348 



psrcHE. 



[May :S90. 



examples in \w\ collection. I Ibund thetn 

 along roadsides bordering fields, and some- 

 times in the wet sandy roads where moun- 

 tain streams crossed. In Columbia, S. C., 

 this past autumn, I found C. Itypophlaeas 

 quite common, frequenting the open meadows 

 and weedy fields, and appearing frequently 

 on the college campus. They presented the 

 same quick nervous flight that I have ob- 

 served in the species elsewhere and which is 

 characteristic of the Theclas rather than our 

 forms of L\'caena. Mv first acquaintance 

 with them here was in October, and they 

 continued abundant until late in December. 

 They were on the wing late in February, 

 apparently a fresh brood, and during March 

 were quite plentiful. As yet, however (S 

 April) there seems to be but the one brood, 

 the unseasonablj- cold weather in March hav- 

 ing doubtless affected them. I am unable to 

 give any information about the number of 

 broods. I have never seen it near Charles- 

 ton. 



Neonympha c.\nthu.s : This species is 

 given by all authors as northe: n and wes- 

 tern. 



While collecting Catocalas in September, 

 1889, in a thick, swamp in Clarendon coun- 

 ty, S. C, near the Santee River, I came to a 

 spot where a ray of sunlight, penetrated the 

 thick foliage far overhead ; and therein the 

 glow, were a great number of the Wood 

 Ringlet, Debis portlandia, having a game of 

 "Toucher," or "Hide-and-seek" with one 

 another. I stood watching their gambols 

 for some time, until I thought that one of 

 their number seemed smaller and otherwise 

 difterent from the rest; in a moment he lit 

 close to me, and I saw to my surprise, that it 

 was something entirely different, and at the 

 moment I could not place it. That was enough 

 however, and I started to capture it; but the 

 game was not in my own hands; at the first 

 movement, off he went jerking in and out 

 among the cypress knees and live oak buttres- 

 ses for some distance, and becoming invikible 

 when he lit. Capture on the wing seemed the 



only possible means of securing him, and so off 

 I dashed, into tree-trunks, splashing through 

 water and occasionally falling flat in the mud, 

 over a concealed root, but the last time I tell, 

 my net was over my prize, which proved to 

 be Neonympha cautliiis; after considerable 

 beating about, I started another, whose final 

 captiu'e was effected after a repetition of my 

 first chase. 



These were the only two seen, though I 

 hunted the same swamp for the next day. 

 An early departure prevented further search. 

 This capture seemed strange, for that especial 

 swamp has been a favorite hunting ground 

 of mine for over eight years, and has been 

 searched thoroughly by me. 



These two are much darker, and of a gray 

 rather than a brown tint, when compared 

 with Maine examples in my collection, and 

 also with Mr. Scudder's admirable figure. 

 This is the only instance to my knowledge, 

 of the occurrence of the species anywhere in 

 the southeastern states. 



Rllisou A. Smyth, Jr.^ Coliiiiibia, S. C. 



The genus Akgynxis. The reprint 

 (Psyche v. 5, p. 30S-317) of Mr. H. J. 

 Elwes's observations on the North American 

 Argynnides did not include the table of 

 synonyms, list of localities and other inter- 

 esting matter. Mr. Elwes will be glad to 

 send a separate of his paper to anyone desir- 

 ing to study his views more fully than can 

 be done from the reprint in Psy'CHe. His 

 address is Preston House, Cirencester, Eng- 

 land. 



Habit of Vesi'a. In Psyche v. 5. p. 54, 

 Mr. J. H. Emerton figures a wasp, appar- 

 ently Vespa maciilata, hanging by one leg 

 devouring a fly. When I read his account, I 

 could hardly believe that so singular a posi- 

 tion could be usual, and was therefore much 

 interested in observing the same thing here 

 in Colorado last year. On 24 August, near 

 WiHow Creek. Custer Co., Col., I found a 

 Vcspa maculata devouring a fly in exactly 

 the same attitude as figured by Mr. Emerton. 

 It was hanging from the edge of the roof f)f 

 a house. 



T. D. A. Cockei-elU Wat Cliff . Col. 



