312 



THE ENTOMOLOGISTS S RECORD. 



round the tops pursuing and fighting each other, and when one is 

 driven away it will generally fly off to another ash. Very occasionally 

 they will settle on the leaves of an oak, hazel, or wild cherry, but the 

 ash-tree is by far the most frequented. We have even seen a small 

 ash, little ixiore than a bush, with three of these butterflies settled on 

 it at one time. Only once have w^e noticed the species at flowers, 

 when a female was observed this year, late in the season, busily 

 extracting the sweets from Eupatnriitm cannabimun. 



We have noticed a slight variation of the upper side in Thecla 

 iv-albiun : this is in the size of the red spot on the hindwingat the anal 

 angle. In every description of this butterfly we have read, this mark- 

 ing has been totally ignored, though it is generally present, or at least 

 indicated by a few red scales. Most of our specimens are so marked, 

 but we have one or two of both sexes where it is quite absent. Last 

 year we found larvae of Pieris hrassicae feeding on the green seed- 

 vessels of "honesty" [Lunaria biennis) groAving in the garden. A 

 very striking female aberration of Pieris rapae was taken at Llandogo 

 last year in May. The bases of the wings are much suft'used with 

 black scales ; spots normal, and, with the exception of a few scattered 

 black scales, which only seem to be a continuation of the usual slight 

 dusting along the costa, the apical blotches are absent. 



In England, Polyf/unia c-album is reported to be found on Hunndtis 

 liipulus, Urtica dioica, Ulimis cawptestris, Bibes (/rossidaria and Fi. rubrum. 

 On the Continent, it is also said to feed on Urtica wrens, Lonicera 

 a-ylosteum and Cort/lus avellana. To this list we are able to add Ulmiis 

 montana, having found a newly-emerged larva on that tree last June. 

 What are the average pupal lives of the two broods of this butterfly ? 

 We have had a look through the magazines, but find no information 

 on this subject. From our very slight experience of this species, the 

 summer brood appears to remain in the pupa about a fortnight, and 

 the autumn brood nearly twice as long. Our results with larvae 

 found at Tintern have been as follows : — 



Summer Brood. 



Autumn Brood. 



One night last April, with the aid of a lamp, we found, among 

 other larvae, one of Pararge egeria, which had a wound on one side on 

 about the 2nd, or 8rd, segment from the head ; we, nevertheless, 

 kept it, and a few days later it suspended itself and eventually changed 

 to a healthy-looking pupa from which a male emerged on June 2nd. 

 This specimen is curious on account of the odd shape of the right 

 forewing. The nervures nos. 3 and 4 (Meyrick's system) curve away 

 from each other to the outer margin, which projects in a triangle 



