226 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
elevation, on May 6th; and afterwards at Messina, Sicily (2000 ft.), 
May 9th; Palermo (2000 ft.), May 12th; and Mount Etna (over 
3000 ft.), May 16th. During my trip into Calabria I captured speci- 
mens at Palmi (1500 ft.), May 22nd; Catanzaro (2500 ft.), May 24th ; 
Nicotera, May 30th (1000 ft.) ; and Cape Spartivento (50 ft.), June 
3rd. It was flying at Messina (50 ft.) on June 10th, and above and 
below Bérisal, Switzerland (4500 ft. to 5500 ft.), from June 17th to 
22nd, and finally I left the species in excellent condition, both males 
and females, at Kandersteg, at an elevation of 4000 ft., on Monday, 
June 29th.—J. Puatrt Barrett; Westcroft, South Road, Forest Hill, 
8.E., July 3rd, 1914. 
A Day 1n Detamere Forest.—On July 11th, in Delamere 
Forest, and feeding on bramble blossoms, I saw a fine and fresh male 
Pyrameis (Vanessa) atalanta. Was this puzzling butterfly locally 
bred ? did it pass the winter in the egg, larva, chrysalis, or imago 
state, and where did it hibernate? Or, after it had crossed the 
waves of the North Sea, or the waters thereto, why did it fly from 
the east to the very west of the country, arriving in speckless 
condition? With these unsolved “problems” as companions I 
subsequently captured a fine Cenonympha tiphon with lanceolated 
spots (subvariety lanceolata), and two specimens of Acidalia strami- 
nata var. circellata. This latter insect appears to be common but 
local here. Possibly it escapes detection when on the wing through 
being taken for Crambus margaritellus or females of Fidonia atomaria. 
At rest, however, on the heather, &c., it cannot well be mistaken. 
From a female taken on the same spot in July of last year I obtained 
a large number of eggs. These hatched, and the larvee went on so 
well that I had reason to think they would survive the winter. They 
fed readily on knot-grass (which I think does not grow on or near 
their habitat), and they began hibernation on the stems, fastening 
themselves by their anal claspers, and branching out at an acute 
angle in the form of a note of interrogation. So they remained, until 
I discovered at the end of last March that many had dropped from 
their perch. All were dead. I had succeeded in giving them food, 
and plenty of fresh air, but I had failed in providing the damp 
environment of the mosses. One of the C. tephon (I only saw five 
or six altogether) was nearly captured by one of the larger dragonflies 
(Aischna juncea), of which there were many about. A movement on 
my part scared away the dragonfly, which was only an inch or two 
behind the butterfly, and so the t7zphon was saved. The mosses were 
unusually dry and enabled me to watch the richly-coloured males of 
Leucorrhinia dubia, in black and maroon, hovering over the pools. 
The females, in which the maroon colour is replaced by yellow, were 
not so numerous. I found the tephon ground—the only Delamere 
haunt now, I fear, for the butterfly—guarded by two rows of high 
iron railings smeared with fresh tar. I thought with regret of the 
newspaper I had left behind in the railway carriage. Still, the 
obstruction did not prevent an old veteran of seventy summers 
clearing the rails and landing safely on the other side, untarred, 
excepting the hands, which were soon corrected in the dry sand of 
the place.—J. ARKLE; Chester. 
