NOTES ON PARARGE ^GERIA. 205 



and imperfect 2 caught on April 21st was clearly a straggler, but on 

 April 30th several fresh examples occurred in a lane, and on May 5th 

 there were plenty. These therefore either appeared earlier or at least 

 on the date of the earliest of my slightly forced, bred examples, i.e., 

 those reared in the grape house, and 10 days to three weeks earlier than 

 the first of those bred in the loft window. 



But at the time my caterpillars were feeding in March on thriving 

 grass plants grown indoors, the grass in the lanes, owing to the severity 

 of the winter, was in very poor condition, and could not have afforded 

 sufficient nutriment to have brought larvae to maturity. It is, I think, 

 certain that these butterflies had emerged from pupfe of the preceding 

 year and not from hibernated larvEe. The imagines when put beside 

 my bred ones are at once seen to be quite distinct in appearance. 



Consequently in the spring we find two forms of ef/endes, one 

 appearing earlier and paler in colour produced from hibernated pupae, 

 the other later and darker from hibernated larvae. 



It was interesting to compare the time of appearance of these two 

 spring forms in the same localities in the wild state. This being a late year 

 the first of the early and pale form, as stated already, appeared on April 

 21st, while it was well out on the 30th and very common on M^iy 5th, 

 The first example of the later and darker form was seen on May 26th 

 and was abundant on June 4th, on which date only a few faded examples 

 of the paler form were seen. It remained in good condition throughout 

 the month. 



My bred specimens of the darker form were naturally earlier owing 

 probably partly to the slightly higher temperature in my loft than out- 

 side and partly to the well grown fresh grass on which they were fed, 

 such not being procurable out of doors. 



It was interesting to notice that in the Bovey district, where the 

 cold was considerably greater than near the sea, in one locality where 

 ecferidea had been seen in abundance in 1916, not a green blade of grass 

 was to be seen along the roadside in the early spring of 1917 owing 

 to the abnormal winter, and later the result of this was seen in the 

 diminutive size of all the examples of the butterfly, when I visited the 

 spot in June. Of a considerable number observed in the hour or two 

 that I was able to spend there, not one approached the average size of 

 the species. 



In June (24th and following days) I again kept a few butterflies 

 alive till each had laid a few eggs, so as to compare the results with 

 those or 1916. The caterpillars grew slowly till the latter part of July 

 when many of them one damp, and very sultry day at the end of the 

 month, ceased feeding suddenly and prepared for pupation before they 

 appeared to be quite full-grown. I was expecting another ecdysis. 

 All however produced perfect imagines, though rather below the average 

 in size. 



The first pupae, 28 in number, were taken away with me to 

 Somerset, when I left on August 3rd to be free from professional 

 entomology for some weeks, but about 15 larvae were left behind in the 

 cages either still feeding or fixed for pupation. These all duly produced 

 butterflies in these cages, which were placed out in the garden, and 

 when I returned home on September 3rd many eggs had already been 

 laid on the grass. Two or three specimens just emerged were preserved. 



Of the 28 butterflies that emerged in Somerset from the pupte taken 



