NOTES ON THE DIURNI OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AISNE. 197 



Brenthis euphrosyne, Melitcea athalia, C. dorilis, C. alciphron var. 

 gordius (very fresh and fine), Ccenonympha arcania (abundant and 

 in the pink of condition), and a splendid black-banded form of 

 Melanargia galatea var. procida. 



(To be continued.) 



SOME FURTHER NOTES ON THE DIURNI OF THE 

 DEPARTMENT OF AISNE (FRANCE). 



By W. G. Sheldon, F.E.S. 



The few days I had spent in the Forest of Villers Cotterets, 

 which is situated in this Department, in 1906 (see 'Entomologist,' 

 vol. xl. p. 75), made me wish for further acquaintance with the 

 district, and learning from Monsieur Brown that the woods 

 in the neighbourhood of Laon were good for certain species, 

 including Limenitis populi, which I especially wanted, I journeyed 

 thither on the 19th of June last, accompanied by Messrs. P. W. 

 Abbott and E. F. S. Tylecote. 



We stayed there until June 28th, and afterwards spent five 

 days in the Forest of Villers Cotterets, returning to England on 

 July 4th. The weather throughout was unpropitious there, as 

 everywhere in Western Europe, with but little sun, and we were 

 only favoured with two really good days. 



With the exception that some species, including Ayatura iris 

 and a ilia, which we hoped to obtain during the last few days of 

 our stay, did not appear at all, the season did not seem to be a 

 late one ; at any rate, not so much so as was the case in 

 England, and a number of species were quite up to date. 



Limenitis populi was not uncommon near Laon, where we 

 obtained by hard work and much walking some fifty specimens 

 during our stay ; two examples were also netted at Villers 

 Cotterets. The majority were var. tremulce, and intermediates 

 between that variety and the type ; of my series of sixteen 

 specimens, three are typical, some half-dozen are var. tremulce 

 or near it, and the remainder intermediates. 



The habits of the imago much resemble those of the Apatu- 

 ridse ; they are to be seen flying over the tree-tops at a height 

 of thirty to forty feet, and they come down at intervals, in the 

 roads running through the woods, settling on horse-droppings 

 and moist spots, and on cold dull days they have a habit of 

 settling on the dry white road, I think, for warmth. 



The flight is much slower and heavier than that of the 

 Apaturidae, though they can fly fast when startled ; they are 

 very sluggish when settled on the ground, allowing the net to be 

 placed over them, and in some cases to remain so for several 

 seconds before they attempt to rise. 



