226 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



elevation, on May 6th ; and afterwards at Messina, Sicily (2000 ft.), 

 May 9th ; Palermo (2000 ft.), May 12th ; and Mount Etna (over 

 3000 ft.). May 16th. During my trip into Calabria I captured speci- 

 mens at Palmi (1500 ft.), May 22nd; Catanzaro (2500 ft.). May 24th ; 

 Nicotera, May 30th (1000 ft.) ; and Cape Spartivento (50 ft.), June 

 3rd. It was flying at Messina (50 ft.) on June 10th, and above and 

 below B^risal, Switzerland (4500 ft. to 5500 ft.), from June 17th to 

 22nd, and finally I left the species in excellent condition, both males 

 and females, at Kandersteg, at an elevation of 4000 ft., on Monday, 

 June 29th. — J. Platt Barrett ; Westcroft, South Eoad, Forest Hill, 

 S.E., July 3rd, 1914. 



A Day in Delamere Forest. — On July 11th, in Delamere 

 Forest, and feeding on bramble blossoms, I saw^ a fine and fresh male 

 Pyrameis (Vanessa) atalanta. Was this puzzling butterfly locally 

 bred ? did it pass the winter in the egg, larva, chrysalis, or imago 

 state, and where did it hibernate '? Or, after it had crossed the 

 waves of the North Sea, or the waters thereto, why did it fly from 

 the east to the very west of the country, arriving in speckless 

 condition ? With these unsolved " problems " as companions I 

 subsequently captured a fine Ccenonympka tiphon with lanceolated 

 spots (subvariety lanceolata), and two specimens of Acidalia strami- 

 nata var. circellata. This latter insect appears to be common but 

 local here. Possibly it escapes detection when on the wing through 

 being taken for C/ramhus margaritellus or females of Fidonia atomaria. 

 At rest, however, on the heather, &c., it cannot well be mistaken. 

 From a female taken on the same spot in July of last year I obtained 

 a large number of eggs. These hatched, and the larvae went on so 

 well that I had reason to think they would survive the winter. They 

 fed readily on knot-grass (which I think does not grow on or near 

 their habitat), and they began hibernation on the stems, fastening 

 themselves by their anal claspers, and branching out at an acute 

 angle in the form of a note of interrogation. So they remained, until 

 I discovered at the end of last March that many had dropped from 

 their perch. All were dead. I had succeeded in giving them food, 

 and plenty of fresh air, but I had failed in providing the damp 

 environment of the mosses. One of the C. ti'phon (I only saw five 

 or six altogether) was nearly captured by one of the larger dragonflies 

 {^schna juncea), of which there were many about. A movement on 

 my part scared away the dragonfly, which was only an inch or two 

 behind the butterfly, and so the tvplion was saved. The mosses were 

 unusually dry and enabled me to watch the richly- coloured males of 

 Leucorrhinia dubia, in black and maroon, hovering over the pools. 

 The females, in which the maroon colour is replaced by yellow, were 

 not so numerous. I found the tiplion ground — the only Delamere 

 haunt now, I fear, for the butterfly — guarded by two rows of high 

 iron railings smeared with fresh tar. I thought with regret of the 

 newspaper I had left behind in the railway carriage. Still, the 

 obstruction did not prevent an old veteran of seventy summers 

 clearing the rails and landing safely on the other side, untarred, 

 excepting the hands, which were soon corrected in the dry sand of 

 the place. — J. Arkle ; Chester, 



