220 The Irish Naturalist. [October, 



In its early stages the larva remains quietly on upper sur- 

 face of clover leaves, and holds on very firmly. After very 

 heavy thunder-showers or high wind they were still on same 

 leaves, and the leaf might be plucked and carried without 

 danger of larva dropping. Its appearance is then very like 

 the young larva of Pieris ?'apce, but the full-grown caterpillar 

 is, I think, a very pretty one, with a bright lateral stripe, 

 shading in each segment from white through yellow to bright 

 red in the middle, and back through yellow to white. The 

 spiracle comes just in front of the red spot, and underneath 

 each red spot and in connection with it is a black one. The 

 ground colour is a velvety green sprinkled with minute black 

 spots. In its last pretty coat the caterpillar rolls up and drops 

 very readily, concussion of the footstep or the shadow being 

 sometimes apparently sufficient cause. 



Larvae of P. cardui being so remarkably abundant in the 

 first half of July, I looked for a swarm of the butterflies at end 

 of the mouth or early in August. The weather was beautiful, 

 and I saw, I think, three, and even though I am kept most 

 days busy indoors, I was also at my work in June, when I saw 

 them in scores. It seems to me that some strange instinct 

 caused each individual as it emerged to leave. I suppose they 

 went to the north. The very dry weather has not ripened off 

 all our thistles, and we still have food everywhere for the 

 larvae, now nearly full grown again, but they are very scarce — 

 perhaps one for fifty in July. 



Skibbereen. 



