278 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



Monmouth. Altogether, I have seen 32 species in this district during 

 the season, and to these I have added FAigonia pohjchloros, caught by 

 my father, and Apatura iris, observed by my brother in his garden. I 

 have placed them in the order of their appearance : — 



Gonepteryx rhamni. — Reappearance on the wing after hybernation, 

 March 6th-June 20th. New brood, August 6th-September 16th. On 

 February 27th, while looking at a Christmas rose, growing in a 

 sheltered spot in our garden, I noticed one of these butterflies clinging 

 to the underside of a leaf, so close to the ground, that the tips of the 

 wings touched the soil ; this, perhaps, being where it had passed 

 through the winter. On March 4th, a fine sunny day, it disappeared. 



Vanessa io.- — Reappearance after hybernation, March 6th-June 6th. 

 New brood, August 1st (bred), August 6th (first wild one) to August 

 Slst, September 8th, September 30th. — Unusually plentiful this year ; 

 the hybernated specimens seen in great numbers, especially on the 

 'Gloucestershire side of the Eiver Wye, sunning themselves on the road 

 between Bigsweir Bridge and Redbrook. 



Aglais urticae. — Reappearance after hybernation, March 7th-April 

 22nd. First brood, June 23rd- August 7th. Second brood (?), August 

 22nd to September 11th, September 22nd, October 12th. Also very 

 €ommon, especially during July. Many of this brood entered the 

 house about the middle of July, as if to hybernate, but, after staying 

 from about a week to a fortnight, they left. About the middle of 

 August, specimens again began entering the house, this time to really 

 hybernate. This species and T'. io were abundant up to August 30th, 

 the latter in companies on the Kapatorium cannabinum . The next day 

 was the beginning of the heat wave, experienced all over England, the 

 result being that F. io practically disappeared, only three specimens 

 being noted after that date, and A. urticae came trooping into the 

 house, seeking dark corners wherein to hybernate, where I really 

 believe we could find two or three dozen. These we mean to leave in 

 peace. Gonepteryx rhamni was also afi^ected by the heat, no specimens 

 being seen between August 30th and September 6th, when occasional 

 specimens began appearing again at flowers in the garden. 



Poli/f/onia c-albtoii. — Reappearance after hybernation, March 7th- 

 April 4th. Most of the hybernated specimens I saw were in 

 Gloucestershire, basking in the sun, on the road between Bigsweir 

 Bridge and Redbrook. Summer brood, July 12th-August 6th. 

 Autumn brood, September 3rd (first one bred from pupa found on 

 August 26th, suspended to leaf- stalk of hop), September 6th (first wild 

 one) to September 10th. On July 26th, I sleeved a female (netted 

 that morning from thistle-blossom at Llandogo) on a currant bush. 

 On the 31st it was dead, so 1 removed the sleeve, upon which I found 

 nine ova, all laid separately within a space of three square inches, but 

 not a single one on the plant itself. I also discovered four or five on 

 my finger, which I must have dislodged while taking the netting off, but 

 lost all but two of the latter while walking to the house. An examina- 

 tion through a pocket lens showed that these eleven ova differed in the 

 number of longitudinal keels — six were with ten, four with eleven, and 

 one with nine keels only. Six of these eggs I posted to Mr. Touge, 

 for photographic purposes, who informed me that they began to 

 emerge on August 5th. He has since very kindly sent me some 

 splendid photographs showing this species in its four stages. The ova 



