38 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



GLEANINGS FROM MY NOTEBOOKS— IV. 

 By J. W. Heslop Harrison, D.Sc. 



Brenthis eaphrosifne, L. Once fairly abundatit and wide- 

 spread, this insect, like Argi/nnu aglaia, is now restricted to the 

 west of Durham and Northumberland, particularly in the district 

 between the Tyne and Derwent ; in that area it still sometimes 

 abounds, and can be readily found in the larval condition in 

 April and May. I have found the larvte in some numbers crawling 

 over fairly deep snow early in the former month. April 20th is a 

 good average date to look for the larva, as it suns itself everywhere 

 save on the food-plant. On one occasion I found a pupa sus- 

 pended from a bramble stem about a foot from the ground. The 

 insect has similarly vanished from Cleveland, although I have 

 seen odd specimens captured within the last dozen years. 



Brenthis selene, Schiff. Exactly in the same plight as the 

 last insect, and even more limited in its habitats. When the larvae 

 of B. eiip}irosf/ne are more than half grown, those of the present 

 species are either in winter quarters or just emerging therefrom 

 as very small larvae. The first week in June is the best period 

 to search for them, but compared with those of its congener they 

 are very hard to find ; as a matter of fact, my friend Johnson and 

 I have found as many scores of B. euphros^yne larva? as individuals 

 of B. selene. Curiously enough we have never had parasitised 

 B. euphrosyne, whilst both of us have had B. selene stung. The 

 females of both insects lay freely when enclosed over Viola odorata, 

 V. canina, V. hirta, V. sylvestris, V. lutea, V. cornuta, V. gracilis 

 or any cultivated viola or pansy, and exposed to sunlight 07- incan- 

 descent gaslight. Brenthis dia behaves similarly, but whilst the 

 larvae of the first two insects uniformly hibernate with me, those 

 of B. dia (from Swiss females) spin up and emerge the same year. 



Erebia (ethiops, Esp. {hlandina, ¥.). Now practically ex- 

 terminated from Durham. On the last occasion I looked for it 

 I found one solitary individual near Thornley and Wellfield 

 Station K in its old haunts. I had a letter from one extermi- 

 nator to the effect that he couldn't understand its disappearance 

 when just a short time ago he could go any afternoon early in 

 August and come home with 200-300 specimens in his boxes ! 

 Elsewhere 1 have seen it in great numbers in all the clearings in 

 Altyre Woods, Forres, along the Eiver Findhorn and on to the 

 landward side of the birch wood on the Culbin Sands. It like- 

 wise abounds on the edge of some inundated land before one 

 reaches the sands. Whilst it generally rests amongst the grasses 

 (more especially Deschampsia Jiexuosa, which seems to be the 

 preferred food-plant wherever I have worked), I have beaten it 

 out of Salix 7-epeni^, Betula alba and Pinus sylvestris. It is one 

 of the ea>iest butterflies to pair and to secure ova from, these 

 functions taking place even in a small cardboard box in the dark. 



