246 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



acquaintance with Aspilates ochrearia {citrarui), and occasional 

 males of Selidosema ericetaria scouring the hillside with the 

 restless energy of Lasiocampa quercus, which was everywhere 

 in evidence, es^Decially in the cyanide bottles of the host of 

 youngsters after " Oak Eggars." Anaitis plagiata was not in 

 its usual abundance, or Gnophos obscurata. 



The following list of butterflies suggests that I met with 

 almost all that may be expected in the Isle of Purbeck at this 

 particular season. Single examples are marked with an asterisk. 



Hesperid^. — Niso)iiades tages, gen. (est., two examples near 

 Corfe. Adopoea jiava, less common than Thymelicm actceon, and 

 in better condition as a rule. 



Thymelicus aclceoji is generally distributed, as is well known, 

 from Ballard Down to Corfe, and again less frequently on the 

 west downs from Corfe Castle ; it occurs, also, all along the 

 coast downs west of Swanage, but I found it in August more 

 plentiful inland. With regard to Mr. M. J. Mansfield's 

 interesting note in the 'Entomologist' for last month (p. 237), 

 suggesting possibilities of hibernation as imago, Tutt in his 

 'British Butterflies' (vol. i, p. 125) disposes, I think, of the idea 

 that the early observed examples are of a separate brood. At 

 the time these observations were published (1904-5) he had come 

 to the conclusion that actceon passes the winter in the egg, and 

 the larva hatches in the early spring, though he was still uncertain 

 when the larva actually leaves the e^^g. In a forward season 

 such as 1893 the first imagines would be early on the wing. 

 At all events it is quite clear that the seasonal flight is very 

 much more extended than commonly supposed, and to this fact 

 more than any other, I think, is due the successful resistance 

 of the " Lulworth Skipper" to its human enemies. Mr. Lister 

 found it in varying condition in mid July last year on the Corfe 

 downs {antea, p. 54). 



This year, from August 1st to 13th, I came across occasional 

 obviously freshly-emerged examples, though, curiously enough, 

 the really perfect were confined to the male sex. By this 

 time the Swanage downs were invaded by crowds of school-boys 

 wielding nets, out for the " Lulworth Skipper." No doubt 

 the eggs for the coming generation had already been laid by the 

 early emerged females to ensure continuity. To revert to the 

 hypothesis of hibernation as imago, Mr. Eustace Bankes and 

 other locnl collectors who cave the species very close attention 

 in the eighties are not likely to have missed hibernating 

 individuals when collecting larvre in the early spring. I have 

 recently made a search of available literature on the subject. 

 In all the numerous catalogues, local and regional, of the 

 French departments, one only hints at a double brood, and none 

 hibernation as imago. This solitary notice is to be found in the 



