278 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
spade of the man who found it. Those I saw were all full fed or 
nearly so. One was found walking across a large tennis lawn. I 
have seen no Colias edusa here this year, but during the hot days a 
fortnight ago Pyramets cardut was rather in evidence in the clover 
fields and also in gardens, where it was attracted by standard helio- 
tropes; all those I saw appeared to be rather worn. P. atalanta has 
been unusually abundant, and is still (September 23rd) in beautiful 
condition ; it is always a common species in gardens here during the 
first weeks of September, and is also often plentiful nearer the coast. 
Last week we had three or four extremely cold days, and I found 
many torpid Atalanta sitting on the dahlia flowers, always choosing 
the red, or red and orange blossoms. Perfectly fresh Polyommatus 
icarus were seen when out partridge driving on the 19th— 
GERARD H.GurRNEY; Keswick Hall, Norwich. 
DRAGONFLIES BRED IN 1914.—This year I have bred Brachutron 
pratense (one female) from a nymph found early in June, 1913, in 
the Ouse, near St. Ives, Huntingdon. The dragonfly emerged on (or 
about) May 12th. schna grandis, from nymphs taken in the 
canal at Byfleet last year, and from one taken in the canal, near 
Purton, Wiltshire, early this summer; Lzbellula quadrimaculata, 
from nymph taken at Byfleet this summer; Sympetrum striolatum, 
from nymphs taken in canal near Purton; Calopteryx virgo (Ober- 
water stream, New Forest); estes sponsa, male (Byfleet Canal) ; 
Enallagma cyathigerwm; Agrion puella; Pyrrhosoma nymphula. I 
found imagines of P. nymphula in one of my aquaria (they are 
fitted with a kind of gauze case) on my return to town after a week- 
end away in the last week of April. They were not from nymphs 
collected this year, for at that time I had not yet been out for 
nymphs this season, and I was not aware that I had put any 
P. nymphula in that aquarium last year. But I had put in a good 
many Zygopterid nymphs (mainly Hrythromma naias and Ischnura 
elegans). in early summer, 1913. Some of them must have been 
only partly grown P. nymphula; I have found the same thing 
happen before with this species, but with no other Zygopterid; the 
nymphs of every other Zygopterid dragonfly I have ever taken have 
always emerged in the year in which they were taken (in May or 
June). Only P. nymphula have remained in the nymph stage over 
the following winter. None of the nymphs could have been hatched 
in the year that I took them (mostly in May); for that year’s 
nymphs would either not have been hatched at all by then or would 
be very small. They must presumably all have been already nearly 
a year in the nymph stage; when taken, so that the P. nymphula 
that came out in the summer afier must have been about two years 
in that stage. There seems to be great uncertainty as to the average 
duration of that phase of a dragonfly’s life. With Cordulegaster 
annulatus it is a long stage; I doubt if ib is ever less than two years. 
I have a nymph of that species now, taken in May last. The egg 
can hardly have been laid later than August, 1913; and the imago will 
not emerge until June, 1915. This would be a little under two years. 
But from the size of the nymph when taken, it may well have been 
hatched early in July, 1913, and even not in 1913 at all, but in 1912. 
I should like to ask if others have found Calopteryx virgo as difficult 
