216 the entomologist's record. 



in the Alps to find insects in the very finest condition captured by, 

 and in possession of, an ant. Such was my experience on the after- 

 noon of August 13th, high up on the moraine of the Morteratsch 

 glacier, when a fine male Melampias epiphron was observed gently moving 

 forward with outspread wings on the road, and, already dead, was 

 taken from the clutches of an ant. The next morning, in the Roseg 

 Valley, a rather small example of lssoria latlmnia was observed flying 

 rather near the ground. It flew as quickly as is usual with the species, 

 and dodged with equal facility, but kept low down among the herbage. 

 Netting it, I was surprised to find clinging to its left hind-leg an ant, 

 which I killed as well as the butterfly, without it yielding at all in the 

 tenacity of its grip. I set the lathonia, with the ant still attached 

 to its leg. I have no doubt that this example would, in the usual 

 course of events, have succumbed to the ant, and that when it had 

 settled again the ant would have obtained a higher and equally secure 

 grip, whence it could have attacked the body. — Ibid. 



Unusual red-currant feeders. — During the last few years, I have 

 fed my larva3 of Abraxas grossulariata on red-currant, whenever obtain- 

 able. A few autumns ago I discovered, on a leaf of a cut red-currant 

 stem, a batch of large lepidopterous eggs, which turned out to be those 

 of Arctia caia. The resulting larvae fed up well on this unrecorded 

 pabulum and produced fine moths. This spring I similarly discovered 

 a batch of Geometrid ova, which proved to be those of Crocallis elingu- 

 aria. The larvae (which are now in the pupal state) grew and throve 

 amazingly, and having plenty of food, never displayed any cannibalistic 

 tendencies. — (Rev.) G. H. Raynor, Hazeleigh Rectory, Maldon. 

 August 21th, 1907. 



Note on the foodplant of Gonepteryx rhamni. — When I came 

 here eleven years ago, I was anxious to obtain and place in my garden 

 various shrubs and plants frequented by the larvae of British butterflies. 

 I could not hear of any nurserymen able to supply Bhamnus catharticus 

 and R. frangula. So I had to be content with a couple of bushes of R. 

 hybridus, which I obtained at the modest outlay of 6d. each. This species 

 is supposed to be a hybrid between R. alatemus and R. alpiniis ; it is 

 sterile, and has leaves which persist till the second winter. These two 

 bushes flourished exceedingly, and, of late years, 1 have pruned them 

 hard back every spring, with the result that they have produced most 

 luxuriant foliage. On several occasions I have noticed the latter to be 

 much eaten, and once found larvae of Scotosia dubitata feeding on it. 

 This year, the larvae of Gonepteryx rhamni were more than usually 

 abundant on R. frangula, and this fact induced me to examine my 

 R. hybridus bushes more carefully, the result being that, on June 28th, 

 I found a large number of G. rhamni larvae of all sizes feeding upon 

 them. These larvae, as well as those I collected this year from wild 

 bushes of R. frangula, were unusually free from parasites, and almost 

 every one produced an imago. — Ibid. 



Larentia c^siata on Exmoor. — On June 29th, my brother and I 

 noticed a number of moths flying on a moor in North Somersetshire, 

 about 10 miles from here (Lynmouth), but, as we had not any nets, 

 we only managed to secure one, which turned out to be a well-marked 

 example of this species. We went again with nets on July 18th, but 

 they were all past, and we did not see a single one. I think this 

 is the most southern recorded British locality for this insect. — T. H. 



