NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 161 



present all the common species of butterflies seem very abundant 

 this season. — Lieut. -Comm. R. A. Dickson, R.N. ; The Hermitage, 

 Bishop's Waltham, Hampshire. 



Pyrameis atalanta IN May. — On May 24:th I saw a specimen of 

 Pyrameis atalanta flying in my garden, and this was not the first 

 occasion, but I forget the previous date. Such an early appearance 

 seems suggestive of its having hibernated in England rather than 

 that it should have migrated here from the Continent. — W. M. 

 Christy ; Watergate, Emsvvorth, Hants. 



Hibernation of Aglais urtice. — With reference to the recent 

 notes in this Journal on the hibernation of Aglais urticcB, I should 

 like to add that it has long been known that urtica frequently hiber- 

 nates very shortly, probably during its first flight, after emergence 

 from the pupa about mid-summer. A very interesting note regarding 

 this habit is recorded by the Rev. O. P. Cambridge in the ' Ento- 

 mologist,' dating as far back as 1867, stating : " On one of the first 

 Sundays in August last, during divine service, a specimen of Vanessa, 

 urticcs flew into the parish church of Winterbourne-Tomson, in which 

 I was ofticiating. After fluttering in the windows and flying about 

 the church for a short time, the insect settled on a projecting rafter 

 in a conspicuous place, and remained, with its wings in the usual 

 state of repose, during the remainder of the service. On the Sunday 

 following it was still in static quo ; and so, Sunday after Sunday, 

 throughout the autumn and winter, evidently never having once 

 moved from its first position. There it was until, on Sunday, the 

 5th instant, it came off its perch, and was flying briskly about the 

 church when I came away after the conclusion of the service. Its 

 period of motionless repose has thus been just nine months, and it was 

 apparently as fresh in colour and condition as if just out of the 

 chrysalis.— O. P. Cambridge ; Bloxworth, May 22nd, 1867." I have 

 noticed this species entering into hibernation as early as July on 

 more than one occasion. In 1918, towards the end of July, I found 

 a specimen which had taken up its winter quarters by a skylight in 

 my house, where it remained until the following spring, when it left 

 the spot and flew away during a short warm spell of weather on 

 April 19th, 1919, the duration of its winter's sleep being nine months, 

 similar to the one under the Rev. O. P. Cambridge's observation. Last 

 autumn nrticce was scarcer than I have ever known it. I did not see 

 more than half a dozen specimens from the end of July onwards, and 

 the hibernated individuals have been equally rare in this district — S.E. 

 Essex. On March 28th I saw two in the garden here and one or two 

 during April ; on May 9th one only, which, however, turned out to be a 

 nice variety — recorded in a separate note. The Vanessidie have a habit 

 of congregating for hibernation — not only individuals of the same 

 species, but the different kinds have from time to time been found 

 assembled in the same shelter. Instances are recorded of large numbers 

 of V. io having been found together. Mr. A. B. Earn once found a lai-ge 

 colony of these butterflies in a hole in the trunk of a tree ; thinking 

 it might be a likely place for hibernating butterflies he looked in, 

 when he heard a hissing sound caused by the large number of speci- 



ENTOM. JULY, 1920. P 



