion. But as 
stated above, there are other neuro- 
secretory cells, together with their 
corpus cardiacum equivalents, in the 
ventral nerve cord, though functions 
have not been assigned to all of them 
by any means. Some of the cells seem 
to be associated with the female 
reproductive cycle; some with con- 
ditions of dryness; some show vari- 
ations in secretory rate in a diurnal 
cycle. Conversely, a recently dis- 
covered hormone, Bursicon, has been 
shown to be produced from the last 
abdominal ganglion, yet the cells pro- 
ducing the substance have not been 
isolated. A diuretic (‘‘water releas- 


ing’’) hormone has been traced back 


to the cells which produce it in the 
last ganglion, but this is an isolated 
instance. 

Fig. 4 shows a selection of the 
endocrine effects so far discovered. 
The diagram, as indeed this article, 
has been abbreviated and simplified 
quite considerably, and some rather 
naughty generalisations made. If you 
want to find out more about insect 
hormones, V. B. Wigglesworth’s 
‘Principles of Insect Physiology’ will 
provide a nice generalised account, 
and V. J. A. Novak’s ‘Insect Hormones’ 
will give a much more complex, 
complete and frustrating account. 
Frustrating because it is only when 
you start to investigate in detail and 
depth that you find out just how 
little is known, and how uncertain 
is the basis of all the lovely theories! 

In the second half of this article, | 
will describe some relatively simple 
experiments which should give food 
for thought, and also give some idea 
of how you can do some original 
research into insect hormones. 

9.67. J. F. Vincent (3027). 


REFERENCES 
NOVAK, Y. J. A. (1965). Insect Hormones. Methuen, 
London. 
WIGGLESWORTH, V.B. (1965). Principles of Insect 
Physiology. 6th edn. Methuen, London. 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH 
TO LIGHT-TRAPPING—5 


Weather Relationships 


In previous articles (Bull. amat. Ent. 
Soc., 25: 29-31, 65-7, 134-5), attempts 
were made to isolate factors which 
affected the quantity of insects caught 
in a light-trap. This section makes no 
such attempt but tries to give an idea 
of the overall situation. 

Weather conditions, which were 
recorded simply in terms of either 
the presence or absence of cloud, 
rain, snow, fog or moon, were 
divided into seven distinct categories, 
as shown on the histograms (Figs. |-8). 
Since these five terms were accom- 
panied by more important changes in 
the physical environment a table has 
been constructed to illustrate them 
(Table |). 

The Orders of insects have been 
classified into groups (see Table 2) 
according to their reactions to the 
factors listed. The majority of insects, 
which have been classified into the 
first group, preferred to fly on either 
very cloudy or extremely clear 
nights. Weather stability, that is the 
continuation of prevailing conditions, 
would appear to be important, for 
far fewer insects flew on moonlit 
nights interrupted by cloud than 
would have been expected from the 
results of the two factors alone. 

Group Ib was less definite in its 
second choice of ideal weather, but 
this was probably due to insufficient 
material collected in the samples. 
First choice was mainly governed by 
temperature: for instance Psocids, 
with the highest temperature thresh- 
old (Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 29), only 
occurred when there was an effective 
cloud cover after a hot day. 

When stability of the animal 
environment was disrupted for in- 
stance by short intervals of rain, 
flying activity was drastically reduced. 
Smaller species of Psocoptera, Ephem- 


Qik Ica) eo 


ar {oc een CI 


Soon ao myo ia) ee 


, 
a 

hss 
A} 


percentage of total appearance 


“AES 


; Figs. 


BUEEETIN,- VOL. 27 


|. Hemiptera 5. Hymenoptera 
5O SO 
0 A ; iz : O Sea fa Ei z 
/00 400 

2. Psocoptera 6. Ephemeropterad 
5O O 
Mee ioll fl ana 
/0O /OO 

5. Neuroptera 7, Coleoptera 
50 5O 
Mell Bai 
/00 /00 

4. Lepidoptera g. Trichoptera 
50 50 


ane 


3a] 


@ 
mM 


weather ree 


Cale) 
330] 


a 


me) 


1-8. Appearance of the different Orders in relation to weather conditions. 


Key: c = cloud; s = snow; m = moon; r = rain; f = fog. 


19 


20 

Factor cloud moo 
light intensity Ss ais 
visibility == ate 
temperature + 0 
humidity =F 0 
damage 0 0 


stability 


FEBRUARY, 1968 __ 


fog rain snow 
ale ar “he 
0 + + 


—»> decrease 


Table |. Effect of weather conditions on environmental factors. 


Group la: 
lb: Ephemeroptera, Coleoptera. 


Group 2: __ Trichoptera. 


Hemiptera, Psocoptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera. 


Table 2: Groups of insects according to reactions to environmental factors. 


eroptera and Hemiptera tended to 
rest under these conditions, but 
larger, stronger insects like beetles 
and caddisflies continued flying, 
perhaps protected by their specialised 
cuticle. Both types of insect have 
produced an effective water-repellant 
surface, although they have achieved 


it in entirely different ways. Beetles | 


have the body surface strengthened 
and streamlined, while caddisflies 
have their bodies covered with an 
irregular coat of hairs to prevent 
water-droplets from adhering. 

Any increase in the amount of rain 
further reduced the number of 
insects flying, although this did not 
apply to caddisflies which preferred 
these conditions. It is interesting that 
these aquatic insects sometimes have 
a pattern of behaviour which includes 
laying eggs below the water-surface, 
again indicating their indifference to 
this medium. 

Insects were never captured in 
extremely bad weather such as fog or 
snow for two principal reasons. 
Firstly, the visibility especially in fog 
was reduced to a level below which 
the light source ceased to be an 
attraction; and secondly, snow 
particles caused severe damage to 
any insects flying. 

This latter view is in keeping with 
the idea of aerial stability. Another 
factor which tends to reduce stability 
and obstruct insect flight, but which 
has not been discussed here, is the 
presence of wind currents. 

The picture obtained, then, is of a 
temporary environment, the insect 


population of which is dependent on 


its stability. 
J. S. Badmin (3406). 


16.8.67. 
REFERENCES 
BADMIN, J. S. (1966a). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 29-31. 
An ecological approach to _ light-trapping—2. 
Temperature relationships. 

(1966b). Bull.. amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 65-7. An 
ecological approach to light-trapping—3. Wind 
relationships. 

(1966c). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 134-5. 
An ecological approach to  light-trapping—4. 
Pressure. 


HAMMOND’S BOX 


At a recent meeting of the South 
London Entomological Society, a 
small box was passed round which 
had been used for posting delicate 
specimens. After the box had been 
thrown in the air several times and 
caught by clapping loudly between 
the hands the box was dropped from 
a height of about three feet on to the 
bare table in front of the chairman. 
On opening the box the specimen 
pinned inside—a syrphid fly, Volucella 
pellucens Linn., caught as long ago as 
1932—was found to be still intact. 
This was made possible by suspending 
a smaller box inside a larger one, on 
two rubber bands secured by screw- 
eyes and long paper fasteners as 
shown in the figure. The rubber bands 
should be under slight tension and 
adjusted by experiment. Mr C. O. 
Hammond, who made the box, has 
had it posted forwards and backwards 
on many occasions without damage 
to the insects enclosed. 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 2\ 


iy 


‘V; AY 
: KS FOOT 
| PNY 


‘Hammond’s Box’ 


DISTRIBUTION OF FINNISH Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae. 
INSECTS—I: BUTTERFLIES The scientific names used here adhere 
to Gullander’s system. Reference is 

Part Two made to Part One of this series (Bull. 

amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 119-26), in which 

In this second article on butterfly the distribution zones represented by 
distribution are included the Families abbreviations in the lists are shown 


22 FEBRUARY, 1968 


the first article. A further table is 
included here to indicate those | 
species which are endemic in Scandin- 


on a map of Finland. It is unnecessary 
to show graphically the south-north 
decline of numbers of species. Suffice 


it to say that they follow the general 
pattern of the families discussed in 


Fam. Lycaenidae 


Everes argiades Pall. 
Cupido minimus Fuessly. 
Plebejus argus Linn. 

P. idas Linn. 

and ssp. lapponicus Gerh. 
P. optilete Kn. 

and ssp. cyparissus Hb. 
Polyommatus icarus Rott. 


and ssp. septentrionalis Fuchs. 


Celastrina argiolus Linn. 
Aricia nicias Mg. 
(=donzelii B.) 
ssp. septentrionalis Krul. 
A. agestis Schiff. 
(=medon Esp.) 
Eumedonia chiron Rott. 
ssp. borealis Whlgr. 
Agriades glandon Prun. 
Cyaniris semiargus Rott. 
Lysandra amandus Schn. 
(=icarius Esp.) 
Philotes vicrama Moore. 
(=baton auct.) 
ssp. schiffermulleri 
Hemming. 
Scolitanides orion Pall. 
Glaucopsyche alexis Poda. 
(=cyllarus Rott.) 
ssp. schneideri Strd. 
Maculinea arion Schiff. 


Thecla betulae Linn. 
T. quercus Linn. 
Strymonidia pruni Linn. 


S. w-album Kb. 

Callophrys rubi Linn. 

and ssp. nordlandica Strd. 

Palaeochrysophanus 
hippothoe Linn. 

and ssp. eurydice Rott. 

ssp. stieberi Gerh. 


avia, but are not represented in 


Finland. 

Habitat: On wing: 
Rare, in meadows. 2 broods. Jun-Aug 
Dry meadows. May-Jun 
Heathlands and pine-bogs. Jul-Aug 

Meadowland. Jul-Aug 

Northern ssp. 

Pine-bogs. Jul-Aug 

Northern ssp. 

Meadowland. Jul-Aug 

Northern ssp. 

Meadows and bushy copses. May-Jun 
Localised, open sunny places. Jul-Aug 

Meadowland. Jun-Jul 


(May be A. allous G.-H — P. W. Cribb) 


Meadowland. Jun-Jul 
Rare, fells above tree-zone. Jul-Aug 
Meadowland. : Jun-Jul 
Meadows and decid. woods. Jun-Jul 
Rare, heathlands and Jun-Jul 
sunny sandy areas with 

Thymus serpyllum. 

Rocky country. May-Jun 
Meadowland. Jun-Jul 
Dry, sunny places with Jun-Jul 
Thymus serpyllum. 

Decid. wood borders, and Aug-Sep 
gardens. 

Oak woods, usually high Jul-Aug 
in the trees. 

Wood borders and bushy Jul-Aug 
copses. 

Rare, copses and gardens. Jun-Jul 
Woods and their borders. May-Jun 
Northern ssp. 

Meadowland. Jul-Aug 


Sometimes in south. 
Northern and central ssp. 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 23 


Table 4: Distribution in the Lycaenidae. 


—l 
s ae 10 5 
ee ia Geo 22 Zils 2i2 22 \G = 
P. optilete PKS KEK KEI OX KEI I KT EI KS NK LK | 9K 
P. icarus EXO KE | XG | EK, Ka [ie eK KEL LK INI KE I IGT OE 2x 
C. argiolus PG EEX ET Ke IGE EK. OK OK I |NIC NE KEI. 1: [Poe x 
C. rubi KIX KG EX EK EK KEK Ke KKK | HIS C5 
-P. hippothoe TNE a KEN ICE KIC Ks BIG IK XT KEK 5 
P. idas GFX XK XS KK KK LK EK Oe EXE 2? 
L. helle eM XX XE IK FE KO IGE EXO O IT KGS Xx 
A. agestis GX XG Kt Oe Kee AK KY EN Le KK | Kee 
L. phlaeas Kime XX KEKE 2 XE DOE KU KN Ke XG KOKA el Mel ox 
E. chiron Ke XXX | XK KK XK OR EK IT OE ee 
P. argus GOK XK EKA SKI TE KK IE] SIE ES UII ee has 
'C. semiargus KEK KNX |X KAM SEEK KS KE PIS Xe | ce SK cs 
H. virgaureae XG KS KX. OX EK I RK KI KI HESS I 
_L. amandus eX KK KK IK Kal. Ke Ke ee ee ee 
T. betulae x XX KX XIX X X XIl—-.-> X -l- -[- -|-|/- = 
-C. minimus x Xx X = X{[—- xX x Xf- - = -f|- -|- -|-]x = 
E. argiades - —- X X =-J—- = = =-J- = = =] - -f- -J-t]e- = 
_T. quercus Xx X —- = =Jf—- = = -f- = = =-Jf- -J]- -J|-|- =| 
S. w-album - X = - -{- - = -/- - = -J- -J- -J-]- - 
G. alexis SX OX KOK CK | Ke ep KK eee 
A. nicias x X X X X{|X xX —- X}/- xX xX xf- Pf - -};-]- - 
M. arion - xXx X xX x{/- x x xf/—- 2? x xf- -|- -[-|J- - 
S. pruni = xX X X X|xX Xx XX X}- - =- xXJ—- -f- -J[-l- - 
-P. vicrama -- - X xX}|x x x -J|- - = xJ/—- -/- -J-J]- - 
-S. orion =EexXe XK X= t= OX KX |= — Soa eS pa Se ae 
A. glandon So Ss Sle Ss Sele Ss Siete vey a Giraiss. os 
Total in area: 17 23 22 22 21 {19 22 21 21 |I5 16 18 19 |I5 14 |I13 10 113 10 7 
‘Total in Lat. block: 25 22 20 15 13 | 13} 10 
Lycaena phlaeas Linn. Meadows and dry country. Ist: May-Jun 
2nd: Jul-Aug 
-and ssp. polaris Courv. Most common northern form. 
L. helle Schiff. Damp meadows. May-Jun 
| (=amphidamas Esp.) 
ssp. lapponica Backh. 
-Heodes virgaureae Linn. Meadows and wood borders. Jul-Aug 
vand ssp. oranula Frr. Northern ssp. 
Fam. Pieridae 
) Habitat: On wing: 
‘Aporia crataegi Linn. Wood borders, and gardens. Jun-Aug 
Pieris brassicae Linn. Fields and gardens. Ist: Jun 
| 2nd: Aug 
P. rapae Linn. Fields and gardens. Ist: Jun 
| 2nd: Aug 
P. napi Linn. Fields and gardens. ist: May-Jun 
2nd: Jul-Sep 
Pontia daplidice Linn. Occasional; sunny terrain. Ist: May 
: 2nd: Jul 
Anthocaris cardamines Linn. Meadows and fields. May-Jun 
Colias palaeno Linn. Especially in pine-bogs. Jun-Jul 
and ssp. lapponica Stgr. Northern ssp. Still active: Aug 
_C. nastes Boisd. Rare, on fell-slopes. Jun-Jul 
“ssp. wernandi Zett. 
C. hecla Lef. Rare, on fell-slopes. Jul-Aug 


‘ssp. sulitelma Auriv. 


24 FEBRUARY, 1968 


C. croceus Fourcr. Occasional southern species. Aug 
C. hyale Linn. Occasional, meadows and fields. 
Ist: May-Jun | 
2nd: Aug-Sep 
Leptidea sinapis Linn. Meadows, and wood borders. | 


Usual: May-Jun 
Occasionally: Aug-Sep | 
Gonepteryx rhamni Linn. Wood borders. Jul-Sep 
After hibernation: Spring 
Fam. Hesperiidae 


Habitat : On wing: 
Heteropterus morpheus Pall. Rare, damp meadows. | Jun-Jul 
Carterocephalus palaemon Pall. Wood borders, lake-beach Jun-Jul 
meadows. 
ssp. borealis Lgbl. 
C. silvius Kn. Meadows and wood borders. Jun-Jul 
Adopaea lineola Ochs. Hills and edges of fields. Jul-Aug. 
Ochlodes venata Brem. & Grey Meadowland. Jul-Aug 
Hesperia comma Linn. Hilly country. Jul-Aug 
and ssp. catena Stgr. Northern ssp. 
Pyrgus malvae Linn. Meadows and field edges. May-Jun 
P. centaureae Rbr. Pine-bogs. Jun-Jul 
P. alveus Hb. Dry hilly country. Jul-Aug 
P. andromedae Wallengr. Fells and higher birch forests. Jun-Jul 
Table 5: Distribution in the Pieridae. | 
= 
= 25 LAO O aoe 
S54 JIGS 3022 Zee 2 Veo 
P. brassicae Ky EK, Ke KK IK LG GE ea EEE OCS XK | 
P. rapae I OTITIS ce Ee SS KCI XTX 
P. napi ya Gee. >, Gn ella Gu, Sie i>, lle? Gua, Ger, Ga lle >.< | DME SC 
C. palaeno XL KEKE KD KI EKG |i ell x Gatice | xa oe a 
G. rhamni > ie a, Gi. Gam Gll >, <a> Gam Gan 4a i> Gly aa Glin aajinp.¢ SO Oe 
A. crataegi KH Ky YP KK KL ICE RL EG |e |e 
A. cardamines > a Gia i> <ai> nl i>, Gli, GIR» Gat 4 o>, Gee SEED Givin > all Ge = S89) 
L. sinapis > a> Sn GD Gant. lly SLD > Gano Gal IND GIR nD, GAO i> Gell |S>) SSSI SF obra | 
C. hyale Xx xX X KX KIX KOK XxX |XX = KX =! = doe =) | ee 
P. daplidice - x xX X X/xX xX x -|- x - -|x -]J;- x]}/-]- - 
C. croceus Me RU Seba a 
C. hecla a od ee en De > Gi < 
C. nastes — =< 6 =.2)[= = = =) -SS (24 2S SS Sx Se 
Total in area: 9b Uh WTO) LOM tON 69" 9710; \8i49 5 eoeees hoon ece lomo 
Total in Lat. block: II II 10 9 LOR a ley, 7 


Table 6: Distribution in the Hesperiidae. 


A 
Vv 
U 
SK 
Ki 
St 
SH 
SS 
LK 
SO 
NH 
NS 
NK 
MO 
Kn 


P. malvae x 
C. silvius = 
O. venata x 
. alveus x 

. lineola x 
x 


comma 
palaemon 
. morpheus ~ 
. centaureae me 
. andromedae - 
Total in area: 5 
Total in Lat. block: 


YR RK RUM 
1X * KK XK XK 
1 XK XK K XK 


VUITOLPYD 
m!lxi x K XK XK XK K XK 


Ol xX I XK K XK K K OK OX 
mlx i XK XK XK K KK XK 
mil xX 1 XK K K K XK XK O&K 
MIX 1K 1K KKK 
MIX 1K 1K KKK XK 
NIK 1K I KK XK XK XK 
MI KX 1 KK IK KK XK 


“Nl 
TT Se 


OO! K K KK OK OK KOK OX 
oO 
oa 


ParKxIXxIKIXX®™ 


NN! XK I xX I 


mes BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


25 


Table 7. North-European species absent from Finland. 


Agapetes galathea Linn. 
Hipparchia alcyone Schiff. 
(ssp. norvegica Strd.) 

Pyronia tithonus Linn. 
Limenitis camilla Linn. 
Araschnia levana Linn. 
Mellicta parthenoides Kef. 
M. britomartis Assm. 
Nemeobius lucina Linn. 
Strymon ilicis Esp. 
Heodes tityrus Poda. 

(ssp. acrion Brunn.) 
Maculinea alcon Schiff. 
Lycaeides argyrognomon Bergstr. 
Albulina orbitulus de Prun. 
Lysandra dorylas Schiff. 
Iphiclides podalirius Linn. 
Erynnis tages Linn. 

Pyrus serratulae Rbr. 
P. armoricanus Obth. 
Adopaea flava Brunnich 


Some considerations 


Plotting the distribution, range, or 
dispersal, etc., of species of insects 
can be a fairly straightforward task. 
We need arm ourselves only with 
some instrument by means of which 
to capture specimens of interest, with 
enough information to be sure of 
identification, and with a map and a 
' notebook to enable us to record our 
finds. Immature stages are recorded 
_in the same way as the adults, whilst 
/a certain proportion of the adult 
catch is generally retained for 
reference purposes. 

Having set about the study in this 
way, we have gained, over some years, 
-a certain knowledge of insect distri- 
bution. The fact that we also collect 
specimens simply because we enjoy 
collecting them is a matter for the 
psychologists. It is only likely to be of 
consequence to those of similar 
interests if we set off once yearly for 
the British haunts of such insects as 
the Large Blue Butterfly (Maculinea 
arion Linn.), in the form of a ‘vacuum- 
cleaner in entomologist’s clothing’. 
We do not do this, of course, if we 
also like insects. 

— Work of the kind mentioned in the 
first paragraph is extremely useful. 


Denmark. 


Norway 

Denmark. 

Denmark, south Sweden. 
Denmark. 

Sweden (?). 

Sweden. 

Denmark, Sweden. 
Denmark, Sweden. 


Denmark. 

Denmark, Sweden. 

Sweden, Norway. 

Sweden, Norway. 
Denmark, Sweden. 
Denmark, Sweden. 
Denmark, Sweden, Norway. 
Denmark. 

Denmark, Sweden. 
Denmark. 


Without the notebooks of amateurs, 
textbooks would involve their 
authors in years of intense study over 
an almost impossibly vast area, and 
would probably be thus prohibitively 
priced. As it is, an amateur is able to 
devote his spare time to making an 
intensive, personal study of a res- 
tricted area, often over two or three 
decades. The result of this field-work 
is a knowledge of the following 
aspects of the biology of each species 
studied: 

a. Its distribution within a certain 
area—usually representing only a 
part of its total range. 

b. the sub-habitats in which its life- 
cycle is enacted. 

c. the dates of its appearance in its 
various stages. 


Perhaps inadvertently, an insight 
is also gained into the following: 

d. The distribution of the foodplants 
(or other food material) of the 
growing stage. 

e. the distribution of the food- 
sources of the imago. 

f. terrain preference differences in 
allied, and in distantly related, 
forms. 

. the influence of the weather, and 
of light-values, on activity (see, 


26 


e.g., Badmin, in Bull. amat. Ent. 
Soc. 24: 23-4, etc.) 

This is the sort of knowledge | 
spent several years gathering in the 
British Isles. 

On my entering new pastures in 
which there are few entomologists, 
however, it was clear that my distri- 
butional studies would have to extend 
deeper than hitherto if | was to make 
a serious attempt at providing some 
solutions to the many queries which 
have been the end-points of previous 
research in other parts of the globe. 


| chose to begin this series of 
articles with the butterflies for 
several reasons, not the least of 
which, | confess, was my own interest 
in them. The first stage of the work 
has been completed, and is presented 


in these two articles. It consisted in = 


obtaining copies of the recent text- 
books and extracting from them the 
details of the broad distribution 
(over some 325,000 sq. km. of land 
surface) of butterfly species. In the 
process of doing this, three problems 
presented themselves to me. 


Firstly, Finland, unlike Britain, is 
not conveniently surrounded by a 
natural ‘fence’, the sea, which prob- 
ably forms a barrier to the dispersal 
of the majority of insect species in the 
British Isles. Finland adjoins the 
U.S.S.R. to the east, Norway to the 
north, and Sweden partly along the 
western side. The marine waters of 
the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of 
Finland form only a partial barrier to 
dispersal, this being continuous on 
the western, south-western and 
southern sides. Ahvenanmaa and its 
associated islands, although surround- 
ed by water, do share a number of 
species with the southern part of the 
mainland. 

Secondly, the information imparted 
in the most recent work of national 
importance (Gullander, 1959) is not 
really so up-to-date as one would 
like it to be. 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


Thirdly, | have yet to discover the | 


basis for the division into the so- 
called ‘‘Natural historical areas of 


Finland’’ (see map, Bull. amat. Ent. | 


Soc. 26: 120). They do not correspond 


to the published climatic, geological | 


or vegetational patterns; neither do 


they relate exactly to rural commu- | 


nes. Again, these areas are of varying 


sizes and are all too large to be of any | 


great use as actual distribution indica- 
tors. Each species is simply recorded 


as being either present in, or absent | 
from, each area. The notes given by | 


Gullander on habitat preferences, 
however, enable one to narrow down 


the areas to a certain extent. Unfortu- | 


nately, the cost of buying a complete | 


set of the local |:20,000 maps would 
be very high, and it is only on these 
maps. that individual forest and 


swamp types, lakes, altitude, agri- } 


cultural areas, and so on, are marked. 


It is necessary that | should gather 
further information in order to be 
able to represent specific ranges by a 
series of dots, rather than by a 
smaller number of “‘covering’’ areas 
of great expanse. | am _ working 
through the periodicals indicated 
under ‘references’ as well as covering 
as large an area as possible during my 
field activities this season. 


Whilst it is a fairly easy task to 
build up in this way a comprehensive 
set of specific distribution charts, it 
is by no means so easy to isolate the 
factors which actually govern ranges. 
This isolation is rendered even more 
difficult in that, even foodplant dis- 
tinctions aside, the spread of butterfly 
species appears to be influenced, not 
by a single factor or combination of 
factor values, but by more or less 
exclusive combinations acting on 


each species. It is thus essential that 
a thorough study be made of all 
possible factors. This means going 
somewhat further than the limits of 
the investigations briefly enumerated 
in the opening paragraph. It entails, 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


for example, making careful studies 
of larval foodplants and of other 
vegetational entities, correlating their 
dispersal with those of the butterflies. 
Here again, published facts do not 
meet our requirements. A com- 
parison between the distribution of 
the Finnish species of Satyridae and 
that of the larval foodplants, using 
published matter, showed that the 
plants in almost every case had been 
recorded as residents of places in 
which the insects are not known to 
occur. 


| hope that something will come of 
this project because | feel that, having 
decided that insect species are 
adapted to their environments, we 
all ought to try to contribute some- 
thing towards finding out what factors 
are instrumental in preventing each 
species from widening its range. Only 
when this information has been 
obtained can those whose task it is to 
mplement conservation projects in 
3ritain be suitably armed. 


Talk of conservation in Britain, one 
nay feel, is out of place in an article 
ourporting to throw some light on 
the distribution of butterflies in 
‘inland. | feel that they are both part 
of the same sphere. Members read 
he Bulletin because they are inter- 
ssted in entomology, and | believe 
hat conservation is of major impor- 
ance to those who like insects and 
vho also gain great pleasure from 
collecting them. 


8.5.67. Leigh Plester (2968). 

REFERENCES 

cta Entomologica Fennica: Societas Entomologica 
Fennica, Helsinki. Periodically. English or German 

- text. 

mnales Entomologici Fennici: Entomological Society of 
Finland, Helsinki. 4 issues annually. English text. 

atalogus Lepidopterorum Fenniae et Regionum Adia 

,.. Centium, |. Macrolepidoptera. Edidit Helsingin 

' > Hyonteisvaihtoyhdistys, Helsinki, 1962. 

quna Fennica: Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica, 
Helsinki. Periodically. English or German text. 

tonnon Tutkia: Elain ja kasvitieteellinen aikakauskirja. 
Helsinki. 5 issues annually. Finnish text. 

lolekyyli: (The Molecule—Science Youth Magazine.) 
Helsinki. 7 issues annually. Finnish text. 

otulae Entomologicae: Finnish Entomological Society, 
Helsinki. 4 issues annually. English text. 

“hese are obtainable from the Academic Bookstore 

|) Akateeminen Kirjakaupa), Helsinki 10, Finland.) L.P. 


27 


BUTTERFLIES IN FRANCE 
AND SPAIN AUGUST- 
SEPTEMBER 1966 


Last summer my wife and | spent a 
three weeks’ camping holiday in 
south-western France and northern 
Spain. Although this was not primar- 
ily a ‘butterflying’ trip, my wife’s 
tolerance enabled me to do a fair 
amount of collecting. 


We had no fixed plans but intended 
to end up on the Costa Brava, 
although we were in no particular 
hurry to get there. Leaving New- 
haven early on the morning of 20th 
August we arrived at Dieppe at about 
lunch time. Having passed through 
customs we set off southwards stop- 
ping for tea just north of Blois. Here 
| unpacked my net for the first time. 
In some scrub land and long grass 
beside the road | found Arethusana 
arethusa D and S and Lysandra coridon 
Poda (Chalkhill Blue) to be common. 
| was pleasantly surprised to take four 
L. coridon var. syngrapha Kef. in about 
five minutes. | also took a couple of 
Colias hyale Linn. (Pale Clouded 
Yellow). Naturally | was very pleased 
with this excellent start to the 
holiday. 


We spent the night just south of 
Chateauroux, being then on the N20 
which we subsequently followed 
right to Andorra. Early next morning 
we ran into quite thick fog which did 
not clear for some time. By midday 
we were just north of Cahors and 
decided to stop for lunch. | had a look 
round, again L. coridon was common 
and much to my amazement | caught 
a further five var. syngrapha. | do not 
know if this var. is very much more 
common in France or whether | just 
picked two lucky sites. Small fritill- 
aries abounded and | noted five 
different species in one small field, 
namely Melitaea didyma Esp., Melitaea 
phoebe Schiff., Mellicta deione Gr., 


= 
; 
§ 
& 


Mellicta parthenoides Kef., and 
Clossiana dia Linn. | also caught a very 
nice abberation of M. deione. Hesperia 
comma Linn. (Silver Spotted Skipper) 
was quite numerous. 


We continued south that afternoon 
spending the night just outside 
Aix-les-Thermes almost at the foot 
of the Pyrenees. Next morning while 
we waited for the dew on the tent to 
dry before striking camp | saw a 
number of Brintesia circe Fab. and 
took a specimen of Hipparchia alcyone 
Schiff. 


As we drove through Aix-les- 
Thermes we were surprised to see a 
number of people with their feet in 
what looked like a large paddling 
pool in the main square. What 
amazed us most was the steam 
rising from the water. The significance 
of the name of the place then dawned 
on us and we realized that this must 
have been hot water from a natural 
spring. 

The road up the mountain was very 
impressive. We traversed back and 
forth and always upward, and some of 
the views were quite breathtaking. 
The road signs warning against 
‘Troupeaux’ were fully justified. The 
big tawny cows, heaven knows what 
breed, just stood in the road while 
the line of cars and lorries had to 
weave its way between them. 


Having passed through the customs 
and filled up with petrol at the 
battery of pumps right at the top of 
the pass, petrol in Andorra being 
almost a gift after the high French 
prices, we stopped to admire the 
view down into Andorra and to give 
the car a breather—to say nothing of 
the driver. A number of smallish 
brown butterflies were sighted and 
amongst them some that looked 
almost purple. These proved to be all 
the same species, Erebia cassioides 
Hohenwarth., at first sight rather a 
dull butterfly but at certain angles 
the wings have a beautiful purplish 


small stream (Ribera Salada) | caught 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


sheen. 


We stopped for lunch in Andorra. 
Polyommatus icarus Rott. (Common 
Blue), L. coridon and Aglais urticae 
Linn. (Small Tortoiseshell) were 
common. | also saw a couple of 
specimens of Lysandra bellargus Rott. 
(Adonis Blue) and one rather battered 
Mesoacidalia charlotta Haw. (Dark 
Green Fritillary). 


On leaving Andorra we decided not 
to drive straignt to the Costa Brava 
but to see a bit more of Spain first. 
Instead of driving westward to 
Puigecerda we therefore set off 
southwards on the main road to 
Lerida. After some fifty kilometres 
we took a more minor road going 
east. While stopping for tea beside a 


a nice specimen of Limenitis anonyma 
Lewin and a couple of Everes argiades 
Pall. (Short-tailed Blue). 


We camped for the night by the 
Rio Cardonna just outside the town 
of the same name. It was a poor spot 
for butterflies, although there were 
a few Lysandra hispana H.-S. about, so 
| tried my hand with a fly rod. | did 
not raise a thing and in fact saw no 
sign of fish at all in the very fast 
water of the river. 


Next morning we packed up again 
and moved on through Suria and 
Belsareny. | am giving the names of 
the towns so that readers with 
suitable maps can plot our progress. 


The weather was beautiful and 
after a few brief stops to pick black- 
berries my wife and | decided we had 
had enough of the car for a bit and 
that we should make the best of the 
sunshine. Naturally | made sure that 
we stopped in what looked like a 
good place for butterflies. The 
country was hilly and wooded with 
clearings and small terraced fields. 
Even before we had stopped the car | 
had spotted vast numbers of Leptidea 
sinapis Linn. (Wood White), which 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


were literally everywhere flitting 
between the trees and in the small 
fields. | have never seen so many any- 
where before. | took those | wanted 
by simply netting those that came 
within range while | sat in the sun 
eating my sandwiches. Fritillaries 
were common in the fields and | saw 
M. didyma, M. phoebe, M. deione and 
-C. dia, and also a couple of specimens 
of Issoria lathonia Linn. (Queen of 
Spain Fritillary). 

‘Blues’ were also numerous, 
mainly L. hispana and P. icarus but | 
‘also saw one Lampides boeticus Linn. 
| (Long-tailed Blue) and took two 
‘female Agrodiaetus damon _ Schiff. 
Erynnis tages Linn. (Dingy Skipper) 
was quite numerous. Colias australis 
Verity (New Clouded Yellow) and C. 
)croceus Fourcr. (Clouded Yellow) 
were also taken. 


By mid afternoon we had set off 
again, having driven through Vich we 
took the road to San Hilario. We 
‘soon found ourselves climbing up and 
up once more. The road was literally 
cut into the side of the mountain and 
the drop at the edge was rather 
alarming, especially as the road was 
not very wide and we were con- 
stantly expecting a large lorry to 
come tearing round the corner in 
front of us. A number did but fortu- 
nately we managed to squeeze by on 
each occasion. Having reached the 
top the terrain levelled off a bit and 
the downward road was nothing like 
sO steep or spectacular. We drove 
through a delightful open valley and 
decided to stop for the night. 


Next morning we found our 
surroundings so attractive that we 
, agreed to stay for the day. There were 
a number of very worn Argynnis 
paphia Linn. (Silver-washed Fritillary) 
),and Fabriciana adippe Rott. (High 
»Brown Fritillary) about and Vanessa 
cardui Linn. was also quite common. 
,| saw a couple of rather battered 
) specimens of Agapetes lachesis Huebn. 


29 


and also a couple of Hipparchia semele 
Linn. (Grayling). 

‘Blues’ were not numerous but | 
took specimens of three skippers, 
Pyrgus cirsii Rambur, the smaller 
Spialia sertorius Hoffmansegg., and 
H. comma Linn. | also took one Papilio 
machaon Linn. (Swallowtail) and one 
Iphiclides feisthameli Dup., the only 
Papilionids | came across during the 
holiday. 

Next morning the weather was 
cloudy and threatening rain so we 
moved on to the coast. Going via San 
Hilario, Gerona and Parafrugell to 
Tamariu, we arrived about midday 
and set up camp. We spent two and a 
half days in Tamariu. Except for one 
sunny morning the weather was 
cloudy and we had two mammoth 
thunderstorms. | did not do much 
collecting, except on the sunny 
morning. M. didyma and M. deione 
were quite numerous as were the 
‘Blues’ Syntarucus pirithous Linn. and 
P. icarus, | also saw a few specimens of 
L. boeticus and took a couple of the 
skipper Carcharodus alceae Esp. and 
one of Gegenes nostrodamus Fab. C. 
croceus and Pararge aegeria Linn. 
were common and Hipparchia fagi 
Scop. were quite numerous. 


As the weather was still bad on the 
third day we decided to _ leave. 
Neither of us had previously been to 
the Atlantic coast so we thought we 
would work our way across. After 
studying the map it appeared that the 
roads in France were better than the 
Spanish ones, so we set off to recross 
the Pyrenees. This time we went by 
the more direct route Gerona, 
Banolas, Olot, Ripoll and Puigcerda, 
nothing like so attractive as the way 
we had come but much quicker. 


When we crossed into France we 
did not take the N20, but the N16 to 
Mont Louis and then the NI 18 to find 
a large lake which we had spotted on 
the map as a potential camping place. 
We arrived as dusk was falling and 


30 


pitched our tent right beside the 
lake which turned out to be a huge 
reservoir. 

Despite the fact that we were at 
more than 5,000 feet the next day 
was hot. Erebia neoridas Boisd. was 
very common and | also caught a few 
specimens of the copper Heodes 
virgaureae Linn. and one I. lathonia. 
That evening the clouds came down 
over the mountains and completely 
enveloped us. Next morning dawned 
sunny but it was very much colder. 
By mid morning however dark clouds 
had begun to gather and by lunch 
time it had started to rain a hard, 
cold, driving rain that looked as if it 
had set in for the day. We therefore 
struck camp and set off to descend the 
Pyrenees on the French side. 


Coming out of the mountains at. 


Axat we travelled westwards stop- 
ping for the night at Foix, a most 
attractive town. Next morning was 
still wet and we continued through 
Tarbes, Pau and Bayonne. By the 
time we had reached the Atlantic the 
weather had begun to clear but the 
sea was very rough and bathing was 
forbidden on all the beaches we 
could find. By now it was getting late 
so we took a side road inland to find 
somewhere to camp for the night. 


The following day dawned clear and 
sunny. It was Ist September and we 
only had nine days of our three weeks 
to go. On studying the map we found 
that we were very near the Spanish 
border. A quick count down on our 
finances persuaded us that back into 
Spain was the place for us. We could 
have almost two days in Spain for the 
price of one in France, or so my wife 
informed me. We crossed the border 
at a tiny frontier post on a little back 
road feeling very mean as we had to 
get the single Spanish guard away 
from his breakfast and he had to 
chase the chickens away in order to 
lift the barrier. 


Once in Spain the road dropped 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


sharply and we arrived at the delight- | 


ful little town of Vera. From here we 
headed towards Irun and the coast, 
the road following the river Bidasoa 
most of the way. It was while we 
stopped briefly on the river bank that 


| took a specimen of Araschnia levana | 


Linn. This may be a very interesting |: 


capture as | see that R. F. Bretherton 


(1966) in his ‘Distribution List of the | 


Butterflies of Western and Southern 
Europe’ while referring to this species 
says it is “‘not yet certainly known 
from Spain’’. This specimen was 
certainly taken in Spain, although 
only just. 


We drove through Irun and the 
smaller Fuenterrabia and out on to 
the cliff top. Having found a secluded 
spot to camp in the pine trees, we 
were so enchanted by the sea, cliffs 
and the little beaches that we spent 
the next four days here. Except for 
one day when we visited San 
Sebastian, the weather was good. 
While my wife sunbathed | did quite 
a lot of ‘butterflying’ along the cliffs. 
The ‘Blues’ were the most numerous, 
and of these Everes argiades was very 
common and | took one specimen of 
E. alsetas flying with it. L. boeticus was 
also quite numerous as was P. icarus. 
A number of other species were 
common especially C. croceus, Maniola 
jurtina Linn. (Meadow Brown) and E. 
tages. | was pleased to take a few 
specimens of that attractive satyrid 
Minois dryas Scop. which must have 
been pretty well at the edge of its 
range. | also found the small dark 
copper Heodes tityrus Poda and took a 
single specimen of Pararge maera 
Linn. In addition Vanessa atalanta 
Linn. (Red Admiral) and I/nachis io 
Linn. (Peacock) were seen. 


Starting on our way home we 
spent two days on the coast north of 
Bayonne between Hossegor and 


Vieux-Boucau—not a good place for 
butterflies, being mainly sand and 
pine trees. L. boeticus was, however, 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


very numerous. 

We spent our last day in France in 
the Loire valley. Then it was back to 
England until next year’s summer 
holiday. 


16.1.67. M. J. Perceval (3798). 


REFERENCE 
F. (1966). Trans. Soc. Brit. Ent., 


pecs List of the Butterflies 
Pie) of Western and Southern Europe. 


ee TON. 
17: 1-9 


JUNIOR NEWS SECTION 


| expect you will be reading this 
while the winter snows blot out all 
memories of last summer’s sun and 
‘the pleasures of insect treasure hunts. 


Have you planned anything special 
‘for next season? | always find that 
planning my summer expeditions 
-makes the bad weather of winter give 
-way to the bad weather of summer 
much quicker. 


| had very interesting accounts of 
last Whitsun’s Teen International 
Entomology Group New Forest cam 
organised by Rob Dransfield (3492J). 
near Brockenhurst, Hampshire. The 
group was able to find many of the 
insects they wanted and by camping 
had the great advantage over Youth 
Hostelling (which | prefer) in that 
they were able to collect moths at 
night. The camp site unfortunately 
proved to be a little boggy but this 
was compensated for by everyone 
having a jolly good time and a 
successful! trip to the Isle of Wight in 
search of the Glanville Fritillary 
 (Melitaea cinxia Linn.). A further 
Teen International camp was arranged 
during July where one of the inter- 
esting insects caught was said to be 
\the rare pallida variety of the Small 
Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris Poda). 


- On /7th August Rob Dransfield and 
council member Ron Allen, of 26 


3| 


Burnside Road, Dagenham, Essex, 
set off for a cycling expedition from 
Dieppe to eventually reach the 
Ardennes on the east Belgian border. 
They reached Aunale at about 12 
o'clock, on a—by then—fine sunny 
day and found one field there where 
butterflies abounded. There were 
Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias hyale 
Linn.) and Chalkhill Blues (Lysandra 
coridon Poda) as well as other ‘Blues’, 
Skippers and commoner species like 
the Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni 
Linn.). 

After camping at Amiens the 
explorers pressed on into the Valley 
of the Somme where flies were 
plentiful but very few interesting 
Lepidoptera apart from a_ large 
unidentified Nymphalid which man- 
aged to duck the net, and a dwarf (?) 
Green-veined White (Pieris napi 
Linn.). Further on near Estrees a 
clover field was found covered with 
Clouded Yellows (Colias croceus 
Fourcr.) and Peacocks (Nymphalis io 
Linn.). The night was spent in the 
barn of a very understanding farmer 
just outside Homblieres, near St 
Quentin. (Why doesn’t school French 
match that they speak in France?) 


On Wednesday, heading for 
Eteigneres, our friends found quite 
large numbers of butterflies and flies 
on the umbellifers. Of particular 
interest was the European Map 
Butterfly (Araschnia levana Linn.), 
which at first glance looked very 
much like the White Admiral 
(Limenitis camilia Linn.). 


After having met light rain the duo 
became drenched as they ran into 
violent thunderstorms in the Meuse 
valley. The weather did not really 
improve when they finally made 
camp just north of Revin in the 
Ardennes. 


Rob caught two further species of 
‘Copper’ and several Fox Moth 
larvae (Macrothylacia rubi Linn.). The 
13th was his lucky day when near 


32 


Hautes Buttes in the mountains he 
netted a perfect specimen of the 
Camberwell Beauty (Nymphalis antio- 
pa Linn.) as well as finding a field full 
of ‘Coppers’ and a single Pearl- 
bordered Fritillary (Argynnis selene 
Schiff.). On the same day in an 
orchard near Montherme he caught 
a continental Wall Butterfly (Pararge 
sp.). At night the flowers surrounding 
the camp site held large numbers of 
Noctuid moths. One sweep brought 
in eight or nine at a time. 


On the [5th, on the return to 
Amiens, the first Swallowtail (Papilio 
machaon Linn.) was seen but not 
taken. The two boys split up at 
Amiens and Rob turned towards 
Paris for a spot of sightseeing. On the 
way he did manage to catch a rather 


battered male Swallowtail and later a 


female which laid only two eggs. He 
just missed catching a Long-tailed 
Blue (Lampides boeticus Linn.). 


On the way back to Dieppe the 
weather was glorious and although it 
was by now rather late in the season 
large numbers of ‘Blues’ were seen 
on a hill near Meulon including the 
Silver-Studded Blue (Plebeius argus 
Linn.), the Small Blue (Cupido mini- 
mus Fuessl.) and a few Adonis Blues 
(Lysandra_ bellargus Rott.). A_ field 
further on also proved to be filled 
with ‘Blues’ and Clouded Yellows 
including the light var. helice variety. 
These together with the Pale Clouded 
Yellow were abundant everywhere. 
The only different species encounter- 
ed on the way back to the coast was 
the Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus 
Linn.)—on, believe it or not, Holly 
(Ilex aquifolium Linn.). 

Rob concludes by saying that it was 
most noticeable how similar the 
species around Paris are to ours at 
the same time of the year while a 
totally different group was found in 
the Ardenne mountains. His only 
other comment was on the roads of 
Northern France. They are not made 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


for the cyclist, even if he did have a’ 
most enjoyable holiday. . 

| have been so long talking about 
collecting in the summer sun of 
northern France that | almost forgot 
to congratulate those of you who did 
so much to make last year’s AES 
Annual Exhibition such a wonderful 
success. There were so many really 
good exhibits. It was most difficult 
for the Council members to choose 
those which deserved special prizes. 
These went eventually to A. Lucas 
(3934J) for his “Survey of Happy 
Valley’’, and to D. V. Lewis (3963J) 
for his “‘Common Moths of North 
Wales’’. | was glad | did not have to 
choose. 

Two organised groups put on a 
good show: the Teen International 
and the Silkmoth Rearers’ Group. 

| was particularly pleased to see 
Miss Barbara Brent exhibit ‘‘British 
Moths’’. It’s time more girls came 
forward to show the boys they can 
also take an intelligent interest in 
Natural History. 

| also found the joint venture 
which M. S. Collins (3975J) helped to 
produce—‘‘A family tree of Coleop- 
tera’’—very refreshing. (Anyone 
would think that butterflies were the 
only insects in the world. | like 
beetles myself). 

If any of you live within striking 
distance of St Ives, Huntingdon, and 
have difficulty in getting to the AES 
Exhibition why not get in touch with 
St Ivo School. You could come with 
us. 

| really must come to an end pretty 
soon as we are short of time and 
space. | did just wonder how many of 
you are helping with the recording of 
common insects for the Nature 
Conservancy. They need records of 
butterflies, moths, dragonflies, grass- 
hoppers, weevils and even spiders. 
If you can’t help with the records— 
help by not over-collecting. 


By the way, can anybody help me 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


33 


with the whereabouts of some of 
these animals. Do you find the Gum- 
spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica 
-Latr.) roaming the walls of your 
house? It is quite small (about a 
quarter of an inch in length) and 
_ beige and black in colour. It does not 
use silk to catch its prey, but shoots 
gum very accurately at flies and other 
insects which settle too close. 
Another spider | would like to hear 
about is the very rare black and 


Yo if” RS, 
= SS PRR 
ae oe 3 y-4 SE BL: 
— oe ff 
ae - f~ 
oie SSs 
= eee A ee 
ee See 
A ee 
ae 
NOTES AND 
OBSERVATIONS 


GNATS WITH AN ANTENNA 
FOR MUSIC 


Quite often, while perusing litera- 
ture outside my own immediate 
spheres of study, | discover an item 
which interests me not simply as 
another piece of scientific knowledge, 
but rather as a novel piece of infor- 
‘mation easily recalled to mind for a 
long time afterwards. 

Such an item appears in Annales 
Zoologici Fennici (1966), in which 


scarlet Eresus niger Petana. Are they 
as rare as people say? Does anyone 
know of Stag Beetles (Lucanus cervus 
Linn.) being found north of the 
Thames valley or of Swallowtail 
Butterflies anywhere but Norfolk (I 
do not want the exact spot)? 


Early records will be welcome this 
year. 


Very best wishes for the New Year. 
H. J. Berman, F.R.E.S. (2941A). 


The Gum-spitting Spider (Scytodes thoracica Latr.) 


Jaakko Syrjamaki reports his obser- 
vations on dusk-swarming in Chirono- 
mus pseudothummi Strenzke. These 
observations were made at the Lammi 
Biological Station, South Finland (61 ° 
03’ N; 25° 03’ E.), during the late 
summer of 1965. 

‘““One evening, when watching the 
swarm, | began to hum a Finnish 
folk-song. As | hummed the first 
note, the whole swarm abruptly 
moved down and the nearest swarm- 
ers flew very vigorously to the 
vicinity of my mouth. This led me to 
stop humming, whereupon the males 
immediately returned to the swarm. 
The tone sung proved to be g (i.e., 


34 


about 200 vibrations per second) as 
determined with the aid of a piano- 
forte in the nearby home of the 
janitor of the Station.’’ 

| would be interested to know 
whether any of our Members have 
met with similar experiences in the 
field. Syrjamaki records that the 
phenomenon has been observed 
before (Nielsen and Grieve, 1950), 
but as neither of these observations 
was made in Britain, if one of our 
Dipterists is sufficiently interested, 
he could perhaps perform some 
original work in the field using, for 
example, a set of tuning forks. It 
might then be possible to discover 
what vibrations attract the males of 
the various British species, hence to 
contribute to the knowledge respect- 
ing mate-attraction in the females. 
22.4.67. Leigh Plester (2968). 


REFERENCES 
SYRJAMAKI, J. (1966). Annales Zoologici Fennici, 3 (1): 
20-8. Dusk swarming of Chironomus pseudothummi 
Strenzke. (Dipt., Chironomidae). 
NIELSEN, E. T. and GRIEVE, H. (1950). Bull. Entom. 
Res., 41: 227-58. Studies on the swarming habits of 
mosquitoes and other Nematocera. 


THE CLOUDED YELLOW IN 
SUSSEX 


In mid-August 1967, three speci- 
mens of Colias croceus Fourcr. (Cloud- 
ed Yellow Butterfly) visited my 
garden here at Bexhill-on-sea, Sussex. 
They were seen on several days, and 
one was an absolutely perfect speci- 
men, though | did not take it. 
16.10.67. G. B. Hodges (314). 


UNUSUAL FOODPLANTS 
FOR THE ELEPHANT 
HAWKMOTH 


In 1963, | bred a large number of 
larvae of the Elephant Hawkmoth 


_ wild in Middlesex.—Ed.] 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


(Deilephila elpenor Linn.), and experi- | 
mented with different foodplants. To | 
my great surprise, | found the larvae 
devouring not only the leaves but also. 
the succulent stems of the Police- 
man’s Helmet (Impatiens glandulifera 
Royle) and the Orange Balsam (I. 
capensis Meerburgh) with great relish. 
These plants belong to the family 
Balsaminaceae, very far removed 
from the various plants in the family 
Onagraceae (willow-herbs, etc.) with 
which one usually associates this 
species. 


28.8.67. Brian Wurzell (3718). 


[Mr P. W. Cribb reports finding this 
species on Orange Balsam in the 


THE GLOW-WORM IN KENT 


Recently | heard that as this insect 
seems to be decreasing in numbers 
recent records were of special 
interest. In June 1967, | found Glow- 
worms (Lampyris noctiluca Linn.) to be 
quite frequent in the Weald of Kent, 
just south of Knole Park, Sevenoaks. 
Any half an hour’s walk after dark 
would certainly reveal two or three 
females on pathsides and verges, 
while males regularly came to electric 
lights, presumably confusing artificial 
light with the sexually-inviting light 
of the female. Perhaps the female’s 
light renders her far more vulnerable 
to nocturnal predators, not to 
mention collectors, or even passers- 
by who cannot resist handling, or 
displaying to their friends, objects of 
unique interest. More publicity about 
the precarious status of the Glow- 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


worm could do no harm. 
 28.8.67. Brian Wurzell (3718). 


THE DEATH’S HEAD 
HAWKMOTH IN 
BEDFORDSHIRE 

On August 2nd this year (1967) | 
was given a caterpillar of the Death’s 
Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos 
Linn.) which was found near some 
potato plants in an allotment at 
Bedford. It was ready to pupate and 
when it was put in a container filled 
with bulb fibre it soon burrowed out 
- of sight. The following day another 
one was found by a friend of mine 
“near where the first was discovered. 
These caterpillars are the first of their 
“species to be recorded in Bedford- 
shire since 1956. 
| Terence F. Knight (3190). 


| 
| 
| ® 
| 
| 
| 
| 
. 


¥ 
ry 
' 

; 


THE SILVER-STRIPED 
; HAWKMOTH IN 
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 


‘In the Bulletin of May 1967 (Bull 
1 amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 65) Mr N. Cook 
' enquires whether anyone else has 
(taken Hippotion celerio Linn. (Silver- 
‘/striped Hawkmoth) in 1966. That 
i year was not a good one for the 
‘larger immigrant Hawkmoths, but 
| one or two H. celerio were taken in 
"the late autumn, though not in 
i Buckinghamshire. The species is not 
‘included in the Victoria County 
) History (Part 3, Zoology) published 
* in 1905, and there does not appear to 
| be any other record of its occurrence 
Vin the county. 
‘Sir Eric Ansorge, C.S.I., C.LE., 
F.R.E.S. (2508). 


fe 


35 


EUCHROMA GOLIATH CAST. 
AND GORY 


Euchroma goliath Cast.& Gory. 


A large metallic Buprestid found in 
South Mexico, Central America, 
Northern South America and in the 
islands of Jamaica and Granada in the 
West Indies. 

It is a well built insect with the 
elytra deeply sculptured and punc- 


| &2 
oO» 


tured. The legs, head, and thorax 
except the disc, are covered in 
sparse coarse pubescence. The entire 
beetle is highly metallic deep copper- 
red and green. 


A reference to its biology can be 
found in a paper published by G. 
Bondar in Correio-agricola in 1926 
(unobtainable at the British Museum 
(Natural History)). 


| can see no reason why E. goliath 
cannot occur in the islands between 
Jamaica and Granada, and Granada, 
Trinidad and Tobago to the mainland 
of South America. 


| would like to thank Mr B. Levey 
of the British Museum, Natural 
History for identifying and supplying 


FEBRUARY, 1968 


the information about the beetle. 7 
7.8.67. Jonathan Cooter (3290). 


REFERENCE 
BONDAR, G. (1926). Correio-agricola, 4: 192-3. A 
biologia do Euchroma gigantea L. 


ANNUAL GENERAL 
MEETING 


The Annual General Meeting will 
be held on 23rd March 1968 at the 
rooms of the Linnaean Society, Burl- 
ington House, Piccadilly, London, 
W.1. Further details will be circu- 
lated to members before the meeting. 


REMINDER—WHERE TO WRITE 


It helps the Society greatly if Members ensure that their correspondence is 
addressed to the correct Officers of the Society, by using the ‘where to 
write’ panel in the most recent Bulletin. At present the correct addresses 


are as follows: 


Membership applications and first 
subscriptions to: 


Changes of address and non-arrival 
of Bulletins to: 


D. E. Dodwell, 28 Summerleaze Park, Yeovil, 
Somerset. 


Yeovil 3928. 


P. Taylor, 18 Old Manor Drive, Isleworth, 


Middlesex. 


Advertisers and for Prospectus of 


Society and Application forms to: 
Offers to lead field meetings, etc. to: 
Manuscripts, drawings and books 

for review to: 


Subscription renewals (25/- per 
annum, 12/6 under |8 years) to: 


Youth matters to: 
Offers of help, queries, etc. to: 


Annual exhibition matters to: 


R. D. Hilliard, 18 Golf Close, Stanmore, Mid- 
dlesex. GRimsdyke 0460. 
C. B. Pratt, | West Ham Lane, London, E.15 


H. V. Danks, Imperial College Field Station, 
Silwood Park, Sunninghill, Ascot, Berkshire. 


B. R. Stallwood, 17 Claremont Avenue, Sun- 
bury-on-Thames, Middlesex. Sunbury 2687. 
H. J. Berman, St Ivo School, St Ives, Hunts. 

P. W. Cribb, 355 Hounslow Road, Hanworth, 
Feltham, Middlesex. FELtham 3099. 

B. F. Skinner, 85 Elder Road, West Norwood, 
London, S.E.27._ GIPsy Hill 9057. 


Printed by Ellis & Phillips Ltd., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published by the Amateur 


Entomologzists’ Society, 42 Normandy Avenue, Barnet, Herts. 19 


THE AMATEUR ENTOMOLOGIST 


Originally an annual publication (the Journal of the AES), containing longer 
articles than the Bulletin. Now used as a serial title for the Society’s Handbooks. 
Volumes in print are listed below. 


8. Includes several leaflets that are now O.P.: Collecting Dragonflies; 
Collecting Mosquitoes; Making Sweepnets; an 8pp. list of standard 
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9. Practical Methods and Hints for Lepidopterists. Contains articles on 
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trays and cages for all entomological purposes. 42pp., 48 figs., 6 pl. 

| Price: 10s. Od. 


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Collecting Caddises; Photography of Caterpillars; etc. 40 pp., 10 figs., 
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ti. A Coleopterist’s Handbook. Describes the tools and methods for collect- 
ing British beetles; their habitats, commensals and pre-adult stages; how 
to record, photograph, make a personal collection, and conduct a local 
survey. 120 pp., 50 figs., 20 pl. Price each: 25s. Od. 


12. A Silkmoth Rearer’s Handbook (2nd edn.). How to breed 120 exotic 
species in Britain, including substitute foodplants and descriptions of stages. 
Systematic section refers to 1,400 species. Does not deal with the Mulberry 
Silkworm (Bombyx mori), q.v. Leaflet No. 3. 165 pp., 26 figs., 26 pl. (2 col.). 
Price each: 30s. 0d. 


: The Butterfly Farm Ltd. 


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Soir comprehensive service is rapidly extending and we can supply many 
| 7 “i cid species of butterflies, moths and other insects—living, set or papered. 
4g Also all: apparatus, equipment, books, and other biological needs of 
~ entomologists. We cater for collectors, schools, and research workers. 


Visitors are welcome pole be sure to telephone for an appointment)— 


3: 


Many items are on display and a visit is most rewarding. 
Sh ee ; : 


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Over 150 different species in stock 
Butterflies of most families, and wide range of Moths 


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The Entomologist’s 
Record 


and Journal of Variation 


A monthly illustrated magazine, founded by J. W. Tutt 
in 1890, is devoted mainly to the Lepidoptera of the 
British Isles. It also deals with other orders of insects 
especially Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Orthop- 
tera. Its articles include descriptions of new species and 
varieties, reports on collecting trips, distribution, habits 
and habitats of insects and of collecting and study 
techniques suitable for novice and expert. It circulates 
in 47 countries. 


Annual subscription due Ist January: 
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Write for specimen copy to F. W. Byers, 59, Gurney Court Road, 
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MAY, 1968 


, 
| 


: 


THE BULLETIN 
OF 
THE AMATEUR 
ENTOMOLOGISTS’ 
SOCIETY 


World List abbreviation : Bulli. amat. Ent. Soc. 


EDITED by H. V. DANKS, B.Sc., A.R.C:S., 
F.R.E.S. 


FREDERICK WARNE BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 


Nature Trails WORLDWIDE 
We have recently published SELECTION OF 
the Nature Conservancy's 

official handbook on nature PAPERED 
trails. This book supplies 

useful material on nature 

trails, their design and man- LEPIDOPTERA 


agement and the various 
Nature Trail Centres. There 
is an actual example of a 
nature trail. Ten half-tone 
plates and many line draw- 


ings. 5s. net | Price List from:— 


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28 SUMMERLEAZE PARK 
YEOVIL, SOMERSET 


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AES NOTICE — where to write 


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Department of Biology, Romford Road, London, 
E15: 


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bury-on-Thames, Middlesex. Sunbury 2687. 


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Middlesex. 


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London, S.E.27. GIPsy Hill 0057. 


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TWO IMPORTANT ADDITIONS TO THE A.E.S. LIST 


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Leaflet No. 30, 20 p.p. 10 figs. 1 pl. Price 6/—. Fully describes the 
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Despite a continued increase in printing costs, we have maintained 
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be 


EDITORIAL 


Junior Members will be interested 
to learn of the attractive Junior Con- 
servation Prize for 1968 (see the 
article below), which has been set up 
thanks to the interest and generosity 
of Sir Robert Saundby, and of Mr S. 
J. Whitehouse, and | hope that many 
Juniors will enter. It is not possible 
to over-emphasize the importance of 
conservation today, nor to stress too 
much that there is something that 
everyone (and this applies not only to 
Junior Members, of course) can do in 
this direction. Our Juniors always 
make an impressive effort at the 
Annual Exhibition: let them direct 
their energies here too. 

As Members may be aware, this is 
the last Bulletin which will appear 
under my Editorship, and | would 
like to take this opportunity of 
thanking all those who have helped— 
in contributing to the magazine or in 
other ways—to make my task a 
pleasant one. It is with great pleasure, 
too, that | introduce my successor, 
Mr David Corke, who has very kindly 
volunteered his services and has 
recently been helping in the prepar- 
ation of the Bulletin. Could | ask that 
Members try to simplify his job in the 
difficult transitional period: firstly by 
submitting plenty of material; and 
secondly by following wherever poss- 
ible the guidance for authors given in 
Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 109-12. All 
copy and correspondence for the 
Editor should now be sent to: 
D. Corke, Esq., West Ham College of 
Technology, Department of Biology, 
Romford Road, London, E.15. Care 


Front cover illustration: Larva and imago (pupa inset) of 
the White-letter Hairstreak Butterfly (Strymonidia 
w-album Knoch) on Wych Elm (Ulmus glabra Huds.), 
drawn by Mr J. Cooter (3290J). 


i ae 


AES 


BULLETIN 


No. 279 


MAY, 1968 


should be taken to use this full 
address. 
H. V. Danks (2907). 


JUNIOR CONSERVATION 
PRIZE 


[The Junior Conservation Prizes 
kindly set up by Mr S. J. Whitehouse 
and Sir Robert Saundby (see Bull. 
amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 37; 73-4), failed to 
attract an entry in 1967, and no 
prize was awarded for that year. The 
donors of the prizes have, however, 
generously agreed to make a single 
combined prize worth £5 available 
for this year, and more specific 
suggestions for entries are also given 
to encourage Juniors to try for this 
very worthwhile prize.] 


Junior Conservation Prize 1968 


The Junior Conservation Prize for 
1968—to be worth £5—will be 
awarded to the Junior Member (or 
group of Members) who contributes 
to the Bulletin (with the addition of 
supporting material if required) the 
best report of his service to nature 
conservation during 1967 and/or 
1968. The purpose of the prize is to 
encourage Junior Members to take 
an interest and participate actively in 
conservation matters. To enable them 
to enter into a rewarding participa- 
tion of this nature, some suggestions 
are given below, and fall into two 
categories. The first includes ideas for 
fieldwork directed towards conser- 


38 


vation. The second allows scope for 
constructive suggestions as to how 
the problems with which we are 
faced today when attempting to 
conserve our insects may be met. 

Note that conservation of Orders 
other than the Lepidoptera is neces- 
sary in many cases and that our 
knowledge of the Lepidoptera—let 
alone these other Orders—is often 
insufficient in an area for useful con- 
servation work to be done before 
knowledge is collected: knowledge 
towards which any keen Junior 
Member could contribute. 


First category 

|. A-survey of the status of a species 
in an area, perhaps an area likely to 
be threatened by future development. 
2. A study of the ecology of a given 
insect species, with particular ref- 
erence to the aspects possibly vulner- 
able to changes in the habitat. Find 
out how the species fits into its 
niche in the habitat and the factors 
there by which it could be affected. 

3. A survey (of a Nature Reserve or 
other area) in co-operation with the 
local Naturalists’ Trust, etc.—fre- 
quently an entomologist is lacking 
from a local survey team, yet a com- 
plete knowledge of all the fauna is 
essential to direct conservation 
properly. 

4. A report of the general assistance 
given to a conservation society, 
Naturalists’ Trust, etc. 

5. Work in a habitat—individually 
or with a society or group—aimed at 
the conservation of an insect species. 
Before this can be done it is essential 
to know the species’ habits thoroughly 
(see 2 above). 


Second category 

1. An area of entomological value 
near your home is threatened by a 
housing development: what would 
you do about it? 

2. How would you set about an 
ecological survey of a threatened 
area? 


MAY, 1968 | 


3. Indicate a species of our macro-) 
lepidoptera which you consider to be. 
in serious danger, and explain why. 
4. What do you regard as the chief 
threat to our insect fauna today, and 
why? 

If you can write a contribution on 
one of the above, why not spare the 
extra time and answer where applic- — 
able by a practical demonstration? _ 

H.V.D./R.S.8 


COLLECTING NOTES 
MAY, 1968 


The Smaller Moths 


Lathronympha strigana Fab. (hyperi- 
cana Huebn.). Mr Bradford’s note 
reads as follows:— ‘‘l have bred this. 
moth along with Euspilapteryx auro- 
gutella Zell. from Perforate St John’s” 
Wort (Hypericum perforatum Linn.) 
which | discovered growing near) 
some gravel pits at Park Street, 
Hertfordshire. In June | dug up a 
clump of the plant and, on arriving © 
home, put it in a large flowerpot and | 
kept it outdoors in a large container. 
Eventually about a dozen of each of 
the moths emerged. | 


t 


‘The forewings of L. strigana are of © 
a brownish orange colour. There are. 
leaden metallic streaks on the costa’ 
and the ocellus also has lighter: 
metallic patches and black streaks. 
The hindwings are grey. The adult is 
on the wing in June and July and the 
larva feeds in spun shoots of the 
foodplant.”’ 


This is a common species with a) 
wide range extending at least as far 
as the North of England. If you) 
collect the spun shoots of Perforate|_ 
St John’s Wort in June, you are also 


|} AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


39 


= of _ 


Lathronympha strigana Fab. 


1 
| likely to come across the larvae ‘of 
' Agonopterix hypericella Huebn., which 
‘thas a similar range. A third species 
‘ associated with the same foodplant is 
‘ Argyritis (Aristotelia) atrella Haw., 

the larva of which mines the stems in 


, May. 
,|_ Clepsis (Tortrix) costana Fab. Mr 
, Bradford writes:— ‘‘In early May | 


, Visited a patch of waste ground 
» Within the studios of ATV at Bore- 


j 


| 


inl ee 
hh 


Nad 


f | Clepsis costana Fab. 


hamwood. Whilst there | took several 
specimens of Mompha fulvescens Haw. 
and M. raschkiella Zell. flying around 
Epilobium spp. Also in the spun 
leaves and shoots of the Great 
Willow-herb (E. hirsutum Linn.) | 
found about a dozen larvae of what 
proved to be Clepsis costana Fab. The 
larvae were of the energetic type, 
wriggling violently and often drop- 
ping to the ground. They were of a 


40 


dark brown colour—Meyrick states 
grey-green or brownish green, but 
my larvae were hardly green but of a 
deep brown. The adults all emerged 
between [5th and 26th June, which 
may have been a little earlier than 
their natural date of emergence. 


“The overall colour of the fore- 
wings is ochreous with darker brown 
markings and spots. The hindwings 
are a paler fuscous with darker 
greyish brown markings. The larvae 
are said to feed on various other 
plants apart from Epilobium, including 
Knapweed (Centaurea spp.), Marsh 
Cinquefoil (Potentilla palustris Linn.), 
Sea Aster (Aster tripolium Linn.) and 
Sea Lavender (Limonium vulgare 
MATE) 

If you have taken any C. costana as 
adults, you should examine them 
carefully in case there is another 
similar but little-known species 
among them. This is Paramesia 
gnomana Clerck which can be distin- 
guished readily, since veins 7 and 8 
in the forewing are stalked instead of 
being separate. 


Mr Bradford mentioned two species 
of Mompha which he encountered in 
his patch of Epilobium. The larvae of 
the majority of the members of this 
beautiful genus feed on the different 
species of willow-herb during the 
spring and summer months. M. 
raschkiella Zell. is perhaps the easiest 
to find, as it has become common 
with the spread of its foodplant. This 
is the Rose-bay Willow-herb or 
Fireweed (Chamaenerion (Epilobium) 
angustifolium (Linn.) Scop.). The larvae 
mine the leaves, readily passing from 
one leaf to another—a convenient 
habit for the breeder. Tenanted 
mines are of a yellowish green colour, 
but they quickly turn white after the 
larva has gone. The mines may be 
sought for in May and June and again 
in August and September. In late May, 
too, M. conturbatella Huebn. spins the 
topmost shoots of this willow-herb 


MAY, 1968 


together. The larvae are crimson- 
brown; black or greyish larvae will }. 
probably prove to be the ubiquitous } 
Olethreutes lacunana Schiff. or one of ¥ 
the Cnephasias. A month later a much 9 
less common species may be sought 
in the stems; this is M. nodicolella 
Fuchs, the larva of which makes a gall, 
usually well above the base of the 
stems. 


The Great Willow-herb (E. hirsu- 
tum Linn.) also repays the careful 
searcher. You will now be too late 
for M. propinquella Staint., which 
mines the young leaves of this and 
other willow-herbs in the early 
months of the year. But May is the 
season for M. ochraceella Curt.; after 
mining the roots and lower stems, its 
larvae burrow into the leaves for 


‘pupation. They are not difficult to 


find, but it is hard to keep the picked 
plants in good condition; if enclosed, 
they soon degenerate into a watery 
mush, while if left in the open they 
dry up and shrivel. Yet | have found 
that the pupae of M. ochraceella 
survive either misfortune, and the 
species is consequently an easy one to 
breed. Later on, in July, spinnings in 
the terminal shoots of E. hirsutum 
will contain larvae of M. fulvescens 
Haw. The smaller, younger plants are 
preferred. The pupa is in the spinning 
or in a folded leaf hard by, and this 
may be collected in August. M. 
lacteella Steph. is said to mine the 
leaves in August, but | have yet to} 
encounter this species. 


The smaller-flowered willow-herbs 
are liable to cross with each other and 
are not always easy to distinguish. 
E. montanum Linn. (Broad-leaved 
Willow-herb) is one of the commoner 
species. This is the foodplant of M. 
subbistrigella Haw., the larva of which 
feeds in the seed-pods in July and 
August; occupied pods are some- 
times thickened or distorted. M. 
decorella Steph. makes a gall in the 
stem of this and closely-related 


meES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


willow-herbs, often causing the plant 
to divide and branch above the gall. 
-) The larvae feed in July and pupate in 
the gall, when a tiny fragment of the 
white silk cocoon shows at the exit- 
hole. The adults emerge between the 
end of August and early October. 


| have left the most beautiful of the 
Momphas till last. The larvae of M. 
sshrankella Huebn. can be found in 
|) May and again in July mining the 
upper leaves of E. montanum and other 
small-flowered willow-herbs. The 
) larvae, like those of M. raschiella, pass 
from leaf to leaf, but unlike that 
“species they pupate on the plant, 
) spinning leaves together or folding 
) them. This species is relatively rare 
in the south-east of England, but gets 


). commoner as one travels west. | have 
) found it abundantly in the west of 


lreland, where the foodplant is the 
Marsh Willow-herb (E. palustre 
Linn.). 

A. M. Emmet (1379). 


The Hymenoptera Aculeata 


A recent publication from the 
United States prompts me to deal 
» with the subject of trap nesting, and 
commend it to my readers for action 
during the 1968 season. 


Many bees and wasps make their 
| nests in cavities, either those they 
' find pre-formed or those they bore 
| themselves. The two commonest 
| sites for such borings are the soil and 
dead wood, and it is the latter with 
which | want to deal here. Many 
types of wood can be utilised particu- 
larly if already tunnelled by beetles: 
tree trunks, logs, bramble stems, and 
| in gardens bean poles, fence posts, 
| and the like. Hence the extension to 
| providing deliberately fabricated trap 
nests is a simple one. 


Trap nests have been developed 
over many years and are the subject 


4| 


of one of our own AES Leaflets (No. 7 
G. S. Kloet, 1951, Some improved 
devices for rearing Hymenoptera). The 
recent book that | mentioned above 
is: K. V. Krombein (1967) Trap-nesting 
wasps and bees, Smithsonian Press, 
Pp. vi 570, and is sub-titled Life 
Histories, Nests, and Associates. This is 
a massive compilation of the results 
of twelve years work during which 
about 3,400 nests of 118 industrious 
species were examined. A simple trap 
nest design was used, and the depth 
of the study lies in the placement of 
many traps in widely ranging areas 
over many seasons. Thus it gives a 
picture of the population occurring 
in one place from season to season, 
and also of the variation over a wide 
geographical, and hence ecological, 
range. 

During the study new species were 
discovered, new associations between 
parasite and host established, and 
many other facets of life histories and 
behaviour studied. Some of the 
species Krombein was dealing with 
are holarctic in distribution and also 
occur in this country. The large 
eumenine wasp Ancistrocerus antilope 
Panz. is one such species, and the 
common leaf-cutter bee Megachile 
centuncularis Linn. and the chrysid 
Omalus aeneus Fab. are others. One 
particular finding which could not 
have easily been made by any other 
method has a relevance to our fauna. 
The eumenine wasp Ancistrocerus 
catskill Sauss. occurs in two colour 
forms previously thought of as sub- 
species, the yellow-marked typical 
form and the white-marked albophal- 
eratus Sauss. Krombein found that 
these two forms occurred together 
in one nest as the progeny of one 
mother on a number of occasions. 
Hence the two forms are merely 
colour forms of the same taxon. We 
have in this country a similar situation 
in the eumenine wasp Ancistrocerus 
pictus Curt. which is yellow-marked 
in most of its range, but in the north- 


42 


MAY, 1968 


west exists as a white-marked form. 
The name to be used for this species 
is the subject of a taxonomic wrangle 
and the priority of certain names 
revolves arcund these two forms 
being con-specific. Unequivocal data 
from trap nests would help to sort 
this out. 


Krombein used very simple trap 
nests, merely bored out lengths of 
I” x |” planed, straight-grained 
wood. Three sizes of hole were found 
most useful, £” (3.2 mm), 3/16” 
(4.8 mm) and 4” (6.4 mm). Holes of 
these diameters were bored along the 
length of pieces of wood to within 
about 4” of the end. Lengths of 75 
mm were used for 4” borings, and of 
[65 mm for the larger sizes. Some 
larger holes were used but would 
probably not be profitable in this 
country. Nests were put out in the 
field in bundles of six, two of each 
size. New traps were put out unsplit. 
Any traps that were occupied were 
split along their length with the 
grain of the wood to allow study of 
the nest contents. These were re-used 
after cleaning and heat sterilisation, 
the two halves being bound together 
with adhesive tape. 


| hope | have written enough to 
interest some of my readers in this 
type of study, and that you will be 
placing some trap nests out this year. 
If you cannot cover many different 
areas, another way of adding interest 
to your study would be to place 
batches of different kinds of traps in 
the same area. Perhaps in addition to 
the wooden traps | have described, 
bundles of bramble stems could be 
prepared, some left intact for those 
species which like to make their own 
tunnel and some hollowed out. 


To all those who try trap-nesting | 
wish the best of luck, and | will deal 
with the observations that should be 
made on any nests collected in a 
future article. 


J. C. Felton (3740). 


ANNUAL EXHIBITION 


SATURDAY, 7th OCTOBER 1967 | 


A wet morning gave way to the 
fine warm afternoon we have been 
privileged to enjoy over a number of 
years. A large gathering of Members 
and friends, including a most encour- 
aging number of new faces, thronged 
the hall from mid-day to the close 
and obviously enjoyed the exhibits 
and comprehensive array of ento- 
mological impedimenta. 

It was interesting to hear the views 
expressed by two friends of the 
author of this report who were 
revisiting the Exhibition after a lapse 
of many years. Their impressions 
were practically identical. Generally 
they thought the whole concept was 
on a larger scale, there were more 
exhibits, their presentation was more 
ambitious and the former dominance 
of British species was replaced by 
world wide representation. Many 
exhibitors were working to a theme 
which besides adding considerably to 
the interest for the viewers also pro- 
vided a modicum of useful research. 
Notably the sophisticated wares of 
the modern dealer compared favour- 
ably with the utility offerings of the 
immediate post-war years. Plastic was 
replacing wocd and glass and weighty 
equipment had been succeeded by 
more portable versions. 

Four specialist groups attracted 
well-deserved attention. Mr J. Heath 
was in attendance recruiting recor- 
ders for the Lepidoptera Distribution 
Maps Scheme, initially confined to the 
British Macro-lepidoptera. T.I.E.G. 
members had combined to produce 
an effective stand, including details of 
their field meetings. The Silkmoth 
Rearers’ Group, formerly one of the 
Society's most vigorous sections 
showed many species and coloured 
photographs and is planning to 
attract new members. The other new 
section, the Amateur Conservation 
Group, was busily raising enthusiasm 


f 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


for its extremely worthwhile object- 
ives. 


The Council were particularly 
gratified at the response of the 
Junior Members. Once again Senior 
Members had generously provided 
two prizes for the most imaginative 
effort and the selection of the two 
winners was no mean task. The 
eventual choice was :— 
|. A. Lucas (3934J) ‘Survey of Happy 
meailey;; 2. D. V. Lewis (5963) 
‘Common Moths of N. Wales’. The 
project of D. J. Longman (4042J) 
‘Flight period of Moths’, was highly 
commended. 


In conclusion the Council wishes 
to express their appreciation to the 
organiser of the Exhibition, Mr B. F. 
Skinner and his many willing helpers, 
to Mr T. A. Robertson for his expert 
insect setting demonstrations, to the 
many Members who provided colour 
slides covering various aspects of 
‘Natural History and finally to extend 
a welcome to all our Members and 
friends to visit us again next year. 


As in previous years as complete a 
list as possible was made of the 
exhibits in the time at our disposal. 


Allen, R. (3628) 

Insects of many orders taken in 
France during 1967. 

Appleton, D. M. (3631) 

Typical beetles from S. Hants, 
including a number of new records 
for the area. 

Bayts, R. 

Moths occurring in S. Devon and a 
collection of butterflies from S. 
France. 

Bradford, E. S. (3068) 

Moths taken in a garden at Bore- 

shamwood (Herts), mainly Pyrales and 


Micro-lepidoptera, during 1967 
season. 
Brent B., Miss 


An interesting selection of British 
moths. 
Brown, A. D. R. (3851J) 


a5 


Varieties of British butterflies, bred 
and collected. 
Brown, F. C. (2414) 

Pictorial illustration of a plague of 
locusts in Egypt with maps, life 
histories and methods of prevention. 
Bruce, C. G. (1746) 

Moths associated with marshes, 
collection made at ‘m.yv.’” light in E. 
Norfolk. 

Collins, M. S. (3975J) and Collins, J. S. 

(3762) 

A family tree for Coleoptera, with 
representatives of all major families 
and types, affording a worldwide 
coverage. 

Gribby be W-(2270); and <Gribb his) }- 

(2044) 

Coleoptera collected in Italy during 
1967 trip. Representative collection 
of local British butterflies in danger 
of extermination. European butter- 
flies from Lepontine Alps and N. 
Italy. 

Crow, P. N. (393) 

Aberrant Lepidoptera, parasitic 
flies, and Diptera from various locali- 
ties in Great Britain. 

Denny, C. C. (2880J) 

A survey of the Lepidoptera of 
Newquay, Cornwall. Also insects 
from other English localities. 

Dobson, J. and Decks, P. 

‘M.v.’ light-trap records from the 
Kenton (Mddx) district of N.W. 
London. 

Drake, J. H. (4117) 

Larvae and imagines of the silk- 
moths Rothschildia jacobaeae Walk. 
and allied species. 

Else, G. R. (3881) 

Selection of typical Lepidoptera 
from S. Hampshire. 
Gardiner, B. O. C. (225) 

Exotic silkmoths bred in Great 
Britain. Other foreign Lepidoptera 
bred from ova, some for the first 
time recorded in this country. Also 
the striking variation resulting from 
the continuous in-breeding of Pieris 
brassicae Linn. (Cabbage White 
Butterfly). 


44 


Hawkey, P. M. (36543) 

Maps, photograph and specimens 
representing a survey of the Lepidop- 
tera of a Cornish Cove. 

Haynes, P. G. (3912) 

Interesting series of Syntomidae, 
medium-sized day-flying moths, often 
mimics with warning colours, and 
Arctiidae (Tiger moths), from locali- 
ties all over the world. 

Hilliard, R. D. (99) 

1967 ‘m.y.’ light-trap records from 
a Stanmore garden in N.W. London, 
emphasising the dominant species for 
each month of the year. 

Hough, M. J. (3354) 


Venezuelan Lepidoptera, many 
species unidentified. 
Howat, Dr. I. 


Comprehensive groups of Coleop- 
tera and Hymenoptera from the 
Amazon Basin and Lepidoptera from 
Jamaica. 

Lewis, D. V. (5963)) 

A survey of some of the common 
moths occurring in N. Wales, illus- 
trated with locality maps and dia- 
grams and descriptions of the life 
histories. 

Longman, D. J. (40423) 

A detailed investigation into the 
flying periods of the commoner moths 
occurring in a garden at Abingdon, 
Berks. 

Lucas, A. (39343) 

Ecological survey of the Lepidop- 
tera of Happy Valley, Old Coulsdon, 
near Croydon, Surrey. Illustrated 
with photographs, specimens and log 
book for reference. 

Majeris, M. (4027J) 

Lepidoptera of the Luxembourg 
Ardennes with log book. of opera- 
tions. 

McCormick, R. F. (3375) 

A wide range of British Lepidop- 
tera, all of which have been bred. 
Muirless, M. (4032) 

Collection of Heliconiinae, a family 
exclusive to tropical America. These 
are brilliantly coloured, narrow- 
winged butterflies with black back- 


MAY, 1968 


ground and coloured bars. 
Perrie; W- 

Exotic Lepidoptera in a variety of 
special showcases. 

St. Ivo Schoo! Natural History Society. 

(2941A). 

As in previous years an enthusiastic 
contingent provided as a centrepiece 
to our Exhibition a surprisingly wide 
selection of living creatures, all of | 
which are currently being bred by 
the schoolboy members of the 
Society. 

Selbourne Society 

Detailed records of the moths / 
from two ‘m.v.’ traps situated in the 
grounds of the Perivale Bird Sanctu- 
ary (S.W. of Wembley, Middlesex), 
being part of a genera! natural history 
survey of the area. | 
Skinner B. F. (2470) 

Local and unusual species of Lepi- 
doptera collected and bred during} 

0 | 
Taylor P. (3571) 

Representative butterflies found in 
the mountains of the Hautes Alpes 
during a collecting trip in 1967. 

Uffen R. W. J. (1660) | 

An impression of — sub-alpine 
Switzerland, with description of visit 


and species of Micro-lepidoptera, 
Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, etc.,} 
collected. 


Warren-Smith C. D. (3908) | 
Survey of the butterfly population | 
of a mountainside in the N.E. Pyren-} 
ees of Spain with specimens and} 
illustrations. Also larvae of the) 
British Lobster moth (Stauropus fagi) 
Linn.). | 
Waters A. (2615) | 
A representative collection of Euro-} 
pean butterflies. | 
Young L. D. (4012) | 
Series of Lycaena phlaeas Linn. 
(Small Copper Butterfly) to illustrate 
the variation occurring in S.E! 
England. 
Zoological Gardens (London). 
By courtesy of the Director, a) 
selection of livestock was shown, 4) 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


species of giant stick insect being of 


special interest. 
R. D. Hilliard (99). 


SOME NOTES FROM ESSEX 


In spite of the delightful weather in 


_ Essex during the last month or so, 
_ what a late season it has been. Only in 
the last two or three weeks (mid- 
~ July to mid-August) has much been 
_ seen in the way of local and generally 


abundant species, let alone anything 
out of the ordinary. At the time of 
writing (August 1967) Peacocks 
(Nymphalis io Linn.) are beginning to 
appear in reasonable numbers, and in 
the fields and grasslands locally the 
‘Whites’ and ‘Browns’ are really 
getting into their stride. A dearth of 
Red Admirals (Vanessa atalanta Linn.) 
is evident, and even Skippers (Ochlo- 
des venata Br. and Grey and Thymeli- 
cus sylvestris Poda), normally abun- 
dant species on the open grassland of 
the nearby forest, are conspicuously 
reduced in numbers. 


Last year, in July, | obtained about 
a hundred larvae of the Peacock from 
nettles (Urtica dioica Linn.), and— 
rearing them in an improvised garden 
cage—produced about sixty perfect 
specimens. This year not a single larva 
has been seen on the same nettles. 
Orange Tips (Anthocaris cardamines 
Linn.), which are normally plentiful in 
this area, were completely non- 
existent in May and June. 


One good catch a week or so back, 
however, is worth recording. | was 
visiting an area near Passingford 
Bridge, about six miles from Chigwell, 
Essex. This is open grassland, with 
small densely forested areas, and 
during my visit there an unfamiliar 


(eee 


45 


shape went winging by and up into 
the trees. | prowled around the area, 
and soon my patience was rewarded, 
for a few minutes later | saw a pair of 
White Admirals (Limenitis camilla 
Linn.) sitting on a branch, quite out 
of reach, but quite distinctive. | gave 
up hope of catching them, but one of 
the pair came down to investigate 
me, and was quickly netted. Closer 
inspection showed that one wing was 
damaged, but as it was my first White 
Admiral | couldn’t let it go. A White 
Admiral caught in Essex, within 
fifteen miles of Aldgate pump, should 
be of interest, and | wonder whether 
any other collector in Essex has had a 
similar experience—I should be inter- 
ested to know. 


Finally, a week or so back my young 
son came back with a most curious 
looking larva in his hand, later identi- 
fied as that of the Alder Moth 
(Apatele alni Linn.). The larva has now 
become a pupa, without the aid of a 
piece of rotting wood. 

14.8.67. B. A. Mason (3834). 


COLLECTING IN SCOTLAND 


On 26th August 1967 | set out with 
my three sons to search for some 
larvae of the Emperor Moth (Saturnia 
pavonia Linn.) which | hoped to find 
in the surrounds of the Corby loch. 
This is a small stretch of water, 
surrounded by a boggy moss, a few 
miles north of Aberdeen. | first dis- 
covered this happy hunting ground 
thirteen years ago when | found 
larvae of the Emperor, Poplar Hawk- 
moth (Laothoe populi Linn.) and Puss 
Moth (Cerura vinula Linn.). In subse- 
quent years | have met with varying 
degrees of success on my visits there; 


46 


MAY, 1968 


one year | only collected about four 
caterpillars of the Broom Moth 
(Ceramica pisi Linn.) after a whole 
morning’s search. 


On this occasion | had only just 
parked the car when the youngest of 
the three boys found the green and 
white larva of a Spectacle Moth 
(Abrostola tripartita Hufn.) in a road- 
side nettle bed. No more were found 
in the immediate vicinity so we set 
out on our walk over two fields to 
the loch with eager anticipation. 


Our collecting equipment was 
supplemented by a large white sheet 
which | intended to place under the 
Great Sallows (Salix caprea Linn.) 
when | beat the foliage for larvae. 
This method did not prove entirely 
successful so it was decided to concen- 
trate our search on the smaller 
bushes where caterpillars could be 
easily seen. 


Soon a batch of blackish caterpillars 
about a quarter of an inch long were 
found grouped on the leaves of a 
spray of sallow. They numbered 
about a hundred and it is thought 
that they were Wood Tigers (Para- 
semia plantaginis Linn.). Thus encour- 
aged we searched diligently, finding 
countless numbers of Vapourer Moth 
(Orgyia antiqua Linn.) and Broom 
Moth larvae. 


In one sallow bush | found a cater- 
pillar which was new to me. About 
half an inch in length, it was covered 
with white hairs and sported three 
russet coloured tussocks, two behind 
the head and the other near the tail. 
| collected about a dozen of this 
species and identified them later as 
larvae of the Nut-tree Tussock 
(Colocasia coryli Linn.). Light Knot 
Grass (Apatele menyanthidis View.) 
caterpillars were found feeding in 
prominent positions on the sallows, 
often basking in the sun which pre- 
vailed during the morning. 


What | thought was the minute 
larva of a Puss Moth turned out to be 


that of a Sallow Kitten (Cerura 
furcula Clerck). During the course of 
the morning another two were 
found. 


A huge larva of the Pebble Promi- 
nent (Notodonta ziczac Linn.) was the 
next caterpillar to excite interest but 
still we could find no trace of the 
Emperor Moth. 


Quite a few Pink-barred Sallow 
Moths (Citria lutea Stroem.) their 
colour as of dead leaves, rendering 
them well nigh invisible, were found 
resting among the leaves of the 
sallow bushes. These moths were 
carefully caught and transferred to 
the killing-jar. 

The best of the morning gone all 
too quickly, we hastened to a drier 
part of the moss and here in a taller 
sallow my eldest son found two mag- 
nificent Poplar Hawkmoth larvae. 
Shortly after this | came upon the 
first Emperor Moth caterpillar which 
was happily browsing on a sallow 
branch which it was systematically 
stripping. A few yards away was a 
straggling clump of small bushes 
which stood isolated from the rest of 
the trees. Here we found six Emperor 
larvae of varying sizes. 


The brilliant sunshine no doubt 
had tempted out the Small Copper 
Butterflies (Lycaena phlaeas Linn.) 
which were abroad in profusion; 
while the occasional Green-veined 
White (Pieris napi Linn.) was seen 
over the moss. 


Common Marbled Carpet Moths 
(Dysstroma truncata Hufn.) were 
numerous, flying from the trees when 
dislodged by our searching for larvae. 
| also took a few Chevron Moths 
(Lygris testata Linn.) but as this was 
primarily an expedition in search of 
larvae | did not bother much chasing 
imagines. 

Our allotted time expired, and 
well pleased with our morning's 
collecting, we returned to the car. 

E. Pickard (3928). 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


HORMONES IN INSECTS 
(PART TWO) 


In the second part of this article, | 
am going to describe some experi- 
ments to illustrate some of the func- 
tions outlined briefly in part one (Bull. 
amat. Ent. Soc., 27: 13-18). A large 
part of the time spent in experimen- 
tal entomology is taken with acquir- 
ing the skill and insight which is so 
necessary. So don’t be surprised if 
one or two of the experiments don’t 
work out first time. The first experi- 
ment is fairly foolproof (I teethed on 

it in my studies!), but odd things 
might go wrong in others. Be alert 
for this—many interesting things 
have been found by someone getting 
the ‘“‘wrong”’ result, and finding the 
reason. There is no such thing as a 
wrong result: it is merely a different 
one! 


Near the beginning of part one, | 
said that one can investigate a 
hormone system by cutting off the 
supply of the hormone. With insects 
we are lucky, since we can do this 
simply by tying a piece of thread 
round the insect. This stops the blood 

from flowing. Thus if a hormone is 
being produced in one part of an 
insect, a piece of thread tied round 
the insect’s body will restrict the 
area of influence of the hormone, and 
we can get some idea of what the 
hormone does. Also, by successive 
_ligaturing experiments, the timing of 
the release of the hormone may be 
gauged very accurately, and some 
idea gained of the part of the insect 
from which the hormone is released. 
The final test of a hormone-producing 
organ is to take the organ out, note 
_that the effect of the hormone disap- 
pears, then replace the organ and 
note that the effect returns. 
The first experiment is concerned 
_ with hardening and darkening in the 
blowfly (Calliphora spp.). The experi- 


‘ae. 


47 


mental animals are easiest obtained 
by buying some maggots from a 
fishing-bait shop. The maggots should 
be kept in clean bran and allowed to 
pupate. When the first few adults 
emerge, the pupae should be put into 
the fridge (at about 6°C, 42°F) and 
left for about a week. Under these 
conditions, the pupae will mature but 
the adults will not emerge. When the 
pupee are brought back to room 
temperature, the aduits will start to 
emerge after about five minutes. In 
the meanwhile have ready some 
pieces of sewing thread tied in an 
ordinary overhand loop. Slip this 
loop over the fly’s head and tie it 
round the neck, pulling the knot 
firm. This will stop the blood from 
the head flowing back into the rest of 
the body. Control animals should be 
of two classes—one with a ligature 
tied round the proboscis (this is a bit 
more difficult) and one with no 
ligature. You should find that if the 
fly’s neck is tied off within about two 
minutes of its emergence, no harden- 
ing and darkening of the cuticle will 
occur. If the neck is tied off any later, 
darkening will occur. (There may bea 
rather blotchy form of darkening 
rather later in some of the undarken- 
ed flies. This is so-called “‘secondary 
darkening’. The mechanism behind 
this phenomenon is unclear.) The flies 
with a ligatured proboscis should 
darken normally, thus showing that 
the positioning of the ligature is 
important, and that the expansion of 
the cuticle when the fly blows itself 
up has no effect on the darkening. 
(The converse of this last statement 
is different: how can the fly force its 
way out of the puparium while it has 
a soft cuticle, and then blow its wings 
up later? For both actions it is using 
the pressure of its blood to do the 
work.) The unligatured controls pro- 
vide a check that the flies will harden 
and darken if you don’t do anything 
to them. 

A further experiment gives some 


48 


insight into the control of the release 
of the hormone. In the “‘wild’’, flies 
normally pupate in soil or compost 
and have to dig through this after 
emerging from the puparium. It was 
observed as long ago as 1935 that the 
flies could be kept digging for over 
seven hours without hardening, and 
still harden and darken normally 
when they finally emerged into the 
open air. There is a simpler way of 
achieving the same effect. If you take 
a fly which has just started emerging 
and put an empty puparium over its 
head, the fly will obediently crawl 
out of its own puparium, and head 
first into the empty one. The fly may 
be kept stuck like this for as long as 
you like, since it hasn’t got enough 
room to turn round and crawl out 
again! When you finally release the 
fly, it should harden and darken as if 
nothing had happened at all (is this 
true no matter how long you keep the 
fly trapped, if not why not, and are 
there several reasons for this, and 
would they all be acting at once or in 
sequence, or ...?). The only way this 
could occur is by nervous signals to 
the brain from the surface of the fly 
telling it when it is in an open space 
(do the eyes play any part here? 
Would it be a ‘Good Thing’, e.g., if 
the insect were to emerge by night? 
But then what is the lower threshold 
for light perception in the insect’s 
eye?). The release of the hormone 
must thus be under nervous control. 
Research on this hormone system 
shows that the hormone, Bursicon, is 
released from the brain under ner- 
vous control and that this stimulates 
further production of the same (?) 
hormone from the rear end of the 
thoracic nerve mass. Since in the 
blowfly the entire nervous system of 
the abdomen has contracted up into 
the thorax, this part of the nervous 
system is equivalent to the VIlIlth or 
last abdominal ganglion of most 
insects. So if you keep cockroaches or 
some other insect which shows a lot 


MAY, 1968 | 


of darkening after the moult, try | 
tying a bit of cotton round the 
abdomen and report your results in 
the Bulletin. Except in the case of the 
cockroach itself, it will be new know- 
ledge! On the other hand, in such 
insects you can see the dorsal heart 
in the newly emerged (i.e., white) 
insect. You will see the cuticle just 
above the heart darkening before the 
rest of the cuticle, showing that the 
hormone is being distributed by the 
blood stream. (This is the ‘“‘official’’ 
version. | have my doubts. Can the 
hormone diffuse through the wall of 
the heart as it is carried forwards in 
the blood to cause this darkening? Is 
it the cuticle which is darkening? Is 
the blood itself, or the wall of the 
heart reacting to a high concen- 
tration of the hormone? Is it the 
hormone which is causing this local- 
ised colour change? Simple dissection 
of an animal showing this darkening 
should answer some of these ques- 
tions.) Another little thing you can do 
is to kill the newly emerged cock- 
roach by putting it into the deep- 
freeze. Then let it thaw out again and 
you will see that the cuticle starts to 
darken from the rear end of the 
animal, as the hormone diffuses away 
from the site of its release. Of course, 
it may be that the cuticle at the rear 
end of the animal has a different 
reaction to the hormone. Unfortu- 
nately, in all other insects apart from 
the fly, the mechanism of the control 
of release of the hormone has not 
been clearly defined. There is evi- 
dence that in the cockroach there is a 
nervous signal sent down the nerve 
cord to do the job, but there are also 
some rather contradictory bits of 
evidence showing a control of release 
similar to that found in the blowfly. 
My own work on locusts seems to 
support this. 

A rather more lengthy experiment 
which needs a bit more skill and 
patience is one where you can make 
one half of a maggot pupate, while 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


49 


FIGURE FIVE 


Ligatured maggots - just after 


the other doesn’t! As stated in the 
first part of this article, the hormone 
responsible for moulting is Ecdysone. 
In maggots, the peritracheal gland 
(see Fig. 6) which produces it lies 
immediately behind the brain. If the 


FIG. SIX 


Calliphora ring 


ligaturing, and 


results of timing (see text) 


maggot is ligatured in the middle 
about |6 hours before pupation, only 
the front end pupates. So your experi- 
mental method here will be to wait 
until the first few maggots have 
pupated, then ligature some of the 


Corpus allatum 
(fused pair) 


Peritracheal gland 


Corpus cardiacum 
(fused pair) 


Hypocerebral ganglion 


gland 


50 


largest (presumably the most mature) 
around the middle of the body (see 
Fig. 5, No. 1). Use about thirty or 
forty maggots, and don’t pull the 
ligatures too tight, or you will end up 
with two  halves—separate ones! 
Then look at the maggots fairly often 
(about once every hour or so). 
Maggots pupating in the first sixteen 
hours will look like Figure 5, No. 3, 
but after about sixteen hours, any 
maggots which pupate should pupate 
in the front half only as in Fig. 5, 
No. 2. This shows that there is a gland 
in the pupated half which is produ- 


cing a pupation hormone. In this 


case it is the peritracheal glands pro- 
ducing Ecdysone. If you now try put- 
ting the ligatures in different places, 
you should be able to get a fair idea 
of where the glands are. All you have 
to do then is make a dissection, and 
find the ring gland. The peritracheal 
glands have their ‘“‘critical period”’ 
about sixteen hours before pupation, 
but they themselves are activated by 
the AH from the corpora cardiaca 
(see part one). Since both the peri- 
tracheal gland and the corpora card- 
iaca are in the ring gland (also known 
as ‘‘Weismann’s Ring’’), the critical 
period for the AH cannot be deter- 
mined using the ligature technique in 
the maggot. However, you can try 
this out on some of those other 
larvae you have been breeding, since 
in the Lepidoptera the brain is in the 
head capsule while the prothoracic 
glands are in the thorax. So now 
determine the critical period of 
hormone release of the prothoracic 
glands as for the maggots. Then you 
can determine the time of release of 
the activation hormone from the 
brain in a similar manner, putting the 
ligature around the neck. This critical 
period will probably occur within the 
day previous to the prothoracic gland 
critical period, but that is a matter 
for experiment. It would be interest- 
ing if you could find any behavioural 
changes coinciding with these 


MAY, 1968 


periods. 


For the final experiment, | shall 
describe one which shows a hormonal 
control of colour in the stick insect. 
It is probably the easiest of the lot, 
since the insect does not have to be 
operated on at any critical stage in its 
life history. If a nymph of the stick 
insect is ligatured about half-way 
down the body, the diurnal colour 
change continues only in the anterior 
half of the body while the posterior 
part remains constantly light in 
colour. If you do not pull the ligature 
so tight as to cause internal damage 
to the animal, it may be removed 
later, and the entire body will once 
more show thecolour change rhythm. 
This experiment may be extended to 
in vitro conditions. Take some of the 
cuticle from a stick insect, and put it 
into some saline (a solution contain- 
ing 7.5 gm of sodium chloride and 
0.375 gm of potassium chloride per 
litre should suffice). Then add blood 
from a dark-adapted insect. The 
cuticle should darken, though you 
will have to play around with the 
relative amounts of blood and saline 
to get the colour change to work 
properly. (It is important to note that 
this darkening is due to movement 
of pigment in the epidermis, and is 
not related to the experiment with 
the blowfly.) You now have a good 
bioassay, or method for making 
objective measurements of the actual 
amount of hormone in the blood. So 
now you can ask such questions as 
how long does it take for the hormone 
to be released once the animal is 
placed in the dark; how dark does it 
have to be to produce the effect; does 
the animal use its eyes to perceive the 
light intensity (paint the eyes with an 
Opaque paint), or its ocelli, or has it 
got a dermal light sense? 


Well, there you have plenty of 
experiments, none of which are very 
complicated, and a lot of which could 
provide new information. | hope you 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


will follow some of them up. In any 
case, you can always publish any ideas 
and results you may have in the 
Bulletin. | have already quoted a 
couple of books on the subject in 
part one. If you really want to get 
embroiled in the subject, Novak's 
book is very detailed, and gives 
nearly all the references to original 
papers on the subject. In the last 
resort (and | would prefer it that 
way!), you can always drop me a line 
at the address below, and | will leave 
my beloved locusts and endeavour to 
help. 
267. J. F. Vincent (3027). 
Department of Zoology, 
The University, 
Sheffield, 10. 


MOTH MARKING 


In the spring of this year | marked 
and then released a large number of 
moths. | did this to try and find out if 
moths of certain species wander a lot 
while flying, and also to see if the 
moths | checked live for a long time. 


Method 

The moths were caught primarily 
in my mercury-vapour light-trap and 
then | painted a number on the 
moth’s wing with a white cellulose 
paint. The number was noted down 
with the date. All the moths which | 
marked were released that evening 
about fifty yards away from my trap. 
This was carried out for quite a few 
nights. 


Results 
This experiment was only carried 
out with the Common Quaker 


(Orthosia stabilis Schiff.) the Clouded 
Drab (Orthosia incerta Hufn.) the 
Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica 


5| 


Linn.) and the Red Chestnut (Cerastis 
rubricosa Schiff.) Here is a small table 
of results. 


Orthosia stabilis 

Thirty-three specimens were re- 
leased and two were recaught, one 
twice. The first specimen that was 
recaught was released on 2Ist March 
and recaught on the 24th and on the 
28th of the same month. The second 
specimen was released on 4th April 
and was recaught on the same night. 


Orthosia incerta 

Forty-six specimens were released 
and seven were recaught. The first 
specimen that was recaught was 
released on 2Ist March and was 
recaught on 23rd March. One speci- 
men was released on 2Ist March and 
recaught on the 24th and two on 3rd 
April which were recaught on 3rd 
and 4th April respectively. Three 
specimens were recaught out of a 
batch of ten released on I/th April, 
and they were recaught on the I7th, 
18th, and 19th respectively. 


Orthosia gothica 

Fifty-one specimens of this species 
were released and only one of these 
was recaptured. It was recaught first 
on 2nd April and again on 3rd April 
after being first released on 3lst 
March. 


Cerastis rubricosa 

Seven specimens of this species 
were released and only one was 
recovered. It was released on 4th 
April and recovered the same night. 
26zle67. D. J. Longman (40424). 


RELAXING LEPIDOPTERA 


It would seem from the AES 
Bulletin, Vol. 26, No. 274, February 


52 


1967, that Junior Members are becom- 
ing more numerous than ever. It 
occurred to me, thinking back to my 
early days in the study of Lepidoptera, 
that some of them may have the same 
difficulty in relaxing long-dead speci- 
mens that | had. | used to use the 
method of my day, a tin of damp 
sand, blotting-paper and a twenty- 
four to forty-eight hour wait for 
specimens that by then either flopped 
all over the place, sprang back, or 
were covered by mould. It is several 
years now since | started to use a 
hypodermic syringe and hot—not 
warm—water to relax my insects. | 
now use a B.C.G. disposable syringe 
for all insects, from some of the large 
Malayan butterflies that | relaxed last 
Christmas to some ‘Micros’ that | 
picked up in Chedworth Woods last 
week. A bone-hard Danaus plexippus 
Linn. can be completely relaxed in 
ten or fifteen minutes. My method 
with the larger insects is this: the 
specimen is laid on its side on several 
thicknesses of blotting-paper and the 
needle is pressed into the thorax just 
below the wing muscles and a slight 
pressure applied to the plunger. The 
insect is then turned over and the 
same process carried out. If the 
antennae have to be moved they must 
be wetted at the root and along their 
length at least twice. The specimen is 
then left for seven or eight minutes 
and the same thing done again but 
this time with a considerable pressure 
on the plunger so that the water 
spurts from the orifices in the thorax 
—hence the blotting-paper—and is 
then left for a few more minutes, 
after which time it is completely 
relaxed. With the smaller butterflies 
and moths down to the size of Cupido 
minimus Fuess!. | use the same pro- 
cedure; anything smaller than that | 
put in the palm of my hand under the 
lens and pierce it in the centre of the 
thorax from above, making sure the 
hole will be the one occupied by the 
setting-pin. A merest touch on the 


MAY, 1968 


plunger is sufficient: any excessive 
pressure will distort the wings or 
blow off the head. These smaller 
butterflies and moths are ready in a 
few minutes. Any moisture on the 
outside of the body is picked up with 
quarter-inch wide strips of blotting- 
paper cut to a point at each end. If 
the insect had stiffened with the head 
twisted to one side, then some 
difficulty would be met with in trying 
to straighten it. Even though the 
wings are completely relaxed the 
head would stubbornly refuse to turn 
until it had been soaked at the ‘neck’ 
from the outside for some time. An 
added advantage of this method of 
relaxing is the short period of drying 
time necessary. The largest of butter- 
flies will set perfectly stable in one 
week at ordinary room temperature. 
Perhaps it is the clearing of the 
natural orifices of the body under 
internal pressure which enables the 
dehydration to go on apace. 

4.7.67. L. R. Lassman (3254). 


PARASITIC INSECTS 


Various Orders of insects contain 
parasitic species, but only three will 
be considered in this article. These 
are: 
|. the fleas (Order Siphonaptera). 
These are characterised by a body 
which is flattened laterally, absence 
of wings, and the power to leap into 
the air. The eggs of fleas develop off 
the host and hence the only stage 
likely to be found on a mammal or 
bird is the adult flea. 

2. the lice (Orders Mallophaga and 
Anoplura). Characterised by a body 
which is flattened dorso-ventrally, 
these insects again have no wings, and 
are unable to jump. The metamor- 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


phosis of the louse (which is incom- 
plete) occurs on the host so that all 
stages, including eggs, may be en- 
countered. 

3. the ‘louse-flies’ or Hippoboscids 
(Order Diptera, family Hippobos- 
cidae). These are also flattened dorso- 
ventrally but wings may or may 
not be present, or may be vestigial. 
The family consists of two-winged 
flies which have become adapted, in 
the adult stage, to a life of parasitism. 
The legs are long with sharp claws, 
and the whole insect is frequently 
described as ‘crab-like’ in appearance 
and movement. One species (Melo- 
phagus ovinus Linn.—found on sheep) 
undergoes its whole life-history on 
the host, but most species, according 
to Edwards, Oldroyd and Smart 
(1939), survive in the nests or holes 
of their hosts. 

The purpose of this article is not to 
describe in any detail the structure 
or life history of any of these para- 
sites but to remind the amateur ento- 
mologist of their existence. At the 
same time, a method of capture of 
small rodents which has been found 
useful in parasite collecting is descri- 
bed. Information on the parasitic 
insects is sadly lacking and therefore 
any entomologist encountering any 
parasite would be well-advised to 
catch and preserve it, together with 
full details of the host, locality and 
date. As Rothschild and Clay (1952) 
have pointed out in their admirable 
book ‘Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos‘, much 
valuable material has been wasted in 
the past, especially when nests of 
rare birds have been examined, owing 
to the lack of a parasitologist or 
someone far-sighted enough to collect 
such specimens. 

Insect parasites may be collected in 
a number of ways. Recently killed 
animals (e.g., on the roads) may be 
examined, and in this way the writer 
has collected large numbers of fleas 
and lice from mammals, such as 
Badgers (Meles meles Linn.), as well 


38) 


as fleas and Hippoboscids from birds, 
such as Swallows (Hirundo rustica 
Linn.). Alternatively the homes or 
habitats of the hosts may be searched, 
and this is particularly rewarding in 
the case of birds’ nests. Finally, living 
animals may be captured and para- 
sites removed. In some cases the 
parasites may be obvious but careful 
searching may be necessary to detect 
fleas moving through the denser 
parts of the hair, or louse eggs (‘nits’) 
adherent to the hair shafts. In the 
case of the fleas on the larger mam- 
mals, certain sites seem to be particu- 
larly popular—the ears, above the 
tail and between the legs. 

One method of live capture which 
the writer finds suitable for small 
mammals (e.g., mice, voles and 
shrews) is as follows. The well-known 
‘Longworth trap’ is used, which 
captures the animals alive. Each trap 
is baited in the evening (using cheese, 
apple, meat, biscuit, etc.). It is also 
important to include bedding such as 
wood-wool or screwed-up newspaper 
as otherwise the captures may die 
from the cold overnight. The next 
morning the traps are examined and 
all ‘‘set’’ traps taken indoors. Captur- 
ed animals are carefully transferred, 
one at a time, to a jam jar which 
contains an inch of cotton wool on 
which a few drops of the anaesthetic 
ether have been dropped. The animal 
is quickly anaesthetised by the ether 
and, when unconscious, is taken out 
and placed on a sheet of white paper. 
The next part of the job must be 
performed as rapidly as possible as the 
animals will quickly regain conscious- 
ness. A blunt-ended seeker is 
run through the fur and the exposure 
of underlying areas is facilitated by 
blowing gently. In this way parasites 
are exposed. The ears are particularly 
important and, apart from insect 
parasites, mites may often be found 
on this site. The great value of the 
ether, apart from facilitating handling 
of the host, is that it also anaesthetises 


54 


the fleas—these fall on to the white 
paper where they are readily visible. 
Some may also be found on the 
cotton wool in the jar and it is 
important that this is examined 
before the next mammal is anaesthet- 
ised. Each host is marked by clipping 
a small portion of hair from the body 
—a simple key can be used so that 
each animal may be identified if 
recaptured. Having now regained 
consciousness, the host is released at 
the point of capture. The ectopara- 
sites are placed in 70% alcohol, 
together with a data label (written in 
pencil) and can be identified at 
leisure. In one such study, carried out 
in Bristol (Clutterbuck and Cooper, 
1965), the following mammals were 
caught regularly. 


|. Long-tailed Field Mouse (Apodemus 
sylvaticus Linn.) 

2. Bank Vole (Clethrionomys glareolus 
Schr.) 

3. House Mouse (Mus musculus Linn.) 
4. Common Shrew (Sorex araneus 
Linn.) 


Of these, 439% of all captures were 
found to be infested with fleas, 21% 
with mites and 219% with ticks. (In 
this study lice were not investigated.) 


The value of this method of capture 
may be summarised as follows: 
|. It is simple and relatively in- 
expensive. Traps may frequently be 
borrowed from a local museum or 
natural history society. Ether can 
usually be obtained, in small amounts, 
if a chemist is approached and told 
the purpose for which it is required. 
2. There is no need to kill the host, 
and consequently much can be learnt 
about its habits. The marked mouse 
or vole is frequently recaptured and 
its movements can therefore be 
traced and the degree of re-infesta- 
tion by parasites within a given time 
ascertained. Regular movement of 
traps will usually give a clear indica- 
tion as to areas which are heavily or 
lightly populated by the respective 


MAY, 1968 


host species. 


If hosts are to be killed, then over- 
dosage of ether is recommended. The 
method suggested by Smit (1954), 
i.e., throttling through a bag, is not 
recommended on the grounds that it 
is inhumane. | 

J. E. Cooper (2343). 


REFERENCES 


CLUTTERBUCK, R. W. and COOPER, J. E. (1965). 
A svione survey of small mammals of Burwalls. unpub- 
ished. 

EDWARDS, F. W., OLDROYD, H. and SMART, J. 
(1939). British blood-sucking flies. British Museum 
(Natural History), London. 

ROTHSCHILD, M. and CLAY, T. (1952). Fleas, Flukes 
and Cuckoos. Collins, London. 

SMIT, F. G. A. M. (1954). Handb. ident. Brit. Ins., |: (16). 
R. ent. Soc. Lond., London, 


PROLONGED LARVAL STAGE 
IN AUTOMERIS 
AURANTIACA WEYM.—II 


| am now in a position to conclude 
my article on the prolonged larval 
stage in Automeris aurantiaca Weym. 
(Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 21: 52-4). | will 
therefore begin with a brief recapitu- 
lation. In 1966, | received a single 
batch of eighteen ova and from these 
| reared nine pupae. The larvae that 
hatched from these ova grew at 
different rates and in such a way that 
they could be separated into three 
types—fast, normal and slow growing 
types. | also compared this pheno- 
menon with a similar experience 
whilst rearing Automeris _ illustris 
Walk. 

The nine pupae obtained by the 
end of 1966 all produced moths in 
April and May 1967. The emergence 
period was spread over forty-three 
days and as can be seen from the 
table below, the length of time spent 
in the pupal stage was not uniform. 


mes BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Moths, in order 


a ES | SS SC SE 


of pupation 
Sex M F 
Length of larval 
stage (days) 80 80 99 
Length of pupal 
stage (days) 225 es Osi 2 19 
Total SO5ealpsasr aiesis 


|, 3, 5, 6 and 7 were males and 2, 
4, 8 and 9 were females. (This is a 
correction to the order given in my 
previous article.) 

The difference between the longest 
and shortest larval stage was 128 days 
and that of the pupal stage 123 days. 
However the greatest difference in 
the length of time spent in both the 
larval and pupal stages was only 
forty-three days. Therefore as | 
expected the great difference in the 
length of the larval stage is more or 
less corrected by a corresponding 
difference in the length of the pupal 
stage. 

The females spent on average 
fifteen more days in the larval and 
pupal stages together, than the males. 
Although there is this difference in 
the overall time taken by the different 
sexes, it is an additional factor and 
cannot be used to explain the 
original phenomenon. That this is so 
is borne out by the fact that both the 
fastest and slowest growing larvae 
produced female moths. 

| decided to obtain pairings from 
these moths in order to determine 
whether the difference in growth 
rate was genetically controlled. After 
all, as all the larvae were reared in 
identical conditions it does not seem 
likely that the environment produced 
these differences. | succeeded in 
obtaining pairings between males of 
the normal growth type and females 
of all three types. All the pairings 
produced fertile ova which hatched 
in due course. However, with one 
exception, none of the larvae survived 
beyond their third instar. Once they 


227, | 228) | 228.5230) F800) e140 


S2OR rl eO29N= | 1929 -a|) 3350 4) SS 0milasae 


had reached this stage, they appeared 
unable to make any further growth 
and died. This may of course have 
been as a result of inbreeding, though 
it certainly did not appear to be the 
result of a disease. However, even at 
this early stage of development, the 
progeny of the pairing between the 
normal male and normal female could 
already be separated into the three 
groups. 

This was a disappointing end to the 
study of what | regard as an interest- 
ing problem. Indeed, far from solving 
the reasons for the prolonged larval 
stage, | can now pose some new 
questions. Firstly are we to assume 
that the larvae that feed for only 80 
days consume as much as those that 
feed for 150 or 208 days? (Could it be 
that their digestive system is much 
more efficient?) Indeed, because of 
their lengthy pupal stage and result- 
ing requirement for a larger food 
reserve, one might expect their nutri- 
tional requirements to be greater. 
Secondly | would like to suggest two 
possible explanations for the behav- 
iour of the pupae. 

|. Development proceeds at a 
slower rate in the pupa of a fast 
growing larva than in those of the 
other types. 

2. Development takes the same 
time in all the cases and the moths 


remain, for different lengths of time, 


fully developed within the pupa until 
the emergence period. 

If this second case is correct, then a 
mechanism must be present to ensure 
that the moth emerges at the right 
time. 


56 


As | indicated in my _ previous 
article, | do not think that this 
behaviour can be an isolated occur- 
ence in A. aurantiaca. Therefore may 
| make a request to other Members 
for records, either in the Bulletin or 
sent to myself, of similar behaviour in 
this or other species. 


1329-07. J. Muggleton (3253). 
& 
CORSICA EAST OF THE 
MOUNTAINS 


It was in 1962 that | applied for, and 
much to my astonishment received, a 
sum of money from the University of 
Birmingham Guild of Graduates 
Travel Bursary, to enable me to go to 
Corsica to study and collect insects. 
It is to that Guild that | owe the most 
interesting and profitable two months 
collecting of my life to date. | left 
England with my friend Mr C. D. 
Gadd (3033) on July 23rd, journeyed 
by most of the means available down 
the mainland of France, stopping off 
at intervals to collect, and finally 
arrived in Corsica on August 9th. 

Corsica is located in the Mediter- 
ranean sea at approximately 42°N: 
9°E. Its butterfly fauna has certain 
affinities with those of Sardinia (to 
the south) and Sicily (to the south- 
east). The area studied on the east of 
the island extended from Bastia, 
. south-west about 5 km into the 
mountains and about 100 km due 
south as far as the village of Solenzara. 
The species noted were recorded 
between August 9th and September 
l1th., during a hot, dry summer in 
which temperatures of up to 28°C 
were recorded (local news). During 
this period, Bastia received a few 
hours of rain only once, on the 
evening of September 4th., but we 


MAY, 1968 


were at that time near Solenzara, . 
which missed the storm. 


Above Bastia, terraced mountain 
slopes with outcrops of rock alter- 
nated with gullies supporting a more 
closely-knit vegetation consisting of 
bushes overhung with a species of 
Clematis. Growths of Grape-vines 
(Vitis vinifera Linn.), Orange trees 
(Citrus sp.), Fig trees (Ficus carica 
Linn.) and Olive trees (Olea europaea 
Linn.) appeared irregularly. The open 
places were mainly dominated by 
patches of a spiky-leaved Composite, 
looking like bleached thistles touched 
up with orange-brown dye. The | 
inflorescences of these plants proved | 
on close inspection to consist of | 
flowering florets from which many | 
insects, including species of butter- 
flies, extracted nourishment. Be- 
tween the patches the ground was | 
partially colonised by sun-bleached | 
grasses with narrow leaves, between | 
which bare rock or light, sandy soil 
gleamed in the sun. Opuntia cacti | 
with “‘barbary fig’’ fruits, and giant | 
Aloe succulents with long, thick | 
leaves each topped with a single | 
sharp spike, and bunched yellow | 
inflorescences supported by thick ~ 
stems fifteen or more feet high, | 
added a touch of Mexico to the scene. | 


Green lizards (Lacerta viridis | 
Laurenti), Wall lizards (L. muralis | 
Laurenti), Mauretanian geckoes (Tar- | 
entola mauretanica Linn.) and Green | 
tree-frogs (Hyla arborea meridionalis | 
Boettger) doubtless take their toll of | 
insect life. Insects probably also form | 
a part of the diet of the Tortoises | 
(Testudo hermanni Gmel.), a small” 
specimen of which we saw in the) 
mountains. These were the chief | 
insectivorous vertebrates we noted: | 
possibly owing to their silence, birds) — 
seemed to be non-existent. | 


These were the conditions five! 
kilometres outside Bastia, in which} 
most of our work was done. Farther) — 
down the coast huge heather plants 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


57 


(Erica sp.) grew to a height of ten 
feet or more, Eucalyptus trees lined 
the roadside and the cultivated fields 
contained artichokes or Grape-vines. 
As one progressed westwards into 
the mountains the Cork-oak (Casua- 
rina sp.) became dominant. Planta- 
tions of a kind of bamboo, and reeds 
and sedges formed the vegetation if 
instead one went eastwards, towards 
the sea. Seagulls occurred sparsely 
here. A more detailed analysis of the 
chief vegetational patterns, and of the 
vertebrates predatory upon insects, 
was impossible at the time. 


The butterflies 


Fam Satyridae 
Pararge aegeria Linn. ssp. aegeria. The 
six specimens collected were taken 
in the dappled shades of the densely- 
clothed gullies where the Clematis 
rose to meet the trees. 
P. megera Linn. var tigelius Bonelli. 
The few specimens taken were in 
poor condition, probably being at the 
end of their flying period. 
Hipparchia arastaeus Bonelli. With C. 
corinna (below), formed the chief 
inhabitant of the Composite/grass 
‘open terraces’. Though quite an 
energetic species when on the wing, 
it spent most of its time in prolonged 
siesta on the bare patches. 
-Maniola jurtina Linn. A few only were 
taken. 
_M. ida Esp. The females of this species 
were rather like a large and more 
glorious edition of our M. tithonus 
Linn. Mainly to be found in rank, 
shady vegetation. 
Coenonympha pamphilus Linn. Numer- 
ically speaking, this was a poor second 
to the following species, though still 
in good order. 
_C. corinna Huebn. The bright golden 
spots on the underside made this a 
particularly fine species to examine 
Closely. It seemed to be a lazy flier, 
_ often trickling through the air for no 
more than a few seconds before 
_ flopping listlessly to earth. 


io - 


Fam. Nymphalidae 

Vanessa atalanta Linn. and V. cardui 
Linn. The latter was more common 
than the former in the open places, 


but both occurred at Buddleia 
flowers. 
Aglais urticae Linn. ssp. ichnusa 


Bonelli. This insect was regrettably 
not encountered in the perfect stage, 
though a single larva was discovered. 
Polygonia c-album Linn. 

Argynnis lathonia Linn. This was 
absent from the list until we dis- 
covered a Buddleia bush, to which 
five or six specimens came during one 
afternoon. 

Argynnis paphia Linn. and ab. valezina 
Esp. Males were seen infrequently 
flying down the gullies, and eventually 
a female was taken feeding on the 
Composite flowers. 

A. pandora Schiff. A specimen of this 
fine insect was noted on average 
about every two days. They were 
mainly fairly worn males. Far more 
than we ourselves took with our nets 
were simply picked from flowers by a 
seven year-old girl who specialised in 
collecting this species for us! 
Charaxes jasius Linn. See note 2 
below. 

Fam. Lycaenidae 

Aricia agestis Schiff. Appeared to be 
well-distributed. 

Lycaena phlaeas Linn. No normal 
specimens recorded. About ten of the 
dark form, ssp. eleus Fab. and one 
specimen of var. coeruleopunctata. 
Lampides boeticus Linn. Not infre- 
quent. One pair taken in cop. 
Syntaracus telicanus Lang. Difficult 
both to see and to capture. Habitually 
flew erratically at the same height as 
the spiky Composites grew to. 
Polyommatus icarus Rott. In about 
equal numbers to A. agestis. See also 
note |. 

Philotes baton Bergstr. A_ single 
specimen taken on August |7/th. 
Celastrina argiolus Linn. Common in 
shady places, especially Casuarina 
copses. 


58 


Fam. Papilionidae 

Iphiclides podalirius Linn. Quite 
abundant. One larva found on Prunus 
sp. near Solenzara, on Sept. 3rd. 
Papilio machaon Linn. Extremely 
common on the terraces. Condition 
variable. One egg laid on Foeniculum 
sp. on August |8th. 
Fam. Pieridae 

Pieris brassicae Linn., 
and P. napi Linn. 
scattered individuals. 
Pontia daplidice Linn. Found fairly 
commonly on the terraces. 
Gonepteryx cleopatra Linn. Frequent 
in the gullies. 

Leptidea sinapis Linn. 

Colias hyale Linn. Two specimens. 
One female found depositing an egg 
on Lucerne (Medicago sp.), on August 
24th. 

C. croceus Fourcr. Considerably more 
common than the last species, mainly 
on the terraces. 

Fam. Hesperiidae 

The following species occurred, but 
none were common: Carcharodus 
alceae Esp., Pyrgus malvae Linn., and 
Hesperia cirsii Rambur or H. serratu- 
lae Rambur. 


Notes: 


|. Polyommatus icarus Rott. (Lycaen- 
idae). On the evening of August | Ith, 
after a hot tiring day in the moun- 
tains, we moved off up a green gully 
in which a trickle of water supported 
a dense growth of green vegetation 
beneath a canopy of Cork-oaks. The 
sun had already disappeared behind 
the mountain tops when we reached 
an ancient terrace covered with deep 
grass and a species of Leguminous 
plant (Papilionaceae) growing to a 
height of two or three feet. As we 
walked among the latter, we put up 
Common Blues in such numbers that 
it was impossible to count them. 
Where they were resting we could 
count between ten and twenty on 
almost every sprig of the plants, 
however, and my companion, walking 


P. rapae Linn. 
Fairly sparsely 


tree (Arbutus unedo Linn.), was grow- | 


MAY, 1968 


in front of me, was literally surround- 
ed by the flitting insects. It seemed 
incredible that so large a population 
could exist on that single terrace in 
numbers far greater than | have ever 
seen in any other species. The females | 
resembled A. agestis in bearing no’ 
trace of blue colouration on the 
upperside, but the males appeared to 
be perfectly normally patterned. | 


2. Charaxes jasius Linn. (Nymphali- | 
dae). Specimens of this magnificent | 
insect, which is said to have originally 
hailed from Africa, were not seen_ 
until we had almost reached Solen- 
Zara On our short trip down the east — 
coast. They were thus situated at _ 
about 90 km. south of Bastia. Females — 
were seen almost in abundance 
where the foodplant, the Strawberry- | 


ing in profusion at the junction of a| 
field with a wood. The climax to that © 
particular afternoon came when | was | 
able to watch a female depositing a 
single round, yellow egg on a leaf of _ 
one of the smaller bushes. A male was © 
captured as it settled on a mound of — 
dung and a female was scooped into — 
the net as she skimmed low over al 
pile of rubbish at the edge of a 
village. A further specimen was 
observed imbibing the sap oozing — 
from the trunk of a Cork-oak, and to! 
judge from the number of other 
specimens which attempted to visit | 
that tree as we stood close by, this! 
source of nourishment appears to be 
popular with the species. The butter-| 
fly is a powerful flier and from the |, ! 
thirty or more individuals which we 
saw, only four were taken. Regarding _ 
roosting habits, we saw one settling 
down at dusk on the flaky bark a 
up in a Eucalyptus tree. 


3. Acrida mediterranea Dirscil 
(Orthoptera: Acrididae). This fascin-| 
ating insect—looking like the result| 
of a grasshopper-stick-insect matri- 
mony—favoured the surface of the| 
road running south as a resting place, 


t 
i 
j 


Mes BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


and was either green or grey in 
colouration (developmental stages ?). 
When disturbed, it would leap into 
the air and glide gracefully for thirty 
yards or more, to disappear eventu- 
ally into the grass, the epitome of 
camouflage. One specimen which we 
have in our collection measures 19 
cms (44 in.) from wingtip to wingtip. 
It is an adult and grey in colour. 
4. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicoid- 
ea). The various kinds of ants 
encountered have still to be identi- 
fied by us, but there was considerable 
radiation among members of the 
group. One species of about the 
size of our Wood-ant (Formica rufa 
Linn.) had holes in the baked ground 
and its workers spent the day 
scurrying along well-worn trails, one 
trail per nest, carrying bits of twigs 
and grass. Outside each hole a great 
heap of material had been gathered, 
to what purpose | just don’t know, as 
the ants appeared to live under- 
ground. A smaller, brown species, 
_ with a black head, had trails going up 
and down the Orange tree beneath 
which we ate our meals. When 
_ provoked, this ant would curl its 
abdomen over its back and squirt out 
a blob of white fluid of an apparently 
innocuous nature. A third species 
held orgies in our opened ‘‘creme de 
_ marron’”’ tin, and there were occas- 
_ ions upon which it was easier to “‘go 
| aboriginal’ and scoff the lot rather 
_ than try to pick out the bloated 
bodies from the brown paste. A 
_ fourth variety had a predilection for 
_ ‘Bonbel’ cheese and was brown in 
_ colour, thus enabling it to be distin- 
guished from the black ‘‘marron- 
raider’. A further species was of 
_ pin-head proportions, and must have 
_ studied under Napoleon, who was 
| born on the other side of the island. 
_ In less than an hour these diminutive 
insects could disperse themselves 
_ thoroughly through the innards of a 
| French loaf, from which they could 
only be removed with a lighted match 


Rh ee 


oy) 


applied to each slice. Grilled ‘‘pin- 
head’’ ants and stuffed “‘marron-ers’’ 
formed an essential component of 
one’s stapie diet. The diminutive one 
lived in the ground, but its capital 
was never discovered, though we 
searched diligently every time the 
kettle rose to the boil. 

29. Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera: Sphin- 
gidae). The Hummingbird Hawkmoth 
(Macroglossum stellatarum Linn.) was 
a regular visitor to the brown 
composite blooms, as well as to other 
flowers. Only one other species of 
the family was discovered. This flew 
up from the road one morning, 
necessitating a thirty foot climb up a 
practically sheer rock face. We 
identified it at the time as a worn 
example ofa Privet hawkmoth (Sphinx 
ligustri Linn.), but we subsequently 
reflected that it had borne not a 
trace of pink colouration, and | have 
been haunted ever since by the fear 
that it may have been a Convolvulus 
hawkmoth (Herse convolvuli Linn.). 
The date was August 23rd, if that 
would be of significance. 

6. Kalotermes flavicollis Fab. (lsop- 
tera). A small nest of this European 
termite was dug out from a rotting 
log obtained from one of the gullies. 

7. Other insects. It is unfortunate 
that | have been unable to find time 
to get down to identifying many of 
the other insects which we brought 
back, but the following were of 
particular interest. The Great Green 
Bush-cricket, Tettigonia viridissima 
Linn., which was common in North- 
ern France, appeared to be replaced 
in Corsica by the Great Grey Bush- 
cricket, Decticus albifrons Fab. 
Oedipoda coerulescens Linn. and O. 
germanica Fisch, were represented 
and easily separable (the former 
having blue hindwings, the latter 
pink), but the various kinds of 
Platycleis spp. proved to be very 
difficult. Mantis religiosa Linn. and the 
stick-insect, Clonopsis gallica Charp. 


“were quite easy to find. 


60 


A frequent visitor to the Com- 
posite blooms was the large metallic- 
blue bee, Xylocopa sp. The paper- 
making wasp, Polistes sp., could be 
found in numbers feeding greedily 
from the white flowers of a common 
bush. Its nests, containing less than 
twenty cells, were usually found 
attached to grass stems. A large black 
spider-hunting wasp preyed on a 
certain kind of tunnel-dwelling 
spider, the latter attempting to 
protect itself by closing the silk-lined 
lid of its tunnel, and holding on with 
all its force from the inside. A certain 
variety of brown and yellow striped 
spider, as large as a Jegenaria sp. 
lived in webs two or three feet in 
diameter down in the coastal marshes 
around the ‘Etang de Bigouglia’. 
Scorpions (Scorpio occitanus Latr.) 
gathered on the inside walls of the 
out-door toilet after dark, but hid 
under damp stones during the day- 
time. Lastly the Human Flea, Pulex 
iritans Linn., built up a_ thriving 
colony in our sleeping-bags and 
provided a souvenir of the trip that 
my mother didn’t appreciate! 

In conclusion, | would stress that | 
have barely scratched the surface, 
either in collection or in script, of the 
many fascinations of the insect fauna 
on this Mediterranean island, and if 
there is a lucky Member who is able 
to pay Corsica a visit in the future, if 
he would like to borrow my diary of 
the trip, | should be only too glad to 
pass it on to him for a week or two. 
4.5.67. Leigh Plester (2968). 


REFERENCES 

LE CERF, F. (1963). Lepidoptéres de France, Vol. |. 
Boubée et Cie, Paris. 

PLESTER, L. S. (1962). To Corsica with a butterfly-net. 
A copy of this unpublished report is available for 
loan, 

Services de Tourisme Michelin. Map no. 90: Corse. 


BUTTERFLIES IN THE CRIMEA 
U.S.S.R., 1967 


From 2nd to 22nd August | spent a 


MAY, 1968 


holiday with my parents in a country 
house about thirty-five miles from 
Yalta, in the Crimea. The house was 
situated on the coast of the Black Sea, 
and the surrounding area had a 
‘“‘Mediterranean’’-type climate. Most 
of the countryside around was cover- 
ed in trees, dominated mostly by 
cypress (Chamaecyparis sp.), oak 
(Quercus sp.), Juniper (Juniperus com- 
munis Linn.) and Acacia sp. The trees 
and grass around our house were 
watered each day at 6 a.m. with large 
hoses, as were the large flowerbeds 
behind the house. As well as wooded 
areas, there were many small grass 
fields dotted with trees. 


Unfortunately, moth-collecting 
posed some problems. Firstly, | had 
no torch with which to collect by 
searching, and | could not reach to 
collect moths that were dazzled by 
road lamps. | did manage to collect a 
few species of moths but | did not 
catch enough species to warrant their 
inclusion in this article, which | there- 
fore confine to the Rhopalocera of 
the area. During the three weeks of 
our stay | kept a daily list of the 
butterflies which | saw, but the list is 
too long to be included here. | should 
however be pleased to send it to any 
reader requiring a more detailed 
account of the trip. 


Throughout the entire holiday | 
noticed the remarkable scarcity of the 
Nymphalidae—only three species 
were seen. The other families— 
Satyridae, Lycaenidae, Pieridae and 
Hesperiidae—were all abundant. 
(One member of the Papilionidae was 
also seen.) 


| shall proceed with the Satyridae, 
six species of which were noted. The 
Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina 
Linn.) was rather scarce and seemed 
to confine itself to shade under trees; 
on the |0th | saw it in fair numbers 
with the Speckled Wood (Pararge 
aegeria aegerides Staud.) in a small 
patch of deciduous wood of mainly 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Horse-chestnut trees (Aesculus hippo- 
castanum Linn.). The Speckled Wood 
was found in the thickest part of the 
wood, in such a position as to render 
capture extremely difficult. Very 
little light made its way through the 
thick undergrowth and trees, and | 
found that | could hardly move with- 
out hitting branches and bushes, let 
alone use a butterfly net. 


The Wall (Pararge megera Linn.) 
was extremely common—the most 
common butterfly | saw. It was to be 
found on all the paths and roads 
sunning itself, and on the large 
flowerbed behind the house. 


In the middle of a patch of woods 
was a big stagnant pool. This was 
surrounded by willows (Salix sp.) 
and plane trees (Acer sp.), and the 
grass around was kept damp by a 
fountain which sprayed at intervals. 
The fountain was situated beside the 
pool in a shaded piece of ground 
canopied by plane trees, and the 
surrounding bushes were covered in 
Ivy (Hedera helix Linn.). The gravel- 
surfaced path near the fountain and 
parallel to the pool was very damp 
because of the fountain, and to this 
patch many species of butterflies 
came to drink. Three times | caught 
the Grayling (Eumenis semele Linn.) 
visiting this patch. This was the only 
place | saw this species, although 
many of the surrounding fields had 
large boulders which | thought would 
have been suitable localities for it. 
None, however, were to be found 
there. 


Another species of Satyrid, Hippar- 
chia statilinus Hufn., was very com- 
mon in the open fields of the area. 
This insect’s habits are quite similar 
to the Grayling’s (in Ireland!). It was 
found resting on large rocks and on 
the flower heads cf the Eryngium 
species. It is a strong flier and not too 
easily caught. 

The most spectacular member of 
the Satyridae which | met with was 


6| 


Brintesia circe Fab., a magnificent 
insect which was quite common. On 
the edge of the wood in which | took 
Pararge aegeria aegerides and Maniola 
jurtina was a clump of fairly big Horse- 
chestnut trees. These trees were 
leaking sap and were visited quite 
often by Brintesia circe. Catching 
these was quite a problem. They 
were generally located about twenty 
feet up and were impossible to reach 
with my handle-less kite net. It was 
useless waiting for them to fly, as 
when they did—which was not very 
often—they only moved from tree to 
tree and quite out of range. My 
method of capturing them was fairly 
successful. | would get under a tree 
and give the trunk a sharp jar with 
my hand; if the insect was present it 
would glide down to a height of 
approximately four feet from the 
ground and fly swiftly away. | caught 
several specimens with my net as they 
glided down. | also took this species 
as it sucked moisture from the damp 
ground beside the pool. The lights in 
our rooms were covered with inver- 
ted cup-shaped lampshades. These 
were filled with dead moths and | was 
very surprised to see two specimens 
of Brintesia circe in two of the shades. 
Moreover, one night about nine 
o'clock my father saw one of these 
insects which had come in through 
his bedroom window and was flying 
round the light near the ceiling. | 
should be interested to learn if this 
species is known to be a nocturnal 
visitor. 

As | have said, | was surprised at 
the scarcity of the Nymphalidae in 
the area—only three species were 
noted and one of these was seen only 
once. This was the Comma (Polygonia 
c-album Linn.), and a very worn 
specimen of this species was seen 
flying beside a flowerbed. The Silver- 
washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia 
Linn.) and Argynnis niobe Linn. both 
came to the damp patch of ground 
near the fountain. | observed three 


62 


specimens of each species. 


Seven species of Lycaenidae were 
seen. The two most abundant species 
were the Common Blue (Polyommaius 
icarus Rott.) and the Holly Blue 
(Celastrina argiolus Linn.), both of 
which were very common. The 
Common Blue was found on flowers 
in flowerbeds and in open fields on 
Eryngium sp. The Holly Blue was 
found beside the pool fluttering 
around ivy leaves and visiting Elder- 
berry (Sambucus nigra Linn.) flowers. 
This species often visited the damp 
patch beside the nearby fountain. 


The Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas 
Linn. form eleus Fab.) was scarce and 
localised—I only found it in one field 
in the entire area, a rather shaded 
grass field where | caught a few 
specimens. In the flowerbeds behind 
the house | took a single specimen of 
the ‘Blue’ Philotes vicrama Moore. 
This was the only example | saw. In 
the same flowerbed | took two 
specimens of the Chalkhill Blue 
(Lysandra coridon Poda) on 5th August, 
and one specimen of the Adonis Blue 
(Lysandra bellargus Rott.) on the 16th. 
The only other Lycaenid | saw was the 
Purple Hairstreak (Thecla quercus 
Linn.), which was also found at the 
damp patch and flying above the ivy- 
covered bushes in the vicinity. It was 
a fairly common insect but | was not 
able to catch a single perfect speci- 
men, all specimens being worn. 


The Pieridae were equally plentiful 
in numbers of species, of which five 
were seen. The Small White (Pieris 
rapae Linn.) was very common 
throughout the area, as was the 
Large White (Pieris brassicae Linn.). 
The Bath White (Pontia daplidice 
Linn.) was common in open fields on 
Eryngium sp. in the early part of the 
holiday, but became much less com- 
mon towards the end, as did most 
other species. The Wood White 
(Leptidea sinapis Linn.) was very 
common in shady places, e.g., beside 


MAY, 1968 


the pool under the trees, and | often | 
found it feeding from the damp patch © 
near the fountain. One species of 
‘Yellow’ was found in the area. This 
was the Clouded Yellow (Colias 
croceus Fourcr.). Colias croceus was 
quite common over the whole area 
and especially in the flowerbed 
behind the house. Two specimens of 
form helice were caught on the afore- 
mentioned flowerbeds. 


The Papilionidae were represented 
by one species, Papilio podalirius Linn. 
(the Scarce Swallowtail), eight 
examples of which | had the good 
fortune to see gliding over tall shrubs 
in open fields. All the examples | saw 
were at the very beginning of my 
stay and were rather worn—perhaps 
| had come at the end of its flight 
period. 


The Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus — 
malvae Linn.) was common, as was | 
Spialia sertorius Hufn. The Dingy 
Skipper (Erynnis tages Linn.) was | 
quite common at the flowerbed and | 
reasonably common in the open — 
tields. The most common Skipper was | 
Carcharodus alceae Esp., which was — 
very plentiful at the flowerbeds. | 
4.10.67. M. Jeffares (3540J). | 


A EUROPEAN HOLIDAY 1967 P| 


From August 30th to September | 
I2th my parents, younger brother 


and | were travelling across Europe © 


by car. The first day we crossed the | 
Channel to France and from Calais | 
went south-east to spend the night at | 


Reims. During the drive from Calais | 
to Reims | noticed only ‘whites’ | 
(Pieris spp.) and the Small Tortoise- | 


shell (Aglais urticae Linn.). | 
The second day we were heading | 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


for the Swiss border, and after a 
morning’s drive stopped for luncn at 
Joinville. We decided to have a picnic 
in a nearby field, and my entomologi- 
cal holiday started with the sighting 
of a Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias 
hyale Linn.). During the stop for 
lunch four of these were taken, and 
many more seen. The Clouded Yellow 
(Colias croceus Fourcr.) was also seen, 
the Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus 
Rott.) and the Common Blue (Polyo- 
mmatus icarus Rott.) abounded. Other 
species noted were the Grizzled 
Skipper (Pyrgus malvae Linn.), Small 
Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Clossicna 
selene Schiff.) and larvae of the 
Swallowtail (Papilio machaon gorganus 
Fruhst.) of which | found three. 


The next day, September Ist, we 
motored on, and stopped for lunch at 
Lausanne on the banks of lake Geneva. 
Even in the city, | noted Clouded 
Yellows and one Hummingbird 
Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum 
Linn.), the only one noted on my 
visit abroad. 


September 2nd was spent among 


_ the Swiss Alps. When we stopped, | 


noted the following species at approx- 


imately 5,000ft. Small Heath (Coenon- 


ympha pamphilus Linn.), Common 


Blue, Clouded Yellow, Pale Clouded 
_ Yellow, Red Admiral (Vanessa atalan- 
_ ta Linn.) and Meadow Brown (Maniola 
_jurting Linn.). At about 9 o’clock 


that evening, we reached our head- 
quarters for the next three days, 


- Cadennabia, near Como, in Italy. My 


first Italian catch was a male Gypsy 


_ Moth (Lymantria dispar Linn.), which 


was on the hotel wall. 
Cadennabia is a small town built 


_ along one side of a road. On the other 
_ side is Lake Como, and the Italian 


_ Alps tower overhead. 


| was rather 


_ disappointed at first as there was 
| little grassland for insects. However, 
_ Iset off with net, boxes, jars, tins and 


i 
| 


| 


_ other entomological paraphernalia, 


rather nervous as the only Italian | 


63 


could speak was ‘farfalle’ (butterflies 
and moths). My disappointment was 
soon lost, for walking along a path to 
a chapel on the hillside, | came across 
about twenty buddleia bushes laden 
with such butterflies as Red Admirals, 
fritillaries, and giant Italian Satyrids. 
| returned to the hotel, greatly 
satisfied, urgently awaiting the next 
day to go right up to the chapel, 
because | had only got about 500 
yards that afternoon. 


The next day, September 4th, my 
dreams of full collecting-boxes were 
shattered, for a violent thunderstorm 
raged. However, | roamed the streets 
of the town on the other side of Lake 
Como, Bellagio; and was very pleased 
with my only catch of the day, a 
Colorado Beetle (Leptinotarsa 10- 
lineata Say). 


Our last day in Cadennabia, Sept- 
ember Sth, found me very unhappy, 
for it was still raining. Luckily, half- 
way through the morning the sun 
broke through and | set off up the 
mountain in sweaters and Wellington 
boots. | did not expect to find much 
on the wing. | caught the Satyrids 
Brintesia circe Fab., Satyrus cordula 
Fab. and Hipparchia fagi Scop. | also 
took the Adonis Blue, a fritillary 
(Melitaea phoebe Schiff.) which was 
very abundant on the lower slopes, 
Wall Brown (Pararge megera Linn.), 
Large Wall (P. maera Linn.), Pale 
Clouded Yellow, Dew Moth (Setina 
irrorella Linn.), Grayling (Eumenis 
semele Linn.) and Swallowtail. | also 
caught a Praying Mantis (Mantis 
religiosa Linn.). In the afternoon the 
whole family went up a mountain to 
about 10,000 feet. Here only three 
species were seen, one male Swallow- 
tail, three Wall Butterflies and six 
Scotch Argus (Erebia aethiops Esp.). 
On the same day one of my Swallow- 
tail larvae died, but the following day 
the other two pupated. 


From Cadennabia, we travelled to 
Venice and then back towards Calais 


64 


to catch the boat on September | 3th. 
My only other note of entomological 
value was made on the |2th at a small 
village between Chaumont and 
Chalons-sur-Marne. Clouded Yellows 
abounded, and the only female Pale 
Clouded Yellow was taken here. | 
also found a Praying Mantis egg-batch. 

| took all the species that | wanted, 
except for the Hummingbird Hawk- 
moth, but with luck | will be able to 
return to Europe in 1968 and make 
up for this. 


23.10.67. N. Cook (39624). 


NOTES FROM A FINNISH 
DIARY—Il 


These notes cover the period 
October | Ith 1966 to April [5th 1967 
(see also Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 
20-2). They thus concern that portion 
of the year which, entomologically 
speaking, presents few opportunities 
for making field observations—viz. 
the autumn, winter and early spring. 
Because this is my first year in 
Finland, however, | have taken pains 
to record everything | have seen, 
thereby slowly building up a pattern 
of insect activities throughout the 
year. | have as yet seen nothing 
spectacular, but | hope that the 
following notes will be of interest to 
Members who have never resided 
this far north in Europe (latitude 
61°50’). 

Snow fell spasmodically during 
early November, and on the 26th of 
the month the snow cover was 
7-8 cms in that part of the forest of 
Pinsio which lies about 20 km to the 
west of Tampere (alluded to in Note 
number Il). The day was bright and 
sunny, though the breeze was rather 
chilly, the thermometer reading 


MAY, 1968 


about —4°C. The area has been much 
disturbed by quarrying activities but 
there is a particularly nice westerly- 
facing bank to one of the older 
excavations. As | struggled up this 
bank through the snow | met, practi- 
cally face to face, an insect which was 
waltzing calmly across the crisp 
surface on its long, thin legs. It looks 
like some form of pond-skater (Hem- 
imptera: Amphibicoriomorpha) and 
when | have more time | shall try to 
identify it by means of a book which 
has recently come out here (Linnay- 
uori, 1966). | was surprised to meet 
so sprightly an individual on the snow 
under conditions which made me 
want to keep on the move and which 
had reduced the winter-gnats (Dip- 
tera: Nematocera) to feebly struggl- 
ing husks with their feet in the air. It 
is of interest to record that the 
intrepid excursionist, be it bug or 
whatever, passed away after three 
hours in the heat of my room (18°C). 
Presumably, one man’s central heat- 
ing is another’s poison! 


As the winter wore on, the little 
time | spent out of doors was taken 
up by trying to keep the frost from 
my beard. | think it is true to say that 
nothing moved in the mid-winter 
unless it had to, and that included 
this investigator. 


Even whilst skiing through the 
forest, | saw nothing of interest, and 
| came in contact with enough spruce 
saplings to provide a reasonable cross- 
section of the available hiding-places 
for insects. My new method of 
beating—on the ‘personal collision 
with the vegetation’ principle— 
yielded nothing. By Christmas, day- 
light was reduced to a little over five 
hours, and the sun disappeared 
behind the snow clouds for a com- 
plete month. The coldest temperature 
for Tampere was recorded on January 
31st, when it was —37 °C two metres 
from the ground, and —41 °C on the 
ground surface itself. lt was impossible 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


to touch anything outside with the 
bare hands and as one breathed 
crystals of ice formed at the edges of 
one’s nostrils. So much for the 
winter. 


Towards the end of February, 
everyone was surprised at a sharp 
rise in temperature and when the 
latter had risen above freezing-point, 
a false spring was dolefully predicted. 
At first the thermometer fell by ten 
degrees every night, but gradually it 
got even warmer, and at the time of 
writing it has been +10°C at two 
o'clock in the afternoon. The snow 
melted, beginning with the roads, 
extending to the borders of these, 
then across the open places, and 
finally penetrating into the forests. 
Half-a-metre-deep snow does not 
disappear overnight, however, and 
there are still thick drifts in the 
shady places, so that it is not un- 
common now to see a butterfly leave 
a flower and go winging away across 
an extensive patch of snow. A few 
metres away you might see a lizard 
(Lacerta vivipara Jacquin.) basking on 
a patch of dry earth. 


A torpid house-fly (Musca sp.) 
settled on my carpet on March 23rd 
and that same day we rejoiced to find 
three Coltsfoots (Tussilago farfara 
Linn.) bursting into bloom outside 
between two snow drifts. 


| again paid a visit to my favourite 
quarry bank in the forest on March 
27th, and found there more than a 
dozen 7-spot ladybirds (Coccinella 
septempunctata Linn.), sitting about 
among the folds of dead leaves, 
taking the sun. These, and the flies | 
watched basking on the wall of a 
wooden hut, were the first insects 
noted out of doors. | searched some 
Sallow bushes (Salix caprea Linn.) for 
the knobbly galls caused by the 
Hymenopteran Euura amerinae Linn. 
and soon found several. | hope even- 
tually to be able to write something 
about the various kinds of plant 


65 


galls found here, so | will not go into 
details about this species now. The 
careful separation of a pair of wither- 
ed sallow leaves disclosed a pair of 
small, metallic green Chrysomelid 
beetles, which | brought home and 
placed in a match-box. Despite the 
higher temperature indoors, these 
have only very recently begun to 
move about. They are of interest as 
an example of a species which hiber- 
nates in the adult stage and when 
they have been identified, | shall pass 
on the information. 


On March 27th the dome-shaped 
nests of the Wood Ant (Formica rufa 
Linn.) were devoid of insect life. By 
April 9th, however, they were swarm- 
ing with workers, these being inter- 
spersed with larger soldier ants. It 
was while plodding across an open 
space between two of these ant 
strongholds that | came across a 
caterpillar walking across the snow. 
The nearest patch of exposed vege- 
tation along its line of locomotion 
was more than twenty metres away, 
so | saved it a long walk by rolling it 
into a match-box. It was an Arctiid 
caterpillar of the Spilosoma type, and 
Spun up three days later in a jam-jar 
that had originally contained Artic 
cloudberries—an appropriate pupa- 
tion place to my way of thinking! 


On April 9th | made a preliminary 
survey of a ‘‘rame’’, which is the 
Finnish name for a peat-bog domin- 
ated by small pines (Pinus sylvestris 
Linn.). There | met with two ‘micros’, 
the second of which obligingly settled 
on my brick-red pullover. This is 
another species which | have not yet 
managed to identify, which is a pity, 
as | have seen several more individ- 
uals since then and it would be inter- 
esting to know in what stage they 
survive the winter. 

The sunniest three days of the 
period | am writing about commenced 
on April 12th, when the sky stretched 
bright blue from horizon to horizon 


66 


RVI 


andarinal 


MAY, 1968 


C 


- 
--" 
-- 


Plan of Tampere showing positions of Areas A, B and C 


and the thermometer crept to 10°C. 
Insects and other animals must have 
benefitted considerably from this 
unusually early warm spell, particu- 
larly since the sun now rises shortly 
after five o’clock in the morning, and 
does not set until eight o’clock in the 
evening (East-European Standard 
Time). Having the afternoons of these 
days free, | set about reconnoitering 
three of the areas | had ear-marked 
for spring investigations. 


Finland has forty-six cities and 
towns. Tampere (South-Hame dis- 
trict) is probably inferior in size only 
to the capital city, Helsinki, and lies 
on a narrow isthmus between two 
very large lakes—Nasijarvi to the 
north, Pyhajarvi to the south. The 
sketch-map is a plan of the town with 
the streets omitted. Areas A (Pyyni- 
kki ridge) and B (adjacent to the 
‘“‘harbour’’) are within ten minute’s 
walk of the town centre. Area A was 
my destination on April 12th. | 


walked in a westerly direction along 
the narrow ‘‘beach’’ of Pyhajarvi, 
with the pine-covered ridge rising 
steeply up on my right, and a large 
expanse of solid ice stretching fifty 
metres across the bay to my lefc. | 
soon spotted my first Small Tortoise- 
shell (Aglais urticae Linn.) and shortly 
afterwards a male Brimstone (Gonep- 
teryx rhamni Linn.) bobbed towards 
me in that characteristic manner 
which always reminds me of a dog 
stopping to sniff at every tree. On the 
following day, as | sat eating my 
lunch, another Brimstone scudded by 
at a distance, and this one appeared 
to be a female, though | could not 
unfortunately be sure. All the other 
specimens | have noted since have 
definitely been males. 


| visited the second area on the 
13th. This small territory is consider- 
ably more open than Pyynikki, though 
the dominant. tree is again Pinus 
sylvestris. The terrain is extremely 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


rocky, and at the summit there is a 
small pond lying in a depression. At 
the edge of the pond a few stunted 
willows (Salix sp.) subsist on the 
shallow soil, so the pond is presum- 
ably at least partially permanent. In 
the faintly stinking pools between the 
yellowed grasses at the edges and the 
ice masses in the centre | could 
clearly see the females of the small 
Crustacean Cyclops sp., with their 
large lateral egg-pods. Whirligig 
beetles (Gyrinus sp.), gnat and mos- 
quito larvae, and red water-mites 
(Hydrachna sp.) were likewise visible 
to the naked eye. 


My real purpose in visiting this 
area, though, was to look for the 
Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. | had 
watched, on October 5th, several 
specimens visiting some late-flower- 
ing plants of the family, Compositae 
near the small wooden huts on the 
flat ground between the terraces of 
rock and the harbour on Nasijarvi. 
One or two of the butterflies 
appeared to be extremely interested 


67 


of specimens | have seen this past 
week testify. It may be that the 
extreme dryness of the northern 
winter (everything freezeable freez- 
ing!) is conducive to successful hiber- 
nation. How many of these butterflies 
hibernate in out-houses, work-huts, 
etc., is not known, but a proportion 
certainly chooses houses, as | learned 
from a schoolteacher at Ruovesi, 
about fifty kilometres north of Tam- 
pere. She has had them hibernating 
in her house for many years. 


The Kaupinoja Natural Park, which 
is my Area C, is a ten-minute car 
drive from the town centre, and is by 
far the largest and most natural 
habitat of the three. It extends across, 
and partly around, a hill composed of 
granite, and overlooks one of the 
bays of Nasijarvi which at the time of 
writing is a grey expanse of surface- 
wet ice. Its vegetation consists of 
Pine (P. “sylvestris~ Linn.), Cedar 
(Cedrus sp.), and some Birch (Betula 
sp.) and Spruce (Picea sp.) in the tree 
layer, with Calluna sp., and Vaccinium 


in these ramshackle buildings and in 
‘the neat stacks of sawn birch-logs 
which are produced by the people 


sp., lichens and various oddments in 
the herb layer and lower layers. It 
also provides many Coltsfoots, which 


working in the buildings. | supposed 
that the butterflies were seeking out 
places in which to hibernate, and | 
wondered whether the same individ- 
uals would be about again this April. 
_lonly saw one butterfly, however, in 
that quarter on April I 3th. It occurred 
to me then that | had never read of 
anyone marking butterflies before 
hibernation, with a view to ascertain- 
ing whether they remain in the same 
vicinity in the spring, or move away 
to new territories. | have resolved, 
therefore, to mark any Tortoiseshells 
| find in Area B next autumn, using 
nail varnish, and to try to determine 
what happens to the recorded individ- 
uals after hibernation. 


One thing is certain. The species is 
extremely common, in this part of 
Finland at least, as the large numbers 


appear to be the principal flowers 
visited by butterflies at this time of 
year. 


On April I4th the pretty, blue- 
flowering ‘‘Sinivuokko’’ (Anemone 
hepatica Linn.) had appeared at the 
edge of the forest overlooking a 
large, grassed plain. From one side of 
the plain a peninsula extends into the 
trees, and in one corner formed by 
the junction of this extension with 
the main bedy there is a group of 
birches, beneath which at the time 
some of the blue anemones were 
flowering. It was an idyll for the 
Small Tortoiseshell and when | arrived 
there were four basking on the 
ground, and two more flying about in 
an agitated fashion in the upper 
foliage of the trees. | watched these 
latter for some minutes, wondering 


68 


what they were looking for, but 
could draw no obvious conclusions 
from my observation. Then my 
attention was arrested by two male 
Brimstones which were sitting on 
the ground with their wings folded. 
The urge to catch the nearest of these 
in my hat came upon me. The trad- 
itional Finnish woodsman’s hat is 
useful in having a fairly wide peak, 
enabling it to be gripped fairly firmly 
in the hand and used as a makeshift 
net, the carrying of which does not 
arouse undue comment. 

| had just begun to stalk intently 
forward when a movement to my 
front made me stop, and | found 
myself to be the subject of a very 
suspicious stare. The girl who had 
previously been lying full length in 
the sun unnoticed by me was now 
sitting rigidly upright. | have actually 
no objection to being regarded as a 
maniac, but not knowing what kind 
of deranged individual the secluded 
young lady supposed me to be, | 
donned my makeshift net and beat a 
hasty retreat. | can only hope that 
she does not habitually use that 
peaceful spot, for it is by far the best 
place | have found for butterflies this 


spring! 
15.4.67. Leigh Plester (2968). 
REFERENCE 
LINNAVUORI, R. (1966). Suomen Elaimet—Animalia 
Fennica 10: Nivelkarsaiset | — Hemiptera I. WWSOY 
Helsinki. 


JUNIOR NEWS SECTION 


Once again the summer is almost 
upon us and | bet like me you are 
unprepared. Perhaps this letter from 
Robin Crow (4087J) will get you into 
the insect seeking mood. He writes: 

“| thought that you might be 
interested in the results of my recent 
trip to Yucatan, Mexico, so | enclose 


MAY, 1968 


a short article and list of species of 
butterflies seen in the region. Yuca- 
tan is interesting because as far as | 
can make out there appear to be no 
records, in the entomological liter- 
ature, regarding this part of Mexico. 

‘From December 23, 1967, to 
January 8, 1968 | stayed in Merida, 
the capital of Yucatan, Mexico. We 
travelled to Yucatan by plane, stop- 
ping off at Miami, Florida, for a few 
hours both going and returning. In 
Miami | took, along with several other 
species, Danaus plexippus Linn. (The 
Monarch) and Urbanus proteus Linn. 
(Long-tailed Skipper): these captures 
were interesting as | did not see 
these common neotropical species in 
Yucatan. 

“The country around Merida is 
very dry, particularly as we were 
there in the dry season, because all 
the rivers are underground and only 
come to the surface as cenotes, large 
and very deep ponds. Vegetation 
consists of scrub jungle or chaparral 
broken up by large fields of sisal, a 
large spiky plant, from which twine 
is made. While we were there it was 
sunny most of the time, there was no 
rain and the usual day temperature 
was around 80°F. 

“Yucatan is famous as the site of 
many ruined Mayan cities. The Mayans 
were the most advanced of all the 
Pre-Hispanic American cultures. We 
visited three cities, Dzibilchaltun, 
Chichen Itza and Uxmal. The latter 
was the most interesting both for its 
buildings and also for the different 
type of vegetation that | think is 
probably intermediate between the 
scrub jungles further north and the 
rain forests found further south in 
British Honduras and Guatemala. 

‘‘In all we saw about 101 species 
and captured 88 in Yucatan. Species 
seen which were positively identified 
are listed in Table |. 

‘| am leaving in a few days for 
Hawaii and hope to send in a repo 
of my experiences there.”’ 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Table |: Positively identified species seen in 
Yucatan. Number in_ brackets 
denotes probable number of species 
seen in that family. 

Family Danaiidae (Danaiinae) Milkweed 


Butterflies (2) 
Danaus gilippus (The Queen) 
D. cresimus 
Family Heliconiidae (Heliconiinae) (5) 
Heliconius charitonius (The Zebra) 
Agraulis vanillae (The Gulf Fritillary) 
Dryas julia 
Dryadula phaetusa 
Family Satyridae (Browns) (3) 
Euptychia pyracmon 
E. rubricata 
Family Nymphalidae (26) 
Euptoieta claudia (Variegated Fritillary) 
E. hegesia (Mexican Fritillary) 
Vanessa cardui (Painted Lady) 
Precis genoveva 
Metamorpha steneles (The Malachite) 
Anartia jatrophae (White Peacock) 
A. fatima 
Hamadryas fornax 
H. feronia 
Biblis hyperia 
Limenitis fessonia 
Dynamine dyonis 
Anaea pithyusa 
Family Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers etc) (13) 
Strymon melinus 
S. columella 
Leptotes cassius 
Brephidium pseudofea (Eastern Pygmy Blue) 
Hemiargus isola 
Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails) (5) 
Papilio polydamas 
P. thoas (Citrus) 
Family Pieridae (Whites etc) (20) 
Anteos clorinde 
Phoebis sennae (Cloudless Sulphur) 
P. philea (Orange Barred Sulphur) 
Euremea mexicana 
E. boisduvaliana 
E. nicippe (Sleepy Orange) 
E. gundlachia 
E. proterpia 
E. daira (Barred Sulphur) 
E. lisa (Little Sulphur) 
Nathalis iole 
Appias drusilla 
Ascia monuste 
A. josephina 
Family Hesperiidae (Skippers) (23) 
Chioides albofasciatus 
Heliopetes macaira 
Pyrgus syrichtus 
Copoedes minima 
Polites vibex 
Even if you do not manage to get 
as far as Mexico please drop me a line 
just to let us know what you are 


doing this season. 


69 


As | had such excellent entries sent 
in for last May’s quiz | thought you 
might like to try another. A small 
prize will be awarded to those of you 
who manage to obtain a high enough 
mark. When sending me_ your 
attempts (within two weeks of 
receiving your copy of the Bulletin), 
please say which of the following 
prizes you would prefer: an AES 
badge, a single copy of a Bulletin from 
the period 1949 up to the time you 
joined the society, live stick insects 
(Indian, Madagascan or Corsican) or 
provided | can get hold of it, any 
particular specimen you are after. 
Don’t forget to include your full 
name and age on your entry. 

|. What do adult Clothes Moths 
(Tineola  bisselliella Hummel) 
eat? 

2. Draw and colour a Rainbow 
Rove Beetle (Paederus littoralis 
Grav.). 

3. Which ‘metamorphosis’ do each 

of the following Orders pass 
through? 
a. Coleoptera, b. Dictyoptera, 
c. Phasmida, d. Aphaniptera. The 
English names would be appre- 
ciated. 

4. What do insects mainly use their 
antennae for? 

5. Give three reasons why centi- 
pedes are not insects. 

6. Which very rare butterfly is 
only found on the Isle of Wight 
and nowhere else in the British 
Isles? 

7. What have bees and bugs to do 
with ruby lips? 

8. Draw and colour an 
Vanessa atalanta Linn. 

9. What is meant by a gynandro- 
morph? 

10. What are ‘Anopheles’ and are 
they found in Britain? 

ll. Give two Orders of insects 
which have back legs adapted 
for jumping. 

12. Draw and colour a larva of the 
Pale Tussock Moth (Dasychira 


adult 


pudibunda Linn.). 

13. To which Order of insects do 
June bugs belong? 

[4. VVhat in fact is a Stone Fly? 

15. Draw and colour an adult 
Clifden Nonpareil (Catocala 
fraxini Linn.). 

[6. Name at least five of Britain’s 
social wasps. 

17. What had the beetie Ateuchus 
sacer to do with cats? 

18. Draw a water scorpion. 

19. Many insects live in symbiosis 
with ants. What does this mean? 

20. In order to help the Nature 
Conservancy with their survey, 
where should you send your 
Lepidoptera records? 


| am looking forward to hearing 
about the T.1.E.G. Riviera expedition 
and just itching to deal with your 
criticisms and ideas. 

| wish you a happy season but take 
care not to overcollect! 
30.1.68. H. J. Berman (2971A). 


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 


Sir,—I would like to support very 
strongly the views put forward about 
the effects of light-trapping by Mr 
G. S. Robinson in the November issue 
(Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 136). | have 
been operating a light-trap in my 
garden from March to December, 
except when away from home, for 
fifteen years. There has been no 
general diminution in the number of 
moths trapped, other than the normal 
ups and downs due to weather con- 
ditions, etc. Indeed, some species are 
definitely more numerous than they 
used to be. 

Of course, | am careful to keep the 
trap running during the day in a 
secure place and open it at dusk, 


MAY, 1968 


when the moths fly out naturally. 
This, | think, actually saves lives, as 
the moths are safer in the trap than 
they would be resting in the open. © 
The prolific use of modern insecti- 
cides, and the great increase in the 
small bird population are, | am sure, 
much mere destructive than the 
sensible use of a light-trap in the 
garden. 
16.11.67. Sir Robert Saundby (1817). 


Sir,—I wish to report the sighting of 
a Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias hyale 
Linn.) ina field by the river Cuckmere 
at Arlington, Polegate, Sussex. 

The butterfly was sighted late in 
August by myself and my brother: 
the upperside markings and white 
yellow-green tinged colour showed 
clearly that it was a female Pale 
Clouded Yellow. A subsequent study 
of plate 21 in South (1941), confirmed 


this. 
Peter Mobbs (3956J). 


2.9.67. 
REFERENCE 
SOUTH, R. (1941). The Butterflies of the British Isies. 
Frederick Warne, London. 


NOTES AND 
OBSERVATIONS 


POISONOUS PEACH 


Our gladioli were being stripped as 
usual this year, by some pestilent 
noctuid whose egg-batches | had not 
kept adequate watch for. Eventually 
| found a few of the small caterpillars 
skulking low down, waiting for the 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


protection of darkness. ‘Macro’ lar- 
vae show only the primary sensory 
setae and very little pattern in the 
first instar, so | had to rear these wee 
green chaps with the black warts until 
| could recognise them. A couple of 
moults later, | recognised one of my 
old enemies, Mamestra brassicae 
Linn., the Cabbage Moth. 


One night, | did not want to get 
wet picking pelargonium leaves for 
the larva that | still had, so! put in a 
peach leaf (Prunus persica (Linn.) 
Batsch). For 24 hours the leaf was 
untouched, then the larva nibbled 
little bits off all round the edge, 
rejecting them so that they littered 
the box. Within three days the larva 
was dead. 


| had always noticed that the 
leaves of this ‘Yellow Cling’ peach 
tree were untouched in the garden. 
It gets little leaf curl from aphids. The 
unripe fruits are freely pierced in 
some years by Miridae. The gummy 
exudate from the wounds makes a 
mess, but the fruit is unharmed 
‘internally. Gummy sap also exudes 
from the trunk, where it is attacked 
by Enarmonia formosana Scop. (woe- 
beriana Schiff.). The sap is thus not 
poisonous, but there must be some- 
thing toxic to insects that is present 
‘in the leaves. 
; R. W. J. Uffen (1660). 


“ 


LONG-TAILED BLUE IN 
LONDON 


On 18th October 1967 | had the 
‘good fortune of catching a Long- 
tailed Blue (Lampides boeticus Linn.) 
‘in my back garden at Finchley, 
London N.12. | have had this certified 
by two other collectors. | would be 
‘interested to know how many, if any, 


7| 


other specimens have been caught 
this year. 
L. Smith. 


THE SMALL SKIPPER 
BUTTERFLY 


| wonder if other AES Members 
have noticed the very great increase 
in the number of Small Skipper 
butterflies (Thymelicus sylvestris Poda) 
this year? In my entire collecting 
area, and also in parts of Middlesex 
| have visited, these butterflies now 
greatly outnumber all other species, 
including the Small Tortoiseshell 
(Aglais urticae Linn.), ‘Browns’, etc., 
and in most places it would be 
impossible to count them. Only a few 
years ago | remember seeing my first 
Small Skipper in this area, and was 
quite excited at the time, whereas 
now one would almost think it was 
the only species. 
|2.8.67. Wesley Caswell (3133). 


HOMING DEVICES 


This year a friend and myself 
marked several Poplar Hawkmoths 
(Laothoe populi Linn.) which were 
caught in our own moth-traps. He 
marked his with blue paint and | 
marked mine with red paint. He 
lives about a mile away from me and 
we arranged to release each others’ 
moths at our houses. 

| was rather surprised that after the 
night that we exchanged and released 
our moths, we both recaught some of 
our own marked moths in our moth- 
traps. If anyone has had experiences 
with other moths on this subject, 


72 


would they please let me know. 
8.12.67. D. J. Longman (40423). 


PHORACANTHA TRICUSPIS 
NEWMAN 


Cerambycidae 
Phoracanthini 
Phoracantha tricuspis Newman 


The natural size of this beetle varies 
from 2.5 to 3 cm. The basic coloration 
of this species is red-brown, legs and 
underside covered with short pale 
yellow pubescence. The elytra are 
red-brown with black and ochre 
markings. 

The specimen from which the 


27 k.08 


MAY, 1968 


drawing was made was sent to me by | 
Mr K. Dansie of Broken Hill, New © 
South Wales, and was caught at 
Broken Hill in September 1965. 

The species has been described by 
Newman (Entomologist, 1: 3) and 
further work has been carried out by 
E. A. J. Duffy (1963) in his ‘A Mono- 
graph of the immature stages of Austra- 
lasian timber beetles (Cerambycidae)’ — 
published by the British Museum — 
(Natural History), in which there are | 
references to earlier accounts of the 
biology of this species. | 

| would like to thank Mr K. Dansie 
for sending me the specimen and Mr | 
R. T. Thompson of the Department 
of Entomology at the British Museum © 
(Natural History) for supplying the | 
information in the paragraph above. 
Jonathan Cooter (3290). 


Phoracantha tricuspis Newman 


Printed by Ellis & Phillips Led., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published by the Amateur 


Entomologists’ Society, 42 Normandy Avenue, Barnet, Herts. 


1968 


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Published August, 1966 PAMPHLET No. I] 


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Leaflet No. 30 Rearing Stick Insects. 
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Leaflet No. 31 The Study of Mayflies (Ephemeroptera) by 
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16 pages, 7 figures. Price 15p. 


Leaflet No. 32 Leafhoppers (Auchenorhyncha) by W. J. Le 
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10 pages, 8 figures. Price 15p. 


Leaflet No. 33 Insect Light Traps by J. Heath. 
15 pages, 16 figures. Price 30p. 


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order as an invoice will be sent with the publications and 
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4 AES 


BULLETIN 


No. 280 


AUGUST, 1968 


EDITORIAL 


Mr Danks has edited the Bulletin 
for the last six years and | am sure 
that members will agree that during 
his editorship the Bulletin has impro- 
ved greatly and has now reached the 
highest quality in the history of the 
Society. It is therefore with some 
trepidation that | take over as 
Editor. Mr Danks spent many hours 
explaining the intricacies of editing 
to me and | hope his explanations 
have had the desired effect; but if 
the standard of editing is not what 
you have come to expect please bear 
with me and do not hesitate to point 
out my mistakes. Doubtless trial and 
error will, as usual, be the best 
teacher. 

Members can help to ease my task 
by supplying lots of articles and short 
notes. For the longer articles, at 
least, please try to follow the Guid- 
ance for Authors in the November 
1966 Bulletin (Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 
25: 109-12) as carefully as possible. | 
do not plan any great changes in the 
Bulletin organisation and these notes 
will still be the guidelines both for 
me and you, the writers of the 
articles. If you are preparing illustra- 
tions which require lettering and 
cannot do this yourself with a 
‘Letraset’ please put the labels on in 
light pencil only. 

The ‘Latin’ names controversy has 
raised its head again, (See Letters to 
the Editor). | do not propose to 
change the editorial policy on this 


Front cover illustration: The oil beetle, Meloe proscara- 
baeus Linn., drawn by Mr. J. Cooter (3290). 


/ 


matter, for the majority of articles 
but please be careful not to imply 
too great an accuracy in attempting 
to name every organism specifically. 
If you only identified the organism 
approximately, then just give its 
generic or family name. For articles 
which are of literary interest, which 
describe the enjoyment you get 
from entomology but with no idea of 
presenting scientific information, 
then it would be foolish to insist on 
scientific names. Occasional articles 
of this type will be welcome—we 
can’t be serious scientific observers 
all the time; but | hope that the 
majority of papers submitted will 
still be of sufficient scientific interest 
to merit accurate identification (by 
‘latin’ names) of the organisms 
mentioned. 

May | take this opportunity to 
wish you enjoyable holidays and to 
remind you to take your notebooks— 
both to record observations of 
interest for the Bulletin and to 
record all the Lepidoptera that you 
see for the National Distribution 
Scheme. Many holiday areas in the 
British Isles (especially Eire) have few 
‘native’ entomologists and holiday 
records will be most important. 
Talking of Irish distribution records 
it is a great pity that the Biological 
Records Centre still uses the exten- 
sion of the British National Grid 
foolishly invented by the Botanical 
Society of the British Isles. This grid 
is not the one on Irish maps as 
Ireland has its own National Grid. 
So far only the Mammal Society has 
had the sense to record Irish records 
on the Irish grid. 

David Corke (2962). 


74 


ANNUAL EXHIBITION 1968 

The Annual Exhibition will be held 
on Saturday 5th October at the 
Hugh Myddelton School, E.C.I. 
Further details will be found on the 
back cover. 


COUNCIL’S REPORT 1967 


Business of the Society. During 
1967 the Council met on six occasions 
under the Chairmanship of the 
President, Mr P. W. Cribb. Mr G. 
Prior took up his duties as General 
Secretary of the Society. The year 
can be looked upon as one of steady 
progress. The membership of the 
Society rose to a total of 750 mem- 
bers, despite some misgivings that 
may have been felt over the policy of 
withholding the Bulletin from non- 
paying members and sending out a 
reminder in lieu of the February 
Bulletin. 


Bulletin. Thanks to the efforts of 
the Editor, Mr Hugh Danks, and our 
printers and a steady flow of contri- 
butions from members, the Bulletin 
appeared on time each quarter and 
the quality of its contents has been 
well maintained. The Wants and 
Exchanges Lists also appeared regu- 
larly and showed an increased usage 
by members. 


Publications. A pamphlet on stick 
insects by Mr W. J. P. Crotch has 
been prepared under the editorship 
of Mr R. Uffen, our General Editor, 
and this will be published in the 
coming year. The Council’s decision 
to raise the prices of our publications 
to a more realistic level has had, 
generally, a satisfactory result. Sales 
of the Coleopterist’s Handbook and 
the Silkmoth Rearer’s Handbook 


AUGUST, 1968 


have increased and though some of 
the Leaflets and Pamphlets have not 
sold so well, the increase in the 
revenue from the sales of Publi- 
cations is a helpful and healthy sign. 
Sales of back numbers of the Bulletin 
have risen modestly and the Society 
must express its thanks to Mr L. 
Christie, our Publications Agent, for 
his invaluable help. 


Meetings. The Annual Exhibition 
must be described as a success. The 
attendance was very high, over 700, 
and the Council must turn _ its 
attention to the need for larger 
premises. The number of tables 
rented by dealers and others was 
increased and the standard of exhibits 
was improved, the emphasis no 
longer being on collecting alone. The 
St Ivo School was with us again, the 
Zoological Society and a team from 
the Nature Conservancy Lepidoptera 
Survey were also present. Mr B. 
Skinner is to be congratulated on the 
organisation of the event. 


Groups. During the year discus- 
sions between the Council and the 
Lepidoptera Breeding Group resulted 
in the formation of a new group, the 
Conservation Group, which will in- 
corporate the Breeding Group, and 
Mr K. J. Willmot is to act as Con- 
venor. There was a revival of the 
Silkmoth Rearers’ Group under Mr 
C. J. Hamilton. This Group sends out 
a bi-monthly circular to members 
and mounted a stand at the Exhibi- 
tion. Mr H. Berman continues to act 
as the focus for Junior members and 
their interests. 


Field Meetings. One field meeting 
was held at Hatfield Forest and details 
of other Societies’ meetings were 
circulated to members. The Council 
agreed to give publicity to field 
meetings of County Trusts and 
similar bodies by giving the names of 
organisers in the Wants and Exchanges 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


Lists. It is hoped that more entomolo- 
gists will thus take an active part in 
local field meetings in their own areas. 

The Council records the deaths of 
some of its older members during the 
year:— Prof. Balfour-Browne, an 
Honorary member, and Messrs A. 
Pow, C. W. Gyselman, H. J. Cribb, 
R. R. Broome and F. R. Sutton. All 
had been keen supporters of the 
Society for many years. 

The Council wishes to record its 
thanks to all the officers and other 
members of the Society who have 
helped in making the past year a 
successful one. The year has seen an 
awakening of a greater interest in the 
Society’s role in the field of conser- 
vation. The need for our Society 
becomes greater each year; training 
young people in the right methods 
and encouraging their interests—the 
best guarantee that there will be 
enough people in future years who 
will care whether we have an insect 
fauna or not. 


ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 
1968 


The A.G.M. of the Society was held 
in the rooms of the Linnaean Society 
at Burlington House on Saturday 
23rd March. The formal business was 
preceded by a conversazione and 
the showing of two excellent films 
made by Mr and Mrs Beer. These 
were on the lives of the Brimstone 
and Purple Emperor Butterflies. The 
commentary was spoken by the 
President, Mr P. W. Cribb. It was 
generally agreed that the quality of 
these two films, made entirely by 
amateurs, was outstanding, recording 
as they did the intimate scenes in the 
lives of these butterflies. The report 
of the representative of our Society 
on the Nature Conservancy Ento- 


75 


mological Committee was read. (This 
report is published below). The 
report of the Council, for the pre- 
ceding year, was circulated among 
members present, put to the meeting 
and adopted unanimously. The Treas- 
urer regretted that he was unable to 
read the financial report for the year, 
as the Audit was not yet complete. 
He stated that the report would be 
circulated with the Bulletin as soon as 
possible. The election of Officers and 
Councillors, for the ensuing year, 


then followed. The nominations 
were :— 
President B. R. Stallwood 
Secretary G. Prior 
Treasurer P. Lindsley 
General Editor R. W. J. Uffen 
Assistant 
Treasurer B. R. Stallwood 
Advertising 
Secretary R. D. Hilliard 
Exhibition 
Secretary B. Skinner 
Field Meetings 
Secretary R. H. Allen 


Youth Secretary H. J. Berman 
Enrolment 
Secretary D. Dodwell 
Bulletin Editor H. V. Danks (D. 
Corke after the 
May issue) 
Councillors retiring by rotation 
and nominated for re-election were: 
Pp. WV: Cribb, Rj -D: Ailliard, B: 
Skinner, P. taylor R.- VV. J2 Uffen, 
and: Rea J. Cooter. Ds Corke was 
nominated from the chair as Coun- 
cillor and C. Penney and M. Wilson 
as Junior Councillors. All the Officers 
and Councillors nominated were then 
unanimously elected. Mr P. W. Cribb 
vacated the chair and Mr B. R. 
Stallwood was installed as President. 
The President then proposed a vote 
of the thanks to Mr P. W. Cribb for 
his excellent work as President for 
the last two years, this was carried 
unanimously. The appointment of 
Mr W. J. Beer and Sq. Ldr. Grey as 
Auditors was then proposed and 


76 


carried unanimously. It was pointed 
out, from the chair, that the Society 
was at present without Trustees, and 
the Council recommended that Air 
Vice Marshal Sir Robert Saundby, 
KG. Bs KBE. 5M Gr Die AEG, 
D.L. and Baron C. G. M. de Worms, 
MA, (PhDs FR Gry ees: 2be 
appointed as the Society’s Trustees, 
this was carried unanimously. A vote 
of thanks to the Council for their 
work during the preceding year 
was proposed by Mr F. Brown and 
carried unanimously. 

Under other business, which 
followed, there came a general dis- 
cussion in which most of the points 
raised came from junior members. 
Among the points raised were the 
activities of the present groups 
within the Society and the possibility 
of reviving others, such as the reading 
circles and the London Meetings 
Group. The meeting closed at 5 p.m. 


THE ANNUAL REPORT OF 

THE SOCIETY’S REPRESENTA- 

TIVE ON THE ENTOMOLO- 

GICAL LIAISON COMMITTEE 

OF THE NATURE CONSER- 
VANCY 


Your representative attended the 
only meeting of this committee held 
in 1967 on the 7th March at Belgrave 
Square. 

Amongst the matters discussed 
were the study and control of the 
Wood Ant (Formica rufa Linn.) in the 
Blean Woods Nature Reserve and 
the future work of the Biological 
Records Centre at Monks Wood, 
where a scheme for mapping the 
distribution of British Lepidoptera is 
well under way. A lengthy discussion 
took place concerning the difficulties 
in publication of the results of surveys 
carried out on behalf of the Conser- 


AUGUST, 1968 


vancy in its reserves. | 

Towards the end of the meeting — 
the Deputy Director said that he was 
inviting all members of the Conser- 
vancy’s Liaison Committees to review 
their role and functions, apparently 
with a view to stream-lining the work 
done by the various committees. In 
view of the seriousness of this, it was 
unanimously decided to hold a special 
meeting on April 18th to discuss this 
whole matter. This meeting was 
postponed due to the ‘Torrey 
Canyon’ disaster till May I7th but 
was then never held. It would seem 
without doubt that the Conservancy 
has now wound up its Entomological 
Liaison Committee though your 
representative has heard nothing 
officially! In his opinion this is a 
serious blow to entomological con- 
servation and a retrograde step 
for, and not by, those who have 
striven to further the interests of 
entomological conservation. Direct 
contact with the one official body 
concerned with conservation will be 
lost, or at least informed and strongly 
held opinion will tend to be diluted 
due to the presence of only one or 
two intermediaries on any future 
committee. 

In order to fill the hiatus thus 
created, moves have been taking 
place to set up a broader based con- 
servation committee by the Society 
for the Promotion of Nature Reser- 
ves, with representatives from 
various societies such as the Botanical 
Society, the R.S.P.B. and the Royal 
Entomological Society to replace the 
various liaison committees of the 
Nature Conservancy. In order that 
entomological interests may _ be 
catered for the Royal Entomological 
Society’s Conservation Committee is 
likely to be replaced by one with 
representatives drawn from various 
other entomological bodies but the 
exact constitution of this has yet to 
be decided. 

In conclusion it would appear not 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


inappropriate for the writer of this 
report to express the great pleasure 
he has had in serving the Society as its 
representative on the Liaison Com- 
mittee for the last ten years. 

T. G. Howarth. 


COLLECTING NOTES 
AUGUST 1968 


The Smaller Moths 


Anagasta (Ephestia) kuehniella Zell. 


Mr Bradford’s note reads as follows: 


‘| was originally given half a pound of 
meal from a bakehouse by a friend 
who informed me that it contained 
larvae that would turn into moths. 


Eventually | did breed hundreds of 


them. They can become quite a pest 


_in many stored products. This bake- 
‘house had been treated a number of 


times by infestation officers, but after 
a time had elapsed the moths had 
reappeared. | have also bred speci- 
mens from a compacted lump of seed 
intended for the hampsters in a local 
pet shop. 

“The forewings are a dark greyish 
brown with darker blackish markings, 
and rather speckled all over with 
blackish scales. The hindwings are a 
pale translucent grey-brown with 
dark edges and distinct veining. 

“The adult is on the wing from 
about the end of June until October. 


Ypsolophus (Cerostoma)  albpellus 
Schiff. 
Mr Bradford writes: ‘“The head 


is ochrous. The forewings are brown- 


| 
| 
| 


: 


/ Oak (Quercus spp.) in June and 


ochrous-grey with a finer, slightly 
darker, mottling over the wings; 
there are two definite, darker brown 
streaks from the dorsum. The hind- 
wings are grey, sometimes darker 


_than the forewings and darkening 
_ towards the edges. The larva feeds on 


Uy 


pupates in an  ochrous-coloured 
cocoon under a leaf or in crevices in 
the bark. | have taken several pupae 
from the bark of an Oak and they 
were quite easy to see against the 
darker background.”’ 

The moth flies in August and may 
be disturbed from foliage in oak- 
woods together with Y. sylvellus Linn. 
its rather more common, close 
relative. The distinction is that in Y. 
alpellus the dark streaks from the 
dorsum reach only halfway across the 
wing; while in Y. sylvellus they reach, 
or nearly reach, the costa. 

The early autumn is the right time 
for collecting the cases of many of the 
Coleophorids. | dealt with some of 
the seed-feeding species in the issue 
for August last year (Bull. amat. Ent. 
Soc., 25: 80-1): this time | propose to 
write about some of the leaf-feeders, 
or leaf-miners, | might have said, for 
the majority use the case as a mobile 
base from which to excavate the 
parenchyma of the leaf, leaving the 
cuticle intact except for the round 
entrance hole where the case was 
affixed. Feeding in this manner, each 
larva makes a series of blotches which 
reveal its presence. The larvae in the 
pistol-shaped cases of the albidella 
group feed differently and are conse- 
quently much harder to find. | have 
kept larvae of C. albidella H.S., C. 
anatipennella Huebn., C. ardeaepen- 
nella Scott and C. ibipennella Zell. in 
sleeves and noted that they nibble 
the tender young leaves from the 
edge, making no blotches. 

But to return to the autumn- 
feeders: the most catholic in its 
taste of food-plant is C. hornigi Toll.; 
this is the paripennella Zell., of 
Meyrick (1928) and Ford (1949) and 
the albicornuella Bradley of Heslop’s 
(1964) list: one hopes that at last it 
has found itself a name that will 
stick. In some years, as in 1967, it is 
very plentiful; last October at Ben- 
fleet in Essex | found it feeding on 
Sloe (Prunus spinosa Linn.), Rose 


78 AUGUST, 1968 
ZZ @ ail 
is s) i: \ 
€5B 
Anagasta (Ephestia) kuehniella Zell. 
a S| 
“ffi Hi 
\ ES BRADFORD 
Ypsolophus (Cerostoma) alpellus Schiff. 
(Rosa sp.), Hawthorn (Crataegus sp.), pendula (Spiraea) ulmaria Linn. are 


Bramble (Rubus sp.) and Elm (U/mus 
sp.), and in Kent on Birch (Betula sp.) 
and Hazel (Corylus avellana Linn.). A 
very similar case is that of C. poten- 
tillae Staint. and | do not think it is 
possible to distinguish the two with 
certainty, but the moths are easily 
differentiated by the antennae. As far 
as | know, cases on Potentilla spp., 
Poterium sanguisorba Linn. and Fili- 


always C. potentillae, those on Rose 
or Bramble may be either species 
and those on the larger trees and 
bushes are C. hornigi: | issue this 
statement as a challenge and hope 
that any reader who can do so will 
offer correction or amplification. 

A rather local autumnal larva 
feeding on Hazel is C. fuscocuprella 
H.-S., whose quaint, hunch-backed 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


case is attached to the underside of 
the leaves. The larva feeds within 
only short range of its case and moves 
often; consequently its whereabouts 
is betrayed by leaves pock-marked 
with a series of small blotches. It 
usually feeds low down, near the tips 
of the branches. 

Two species feeding on Birch at 
this time of year are C. orbitella Zell. 
(wilkinsoni Scott) and C. milvipennis 
Zell. The latter is omitted by Meyrick 
and Ford, the former impugning the 
determination of the single specimen 
of which he had knowledge. The 
moth may occur in many collections, 
for it has been confused with C. 
limosipennella Dup. and C. badiipen- 
nella Dup. All three have bi-valved 
cases attached to the underside of 
leaves, but whereas in the last two 
the orifice is parallel to the axis of 
the case, causing it to sit along the 
leaf, in C. miivipennis the orifice is at 
an angle and the case stands out at 
about thirty degrees. Moreover the 
case is longer and more slender than 
those of the other two species. C. 
limosipennella generally feeds on Elm 
and C. badiipennella, which feeds 
again in the spring, on Elm and Sloe; 
but C. milvipennis, as far as | know, is 
confined to Birch. It is widely distri- 
buted, at any rate in the south of 
England, and in some years not 
uncommon. 

| have taken C. limosipennela by 
locating the young bushy Elms where 
the larvae have been feeding during 
the late summer and then searching 
for the cases on the lower twigs in 
mid-winter. One year | decided to 
let them over-winter in situ, tying a 
snippet of red string around the 
twigs which bore cases. When | 
returned for them in the spring, 
there was a family of gypsies squatting 
beneath my bush. They are frequent 
visitors to the neighbourhood and 
are the most friendly and courteous 
people, but | could not bring myself 
to intrude upon their encampment 


79 


to collect my larvae. 

This occurred before | had dis- 
covered how to keep my Coleo- 
phorids through the winter. Those 
species which are full-fed in the 
autumn hibernate attached to twigs; 
then in the spring they wander about 
and do not pupate until about three 
weeks before emergence. | now 
sleeve mine out on their respective 
food-plants, using ladies’ nylons. | do 
this with the consent of the Forester 
in a wood owned by the Forestry 
Commission, for which | hold a 
permit, and | recommend others to 
make a similar arrangement. At about 
the New Year, | snip the sleeves off, 
bring them home and tie them up in 
the garden in a spot where they get 
the early morning and evening sun- 
shine. There | leave them until mid- 
May, that is, about a fortnight before 
the moths are likely to start emerg- 
ing. Using this method | have achieved 
a high degree of success for a mini- 
mum of effort. 

A. M. Emmet (1379). 


REFERENCES 

FORD, L. T. (1949) A Guide to the Smaller British 
Lepidoptera. South London Ent. and Nat. Hist. Soc., 
London. 

HESLOP, I. R. P. (1964). Revised Check-List of the 
British Lepidoptera. 

MEYRICK, E. (1928). Revised Handbook of British 
Lepidoptera. Watkins and Doncaster, London. 


Hymenoptera Aculeata 


As | write these notes the 1968 
season has proved a slow starter and 
it is difficult to look forward to 
August. However, in the hope that 
some of you have set up some trap 
nests following my May Collecting 
Notes, | would like to return to that 
subject and fill in a few more details 
particularly as regards the obser- 
vations that should be made on any 
nests collected. 

Trap nests, whether they be bored 
out lengths of wood or natural stems, 
should be put out in bundles. Before 
they are put out each stem must be 


80 


marked so that it can be identified. 
This is best done by giving each 
bundle a letter, and each stem within 
a bundle a number. A greater number 
of bundles than 26 can be catered for 
by either the use of double letters or 
separate colours for bundles put out 
in different localities. The allocation 
of numbers to the individual stems 
within a bundle can be done by 
cutting the appropriate number of 
notches at one end. 

Now the trap nests are ready for 
putting out in the field. Place them in 
sites where small Aculeates are 
known to be active, some low down, 
others higher up. They can be hung 
from the branches of trees, in bushes, 
under the eaves of sheds, some with 
their open ends exposed to the sun, 
others in the shade. The placement 
of each bundle should be carefully 
recorded ina field notebook. Essential 
points are: bundle code number; 
type and number of individual trap 
nests; exact locality (with 4-figure 
map reference); notes on habitat; 
site of placement and whether 
exposed to the sun or in the shade; 
date on which bundle put out; date 
on which bundle taken in. These two 
dates give the period during which 
any nest must have been made. 
However if the nests are watched 
from time to time, particularly 
during periods of fine weather, the 
inmates may be seen at work. This 
allows the date of nesting to be 
established more exactly, and also 
allows important details of behaviour 
to be studied and duly noted down 
against the correct stem number in 
the field notebook. 

When activity has ceased in the 
autumn the nests can be collected 
and opened for study. The following 
are the sort of things to look for: was 
the hole excavated by the parent in 
its entirety? If a preformed hole was 
used, was it enlarged by the occupant? 
The nest will consist of cells separated 
by partitions. The innermost cell in 


AUGUST, 1968 


the first cell. Does this cell start at 
the bottom of the cavity? Is the 
bottom lined with partition material? 
Are the cells separated by one 
partition or by two with an empty, 
intercallary, cell in between? Is there 
an empty, vestibular, cell above the 
last cell? Is the cavity closed by a 
plug? What material is used for the 
partitions? Is the cavity lined with 
any material? What is the diameter 
of the cavity and the length of each 
cell? 

So much for the construction of 
the nest, now what about the con- 
tents of each cell? As the nests have 
been collected late in the autumn, 
each cell will usually contain a full- 
grown larva or even a pupa. With 
bees there will be little sign of the 
bee bread that was their food, 
though with wasps some remains of 
the prey should be seen. If the prey is 
to be studied in greater detail the 
nests should be collected much 
earlier, as soon as they have been 
stocked in fact. They must then be 
handled carefully or the larvae will 
die of dessication. The nest should 
either be re-closed carefully after 
examination, or the contents of each 
cell transferred to small, cellulose 
ampules obtainable from pharmacists. 
This allows of frequent observation 
with the minimum of disturbance to 
the occupant and little danger of 
dessication. If the cell contents are 
transferred in this way, then a third 
code, for the cell number, must be 
added to the codes for bundle and 
stem number. 

For anyone who proceeds this far 
in the business of trap nesting, a 
wealth of interesting details can be 
studied. The nests of the various 
groups can be as distinct as are their 
makers. Eumenine wasps lay an egg 
in a cell before they start to stock it 
with prey, Sphecids bring in the prey 
first. Bees of the genus Prosopis line 
their burrows with a salivary secre- 
tion which looks like rice paper. Leaf 


4 
| 
y 
| 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


8| 


cutter bees, Megachile spp., line their 
burrows with leaves, while Anthidium 
manicatum Linn. uses a _ cottony 
material obtained by chewing at the 
stems of plants. 

| hope my readers are enjoying a 
good season, and also that some of 
you have tasted the joys that can be 
engendered by trap nesting. 
254.68. J. C. Felton (3740). 


EREBIA EPIPHRON Knoch. 
A NEW ABERRATION OF THE 
SCOTTISH RACE 


In the Autumn of 1965 while in 
Edinburgh, | visited Mr D. S. Fletcher, 
a member with whom | had corres- 
ponded. He showed me a short series 
of Erebia epiphron Knoch, which he 
had taken that year in Perthshire. 
Amongst these were two unusual 
specimens—resembling the Central 
European species Erebia  pharte 
Huebn. They appeared devoid of any 
black eye spots in the orange areas of 
the upperside and underside and the 
small orange markings on the under- 
side of the lower wings were also 
absent. | mentioned these specimens 
to George Thomson and he very 
kindly sent me a short series of 
specimens from the same Perthshire 
locality and one of these was of this 
unusual form. It was a male, as were 
the specimens shown me by Fletcher, 
so | am not aware whether the form 
also occurs in the female. Normally 
the pupils of the eye spots in the 
female are much better defined than 
in the male so one would not expect 
an obsolete form in the female. 

The description of the specimen 
tallies with that of Fletcher’s speci- 
mens :— 

Upperside: Forewings have a blackish 
brown ground colouring which is 
traversed by an orange/fulvous band. 


Erebia epiphron Knoch. Male ab. thomsoni, 
underside on right. 


Erebia epiphron Knoch. Male typical form, 
underside on right. 


The band is without any eye spots and 
is marked only by dark scaling which 
follows the line of the nervures run- 
ning across it. Hindwings are also 
blackish brown and have three small 
orange/fulvous spots which are again 
without black eyes. These spots are 
small and irregular in size. 
Underside: Forewings have the basal 
area dark brown, transverse band 
bright fulyvous with no eye spots— 
area between the band and costa is a 
paler brown than the wing base. 
Hindwings again have the basal area 
dark brown and this area ends 
irregularly with the area beyond it to 
the costa being a much paler brown— 
there are no orange markings or eye 
spots. 

The first task was to find out 
whether this form has been described 
previously and | can find no such 
record. B.C.S. Warren’s Monograph 
on the Genus Erebia names the race 


82 AUGUST, 1968 


Erebia epiphron Knoch, from Mid-Perthshire c.2,000 feet. (Described by George Thomson). 


1. male up. fw. six orange spots, suffuse, with one black spot. 
hw. three orange spots, distinct no black spots. 
un. fw. orange band, two black spots. 
hw. no marking. 
2. male up. fw. short orange band at apex (equivalent length of three 
spots) and one distinct orange spot. Three black spots. 
hw. four distinct orange spots, three black spots. 
un. fw. band of orange broken in middle, three black spots. 
hw. one minute orange spot, one black spot. 
3. male up. fw. six orange spots, suffuse, with five black spots. 
hw. four orange spots, three black spots. 
un. fw. orange band, four black spots. 
hw. four orange spots, one black spot. 
4. male up. fw. six orange spots, diffuse and faint, two black spots. 
hw. three orange spots, three black spots. 
un. fw. band of orange, two black spots. 
hw. three very faint orange spots, two black spots. 
5. female up. fw. orange band, four black spots. 
hw. three orange spots, three black spots. 
un. fw. seven elongated orange spots, four black spots. 
hw. three orange spots, three black spots. 
6. male up. fw. six suffuse orange spots, two very faint black spots. 
hw. three orange spots, no black spots. 
un. fw. six orange spots, no black spots. 
hw. nomarks. 
7. male up. fw. six orange spots, three black spots. 


hw. three orange spots, two black spots. 


in these Islands as Erebia epiphron ssp. 
mnemon Haw. and its localities as 
‘Westmorland, Cumberland and 
Scotland’. It belongs to the ‘northern’ 
strain i.e. races which, like the 
typical epiphron of the Hartz Moun- 
tains, develop four equally strong 
black spots on the forewings and 
have distinct, although small, black 
spots on the underside of the hind- 
wings, sharply outlined with rusty 
rings. The ‘southern’ strain however, 
connected with the ssp. aetherius 
Esp., has the black spots on the fore- 
wings normally only two or three in 
number of irregular size and the 
underside of the hindwings almost or 
entirely without any spots. This 
description of the ‘aetherius’ strain 
is much nearer to the mid-Perthshire 
specimens but still does not cover 
them completely. However the ssp. 
aetherius has a form named by 
Boisduval as nelamus Bdv. Its distri- 
bution is at high level in the Alps 


orange band with three black spots. 
hw. no marks. 


(6,000 ft. upwards) and it is described 
as a smaller form with a loss of mark- 
ings in both upper and underside. 
The orange band on the forewings is 
often reduced to orange spots or is 
blurred or faint and the black spots 
reduced to tiny points. The hind 
wings are without markings either on 
the upper or underside. Warren 
comments that the orange band on 
the forewings is most variable and, 
while some specimens exist with 
traces of five spots, others are com- 
pletely unmarked. He then refers to 
the three Irish specimens (Croag 
Patrick) in the National Museum at 
Dublin and he considers that these 
are referable to the form nelamus. 

In Ford’s book ‘Butterflies’, he © 
refers to the Scottish race of E. 
epiphron, which Cooke had named 
scotica Cooke as differing slightly 
from ssp. mnemon of the Lake 
District, as being certainly only a 
form of mnemon. The insects he 


: 


_ AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


refers to are from the Rannoch area. 
It is possible that the race in mid- 
Perthshire is a separate race and if 
the name scotica Cooke must be 
reserved for the Rannoch race then 
those in mid-Perthshire may require 
naming. It is possible that Cooke did 
intend his name for the mid-Perth- 
shire race and | would consider it to 
be a form of aetherius. While all my 
Westmorland specimens tally with 
Haworth’s description of ssp. mnemon 
(the northern strain of epiphron), all 


_ the specimens of the mid-Perthshire 


race would fit better into the descrip- 
fions -.0f =the southern strain 
‘aetherius’. A very much longer 
series of the race is needed to make 
a full study but | would provisionally 
place this race not with mnemon but 
with aetherius form nelamus i.e. the 
high alpine form. One of the speci- 
mens sent me by Thomson is almost 
identical with one taken on the 
Simplon this summer by myself. This 


would tie in with other recent obser- 


vations on some of the Scottish 
butterflies which have placed Aricia 


_agestis artaxerxes Fab. with Aricia 
— allous G.H., a mountain species of the 
_ Continent and Thomson has sugges- 
_ ted in this Bulletin that the uni-voltine 


race of Pieris napi Linn. occurring in 


_ the Scottish mountains may be Pieris 


bryoniae Ochs. 
| would place the newly described 
aberration with E. epiphron aetherius 


_ form nelamus but as Fletcher points 


| 
! 


out—the description of nelamus states 
that the band becomes fainter and 
more broken up as the spotting is 
reduced while the converse appears 
to be true of the Perthshire specimens 
described, the reduction of the spots 
to complete absence seems to make 
the band more distinct and bright. 
As the aberration appears to occur 
quite regularly within the locality it 
merits a name and in view of the work 
being done by George Thomson on 
the Scottish Lepidoptera an appro- 
priate name would be Erebia epiphron 


— 


83 


Knoch ab. nova thomscni Cribb. The 
type is in my collection labelled 
‘Mid-Perthshire 1967. G. Thomson. 
2,000 ft.’ and is a male. 

George Thomson has kindly des- 
cribed a short series of specimens 
which he took this year in the same 
locality and this is set out opposite. 
lEI2EG7- P. W. Cribb (2270). 


REFERENCES 
FORD, E. B. (1949) Burterities. Collins, London, 
en REN, B. C. S. (1900) Monograph on the Genus 
rebia. 


MIGRATORY LEPIDOPTERA 
IN SOUTH AFRICA, 1965-6 


K. M. Pennington (1967), in his 
presidential address to the Ento- 
mological Society of Southern Africa, 
refers to the great migratory flight of 
Catopsilia florella Fab., during the 
late summer and autumn of 1966. 
Quickelberge (1967) also mentions it. 

The following notes are the result 
of my personal observations on this 
particular migratory flight, as well as 
On other migrant Lepidoptera during 
the summer of 1965-66. These obser- 
vations were carried out mainly at 
Hilton, Natal (3,702 feet), some 
thirty-five miles east of Balgowan 
where Mr Pennington resides. 

Towards the end of October 1965 
a thin—density III—(Williams, 1958) 
flight of Glycesthia aurota Fab., was 
noted, while another Pierid, G. 
creona Cram., was also involved. 
Both species were in fresh to worn 
condition. This flight continued inter- 
mittently, in the same density, until 
November 3rd. The sky was overcast 
for most of the time and the flight 
took place only during sunny inter- 
vals. It was not noted again until 
December 8th when it was resumed 
for that day only and in a very thin 
density. The flight was then in a S.E. 
direction, whereas previously it had 


84 


been N.E. or E., which is more usual. 
Activity would commence about 
9 a.m., and might continue until late 
in the afternoon, depending upon the 
weather conditions prevailing. When 
the sky became overcast all butterfly 
activity ceased immediately. The 
migrating Pierids often paused to feed 
at flowers. Another species which 
was prevalent at the time was Colias 
electo Linn., sometimes it appeared 
to be flying with the migrants, and 
sometimes in the opposite direction. 

Nothing further of migratory 
flights by butterflies was observed, 
at Hilton, until the great flight of 
Catopsilia florella was first recorded 
there on 27th March 1966. Pennington 
(1967) remarks that this great move- 
ment of C. florella stretched across 


the subcontinent from west. of 
Pretoria, on a four hundred mile 
front, to the Indian ocean, and 


reaching Rhodesia and Mozambique. 
It was also recorded in the Orange 
Free State and in the Eastern Cape 
Province. In the latter it was first 
noted a few days earlier than in Natal. 

Quickelberge (1967), writing in 
East London, Cape Province, remarks 
that it moved N.E., or roughly in 
line with the coast, appearing later 
further north and eastwards. The 
direction was usually N.E., but some- 
times E. or N.W. 

At Hilton, the flight reached its 
peak at the end of March or very 
early in April, and at that stage the 
density was at least V (thick). There 
was also considerable movement by 
G. aurota at the same time, but this 
species was far outnumbered by C. 
florella. The great flight of the latter 
butterfly was remarked upon 
throughout the country by the Press 
and the public in general, and there 
were many of the usual and typical 
scare reports of ‘Army Worm’. The 
latter is the larva of a species of the 
Noctuidae, Laphygma exempta Walk., 
and invariably when such a butterfly 
migration takes place, the public 


AUGUST, 1968 


react in the same way. The flight at 
Hilton continued into the second 
half of April, but by the I5th of that 
month it had become thin. It was still 
noticeable in East London on April 
7th (A.C.v.B.see last paragraph), in 
Durban butterflies were abundant on 
April 8th, but were not so numerous 
as a few days earlier. They were there 
seen heading out to sea in a NE. 
direction, across the bay. 

The C. florella at Hilton were in 
fresh condition, while the abdomens 
of the females were flaccid and did 
not contain eggs. The condition of G. 
aurota varied from fresh to worn, and 
some were seen mating. C. florella 
showed no interest in sex. Both 
species paused momentarily to feed 
at flowers, a hedge of Abela sp., in 
blossom at the time, being very 
popular. Late in the afternoon G. 
aurota could be found roosting on 
grasses and low-growing plants and 
also on trees, up to a height of ten 
feet. The roosting butterflies often 
occurred in loose groups or clusters, 
as many as twenty having been 
counted in one square yard. Although 
C. florella was sometimes seen resting 
On grasses momentarily during the 
day, its roosting quarters were not 
located despite constant search. 
Other species occasionally noted 
taking part in the flight were Danaus 
chrysippus Linn., Papilio demodocus 
Esp., and Terias sp. Dragonflies were 
also reported as participating, in 
Pietermaritzburg. (A. C. v. B.). 

Although Vanessa cardui Linn., was 
invariably present, it was not obser- 
ved taking part in any directional 
flight and was merely flitting about 
in its normal manner. 

Towards the end of April the 
writer visited the north-eastern 
Transvaal and the Kruger National 
Park. C. florella and other migratory 
butterflies were abundant every- 
where; and while there was still 
some evidence of migration taking 
place, directional flights were becom- 


fs BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


ng very thin, if they were not 
yetering out altogether. Migratory 
-pecies of moths were particularly 
olentiful at  Potgietersrus, N.E. 
Transvaal, where there was an unusu- 
illy large concentration of Rhodometra 
vacraria Linn., at lucerne flowers 
‘Medicago sp.); Utetheisa pulchella 
.inn., was also particularly plentiful 
and Heliothis armigera Huebn., was 
much in evidence. All these, as well 
as other migratory species such as 
Nomophila noctuella Schiff., were fre- 
quent at light during the summer 
5f 1965-6. 

_ The migration of Catopsilia florella 
-n 1966 surpassed all known records 
-nsouthern Africa (Pennington, 1967). 
The causes of such migratory flights 
remain unknown; but it is believed 
that they are influenced by rainfall. 
Shortage of food, owing to an over- 
population of larvae, may, of course, 
be a more immediate cause. 

My thanks are due to Dr. A. C. van 
Bruggen for kindly permitting the 
use of his observations. Where these 
have been quoted they have been 
followed by his initials in parentheses. 

J. S. Taylor (4176). 


. REFERENCES 

PENNINGTON, K. M. (1967). The progress in our 
knowledge of the Rhopalocera (Lepidoptera) of 
Southern Africa, and data on the great migration of 
Catopsilia florella Fabricius in 1966. J. ent. Soc. sth 

|_ Africa, 36: 

PIGKELEERGE, iG: D. (1967). Population explosions 

_ of butterflies. E ent. Soc. sth Africa, 36: 275-6. 

WILLIAMS, C. B. (1958) Insect Migration. 


' London. 
; 


Collins, 


ABNORMALLY LARGE 
POPULATIONS OF 
LEPIDOPTERA IN EAST 
AFRICA. 1965-1966 


Large populations of insect pests 
are not uncommon in tropical areas. 
‘During a three year contract in East 
Africa as an agricultural entomologist 
| was lucky enough in being present 
during the 


1965-66 season when 


85 


extremely large populations of Lepi- 
doptera occurred. 

The noctuid Spodoptera exempta, 
WIk. commonly referred to as the 
African Army Worm, has long been 
known to occur in large numbers 
causing devastation to gramineous 
agricultural crops especially maize. 
During the early months of 1966 this 
species occurred in phenomenal 
numbers. Light traps were taking as 
many as 20,000 moths in a night and 
fantastic counts of pupae per square 
yard of soil were made in some areas. 
The caterpillars defoliate almost 
every member of the grass family and 
they migrate en mass when local food 
supplies are exhausted. Farms which 
lie in the path of the caterpillars or 
where large numbers of eggs are 
laid, would lose their entire crop 
unless insecticide sprays were applied. 
When Army Worm occurs, it is a 
major topic of conversation in 
Nairobi, especially when accidents 
are caused by cars skidding on 
crushed caterpillars or wheels of 
locomotives do not grip the rails 
because they are too slippery with 
the juices of crushed caterpillars. 
Citizens of Nairobi really become 
agitated when the caterpillars reach 
the golf courses, bowling greens and 
grass tennis courts! 

For many years many farmers in 
Kenya believed that the adult of an 
army worm was the African Common 
White, Anaphaesis mesentina Cramer. 
This belief evolved because this 
butterfly also appeared on migratory 
flights at the time of large outbreaks 
of army worms. When | was working 
on an estate at Kima, some 60 miles 
from Nairobi along the Mombasa 
Road, during January 1966, | observed 
millions of these butterflies migrating 
in a south easterly direction. The air 
was thick with them as far as the eye 
could see for an approximate twenty 
miles stretch of the road on five 
consecutive days. | would not like to 
hazard a guess at the numbers 


86 


a 
2 Ll. Baringo 
Uganda 


Idoret 


cone 


Kisumu 


L .Victori 
ictoria Kericho 


GQ Mau 


sUeWdiDdsy NOW 


AI11VA 


Ngong 
Hills 


involved. Many were very small 
stunted specimens. 

My research work in East Africa 
involved experiments in controlling 
Army Worm. Suitable areas for such 
experiments were sometimes difficult 
to obtain, so when | received a 
telephone call from the headmaster 
of Kilimani Primary School, Nairobi, 
offering the use of the school football 
field, my colleague and | were only 


¥ 


AUGUST, 196§ 


rele Ze 


50 miles 


_ _ equator 
> 
o 
a 
a 
i} 
: KENYA 
b/Mt.Kin ngop 
Getundu 
a 
@ Thike 
BY Noirobi 
to 
SP Mombasa 


too pleased to take advantage of the 
offer. | was very surprised to find, as 
well as the millions of Army Worm 
many hundreds of fully grown larvae 
of the Yellow Pansy, Precis eononeé 
Linn. f. cebrene Trim. feeding on 
weed which grew amongst the grass 
Heliothis armigera Huebner the 
American Bollworm, although norm 
ally a pest of cotton, occurred in su 
large numbers that -they were 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


attempting to eat everything that 
came their way. African smallholders 
in the Kikuyu area found their 
potatoes, peas and beans completely 
defoliated. | even found some larvae 
attempting to eat banana leaves. A 
further build up occurred in the Mt. 
Kenya farming area later in 1966. The 
larvae here attacked the green 
“‘milky’’ stage of wheat, eating into 
the unripe ears. 

A Saturniid /mbrasia epimethia can 
usually be found feeding on foliage of 
the Black Wattle tree Acacia mearnsii 
where plantations occur. These trees 
are grown for their bark which is 
used in the tanning process. African 
smallholders also grow these trees 
for making charcoal. During the early 
months of 1966 these larvae occurred 
in very large numbers. Trees in the 
Gatundu area, some twenty miles 
north of Nairobi, were defoliated by 
the 6” spiny caterpillars. | recall 
sitting quietly under some trees and 
being able to hear the caterpillars 
munching the foliage and the noise of 
their frass falling to the ground. 

One of my favourite collecting 
grounds for the African Clouded 
Yellow Colias electo Linn. were some 
lucerne fields bordering the north 
shores of Lake Naivasha. This lake is 
one of several volcanic lakes of the 
Great Rift Valley. The area is typical 
of Kenya in that the scenery is 
extremely beautiful. Looking across 
the lake one can see the volcano Mt. 
Longonot directly opposite, and to 
the east lies Mt. Kinangop and the 
Aberdares. The hills of the Gt. Rift 
Valley Escarpment are visible in the 
distance. A few hundred yards out 
into the lake floats a mass of papyrus 
in which Hippopotami remain during 
the daytime. The strip of water 
bordering the shore is thick with 
patches of water lilies and thousands 
of water birds. Pelicans swim in 
groups of a dozen or more, while fish 
eagles fly up and down, their phantom- 
like cries echoing from the hills. The 


87 


sun beats down unrelentingly. The 
area has only one disadvantage. Along 
the edges of the lake mosquitoes 
swarm in profusion and | can assure 
everyone that they bite throughout 
the day as well as in the evenings. 

The East African race of Colias 
electo Linn. pseudohecate Berger are 
always in plentiful numbers here. One 
could rarely make a sweep with a net 
above the lucerne without catching 
at least one butterfly. During the 
1965-6 season the lucerne was liter- 
ally crawling with caterpillars and 
many of these butterflies migrated in 
a south easterly direction later in the 
season. 

The female of the African Clouded 
Yellow exhibits a range of colour 
forms as does the British species. The 
colours range from white through 
cream, buff, and pale yellow to 
orange. When butterflies of the 
same species occur in large numbers 
it is surprising how quickly one 
learns to recognise individuals which 
have slight differences in pigmen- 
tation, without really having had a 
good look at them. On several 
occasions | have chased a particular 
specimen across a field, ignoring 
scores of others without really 
knowing why, and on catching it | 
have found it to be an interesting 
variety. Perhaps it is because of acute 
colour perception or it may be a 
result of a slight difference in the 
flight of the insect. 

During this season, another butter- 
fly was also present in large numbers 
in the lucerne fields. The Painted 
Lady Vanessa cardui Linn. breeding 
up in vast numbers before migrating 
northward to Europe. The larvae 
were feeding on the weed Malva 
verticillata Linn. (Mallow) which was 
growing amongst the lucerne, along 
the edges of the fields and in the 
uncultivated areas where spray was 
carried by the wind from the irriga- 
tion pipes. | collected many of these 
larvae and raised them in cages at my 


88 


AUGUST, 1968 


home near Nairobi. Examination of 
approximately one hundred adults 
which later emerged, failed to reveal 
any variations. 

The infrequent occurrence of such 
abnormally large numbers of certain 
species of Lepidoptera raises the 
question of the cause of these 
increases. At the time of observing 
the above example | thought that it 
was probably the result of optimum 
conditions for Lepidoptera in general 
and, although | noted the fact that 
many of the above mentioned species 
are known migrants, | believed that 
they migrated away from East Africa 
and did not consider that they may 
also migrate into East Africa. 


Recent work by Brown and Swain 
(1965) working on the African Army- 
worm has shown that there is a 
northerly origin for these moths. In 
Kenya and N. Tanganyika the season 
for Armyworm is from November to 
May. During May to October no 
trace can be found of any stage of this 
species. Evidence from light traps in 
Ethiopia, Somalia and Aden shows 
that moths occur in these areas in 
May and to October. 


Data is available from twenty light 
traps throughout East Africa. In the 
1965-6 season the first arrival of 
moths in Kenya was in November. 
Examination of weather conditions 
at the time show that their arrival 
coincided with the southern limit of 
the advancing north-easterly winds. 


It must be assumed that large 
numbers will breed up when con- 
ditions are optimum. When this 
happens in the northern areas, more 
moths will reach East Africa. If con- 
ditions are optimum here also, 
fantastic numbers result, an example 
of which is described here. This 
pattern of build up of numbers is 
probably as true for Vanessa cardui, 
Anaphais mesentina and Colias electo 
as it is for Spodoptera exempta. 

L. McLeod (3534). 


REFERENCES 
BROWN, E. S. and SWAIN, G. (1965). New evidence 
on the migration of the moths of the African Army- 
worm Spodoptera exempta (Wlk) (Lepidoptera, 
Noctuidae). Bull. Ent. Res. 56: 671-84. 
SWAIN, G. (1963). Fighting the Armyworm. New 
Scientist 17: (326) 357-8. 


BREEDING FOR THE REIN- 
FORCEMENT OF SPECIES 


In his articles condemning the 
practice of breeding insects for the 
reinforcement of species, Mr Goddard 
(Bull. -<amat. Ent. Soc., 25: 126; 26: 
114-6) lays considerable emphasis on 
the term ‘‘well-adapted species’. | 
think that it will be useful to consider 
the implications of this term and its 
relevance to the future survival of 
certain of our, now localised, species. 
The impression given in these articles 
is that once an insect is well-adapted, 
it will remain this way in the future 
and therefore must be protected. 
One vital fact is overiooked, this is 
that the environment is undergoing 
continual changes and therefore the 
present well-adapted nature of a 
species has only a transient value. It 
would be true to say that today’s 
well-adapted insect could be tomor- 
row’s failure. As Mr Goddard points 
out, the well-adapted individual 
occurs as the result of that individual 
possessing advantageous characteris- 
tics. In a changing environment these 
characters will not always be advan- 
tageous, in fact a time could come 
when they would be disadvantageous. 
Therefore it is always important 
when discussing advantageous and 
disadvantageous characters to remem- 
ber that these terms can only be 
applied to a certain point in time. 

Now, it is generally believed that 
adaptation to changed environments 
takes place by natural selection and it 
must be understood that selection 
can only act upon the genetic material 


feo BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


i.e. the characters) that is present in 
he population. Therefore any popu- 
ation with a large variety of charac- 
‘ers present in its gene pool will be 
n an advantageous position to face 
uture change. This is because, the 
jreater the variability then the 
setter will be the chance of selection 
yroducing an individual suited to the 
jew environment. 
_ Such a large variety of characters is 
jormally maintained in the popu- 
ation as a result of outbreeding. Out- 
oreeding leads to a high level of 
yeterozygosity in the population. 
Therefore the, at present, disadvan- 
ageous (recessive) characters can 
»xist in the population in such a way 
hat they are masked by the presence 
of other, at present, advantageous 
dominant) characters. Thus the dis- 
dvantageous characters will not be 
ully expressed. In this way there is a 
-eservoir of characters maintained in 
he population, any one of which may 
ye advantageous in the future as the 
esult of an environmental change. 
Bearing this in mind, we must now 
sxamine the position in our present 
leclining populations of insects. The 
various causes of decline all have one 
result in common. This is that they 
solate and reduce in size the habitat 
af the species under consideration. 
“he immediate result will be that 
here will be fewer individuals in the 
»reeding population. Also, the 
‘maller area of the habitat will mean 
hat those individuals present will 
ace, in all probability, a greater 
Iniformity of habitat than previously 
‘i.e. there will be fewer microhabi- 
‘ats). The smaller numbers will lead 
0 a higher level of inbreeding in the 
yopulation. The uniformity of the 
jabitat will mean that there will be 
‘election for a much more specific set 
of characters. These two factors will 
esult in a high level of homozygosity 
in the population together with the 
oss of the majority of the characters 
hat are not immediately advantage- 


j 
: 


89 


— 


ous. This will lead to a highly special- 
ised and well adapted population of 
insects. Such a population, facing a 
changing environment, will have no 
diversity in its gene pool on which 
selection can act, and will face 
extinction. 

If we wish to combat the problem 
of long term survival it appears to me 
that one way would be to ensure that 
individuals in the now disjunct colon- 
ies were once again brought together 
as they were when the population 
was contiguous. This might lead to 
the re-establishment of the previously 
existing gene flow. Insects from one 
locality could be bred and then 
released into another locality. Breed- 
ing in captivity would have the effect 
of maintaining some characters that 
would otherwise be lost and it is of 
course this variation that we should be 
trying to protect, not a number of 
smal! populations of highly specialised 
insects. This is where the true conser- 
vationist must differ from the “‘pre- 
servationist’’ who is merely inter- 
ested in maintaining the status quo. 
Now | am aware that the factors 
involved in the survival of insect 
populations are complex and concer- 
ned with more than theoretical 
genetics. Nevertheless, | believe that 
the argument | have presented should 
be borne in mind when considering 
the future survival of our insects. 

| should now like to comment on a 
point from Mr. Goddard’s second 
article. In this he says that, ‘“a human 
lifetime is peanuts in evolutionary 
terms’’. This statement is used to 
dismiss the possibility of experiments 
into the effects of reinforcement of 
species. Whilst | would agree that a 
human lifetime is peanuts in terms of 
the evolution of the human species 
surely it is wrong to suggest that all 
evolution proceeds at the same rate 
as human evolution. The rate of 
evolution of an organism will be 
determined partly by the generation 
time of the organism and partly by 


90 


the nature of the selective pressures 
involved. Therefore an insect species 
with one or two generations a year 
will tend to show a more rapid 
response to environmental changes 
than ourselves. Consequently it is 
quite feasible to carry out experi- 
ments on the effects of reinforcing 
populations. Such experiments could 
be carried out by releasing specimens 
with genetic markers into the popu- 
lation, the progress of these markers 
in the population could then be 
followed. Any experiment of this kind 
will of course take some time, but 
this is no reason for dismissing such 
experiments. Indeed there is all the 
more reason to start immediately. 
Maybe the new Amateur Conser- 
vation Group will look into this 
probiem especially as controversy 
about this appears to have helped in 
the formation of the group. 

Finally, | hope that this note has 
been of some use to those members 
(myself included) who derive con- 
siderable pleasure from releasing 
butterflies and who may have been 
disturbed by the adverse comment 
this practice has received in recent 
numbers of the Bulletin. The argument 
about releasing butterflies is a peren- 
nial one and the passions it arouses 
are rather more emotional than 
scientific. Perhaps the only comment 
it is possible to make is that, as yet, 
no experimental evidence has been 
offered for or against the argument. 
Until such evidence is forthcoming | 
hope that we will all keep an open 
mind on the subject. 

10.3.68. J. Muggleton (3253). 


REARING STICK INSECTS 


| read the recent articles on these 
insects with great interest. The two 
species that | am breeding, at the 
moment, are the Corsican (Clonopsis 


AUGUST, 196 


| 
gallica Charp.) and the Madagasca 
(Sipyloidea sipylus Brunn.). May | ma 
a special plea to all actual and poten) 
tial breeders, not only of Stic 
Insects, to estimate the amount ¢ 
space needed for the insects to mov 
about freely, then double it? | hav 
seen a number of so called rearin| 
cages, horrible cylindrical, plasti 
prisons, with the unfortunate inmate 
huddled like roosting fruit bats. 
make my cages myself with a carcas 
comprising two rectangles, top an 
bottom and the four corner upright) 
The back and two sides are boarde} 
in with either hardboard (rough sid 
inwards) or strawboard (Esse 
board). A fair sized rectangle is ct 
out of both the top and the botto 
of both sides and a piece of muslin ¢ 
fine nylon net fastened across. This i. 
preferable to perforated zinc as o 
can spray water mist through the ne 
and ensure that nearly all of it passe 
through into the interior. The doub] 
ventilation ensures adequate ciret 
lation. The top is fitted with a sing 
sheet of glass. This is ideal for remo” 
ing and replacing foodstuffs. The fror 
also has a single sheet of glass held & 
clips. 


18” across and a similar height. Th 
distance from back to front can 
considerably smaller. A useful reac 
made cage can be made from a di 
carded apiarist’s demonstration hiy 
with the interior removed and t 
ventilation altered. They are alreac 
fitted with glass back and front. 
With sizeable cages a comple 
spray of bramble up to 3ft long ¢ 
be accommodated, rearing up tot 


top of the cage, curving down on ° 


side and across to the other side. Th 
means that the insects have natu 

footholds all round their quarters.) 
manage to keep the leaves fresh fe 
at least a fortnight by a method © 
cutting the stems. | have found th 
it is essential for the cut end of th 


stem to be exposed to the air fort 


My smallest box measures at lea! 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


minimum time. To accomplish this, | 
lick the exposed cut the second | have 
severed the stem. There ts always a 
few seconds delay while one pushes 
the prickly, leaf-catching stem into a 
jar which already contains other cut 
stems. The cages should be protected 
from the full glare of the sun since, 
apart from discomfort to the occu- 
pants who lack the compensation of a 
cooling breeze, the water loss from 
the stems can be quite considerable, 
a jam jar being half emptied in a day. 

Most of the catalogues mentioning 
the Madagascan Stick Insect (S. 
sipylus Bunn.) refer to its habit of 
sticking their eggs to twigs etc. | have 
found this to be less common than 
that of simply allowing them to fall to 
the ground. | cover the bottom of the 
cages with a layer at least 4” thick of 
fine, round, washed sand. 

The separation of sand, frass, 
round and oval eggs is relatively 
simple, if time consuming. The sand 
is carefully scooped out with a flat 
piece of tinplate and replaced with a 
new clean layer. The mixture of sand 
and eggs is then passed through a 
household metal-mesh sieve. All the 
sand and a little frass passes through. 
| then place the remaining mixture, a 
little at a time, on to a long rectangle 
of smooth cardboard, about 8” by 
18”. By using a rotating action and 
gentle tilting, the Clonopsis gallica 
eggs are rolled off the edge like 
miniature marbles, into a waiting 
receptacie. The remaining mixture is 
now returned to the original sieve 
and shaken with more vigour than 
before. Most of the frass passes 
through and the remaining S. sipylus 
eggs can be removed with a camel 
hair brush. The adhesive side of these 
eggs usually has sand grains adhering 
which catch on the brush hairs. 

- Some handling of the insects is 
almost essential, especially when 
replacing foodstuff. | remove the old 
stems with occupants in situ and 


stand these in a block of wood with ! 


9| 


holes bored in a row. The new stems 
are then placed in. To remove C. 
gallica, | find that the best way, with 
those that do not naturally walk off, 
is to jostle them by placing the 
fingers in a ring round them, without 
actually squeezing or pressing. They 
arch their backs and raise all their 
legs, in a manner reminiscent of the 
fore legs of a praying mantis. By 
suddenly blowing on them at this 
stage they fall onto the waiting foliage 
beneath, finding a miraculous claw 
hold before they reach the sand. This 
method should not be tried with fully 
adult specimens, full of eggs, as they 
almost certainly hit the bottom of 
the cage. They usually start walking 
when jostled. 

As R. Johnson mentioned in the 
November issue of the Bulletin, (Bull. 
Amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 126), S. sipylus is a 
beautiful insect. | must disagree with 
his statement that the wings are 
hidden under sheaths. The hind 
wings, which are the main ones, are 
not covered by anything. The costal 
edge of the wing, however, is of 
practically the same colour as the 
body, the remaining anal veins bear- 
ing the rosy tints. The wings when 
folded like a fan, have the costal edge 
on top. The forewings are reduced to 
small flaps. These insects appear to 
dislike handling much more than C. 
gallica and either make off at a fast 
pace, drop like a stone or freeze into 
a thin knitting needle, devoid of pro- 
jections. | dislodge the young ones by 
simply blowing on them, the adults 
readily walk on to ones waiting hand. 
When handled at all, they exude a 
penetrating odour which is trans- 
ferred to one’s hands, rather musty 
but not unpleasant. The insides of my 
cages are painted with matt ochre 
emulsion paint, rather similar in 
colour to S. sipylus. | find that nearly 
all members of this species, young 
and old alike, rest gregariously 
together during the day, side by side 
on the painted surface in their typical 


ID 


AUGUST, 1968 


knitting needle posture. C. gallica on 
the other hand, prefers the foliage, 
standing like a well trained pcinter 
at the kill. 

|, too, have experienced the emer- 
ging insect with its tarsi tangled in 
the egg shell. | believe that this is due 
to too dry an atmosphere around the 
eggs. To avoid this, | placed the eggs 
on a filter paper in a petri glass, with 
the lid slightly displaced. Every 
morning | lightly sprayed the inside 
of the lid with water. To remove an 
adhering shell however, | found that 
one could be successful by first gently 
crushing the shell and removing the 
pieces with a pair of fine, watch- 
maker’s tweezers. The insect can be 
prevented from walking away by 
placing an upright pin in one of the 
loops caused by legs and shell. When 
the shell is removed a white mem- 
branous bag will be revealed. This, | 
well wetted with saliva. If after two 
minutes or so, the insect has not 
already released itself, gentle pres- 
sure under the ‘armpits’ will accom- 
plish this. The pressure must be very 
gentle indeed, and small movements 
made under each leg in turn as one 
should tighten a cylinder head, for 
instance. The geometry of the insect 
body being what it is, one cannot 
remove one leg completely while the 
others are still trapped, without 
doing physical harm to the creature. 
The egg bag can be tethered, mean- 
while, with another pin. Usually, 
however, it is better to destroy the 
insect, especially if it has been trapped 
for some time. The femora and tibiae 
are often grossly disformed. 

Under such ideal conditions, the 
population rapidly increases. When 
mine reached 300 or so and ! had 
exhausted my supply of school 
children and teachers as recipients, | 
found it necessary to cull the herd. 
The easiest and quickest way is to 
hold a twig full over a pan of boiling 
water. The steam causes them to 
release their hold immediately and 


death from protein coagulation 
appears to be instantaneous. If any 
reader would like some specimens, 
please send a syrup tin with perfor- 
ated lid and return postage, for young 
specimens and a larger container for 
adults. S. sipylus, remember, is get- 
ting on for 6” long. The tin should in 
turn, be placed inside a cardboard 
box and packed with something light 
and resilient. | cannot, in all con- 
science, submit my charges to the 
gross machinery of the Post Office 
without taking whatever precautions 
are possible. 

My address change was received, 
by the Society, too late for inclusion 
in the 1966 supplement and is as 
follows: ‘‘Westland,’’ Westfields, 
Kirkbymoorside, YORK. 

Donald H. Smith (2864). 


WATER BEETLES IN A 
CHESHIRE POND 


The pond concerned is a rich 
detritus pond on grazing land, but 
pretty high for round here, being 
just under 500 ft. It contains plenty of 
Elodea canadensis Michx., Lemna tri- 
sulca Linn., and a species of Potamo- 
geton, Water Starwort (Callitriche 
sp.), and Water Crowfoot (Ranuncu- 
lus sp.). | have worked it every year 
from 1961 to 1967 inclusive, but 
Juncus sp. and Carex sp. have been 
steadily encroaching, and in 1967 
hardly any water remained which was 
reachable from the bank. | am sorry, 
because both its interest and delight- 
ful situation made it my favourite 
pond. 

As a sort of obituary notice | 
decided to make a list of all the 
beetles taken there, and having done 


Hees BULLETIN, VOL. 27 93 
_ Table |. Hydradephaga. 
| 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 
- Acilius sulcatus Linn. 305) (2) =] 7-6) ((2) 28.2 (1) 
Agabus sturmii Gyll. 7.6 (1) 28.5 (2) 
A. bipustulatus Linn. 7.6 (4) 577-(3) 
A. nebulosus For. 1.5 (1) 
Copelatus agilis Fab. 7.6 (1) 
Dytiscus marginalis Linn. 6.6 (1) 7.6 (4) Be7 (1) xe 2625" (l)i= 4:65(2) 
D. circumcinctus Ahr. 4.6 (2) 
Haliplidae 6.6 (6) 7.6 (6) 5.7 (x) 416)(x)) 25x (12) 
Hydroporus striola Gyll. 7.6 (4) 5.7 (4) 28.5 (2) 
/ H. dorsalis Fab. 7.6 (x) 57h (A) 28:2, (xjin 4:6(x) 2-5) (x) 
 H. erythrocephalus Linn. 7.6 (5) 5.7 (6) 28.2 (x) 
| 28.5 (6) 
- H. palustris Linn. 7.6 (7) 5e7(5)) 28:2) (4) 4:6) (5) 1255) (10) 
| H. pubescens Gyll. 7.6 (2) 4.6 (6) 2.5 (I) 
~ H. umbrosus Gyll. 7.6 (2) 
| Hyphydrus ovatus Linn. 7.6 (3) 23:55(D)ie 4.6.0). 2-5). (2) 
_Ilybius guttiger Gyll. A68(3)) 254(2) 
|. subaeneus Eric. 2857) 4:6) (i) 
_ Laccophilus hyalinus Deg. 7.6)(\l)) 
Rantus exsoletus For. 7.6 (3) 5.7 (2) 28.5 (6) 4.6 (x) 
R. pulverosus Steph. 7.6 (1) 
: 
~ Table 2. Hydrophilidae. 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 
~ Anacaena Limbata Fab. 5.7 (2) 
A. globulus Payk. 7.6 (5) 5.7 (4) Pus) (({I)) 
Enochrus affinis Thunb. 2.5 (I) 
E. testaceus Fab. 2.5 (3) 
Helophorus aquaticus Linn. 6 (I) 
Hydrobius fuscipes Linn 7.6 (3) 5.7 (4) 28.2 (1) 2.5 (5) 


so, wondered if it would interest 
other pond hunters. Hence this note 
for the Bulletin. 

_ The tables below give the dates 
/ when each species was taken. The 
figure in brackets gives the number 
of specimens taken; but ‘‘x’’ 


x’’ means 
that, having taken eight or more in 
consecutive collections, | gave up 
counting. 

A 1967 column is omitted. | visited 
the pond on Oct. IIth., but my only 
catch was one Dytiscus marginalis! 

It will be seen that Haliplidae are 
not particularised. All those taken 
were of the Haliplus ruficollis group, 
_and whenever | took one or two 
home for identification, as | occasion- 
ally did, they always proved to be 
either lineolatus Mann., immaculatus 
-Gerh., wehnckei Gerh., or ruficollis 
Deg. 
| D. circumcinctus is regarded as 


rare, but | have taken a total of nine, 
from three widely separated districts. 
Six of these were females, of which 
only one was sulcate. Conservation- 
ists please note that ‘‘taken’’ does 
not necessarily mean “‘killed.”’ 

|. subaeneus also appears to be 
considered rare, but although only 
two were taken from this pond, | 
have taken it frequently and in many 
different areas, sometimes in con- 
siderable numbers. In fact a piece of 
gross carelessness on my part once 
elicited from the late Prof. J. Balfour- 
Browne, for whose kindness and 
patience | cannot be too grateful, the 
remark that this was evidently a 
common species in Cheshire! 

The single specimens of Copelatus 
agilis and Rantus pulverosus are the 
only ones | have ever taken in 
Cheshire; or, indeed, anywhere else. 
18.3.68. Hugh Caiger (2908). 


94 


HOME-MADE CABINETS AND 
SETTING-BOARDS 


With so much pressure on the 
keen entomologist’s pocket nowa- 
days, there is every reason for him to 
extend the do-it-yourself cult to his 
equipment. His efforts will perhaps 
not have the professional touch of 
perfection, but he will have the 
additional pride of knowing that not 
only is his fine display of specimens 
his own creation, but so also is the 
cabinet or store-box which contains 
them. Furthermore, such equipment 
can be made very easily, at precisely 
the size and capacity one requires and 
at a fraction of the cost of the com- 
mercial models. Mistakes may be 
made, but one’s own are always more 
acceptable than the defects of bought, 
second-hand articles. 

In my earliest days of collecting 
Lepidoptera, | used cardboard boxes 
(shallow Christmas gift boxes bought 
at ‘Woolworths’) for my specimens, 
but the drawbacks of these are 
obvious. Damp, museum beetles, 
house moths and Psocids will soon 
penetrate cardboard if they lurk 
nearby, and while one may be lucky 
for two, three or even ten years, it 
isn’t worth risking it. For temporary 
accommodation, only, will such boxes 
serve. 

If one is faced with the necessity of 
buying enough store-boxes to take 
a large collection, a considerable out- 
lay of money has to be made. In 1964, 
this problem caught up with me, and 
so | designed a thirty-drawer cabinet, 
bought the necessary materials, and 
successfully constructed it. | shall 
describe the design of one drawer, 
for the reader may want to adapt my 
design to suit his own needs. | call it 
a drawer, but it need not be part ofa 
cabinet. | have subsequently made 
more, which are loosely-piled, exhibi- 
tion-case-type store-boxes until | 
choose to make a cabinet to take 
them. 


AUGUST, 1968 


One important point needs to be 
made first. One requires timber, 
glass and sheet cork cut to specific 
sizes. Consider the suppliers of these 
materials, and remember that off-cuts 
of less than a foot in length are 
generally useless to them. They 
discard them, but you pay for them 
in addition to the cutting charge. 
Therefore, work out in advance 
sizes of which the preparation ensures 
minimal wastage by the suppliers. 
For example, | chose 15” x 18” as my 
drawer size, reasoning that 12 sheets 
of ply of this size could be cut from a 
sheet of 5ft x 6ft without any waste. 
On another occasion, making some 
9” x 12” drawers, | discovered that 
buying pieces of cork ready cut to 
84” x I14” size would in fact cost 
twopence more per sheet. than 
buying the standard foot square 
size—more money for less cork. | cut 
it to size myself (easily done with 
a scalpel) and used the off-cuts for 
more drawers and for setting-boards. 

Timber requirements are as 
follows. One piece 15” x 18” x 4” pl 
for the base of the tray. The depth of 
the tray is 14”, so the sides are two 
pieces of 14” x 4” x 15” and two of 
IZ” x 4” x |7”. Parana pine or some 
other hardwood is a good choice, but 
for the following strips there is no 
need to specify type of timber, 
except to mention that hardwood is 
required. Don't forget that the two 
4+” thicknesses of the sides complete 
the 18” of the length. Use thin copper 
hardboard nails to nail base to sides. 
On top of the tray’s inside edges are 
glued four strips of ~” x 4” timber, 
two |7” and two 144” long. The lid is 
a glass frame (window glass) that 
lifts off. The glass must be 14)” x 17)” 
glued with ‘Evostick’ into four 
grooved strips of timber, two of} 
4” x 4” x 15” and two 4” x $” x 17”, 
Below the lid’s outside edges four 
+” x 4” strips are glued, two |74” 
and two |5” long which, when the 
lid is on, fit over those of the tray 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


EDGE VIEWS 


We22 
glass edge = 17 2 
1 |” 


ee 
2 2 grooved 
] 


‘ong edge removed to show glass) 


TRAY 


TOP VIEWS (not to scale) 


Fig. |. Plan of a cabinet drawer. 


95 


96 


~ 


Sony ~ cork ee 


— — 


~ 
~ 


=| 


<—_—_ ]/——__> 


—_- —_— 
— 


~~~ timber —- 


AUGUST, 1968 


Fig. 2. End views of home-made setting-boards. 


ensuring a firm fit and comparatively 
airtight conditions. 

The groove holes in the four 
corners of the lid, and any other 
chinks or cracks, are filled with 
plastic wood. When the construction 
is completed, the drawer is sand- 
papered, and varnished inside and 
outside. | recommend one coat of 
clear or pale golden varnish followed 
by two coats of mahogany high gloss 
wood stain for a very pleasing result. 
The first coat of clear varnish prevents 
the wood absorbing the subsequent 
gloss turning the mahogany glow into 
a dingy dull brown. The tray is lined 
with cork and finally papered. Both 
cork and lining paper must be 
thoroughly covered with, respecti- 
vely, ‘Evostik’ and wallpaper paste, 
otherwise they will cause consider- 
able trouble by heaving and buckling. 
When dry and with the glass cleaned, 
the drawer is ready for use. It costs 
only about a quarter of the price of 
the commercial equivalent. 

So do home-made setting-boards 
which | have made in all sizes from |” 
to 8” wide and usually one foot long. 
A very simple I4” type, costing only 
about sevenpence, can be made as 
follows. Buy three strips of 4” x 4” 
x 12” wood, only one of them 


grooved. Stick them together, the 
grooved one in the middle, cover top 
and groove with off-cut strips of 
cork, paste lining paper over the lot, 
and the job is done. 

For ‘Micros’, | use 1” boards with 
two layers of cork, the groove 
formed by a very narrow slit between 
the pair of upper strips. 

| should be most interested to read 
about other peoples’ ideas, designs 
and creations of do-it-yourself ento- 
mological equipment. 

28.8.67. B. Wurzell (3718). 


1a 


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 


Sir,—I wish to make a plea for 
restraint in the use of latin names in 
Bulletin articles. | feel that two quite 
differing appraisals should be made of 
living things mentioned in an article. 
On the one hand, specimens are 
purposely identified either for direct 
recording as such or for positive 
identification with an associated 
creature or plant. On the other hand, 
some species may be mentioned 
almost in passing, the finishing 
touches of colour that transform a 


— 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


rather monotonous screed into an 
enjoyable article. 

In a different context, there is also 
the danger that a species that has by 
no means been positively identified, 
is pinpointed with a specific name. 
How often do we see... . the Red 
Wood Ant (Formica rufa Linn.) 
Unless one is a myrmecologist, every 
Wood Ant is F. rufa! Yet it could 
easily be F. pratensis, rufa var. rufo 
pratensis or even F. exsecta. 

If one is describing a walk down a 
quiet country lane and mentions the 


heady perfume of honeysuckle, surely 


that is sufficient. | personally, would 
find it most irritating to read... the 
heady perfume of Honeysuckle 
(Lonicera periclymenum Linn.) ... but 
the Bulletin abounds in this. | realise 
that the specimen might just happen 
to be L. caprifolium, but surely, unless 
the honeysuckle forms a_ specific 


| part in the ecology of that area which 


is being reported and has been 


specifically identified, this is of little 


import. It is far better to be vague 


than to be wrong. 


Which of the two _ following 


excerpts do you prefer, the first or 
the second? 


“We chose a Sessile Oak (Quercus 


petraea Mattuschka) under which to 
‘eat our lunch. The flies (Stomoxys 
-calcitrans Linn., Hydrotaea irritans 


Fall. Haematopia pluvialis Linn. and 
Chrysops caecutiens Linn.) were a 


nuisance but all irritation vanished 
when we observed a dusky Silver 


Stora, 


Washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia 
var. valesina) settle on some Ragwort 
(Senecio jacobaea Linn.) in front of 


US. 


-eat our 


“We chose an oak under which to 
lunch. The flies were a 


! nuisance but all irritation vanished 
when we observed a dusky Silver 
/ Washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia 
var. valesina) settle on some ragwort 
1 in front of us.”’ 


| repeat my plea. Can we not all 


‘use discretion in the case of latin 


97 


names? A much neater method would 
be to group all named specimens 
together at the end of the article in 
the form of a specific list. This would 
surely be of more assistance to 
readers who wished to make use of 
identifications. | would hasten to 
point out that my views are in no 
way influenced by the fact that | 
index the Bulletin. 

D. H. Smith (2864). 


Sir,—I feel obliged to point out an 
error in Mr. J. A. Wightman’s article 
(Bull Amat. Ent. Soc, 27: Il) on 
insect semen transfer, in which he 
states that ‘‘land snails . . . transfer 
semen enclosed in calcareous ‘love 
darts: a: 

This is quite untrue. The exchange 
of darts merely stimulates the two 
snails to insert their cirri into each 
other’s vagina (the genital atria being 
everted prior to the exchange of 
darts). Small spermatophores pre- 
pared in the flagellum travel through 
the cirrus (=penis) to the other 
snail’s spermatheca. 
|7.2.68. Justin Jackson (3873). 


JUNIOR NEWS SECTION 


Hello everyone. When you read 
this you should all be enjoying a 
glorious Summer so please flood me 
out with reports! 

Here are the answers to the Spring 
Quiz:— 
|. This was a catch question for, as 
| am sure you all know, it is the 
larvae of the Clothes Moth (Tineola 
bisselliella Hummel) which eat cloth. 
The adults eat nothing. 

2. A drawing was wanted here of an 
orange and black Rainbow Rove 
Beetle (Paederus littoralis Grav.). 


3. Coleoptera (Beetles) pass 


98 


through complex metamorphosis, 
Dictyoptera (Cockroaches and Man- 
tids) through simple metamorphosis, 
Phasmids (Stick and Leaf Insects) also 
simple metamorphosis and Aphanip- 
tera (Fleas) strangely enough pass 
through complex metamorphosis. 

4. Insects use their antennae mainly 
for smelling. 

5. Three reasons why centipedes 
are not considered to be insects are 
(a) because they have far more than 
six legs, (b) their bodies are not 
divided into three definite parts— 
head, thorax and abdomen, (c) they 
never have wings. 

6. The Glanville Fritillary (Melitaea 
cinxia Linn.) is very rare. It is only 
found on the Isle of Wight. 

7. What have ruby lips to do with 
bees and bugs? Nothing now, but | 
believe that lipsticks were made out 
of bees’ wax and crushed, red 
cochineal bugs. 

8. You had to draw a Red Admiral 
Butterfly for this one. 

9. Gynandromorphs are _ really 
strange. They are freak animals, 
sometimes insects such as moths, 
which are half male and half female. 
10. Anopheles is the genus (first) 
name for a group of mosquitos which 
are infamous for spreading the 
disease, malaria. You will be sur- 
prised to know that at least five 
species of Anopheles occur in Britain. 
11. Two orders of insects, whose 
members are characterised by having 
their back legs modified for jumping, 
are the Orthoptera (Grasshoppers 
and Crickets) and the Aphaniptera 
(Fleas). 

12. | think it was quite a challenge 
to be asked to draw and colour the 
caterpillar of the Pale Tussock Moth 
(Dasychirae pudibunda Linn.). 

13. June or, as they are sometimes 
called, May Bugs are, as | am sure you 
knew, beetles (Coleoptera). They are 
also known as the Common Cock- 
chafer (Melolontha melolontha Linn.). 
Have any of you seen the large 


AUGUST, 1968 |) 


numbers of these insects which are | 
supposed to be seen commonly all 
over England? | haven’t. 7 
14. Stone flies are rather ancient 
looking creatures belonging to the 
order Plecoptera. Their nymphs live 
under water, while the adults are 
often found doing nothing in particu- 
lar except resting on waterside 
stones. 
I5. Once again you were called 
upon to draw and colour an insect. 
This time it was the Great Blue 
Underwing Moth (Catocala fraxini 
Linn.) also known as the Clifden 
Nonpareil. It is very large and rare. 
l6. In Britain we have seven species 
of social wasp all looking at first 
glance very much alike. They are the 
Common Wasp (Vespa (Vespula) vul- 
garis Linn.), German Wasp (V. ger- 
manica Fab.), Red Wasp (V. rufa 
Linn.) Norwegian Wasp (V. norwegica 
Fab.), Tree Wasp (V. sylvestris Scop.) 
the parasitic, Austrian Wasp (V. 
austriaca Panz.) and last but not least 
the Hornet (V. crabro Linn.) 
17, Ateuchus sacer Linn. is the Holy 
Scarab Beetle which, with cats, was 
worshipped by the ancient Egyptians. 
[8. A picture of a Water Scorpion | 
was required here. | 
19. If animals live in symbiosis they | 
actually live in co-operation. For) x 
example ants obtain sweet fluids 
from aphids and in return protect 
them from their enemies. 
20. Those of you who are helping 
the Nature Conservancy with the 
National Lepidoptera Recording 
Scheme should send your records to 
me or, preferably, to the Biological’ .: 
Records Centre, Monks Wood) 
Experimental Station, Abbots Ripton, 
Huntingdon. 
| am sorry | cannot include a list of 
winners in this issue but | am sure! 
they won't mind waiting until next 
time. See you all at the Autumn 
Exhibition. 
25.4.68. H. J. Berman, F.R.E.S. 
(297 1A). 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


| SOUTHERN SWITZERLAND 


AND NORTH ITALY—1967 


Following up our 1966 expedition 


to Switzerland, W. L. Coleridge, 
Raymond Uffen and | arranged a 
further trip for 1967, this time a 
_ fortnight earlier than in 1966 and the 
area to be south of the mountain 
_ range over which the Simplon and St. 
_ Gotthard Passes lie (the Lepontine 
_ Alps). We left Dover on the 30th 
June and travelling overnight by 
_ Auto-couchette from Calais Ville we 
_ arrived at Biasca in the Ticino Canton 
_ of Switzerland early on the Ist July. 
_ Coleridge had again provided the car, 
a new Hillman Hunter, and the car 


Sw (ITZERLAND 


DR 
v iG \ WA 
Py alae 
ray / t 
wr 


Tracy 


y, Y OMBEGNA 


ORTA 


Lago Dioata 


99 


was able to show its worth over the 
next fortnight on some hazardous 
roads covering some 900 miles. Our 
first stay was at a small Hotel in the 
village of Dongio on the road leading 
from Biasca to the Lukmanier (Luco- 
magna) Pass. All the passes and many 
of the villages have dual names— 
Italian and German—which can lead 
to some confusion. Not knowing 
anything of the area, we were obliged 
to sample to find suitable collecting 
terrain. 

Most of the valley areas are 
meadowland and these are rich in 
flowers but are regularly cut and 
harvested for winter fodder and the 
insect population consequently 
suffers. However there are still many 


Siu So Srenes Ay Piz Mog 
tT, GOTTHARO S 
Bags 5 Zz gel oan 
<= V8 Otivone 
Qy . 
XQ 
SQ 


DONGio 


D Biascr 


LOCARNO 


_—ooOD 
BELLINZONA 


S 
Frontie, 


1967 Journey 
RAC 


100 


more species flying than one would 
see in an English meadow and our 
first sortie was amongst some of 
these meadows just below the village 
of Olivoni on the way to the Pass. 
The torrent ran below the meadows 
which terraced down to it from the 
roadway. Grass cutting was in pro- 
gress but in the uncut areas of grass, 
blue Salvias, Lilies and a host of other 
flowers there were flying plenty of 
the large Apollo, Parnassius apollo 
Linn., the Marbled White, Agapetes 
galathea Linn. and the Dark Green 
Fritillary, Mesoacidalia charlotta Haw. 
There were also a few Black-veined 
Whites, Aporia crataegi Linn. about 
but these were past their best. The 
Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages Linn., 
was very common and we also took 
a few Pyrgus cirsii Rbr. The only Blue 
present was the Mazarine, Cyaniris 
semiargus Rott., and this was plentiful 
in both sexes. In the small wooded 
areas near the stream were some 
newly emerged Ringlets, Aphantopus 
hyperantus Linn., and where the grass 
was lying cut in the meadow there 
were fresh Meadow Browns, Maniola 
jurtina Linn., some of which | collected 
for George Thompson of Perth. One 
new species for me was the White, 
Pieris mannii Mayer, which is very 
like the Small White, P. rapae. As 
both species fly together it was 
difficult to assess how common each 
species was. We found the sun very 
hot and after a meal we decided to go 
up the Pass. After a drive along an 
excellent new road climbing up the 
pass we reached the old roadway 
which is still in the course of being 
rebuilt. Here we stopped where the 
road passed through a wood of tall 
Spruce. Climbing up the slope at the 
side of the roadway we found a path 
leading out onto some rough mead- 
ows through which a small steam 
trickled. In the boggy patches were 
Cotton Grass and small groups of 
orchids and some interesting butter- 
flies. The altitude was between 4,000 


AUGUST, 1968 


and 5,000ft and the spring butterflies — 
of England were on the wing in this 
first week of July. The Chequered 
Skipper, Carterocephalus palaemon 
Pall., the Small Pearl-Bordered and 
Pearl-Bordered Fritillaries (Clossiana 
selene Schiff. and C. euphrosyne Linn.), 
the Orange Tip, Anthocaris cardamines 
Linn., were flying together with the 
later species /Maculinea arion Linn. 
and Mellicta athalia Rott. | netted 
some of the fatter which laid batches 
of eggs for me in pill-boxes having a 
leaf of Plantago lanceolata Linn. in 
them. This was done while the boxes 
stood in the hotel window the next 
day. Species new to me here were 
the Wall, Dira petropolitana Fab., 
and the very local Fritillary, Clossiana 
thore Huebn. This latter insect is of 
the shape of C. euphrosyne but the 
upper side is heavily suffused with 
black and the underside has purple 
markings. The only Erebia present, 
Erebia ceto Huebn. (=alberganus de 
Prun), was just emerging here. On a 
small slope by the road there were 
several large clumps of Horseshoe 
Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa Linn.) and 
on these | found two larvae of the 
Chalkhill Blue, Lysandra coridon Poda. 
They were nearly full fed but later 
produced small hymenopterous para- 
sites from a mass of white cocoons, 
rather like those of Apanteles glomer- 
atus Linn. 

Later in the week we decided to 
try higher up the pass and drove up 
near to the top where the pass opens 
up and overlooks wide meadows, 
fringed on one side by tall Spruce and 
on the other by a rocky chaos clothed 
in Rhododendron ferrugineum Linn. 
The meadow area was reasonably flat 
with small streams cutting across it 
leaving small bogs and pools. Down 
the centre of the plain ran a fairly 
large stream coming from the glaciers 
in the distance. Heavy grazing had 
taken place and there were large 
herds of cattle among the trees and 
on the slopes around. By the stream 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


we found the small Apollo, Parnassius 
phoebus Fab.; they were flying along 
the stream edge and resting occasion- 
ally on the small flowers growing by 
its banks. | took one female which 
appeared to be about to deposit her 
eggs on some plants of Saxifraga 
-aizoides Linn. right by the water’s 
-edge. There were a few Chequered 
Skippers about but apart from a few 
Pieris bryoniae Ochs. wandering 
through the woodland this area was 
very short of butterflies. | crossed the 
valley and climbed up where the 
chaos of rocks formed a rugged wall. 
Among the rocks were growing a 
little yellow violet, Viola biflora 
-Linn., and Primula farinosa Linn. The 
only butterflies here were the small 
Tortoiseshell, Aglais urticae Linn., and 
D. petropolitana. It seemed that we 
were perhaps a little early for the 
butterflies at this altitude. The area 
_would certainly merit a visit a few 
weeks later as it is quite wild and 
unspoiled apart from the grazing. 
_ At the Hotel in the evenings we 
spent our time setting the day’s 
catch, interrupted by a terrific storm 
-each night which filled the mountains 
with rolling thunder while the rain 
-torrented down the village street. 
Sometimes the lights failed and we 
could do nothing. Before the storm 
one evening | had a look round the 
street lights and watched a bat at 
_each catching the moths that came 
into the light. The only moth which 
seemed to be immune was an orange 
 footman with black spotting which 
was all about the hotel walls in the 
morning. As these moths flew past 
one, they emitted an audible crack- 
ling sound and this possible ‘anti-bat’ 
_ device may have been the reason for 
their safety. 
"Our next area for collecting was in 
a hidden valley near the village of 
| Campo Blenio. The valley was reached 
| by passing through a mile long 
: 
| 


wate 


| tunnel behind the village of Olivoni. 
This area was a real find. The stream 


10] 


ran down through the bottom of the 
valley coming from the glacier on the 
Piz Medel and the road ran up to the 
village of Campo Blenio and a small 
roadway off it carried on to the top 
of a huge barrage which contained a 
vast lake, a source of hydro-electric 
power. The whole valley was rich in 
flowers and butterflies. The Lycaenids 
were well represented and included 
the Small Blue, Cupido minimus 
Fuessl., the Large Blue, M. arion 
Linn., Glaucopsyche alexis Poda. 
(rather worn), Lysandra  dorylas 
Schiff., C. semiargus Rott., and the 
rather local Cupido sebrus Huebn. By 
the stream side were flying newly 
emerged Purple-edged Coppers, 
Palaeochrysophanus hippothoe Linn., 
being much larger specimens than 
usual for the sub-species eurybia 
Ochs. Another Copper flying in the 
area was the sub-species of Heodes 
tityrus Poda, ssp. subalpina Speyer. 
These were newly emerged also and 
| took both males and females. They 
are both very dark on the upper side 
and show no ‘copper’ colouring. 
There were large patches of the field 
geranium, Geranium sylvaticum Linn., 
and hovering over the flowers was 
another Blue, Eumedonia chiron Rott., 
whose larvae feed on the flower and 
seed heads of the plant. All the 
slopes and meadows abounded in 
Erebia ceto Huebn., very large speci- 
mens with fine markings. | also took 
one male Erebia ligea Linn. Where 
one of the streams spilled across the 
road there were several Chequered 
Skippers settling to sip at the water 
and here | also saw the Painted Lady, 
Vanessa cardui Linn., the Peacock, 
Inachis io Linn., and one Nymphalis 
polychloros Linn. The Fritillaries 
included Mellicta perthenoides Kef., 
Melitaea diamina Lang, M. didyma 
Esp. and Clossiana titania Huebn. 
We spent several mornings in this 
area as there was plenty of collecting 
terrain and the flowers and insects 
were profuse. The view of the snow 


102 


capped mountains at the far end of 
the valley tempted Uffen and | to 
make the long journey beyond Campo 
Blenio to explore the area of perman- 
ent snow. One morning we left 
Coleridge collecting in the valley, 
while we climbed up the winding 
pathway which passed first through 
flowery meadows and then into a 
grassy valley below a waterfall which 
came down over the rocks to form 
the stream. We found a marked 
pathway up the rocky slope and by 
this were able to climb above the 
drifts of snow and reach the more 
rugged ground. Here there were 
large clumps of Alpine Dock, Rumex 
alpinus Linn., a plant as large as our 
Water Dock, Rumex hydrolapathum 
Huds. There were drifts of Rhodo- 
dendron and plenty of Gentians and 
other high alpine flora and Pieris 
bryoniae Ochs. was flying every- 
where. | netted a specimen of the 
high mountain Blue, Albulina orbitulus 
de Prun (pheretes Hffsgg), and one or 
two Aricia allous G.-H. There were 
several of the high-mountain Colias, 
C. phicomone Esp., chasing each other 
up and down the steep slopes but 
giving chase was out of the question. 
On one slippery patch where algae 
were growing on the wet rock face | 
pitched face first and bruised my chin 
badly, a warning to watch my step. 
The hope that this area might pro- 
duce some of the higher level Erebias 
was at last realised with the capture 
of a male Erebia tyndarus Esp. and | 
then took two specimens of Erebia 
pandrose Bkh. (lappona Esp.). This is a 
very beautiful Erebia rather like a 
large E. tyndarus on the wing. | had 
taken it previously on the Lautaret 
in the French Alps and at Bareges in 
the High Pyrenees. These specimens 
were perfect and our fears that we 
were rather early for butterflies at 
the higher altitudes seemed correct. 
Some cloud began to obscure the sun 
and this quickly puts the Erebias 
down so we made our way back 


AUGUST, 1968 


towards Campo Blenio and the car. 
On the way down | had an excellent 
view of the Alpine Marmot (Marmota 
Marmota Linn.) perched on a huge 
rock. He watched me until | was 
about thirty yards away and then shot 
down under the rock. As | looked 
back some fifty yards further down 
the hillside | saw him back on his 
vantage point and a single scream 
from him was echoed by others high 
up on the far slopes of the valley. The 
only other life in this high valley 
were the dry cows and heifers grazing 


by the pathside and the solitary): 


herdsman and his dog. Raymond 


Uffen had taken one specimen of the. 
beetle, Emus hirtus Linn., coming tof, 
fresh cow droppings and on thej. 


bridge over the stream we captured 


two tiger beetles, Cicindela hybriday: 
Linn. Coleridge had done quite well}. 
in the flowery meadows lower down), 


taking Lysandra bellargus Rott. and 
Colias hyale Linn. 

On the day before we left Dongi 
we made a special sortie down t 
Lake Maggiore via Locarno and u 
the Valle Maggia in order to get t 


the remote village of Fusio, a recorded) . 


locality for a very local Erebia, E 
flavofasciata Heyne. The first half o 
the valley was level driving and the 
we started to climb beyond Bignasco 
The road soon overlooked the gorg 
at the bottom of the valley and w 
stopped for lunch at a spot where th 
road widened. There were raven 
nesting on the opposite side of th 
ravine and just above the road we 
found some little alps hidden by th 
roadside trees and bushes. Thes 
were alive with butterflies and ther 
were fresh specimens of the Coppe 
Heodes alciphron Rott. (ssp. gordiu 
Sulz.) and badly rubbed Green Hair 
streaks, Callophrys rubi Linn. | sa 
one of the large Satyrs, Satyrus bryc 
Huebn. (cordula Fab.), motionless o 
a flower head. On closer inspection 
found it to be dead, held in the gri 
of a wonderful rose coloured Cra 


SS Be so 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


spider. Hipparchia fagi Scop., one of 
the largest Satyrs, was also flying on 
the rocks by the alps and | took my 
first specimen of form cleodoxa Ochs. 
of the High Brown Fritillary, Fabri- 
ciana adippe Rott. As we drove 
further on along the valley the road 
began to climb sharply by means of a 
series of acute hairpin bends—we 
counted thirty-two in all—until at 
last we reached the outside of the 
village of Fusio. Here we stopped to 
explore some small gulleys by the 
roadside, full of flowers and lush 
grass. The Black-veined White was 
very common and in good condition 
and there were Erebia ceto, E. euryale, 


| and a few E. ligea. A new Erebia to 


me, E. medusa Schiff., was also present 
in fair numbers but in a very rubbed 
state. | also took C. selene and M. 
diamina. Unfortunately the sun was 
partly shaded and although quite a 


lot of butterflies were flying, many 


- Lilies and Orchids, 


more appeared to be resting and had 
to be put up. We drove through the 
village of Fusio, perched on the 


' mountain side, and then a short way 


up the road leading to the great dam 
above the village. It was here that we 
hoped to find E. flavofasciata but we 
only found species which we had 
found lower down, although the 
flowers were some compensation— 
Gentians and 
Mountain Asters. By 4 p.m. the sun 
had got behind the peaks and we 
returned down our thirty-two bends 
to the valley and again past the Lake 
to Dongio, a round journey of nearly 


- 150 miles. 


On the day that we left Dongio to 
go into North Italy the heavens 
opened and we had the only wet day 
of our holiday. It poured hard all day 
and a heavy mist filled the valleys and 
shrouded the lake. Beyond Locarno 
we took what appeared to be the 
shortest route to Domodossola, over 
the mountains via the Cento Valle 
road. This proved to be a mistake in 
the conditions. Rain and mist made 


103 


visibility bad and the road wound, 
climbed and twisted its way across 
the face of the mountains and it was 
impossible to hurry. Just beyond the 
Italian/Swiss frontier post we nearly 
had a collision with a fast moving car 
coming round a corner towards us 
and in taking avoiding action we 
suffered our only mishap, the rear 
wheel skidded off the road and the 
rim struck a projecting rock giving 
us a good jolt and the rim a nice dent. 
We tried the villages round Domo- 
dossola for a likely hotel but in the 
end decided on the Hotel Tronconi, 
the only one in the village of Varzo 
which had once been on the approach 
to the Simplon Pass but now lay ina 
back water with the pass lying well 
below the village. The hotel was 
huge with only a handful of guests 
and we were well suited. The village 
had seen better days—many of the 
gardens had exotic trees and plants 
growing in them, mural paintings 
decorated many of the walls of the 
houses and there were numerous 
shrines and chapels of ease, though 
only the village church seemed to be 
in use. We had the advantage of a 
quick route to the mountains and an 
equally easy one to the Italian plain. 
The following day the weather 
returned to brilliant sunshine and we 
drove over the Simplon Pass to 
Ganter Bridge on the North side 
where we had been in 1966. The little 
valley beside the bridge is always 
alive with butterflies and this morn- 
ing was no exception. The Blues, 
Lysandra coridon Poda, and L. escheri 
Huebn. were newly emerged; the 
latter is like a large Common Blue, P. 
icarus Rott. There were also several 
of the smallest Apollo, P. mnemosyne 
Linn., flying but these were in a bad 
condition. | was also pleased to find 
the small Fritillary, Mellicta aurelia 
Nickerl., and the Satyr, Hipparchia 
alcyone Schiff., like a small version of 
H. fagi Scop. Coleridge and | then 
climbed up through some meadows 


104 


and into a copse of Spruce through 
which there ran a wide glade. Very 
quickly we found that very local Blue 
butterfly, Plebejus pylaon Frhst. which 
was flying along the glade, the males 
very actively on the wing and the 
females on the food plant Astragulus 
exscarpus Linn. which grew in tufts 
along the path and on the grass edges 
of the woodland. We took about half 
a dozen specimens in quite good con- 
dition. | also netted a specimen of the 
small Cicada and photographed a 
female Wood White, Leptidea sinapis 
Linn., laying her eggs on a species of 
Vetch. The sun was very hot and we 
were bothered by a very large biting 
fly which had one or two goes at my 
legs before | netted it. Back by the 
stream we found several of the 
Spanish Fly beetle, Lytta vesicatoria 
Linn., settled on small Alders (Alnus 
sp.). There was one pair in copulation, 
the male being about half the size of 
the female. It is a very beautiful 
beetle, being metallic green. | also 
took a very fine variety of the Purple 
Edged Copper, P. hippothoe, with the 
underside spots run into long streaks. 
After our meal we drove back to the 
top of the Simplon and collected for a 
while in the valleys near the Hospice. 
| took several specimens of the 
Scottish Burnet, Zygaena exulans von 
H. and R., and the Fritillary Euphy- 
dryas glacigenita Vty, also some newly 
emerged males of Erebia epiphron 
Knoch. | also saw a passing specimen 
of Synchloe callidice Esp. but this 
species flies so fast that | failed to net 
it. It clouded over and began to rain 
a little and not even Uffen’s smoker 
would move anything out of the 
scrubby undergrowth so we called it 
a day and drove back to the frontier 
where we changed our Swiss Francs 
for Lira and returned to the hotel for 
some setting and dinner. 

P. W. Cribb (2270). 
To be concluded. 


Printed by Ellis & Phillips Ltd., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published by the Amateur 
Entomologists’ Society, 42 Normandy Avenue, Barnet, Herts. 


AUGUST, 1968 


LUCANUS CERVUS Linn. 
(MALE) 


This is perhaps one of the most 
well known of all British insects. 
Instantly recognisable because of its 
size and formidabie looking jaws— 
which are capable of giving a very 
firm nip. During warm evenings in- 
late May and June the Stag Beetles | 
can be seen crawling about or flying — 
in an almost upright position; they — 
are also attracted to light, like most 
scarabid beetles. 

The female is similar in size and 
shape to the male but does not 
possess the large head and man- 
dibles. 

For an account of the distribution 
of this species one should read the 
excellent paper by D. G. Hail 
‘Distribution of the Stag Beetle in 
Britain.” | 

The larvae take three or four years, 
to reach maturity and can be found: 
in the roots and trunks of certain) 
rotting hardwood trees. | 
24.4.1968. Jonathan Cooter (3290). 


REFERENCE 
HALL, D. G. (1964). Distribution of the Stag Beetlein 
Britain. London Naturalist, 43: 67-72. 


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EDITORIAL 


Now is the time of year when many 
entomologists will be turning from 
the outdoor to the indoor part of 
their hobby. | hope the summer has 
been a successful one and has pro- 
-vided you with plenty of interesting 
observations and specimens to iden- 
tify. Before the period of hibernation 
(for most entomologists as well as 
the insects) has finally set in do please 
-make an effort to write up some of 
your observations for the Bulletin. 

| am especially pleased that the 
preliminary report of the Nature 
Conservancy’s Lepidoptera Mapping 
scheme appears in this issue. Schemes 
of this sort offer an excellent oppor- 
tunity for co-operation between 
amateur and professional naturalists. 
| am sure that all lepidopterists 

will make an extra effort in the 
coming season to fill in some of the 

gaps on these maps. 
D. Corke (2962). 


6 
COLLECTING NOTES 
NOVEMBER 1968 
The Smaller Moths 
Agonopterix (Depressaria) alstroemeri- 
ana Clerck. 


Mr Bradford writes as follows: 
“| have never, so far, found this to be 


Front cover illustration: The ant and its aphids, drawn by 
Mr G. Thomson (3869). 


AES 


BULLETIN 


No. 281 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


a common moth, although it is said 
to be so. Perhaps | have not found the 
right spot. The drawing is from a 
specimen taken in Hertfordshire, 
the food-plant, Hemlock (Conium 
maculatum Linn.), growing in the 
area. | took the moth on October 3rd. 
The head and thorax are white. The 
forewings are a light ochreous brown 
suffused with white and with a 
speckling of black scales. In the 
middle of the costa is a blackish grey 
blotch with a dark reddish streak 
below it and a black stigmal dot next 
to it. The hindwings are a pale 
ochreous grey.”’ 

A. (D.) applana Fab. 

Mr Bradford’s note reads as 
follows: “‘l have a number of this 
common moth, but like many com- 
mon things it is one | have not yet 
bred. The drawing is from one of 
several specimens taken at Wymond- 
ham in Norfolk. With friends | was 
inspecting a dilapidated old house 
and | found numbers inside and out. 
They seemed to be scuttling every- 
where. When disturbed they dart 
and shoot about, sometimes on their 
backs, in quite a random fashion. This 
is a protective device to escape their 
enemies as exactly where they will be 
in the next second is unpredictable. 
| took these specimens on October 
15th. | have taken other specimens 
in March, April, August and Septem- 
ber. Nearly all my specimens are of 
the same lightish fuscous colour with 
three whitish spots along the middle 
of the forewings, sometimes obscure. 
The hindwings are a lightish brown 
grey. The larvae feed on the rolled 
leaves of, among other things, Cow 
Parsley (Anthriscus), Hogweed (Hera- 


106 


Ga 


Agonopterix (Depressaria) alstroemeriana Clerck. 


Agonopterix (Depressaria) applana Fab. 


cleum), Wild Angelica (Angelica) and 
Hemlock.” 

Both these species may be obtained 
throughout the winter by beating 
haystacks—now, alas, a rare feature 
of our countryside. | have found the 
larvae of A. applana feeding in spun 
flowers as well as in rolled leaves. 
They can readily be told from the 
larvae of other members of the 
group by the small black crescentic 


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NOVEMBER, 1968 © 


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mark on the side of the head (techni 
cally the second segment). Perhaps 
should mention that by the time thi 
article appears in print the ne 
Check List of the British Lepidopter 
is likely to have been published, an 
then A. applana Fab. will have to b 
called A. heracliana Linn. and th 
moth which at present bears tha 
name will be known as Depressari 
pastinacella Dup. 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


| have noticed that several of my 
friends, who in most respects have 
comprehensive collections of the 
smaller moths, possess relatively few 
of the Lithocolletidae. This is due to 
neglect, because most of the species 
in this group are widely distributed, 
readily found and easy to breed. 
Since the larvae pupate in their 
mines, the precise date for the 
collection of the autumn brood is not 
critical. November is not too late to 
collect a great many of the fifty 
species. It is generally easier to find 
the mined leaves while they are still 
on the tree, but fallen leaves contain- 
ing larvae are sometimes conspicuous 
through the area of the mine retain- 
ing its green colour after the rest of 
the leaf has turned. 

The wild imagines emerge in late 
April or May, but if the mines are 
‘kept out of doors until the end of 
January and then brought into a 
‘warm room, the moths will soon 
come out, thus providing entomo- 
logical activity in the fallow months 
of the year. 

| propose to deal in this article 
with the oak-feeders, since oak leaves 
fall late, and the mines may be 
collected till the end of November or 
later. There are nine species, two of 
which are very common, and, | 
believe, ubiquitous. These are Litho- 
colletis quercifoliella Zell. and L. 
harrisella Linn. (cramerella Fab.). To 
these | might add L. messaniella Zell. 
which feeds on the deciduous oak as 
well as the Holm Oak (Quercus ilex 
Linn.) though it has a preference for 
the latter. Two other species are less 
common, but | have been able to find 
them whenever | wished in the south 
of England. The first is L. heegeriella 
Zell., which makes a small mine 


usually under a lobe of the leaf. The 
other is the beautiful L. /autella Zell., 
which seems to be confined to the 
Durmast or Sessile Oak (Quercus 
petraea Liebl.); this species of oak 
may be distinguished by the leaves 


107 


which taper without auricles or lobes 
on to rather longer stalks. L. Iautella 
prefers saplings or low bushes; | 
once found it plentifully in the shoots 
springing up round the stump of a 
felled tree. | have yet to encounter 
the other four species. L. roboris Zell. 
is very local but has a wide range. 
L. distentella Zell. seems to be pre- 
dominantly a moth of the Midlands, 
though | have been told that it has 
been taken in Kent. The West 
Midlands, too, are the headquarters 
of L. amyotella Dup., which is reputed 
to feed in the topmost leaves of tall 
trees. The best chance of obtaining it, 
therefore, is to search for mines 
among fallen leaves in mid-winter. 
The last species, L. hortella Fab., has 
a fairly wide range in the south of 
England, but seems to be far from 
common; like L. Iautella, it is said to 
prefer the Durmast Oak. 

The best chance, then, of obtaining 
the rarer species is to collect mines 
from different species of oak growing 
in varied situations and to include a 
proportion contained in fallen leaves. 
The mines should be kept out of 
doors in linen bags, or spread on 
earth in seed-boxes. lf you adopt the 
latter method, a lid is necessary to 
prevent the leaves from blowing 
away. | use another seed-box, raised 
on slats to allow ventilation and 
weighted down with a brick; this 
method has proved very successful. 

A. M. Emmet (1379). 


Hymenoptera Aculeata 


The Hymenoptera number many, 
in fact a majority of, parasitic species 
among their ranks, and equally they 
are subject to parasitism. Among the 
Aculeata, many species have devel- 
oped a specialised form of parasitism 
which they practise on species 
related, often closely, to themselves. 
These are the so-called inquiline, or 
cuckoo, species. Other insects also 
make use of the stores of animal or 


108 


plant food laid up by Aculeates, 
either directly or by eating the 
hymenopteran larva when it has 
developed. Fewer are endoparasitic 
on the hymenopteran larva and yet 
fail to kill it and are carried over into 
the adult. One particularly fascinating 
group in this last category are the 
forms commonly called Stylops. 

This group has a particular interest 
for British entomologists as a male 
Stylops appears in the seal of the 
Royal Entomological Society of 
London. It was the Rev. William 
Kirby who first described the Strep- 
siptera, the order erected to contain 
Stylops and its relatives. He was also 
the first Honorary President of the 
Society and is one of the people best 
qualified to receive the title ‘‘Father 
of British Entomology.’’ When in 
1932 the Society commenced a serial 
publication for taxonomic work they 
named it ‘Stylops’ and so it appeared 
for four years, after which it became 
the Proceedings Series B, Taxonomy, 
that we know today. To carry the 
association to its most recent mani- 
festation, a male Stylops was chosen 
as the Congress crest for the [2th 
International Congress of Entomology 
held in London in 1964. 

So much for associations, now for 
the actual insect. Stylops are best 
known in this country as parasites of 
bees of the genera Halictus and 
Andrena. The female parasite can be 
seen as a light brown head protruding 
from beneath the hinder abdominal 
tergites of the host. She is reduced to 
little more than a sack of eggs within 
the host body which she never 
leaves. The male Stylops is a free 
flying insect that emerges from the 
body of the host leaving a gaping 
hole. Several parasites can develop 
within one host and | recently saw a 
female Andrena helvola (Linn.) taken 
bY,,Lt. Gol. iGo vA. VV. Duttield: at 
Brook, Kent, with one female Stylops 
visible as well as with the exit holes 
of two males in her abdomen. 


much discussion, which is hardly): 


NOVEMBER, 1968) >i: 


a 


The life cycle of the parasite is mos 
interesting. The male fertilises th 
female while she is in the host. Th 
eggs hatch within the body of the 
female and emerge as active triungu- 
lin larvae similar to those of the 
beetle family Meloidae. These larvae 
presumably move onto the flowers 
visited by their host to pass onto 
fresh hosts and are thus carried back 
to new nests where they enter the 
bee larva when it develops. Members) 
of the Stylopoidea attack not only 
bees but also solitary and social 
wasps, and outside the Hymenoptera): 
certain Homoptera Auchenorrhyn- 
cha, particularly of the  familyl: 
Delphacidae. 

The taxonomic position of the}! 
Stylopoidea has been the subject of 


surprising in a group so_ highlyy: 
modified for its parasitic mode of 
life. The two common courses are toj}) 
place the group in a separate order, 
the Strepsiptera (Imms, 1957) or as a 
superfamily within the Coleoptera 


Polyphaga (Crowson, 1956). This)" 
latter course is further argued by|)" 
Crowson (1960). The  extremel , 


reduction of the fore wings of the 
male Stylops to haltere-like structures 
is certainly not appreciably more 
extreme than the reduction of the 
elytra in the beetle Atractocerus 
brevicornis (Linn.) which | have taken 
at light in Rhodesia. 

Imms (1957) includes an excellent, 
concise account of the group with 
ample reference to the available 
literature. This is not extensive, and 
little attention has been paid to 
Stylops, at least in this country, for) \: 
many years. This is where AES 
members can help. Mr Bruce Ing is at 
present working on the group with aj, 
view to bringing out a part in the 
series of Handbooks for the Identi- 
fication of British Insects published by 
the Royal Entomological Society. The 
occurence of Stylops in bees is very 
rarely noted in the literature, and | 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


know that Mr Ing will be most grate- 
ful for any information, records or 
specimens that readers are able to 

supply him. His address is: 

Mr Bruce ing, 

27 Gallows Hill, 

King’s Langley, 

Herts. 

It is a pity more notice has not 
been taken of stylopised specimens 
if only because the presence of the 
parasite alters not only the physiology 
but also the morphology of the host. 
Thus stylopised specimens can be 
difficult to identify. The changes 
have one particularly fascinating 
aspect. The tendency is for both 
sexes to lose the particular adapta- 
tions typical of their sex. Thus females 
may have reduced pollen collecting 
apparatus and males in, for instance, 
species which normally have a yellow 
clypeus, may have the extent of the 


yellow reduced. 
29.7.68. eeaieeican (3740). 
REFERENCES 


CROWSON, R. A. (1956). Coleoptera. Introduction 
and keys to families. Hndbk. Ident. Brit. Ins. 4 (1) 1-59. 

CROWSON, R. A. (1960). The Phylogeny cf Coleop- 
tera. Ann. Rev. Ent. 5: 111-34. 

IMMS, A. D. (1957). A General Textbook of Entomology. 
9th edition, revised by O. W. Richards and R. G. 
Davies. London. 


OBSERVATIONS ON 
BREEDING 
CLEPSIS COSTANA FAB. 


During the early part of May 1965 | 
collected some Clepsis costana Fab. 
larvae from Willowherb (Epilobium 
sp.) at Dovedale on the Derbyshire/ 
Staffordshire border. The larvae were 
of a similar shape to those of Olethreu- 
tes lacunana Dup., but the colour was 


a dark chocolate brown, with spots 


and the spiracular lines a pale brown 
to whitish. | took these larvae home 
to St Austell, Cornwall and for con- 


venience changed the food-plant to a 


different species of Epilobium. The 
whitish spots became less distinct as 


109 


the larvae reached maturity. Some of 
the larvae produced, in due course, 
hymenopterous parasites and died, 
but about a dozen others duly 
pupated and produced imagines in 
June 1965. All except two of the 
moths were more or less of the 
normal colour and size and looked 
like the illustration published in the 
Bulletin (Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 27: 39). 
Of the remaining two, one was 
melanic with the whole of the fore- 
wings a greyish black colour obscuring 
the normal markings (the hind-wings 
being only slightly greyer than nor- 
mal). The other moth appeared to be 
about halfway between the melanic 
and the normal forms. Several 
matings of the typical moths were 
obtained and the imagines of the 
next generation emerged in August 
1965. These imagines (a total of about 
twenty to thirty) were smaller than 
usual for C. costana—and every 
single one was melanic! These also 
mated, and many of the surplus 
larvae were released on Willowherb 
in my garden in September/October 
1965, to give them a chance to 
hibernate in natural conditions. 
Unfortunately the larvae which | 
retained in captivity all perished due 
to unknown causes during the winter. 

Had | been able to continue the 
breeding experiments of 1965-6 
through further generations | would 
have been able to discover whether 
the melanism was genetic in origin or 
whether it is connected with small- 
ness and a life cycle of less than the 
normal twelve months. In the absence 
of further evidence | would prefer to 
compare the melanism in C. costana 
with the colour differences between 
the first and second broods of Selenia 
bilunaria Esp. than with the dominant 


genetic melanics of such species 
Biston betularia Linn. 
In February and March 1966 | 


searched in my Willowherb for the 
overwintered larvae which | had 
released the previous autumn, and 


110 


was able to find only one larva which 
eventually produced a moth of the 
normal, typical form in June 1966. 

One night in May 1966 | was trying 
to assemble a male Eulia ministrana 
Linn. to a freshly emerged female of 
that species in my assembling cage. 
On looking into the cage the follow- 
ing morning | found not a male E. 
ministrana but a male melanic (!) C. 
costana in the cage with my female 
E. ministrana, which subsequently 
laid eggs that proved to be infertile. 
| do not know whether copulation 
had actually taken place, but | have no 
doubt that this assembled male C. 
costana was from one of the larvae | 
had released earlier. 

On looking at the specimens of C. 


costangd in the _ British Museum 
(Natural History) collection in 
London in October 1966 | noticed 


that nearly all seemed to be of the 
normal form, and only two or three 
melanic. In the published literature 
(Ford 1949) it is stated that C. costana 
has only one generation per year, but 
in my experience of this species in 
captivity there are two generations 
per year. | would be very interested 
to know whether anyone else, with 
experience of breeding C. costana, 
could supply answers to the following 
questions (either to me personally, 
or in the Bulletin): 

|. Does C. costana always produce 
only one generation per year in a 
state of nature? 

2. When second broods of C. 
costana are raised in captivity are 
they always small and melanic? 

3. In the Tortricidae, is it usual 
for female scent of one species to be 
attractive to a male of another 
species? 

4. Are there any known cases of 
hybridisation in nature among the 
Tortricidae? 


9.6.68. John L. Gregory (4116). 
REFERENCE 
FORD, L. T. (1949). A Guide to the Smaller British 


Lepidoptera. South London Ent. and Nat. Hist. Soc., 
London. 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


NOTES ON BREEDING 
ZYGAENA CARNIOLICA 
SCOP. 


The burnet moth Zygaenda carnio- 
lica Scop. is widely distributed in 
Central and Southern Europe, North 
Africa and Western Asia. This attrac- 
tive species is often abundant in its 
flight places, and this together with 
the great variation in markings from 
one specimen to another, has caused 
the species to be much studied. 

During the third week of August 
1967 a number of worn female moths 
were collected in late afternoon from 
screes on the south side of Col 
d’Ornon near Entraigues some fifty 
km southeast of Grenoble, France. 
The locality was a narrow defile with 
a road and fast flowing stream at the 
bottom. The sun had almost left the 
lower slopes and the only Lepidop- 
tera still flying were these Burnets. 
Several individuals were often seen 
on the same thistle flower jostling for 
the best position. Capture was easy 
and the females were placed in a 
small jar with some leaves of Dory- 
cnium sp. Ova were laid almost 
immediately on the leaves and the 
walls of the container. They were 
similar in colour to those of Z. 
lonicerae Esp. (Narrow-bordered 
Five-spot Burnet) but slightly smaller 
and laid in groups of six or so. Z. 
lonicerae lays very large batches of ova 
in captivity as well as smaller groups 
scattered around the cage. 

On returning to England the ova 
were kept in a warm room and 
hatched in nine days. The larvae were 
very dark—much darker than those 
of Z. lonicerae for example. Seitz 
(1913) mentions Hedysarum, Dory- 
cnium and Astragalus as foodplants 
and Kirby gives Astragalus glycyphyllos 
Linn. (Milk Vetch, Wild Liquorice) 
and Onobrychis sativa Lam., (=O. 
viciifolia Scop.) (Sainfoin). The trefoils 
(Lotus sp.) are not specifically men- 
tioned as foodplants, however the 


mes BUELETIN, VOL. 27 


(a) Z. carniolica larva, X14. 


(b) Z. lonicerae larva, X14. 


(c and d) Z. carniolica larva 


and cocoon. Natural size. (e) Z. lonicerae cocoon. Natural size. (f) Z. carniolica adult, X14. 


young larvae took readily to Lotus 
corniculatus Linn. (Bird’s-foot Trefoil), 
but grew very slowly and once in the 
second instar became torpid. They 
were then transferred to a cold room 
at 4°C and left there for almost seven 
months until the middle of April 1968. 
On placing on trefoil growing in a pot 
they underwent a further ecdysis and 
commenced feeding, to reach matur- 
ity by mid May. The full grown larva 
is slightly smaller than that of Z. 
lonicerae and with similar markings 
along the back except that the second 
Spot on each segment is grey rather 
than black. The ground colour is 
bluish-green. Laterally are a series of 
yellow spots and below these U- 
shaped grey areas. Anteriorly these 
grey markings form two distinctive 
circles on the thoracic segments. 

At each ecdysis a large silken pad 
was constructed on which the larvae 
hung downwards for several days 
before effecting the skin change. The 


ovate cocoon was constructed on 
grass stems provided and was con- 
siderably smaller than that of Z. 
lonicerae. It was white with the 
appearance of unglazed porcelain and 
free of the folds seen in the cocoons 
of many other Zygaenidae. The gen- 
eral shape and smooth outline made 
the cocoon closer to the form found 
in the Eggar moths than to Z. loni- 
cerae or similar burnets. Due to the 
well-rounded appearance of the 
cocoon the area of attachment to the 
stem was small, and “‘hold-fasts’’ of 
thick silk strands anchored both top 
and bottom. 

The pupal stage lasted about ten 
days. The adult is most striking with 
red spots centred in yellow rings. 
The antennae are strongly clubbed. 
The thorax is predominantly blue- 
black with some white hairs, and in 
addition two longitudinal and one 
transverse streak of white. The black 
abdominal segments are fringed in 


nz: 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


blue hairs. The red hind wings are 
fringed in a narrow black band of 
even width. 

The name-typical form of Z. carnio- 
lica has a red band on the abdomen. 
The form described here seems to 
come close to the description of 
aberration hedysari Huebn. figured in 


Seitz. 
26.6.68. Keith Bradbury (2627). 
REFERENCES 


KIRBY, VW. F. (1895). European Butterflies and Moths. 
Cassell, London. 

SEITZ, A. (1913). The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 
Vol. 2—Paleartic Bombyces and Sphinges. Stuttgart. 


NOTES ON THE FLIGHT 
ACTIVITY OF ORTHOSIA 
(NOCTUIDAE, LEPIDOPTERA) 


This article should perhaps have 
been included in the series on 
ecological approach to light-trapping 
as it stems from the same work. (Bull. 
amat. Ent. Soc. 27: 29). 


APPEARANCE DATES 


March 
SBEGIES 


O.munda 


emergence 


O.stabilis 


O.cruda 


O. incerta 


O. gothica 


O. gracilis 


The genus Orthosia (Noctuidae) 
commonly known as Quaker moths, 
consists of nine British species though 
this study only covers six in some 
detail. All these species have a wide 
distribution in Britain and where 
they occur are usually common. 

Over a four year period the domin- 
ant species was undoubtably O. 
gothica Linn. (Hebrew Character). It 
always emerged first, often a week or 
so before the rest, and appeared 
regularly in the trap till early June 
shortly after the other species with 
the exception of O. incerta Hufn. 
(Clouded Drab) had finished. The 
chart showing the flight periods 
(fig. |) has been based upon the size 
of daily catches and not population 
estimates by marking or similar 
methods. 

During the early stages of emer- 
gence of at least four species there 
appeared to be a low percentage of 
females (fig. 2). This could be accoun- 
ted for by the earlier emergence 


April 


PISWe Tig. 


Fig. |. The appearance dates and flight dates of six species of Orthosia. 


MES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 113 


Fig. 2. A scatter diagram showing the percentage of females in each day's catch of O. gothica. 
Fig. 3. Histograms to show the population changes in the three forms of O. incerta. a—light 
form, b—brown form, c—dark form. 


114 NOVEMBER, 1968 | 
TEMPERATURE 2. 3°45 6° 7 8 9 10 1109243 16 156 
SPECIES 
O.incerta light ce ee Sg tT eee 
brown ‘(ees Wee 
dark t A ; 
O.gothica male ER MMI) OED ee 
female ' A 
O.cruda ge a oe 
O.gracilis male go ees 
female co 
©. stabilis: mele: ) Sqn ee ey 
female (eee eee 


Fig. 4. Temperature ranges of five species of Orthosia. 


and flight of males possibly in seeking 
their mates. After mating, active 
females would then, perhaps, alter 
their flight behaviour to coincide 
with a maturing and ovipositional 
process and so become more attrac- 
ted to food rather than light sources 
and so avoid capture. Then again 
females by their nature of being 
heavier than males could have a 
reduced flying range and so appear 
less frequently in the trap. 

The interpretation of insect flight 
response to air temperature has 
recently been reviewed in an article 
by Taylor (1963). The major difficulty 
of separating temperature effects on 
a fluctuating population and those of 
pure flight response were overcome 
by plotting the response at a parti- 
cular temperature as either | or 0 
depending on the presence or absence 
of individuals and not their numbers. 
In O. gothica the difference between 
these two approaches (fig. 5a and b) 
is not entirely obvious but it can be 
seen that the second is of more direct 
use. For instance the lower and upper 
temperature thresholds can easily be 
defined as the temperature at which 
there is a 50% flight response by the 
insect. In the case of O. gothica the 
lower threshold would be 43.5 °F. for 
the males and 45.0°F. for the females. 


The upper values would be 56.0°F. 
and 57.0°F. respectively. In general 
females preferred warmer conditions 
than their male counterparts and the 
similarity of their temperature ranges 
can be seen in fig. 4. 

All six species showed a similar 
pattern in their behaviour to wind 
force (figs. 6 and 7) as they preferred 
a slight breeze (force 2) in contrast to 
still weather. Further increases in 
wind force tended to reduce the 
flying population especially those of 
the female. O incerta and O. gothica 
were extremely wind tolerant and 
occurred frequently in the trap 
whereas O. gracilis Schiff. (Powdered 
Quaker) with a limited resistance 
appeared on a few isolated occasions. 
It would be reasonable to assume that 
the ability to withstand windy con- 
ditions is of some importance in this 
genus in controlling their flying 
popuiations. 

O. incerta has a wide range of colour 
variation but can be divided into 
three distinct groups, those with 
light grey, brown or dark grey fore- 
wings. Moths with dark forewings 
represented 50% of those caught in 
the trap, while brown and light grey 
specimens formed 41% and 9% of the 
total respectively. The light grey 
form occurred at a low level through- 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 115 


Catch 
6 


| A } Wind 


{ Fig. 6. The flight activity of O. stabilis in relation to wind force. (range for males shown 
_ below graph—compare with fig. 7.). 


WIND FORCE ed eee TY ret 
SPECIES 


O.gothica O” LY SE oe ae een ed mc tea 297 
9? t A 104 
O.incerta dark Fle Male Atay GMA ot ie EN a 142 
brown gens Ce 8 Ne 
light eile) (ie NE 2] 
O.stabilis & i eee 201 
9 ‘ N : 85 
O.gracilis 2 EO Sa ea ca 5 
Sw ; ee 5 
O.cruda Bee 21 


Fig. 7. Wind force relationships of the genus Orthosia. 


Fig. 5. The flight activity of O. gothica 
related to air temperature. (a) Mean catch 
plotted against temperature. (b) Percentage 
response plotted against temperature. 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


out the season (fig. 3) and was found | 
to reach its peak definitely before the 
other two. Although colour followed 
a light to dark sequence it could not | 
be proved that the two later forms | 
had separate peaks. | 
In conclusion the six species of | 
Orthosia show a great similarity in | 
their range of responses to tempera- | 
ture and wind. These responses have 
been shown to differ slightly in the | 
two sexes, females preferring warmer 
and less windy conditions. The early 
appearance of a light grey O. incerta | 
cannot be explained yet and further 
work will be needed to solve this | 
problem. A possible interesting line | 
of approach would be to carry out | 
simultaneously, an identical study of | 
these insects at sallow blossom and 
compare this with samples obtained 

from the light trap. 
J. S. Badmin (3406). 


REFERENCE 
TAYLOR, L. R. (1963). Analysis of the effect of temper- 
ature on insects in flight. J. Anim. Ecol., 32: 99. 


THE LEPIDOPTERA 
DISTRIBUTION MAPS 
SCHEME 
Progress Report 1968 


This scheme, the first of the insect | 
distribution maps schemes, the object | 
of which is to produce dot distribu- 
tion maps of British Insects on a ten 
kilometre square basis, was announ- 
ced at the Verrall supper held on 
February 2lst 1967. Details of this 
project have been widely publicised 
and as a result some 730 lepidop- 
terists have been enrolled as record- 
ers. During the past twelve months 
2600 field cards and approximately 
10,000 individual record cards have 
been returned by 310 participants. 

This magnificent response has made 
possible the production of the first 
provisional maps, copies of which 
have been sent to the participants 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


PROVISIONAL 
May 1968 


Coenonympha |. 


tullia 


Mull. 


@All records 


Large Heath 


with a newsletter distributed in May 
1968. Four of these maps are repro- 
duced here. It should be emphasised 
that they are not considered to be 
complete and are published to show 
the style and format which will be 
used. They only include a very few 
records from the literature and no 
date discrimination has been made. 


This will be done using different 
symbols, on subsequent editions of 
the maps. A map showing the ten 
km. squares from which records have 
been received is included to give 
more meaning to the distribution 
maps. As the scheme progresses maps 
showing the number of records 
received from each ten km. square 


118 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


PROVISIONAL 
May 1968 


Gonepteryx 


rhamni_ L. 


@ All records 


4 


ae Oe a nn en wy Oa hdneetvenaheanelgarebsamal a A. 
i Ww 


as 


‘ ~ 
Bee) eel 


v 


arn 


x 
y 


Brimstone 


will be prepared. From these maps it 
is possible to determine whether or 
not absence of records on the distri- 
bution maps is due to absence of 
species or absence of data. Gaps due 
to lack of records are clearly shown 
on the map of Gonepteryx rhamni. 

A panel of experts has been set up 
to deal with the identification of the 


difficult species and the first drawings 
for the figures to illustrate the Keys 
to these species are in preparation. 
They will be published as they 
become available, and it is hoped that 
the first will be issued later this year. 

The network of county referees is 
now fairly complete and it is expected 
that the master cards will be ready 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


PROVISIONAL 


May 1968 


je 
i 


Euphydryas ._. 


aurinia 


_ for photocopying to them this winter. 
Their comments on the records will 
_ provide the first check on validity. 

_ Records have been promised from 
_ 1100 of the 3600 ten km. squares in 
the British Isles and to complete the 
cover more recorders are needed. 
Full details of the scheme, record 
cards and instructions are available 


Marsh Fritillary 


from the Biological Records Centre 
at the address below. 


Odonata Distribution Maps 
Scheme 


A similarly organised scheme to 


120 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


PROVISIONAL 
May 1968 


Cupido 


minimus 


| A cfaatetont 
o 


Fuessl. 


@ All records 


™ 


SC Te CESS AE EEE NV EN NY VS Sad Wl LSS Vs WH Yor Tey Ca Had VG 
oo 


Small Blue 


map the distribution of dragonflies 
was announced at this year’s Verrall 
supper held on February 20th 1968. 
To date there are 50 participants in 
this scheme, details of which are 
available as below: 
J. Heath, 
The Nature Conservancy, 
Biological Records Centre, 


Monk’s Wood Experimental Stn., 
Abbots Ripton, 
Huntingdon. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 
HEATH, J. (1967). Lepidoptera Distribution Maps 
Scheme. Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 79-82. Entomologist, 
100: 8i-4. Entom. Gazette, 18: 100-2. Entom mon. 
Mag., 103: 124-5. Proc. S. Lond. ent. nat. Hist. Soc., 
74-5. 
PERRING, F. H. and WALTERS, S. M. (1962). Atlas of 
the British Flora. Nelson, London. 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


[21 


Records received 5/ i... ||): 
Eee 


E- 


Butterflies 


May 1968 (Be 


NOTES FROM A FINNISH 
DIARY (Ill) 


(April-September, 1967) 


In the two articles on Finnish 
butterflies published material was 
used to present an overall picture of 


the distribution of butterflies in 
Finland. Inevitably certain changes 
must be made in the facts presented, 
but these will be given in a short 
supplementary article at a later date. 
In order to bring future articles into 
line with others in the Bulletin, 
Cribb’s system of nomenclature 


NOVEMBER, 196 


122 


Valkeakiven lahti 


Uvsi-Vasama 


1 &a. 


Map of study areas E and H. 


ml. 


Fig 


1 Ka. 


Pive 


i-'-—/— — 


Fig. 2. Map of study area F. 


ES BUPREETIN, VOL. 27 123 
2 
N 
ey 
ah 
Fig. 3. Map of study area J. 
gecewacee weemes O17 tog ae Mee Sasamps 
= m= cart back Fvest Eype: 
Ree —---footpath A ne 
a stream Srereiens 
—1—1— pipe-line L Burd ar cleared 
Fig. 4. Key to maps I-3. 
966) will now be adopted. The during 1967 was thus about 65 
anges are largely at the generic Centigrade degrees. 
vel, and it has now been confirmed Earliest records. April |2th: A. 


y Gronblom (Tampere) that the 
riginal Aricia agestis Schiff. is, in 
ct, A. allous G.-H. 

Owing to the malfunctioning of my 
ar | was forced, until the beginning 
f July, to choose areas within walking 
istance of my home at Lielahti, a 
llage some eight kilometres from 
ampere. Repeated visits to the 
ime areas resulted in a knowledge 
-eing acquired of the selection of 
abitats by imagines over a very small 
-ea of South-Hame. Trips were also 
iade to Lapland (June 26th-July | Oth) 
sad to Kuusamo (July 28th-August 
th), neither of which produced 
iuch of interest. 

Veather. Briefly, the warm, sunny 
reather which brought an early 
sring (April instead of May) con- 
‘nued throughout May, June and 
ily. It was, so | am told, a summer of 
are brilliance, and on occasions the 
2mperature rose up beyond +25 °C. 
he temperature range in Hame 


urticae Linn., and G. rhamni Linn. 
April 27th: N. antiopa Linn. April 
29th: Salix caprea Linn. in full bloom 
(night visit for moths proved nega- 
tive). April 30th: Eupithecia lanceolata 
Hb. (Geometridae) and Lycia hirtaria 
Cl. (Geometridae). May 6th: Brephos 
parthenias Linn. (Geometridae). May 
13th: Callophrys rubi Linn. 
Areas of Study. Areas A, B, C are 
discussed in Notes II (Bull. amat. Ent. 
Soc. 27: 64-8). Area D. 8 km. from 
Tampere: this is the pine swamp 
mentioned in Notes Il. It was very 
rich in Lepidoptera and yielded the 
moths, Parasemia plantaginis Linn. 
and Diacrisia sannio Linn. (Arctiidae) 
in addition to several of the ‘swamp’ 
butterflies. It has now been decimated 
to make way for a new railway line 
bordering the main road to Vaasa. 
Area E. || km. from Tampere: the 
main area of study was north of the 
foot-path from Etu-Visama (see map 
E). Excluding all but the margins of 


124 NOVEMBER, 1968 
Table |: Numbers of individuals recorded—1967. 
Species |April May June | July 
DT Wiss 2h 22-28 | 3 4 6 7 Fl 14 15 i 23-225 7, ia 
N. antiopa Bl 
C. rubi E6 F35 F60 | FIOO FIO0 F30 G20 H FIS- E15 E£ K5 
A. urticae Fl BI El 
L. argiolus F2 F2 Fl F2 
G. rhamni Fl F2 
P. rapae BI 
L. sinapis FIO | F20 E5 FI5 G3 H FIG Ez E F5 
A. cardamines F5 F2 El 
D. petropolitana F2 > -E5 F7. G3 FSi FIG se 
C. euphrosyne (Fl) E2 E7 EIS: £& F6é 
P. aegeria El E5 
P. malvae E7 E/E F2 
P. napi E3 FI5 H EIO E 
|. lathonia F? Fl 
E. embla Es El 
C. silvius KI | 
C. pamphilus K4| F5 H2 
July August 
7 9 I] 12-16: 1Z-> 20 13-20 26 
A. allous FI5 D5 Area D: 
E. chiron FI5 d2 D=swamp 
C, semiargus FIS ts H5 d—mixed copse 
L. amandus FIO 2F22 D7 -Hi0 
O. venata Fl HI 
P. machaon Fl 
C. selene FIO F2 12 
HI5 
P. hippothoe D7- HS 
B. arsilache D50 J20 
Plebejus-Lycaeides 
-Vacciniina 
A. hyperanthus d7 HES 
D. maera H5 
12 J5 
P. icarus H1 
H. virgaureae H5 
A. lineola Il J5 
E. ligea El 32. 
F. niobe J7 
B. ino J5 
C. palaeno J7 
C. tullia J2 
P. brassicae NI M7 
G. rhamni Jl 
N. antiopa LI 


the arable land, this area is mainly 
forested. The dominant tree is spruce 
(Picea sp.), but notice the predomin- 
ance of pine (Pinus sylvestris Linn.) 
along the lake-shore. The few small 
swamps are dominated by stunted 
pine trees and are enclosed mainly by 
spruce forest. 

Area F. 9 km. from Tampere: this 
is the “‘lantern-fly-shaped’’ peninsula 
immediately to the south of area E. 
The wilder part of it consists of 
spruce-dominant forest with Vaccin- 
ium vitis-idaea Linn., but there are 
also rocky outcrops with pine and 
V. myrtillus Linn. During hot weather 
the forest is cool and damp, whilst 
the rocky terrain is hot and dry. The 
area was especially rich in butterflies, 
largely owing to the presence of 


unkempt borders to the cultivated 
land, and to the pipe-line and the 
dirt road running roughly east, both 
of which have borders on to which 
the spruce has not been allowed to 
grow. 

Area G. || km. from Tampere: a 
tract of sandy heathland, with stunted 
pine, Erica and Calluna_ species, 
extending between the crests of two 
steep, pine forested ridges. It was 
visited once (June 7th), when the 
habitat was hot and very dry (c.f. the 
pine swamps, where the air almost 
always feels humid). 

Area H. 13 km. from Tampere: the 
spruce forest between E and H 
yielded few butterflies. The north- 
east running cart-track, bordered by 
deciduous shrubs and lush herbage 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


125 


a a ee 


Table 2: Observed distribution imagines): 
Habitats :— I 

P. napi FHN EF 
O. venata FH 

A. urticae BF 

P. hippothoe 
C. semiargus FH 
L. amandus FH 
C. silvius K 
P. brassicae MN 
P. rapae 

A. cardamines 
I. lathonia 

A. hyperanthus 
H. virgaureae 
A. allous 

E. chiron 

P. icarus 

C. pamphilus 
C. selene 

. Sinapis FH EF F 
. petropolitana 
. euphrosyne 

. malvae 

rubi EF 
ligea EJ 
aegeria E 
. argiolus N F 
embla 

. siphanica 

. palaeno 

. tullia 


m3. 1pm m7 09 
[rT L ae ae 

m TI aa Qa. m 
m7 

= 


mo lm | 
mi rm 
mn 


TMDBOQOUBMM- VMAVOOr 


A. lineola 

D. maera H 
‘Plebejid’ group 

N. antiopa 

G. rhamni 

P. machaon 


O® 


J 


BL 
FJ 


HABITATS 


Cultivated land and road verges. 
Open spruce glades. 

‘Closed’ spruce forest. 

Pine swamps. 

Sandy Calluna heathlands. 
Pinus-Vaccinium heathlands. 
‘Vagrant’ species. 


NOuUhWnN- 


was extremely productive, as were 
small unkempt corners of cultivated 
land to the south-west. 

Area |. 17 km. from Tampere: a 
sand quarry and its associated Spruce- 
Vaccinium heathland. 

Area J. 13 km. from Tampere: 
principally a _half-open, _half-pine- 
dominated swamp known as Leposuo. 
There are also a few smaller bogs, a 
high sandy ridge (with spruce and 
pine cover) and a tract of sandy 


heathland with a mixed flora. The 
area is situated about one and a half 
kilome.res from the nearest main 
road. 

Area K. 85 km. from Tampere: the 
habitat, situated north-west of 
Ruovesi (62°N. 24°E.), was the un- 
kempt enclosure of a wood-built 
summer-house. It rained frequently 
while we were there at mid-summer. 

Area L. 32 km. from Tampere. 
Saarijarvi: lake and swamp country 


126 


Table 3: Flowering herbs noted at corner of 
field in Area F on July 7th. 

Trifolium repens Linn. (white) 

Galium mollugo Linn. (white) 

Stellaria graminea Linn. (white) 

Fragaria vesca Linn. (white) 

Achillea millefolium Linn. (white) 
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum Linn. (white 
and yellow) 

Lathyrus pratensis Linn. (yellow) 

Hypericum maculatum Cr. (yellow) 
Geranium sylvaticum Linn. (purple) 

Vicia cracca Linn. (purple) 

Trifolium medium Linn. (pink) 
Chamaenerium angustifolium (Linn.) Scop. 


(pink) 
Veronica chamaedrys Linn. (blue) 


with pine forest. 

Area M: a garden on the western 
side of Tampere just off the Pyynikki 
ridge. August only. 

Area N. 8 km. from Tampere: the 
garden at Lielahti, situated in the 
village between Areas E and F. 
Methods. Few specimens of any 
species were collected (average 
three). Those that were collected 
have been provided with a pair of 
data labels. Examples are: (i) Suomi- 
finland: 61°30° N- -23°45" -E2:- 
He7A967> > 1. — Plestens and: {{i1) 
Tampere: 6824-481 (map ref., kilo- 
metre square): Pine-bog. 

A rough estimate of the number of 
specimens observed was made each 
day before leaving the field. These 
numbers appear in Table |. This 
system dispenses with the inaccurate 
‘common — quite common — fairly 
abundant’’ categorisation, but there 
are, of course, many sound arguments 
against its efficacy as an actual indica- 
tor of the size of imaginal populations. 
As to how far its results reflect com- 
parative numbers | have at this stage 
no means of knowing. 

Early stages. A later account will 
deal with the breeding of C. rubi 
(from wild collected ova) and P. 
hippothoe (from wild collected larvae). 
On June 6th a small, spindly bush of 
the Rhamnus genus was examined. It 
was growing in an isolated position 
in a clearing of Pine-spruce heathland 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


(Area F), and had twenty-eight leaves. 
Three G. rhamni ova were discovered 
on one leaf (one orange, two white 
eggs) and as the one ovum hatched 
three days before the others, it 
probably came from a different 
female. No further bushes were 
discovered, despite a diligent search, 
and the clearing was gloomy and 
well-screened by saplings and mature 
trees. A. urticae larvae were found 
feeding on Urtica sp. in a birch copse 
in Area F. L. sinapis females were 
commonly observed ovipositing on 
Lathyrus pratensis Linn. in small glades 
in spruce forest (Area F). Individual 
larvae of C. euphrosyne (May 28th: F) 
and C. selene (June ||Ith: H) were 
found feeding on Viola canina Linn. 
A single pupa of B. ino was collected 
by a young friend from beneath a 
window-ledge of the summer-house 
in Area K. 

Distribution. After examination of 
field notes, six main habitats were 
recognised. Table 2 presents a sum- 
mary of the observed preferences of 
the imagines for particular habitats. 
Because of the small number of 
samples counted and of the short 
duration of the project, it is obviously 
impossible to draw any definite con- 
clusions. There are, however, certain 
‘pointers,’ some of which will now 
be considered. 

Conclusions. The first three habitat 
types (left to right) in the columns of 
Table 2 tend to adjoin each other. 
One would expect, therefore, to 
discover that there are species which 
are commonly found on the wing in 
two, or even three, of them: this, in 
fact shows up in the table, in the 
second horizontal column, for 
example. Heathland types and 
swamps, on the other hand, are often 
isolated (e.g. vegetatively) from their 
surroundings. This is particularly true 
of the pine swamps, the typical species 
of which (e.g. E. embla, C. palaeno, 
B. arsilache) are not often found far 
beyond the natural limits of their 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


habitat. A second group of swamp- 
inhabiting butterflies (e.g. C. euphro- 
syne, V. optilete, P. argus) is not so 
restricted. Species of this group tend 
to have a distribution theoretically 
_ continuous throughout swamp, forest 
and heathland habitats where an 
alternative foodplant grows in suffici- 
ent abundance to support breeding 
populations and where other factors 
are favourable to their existence. 
With G. rhamni a slightly different 
“set of factors seems to be in control. 
Firstly, the foodplant (Frangula alnus 
~Mill and Rhamnus carthartica Linn.) 
'tends to grow in small pockets in a 
variety of situations in which only a 
damp, humic substratum appears to 
be a common factor (there is a grove 
-at the lake edge in Area H, several 
bushes along the Viitanen cart track, 
and an isolated bush in Area F, 
-mentioned under ‘‘Early stages’’). 
-G. rhamni is a proven vagrant, a habit 
possibly correlated with this ‘unreli- 
able’ distribution of its foodplant. It 
also hibernates as an adult, though 
_under what circumstances in Finland 
I do not yet know (Ivy does not grow 
wild here). These two habits are 
_ probably sufficient to account for its 
being met with largely as isolated 
individuals. When, and under what 
circumstances, does pairing take 
| place? 
Again on the subject of pine 
swamps, it is interesting to note that 
(after Seppanen and Gullander) 
Vaccinium uliginosum Linn. is a com- 
-monly-chosen foodplant (C. palaeno, 
_V. optilete, P. argus, L. idas, P. eunomia, 
C. euphrosyne, C. freija: in the north 
» also E. iduna). It grows in swamps in 
‘the south, and no certain heathlands 
_ in the north, and is found throughout 
the country. It is a small bush with 
soft green leaves and pendant pink 
flowers: there is the facies of V. 
_myrtillus or V. vitis-idaea, but V. 
- uliginosum is usually much larger than 
either of these relatives. 
In South-Hame spruce-dominant 


[27 


forests account for 30-409% of the 
total area of productive forest land, 
whilst pine-dominant forests amount 
to about 40-509 (Atlas of Finland). 
The maps show that in Areas E and F 
the percentage of spruce-dominant 
forest is, in fact, much higher than 
40%. Climatic considerations aside, 
it could be predicted that the butter- 
fly species which had adapted itself to 
the Spruce-Whortleberry/Bilberry 
(Picea-Vaccinium vitis-idaea/V. myrtil- 
lus) habitat would, in the absence of 
effective predator and _ parasite 
control, be present in the highest 
numbers. This is substantiated by the 
results obtained thus far. The 
numbers quoted for C. rubi are 
positively well below the actual 
population numbers, and it is hoped 
to demonstrate this during the spring 
of 1968. There does not appear to be 
an unusually high number of tits, 
warblers and other insectivorous 
birds in these areas and the foodplant 
(V. myrtillus according to most books; 
V. vitis-idaea according to my own 
observations in Area F on May 28th) 
grows so profusely that competition 
from a number of moth and beetle 
larvae is unlikely to exert any great 
control on C. rubi populations. 
Nothing is known at this stage about 
its parasites. On the other hand, 
four third-stage larvae of P. hippothoe 
collected from Area H on June I Ith 
produced one hymenopterous para- 
site each, indicating that parasitic 
control is to be taken into account 
when examining populations of this 
species. Again, one male specimen of 
L. argiolus (collected Area F, May 21st) 
bears the marks of an attack by a bird. 

Species which are adapted to 
‘gloomy’ mature forest are very few: 
P. aegeria and E. ligea, which were 
found as isolated individuals (of a 
damp stream bank in Kuusamo, 
where seven E. ligea were counted in 
the course of a half-hour). 

Finland has a vast number of very 
small farms, each consisting of a few 


128 


fields and a few score hectares of 
forest, from which, with the assis- 
tance of the State, the farmers eke 
Out a meagre existence. Insecticides, 
which are costly, are not in frequent 
use on these small farms, and there is 
a tendency for small, cleared areas of 
forest to be left fallow in order to 
concentrate efforts on larger, more 
productive parts of the homestead. 
Such small, unkempt places in areas 
F and H support a large number of 
butterfly species. Most of these are 
typical wayside insects, but forests 
species such as C. euphrosyne and C. 
selene are frequent visitors. The 
prolificity of flowering herbs, as well 
as the comparatively high light inten- 
sity, is an attractive feature. On July 
7th at the western edge of the field 
in Area F many plants were in flower 
(see Table 3). Butterflies which were 
observed on the wing in that place 
are listed under ‘Cultivated land’. On 
the evening of July 7th seven of these 
species (A. allous, E. chiron, C. semi- 
argus, L. amandus, C. pamphilus, O. 
venata, C. selene) as well as a number 
of different types of Geometrid moths 
were found resting on, or near, the 
flowers, indicating a well-represented 
‘indigenous’ butterfly population. 

Vagrancy. The term vagrant as used 
in Table 2 is applied to butterflies 
which when noted were obviously en 
route for some other place. The first 
specimen of N. antiopa was observed 
flying round a woodyard on the 
northern limit of Tampere. The 
indication is that it had hibernated in 
the immediate vicinity. The second 
specimen was flying high in the sort 
of country the Finns term ‘‘wilder- 
ness’’. Because of the necessity of 
seeking out favourable quarters for 
hibernation, A. urticae might also be 
suitably fitted into this category. Its 
case, however, differs from that of 
G. rhamni in that, once it has re- 
dispersed after hibernation, — it 


exhibits a marked tendency to associ- 
ate itself for quite long periods with 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


one particular area. 


h 


The ‘Plebejid’ butterflies. Difficul- ) 


ties were experienced at that time 


with identifying butterflies of the/: 


Plebejus-Lycaeides-Vacciining type in 
the field. They have been included 
together in the tables for the sake of 


completeness, but nothing more will’ 


be said about them at this stage. 
‘Notes-lV’ will contain 
details of the life-history of C. rubi, 
and of breeding P. hippothoe. 
Finally, | should like to express my 
thanks to Dr C. B. Williams for 


further) 


drawing my attention to Kaisila’s|: 
paper; to the Baron de Worms for |: 
his interesting comments on the}: 


distribution articles; and to P. W. 
Cribb for his many helpful sugges- 
tions. 


21.5.68. Leigh Plester (2968). 


REFERENCES 


CRIBB, P. W. (1966). A Label List of the Butterflies of | | 


North, Western and Southern Europe. Pamphl. 
amat. Ent. Soc., Il. 


KAISILA, J. (1962). Immigration and expansion of | 


Lepidoptera in Finland during the period 1869-1960. 
Acta Ent. Fennica, 18: '-450. (German text, English 
Summary). 

KAISILA, J. (1962). On the recent occurrence of 
expansive Lepidoptera species in Finland. Noctulae 
Entomolgicae, 42: 4-150. 

PLESTER, L. (1967). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 26: 119-26. 
(1968). Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 27: 21-7. 

SUOMEN KARTASTO—Atlas of Finland. (1960). 
Kustannososakeyhtio Otava, Helsinki. 


SOUTHERN SWITZERLAND 
AND NORTH ITALY—1967 


Continued from page 99. 


Our next trip from Varzo was 
again up the Simplon road to the 
valley of the Laquintal just above the 
village of Gabi (just in Switzerland). 
This valley has a raging torrent in the 
bottom of the gorge and above, the 
slopes are partly cloaked by Spruce 
and long rivulets of stone streak down 
from the heights above towards the 
valley. Short grasses and a myriad of 
flowers grow under the trees and 


BES DUEEETIN, VOL. 27 


beside the stone chutes and the 
»whole area is alive with butterflies. 
This is a famous spot for the Erebia 
~species and the only area in which 
Erebia christi Ratz. is known to live. 
Along the edge of the stream | took 
Parnassius phoebus Fab. and one P. 
mnemosyne and P. apollo was quite 
common. The commonest Erebia on 
‘the wing was Erebia ceto and there 
were also a few E. euryale Esp. and E. 
-melampus Fuessl. along the slopes. 
‘Also quite common was a very fine 
‘form of Maculinea arion, very large 
sand heavily suffused with black 
scaling. | took several P. bryoniae and 
‘the Fritillary, Mellitaea diamina Lang. 
‘Higher up the slope there ran a path 
\leading up towards the glacier from 
\which the stream sprang. This proved 
ito be the most fruitful area and | 
ccaptured my first E. christi. It is very 
‘like E. epiphron and E. melampus 
»when on the wing and also is easily 
«confused with Erebia mnestra Huebn. 
swhich was flying everywhere over 
ithe rocks. Every specimen had to be 
‘netted in order to make identity 
‘certain and | caught several hundred 
specimens to produce five males and 
itwo females of E. christi. It is obviously 
‘scarce although it has quite a large 
area in which it can fly and collecting 
is confined to the paths as the slopes 
sare extremely steep. One of the 
y reasons for its scarcity may be over- 
‘collection. That morning we met 
Messrs Bretherton and De Worms 
vand five other collectors, German, 
‘Italian, French and Swiss—more 
lepidopterists in one morning than | 
‘have seen abroad in six sorties. 
‘Erebia christi was the quarry that had 
eattracted them. The butterfly is very 
similar to E. epiphron which flies in 
‘this area and which is larger and 
-better marked than E. epiphron taken 
vat the top of the Simplon. This led to 
“some confusion at first but once | had 
»ascertained the characteristics of the 
itwo species | was able to pick them 
cout quickly. Other Erebia species 


[29 


here were E. triarius de Prun. (almost 
over), Erebia montanus de Prun. 
(freshly emerged) and E. tyndarus 
Esp. also just emerging, as | only took 
males. Another exciting find here 
was Colias palaeno Linn. which | was 
able to photograph for the first 
time. The larvae feed on Vaccinium 
spp. There were several of the 
Skipper, Spialia sertorius Hffsgg., 
along the path and Uffen had an 
interesting morning working over a 
pile of cut logs which had both Rhyssa 
and Urocerus spp. emerging. That 
evening after we had returned to the 
Hotel, Uffen remained in the valley 
and had an eventful hour with the 
microlepidoptera which became 
active as the light began to go. 

We spent one further day in the 
Laquintal and added the Blue, Macu- 
linea alcon Schiff., to our score. This 
butterfly is very like the Large Blue 
in its life nistory as it is symbiotic 
with the Ants (Myrmica spp.) but its 
plant food consists of species of 
Gentians (Gentiana). | also took a 
male of this species on the top of the 
Simplon Pass flying with some of the 
high mountain Colias, C. phicomone 
Esp. On this visit we met two Swiss 
lepidopterists, one French and one 
Italian and again our friends Brether- 
ton and De Worms who had been 
trying lower down in the Gorge near 
Gondo, with little success. 

On one afternoon after returning 
from the Simplon, Uffen and | spent 
a few hours in the fields just below 
the village of Varzo, near to a railway 
embankment. Here it was parched 
and the sun very hot and the insects 
quite different from higher up the 
Pass. | took F. adippe Rott. (typical 
form), C. eupnrosyne Linn., H. alci- 
phron Rott., C. croceus Fourcr., A. 
galathea Linn. and the Skipper, 
Heteropterus morpheus Pall., a species 
which | had taken previously in the 
Landes, S. France. It has a very distinc- 
tive flight and we later found it in all 
the wooded areas of the lowlands 


130 


around Domodossola. | also found 
several of the Burnet-like moth, 
Syntomis phegea Linn., several in 
copula. Another find was a small 
species of the Ant Lion Myrmeleon sp. 
and a full fed larva of the Pale Tussock, 
Dasychira pudibunda Linn. One further 
outing in the Simplon area finished 
up in the valley above the village of 
Simplon Dorf. This was quite a 
delightful spot with a racing brook 
running through meadows of cotton- 
grass and alpine flowers with rocks 
and boulders liberally strewn about. 
Some new species were found here— 
the mountain Fritillary Boloria pales 
Schiff., the high mountain Blue, 
Agriades glandon de Prun., and Aricia 
allous G.H. | was also pleased to 
capture a further specimen of Erebia 
christi Ratz. being some distance from 
the other locality where we had 
found it. This is a vast area for 
collecting and we had only time to 
sample the road fringes and the 
small valleys near to the paths. One 
could spend weeks here and still 
leave much ground untouched. 
Beetles were quite plentiful and | 
was able to collect several tubes full 
for my father. These were later 
shown at the Annual Exhibition. 
With the continuing hot weather 
we now turned our attention to the 
lowlands below the Simplon Pass and 
beyond Domodossola. The towns in 
the area are not very large and 
between them and along all the 
roadsides lie meadows thick with 
flowers. These meadows are cut for 
fodder but at this time of the year 
cutting had only just started and the 
meadows were alive with butterflies. 
The river running down the valley 
is called the Toce and this opens out 
into a very large river beyond the 
town of Vogogna. Near this town we 
made our first stop by a roadside 
stoneyard where they were cutting 
granite slabs taken from the moun- 
tainside above the valley. The morn- 
ing sun was already very hot and the 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


meadows were thick with a tall 
umbelliferous plant which was the 
target of most of the butterflies on 
the wing. The S lver-washed Fritillary, 
Argynnis paphia Linn. was every- 
where, freshly emerged. The males 
were typical but all the females were 
of the form valesina Esp. | captured 
some of these alive and was able to 
get them home alive to lay eggs in a 
cage in my garden. A great thrill was 
to take the White Admiral like 
butterfly, Neptis rivularis Scop. 
(lucilla Schiff.). This flies just like 
Limentis camilla Linn. and as both 
species were on the wing several 
hectic chases resulted in a capture of 
the latter. A surprising find was the 
second brood of the Duke of Bur- 
gundy Fritillary, Nemeobius lucina 
Linn. They were all males and very 
fresh—we found them later on near 
Lake Orta much farther south. 
Another new species was Scolitan- 
tides orion Pall., a pretty Blue which 
haunted one corner of the meadow 
where its food plant was growing 
(Sedum sp.). H. morpheus was quite 
common on the edge of the wooded 
slope and also there were a few 
Hipparchia fagi Scop., Minois dryas 
Scop. Aphantopus hyperantus Linn. An 
interesting moth capture was the 
Scarlet Tiger, Panaxia dominula Linn., 
flying in the meadow in the bright 
sun. We spent two mornings in these 
meadows and then made a further 
trip on to Lake Orta. This is a much 
smaller lake than Maggiore and has a 
delightful little island crammed with 
buildings. Coleridge had stayed here 
on an earlier visit to Italy and we 
stopped on the roadway above the 
Lake to take photographs. The whole 
area leading to the lake and surround- 
ing it is heavily wooded and we drove 
through densely wooded valleys and 
climbed up winding roads edged with 
Sweet Chestnut, Oak and Ash to 
stop by the roadside for a meal in a 
small clearing in the all pervading 
forest. Again the Skipper H. morpheus 


fees BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


was flying in the clearing and a few 
| Duke of Burgundy Fritillaries—a 
thrill was to find the wild Gladiolus 
_ growing near a small brook which 
_ ran across the clearing. The Dark 
| Green Fritillaries here were very 
| large and heavily marked on the 
| underside with silver and the High 
| Brown Fritillaries included a high 
| percentage of the form ‘cleodoxa’. 
| We saw three more N. rivularis 

flying along the roadside and managed 
to net two. The larvae feed on 
| Spiraea sp. which was growing in 
| clumps here and there in the clear- 
| ings. | watched two freshly emerged 
| Brimstones, Gonepteryx rhamni Linn., 
| in a courting flight with the male 
) eventually §copulating—confirming 
} that in this southern region the 
| butterfly is almost certainly double 
| brooded. We came back via Omegna 
| and stopped again in the flowery 
| meadows near Vogogna where | 
»netted a damaged female Camber- 
» well Beauty, Vanessa antiopa Linn. As 
it was otherwise fresh | kept it alive 
} and brought it back to England with 
-me but it died without laying. Dis- 
| section showed the eggs to be only 
_ slightly developed so it must have 
| been a newly emerged specimen 
-which had been damaged soon after 
-emergence. A surprise here was to 
| find the Small Pearl Bordered Fritill- 
ary, (C. selene), freshly emerged and 
'in numbers—this must be near its 
| southern limit. | also caught two 
j very brightly coloured specimens of 
} the Copper, Heodes tityrus Poda, 
| (both females). They contrast dram- 
-atically with the females of the sub- 
species subalpina Speyer which we 
-had taken on the Simplon. These 
| meadows were so full of insect life 
“that the time was again too short to 
_take in all that was there. The trees 
| were buzzing with Cicadas and | saw 
‘a large snake curled up by some 
“rocks but it was too quickly away to 
Videntify. On the cliffs above the 
valley we spotted a pair of eagles 


13] 


wheeling and calling to a young eagle 
perched on the top of a tall pine. 
They tried to land beside it but the 
combined weight tipped the tree and 
all three sailed out over the valley, 
filling the air with their cries. Every- 
where in the area bird life is very 
sparse—we did have a family of Red- 
backed Shrikes in the grounds of the 
hotel at Varzo—the parents used a 
flag pole as a vantage point to swoop 
on insects as they flew across the 
meadow. 

Another trip down the valley of 
the Toce lead us onto a road running 
parallel with the main roadway but 
on the other side of the river. Here 
we found the meadows were more 
heavily grazed and cut and the 
flowers much reduced. The unculti- 
vated areas were very rocky and 
with the sun unclouded the heat was 
oppressive and collecting was tiring. 
We found a coppice of False Acacia 
(Robinia pseudacacia Linn.) beside a 
rocky stream bed which cut across 
the road—the stream was dry and 
led down to the wide rolling flood of 
the Toce. In the coppice a female 
Golden Oriole was calling—a plain- 
tive and monotonous sound. It was so 
hot that the butterflies seemed to 
have taken a siesta but when | walked 
down the dry gulley to the river | 
found them all—sitting in groups 
sipping the moisture on a sand-bar 
jutting out into the stream—Skippers 
and Blues, Satyrs and suddenly a 
flash of purple—a male Southern 
Purple Emperor, Apatura ilia Schiff. 
It settled and | was able to stalk it 
successfully—it was of the brownish 
form clytie Schiff. | have seen similar 
congregations of butterflies at Digne 
at the time when the sun is hottest— 
dehydration is obviously a problem 
for many species and the stream with 
its sand banks or mud flats becomes 
a ready answer. 

Our trip was now coming to an 
end and on the last day we again 
drove down through Domodossala, 


132 


not daring the high pass again which 
we had taken on our first journey to 
Varzo, and skirted the Lake Maggiori, 
with its villas ana holiday villages, 
through the frontier Customs back 
into Switzerland and to Biasca and 
the train. Our train journey back was 
uneventful but we were able to 
enjoy the majesty of the mountain 
scenery and the great lakes in the 
evening light despite a storm above 
the St. Gothard and squalls of rain at 
Interlaken. We had had an excellent 
fortnight in all respects—weather, 
insects and company. 


yf 
|.3.1968. P. W. Cribb (2270). 
@ 


A CAGE FOR 
OVERWINTERING PUPAE 


A cage for overwintering pupae or 
for keeping larvae can be improvised 
from the one Ib. plastic containers in 
which Canadian honey is sold in 
Supermarkets. 

The central portion is removed 
from the lid, leaving little more than 
the rim. Small holes are cut in the 
bottom of the container for drainage 
(in the case of outdoor storage) and 
it is a good idea to cover the bottom 
of the container with a layer of 


~~ Drainage holes ——— 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


coarse sand. 

A piece of netting (e.g. nylon 
chiffon) is held over the top of the 
container, and the lid, prepared as 
above, is clipped on over the netting. 
This puts a slight tension on the 
netting, and holds it firmly in place. 

A hot piece of thick copper wire is 
a useful tool for cutting the lid and 
piercing the drainage holes. Alter-— 
natively, the lid can easily be cut as - 
required with scissors. 

The resulting container is hygenic | 
and easily cleaned. It will stand any 
weather and is proof against birds. © 
It costs practically nothing and will 
last a long time. In the case of emerg- 
ing microlepidoptera, a piece of glass 
can be substituted for the lid and 
netting. ! 


James Heal. — 


3 


| 


NOTES ON THE COMMA IN 
BASILDON ( 
The following observations may be © 
of interest to members. On the [5th © 
April 1968, on some waste scrubland © 
near my house, | saw two Commas — 
(Polygonia c-album Linn.). As far as | 
know these are the first to be seen in 
Basildon although | saw one on the © 


= : 
1I-Lid rim | 
| 
Netting 


“= _ Course sand | 


, 


fees BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


outskirts of Basildon in 1966. Based 
on the information in Stokoe | have 
worked out that since 1924, when 
this species was confined to Worces- 
tershire and neighbouring counties, 
the Comma has extended its range at 
an average rate of three and a 
quarter miles each year. 

| caught one of the Commas (a 
female) and a few days later caught 
two more females. They all laid eggs 
but only the eggs from one of the 


females hatched. These ova hatched 
out on April 27th to May 2nd. By 


May 25th nearly all the larvae had 
changed their last skin. This last skin, 
‘incidentally, is one of the prettiest 
‘butterfly ones, other than the 
Swallowtail, | have seen. 

The first larva changed to a pupa 


on May 3lst. This emerged as a var. 


hutchinsoni butterfly. From then on 


‘four more of this variety hatched out 
‘during the next two days out of a 
\ whole batch of twenty pupae. 


Finally the second brood ova laid 


by these butterflies have not hatched 
» out yet but seem to be infertile. 


} 26.7.68. 


G. Wragg (4196J). 


REFERENCE 


MESIOKOE, W. J. ed. (noi date). The Observers book of 


British Butterflies. Warne, London. 
@ 


SCALE INSECTS IN 
SOUTHERN ENGLAND 


A new species of scale insect, 


| belonging to the genus Pulvinaria, has 
» been discovered on trees in Southern 
'England, infesting especially the 
‘Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippcas- 


\ 
i 


tanum Linn.) but also the Elm (U/mus), 
\vy (Hedera helix Linn.) Holly (Ilex 
aquifolium Linn.) and Hawthorn 
(Crataegus). Particularly —_ heavy 
‘infestations have been noticed on 


;noticed at Pesthouse Common, (near 
_Richmond Park, Surrey), and along 


133 


Kew Road adjoining Kew Gardens. 
The species is a member of the order 
Hemiptera and belongs to the sub- 
order Homoptera. A member of the 
family Coccidae, it has only been 
discovered so far in the female sex, 
which indicates the probability of a 
parthenogenetic life cycle, that is to 
say, the virgin females are capable of 
laying fertile eggs which always result 
in females. In this system males are 
never produced naturally. The 
females can be seen resting on the 
small branches of trees as small oval 
scales. The insects have sucking 
mouth parts, characteristic of the 
Hemiptera, and they are embedded 
into the bark of the tree, whence the 
insect sucks out the sap. Conse- 
quently, in large enough numbers, 
the insect becomes a great threat to 
a tree and presumably would eventu- 
ally kill it. 

The insect’s life cycle can be divided 
into three parts. In the first and 
second stages the legs of Pulvinaria 
differ—the length and shape of the 
joints varying. In the third or adult 
stage the females produce white 
ovisacs underneath the scale, and it 
is thought, although not confirmed, 
that the ovisacs’ eggs are dispersed 
by the wind. The white ovisacs are 
fluffy in appearance and immediately 
they are produced, the presence of 
the insect is obvious, even to the 
casual eye. It is not yet known 
precisely when each stage starts and 
finishes, but as a rough guide second 
stage insects are found in March and 
April and sometimes adults are 
abroad in late March. 

At present Holly is thought to be a 
secondary host, and perhaps Elm as 
well. (Aduit insects were found on 
Holly at the end of March at Pest- 
house Common). Other localities 
where there are confirmed out- 
breaks are Syon Park in Isleworth, 
Middlesex (on the doorstep of the 
Gardening Centre), at Osterley Park 
and along the Great West Road near 


134 


London Airport. As these localities 
were taken at random and visited 
especially, and outbreaks were found 
in each case it tends to show that the 
infestation is much more widespread 
than was at first thought. Several 
theories have been put forward to 
explain the origin and spread of the 
infections but all are just suggestions 
and have no proof. It seems that this 
topic would provide much room for 
research into the way the insect 
established itself in the first place, 
and how it spreads. Is it brought here 
by aircraft via London Airport, or by 
road? Is it possible that the infesta- 
tion is spread by wind or perhaps by 
the traffic which streams past the 
trees? Many of such questions can 
only be answered by actual field study 
of the insect in its natural surround- 
ings, and much help is needed from 
all levels to map this insect, and, if 
necessary, exterminate it if it 
becomes a serious threat to our 
already fast disappearing trees. 

P. W. Finbow (4261 J). 


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 


Sir, 

With reference to Mr Plester’s 
note (Bull. amat. Ent. Soc., 27: 33-4) 
on the sensitivity of ‘gnats’ to sound. 

| wrote a note on this subject in 
the Entomologists Monthly Magazine 
(Ent. mon. Mag. 1941, 77: 96) obser- 
ving how some swarms of small flies 
by a lakeside near St Paul, Minnesota, 
USA, jumped at certain sounds during 
the conversation of three or four 
observers—particularly a — short 
cough. They also responded strongly 
to the shaking of a bunch of keys. But 
none of these sounds was continuous 
so the question of attraction did not 
occur. 

My note was in reply to an earlier 
note in the same volume page 63, by 


NOVEMBER, 1968): 


J. A. Robinson—on the same subject}! 
in England. _ 
1.3.68. C. B. Williams (Hon.). 
Sir, | 
| have read with interest Mr B. A.) 
Mason’s contribution under the) 
heading “‘Some Notes From Essex’’ 
in the Bulletin for May, 1968, but | 
am afraid that in the observation of 
the White Admiral Butterfly (Limeni- 
tis camilla Linn.) in Essex ‘‘fifteen 
miles from Aldgate Pump”’ he has not 
made entomological history! | believe 
that the species has long been estab- 
lished in the woodland to which he 
alludes and | encountered it almost 
annually in its proper season in the 
‘twenties and ’thirties, when | visited 
the area fairly frequently. Always, 
however, it was scarce and the 
observation of more than one or two 
individuals in a season was unusual. 
Incidentally, specimens from this 
Essex wood are approximately the 
same size as those from the New 
Forest which, in turn, appear to be 
fractionally smaller than those from 
West Sussex. 

In Mr Mason’s Essex woodland 
Argynnis cydippe Linn. appeared to 
have a parallel status and was equally 
scarce. 

It is nice to know that the White 
Admiral is still there and | wonder 
whether Mr Mason has encountered 
the Fritillary ? 

29.6.68. Gresham R. Sutton (237). 


JUNIOR NEWS SECTION 


| am sure you realise that | am 
writing this in mid-summer when 
everybody is either just doing some- 
thing entomologically or is just about 
to. | hope to put news of their adven- 


Elizabeth Fisher 
Brant (3893J), Donald Firth (4199J) 


AES BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


tures and discoveries in the next 
issue. 

| think | must have ‘boobed’ with 
the May quiz this year. When | 
sifted through the entries | found 
that only four people had managed 
to obtain high enough marks to be 
worthy of one of our token prizes. | 
must say that the attempts at drawing 
the specimens asked for were quite 
excellent. The questions about insects 
in general appear to have stumped 
most of you. | should be very hurt if 
| were a Thrips or a Damsel fly or a 


“Cockroach or even an Aphid if | 


really thought that no-one cared 


-enough to find out a little about me. 


The four who did care were 
(4198J), Barbara 
and Lance Chilton (4198J). Twelve 
year old Elizabeth of 3 The Drive, 


“Wellingborough, Northants., asked 


‘for set specimens of the Buff Tip and 
Red Underwing Moths for her prize. 


| gather from a report she sent in that 


“she takes 


her entomology very 


seriously. Elizabeth lives near Apsley 
'Heath which, although it is mainly 
conifers, has provided her, on various 


expeditions, with some interesting 
specimens. On June 2nd she took the 


' Many Plume Moth (Orneodes hexadac- 
‘tyla Linn.) and the Skipjack Beetle 


_ (Athous 


haemorrhoidalis Fab.). On 


June 9th the Long Horn Beetle 
_(Rhagium bifasciatum Fab.) a northern 
species, turned up along with that 


Harpalus aeneus 


fellow with the coat of many colours 
Fab. the Bronze 


'Harpalus (Ground Beetle). A beetle 


| have not seen for many years was 


actually caught with a net while on 
‘the wing, this was the fierce little 


tiger Cicindella campestris Linn. 


On July 7th a formidable but quite 
harmless Greater Horntail Wasp 


135 


pupa she found on April 28th emer- 
ged on May 12th as an Angle Shades 
Moth (Phlogophora meticulosa Linn.); 
while from mid-April her Indian 
Stick Insects (Carausius morosus 
Brunn.) began hatching and hatching 
and hatching. 

There is a little Minor Moth 
(Procus sp.) fluttering outside my 
window just asking to have his name 
put down in my little book for 
Nature Conservancy records. 

Barbara Brant lives at 40 Castlebar 
Park, Ealing, London, W.5., and 
being keen on the larger moths 
especially ‘Hawks’ requested some 
livestock of the Japanese Privet Hawk 
Dolbina tancrei for her prize. 

| know that Barbara has been 
working on moths for the last two 
years at least, being both interested 
in rearing, and observing her favour- 
ite insects. During this year she has 
been breeding Lime Hawks, Poplar 
Hawks, Early Thorns, Vapourers, 
Gipsy and Muslin Moths and by early 
July they had all pupated with the 
exception of the Early Thorn. Her 
Privet Hawk laid a number of eggs 
and it is hoped that they all hatched 
out. Barbara says that on just one 
day, 6th July she saw the Comma, 
Small and Silver Spotted Skipper, 
Meadow Brown and various Whites 
all of course being Butterflies as well 
as a Latticed Heath Moth (Chiasmia 
clathrata Linn.) and the larvae of the 
Knot Grass Moth (Apatele rumicis 
Linn.). | do hope she keeps on enjoy- 
ing her scientific hobby as she 
obviously does from her letters. 

Donald Firth is 16 years old and 
lives at 22, Manor Way, Purley, 
Surrey, CR2.3BH. His prize was some 
Corsican Stick Insects (Clonopsis 


gallica Charp.) which arrived ‘slap- 
bang’ in the middle of his G.C.E. ‘O’ 
level examinations. He did find time 


(Sirex gigas Linn.) was caught along 
-with a Golden Swift Moth (Hepialus 
-hecta Linn.) and a White Border 
*Moth (Bupalus pinaria Linn.). 

_ Elizabeth also tells me that the 


to spare from his studies to build a 
light trap for the total cost of £4 10s. 
including wiring, a mercury vapour 
bulb and choke. The trap appeared 


136 


to work quite well as on the second 
night of running it caught an Eyed 
Hawk Moth, and from then he says 
it went from strength to strength. In 
one month he has taken eight 
Elephant Hawks, a Small Elephant 
Hawk (Ist record for his area) six 
Poplar Hawks, six Privet Hawks, an 
Eyed Hawk and a Lime Hawk. In one 
week in the middle of July Donald 
was catching as many as 500 moths in 
each night, and even caught three 
Sparrows (birds) which made it 
necessary for him to make the trap 
hole smaller. 

Donald is also very keen on rearing 
Moths and has managed to get all 
seven of the Elephant Hawk Moth 
caterpillars he found to pupate. He 
hopes to release the imagires (adults) 
next year. On the 19th July he had an 
Indian Moon Moth (Actias selene 
Huebn.) emerge with very strangely 
curved tails to its wings. He thinks 
that the specimen is quite large for 
this species being a male with a 62” 
wing span. A pairing between two 
different species of Silk Moths, a 
female Antheraea pernyi G.-M., and a 
male Antheraea harti Moore, resulted 
in 150 eggs which if they hatched out 
will have produced some interesting 
mules (not horses). Finally Donald 
was hoping to spend most of his 
summer holidays doing some form of 
natural history or other. He was to 
have spent the first week of August 
camping with the National Trust on 
Golden Cap, Lyme Regis where he 
expected to obtain many Garden 
Tiger Moth larvae, the rest of the 
Summer he was to have spent in 
Asiatic Turkey. | do hope he was not 
joking as | am sure we should all be 
looking forward to hearing about 
such a exciting expedition. Donald 
has a friend in France who is interes- 
ted in natural history; do any of you 
correspond with naturalists in other 
countries? 

Exciting expeditions do not remind 
me of school but while | am thinking 


NOVEMBER, 


1968) 


about school | am reminded, by my | 


son who is doing a project on Beetles 


in stored food products for his 


examinations, that | ought to offer) 
you any help you might like in these” 


kind of ordeals. Please do not hesitate 
to write if you think that | may be 
able to supply you with live insect 
etc. for projects. If | do not actually 
have the animals you want | might 
know someone who has. 

‘Some one’”’ else reminds me that 
| must not dare to close the news 
section without mentioning the last 
of the May Quiz winners. He is Lance 
Chilton of 2 Castlefields Drive, 
Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, Glos., 
Lance asked for some Indian Stick 
insects for his prize and now has 
some Madagascan Sticks (Sipyloidea 
sipylus Brunn.) and some Corsican 
Sticks. He tells me that his Indian 
Sticks took a fancy to Willow Herb 
and Strawberries. | have heard that 
these insects can cause havoc in a 
greenhouse if they escape among the 
valuable plants housed therein. | have 
just checked my two pet tomato 
plants and found a big hole chewed 
out of one of the leaves. | wonder 
whether a stock of Indian Sticks can 


survive on plants other than Privet or | 
Ivy. I'll just put back this ruffianlay 


little Stick Insect back in its cage. | 
Before | go | would like to say | do 
hope you will have enjoyed the 
Annual Exhibition, but more about 


that next time. 
H. J. Berman F.R.E.S. (2491A). 


BOOK REVIEWS 


Warnes Picture Reference Books | 
by George E. Hyde. Pp. 48 Colour | 
Frederick Warne and} 


illustrations. 


mes BULLETIN, VOL. 27 


137 


Co. Ltd., Price 5/- each. 

There are at present four books in 
this new series but others are to be 
included later. The ones available at 
present are: 

Butterflies, Moths and their Cater- 

pillars. 

Berries and Fruits. 

Insects. 

Wild Flowers of the Spring. 

They are pocket sized and well 
‘illustrated with colour photographs 
| by the author. He has also written a 
«short account which accompanies 
- each photograph. Scientific names are 
-used together with common names 
‘throughout the books. 

This series is intended for use by 
juniors, as an introduction to the 
‘subject. As such they are excellent 
value for five shillings each. The books 
will be of most value to very junior 
-members and it is nice to see such an 

‘elementary series of books containing 
‘both scientific and common names. 
M.R.W. 


‘Flies of the British Isles by C. N. 
meolver, ien.c-., F.Z.5. and C. O. 
/ Hammond, F.R.E.S. Pp. 384, 52 plates 
| (24 in colour), 50 text figures depict- 
‘ing 286 species. Published in the 
Wayside and Woodland Series by 
Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd. Price 
55/- Second Edition 1968. 

There has been a recent trend 
‘amongst our members to take an 
interest in the, perhaps, less popular 
-orders of insects, such as the Hymen- 
‘optera, Odonata and the Diptera. 
‘Those members who have chosen 
the true flies or Diptera have been 
extremely lucky in having the first 
edition of this book as an excellent 
guide. This new edition has been 
‘revised and published in an enlarged 
format but still retains all those 
features which make it such a 
remarkable book. 


The introductory chapter explains 
what the flies are, how to distinguish 
them, their general structure, while 
also defining the terms used by 
dipterists in description and identifi- 
cation. Full page figures show the 
features of each main group of flies 
and compares their structures. A 
general account of their life history 
is given with illustrations of the main 
larval types. An introduction to 
classification is also given here. 

The bulk of the book deals, in turn, 
with every family of flies found in the 
British Isles, each chapter describing 
a natural group of families. For each 
family there is given a_ technical 
description followed by a description 
of representative genera and species, 
including life history and habitat. It is 
in these sections that the author’s 
personal anecdotes render the book 
so readable. Notes are also given on 
medical and agricultural interest. 

The book is illustrated through-out 
by original, enlarged microscope 
drawings by C. O. Hammond, many 
of which are in full colour. By means 
of these, a great many of our most 
common and interesting flies can be 
identified at a glance, the identifi- 
cation being checked by consulting 
the text. 

At the end of each section of the 
book detailed keys to families are 
provided with other smaller keys in 
the text. At the end of each chapter 
are extensive bibliographies enabling 
the reader to follow up his interest 
in more specialist publications. 

The appendix includes a large 
section giving detailed accounts of 
the methods of collection, preser- 
vation and examination of flies giving 
many practical hints. Notes are 


included on the use of the micro- 
scope, and also of methods of packing 
specimens for posting. 

A valuable feature of this section 
of the book is the glossary, defining 
approximately 400 technical terms 
which puzzle many beginners when 


138 


using the keys and more advanced 
books. 

This book is suitable not only for 
the specialist but more specifically 
for all those interested in our British 


insects. 
R.H.A. 


Field and Meadow Life, by Lief 
Luneborg. Translated from the 
Danish. Edited in the English edition 
by Arnold Darlington. pp. 164. 86 
colour plates. Blandford Press, 
London. 21 /-. 

This work is the latest in the series 
issued by Blandford Press and follows 
‘Woodland Life’ and ‘Pond and 
Stream Life’. It is meant for the 
beginner or perhaps better still for 
the person with a general interest in 
natural history rather than the 
specialist in one particular branch. 
This work appears originally to have 
been issued in Denmark for the use of 
the continental naturalist and it has 
been excellently translated into 
English. | find however one or two 
disappointments in this work. Bearing 
in mind that it is for the general 
naturalist, why include the Praying 
Mantis and the Migratory Locust not 
likely to be met with in the English 
countryside, or again why include the 
microlepidoptera like Nepticula or 
Crambus silvellus which is incidently 
given in the text as C. myellus? 
Another thing there is no indication 
of the relative sizes of the creatures 
in the illustrations, this can be a little 
confusing to the beginner. | found the 
illustrations of the Beetles, Plant Bugs, 
Flies, Galls etc. very good, | cannot 
say the same about the Lepidoptera. 
| found these disappointing in choice 
and execution. Apart from these 
criticisms | found this an excellent 
book, the text is short but inform- 
ative and sufficient for this type of 
book. 


NOVEMBER, 1968 


Pocket Encyclopedia of Plant. 
Galls in Colour, by Arnold Darling- 
ton. pp. IIl. 292 Illustrations in 
colour. Blandford Press London. 25/-. 


This is the first work of its kind to 7 


be published in this country for fifty 
years, and certainly the only one to 


4 


be illustrated in colour. | had some! 


criticism of the previous work Field 


& Meadow Life edited by the author 7 


of this book, but | have nothing but 
praise for this work. The illustrations 
are first class and considering that 
this is a pocket book its scope is 
surprisingly wide and comprehensive. 
A simple and intelligible explanation 
of what galls are and what causes 
them is followed by practical hints on 


~—- po « 


how to collect them. The reader ” 


whose interest has been stimulated 


to enquire further into this branch of |. 


natural history will find references 
and titles for further study in the 
Introduction. If you are unable to 
afford this book and | consider 25/- 
a modest price for this, request your 
local library to obtain it. 

G:F: 


CORRECTION: 


EREBIA EPIPHRON Knoch. 
A NEW ABERRATION OF THE 


t 


| 


SCOTTISH RACE if 


The Editor regrets that the titles | 
of the illustrations of this article |) 
(Bull. amat. Ent. Soc. 27: 81-3) were |: 
inadvertently transposed. The upper h 


illustration on page 81 shows the 
typical form of Erebia epiphron Knoch. 
The lower illustration shows the ab. 
thomsoni described in the article. 


Printed by Ellis & Phillips Ltd., East Side Press, Rye Street, Bishop's Stortford and published by the Amateur 
Entomologists’ Society, 42 Normandy Avenue, Barnet, Herts. 1968 


THE AES ADVISORY PANEL 


: 
: How and when to consult the 
Panel 

Members of the Panel will advise 
you on the study of their special 
groups and will identify small num- 
bers of British specimens which are 
of particular interest to you. Large 
collections should be taken to a 
‘museum for identification. Try to 
use a copy of the relevant standard 
-work if you know of one, before 
approaching the Panel. 


Always mention that you are 
-approaching the Adviser as he is a 
‘member of the Panel and give your 
own Membership number. You 
‘must enclose postage stamps to 
‘cover the cost of a reply or return 
-of specimens. Members of the 
‘Panel are busy people, so try to 
‘send dead material to them during 
‘the winter when their own time is 
less likely to be taken up with field 
swork. You are recommended to 
‘send a stamped addressed en- 
svelope for acknowledgement of the 
‘receipt of material which may have 
to await time for its indentification. 
| Labelling — with details of locality, 
‘foodplant, date, time and mode of 
‘capture, etc. — often greatly simpli- 
‘fies identification. Every specimen 
»should be fully labelled on the same 
/pin as bears the specimen or its 
‘mount. Details of locality will be 
treated as confidential if this is 
desired. 


| The Society is most grateful to 
che many specialists who serve on 
this Panel, without any remunera- 
‘tion other than the occasional speci- 
‘men taken, with permission, from 
san interesting series that has been 
sent in. It is hoped that Advisers 
-on those groups that are noticed 
incidentally or as pests will be 
_suught after as frequently as members 
-of the Panel willing to identify 
“commonly collected Orders. 


New advisers on appropriate sub- 
jects not covered below are always 
welcomed by the Hon. General 
Secretary. 

ADVISORY PANEL 
Coleoptera (Beetles) 

General advice on identification 
D. TOZER (36), 98 Copdale 
Road, Leicester. 

Staphylinidae 
H. R. LAST (117), 12 Winck- 
worth Road, Banstead, Surrey. 

Water-beetles 
Prof. J. W. A. F. BALFOUR- 
BROWNE, M.A., c/o British 
Museum (Natural History), 
Cromwell Road, London, 
SEWVe7/. 

Dipera (Two-winged Flies) 

General advice 
L. PARMENTER (895), Wood- 
side, Pinewood Road, Fern- 
down, Dorset. 

Larvae (approximate identification) 
K. G. V. SMITH, c/o British 
Museum (Natural History), 
Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7. 

Tachinidae (Parasitic Flies) and 
Muscidae 
E. C. M. FONSECA, 58 Wood- 
stock Road, Redland, Bristol 6. 

Tipulidae (Crane-flies) 

R. M. PAYNE (2982), Westwood, 
Highwalls Avenue, Dinas Purvis, 
Glamorgan. 

Ephemeroptera (Mayflies) 

General advice and identification of 

larvae and adults 

2 ies MAGAN 2 MA Bh D: 
Stevney, Outgate, Ambleside, 
Westmorland. 

Heteroptera (Het-bugs) 

General advice and identification 
i. RoE. SOUTHWOOD sB:Sce-, 
Ph.D., Imperial College Field 
Station, Silwood Park, Sunning- 
hill, Berkshire. 

Aquatic species 
T. T. MACAN, address above. 

Homoptera 

Aphidoidea (Greenflies, Blackflies) 

H. L. G. STROYAN, M.A., ¢/o 


Insect Pathology Laboratory, 
Hatching Green, Harpenden, 
Hertfordshire. 

Auchenorhyncha (Leaf-hoppers, etc.) 
Dr W. J. LE QUESNE, Anne 
Cottage, Lye Green Road, Ches- 
ham, Buckhamshire. 


Hymenoptera 
Aculeata (Bees and Wasps) 
de Ge FEEFON,” Beechcroft: 


22 Gore Court Road, Sitting- 
bourne, Kent. 
Formicoidea (Ants) 
C. A. COLLINGWOOD, B.Sc., 
c/o National Agricultural Ad- 
visory Service, Coley Hill, 
Reading, Berkshire. 
Parasitica (Chalcids, Ichneumons, 
etc. 
G. J. KERRICH, M.A., c/o British 
Museum (Natural History), 
Cromwell Road, London, S.W.7. 
Symphyta (Sawflies) 
Dr V. H. CHAMBERS, 12 Doug- 
las Road, Harpenden, Hertford- 
shire. 
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) 
‘ Microlepidoptera ’ —indentification 
S. WAKELY (1860), 26 Finsen 
Road, London, S.E.5. 
ditto — general advice 
D.. OLLEVANT,_ .(tSI4), 33. Sal- 
combe Drive, Morden, Surrey. 
Noctuid e and their larvae 
B. F. SKINNER (2470), 85 Elder 
Road, West Norwood, London, 
SEY. 
Saturniidae (Silkmoths) 
» OF. CU GARDINER 
18 Chesterton Hall 
Cambridge. 
Europe1n Butterflies 
P. W. CRIBB (2270), 355 Houns- 
low Road, Hanworth, Nr Felt- 
ham, Middlesex. 
Odonata (Dragonflies) 
General advice and identification 
A. E. GARDNER, 29 Glenfield 
Road, Banstead, Surrey. 
Orthopteroids (Cockroaches, 
Grasshoppers, Mantids, Earwigs, 
etc). 


(225), 
Crescent, 


General advice and identification of 
British and imported species 
A. E. GARDNER, address above. 
Plecoptera (Stoneflies) 
General advice and identification of 
larvae and adults 
T. T. MACAN, address above. 
Thysanoptera (Thrips) 

General advice and identification 
T..~ LEWIS,. BSc... — Phe 
c/o Rothamsted Experimental 
Station, Harpenden, Hertford- | 
shire. | 

Trichoptera (Caddisflies) 

General advice and identification 

T. T. MACAN, address above. 
Insect Migration | 

Recorder and Adviser | 
R. -A. FRENCH,- B.Sc., -(2129}58 
Rothamsted Experimental Sta- | 
tion, Harpenden, Hertfordshire. 

Botany 

Identification of foodplants 
H. K. AIRY SHAW (545), Royal 
Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey. 

Selection, propagation and cultivation 

of foodplants and floral attractions 
R. C. DYSON (91), 58 Stanford 
Avenue, Brighton 6, Sussex. 

Plant Galls 
D. LEATHERDALE, Eastfield 
Lodge, Whitchurch, Nr. Pang- 
bourne, Berkshire. 

Apparatus and Techniques (except 
microscopy) 

General advice 
M. E. CASTLE (2490), *‘ Avellana,’ 
172 Greenfield Crescent, Hazel- 
ton Gardens, Horndean, Hamp- 
shire. 

Microscopy 

General Advice 
G. W. SWAYNE, A.LS.T@ 
F.R.M.S. (3949), 22A Thorpe 
Road, S. Tottenham, London, 
N.15. 

Photography 

35mm. still and general advice. 
R.. W. J. UFFEN (1660), 
Vaughan Avenue, Stamford 
Brook, London, W.6. 


The Butterfly Farm Ltd. 
(Founded in 1894) 
BILSINGTON, ASHFORD, KE 
Telephone: Hamstreet 513 


Our comprehensive service is rapidly extending and we can supply many 
world species of butterflies, moths and other insects—living, set or papered. 
Also all apparatus, equipment, books, and other biological needs of 
entomologists. We cater for collectors, schools, and research workers. 
Visitors are welcome (please be sure to telephone for an appointment)— 


there is no charge this year. 


Many items are on display and a visit is most rewarding. 


The Entomologist’s 
Record 


and Journal of Variation 


A monthly illustrated magazine, founded by J. W. Tutt 
in 1890, is devoted mainly to the Lepidoptera of the 
British Isles. It also deals with other orders of insects 
especially Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Orthop- 
tera. Its articles include descriptions of new species and 
varieties, reports on collecting trips, distribution, habits 
and habitats of insects and of collecting and study 
techniques suitable for novice and expert. It circulates 
in 47 countries. 


Annual subscription - 35s. post free 
Write for specimen copy to F. W. Byers, 59, Gurney Court Road, 


St. Albans, Herts., enclosing 5/-. This amount will be taken into 
account in the first year’s subscription. 


Suppliers of EXOTIC INSECTS to 
Museums, the research worker, the amateur entomologist, 
etc. 


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MAIL ORDERS ONLY In your reply please mention AES 


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