﻿NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 243 



very few, and distributed over wide areas; consequently, after 

 hibernation, when pairing takes place, it appears to me extremely 

 probable that the sexes are unable to find each other owing to the 

 localities where they occur being widely separated, and as far as we 

 know hibernated examples do not migrate to these shores in the 

 spring. Mr. Jones further states that we do not properly search for 

 the larvie. This can hardly be the case, because the larvae of this 

 insect are very conspicuous and would require but little searching for 

 on account of their gregarious habits, black colouring, and large 

 size ; consequently, a brood of these caterpillars during their last 

 two stages, forming a black mass on the foliage of trees would, 

 no doubt, have been readily detected at some time or other by 

 entomologists had they existed here.— F. W. Frohawk. 



Lycjsna arion in North Wales. — Mr. Arkle's reference to the 

 supposed occurrence of L. arion at Aberdovey [antea, p. 219; et 

 vide 'British Butterflies,' J. W. Tutt, vol. iv., p. 354) is probably 

 " teste Kerr." Nearly fifty years ago, when a boy, I spent 

 a summer holiday there with my people, and on that occasion I met 

 an old gentleman, a keen entomologist, who was collecting in the 

 district. Even in those days I was possibly keener than most 

 schoolboys about butterflies and moths, and he most kindly helped 

 me in many ways. I still have a copy of Stainton which he gave 

 me. He showed me some boxes of insects he had taken, and 

 amongst them I am almost certain — though at this distance of time 

 I cannot be certain — were some arion. What I am certain of is 

 that he told me arion occurred on the hills where the Trefiddian 

 Hotel now stands. Some twenty-five years elapsed, but I had not 

 forgotten my old friend and his arion, and when an opportunity 

 occurred I visited Aberdovey with a good hope, not to say expecta- 

 tion of seeing the insect. In glorious weather during the first week 

 of July I tramped over the whole district, taking many interesting 

 things, but no arion were seen. Since then, many July days have 

 been spent on the hills overlooking the sea between the village and 

 the cemetery. The "Large Blue" has never been sighted. That is 

 the story of the supposed existence of arion at Aberdovey. Per- 

 sonally I still believe that it once flew there, though I fear now long 

 extinct, as has happened in other localities for the butterfly in 

 England; though, perhaps, on the evidence I can hardly expect 

 others to be equally convinced. Some five years since I took ario7i 

 freely near Bude, and last year more sparingly on the Cotswolds. I 

 noticed how similar in many ways the localities w^ere to the Aber- 

 dovey hills. — W. J. Kerr; Falconside, Cromer, September, 1915. 



Injury to the Wings of Lyc^na arion. — I think I can account 

 for the injured specimens of L. arion alluded to by Mr. J. H. Grant 

 in his notes on the "Butterflies of the Cotswolds {antea, p. 215). It 

 is the practice of a certain dealer to capture large numbers of 

 specimens for the purpose of examining them for varieties, and all 

 that are found to be normal are marked by removing the apices of 

 the fore wings, and then liberated ; by this means they can be 

 recognised, which saves the trouble of recapturing them. — F. W. 

 Fkohawk. 



