240 IHE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



thinking, that he would readily have afforded the desired 

 information, as he is always ready to give information — prac- 

 tical information — if it is only sought. 



My experience is very limited, and I would gladly learn 

 more of the habits of our British Lepidoptera ; but when I 

 find that what 1 observe myself is at variance with the written 

 accounts given by our best entomologists, I must confess I 

 become sceptical as to the descriptions of those insects 

 which 1 have not seen ; and I think that, whilst there is a 

 doubt about even the larvae of our sixty-five species of Rho- 

 palocera, entomologists ought to leave no stone unturned to 

 obtain the information practically. 



It may perhaps interest some of your readers to know the 

 manner in which I obtained the eggs of Phlaeas. On the 

 7th of September 1 followed a female Phlaeas for more than 

 two hours over a large pasture, and saw her deposit her eggs 

 on plants of sorrel: she did not fly in the usual brisk manner 

 of Phlaeas, but only a short distance at a time, and never laid 

 more than one egg on a plant ; so that 1 conclude these are 

 " solitary " larvae : between each egg that she laid she settled 

 frequently on some tall bent of grass or other prominent 

 post, and basked in the sun. I subsequently followed, and 

 noticed several other females, with the following results : — 

 The egg was almost invariably laid on the midrib of the leaf, 

 close to the stalk ; the smaller plants of sorrel were chosen 

 on which to deposit the egg ; indeed sometimes a plant with 

 not more than three or four leaves, and those not larger than 

 threepenny-pieces. On three occasions, whilst carefully 

 searching larger plants, 1 have found two eggs on a leaf, but, 

 in two of these cases, only one egg was laid by the same 

 female : 1 never lost sight of any particular insect I was 

 following, and carefully avoided frightening it. 1 noticed 

 that they often settled on the ground, and walked some dis- 

 tance, searching apparently for the sorrel ; and in this inves- 

 tigation, as also in selecting a place on a leaf for the egg, 

 they seemed to make use of their antennae, which were 

 depressed and passed carefully over the leaves. 



In a sheltered corner of this field grew a quantity of 

 thistles, and these seemed to be the rendezvous of Phlaeas, 

 as both males and females were in abundance; and I ob- 

 served that if a flirtation between any two was likely to end 



