138 THE ENIOMOLOGIST’S RECORD. | 
spot, the colour and the form remain unchanged, and serve as its 
margin. On the underside of the forewings in arsilache the black lines 
and points of the upperside are found equally sharp, whereas in pales 
and ists they only show faintly through. The three chief points of 
distinction educed, viz., the more pointed wings, the want of markings 
on the underside of the forewings, and the yellow, broad streak on the 
hindwing sufficiently distinguish pales from arsilache.” 
* Arsilache flies in Austria, France, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, 
in wooded areas, as well as in low ground, while pales always is found 
only on high mountains and in a few German localities. Besides with 
us (7.e., in Vienna), it flies earlier, viz., in June, while we take pales on 
our Schneeberge after the middle of July and in August.” 
In an early list by Dr. Herrich-Schiffer, ‘‘ Nomenclator Entom.,” 
p. 1 (1885), arsilache and pales are placed as two separate species, and 
isis 18 treated as a variety of the latter. 
(To be continued.) 
SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 
Puusta Moneta Larv® anp 4 Rogin.—As a small contribution to 
the subject of the relations between birds and insects the following 
may be worth recording. 
A pair of very tame robins with a young brood, in an old kettle in 
my garden here, were busy three weeks ago in foraging for them, in 
weather none too favourable to insect life, and on one occasion the hen 
bird made a dash at the top of a large plant of Delphiniwm, close to 
which I was standing, and, after a little flutter, drew off to a con- 
venient perch with a larva in her beak. Our friendly relations enabled 
me to see that it was a young Plusia moneta about half an inch long, 
and although still in the black-dotted stage it had doubtless left its 
tent for some reason, and was moving outside, thus attracting the 
robin’s attention, for the robin, being an insectivorous bird, has a 
deadly eye for anything moving, but does not easily see still-life. The 
bird swallowed the larva without hesitation, and I took the hint and 
found some more, which both she and her mate took from my fingers 
and posted off with them to their young. 
This observation seems to suggest that P. moneta larva when young 
and conspicuous, by reason of their black dots, feed in a tent for pro- 
tection, being edible to some birds at least; whilst in their last skio, 
when they are beautifully protected on the Delphinium leaves (but not 
so well on monkshood), as long as they keep still, they feed quite 
exposed. I will test this latter point later on to see whether the birds 
will see the full-grown larva quiescent on the leaves.—C. NicHonson, 
Hale End, Chingford. May Ist, 1916. 
RestinG aTTituDE oF THE LycHnip®.—In the March no. of this 
Journal, p. 67, Mr. Colthrup, while agreeing that the Lycaenidae go to 
rest with the head downward, criticises the conclusion that this attitude 
is In any way protective. He suggests, ‘‘after careful observation,” 
that the ‘true solution of the head downward position is that they take 
up that position when they sun themselves in the late afternoon, and 
as soon as the sun disappears close their wings and seem to go into a 
state of torpor, Some go to sleep in that position, others move a little 
