NOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 267 



When they had been in captivity just a week, I noticed, one morning, 

 two eggs on each of the middle pair of legs of one of the butterflies. She 

 was standing on the ground, and, to see if she was still vigorous, I dis- 

 turbed her, when she flew about for a few minutes, banging herself a good 

 deal against the glass, as the eggs prevented her feet taking hold. The 

 eggs seemed very strong, and firmly attached, as I could plainly see some 

 of them knocked against the glass, yet not one was either loosened or 

 broken. I allowed the other butterfly to fly away, and she seemed 

 none the worse for her seven days' imprisonment. On my return 

 that night the second was dead, and on the same legs four additional 

 eggs (3 on one leg, one on the other) had been laid. On the 21st and 

 22nd day after the eggs had been laid the whole eight hatched. The 

 young larvfe did not eat their egg-shells, or only so much of them as 

 was necessary for their escape ; indeed, they seemed to eat nothing for 

 three or four days, but are now doing well. They do not yet leave the 

 grass culms day or night, and when I lift the glass they are in, to look 

 at them, none of them drop, but all bend themselves into little hooks, 

 holding on with the claspers and turning their heads to one side, in 

 which position they remain still. The empty egg-shells are pretty 

 objects viewed with a very low power (li inch I use). — J. Wolfe, 

 Skibbereen, co. Cork. September 30th, 1896. 



j^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Lepidoptera at CmcHESTER. — I cannot say that I have found the 

 past season one especially good for Lepidoptera. I fancy that droughts 

 are prejudicial rather than favourable to their increase. During May, 

 AstJtena candidata was abundant, and on the 9th of the month the first 

 Smerinthus populi was met with. A little later Emmcleda ajfinitata, 

 K. decolorata and Eur;/ di cue dolobraria were taken. The first 

 Euchlo'e cardamines I noted was a $ , taken asleep, in Hunston 

 Coppice. In June, Spilosoma vienthastri, Zonosoma trilinearia, Brenthis 

 selene, Anaitis plagiata, AstJwna hiteata, Eupithecia rectangulata, Sesia 

 tipuUformis, Miana strifiUift, Timandra amataria, Melanippe procellata, 

 A.vylia putris, Cidaria dotata {pi/raliata), Hadena hepatica, Ourapteri/.v 

 mmbucata, Acidalia imitaria, and cocoons of Leucoma salicis were found. 

 During this month both sexes of the great stag-beetle were to be seen 

 in the evening flying round elms, limes, and other trees, and some 

 coming within reach were knocked down and captured. On July 1st, 

 Nola cHcuUakila ; on 4th, lodis vernaria first appeared ; on 9th, 

 Triphaena interjecta, Larentia didi/mata ; on 11th, TrocliUimn cra- 

 broniforme was found settled in the evening on a hawthorn leaf, not 

 far from a bed of osiers. All subsequent searching failed in discovering 

 more than this solitary specimen. On 16th, Cili.v glaucata (spimda) ; 

 18t\i, Selenia bilunaria [illunaria), and a larva of Smerintkua tiliae were 

 taken. On the 20th, the first of the second brood of Cyaniris (Lycaena) 

 cuyiolm was seen flying in the garden. On the 21st, Crocallis 

 liinjiuaria, Hydroecia nictitans ; 22nd, Epione apiciaria ; 24th, 

 Pli ibalapteryx vitalbata, and during the last week of July several C. aryiohis 

 were beaten between 7 and 8 p.m , from a hedge, whilst collecting Geo- 

 meters, another Triphaena interjecta being taken on the last day of the 

 month. On August 12th, Ennomos fiiscantaria was captured at a 



