January, 1877-1 



169 



ON STRIDULATION IN THE GENUS VANESSA,- 

 BV A. H. SWINTOK. 



The earliest record (with which I am acquainted) o£ stridulation 

 in this genus of butterflies will be found in the Transactions of the 

 Entomological Society of London, new series, 1852, vol. ii, Proceedings, 

 p. xcviii, where the Rev. Joseph Greene informs us, that on the 8th 

 December, when out ou one of his autumnal diggings for pupse in 

 Buckinghamshire, he came to a beech tree on a high bank, the roots 



SccoUf- 



A. Basal portinn ol fore-wing of Vantixa lo ; showing lima (?1 or anal vein beneath. 



B. Basal portion of hind-wing ; showing costal vein on which the lima works, in is a 



transparent patch to impress (probably) the vibrations so produced on the air. 



of which formed an arch about a foot in height, and faced the 

 north, the opening being quite exposed to rain, snow, &c. ; and, as ho 

 was on the point of inserting a trowel into the cavity, he heard a 

 faint hissing noise, and to liia surprise he found that, in searching for 

 heterocerous pupa-, he had st;irtlc(l a colony of Peacock-butterflies 



