40 THE entomologist's record. 



has been exactly the opposite ; I have always found the second-brood 

 considerably less in evidence, which I have imagined might be due to 

 their seeking their winter-quarters almost immediately after emerging 

 from the pupa. I may add that, up to the time of writing (October 

 14th), I have not seen a single " wild " specimen of the second-brood 

 this autumn. 



The larvse feed in the day-time, and, when living on Urtica, have a 

 habit of eating away some of the under half of the midrib, a short 

 distance away from the base of a leaf, which then hangs down and 

 provides them with a sort of tent or shelter in which they rest. They 

 do not live gregariously, but one may always hope, on finding one, to 

 obtain several near by, even if not on the same plant or bush. 

 Besides mentioning iJlnius, l^rtica and Ribes, Dr. Chenu states {FJnc. 

 d'Hist. Nat.) that these larvae live on " le chevrefeuille des buissons 

 {Lo7iicera xylosteum), et sur le noisetier commun (i'orylus avellana)." 

 Experimenting with these plants on a larva kept in confinement, I 

 find that hazel is accepted, but apparently not much appreciated ; 

 honeysuckle it absolutely refused to touch. Another plant I tried 

 was sallow, by placing the larva on the bush itself. It fed immedi- 

 ately, without any hesitation, eating a good large piece out of a leaf, 

 l)ut after its meal was very uneasy ; continuing to move about from 

 leaf to leaf, spinning webs under each, but never resting for any length 

 of time under any of them. 



Afilais urticae. — Hybernated specimens of A. urtirae were noticed 

 from March 21st until May 12th (In my note on the courtship of this 

 species, vol. xix., p. 145, the date recorded there should have been May 

 6th and not the 16th). Notwithstanding the fact that this butterfly 

 was unusually numerous in the spring, the nettles were, up to the end 

 of July, remarkably free from their larvae. Small nests were the rule 

 and the larvae lived more apart than is usual with this gregarious 

 species, in leaves spun up somewhat after the fashion of Pyrameh 

 atalanta ; three or four were sometimes found in one shelter, but a 

 good many were noticed living quite solitarily, even when fairly small. 

 Newly-emerged imagines of the first brood began to appear on July 

 r)th, and, at the same time, quite small larv^ were still to be found ; 

 indeed, caterpillars of this, the first brood, were to be met with through- 

 out the first half of July. One larva, found on July 15th, suspended 

 to its foodplant, changed to a wonderfully golden pupa two days later. 

 The imagines of this brood continued on the wing until August 3rd. 

 Larvfe, half-an-inch long, probably of the second brood, were noticed 

 about the second week of August ; they finished feeding and began to 

 pupate in the natural state about the end of the third week, and the 

 imagines seen on the wing from September 6th. I do not remember 

 ever having seen the larvae of the second- brood so plentiful before. 



My brother tells me of an interesting incident witnessed by him, 

 this autumn, in his garden at Brockweir. A specimen of A, urticae 

 was feeding on a ripe fallen plum, when a wasp suddenly pounced upon 

 it and viciously snipped oft" one of its wings ; the butterfly shook off its 

 opponent and tried to escape, but had only fluttered feebly a short 

 distance, when the wasp again attacked it and soon had all the wings 

 oft". But what happened after this had been accomplished, my brother 

 could not inform me, as he was busy directing some work he Avas 

 having done in his garden. 



