76 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



RHOPALOCERA FROM EAST TYRONE IN 1919, WITH 

 NOTES ON VARIATION. 



By Thomas Greek. 



In reading over the recent volumes of the * Entomologist ' I 

 notice that few notes from Ireland have appeared, the latest 

 heing an interesting account of the hutterflies of the Curragh 

 district by the late Col. N. Manders ('Entom.,' vol. xlvi (1913), 

 p. 292), so perhaps the following random notes from the north 

 of Ireland will be of interest. 



The first butterfly of the year, Pieris rapes, was observed on 

 April 18th, followed on the 20th by Euchlo'c cardamines and 

 Aglais urticce. 



Pieris hrassiccB, first seen July 14th, was not very common, 

 and only a single emergence was noticed ; a large female 

 captured on the heather at Loch Fea, August 3rd, has the apical 

 blotch and the discal spots united by a suffusion of dark scales. 

 Several of the males of P. rapce, 1st gen., were spotless, and 

 many of the females in V)oth broods were of a pale yellow ; two- 

 of these have the fore-wing spots fused together by dark scales. 

 The spring emergence of P. najn was abundant in our damp 

 meadows and swamps, the males varying from a spotless form 

 to well-marked examples with large spot and apical blotch and 

 dashes. Of the females, several nice banded forms occurred, 

 with marginal streak, spots and apical blotch united ; two of 

 these are pale primrose yellow ; another fine example is entirely 

 suffused with dark scales, except for a small portion of the 

 discal area. 



Of the summer emergence many of the males have two spots 

 on the forewings, and in an extreme example the two spots are 

 fused together. The females are even more remarkable than the 

 spring form, the spots and marginal dashes varying through 

 grey, brown, to a deep black, the hind wings on upper side 

 strongly marked with brown or black. I may note here that 

 these extreme forms are to be found more frequently in swamps 

 and damp localities, where the over-wintering pupfe have been 

 submerged off and on during that season. 



During May Euchlor cardamines was flying in hundreds and 

 several interesting aberrations occurred. Among the males the 

 best was perhaps a beautiful pale yellow example, the lower 

 wings strongly marked with sulphur colour ; another with twin 

 discoidal spots on the fore wings ; several specimens, with 

 marginal dots on uj^per wings united to each other and to the 

 apical blotch, give the effect of a dark border to the outer edge 

 of the wings. 



A great proportion of the females are of the var. ochrea, Tutt, 



