16 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



distance farther on the breeding-ground of trifolii was found, but no 

 Jjlipendvlff were there. 



All the available specimens on the /Hipendultr ground were carefully 

 examined, with the result that a very instructive series was obtained. 

 Besides the Jiippocrepidis there were several examples so very like 

 trifolii that one could readily suppose them to be six- spotted specimens 

 of that species ; indeed, if they had occurred on the trifolii ground 

 such a conclusion would have been very natural ; as, however, they 

 were only found in the filipendul(E, camp, the probability seems to be 

 that they, and perhaps also hippocrepidis, are the progeny of cross- 

 pairings. 



In the Middlesex locality, where the two species occurred in close 

 proximity in May and June, I often looked for cross pairs on the trifolii 

 ground, but without success. The JilipenduUc colony there was in a 

 less favourable situation for observation, and therefore was not so 

 closely examined ; if this could have been done, some instances of 

 crossing might have been detected. 



I may mention that only two of the cross-pairs were taken, and one 

 of these was given to Mr. Carr. Each of the females deposited ova, and 

 the larvae hatched in due course. I believe that every egg in my batch 

 hatched, but, unfortunately, there has been great mortality among the 

 larvae, so that at the present time there are less than a score remaining. 

 It is to be hoped that Mr. Carr may be able to get his larvae through 

 to the perfect state, as the result ought to help us to clear up some of 

 the doubt concerning the status of hippocrepidis, Steph. So far as one 

 can see at present there does not appear to be any sufiQcient reason to 

 consider it a species, or even a subspecies. — Kichard South. 



Xylophasia zollikoferi, Frey., in Britain. — Mr. T. Ashton Loft- 

 house (Ent. Mo. Mag. (2) xiv. 290, and ' The Naturalist,' no. 563, p. 

 456) records the capture of a specimen of this species at Linthorpe, 

 Middlesbrough. It was taken at sugar on Sept. 26th last. So far as 

 we know, only two specimens of X. zollikoferi have previously been 

 observed in Britain. One of these was taken in October, 1867, by Mr. 

 Harding, of Deal, and the other by Mr. Tait. at Inverurie, in Scot- 

 land. The former is in the Doubleday Collection in the Bethnal 

 Green Museum. The species seems to be exceedingly rare in Europe, 

 the occurrence of a third specimen in Britain is therefore of great 

 interest. 



Coincidence of Pyrameis cardui and Plusia gamma. — The following 

 extracts from my note-book for 1888, will, I think, be interesting to 

 Mr. H. Rowland-Brown [ante, p. 316) and, possibly, to the readers of 

 the ' Entomologist ' generally : — 



P. cardui. In profusion in the Chester district during the first half 

 of June (Entom. xxi. p. 315). The butterflies were in fine condition. 

 There was a second appearance about the middle of September. 

 Larvae were abundant on thistles, Heysham Moss (North Lancashire), 

 July 27th (Entom. xxi. p. 317). From these I reared a fine dark 

 series. 



P. gamma. " The moth swarmed with us — a curious coincidence 

 to the season's abundance of P. cardui" (Entom. xxi. p. 318). Seen 



