1879] ' 41 



Sylilla, Turin ! ! N. populi ?, Turin. A. Ilia, Tar. Cli/fie, Turin, viii ! ! ! L. Mgeria. 

 Those from the north of Italy resemble our Hampshire examples, but the spots are 

 orange and not yellow. A specimen from Spezia has the wings ampler and spots 

 larger; approaching examples from Toulouse, which have the spots so enlarged as to 

 replace the brown as a ground colour ; both these are vernal vars. taken in iv and vJ, 

 respectively. I have native specimens from the West Highlands with the spots 

 white. H. Janira, at Turin, large and pale, resembling specimens from the highlands 

 of Scotland. C. PampJiilus, Turin. L. Celtis, Turin, vi, one specimen. N. Lucina, 

 Turin, vii ! ! ! My examples of an autumn brood are much larger ( $ alar exp. 1' 8"'), 

 and have more pointed wings than spring individuals from the New Forest, Hamp- 

 shire. The ground colour is richer, and the spots fulvous, not orange. C. Hippothoe, 

 Turin, viie ! C. phloeas ! ! !, Turin, viii. P. Telicanus, Turin. P. Tiresias, Turin, 

 viiie. P. Icarus (or Alexis), Isola di Capri. P. Amandus, Turin, vii. P. argiolus, 

 Turin, vi. Eather larger than British examples. P. Alsus, Turin, vii. P. malvte, 

 Turin, vii — viii ! ! ! P. malvarum, Turin, vii— viii ! ! ! P. Thaumas, ? ? P. syloa- 

 nus ? — A. H. SwiNTON, Guildford : June, 1879. 



A great flight of Butterflies.— T\\e " Times " of the 13th June, publishes a 

 communication from its correspondent at Geneva to the following effect : "A strange 

 " occurrence is reported from Wetzikon, Canton Zurich. On Saturday, the commune 

 " was invaded by an immense swarm of Butterflies, a kilometre (five-eighths of an 

 " English mile) wide, and so long, that the procession took two hours to pass. They 

 " were principally of the kind known in Switzerland as ' Distelfalter,' which feed on 

 ' nettles and thistles. They flew from two to ten metres above the ground, and went 

 "off in a north-westerly direction." 



[We imagine this communication refers to Cynthia carfZwi, hibernated examples 

 of which appear to be unusually common here. In the same journal of the 19th 

 June, there are several analogous notices of the occurrence of unusual swarms of 

 butterflies in different parts of France, Spain, &c., and apparently relating to 

 species other than that mentioned in the above extract. Allowing for a certain 

 amount of exaggeration in the newspaper correspondents' reports, it is still evident 

 that some exceptional causes producing these entomological phoenomena must have 

 existed, and we shall be glad of further information. — Eds.] 



Description of the larva of Cramhus selaselhts. — While larva-hunting along the 

 coast last year, on the 17th of May, I found one of a Crambus I did not then know, 

 and brought it home to rear, to figure and describe. 



It was in a green frass-covered tube or gallery, partly attached to a stone lying 

 on a damp place, among small mixed growths of Poa maritinia, Spartina stricta, 

 and Ilordeum maritimtim ; at the beginning of June I came upon another like it, 

 though this was close to a stone amongst a short growth of Poa maritima solely. 



These two larvse soon fed up and converted the end of each gallery into a cocoon, 

 and the moths emerged on July 13th and 22nd ; they were kindly named for me by my 

 friend Mr. C. G. Barrett, who afiirmed selasellus was known to haunt rank and coarse 

 grasses in other situations far inland, I can, therefore, only regard the two larvse thus 

 found under somewhat exceptional conditions to have been the offspring of stragglers 

 from a neighbouring marsh. 



