CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 187 



Papilio capaneus and P. leosthenes (somewhat worn), Hypoeysta metirius, 

 Danais taygetus, and a curious butterfly with a beautiful leaf-like under 

 side (Doleschalia australis), which was fond of taking short flights and 

 then returning to some favourite perch ; but my finest capture was a 

 male (unfortunately slightly chipped) of the magnificent Ornithoptera 

 richmondii. This latter was fairly common round a group of trees 

 bearing a white flower very like orange-blossom, but seldom descended 

 within reach of the net. I also obtained a fair number of Coleoptera, 

 including some very rare species, and one or two fine Longicorns which 

 seem to be unknown. I then returned south, again staying a few days 

 at Warwick, where I now found Gharaxes sempronius fairly common, 

 and managed to capture three more examples. The weather, which 

 during the first part of my trip had been very hot (about 103° or 104° 

 in the shade), had now become much cooler (80° or 85° in the shade), 

 and the sky had clouded over, so that few insects were obtainable whilst 

 here. The previous hot dry weather had had a very unfavourable effect 

 upon both beetles and butterflies, a very large number of the latter 

 being worn, whilst both were scarce. After a pleasant run across from 

 Sydney, I arrived in Wellington Jan. 18th, having had a most enjoy- 

 able holiday. I may add that immense numbers of locusts occurred 

 everywhere, many of them with very beautiful under wings, especially 

 one brilliant yellow one on the Darling Downs. — Hubert W. Simmonds; 

 17, Aurora Terrace, Wellington, N.Z., March 23rd, 1905. 



Notes from the Chester District for 1904 (concluded from p. 165). 



Aplecta nebulosa. — From June 8th to the 18th twenty-three moths 

 were reared from black parents with grey fringes (var. robsoni, Collins). 

 Four were of the type-form, five were intermediate between the type 

 and var. robsoni, ten were robsoni, and four were the form thompsoni 

 (Arkle) — that is, jet-black, with white margins and white fringes. 

 Another typical specimen emerged on the 29th — total, twenty-four 

 insects. From twelve larval from type parents twelve moths emerged, 

 June 14th to June 27th. Eleven were typical, and the twelfth an 

 intermediate between vars. robsoni and thompsoni. The curious thing 

 is that the black forms were, as a rule, the first to appear. All my 

 larvae were kept in a couple of breeding-cages, with plenty of moss at 

 the bottom for them to hide in by day. They began to wander about 

 the cages early in January, occasionally eating, very sparingly, of dock 

 or dried sallow-leaves up to March, when they began actively feeding 

 on dock. The larvae prefer spinning up in dry moss. All were kept 

 in a cold outhouse, with plenty of ventilation. A number of larvae 

 from thompsoni parents are now (February, 1905) showing themselves 

 after their short hybernation. The chief object is to see if the white 

 margins will be increased in the resultant moths. It has been found 

 that the variety robsoni may occur at the rate of ten per cent, from 

 wild Delamere larvae, and the form thompsoni in the proportion of 

 three per cent. ; therefore, although the chances are at present small, 

 the result, whatever it may be, with reference to the white margins, 

 may occur in nature. In fact, I should not be surprised if one or other 

 of these forms of .4. nebulosa ultimately supplants the type, as in the 

 case of Amphidasys betularia. At any rate, it is significant that 

 melanism has already been referred to, in the Chester district, as 



