^ f.Iarmary, 



SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES ON EREBIA MELAS. 

 BY FRED. C. LEMANN, F.E.S. 



M. Charles Oberthiir, of Rennes, France, to whom I forwarded this year speci- 

 mens of Erebia mela.i captured by me in July near Campiglio, South Tyrol, has 

 been good enough to write the foregoing notes (which I have translated) on this 

 interesting species, and I feel sure that coming from his pen they cannot fail to 

 be of interest to your readers. 



I can fully confirm M. Oberthiir's remarks as to the difficulties attending the 

 capture of tliis insect. At Campiglio it haunts, exclusively, very steep rubble banks 

 at the foot of perpendicular precipices, at an elevation of 7 — -8000 feet, where foothold 

 is extremely precarious aud pursuit practically impossible, and the only chance of 

 effecting a capture was when the butterfly settled, as occasionally it did, on the bare 

 stones ; even then the irregular character of the ground afforded the prey ample 

 opportunities for escaping under the ring of the net. 



Whilst engaged in capturing E. melas, my companion Dr. Chapman, and 

 myself, happened to meet a German entomologist from Dresden, to whom we showed 

 our specimens, and he strangely enough persisted in Dr. Staudinger's assertion that 

 the insect was Erebia glacialis, var. Pluto. I quite share M. Oberthiir's surprise at 

 this curious error on the part of German savants. 



Plymouth : November 23rrf, 1895. 



EPURMA NANA, Reitter, AN ADDITION TO THE BRITISH LIST. 

 BY G. C. CHAMPION, F.Z.S. 



Whilst staying with my friend Mr. R. S. Standen, at Thorpe-le- 

 Soken, Essex, at the end of August last, I captured, amongst other 

 beetles, a very small ordinary-looking Epurcea by sweeping herbage 

 in the vicinity of the saltings. This insect could could not be 

 identified satisfactorily with any of the British species of the genus, 

 and as it agreed fairly well with the description and figure* of E. nana 

 (hinotata), Reitter, I sent the specimen to him to compare with his 

 types. This identification has now been confirmed, and the species 

 must therefore be added to the British list. E. nana is nearest allied 

 to E. melina, Er., but it is very much smaller (very little larger than 

 Pria dulcamarcB), and the general shape is more oval and less elongate ; 

 the upper surface is more shining and more finely punctured; the 

 antennae have the last two joints of the club abruptly black, the apical 

 joint being broader than in E. melina and nearly as wide as the tenth ; 

 the thorax is more narrowed behind ; and the elytra are more rounded 

 at the apex. From E. cestiva, Linn., it may be known, apart from its 

 small size, by the sparser punctuation of the upper surface, and the 



* Except as regards the form of the hind angles of the thorax as shown in the figure. 



