( Ixi ) 



series consists of 14 examples only, but they are quite enough, 

 and I think you will find when you place them alongside of 

 my last year's : over-wintered larva ' lot, bred last spring, 

 that they will quite confirm my conjecture that the "early' 

 or ' pale spring form " is produced from wintered pupae, and 

 the ' late ' or ' dark spring form ' from wintered larvae. I 

 feel quite pleased at reaching a conclusion, as it has taken 

 me three years to do so. 



" One of the ? ? of this lot is quite a lovely thing, finer, I 

 think, than that very nice one (in the pale spring lot) that 

 1 caught at Teignmouth last year. It is the most extreme 

 form I have seen. The other chief point of interest, which 

 remains an enigma and which 1 cannot solve by experiment, 

 I can guess at the solution of. In several years I have noticed 

 that although the light spring foim antedates the dark one, 

 yet before, and even considerably before, the first light foim 

 is seen at large, one or two dark specimens, closely resembling 

 the dark spring form or the 2nd or summer generation of the 

 butterfly, will be taken. I feel quite sure these are from 

 over-wintered pupae also, but that these pupae are ones which 

 should have hatched, to form part of the summer brood of the 

 previous year. A year or two ago I had pupae from spring 

 butterflies (the larvae pupated in July) which had not hatched 

 in early November, but when brought indoors into a more or 

 less heated room they produced butterflies that month. These 

 would never have hatched out of doors till the spring, and I 

 feel sure the few dark, very early specimens belong to this 

 class. Probably it largely depends on climatic conditions in 

 different years whether any of these or how many are seen 

 in the spring. I took one in a Paignton lane this year on 

 March 21th, and a torn one (which must have been out a 

 week or more owing to the bad and cold weather we have 

 had) to-day. Also to-day the first specimens of ' the pale 

 spring form ' were out in the lanes, but I don't suppose there 

 will be any of the true ' dark spring form ' (from wintered 

 larvae) for 3 or 4 weeks yet, although the grass is now in 

 splendid condition, and when this becomes really nutritious 

 after the winter the caterpillars grow pretty quickly with 

 good weather." 



