143 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Early Appearance of a Dragonfly. — I was fortunate enough 

 to get a good view of a dragonfly on Easter Sunday (March 27th), 

 which appears to be a most extraordinarily early date for any of the 

 Odonata. My father was accompanying me, and also saw the insect, 

 which was flying briskly about on a sheltered bank in the bright 

 sunshine about midday at Hever in Kent (some nine miles south- 

 west of Tunbridge Wells). On mentioning the fact to Mr. Herbert 

 Campion, a well-known authority on dragonflies, I was given to 

 understand that a dragonfly in March was worth recording, especially 

 as there does not appear to be another instance recorded. I cannot 

 do better than quote from a letter on the subject received from 

 Mr. Campion, to whom I must tender my very best thanks. He 

 writes : — " I find I have no note of any observation or capture of any 

 British Odonate earlier than April 22nd, 1900 {see the ' Entomologist ' 

 for 1901, p. 65). On the date named some dragonflies were seen, but 

 not taken, and were considered to be Lihellula quadrimaculata. 

 This identification is rendered probable by the fact that the same 

 species was taken on April 25th, 1894. L. depressa has also occurred 

 in April (April 28th, 1902). . . . I rather gathered from your remarks, 

 however, that you considered your dragonfly to belong to the ^schnid 

 series. The only spring ^schnid is what is generally known as 

 Brachytron ^j raie7j.se (recte J5. hafniense), but I have no positive 

 record for that earlier than May 5th. Such AgrionincB as Pyrrhosoma 

 nymplmla and Enallagma cyathigerum have also occurred in April, 

 but these, of course, are small species." Thus it will be seen the 

 only large spring dragonfly is the ^schnid B. pratense. Assuming 

 the insect seen to belong to this species (and it certainly was quite as 

 large), the earliest records are — vide " British Dragonflies " (W. J. 

 Lucas), p. 176 — " seen at Egham, but not captured, April 29th, 1893 

 (C. A. Briggs) ; captured at Dover, May 5th (C. G. Hall) ; May 14th 

 (W. J. Lucas)." There does not appear to be any reason why dragon- 

 flies should not appear more commonly after such mild weather as 

 we experienced during the latter half of March. — Geoffrey Meade- 

 Waldo. 



Note on Attacus edwardsi (White). — In the May, 1909, 

 'Entomologist,' I had a note on the pupating larva of the above. 

 The secret of this particular larva was that it was infested wath 

 a dipterous parasite, feeding internally, and which emerged during 

 May. This winter I have had a further consigmrient of wild collected 

 cocoons of Attacus edwardsi, and I have a few more of this dipteron 

 in pupae and hatching. I shall be glad to forward them as long as 

 they will last to any dipterists who send small box and postage. I 

 cannot, however, offer any hope that this species is rare, as over 

 twenty per cent, of the imported Himalayan cocoons of edrvardsi 

 were infested. I retained, however, some of the infested larvae for 

 distributing the dipteron. I have also a few living dipteron cocoons, 

 ex the Nevada Papilio euryviedon to give away — Diptera not interest- 

 ing me, as I only collect the Saturnidae moths. — J. Henry Watson, 



