DURATION OF STAGES OF PYRAMEIS ATALANTA. 253 



Mr. Mathew states — " The females take a considerable time in 

 <iepositing all their ova ... she may take a month or 

 perhaps longer before she has finished laying." He also doubts 

 this species being double-brooded, and that the eggs are laid from 

 the middle of April, in early seasons, to towards the end of July. 



There cannot be any doubt that a succession of broods of 

 utalanta occur during favourable seasons, as I think the following 

 notes will show, otherwise how can we account for small larvae 

 occurring at the end of September and even as late as well into 

 October. These cannot be the result of spring parents, 

 especially when the egg state lasts from five to ten days accord- 

 ing to temperature. 



The complete transformations of the summer emergence 

 •occupy from about forty-five to fifty days. Of one brood reared, 

 the eggs hatched on the ninth day (rather longer than usual 

 owing to temperature), larval stage twenty-three days and pupal 

 stage seventeen days, total forty-nine days. 



June 14th, 1894 (the first warm, bright day for the past two 

 months), a captive female deposited 100 eggs and died a few days 

 after. 



June 27th, 1903, 1 observed a wild female depositing. She flew 

 from one plant to another in quick succession, only resting about 

 five seconds each time to deposit an egg — only one on a plant, each 

 being laid on the upper surface of one of the smaller terminal 

 leaves. These hatched on July 2nd — only five days in the egg 

 state. Another also seen depositing in the same manner 

 June 29th, 1903. 



Mr. Mathew also states — " These larvae do not vary very 

 much." This surely is a mistake, as the whole colouring is liable 

 to great variation in different individuals. September 17th, 1905, 

 I found thirty-six larvae on a small bed of nettles at Ptomney Marsh, 

 Kent, in various stages from after the second moult to fully grown ; 

 the latter were of various colours, from almost entirely pale 

 ochreous-whitish, to wholly black. The first one pupated 

 September 22ud, and emerged October 12th ; others emerged 

 until the end of November. September 30th, 1908, found four 

 larvae at Thundersley, Essex ; three fully grown, one moulted last 

 time October 1st and pupated October 8th; imago emerged 

 October 19th. In the Scilly Islands I found many larvae in 

 -difierent stages, some quite small, during October, 1912 ; there 

 produced imagines in November. 



In these islands (Scilly) atalanta occurs on the wing through- 

 out the winter during suitable weather. The late Lord , 

 Proprietor, T. A. Dorrieu-Smith, told me that it was quite usual 

 to see atalu nta Rying about the Tresco Gardens at Christmas-time. 

 In such warm districts as South Cornwall and the Scillies this 

 species has no true hibernating period, and merely retires for 

 rest during rough, unsuitable weather. 



