184 The Insh Naturalist. [July, 



meet with it again. On May 16 I found Piczodoncs iituralus. Fab., 

 iu great numbers on Furze {Ulcx ciirojja-iis), and I saw them for several 

 days afterwards swarming on the flowers. Mr Saunders says 

 (" Ilemiptera Ileteroptera," p. 31) that it occurs in the autumn, so 

 that either the insect has a different habit here, from what Mr. Saunders 

 observed in England, or else this was an extra brood. I shall watch for 

 it in autumn to see if there is a second brood. 



Among the Lepidoptera my most interesting record is from Donegal. 

 In the first week of April I had a letter from my friend, W. A. Hamilton, 

 Esq., J. P., of Coolmore, near Ballyshannon, telling me that a couple of 

 days previously he had seen in an empty house a butterfly, which, from 

 his description, I felt pretty sure was the Peacock Butterfly {Vanessa io., 

 L.). This conjecture was liappil}' proved to be correct by my receiving 

 the battered remains of a Peacock Butterfly which Mr. Hamilton had 

 knocked down with his driving whip between Coxtowu and Rossnow- 

 lagh. This is apparently the first time this butterfl}- has been met with 

 in Co. Donegal, for Mr. Kane, in his list of Irish Lepidoptera (' Ento- 

 mologist," xxvi , p. 189), does not mention that county. Vanessa urticcv, 

 L-, was, as usual, the first butterfly to show, but I did not see it till April 

 15, when it manifested its ecclesiastical tastes b)- appearing iu the church 

 here In May there were a few moths about, and I got a couple of nice 

 specimens of Sclenia ilhinaria, Hb. 



In August last Mr. Carpenter wrote to tell me that larvae of Smerinthus 

 oce/ia^us, L. , ha.d appeared in numbers at Crowbill, near Lough gall. I 

 wrote to Mr. Joseph Atkinson, D.L., of Crowbill, to ask him to send me 

 any that he could get. He sent me four, but only two arrived. These 

 duly pupated and have now emerged (June ytli and 9th). 



My friend Mr. Hamilton has sent me a nice specimen of Halias 

 prasinana, L. $ which he caught in his house at Coolmore, Co Donegal, on 

 June 4th. Mr. Barrett (" British Lepidoptera," II., p. 177) notes that this 

 moth has the power of producing a squeaking sound, which it appears 

 to do when on the wing. 



In reference to Mr. Buckle's queries (ante, p 130), I know of several 

 coleopterists who practice sweeping at night, and by this means get 

 many good species. I have practised myself occasionally, but I seldom 

 got anything of interest ; but that was probably my fault in not going 

 where the insects were waiting to be caught. 



I never met with Hydroponis Davisii, Curt., but I have with H. seplen- 

 trionolis, Gyll. , and I saw it rise to the surface for air ; but it is very 

 probable that, as Mr. Buckle suggests, it does so at long intervals. In 

 connection with this question of water-beetles coming to the surface for 

 air, can anyone enlighten me as to what happens to water-beetles during 

 frost ? I have myself seen a Dytisciis underneath the ice on which I was 

 skating. I presume there would be a small quantity of air, but during a 

 prolonged frost ihis would probably become exhausted and thus the 

 supply be cut off. If any of the readers of the Irish Naturalist can 

 enlighten me on this matter I shall feel much obliged. 



Poyntzpass. W. F. Johnson. 



