2o2 THE entomologist's record. 



there is very little break in the continuity of its life period. The 

 well-known facts, recorded by Messrs. Barrett and Buckler {Larvae of 

 Brit. Butts., i., p. 15) and observed by myself, r/:. : that the females 

 of the October emergence oviposit and that the eggs hatch, clear oft" in 

 my mind the possibility of passing the winter in either the imago or 

 egg state. It is equally clear that larvae emerging in October will feed 

 up more slowly than those emerging from the egg in August, and since 

 {loc. cit., pp. 13-14) in 1877 Mr. Buckler's August larvae 

 (eggs laid August 6th) did not pupate until October 15th-27th, 

 more than two complete months, it is evident that eggs 

 laid in October could in no wise be full-fed until January, and 

 since an emergence takes place in February the pupal stage 

 would be short. It is also possible that only a portion of the 

 progeny of the August and early September butterflies feed iip rapidly 

 enough to pupate and produce butterflies in October and November, 

 and that the remainder feed on slowly, and finally are caught by the 

 progeny of their more precocious brothers and sisters, all emerging 

 together the following spring. Mr. Hellins remarks on the different 

 rates at which these feed, whilst Mr. Frohawk writes: — "It will be 

 seen that the duration of time (in autumnal reared specimens) em- 

 braced by the different stages varies considerably, and is wholly 

 influenced by the conditions of temperature to which they are sub- 

 jected." At the same time it is quite possible that in some cases, as 

 is so often the case with other species of butterflies and with moths, 

 that the pupal condition might be prolonged, as in the case previously 

 mentioned of one kept from October till March, by Mr. Dale, but even 

 then it attempted to emerge at the normal time for the early (North 

 African) brood, although it failed in the attempt. 



It is doubtful whether, on the whole, the average cold of the warmer 

 valleys bordering the Mediterranean littoral much exceeds that of an 

 average October and November. In the face of this it may be well to 

 quote a remark of Mr. Buckler, which states of his autumnal larvae : — 

 " The most forward had completed their last moult by September 21st, 

 whilst others were not more than half an inch long. They continued 

 to feed and grow, consuming a great deal of food, stripping bare 

 the stems of plant after plant, appearing to be very hardy, not 

 flinching in the least from any amount of water poured over them 

 when the plants were being watered, apparently not noticing it in the 

 least. On the approach of cold frosty nights they remained stretched 

 out still and passive, seeming to feed only by day." Evidently, then, 

 the larvse were capable of standing " cold frosty nights," and to live and 

 thrive in spite of them, for in spite of this exposure they fed up 

 naturally, and soon became pupje. This is only another evidence that 

 the larva is capable of withstanding such cold, as in the more southern 

 parts of the insect's distribution it is likely to meet, and further, that 

 moderate cold by night does not prevent it making progress by day. 



Mr, Frohawk, writing of a batch of larvse which "commenced 

 hatching on the 23rd September," says that "by the middle of 

 October 170 larvte were doing well, when a cold sunless week with frost 

 set in, and proved fatal to all. None of them exhibited any intention 

 of hybernating. So far as my experience with ('. cdum goes, 1 am led to 

 believe that it does not hybernatc as a larva" (Knt., xxvi., p. 187). 

 This is exactly the result I should expect, considering as I do that in 



