288 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORLi. 



narrow yellow line along front of prothorax. The dorsum is a darker green and 

 more free fi-om the minute pale hair-points that are abundant between it and the 

 lateral flange ; these carry no visible hairs, but there are several very minute black 

 hairs, apparently those of the ordinary primary tubercles. 

 — T. A. Chapman, M.D., Betula, Keigate. September, 1909. 



Notes on the larval habits of MELiTiEA athalia. — The ova 

 which are of a pale lemon colour, hatched in from 13-16 days. The 

 larvae fed in a web on the leaves of a living plant of narrow-leaved 

 plantain, and, after moulting twice, settled down on September 3rd 

 for hybernation in the folds of the leaves covering their food, in 

 companies of from five to fifteen. On March 21st of the following 

 year, they started wandering about outside their hybernacula, basking 

 in the sunshine ; the next few days being cold and dull, they re- 

 entered the same, appearing again on April 2nd, starting to feed on 

 the 4th. They only move about and feed when the sun is shining, 

 returning at night to their hybernacula. These larv® moulted on 

 the 6th and 21st of April, and finally on May Brd. They became less 

 and less gregarious after each moult, and started pupating May 14th, 

 remaining 17-23 days in that stage. — E. C. Joy. September, 1909. 



URRENT NOTES. 



As an outcome of examining the structural details of Celastrina 

 ariiiolus in order to determine the specific and varietal values of certain 

 insects which had been referred to this species by various authors, and 

 that some approximately accurate result might be arrived at in our 

 treatment of the species in A Natural History of the British Lepidoptera, 

 vol. ix., Dr. Chapman felt constrained to enlarge the scope of his 

 studies, and to examine the ancillary appendages of as many Celas- 

 trinids as were available, and has now published, in a paper entitled 

 " A review of the species of the lepidopterous genus Lycaenupsis, Feld. 

 [Cyaniris auct. nee Dalm.), an examination of the male ancillary 

 appendages " {Proc. Zool. Soc. LoncL, pp. 419-476, August, 1909). 



It would appear that Butler catalogued {Ann. May. Nat. Hist., 

 1900, p. 441) under the name of Cyaniris, QO species, of which 57 were 

 Cyanirids (in Butler's sense, ?.c., our Celastrinids) and 3 doubtful, to which 

 have since been added others that bring the apparent total of species 

 to 66. Of these, two species are Everids, and belong to an entirely 

 different Lycsenid group, four others are probably outlying Celastrinids, 

 and eight have not been examined, whilst the examination of the 

 ancillary appendages of the remaining 52, has resulted in the establish- 

 ment of 30 species, and 22 varietal forms of one or other of these 30 

 species. The ancillary appendages of these species (and a few others 

 discussed) are illustrated by 72 text figures, photographed by Mr, F. 

 Noad Clark. The ancillary appendages of the 30 species collected 

 thus under the name Lycaenopsis, show all the salient characteristics 

 that have been already described by Dr. Chapman (Nat. Hist. Brit. 

 Lep., pp. 383 and 390-391), but exhibit great range of difference inter 

 alia. Some of these, however, appear to group themselves fairly naturally, 

 e.y,, (1) aryioliis, puspa, etc., (2) haraldus, ripte, etc., (3) corythus, shel- 

 fordi, nedda, acesina, phillippina, etc., (4) albidisca, tnaryinata, li)iibata, 

 cardia, dilecta, cossaea, lan/ca, roma, drucei, akasa, camenae, dilectissima, 

 etc., and so on ; others seem to be somewhat peculiarly isolated, e.y., 

 (1) transpecta, (2) albocaerulea, etc. 



