NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 15 



brought indoors and had tried to force. Owing to fuel difficulties 

 I could not keep the heat up all the time and they failed. The 

 ethers Avere not coddled at all, but were just left as they spun up 

 under leaves. I tore up quantities of dry plantain leaves, and I 

 found that the larvae went under them most freely, and some 

 into dry peat fibre ; for they do not go down into the earth, only 

 under the surface, and I am sure they hate moisture. The web 

 is very light and meshy, like a bit of lady's net veiling, but strong. 



Altogether this has been a wonderful year for SphingidsB. 

 We found during October twelve larvae in all stages of the large 

 form of Hyles euphorhice (not H. nicaa, Prun. ; I wish it were !). 

 To these must be added three SjyJiinx ligustri, very uncommon 

 here, on Laiirestinus ; five Eumorpha elpenor, also very rare, on 

 Epiiohium ; and two Smerinihus ocellata. 



Of the Manduca atropos larvae taken, three are of the brown 

 form from jasmine, two gorgeous yellow and blue striped from, 

 strange to say, Japanese chrysanthemum, C. sinensis* The two 

 latter were remarkably fine specimens, and I still have one feeding 

 found on the kind of Solanuni which is commonly hawked about 

 the London streets as the "winter cherry," but it does not seem 

 to digest it well. When found it had eaten some of the scarlet 

 berries ; the frass was bright scarlet and it seemed out of sorts. 

 No doubt it felt the cold, but since capture it never eats more 

 than one small leaf twice a day. 



Villa le Chatelet, 



Le Cannet, Alpes-Maritimes ; 

 November 13th, 1919. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 

 The Sydney Webb Collection. — The second portion of this well- 

 known collection, consisting of the remainder of the Buttertiies and 

 part of the Geometers, was sold at Stevens' Auction Eooms on Tues- 

 day, December 9th, and although no lot touched the record prices 

 obtained in the sale of the first portion, many sold at very high 

 figures. An almost unicolorous dark brown variety of Melitaa 

 athalia, lot 3, set the pace at 12 guineas, and three Eos forms of the 

 same species made from £5 10s. to £6 10s. each. M. aurinia 

 (arteniis), forms with broad buff bands, bi'ought £4 and £5 10s., and 

 one almost all black £7, and the best M. cinxia £5. Rumicia phlceas 

 forms appeared to be in request, a nearly unicolorous blackish one 

 making £3, one with the forewings, except the margins, entirely 

 coppery £7 10s., one with large confluent spots £12, one in which the 

 usual black markings were replaced by golden brown £11, and a nearly 

 unicolorous pale brown specimen £5, while Schmidtii forms offered 

 in lots of two each realised £2 10s, £1 and £5 10s. per lot. An under- 

 side Tliecla w-album with broad pale fascia brought £5. There were 

 long series of Lycaenids, and although several lots failed to find buyers 



* Seems to be a favourite food-plant on the Kiviera. Mr. H. Powell records it 

 at Hyeres (Tutt's ' Brit. Lepidoptera," vol. iv, p. 433).— En. 



