62 TraTisactions. 



Notes on a Few of the Kare Lepidoptera observed in 

 THE Vicinity of Dumfries. By William Lennon. 



On a former occasion I had the pleasure of preparing a small 

 paper, which was read to the Society last winter, on a few of 

 the rare Lepidoptera of this district. In that paper parti- 

 cular mention was made of a rare Butterfly, scientifically 

 called " Thecla Quercus," which I had the satisfaction of 

 finding in Comlongan Wood. This year I was fortunate 

 enough to find it in quite a new locality, and one much 

 nearer home, namely, at Dalscairth. I found it on the 28th 

 of July last, when I was beating the oaks for larvae. Stain- 

 ton, in his Manual of British Butterflies and Moths, says that 

 it is generally distributed in the south, and occurs in the north 

 of England. I wrote to one or two entomologists in Cum- 

 berland and Westmoreland, but not one of them had ever 

 taken it, or ever heard of its capture in any of their respec- 

 tive localities, so that the fact of finding it at Comlongan 

 and also at Dalscairth makes it the more interesting. 



The next rarity of the season is "Notodonta dictsea." 

 This Moth belongs to an order of insects called the " Bomby- 

 cina." The Germans call them the Spinners, because it is to 

 this order of insects that the silkworm belongs. There are 

 only twelve families represented in Britain. "Notodonta 

 dictsea," or the " Swallow Prominent," is by no means a 

 common insect, although it takes a very wide range, and is 

 found sparingly in most parts of England. Stainton cites 

 Edinburgh as the only place of its capture in Scotland. The 

 moth appears in May and July. The caterpillar is of a 

 greenish white, with a yellow stripe on each side. It feeds 

 on the poplar, and is full-fed in October. I took about 

 twenty larva in the grounds of the Crichton Institution, 

 which arc now in pupa state. 



Notodonta dictiEoides (or the Lesser Swallow Prominent) 

 very closely resemble the preceding, but is generally a little 

 darker, more especially on the hind wings. The moth 

 appears in May and June. The caterpillar is deep brown. 



