2]^0 Februaj-y, 



moults undergone by the larya of O. antiqua, some individnals change their skin 

 three times, some four times, and others five times ; and he has gone further, and 

 shown that tlie larva, which is to result in a female motli, has one moult more than 

 the male ; tlie male larvae moult either three or four times, the females either four 

 or five times ; we are now anxious to extend this investigation especially among 

 tlie species that have hairy larvse, and to try to settle what sort of treatment and 

 surrounding conditions tend to lessen or increase the number of moults in the larva 

 stage ; A. caja is a species with a reputation for numerous changes of skin, but being 

 a hibernator is not easy to carry through. 



It has been before recorded that the pupae of some butterflies vary in colour 

 with the object to which they are attached, but Mr. Harwood surprised me a good 

 deal by sending me two pupee of Cymatoyhor a Or, which were quite unlike in colour ; 

 the pupa obtained from a larva captured near Colchester was black, but the pupa 

 sent to him from Scotland was quite reddish-brown ; and this difference he found to 

 exist almost constantly between the English and Scotch pupse, a very few of the 

 former showing a tendency to the lighter colour. 



During the past summer I tried, with Dr. Chapman's help, to settle the origin 

 of the yellow dust in the cocoon of B. neustria, but neither of us was able to see the 

 larva in the act of ejecting or applying this yellow paste : I cut open a larva, which 

 had died without spinning, and found two stoutish deep yellow threads in its body, 

 which I conjectured might be vessels meant to secrete this paste, but my knowledge 

 of anatomy is too vague to enable me to speak with certainty. 



These notes are very slight, mere hints, indeed, but they seem to me to indicate 

 several lines of research, for which the Macro-Lepidoptera offer the best opportunities ; 

 and since butterflies and moths will always attract a very large share of attention 

 from the world of Entomologists, I want to show that beginners can still find ground 

 open to them, in which to make their mark, by filling up records yet left blank after 

 all that has been written by their predecessors. — John Hellins, Exeter : 19^A 

 December, 1882. 



Argynnis Dia near Tunbridge Wells. — This insect was taken some years ago by 

 Mr. J. C. Arnold, of Hastings, but the species was not recognised till now. The 

 circumstances under which it occurred were as follows. About the year 1876 Mr. 

 Arnold was collecting a few butterflies and moths, when he observed two small 

 fritillaries flying near each other, and caught them both. He took them home and 

 set them, supposing they were the " Pearl Bordered." But this year taking some 

 " fresh specimens," as he supposed, he threw away one of them, and was about to 

 discard the other, when he observed, to his surprise, that though he had taken both 

 A. Selene and A. Euphrosyne, the markings of this insect differed materially from 

 both of them. He, therefore, wrote to me to know whether this specimen could be 

 Argynnis Dia, since it agi-eed with Coleman's short notice of tliat species. 



As I had no description at hand, and no specimen of A. Dia, I wrote asking 

 him to consult j\Ir. C. G. Barrett. Mr. Barrett at once answered, that from the 

 description and drawing forwarded, it was almost certainly Argynnis Dia. To make 

 sure I wrote to Mr. Meek, who at once forwarded three continental specimens. 



The insect captured 'oy Mr. J. C. Arnold agreed with these in every respect, the 

 only difference being that Mr. Arnold's specimen was somewhat faded. 



