Field Notes. 393 



Late appearance of Gonepteryx rhamni. — On October 

 26tb., 1 918, a very late date, a male Brimstone Butterfly 

 was in the garden here. I do not myself believe this species 

 hvbernates, but that spring specimens are freshly hatched ones. 

 — F. D. Welch, M.R.C.S., Hartley, Kent. 



There is nothing very unusual in this date, as G. rhamni has 

 often been seen on the wing on a mild sunny day, tempted 

 out of its hyberaaculum, even in winter. There is no doubt as 

 to the hibernation of the butterfly/. — G. T. P. 



Goat-Moth Odour. — As regards Mr. Morley's remarks 

 about odour from the Goat-Moth (p. 363^ this certainly 

 seems to me to proceed from the caterpillar (but probably 

 also from the perfect insect as well). An oak tree which stood 

 on Southborough Common, Kent, in 1908-10 (and may 

 be still standing), gave off a marked Goat-Moth odour, and 

 there was unmistakeable evidence that it held caterpillars : 

 and two full-fed Goat -Moth caterpillars I had in Hampshire 

 smelt considerably. There seems no doubt that this Goat- 

 Moth odour is ' for protection only ' as Mr. Morley terms it 

 (p. 363, 1. 33, excluding title) ; and it corresponds to the 

 stink-glands' odour of Skunks, Ratels and Teledus among 

 mammals, which latter is not a sexual smell, but used in self- 

 defence when the mammal is attacked. Clearly some scent 

 comes from the genitals of the perfect female moth, as in the 

 case of the moths mentioned on p. 360 b}- me, which attracts 

 the male ; but there seems no doubt that the characteristic 

 odour is for quite a different purpose, as shown by the cater- 

 pillar possessing it. — F. D. Welch, M.R.C.S. 



Mr. ]\Iorley's allusion was to the pupa of Cossiis lignipei'da, 

 and I can confirm what he says, because I have at present in 

 my cabinet a cocoon and its empty pupa case, which for five 

 or six years at least, I should say, emitted a strong disagreeable 

 odour. I do not remember noticing any odour from the larva 

 nor from the moth it produced, which is still one of my series 

 of the species. — G. T. P. 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entomologists. — Among the 

 exhibits at a recent meeting of the Lancashire and Cheshire 

 Entomological Society were : — By Mr. F. N. Pierce, Tcphrosia 

 biufidiilaria, a very dark example of var. delamerensis from Dela- 

 mere and a large number of micro-lepidoptera : by Mr. R. 

 Wilding, Vanessa iirticae, including a banded variety, Argynnis 

 aglaia, Brenthis euphrosyne, B. selene, Goneptervx rhamni and 

 Nisoniades tages from Cartmel, Lanes. ; by Mr. S. P. Doudney, 

 Brenthis euphrosyne, Numeria pulveraria, Hemerophila ahntptaria 

 and Notodonta trepida from I3urnt Wood, also a very dark 

 aberration of Arctia caia bred from a lar\a found at Huyton ; 

 Mr. J. W. Griftin, nice series of the following — Bombyx rubi, 

 Taeniocampa opima and Orihosia npsilon from Wallasey ; Sphinx 



