270 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the orthodox way, i.e., head downwards from a dead twig, and from 

 this a dark coloured and very perfect specimen subsequently emerged. 

 On Sunday, July 15th, my caterpillar, which had also turned into a 

 chrysalis a few days after I took it, went through its last transforma- 

 tion, a fulvous yellow butterfly emerging.— W. P. J. Le Bkocq ; The 

 Preparatory School, Brecon, July 24th, 1894. 



Plusia festuc^. — This moth seems to vary in its economy in 

 different localities. At Bolton, where I have taken it for many years, 

 half-grown larvre are found in April, and full-grown larvre up to the 

 middle of June ; the food-plant is almost always the yellow iris. The 

 pupa is generally in a bend of the iris leaf, about two inches from the 

 point, and the moths begin to emerge at the end of June. I do not 

 think a second brood occurs at Bolton ; I and others have looked for it 

 in vain. I never took the imago at Bolton, but at Galway last season 

 (an exceptionally early season) I took one on May 28th and one Sept. 

 20th. I failed to find the larvae on iris at Galway. Possibly in places 

 where the iris flowers early the leaves may be too old for the larv^ to 

 feed on, so that they are driven to find some other food -plant. At 

 Galway the iris flowers in May, but at Bolton not till late in June. — 

 J. E. R. Allen; The Grammar School, Galway, Aug. 15th, 1894. 



Varieties of Zyg^na pilgsellvE and Bryophila muralis at Galway. 

 —Among a large number of Z. pilosellcB, taken here last June, I have 

 one of a yellow variety which occurs in some other species of the 

 genus, the red on all the wings replaced by pale yellow. B. muralis 

 iscommon here, and I have taken one curious specimen in which both 

 wings on the left side have the colouring apparently only partially 

 developed. The discoidal spot on the fore wing is present, and some 

 of the black markings are abnormally large, but the green colour is 

 scarcely_ perceptible, and the general appearance is rather that of an 

 under side. The pupa had probably received some injury near the 

 base of the wing-case immediately after casting the larval skin ; the 

 moth had the wings on the left side dislocated, and appeared unable 

 to fly.— J. E. E. Allen. 



CAPTURES AND FIELD REPORTS. 



Dragonfliks of the Vicinity of the Black Pond, Esher.— Al- 

 though the early spring gave promise of a good dragonfly season in this 

 neighbourhood, yet during the wet and cold weather of May and early June 

 these sun-loving insects were scarcely to be found, and it is but lately that 

 they have again appeared in any numbers. Since my last note (ante, 220) 

 the following insects have to be recorded :— On June 17th a male Sympetnim 

 dejiressum was taken, while on June 23rd Agrion puella, A. [Enallaqma] 

 cyatkirjerum, A. [Pyrrhosoma] minium, and a male and female A.^[P.] 

 tenellum were captured or seen. On July 25th dragonflies were fairly 

 plentiful at the pond, and we noticed LibeUula quadrimamlata ; A. jmella 

 and A. [P.] tenellum in large numbers ; and L. [Sympetrum] scotica in fair 

 abundance. Our attention, however, was chiefly directed to Anaxformosus, 

 ft male of which species fell to the lot of my companion. A few days later 



