NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 41 



Agriades thersites in Normandy. — In tlie 'Entomologist,' 

 August, 1917 (vol. 1, p. 186), I announced that M. L. Dupont had 

 captured A. thersites, Cantener, near Evreux, Eure, in June last. I 

 then expressed the hope that he would report a second emergence 

 of this interesting Blue ; but he now writes to inform me that the 

 weather was bad, as liere, in August, and he then met with no 

 examples of a gen. ast. M. Dupont, however, publishes in the 

 ' Bulletin Soc. ent. France' (1917, no. 16, p. 275) a note embodying 

 the communication made me ; and adds that in August, 1916, he 

 captured seven or eight examples near Pont-de-l'Arche in the same 

 Department, thus establishing the double-broodedness of the species 

 in its, at present, farthest reported north-western area of distribution. 

 — H. Eowland-Brown ; Harrov/- Weald, January 5th, 1918. 



A EussiAN Melit^a: a correction. — In the account of an 

 entomological expedition I made to South-East Eussia in the year 

 1914, I recorded in the ' Entomologist,' xlvii, p. 294, that I had met 

 with a Melitcea at Sarepta which agreed with M. aurelia var. semi- 

 nicjra, Seitz. This determination was based upon an examination 

 of the male armature, which was made by Mr. A. L. Eayward. I 

 have since then had Mr. Eayward's preparation in my possession, 

 and find it is not the armature of M. amelia, but that of M. atlialia, 

 or of a species closely allied to it, as it possesses the bifurcated uncus 

 of that species, vv'hich M. aurelia does not. The armature does not 

 quite agree with that of M. athalia in all respects, and as the wings 

 are superficially very distinct, it is quite possible that the Sarepta 

 MditcBci may be a new species ; but as the combined captures of my 

 companion, A. H. Jones, and myself only consist of three examples, 

 one male and two females, I cannot in this genus very well found 

 a species on this small amount of material. It is, of course, possible 

 that it may be the form or species which Seitz has figured and 

 described as semi -nigra, but in this puzzling group it is impossible 

 to diagnose a specimen with certainty by an examination of the 

 superficial characters of the imago. So the puzzle must remain 

 unsolved for the present. — W. G. Sheldon ; January 16th, 1918. 



Green Pupa of Euchloe cardamines. — Eespecting the Eev. 

 Eaynor's note in the ' Entomologist,' p. 20, I may add that, as far ajS 

 my experience goes, it is impossible to say in what percentage the 

 green form of the pupas of E. cardamines occur in a state of nature, 

 owing to the fact that the pupte are hardly ever found wild. The 

 only authentic instance I know of is one found by Mr. A. B. Earn in 

 Kent during December, 1900, and curiously enough this happened 

 to be of the green form ; it was attached to a brown withered stem 

 of garlic mustard. I have a coloured drawing of this specimen. On 

 dili'erent occasions I have had several green-coloured pupie of tliis 

 butterfly which pupated in captivity ; at the present time I have 

 eleven pupse of cardamines, and two of these are green examples. 

 The remarkable resemblance of the pupae, both in form and colouring, 

 to the seed-pods of the usual food-plant, garlic mustard (Alliaria 

 ojficinaUs), suggests that the larva selects this plant for the purpose 

 of pupation, but such is apparently not the case, as I have frequently 

 searched plants which had contained numerous larvae and never 



ENTOM. — FEBRUARY, 1918. E 



