NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 9 



M. Ragonpt held the opinion that prijerella, which at one time was 

 considered a distinct species, was only a bleached form of ceratonicB, 

 and in this Mr. South concurred. During the winter (1904-5) I found 

 at various times odd larvje, to the total number of half a dozen, feed- 

 ing in dates purchased in Liverpool. The fruits thus tenanted were 

 pat on one side, and towards the end of July, 1905, three moths 

 emerged, while three of the larvse had died, probably through injury 

 when the fruit was opened. Later in the year I submitted the imagines X^ 

 to Mr. Eustace Bankes, who found them to be as follows : One M. 

 ceratonia (type), one var. pri/erclla, and one intermediate between the 

 other two, but approaching pryerella. My object in writing the above 

 is to call attention to the fad that pri/erella is not a bleached form of 

 ceratonicB, but a good variety. It does not appear to be necessary for 

 the elucidation of this point to do more than mention that the forms 

 are — (1) type, grey; (2) pnjerella; white, with very slight sprinkhng 

 of fuscous about the subterminal line on fore wings ; (3) intennediate, 

 like 2, but with rather more fuscous scaling. The last two both have 

 ochreous suffusion along the costa and nervures of all the wings. Last 

 winter, although carefully looked for, no larvae were found. There is 

 no external evidence of the presence of a larva in the fruit ; it is only 

 when opening a date to remove the stone that a tenant is detected. 

 The larva lies along the stone, and makes no effort to escape ; neither 

 does it appear alarmed when suddenly exposed. I hope to be able to 

 obtain more material for the study of this interesting species in the 

 course of the present winter. — Wbi. Mansbridge ; Liverpool. 



Larva of Limenitis sibylla.— Mr. W. J. Lucas's interesting note 

 in the 'Entomologist' for December, 1906, on the early stages of 

 Limenitis sibylla, brought to my mind W. Muller"s elaborate paper, 

 " Siidamerikanische Nymphalidenraupen" (Zool. Jahrb., Bd. i., 1886, 

 pp. 417-678). The author remarks on the habit of many genera allied 

 to Limenitis of feeding in the larval condition from the tip of a leaf 

 towards the stalk, so as to leave the midrib intact. These genera he 

 accordingly groups together as " Rippenbanenden " (see especially 

 pp. 553-561). In Taf. 14, fig. 15, he illustrates, by a striking figure 

 of the young larva of a species of Ancea on a partly-eaten leaf of its 

 food-plant, the protective resemblance between the larva itself and the 

 fragments of leaf still left adhering to the midrib. This seems quite 

 comparable with the means of protection employed by the young larva 

 of L. sibylla to which attention "is drawn by Mr. Lucas. — F. A. Dixey. 



The Mathew Collection of British Lepidopteka. — On November 

 20th, 1906, the fine collection of British Lepidoptera formed by Pay- 

 master-in-Chief G. F. Mathew, was dispersed at Stevens's. Altogether 

 there were 524 lots, reahzing a grand total of about £325. The prices 

 obtained were fairly good on the whole, but there were some curious 

 fluctuations in the bidding, and some of the purchasers must have 

 congratulated themselves on the bargains they secured. Five speci- 

 mens of Chrysophanus dispar, three males and two females, realized 

 just under £10, although one of the females fetched 80/- and the other 

 40/-. Two examples of Deilephila eiiphorbicp from Raddon's collection 

 went for 8/-, and eight specimens of D. yaJii for about 5/- each. An 

 example of D. livnmica, taken in May, 1906, made a guinea, and one 



