Trisects. 7359 



distance traversed within the hour by the painted lady; for, taking into account the 

 zigzag order of flight, which it doubtless maintains by sea as well as by land, it naust 

 have been winging its way at the rate of some fourteen or fifteen statute miles per 

 hour, and that, too, against a head wind ; for he says " It readily overlook the steamer, 

 which was then making 10^^ knots an hour. The wind was nearly ahead, and tole- 

 rably strong." My object in directing attention to this statement is to suijgest that 

 there must be some mistake with regard to the direction or force of the wind ; for, 

 considering what a slight and fragile insect the butterfly is, and its immense expanse 

 of wing, our wonder is increased to amazement on hearing that it not only made head 

 against adverse winds, but outstripped a fast boat like the ' Pera.' — H. Hadfield ; 

 Ventnor, Isle of Wight, December I, 1860. 



Interesting Fact in the Economy of the Genus Colias. — Mr. C. S. Gregson, of 

 Stanley, Liverpool, the talented Secretary of the Northern Entomological Society, has 

 discovered that the females of the genus Colias lay their eggs " in the seeds of clover, 

 and especially lucerne," and are thus imported from the Continent. This is the only 

 instance hitherto discovered of a butterfly laying its eggs either in or on the seed of a 

 plant; and as the pod of both the species of Leguminosae mentioned is extremely hard 

 and wood-like, it is very difficult to conceive how the egg can be introduced through 

 this natural envelope. In this country our two species of Colias only frequent the 

 clover and lucerne when in blossom, so that their economy would appear to be diff"e- 

 rent on the two sides of the Channel. Mr. Gregson's most important statement is 

 communicated incidentally at page 55 of the ' Intelligencer.' — Edward Newman. 



On the Habits of Bombyx Callunce. — Both Mr. Stainton and Mr. Newman de- 

 scribe this insect as a variety of Bombyx Quercus. The following is my description 

 of B. CallunjE, from personal observation: — B. Calhinse is found in prufiivion on 

 Greetland Moor, near Halifax. Male 2J to 2f ; rich dark mahogany-brown, the fore 

 wings having a broad, transverse, semicircular bar in the middle of the wing, of a 

 bright fulvous colour ; this bar is most distinct throughout, one-eighth of an inch 

 broad, tapering from the front ; midway between the bar and the body is a white spot, 

 surrounded with a dark ring: the fulvous bar extends across the under wing, which 

 also possesses a margin, of the same breadth and colour: the body and head are dark 

 above, but lighter underneath. Female Sj to Zh ; of lighter colour than the male, 

 the bar being of the same colour as in the male, but having a narrower margin on the 

 under wing ; the bar is not shown underneath the wings, each wing bein^ half dark 

 and half the colour of the bar on the under side. Caterpillar. — Natural food henth, 

 but will thrive on whitethorn and mountain ash. It is large when full grown, being 

 3^ inches in length ; when young it is smooth, and of the dark colour of the male 

 insect; after the first and second chanj>es its colour is somewhat lighter, and after the 

 third change of skin the ground-colour assumes a beautiful velvet-black, which is 

 observed between each double segment, whilst the latter are covered with short hairs 

 of the fulvous colour of the bar in the imago ; a few straggling long dark hairs, tipped 

 with white, spring up over the downy segments, and along each side of the caterpillar 

 is a whitish waving line interspersed with gray spots; the ground-colour of the downy 

 segments is dappled gray ; a row of pure white oval spots ajipear in the centre of each 

 black segment along each side, the largest being on the segment near the head, and 

 gradually decreasing in size. The under sicie of the body is greenish yellow. Pupa 

 elongated egg-shaped, of a gray-brown colour, very compact, and surrounded by a 

 soft web-like cocoon, and found on the surface of the moor, attached to the base of 



