4- 74; Short Communications : — 



females. Of many hundreds of males, which I have seen in 

 the course of a single day's ramble, I have never observed 

 one variety of this sex, though I made it a point to capture 

 every pale specimen which I saw. Where this insect flies in 

 great abundance, the females are seldom seen, but where it is 

 comparatively rare, the latter may as frequently be noticed 

 on the wing as the males ; precisely as in the common P. carda- 

 mines : I have seen the woods quite alive with the male orange- 

 tipped white butterflies, when I have not observed above two or 

 three females in the course of the day; yet, where this species 

 is not very abundant, both males and females may be seen 

 flying about in nearly equal numbers ; which fact will, indeed, 

 reconcile some rather conflicting descriptions of this latter 

 insect. In Jersey, the number of pale females of Collar 

 Edusa bore the proportion, to those of the usual colour, of at 

 least one third ; but, though the males were so very plentiful, 

 female specimens were difficult to procure, as they slug- 

 gishly concealed themselves in the lucern: I was never able 

 to take above half a dozen in a day, though of males I might 

 have captured some hundreds. Yet, in September, 1833, the 

 two sexes were observed in this neighbourhood [Tooting, 

 Surrey], flying in about equal numbers ; but the species was, 

 here, far from being common. 



I took, on the whole, about twenty individuals of the pale 

 variety of Collar Edusa, and observed in them considerable 

 variation ; some being whiter than others, and some having 

 the spot on the upper surface of the hinder wings white, 

 others having it yellowish, and others orange: they also 

 varied much in size, but not more than individuals of the 

 usual colour do. 



It will not, perhaps, be uninteresting to name here a few 

 other species which I observed in that island, during a stay 

 of three months, in August, September, and October, 1833. 

 I saw there no sort of butterfly that was not common in 

 Britain. The other European species of C61ia5 I sought for 

 much, but in vain. 



Hipparchi« Mgevia swarmed in unusual abundance, far be- 

 yond what I had ever seen in England ; the numerous shady 

 lanes there being peculiarly adapted to its habits. H. MegaeV^ 

 was also extremely plentiful; it was unusually common in the 

 vicinity of London that season. H. pilosellae and PamphiJus 

 were there as abundant as here ; as were the different autumnal 

 P6nti<^. Lycae^nfl^ Phlae^as was very plentiful, also Polyom- 

 matus Alexi5; this last mostly retiring to roost in small 

 clusters, chiefly on the sea holly (£Jryngium maritimum), or 

 on rushes ; a habit which may be observed in several of our 



