﻿NOTKS AND OBSERVATIONS. 123 



At home bacteriologists all over the country had taken in hand 

 individual cases of cerebro-spinal meningitis, which was a most 

 dangerous disease and which might be a scourge to the ranks, and ho 

 hoped and believed that that difficulty had been successfully over- 

 come." — H. R.-B. 



The Copulation op Scorpion-flies. — On May 25th, 1914, I 

 received from Mr. D. H. Gotch (who was unfortunately killed in 

 action a short time ago) a living pair of Panorpa gennanica, obtained 

 by him at Oxshott the day before. About 11.30 a.m. I placed them 

 together in a glass-bottomed box, and within a few minutes pairing 

 took place and continued throughout the day. In the evening Hve 

 aphids were introduced into the box as food, but it was not until the 

 Scorpion-flies were exposed to the light of a table-lamp that they 

 became active enough to take nourishment. They then fed together, 

 still in coitu, but by 9.30 p.m. they had separated. During pairing 

 the insects stood at an acute angle to each other ; but beyond the 

 fact that the male was holding the female from below with his claw- 

 like terminal appendages, very little could be observed of the copu- 

 latory position, as the bodies were well hidden by the wings. In the 

 morning of May 26th it was seen that both specimens were in a 

 moribund condition, and they were consequently killed. No 

 trace of eggs could be found in the box. — Herbert Campion ; 

 58, Eanelagh Eoad, Ealing, March 29th, 1915. 



Larv^ of Lycena corydon. — On May 8fch last year I found four 

 young larvae of L. corydon feeding on Hippocre2Jis comosa in Fleam 

 Dyke, Cambs., a showery afternoon, and the grass very wet. On 

 31st of same month a great number of larvae feeding, in pouring rain, 

 in the Devil's Dyke : on both dates observations were made about 

 3 p.m., and therefore five hours or so before sunset. An examination 

 of the same plants on June 4th revealed one or two larv» concealed 

 amongst the roots ; the rest were invisible, nor had they pupated, as 

 no pupae were to be found, and some I took on the 31st did not 

 pupate till June 17th. They evidently object to feeding in the sun- 

 shine. Nearly every larva I saw on the 31st was being " caressed " 

 by three or four ants. Two larvae of Thecla betides brought here on 

 June 20th attracted a number of ants, which were busy caressing 

 them for two days, as many as nine being counted on one larva : on 

 the 22nd their attentions ceased, no doubt owing to the cessation of 

 the skin secretions due to the forming of the pupal integument, as 

 the larvae pupated on 23th. — W. R. Taylor ; 86, The Avenue, West 

 Ealing, W. 



Butterflies of the Taunton District. — As a local record I 

 think the following Hst of the butterflies of the Taunton district 

 must be considered a good one. The district in question covers a 

 radius of about ten miles from Taunton, and the number of species 

 I have taken is forty-two ; and if I include V. antiopa (seen by a 

 friend of mine but missed) it is forty-three. I have seen a record of 

 the capture of this insect within four miles of the town in 1877 : — 

 P. brassiccB, rapes, napi, E. card amines, L. sinapis, C. edusa, G. 

 rhamni, A. selene, euphrosijne, aglaia, adippe, paphia, 31. atirinia. 



