LONGEVITY OF RUMICIA PHL^AS. 171 



invariably brown colour, longer elytra, whicb are more ample, and 

 broadened instead of narrow at tbe apex. Length of body 32mm.- 

 38mm. $ and $ ; of pronotum, 9mm. -10mm. $ and $ ; of elytra, 

 42mm. -55mm. g and $ ; of posterior femora, 35mm. -43mm. $ and 

 2 ; of ovipositor, 20mm. -26mm. J . 



This magnificent insect is a southern species ; it often betrays its 

 presence by its loud and clattering stridulation among dried grass and 

 rough herbage in very hot places. In France, it occurs in the south 

 only, at Marseilles, Hyeres, all Languedoc, where it is very common, 

 Anielie-les-Bains, Agay, Frejus, Carcassonne, Toulon, Montpellier, 

 Vaucluse, Drome, Ramatuel. Also in Corsica, Sardinia, and all Spain 

 and Portugal, except the north. In Italy it is found, but at all events 

 near Pegli it is said to be rare and local. 



A variety with shortened elytra and wings, named montpelliensis is 

 recorded by Eambur from Montpellier. 



Unusual Longevity of Rumicia phlaeas ; Notes on Larvae of, etc. 



By Payrnaster-in-Chief GEEVASE F. MATHEW, K.N., F.L.S., F.E.S. 



On September 28th, 1906, when collecting larvae at Walton-on-the- 

 Naze, and while I was sitting eating my lunch under the shade of 

 some tamarisk bushes growing on the sea-bank, one of these brilliant 

 little butterflies settled on the grass close to me. My net was not made 

 up, as I had only seen one or two late P. rapae, and was not expecting to 

 meet with much else. The specimen of R. ]>hlaeas looked like a female, 

 and I thought I would try and secure her, so took a large-sized, 

 glass-bottomed box from my pocket, and, advancingmy hand cautiously, 

 succeeded in popping it over her. The next day she was placed under 

 a muslin hood, over a large flower-pan in which there was a big clump 

 of Rumex acetosella, and with her, upon a forked twig, a piece of 

 sponge saturated with syrup, so that she might regale herself when 

 she felt hungry. The pan was then put on a table close to a window 

 facing south, and when the days were bright she was in the sun for 

 several hours. She began laying at once, and, by the end of a week, 

 when I took off the hood to replenish the syrup, I noticed a good 

 supply of ova — some on the upper surface of the leaves, some beneath, 

 others upon stalks and dead twigs, a few on the edge of the pan, a few 

 on the muslin, some on tbe painted wire framework, and one or two 

 on small stones and bits of earth — she had not been at all particular 

 where she had laid them. The ova began to hatch in about ten days, 

 and by October 19th some of the larvse had grown to a respectable 

 size, and the leaves were becoming much eaten, so I removed a good 

 many to other pans that had been prepared for them. At this date 

 the parent butterfly was alive and strong, and very lively when the 

 sun shone on her. 



( )n ( )etober 22nd some of the larva? seemed to be nearly half grown, 

 and on this day I placed the butterfly in a pan where there was a fresh 

 clump of sorrel. She continued to lay, and, in a day or two, there were 

 many eggs on the fresh plant, and she kept well and vigorous until 

 November 1st, when I thought she did not look quite so active. 

 However, she was as Lively as ever again on the morning of 

 November 3rd, when there was a warm sun, and was still alive on 

 the afternoon of November 6th, but on the morning of the 7th I found 



