NOTES FROM THE WYE VALLEY \ LEPIDOPTERA IN 1906. 59 



pair with a female even before her wings had half finished developing. 

 Now this is rather an important fact as it confirms what Schmidt said 

 about a neurica refusing to pair with an arundineta. Copulation is 

 generally over by 10 o'clock when the males fly strongly for about 

 an hour. 



The insect was first taken in this country at Yaxley Fen, in 1847, 

 by Mr. F. Bond, and soon afterwards it was taken there commonly, 

 as well as at Whittlesea Mere, until they were drained. The black ones 

 also came from Yaxley and, I believe, were not taken again until they 

 were re-discovered, during the last few years, in Suffolk and Kent. The 

 species also occurs in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk, 

 Kent, Essex, Middlesex, Lancashire, and Germany, Switzerland, 

 Holland, Denmark, Russia, Persia, and Transcaspia. 



The differences between neurica, Hb., and arundineta may be noted 

 as follows : — 



NKURIOA. ARUNDINETA. 



Collar white. Collar same colour as body. 



Central streak blackish, contain- Central streak blackish, no white 



ing three white dots, the outer dots, central spot black, encir- 



one forming the central spot. cled, or partly so, with white. 



Underside quite plain, with no Underside showing the central 



markings. spots and marginal lunules. 



1 am deeply indebted to Mr. Prout for his help with the transla- 

 tions from the German, to Herr Piingeler, of Aachen, for sending me 

 specimens of neurica and arundineta, and also to Mr. Bowles and the 

 Rev. C. R. N. Burrows, for much valuable assistance. 



The photographs 1 to 4, 6 to 9, and 11 to 12, were taken by Mr. 

 F. Noad Clark ; nos. 5 and 10 (undersides) by H. M. Edelsten. 



Explanation of Plate II. 



1. N. neurica, Hb., 3 , taken by Schmidt himself. 



2. N. neurica, Hb., 3 , from Professor Stange. 

 3-4. N. neurica, Hb., ? , from Professor Stange. 



5. N. neurica, Hb., 3 (underside), taken by Schmidt himself. 



(J. N. dissoluta var. arundineta, Schmidt, 3 , taken by Schmidt himself. 



7. N. dissoluta var. arundineta, Schmidt, ? , taken by Schmidt himself. 



8. N. dissoluta var. arundineta , Schmidt, 3 , from Norfolk Broads. 



9. N. dissoluta var. arundineta , Schmidt, ? , from Central Asia. 



10. A', dissoluta var. arundineta, Schmidt, 3 (underside), from Norfolk 



Broads. Slightly enlarged. 



11. Ova in sih'i of .V. dissoluta var. arundineta, Schmidt, from Norfolk 



Broads. 



12. Ova in situ of N. dissoluta var. arundineta, Schmidt, from Norfolk 



Hi-. acK. Enlarged x 15 diameters. 



Notes from the Wye Valley : Lepidoptera in 1906. 



By J. F. BIRD. 



From what I can gather from the entomological magazines, the 

 past season appears to have been a very fair one on the whole, with a 

 good sprinkling of rarities. Perhaps our luck was out, at any rate we 

 shall remember the year 190(5 as one of the worst we have experienced 

 since living in the country. I must own that the Diurni were fairly 

 plentiful, but we found the Heterocera, especially the Geometrides, 

 quite below the average. The season began early, and light soon 

 attracted several of the early species. Sallow, also, was attractive, and 



