120 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



he kindly replied {in lit., 15th March, 1909) : — " I can say that 

 of my own knowledge I never had any ichneumons from New 

 Zealand or any other country in my possession. If I had taken 

 them out of any box of foreign insects, I am sure I should have 

 marked them so : I am very particular on such points. I should 

 have told you if I had any doubt. My impression is that they 

 were some I took in the New Forest ; but I say this with reserve, 

 as it is only a guess." We must, nevertheless, regard them as 

 antipodean, and suppose they had found their way into Mr. 

 Gorham's collection from some of the numerous boxes he so 

 frequently receives of Malacoderma from all parts of the world. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



A Morning at Amelie-les-Bains, Pyrenees Orientales. — 

 Arriving here in the afternoon of April 6th, a short walk showed that 

 the season was not so far advanced as it usually is at Hy6res at this 

 date. The blackthorn was in full bloom, only an early bush here and 

 there going over. Almonds apparently over, but peaches in full 

 flower ; cherries, some fully out, but many only just in bud. Here 

 and there plums and pears in flower, some patches of lupins flower- 

 ing ; but for the most part things had a very bare wintry aspect ; a 

 sharp but hardly cold wind helped me to regard things as a little in- 

 clement. The snow on the Canigou was very low down. The highest 

 point is not apparently visible from Amelie-les-Bains, and the outline 

 is somewhat irregular ; still the lofty snowy slopes dominating the 

 landscape, whenever it formed part of it, compelled us to recognize a 

 certain resemblance to the view of Etna from Taormina before its 

 winter snows are melted, but the smooth conical outline of Etna 

 gives it a majesty less obvious in the Canigou. On the 7th the 

 weather was perfect, with little or no wind. A walk up the sunny 

 side of the valley of the Teche showed that a good many butterflies 

 were already on the wing. JEgeria was very frequent, and was the 

 only species that was certainly going over, not one specimen in fair 

 condition being seen. H. megara w^as more common, females scarce, 

 males generally but not always somewhat worn. P. rapm was com- 

 mon, but P. manni was not detected. L. argiolus was frequent, 

 generally worn ; L. baton in fine condition, just coming out. Several 

 A. lathonia were seen, of rather small size, one very small ; several 

 C. eclusa were seen, but not taken ; S. cleopatra was not very com- 

 mon, but afforded its welcome and brilliant contribution to the land- 

 scape not unfrequently. P. feisthamelii was frequently seen ; a habit 

 of assuming that P. iwdalirius was not worth catching, and in any 

 case could be got in any numbers if required, may account for the 

 circumstance that seeing it and catching it proved to be by no means 

 synonymous. A single specimen of L. celtis was taken ; no tree or 

 plant of Celtis australis could be found, but one or two were after- 

 wards found close to the hotel. L. sinapis, P. daplidice, V. io and 

 P. atalanta, and S. alcecd complete the hst of insects seen. No speci. 



