SOCIETIES. 915 
so yesterday I chose what I considered a good locality near London, 
and sowed the youthful phegea larve amongst scattered plants of 
dandelion, a food they apparently approved of in confinement. 
Should any collector meet with the species in 1910, please communi- 
cate with me, and do not exterminate it. 
Crossing the lava beds on Mount Etna between Bronté and 
Aderno, the “ orange-tip”’ was flying amongst the spurge, almost the 
only plant which grows there, but which flowers almost as brightly 
as broom, quite different to our English spurge. The orange-tips 
seemed also to be far brighter than our English species, but my 
net was packed away, and I postponed capturing the specimens 
until a future early visit which never took place. At Aderno I had 
my net and captured my first Papilio podalirius, the loveliest flier 
amongst butterflies that I have come across. It does not fly, it 
simply “soars” in the air. This may be an Irish bull, but it is true. 
Close to Catania a “procession” caterpillar on the pine-trees was 
very common whenever the pine-trees occurred. Occasionally some 
caterpillars would be blown down from the large nests on the tops of 
the trees, and instinctively they formed a line, head to tail, and 
marched off to regain their food-plant. It was curious to watch a 
line, over a yard long, crossing the dusty roadway in perfect order. 
I kept some larve, which spun up, but have not yet produced moths, 
so I am not sure of the species. 
Towards the end of May I returned to Messina and resumed my 
walks up the adjoining mountains. Hach day I was able to get three 
or four fresh species of butterflies, mainly those we get in England, 
or reputed British species. I found it difficult to get an entire 
novelty. I own up that I was quite overwhelmed with delight when 
I got my first and only Argynnis pandora; the lovely under side 
is indescribable. Charaxes jastus (one only) does not soar like P. 
podalirius, but flies hurriedly. M. didyma makes a brilliant show 
when innumbers. Our own P. machaon frequents the hills, and has 
a curious habit of settling on a culm of long grass, and floating with 
open wings from side to side like an inverted pendulum. 
As I had no means of setting my specimens, I put them in 
papers, with data. Later on I hope to set them, and shall then be 
able to make a complete list of my captures. Speaking generally 
regarding the butterflies of Sicily, it seems to me that Sicily would 
make a good appanage to Great Britain, and I am surprised to find 
that twenty degrees of latitude make so little difference—J. Pharr 
Barrett ; 30, Endwell Road, Brockley, S.E., July 10th, 1909. 
SOCIETIES. 
THe SoutH Lonpon Enromonocican AND Natura History 
Socrery.—July 8th, 1909.—Mr. Alfred Sich, F.E.S., President, in the 
chair.—It was announced that the collections of British and European 
butterflies made by the late Mr. F. Freeman, F.E.S., of Tavistock, Devon, 
had been generously presented to the Society by Mrs. Freeman, through 
Mr. Rowland-Brown. It is contained in two handsome cabinets. The 
