1901. Notes. 145 



Peacock Butterfly near Deny. 



While driving on the Racecourse- road near Derry, not far from the 

 spot where last year one was taken by Miss Campbell, I saw a Peacock 

 Butterfly {Vanessa id). It will be interesting to observe whether it 

 increases in numbers in the coming season. 



W. E. Hart. 



Howth. 



Longevity of Land Mollusca. 



On October 18th, 1896, Master Arthur W. Stelfox and I collected forty 

 specimens of Helix aspersa, the shell usually known as the " Garden 

 Snail," at Whitepark Bay, North Antrim coast. A proportion of these 

 were then adult, fully a year old, and the remainder half or three 

 quarters grown. Of these all were alive in January, 1898 ; thirty-six 

 living December, 1899; thirty, June, 1900 ; twenty-four, August, 1900; 

 twenty, October, 1900 ; and the latter, which included two of the shells 

 adult when collected, were still alive and feeding actively on lettuce on 

 June 6th this year. If any of these survive till October 18th, they will 

 be at least five and a half to six and a half years old. Very few of the 

 molluscs died in winter, they almost all died in the hot summer months, 

 and those adult when collected survived many of the younger specimens. 

 Some of the latter completed the shell well in captivity, others did not. 

 Well-known conchologists in England who have made a special study of 

 this species tell me they know of no case where it has lived so long, and 

 I am keeping and feeding the specimens most carefully to see how long 

 they really will live, when protected from natural foes, though under 

 conditions very different of course from their native habitat. 



R. WEI.CH. 



Belfast. 



New Inland Station for Hydrobia (Paludestrina) Jenkinsi. 



Last year while working Lough Neagh at Maghery, Co. Armagh, my 

 wife found a dead specimen of Hydrobia jenkinsi on the shore ; and on the 

 Chance of discovering a living colony I visited the locality again at Easter, 

 with the result that at the " Bann-foof (where the Upper Bann enters 

 the lake) I found the sand and vegetation literally covered with the 

 shell. Mr. H. L. Orr has since confirmed this find by visiting the spot. 



Mr. Welch tells me that a keen search on the opposite side of the lake, 

 at the mouth of the river at Antrim, on several occasions two years ago, 

 resulted in only two specimens (alive), which came up in the dredge. 

 It is curious to find it so scarce at Antrim and plentiful at Bann-foot. 

 This find proves the species to have a wide distribution in the north- 

 east, as it has now been recorded from Derry (Portstewart), Antrim, 

 Down (Newry), and Armagh ; and though local, the colonies are very 

 large except in the case of Antrim. 



Wm. A. Green. 



Belfast 



