204 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [JunC, '04 



Pierre Joseph Michel I^orquin holds a unique position in 

 California Entomology as the discoverer of so many of our 

 species, and will always be thought of in connection with that 

 noted group of California students of the Lepidoptera — Behr, 

 Behrens, Stretch, Henry Edwards and Rivers. 



I am indepted to Mr. E. F. Lorquin of San Francisco for 

 these particulars in regard to his father's life. 



Some Notes Chiefly on the Scarcity of Michigan 



Rhopalocera in 1903. 



By W. W. Newcomb, M.D. 



Considering the editorial in the last October News, and my 

 own experience during the collecting season of 1903, I have 

 expected to find some interesting comments in the entomologi- 

 cal journals on the scarcity of butterflies and other insects. 

 Up to the present time (April, 1904) little has appeared, but I 

 am informed that the unusual weather conditions of 1903 have 

 not been confined to this region alone. Undoubtedly also the 

 preceding wet cold summer (1902) affected the butterflies last 

 season. 



The essential weather features in 1 903 were as follows : 

 spring began early with unusual warmth, and both March and 

 April were advanced for the season. Almost a summer tem- 

 perature (70°) occured on March i8th. Towards the middle 

 of Maj' it was abnormally hot and dry, but at the end of that 

 month it became very wet. June and July for the most part 

 were wet and cold, and cut down the number of days when 

 outdoor observations could be made. August and September 

 were more nearly normal for those months, except that they 

 were too cold. 



The scarcity of Rhopalocera was not alone in numbers, but 

 also in varieties. On July 6th twenty-three species were seen, 

 the greatest number on any one day throughout the season. 

 On the other hand, I have walked miles to bring home hardly 

 a half dozen desirable specimens and to see not twice as many 

 kinds. In fact, one could consider himself lucky if he saw 

 seventeen or eighteen varieties in one day. 

 ^ Such species as D. plexippus, A. bello?ia, P. tharos, G. inter- 



