INSECTS 



fifteen years ago, the only one I know of there. A. adippe has been several times recorded 

 as occurring in the Wear Valley. I have investigated every case that came under my notice, 

 and always found the examples so-called were only Aglala. I mention this here to avoid 

 subsequent error. The Greasy Fritillary, Mellt&a artemis, was formerly common at Black 

 Hall Rocks, near Hartlepool ; at Flass, near Durham ; at High Force, Upper Teesdale, and a 

 few other places. It disappeared from Black Halls in the early sixties, and I have seen no 

 record of its appearance elsewhere since 1872. The Comma, Vanessa c-ali>um t was an 

 abundant insect in Castle Eden Dene fifty years ago, and occurred more sparingly in a few 

 places in the west of the county. I have seen it so plentiful that they were shouldering each 

 other on the Scabious flowers, and I have taken five specimens at one stroke of my net. I 

 know of no records for at least forty years. The Small Tortoiseshell, V. urtica, is common 

 everywhere, and the larvae may be found on every bed of nettles. It is locally called the 

 King William. Of the Large Tortoiseshell, V. po/ycklaros, an old work speaks as if it were a 

 regular resident in the woods in the vale of the North Tyne. During the last fifty or sixty 

 years but one or two wandering specimens have been seen. The Camberwell Beauty, 

 V. . autiopa, has been casually taken in all parts of the county, especially near the coast. ' About 

 the year 1820' the late William Backhouse found this species in vast numbers on the sands at 

 Seaton Carew, washing in with the tide. Some were dead, but many were still living. The 

 late George Wailes, who wrote a ' List of the Butterflies of Northumberland and Durham ' in 

 the Transactions of the Tyneside Natural History Society, referred to a friend who professed to 

 know the species well and called it the ' White Petticoats.' This is a very appropriate name, 

 and Mr. Wailes argued from these facts that the species was then a well-known and regular 

 resident. I doubt if Lepidopterists would consider these sufficient evidence now. On 

 8 February, 1869, a specimen was taken near Castle Eden, by Mr. Barren, a woodman, 

 who was burning some undergrowth, among which the insect had evidently retired for 

 hybernation. It was much worn, but was evidently hybernating. The Peacock, V '. io, was 

 widely distributed half a century ago, but it left us with the others in the early sixties, 

 and only odd specimens have been seen since. Mr. Barrett thinks this species dislikes 

 manufacturing districts and large towns ; but that would not explain its absence from the west 

 and north-west of the county, nor from the wide coast area between Hartlepool and Seaham 

 Harbour. The Red Admiral, V. atalanta, disappeared with the last, but it has gradually 

 returned, and occurs in all parts of the county now. I have seen it far up the Teesdale 

 Hills. The Painted Lady, V. cardui, appears at intervals, occasionally in large numbers, and 

 is met with in every part of the county. It does not appear able to perpetuate its race, and 

 long intervals sometimes elapse without it being seen. I have observed the larvas in November 

 on withered thistles, where there was no chance of their being able to feed up. It was 

 unusually abundant in the autumn of 1 903, after several years of absence. 



The Mountain Ringlet, Ereb'ta blandina, was, I believe, first described as a British insect 

 from specimens taken at Castle Eden Dene. It still occurs there, even down to the mouth of 

 the Dene, scarcely above the level of the sea, and all the way up the gill to open woods at 

 Thornley and Wellfield stations. There it is plentiful, and in the wood to the west of the 

 railway, but it does not occur beyond the turnpike road to Wingate, which passes through the 

 wood, though the portion to the west of this road appears to be of precisely the same character. 

 The Speckled Wood, Satyrus ageria, was the earliest butterfly to leave the county. It 

 formerly occurred in all the woods and denes, but left us altogether quite ten years prior to 

 any other species. The Wall, S. megiera, was plentiful all over the county up to 1 86 1 . On 

 the coast it was perhaps the commonest butterfly. It disappeared quite suddenly in 1861, and 

 has never returned. The Grayling, S. semele, was also well distributed along the coast, 

 wherever the locality was suitable. It was plentiful on the limestone cliffs, and equally so on 

 the ballast hills. It left us gradually, seeming slowly to die out. The last was seen at Black 

 Hall Rocks some ten or twelve years ago. The Meadow Brown, S. janira, is yet common in 

 all grassy places, continuing on the wing till September. The Gate Keeper, 5. tithonus, is still 

 plentiful in many places, but it has gone from some of its old haunts, and seems to be gradually 

 disappearing. The Ringlet, 5. hyperanthus, has gone altogether. It was common enough fifty 

 years ago. The last specimen I took was the variety arete, being entirely without rings. 

 This was taken on the railway side, near Hart Station. The Marsh Ringlet, Chortobius davus, 

 is common on the higher moors in the west. It is fairly intermediate between the dark 

 Lancashire form, with many distinct rings, and the light Scotch form, with few or none. The 

 Small Heath, C. pamphi/us, occurs everywhere, and is common from June to September. A 

 variety of the underside with a dark fascia behind the tip spot is comparatively common. This 



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