NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 249 



the " perfect insect " has not been taken in this country, but larvfe have 

 been found. A young friend of mine found, in the autumn of 1889, 

 thirteen nearly full-fed larvas on the West of Cornwall, feeding on 

 EupJiorhia par alias. He brought them home and entrusted the pujia? to my 

 care, for they turned very soon after capture. Three died in puj^ating, 

 one died during the winter, and nine came out perfect specimens, three 

 of which are now in my cabinet. For fuller information I refer your 

 readers to the Entomologist, vol. xxiii., pages 18 and ol9. — J. Seymoi'k 

 St. John, 42, Castlewood Eoad, Stamford Hill. Jidij 2\st, 1893. 

 [We were fully aware of the reports referred to by our correspondent, 

 but at the same time venture to suggest that the statement in the 

 " Current Note " referred to is substantially correct. In the face of 

 what is known of this species in Britain, the statement " this very rare 

 insect in Britain has this year re-appeared. A young friend this 

 autumn came ujDon thirteen nearly full-fed larvEe," &q. (Entomologist, 

 xxiii. p. 18) wants considerable amplification. Who is " the young- 

 friend " ? What has he to say about the coming upon " thirteen nearly 

 full-fed larvae " ? Mr. St. John has to rely on the statement of a 

 " young friend," and this makes all the difference. If he had taken 

 the species himself it would have been another matter. Mr. St. John 

 further states that " the ten pupa? " (which successfully changed from 

 these larvfe) " were entrusted to my care," so that he evidently never 

 had the larva?, an important item, considering how easy jiupge are to 

 obtain. Mr. St. John exhibited three of the nine specimens reared, 

 at the meeting of the Ent. Soc. of London, as " bred from larva? found 

 feeding on Eaphorbia paralias on the Cornish coast, in September, 

 1889 " (Trans. Ent. Soc. of Lon., 1891, p. xxxi.) He records having 

 searched for the larva? himself in July, 1890, " on the spot where they 

 Avere found the previous autumn " but " failed to discover any trace 

 whatever of larva?, young or middle aged." Mr. St. John must forgive 

 our scepticism, but until we know something of the captor of these 

 larva?, we shall, in common \y\t\\ most British lepidopterists look on 

 Mr. St. John as a probable victim in the matter. It would be interest- 

 ing, however, to know the present whereabouts of these nine specimens 

 which have been recorded, so that at any rate they may be distinguished 

 from those that were sent on their wanderings last winter. We notice 

 that Mr. St. John mentions nine specimens as being reared, in 

 the paragraph above, but in September, 1890, he only mentions eight 

 as having been reared, and one that looked like jjassing a second winter 

 in the pupal stage. — Ed.] 



NOTES OF THE SEASON. 



Midstimmcr collecting in North Kent. — In my contribution to the 

 " Notes of the Season " last month, I recorded captures by myself and 

 Mr. Page up to June 10th, when the species usually obtainable at Mid- 

 summer were appearing pretty generally. Our next visit to the woods 

 was on June 17th. On this date insects were not particularly abundant. 

 The day's work included the capture of further specimens of the second 

 brood of Lasiomtnata cegeria, whilst Euclidia ghjphica appeared also to be 

 making an attempt to produce a second brood, and an extensive second 

 brood of Pyranstn purjmralis was on the wing. The early ])rood of this 

 species is always a small one in Kent, the second producing a laro-e 

 number of specimens. Zygcena lonicero' was in great abundance 



