62 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



single year for their completion. My first year in Egypt fell on a leaa 

 year and consequently some species such as Authorharia helia and 

 Melitaea ileserticola, which I might reasonably have expected to meet 

 with, failed to put in an appearance. 



Many butterflies, such as Piiraineis cardui and Zizeeria li/simon, have 

 a succession of broods throughout the year if the seasons should be 

 favourable. In the intense heat of summer and in the cold weather 

 their numbers decrease or tend to disappear. 



Some butterflies have a succession of broods, perhaps two or 

 three, or a prolonged emergence in the spring from February until the 

 end of April. Antliocliaris belemia, for instance, is on the wing for 

 almost six weeks in March- April, and then disappears until November 

 or December when it becomes common again in its special localities. 

 1 have found no great dijfference in the underside in the spring and 

 autumn bi'oods. I'ontia i/laiiconoiiie occurs in the same way ; my dates 

 are March 8th, April 22nd, and single specimens in December. It is 

 strictly a desert insect, the larva feeding on Cajipans s/miosa. 



It is with diffidence but with conviction that I record the genus 

 Teracoliis in Egypt ; on April 13th in Wadi Hof near Helouau a 

 butterfly flew past me, and which I failed to catch, but recognized as 

 Teracohia {hhnai.i) faiista from a full acquaintance with its South 

 Indian form T. tripiincta. In the heat of the day it is an extremely 

 fast flier, but in the early morning before the sun is well up, it can be 

 approached fairly easily, and this applies to many tropical and sub- 

 tropical butterflies. There is no reason why it should not occur in 

 Egypt, as it is fairly common in certain parts of Syria and in all 

 probability in the Wadis of the Sinai peninsula. 



Another butterfly I record for the first time in Egypt is Spindans 

 [Aphnaeiia) accDiiaa, a female specimen of which was captured in 

 October, 1913, m the desert beyond Heliopolis, by Mr. Adair, of the 

 Egyptian Agricultural Department. I tried for it unsuccessfully this 

 year, and possibly it was a straggler. I took it many years ago at 

 Suakin, during the campaign, and these were described by Mr. A. G. 

 Butler as a new species, to which he gave the name A. bellatrix, to 

 commemorate the circumstances under which they were taken. The 

 type is in the British Museum. No doubt they are a geographical race 

 of this variable insect. The specimens I took in the Punjab are very 

 much paler. 



Danais chr)/sippi(s is a common insect and of the dark African type; 

 I was shown by Dr. Gough, of the Agricultural Department, a speci- 

 men of the form alcippns, the first, I believe, recorded in Lower 

 Egypt. I am told that this form is not uncommon in the Fayum, 

 where I have had no opportunity of collecting. This form has not 

 been recorded south of Assouan. 



Coliaa edit»a flies in March, April and May, when towards the end 

 of the month it disappears till autumn, then it gradually increases in 

 numbers till the spring, when it is at its maximum. A lucerne field 

 in April reminds one very much of an August day in England in an 

 edum year. The fields are alive with this striking insect and with 

 Pieris rapae and Pi/rameis cardui. The helice form of the female, or 

 rather that named pallida by Tutt, is not uncommon, and I thought I 

 had caught a record with the measurement of 62mm., until shortly after 

 I read that Mr. Frohawk had bred one in England measuring 67mm. 



