334 THE entomologist's record. 



evening of May 18th last, by Mr. W. B, Davis, who kindly sent it to 

 me for inspection, as it was the first Gloucestershire example we had 

 seen, Mr. V. R. Perkins, of Wotton-under-Edge, has since informed 

 me that he has two other records for our shire, one taken near Chelten- 

 ham and another near Cirencester, but I believe not recently. — C. J. 

 Watkins, F.E.S., King's Mill House, Gloucester. Xoreiuher IGth, 

 1905. 



CupiDo MINIMA (alsus) IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE. — This species is widely 

 distributed, but local on the Cotteswolds, some years occurring very 

 freely in its favourite spots. For example, during the present year it 

 appeared to me to be more numerous than in any previous season I 

 remember, and I have observed this pretty delicate species since 1S68, 

 when on July 24th I saw my first specimen at rest, whilst searching 

 for its rarer relation Lycaena avion. My earliest record of C. )i)iniitia is 

 on May 27th, 1870, but it was seen in the Stroud district this year as 

 early as May 25th. Mr. Mosley in the Xatiiralists' Giiide, 1894, p. 50, 

 states : — " In some parts of the south the caterpillars change to 

 chrysalids as soon as they are fullfed in warm seasons, and there is a 

 second flight of butterflies in August." It may be double-brooded, 

 but I have never met with it so late as August. — Ibid. 



Melit^ea aurinia (artemis) in Gloucestershire. — This local butterfly 

 has been known to occur for many years past in certain very limited 

 areas in Gloucestershire, chiefly in low-lying damp meadows and 

 marshes in the vales, and, as a rule, these specimens are larger and 

 darker coloured than those found in some other British localities, as 

 Sussex, Cumberland, etc. The late veteran, Joseph Merrin, of 

 Gloucester, collected and bred some remarkable aberrations of this 

 species, some of which I saw in his collection many years ago. A 

 Gloucestershire specimen, now in the collection of Mr. A. B. Farn, 

 has the wings semi-transparent yet possessing the scales. It is 

 irregular in appearance, and some seasons may be absent from a spot 

 in which it appeared the previous year. On June 15th last, in com- 

 pany with Mr. W. B. Davis, of Stroud, we visited a ridge of the 

 Cotteswolds 800 ft. high, on which I had not been for 30 years, and 

 to my friend it was new ground. While resting, discussing our sand- 

 wiches and the glorious view of hill and dale towards the Severn, we 

 noticed among the varied insects near us, a dull butterfly of sluggish 

 flight, and somewhat different habit from Brenthis euphrosijne usually 

 met with in such spots. On netting it great was our surprise to find we 

 had captured M. aurinia at such an elevation. Soon we noticed other 

 specimens, and during the next half hour could have taken dozens 

 had we so wished. It Avas the first occasion I had seen it on the 

 .summit of a Cotteswold hill, but my friend had had a similar ex- 

 perience several years ago and on a similar ridge some miles distant. 

 It is interesting to observe that these hill- top specimens are smaller 

 and of a lighter colour than those usually found in the vales. One is 

 curious to know whether this is a distinct race, and if the eggs are 

 deposited on different species of foodplant from those in the vales. Such 

 observations require more time than I, for one, can at present devote 

 to so fascinating a subject. — Ibid. 



Lyc^na arion in Gloucestershire.— This, the chief prize of the 

 lepidopterist in our shire, and formerly not uncommon in several local 

 spots, has considerably decreased in numbers in recent years, and so 



