NOTES ON COLLECTING, 53 



dark Ci/iiiatop/iora duplaris were flying down from the pines and 

 birches in some numbers as I walked among them. 



I was back in Leeds by 9 o'clock next morning, congratulating 

 myself upon making the most of my opportunities, but regretting that 

 an important engagement in London that night prevented my having 

 another evening in the woods. — Russell James, Ongar Park Cottage, 

 Ongar. Febniary 5th, 1919. 



Random Notes from North-East Ireland. — My battalion moved 

 from Salisbury Plain to Belfast in early May of this year, I had 

 anticipated some interesting collecting on the plain, and had already 

 found larvffi of Arctia caia and Cosmotriche {Odonestis) potatoria abun- 

 dantly. A(/lais iirticae, which was so common last autumn, had reap- 

 peared after hibernation and the females were everywhere ovipositing. 

 The species must have been extraordinarily abundant in the larval 

 stage in May and June. 



The Belfast district is not a convenient centre for one whose ento- 

 mological excursions have to be fitted in in the intervals of military 

 duty. Moreover, it is one of the rainiest districts in the British Isles. 

 May was delightful and the greater part of June also, but early in the 

 latter month I fell a victim to the so-called " Spanish influenza," and 

 in consequence many things, which should have been done in this 

 month, particularly the collection of PoUjommatiis icanis and of the 

 larvae of Euchlo'e cardamines, were left undone. 



I was surprised at the abundance of Lepidoptera generally compared 

 with the North of England, EucJdoe cardaivines, for instance, I have 

 never seen in such abundance as in the Newtonards district from May 

 20th to June Isfc. The species was already worn on May 20th, and 

 few useful specimens were obtained. One dwarf male 32mm. in 

 expanse (centre of thorax to apex x 2) is perhaps the most interesting. 

 (C. Down, April 29th, 1918.) Ova and young larvae were abundant on 

 Cardamine pratends, and I saw none on any other food-plant. Shym- 

 hrium, alliaria does not occur in the district — at least, I have never seen 

 it. The presence of six ova on one plant of C. pratensis (Newtownards, 

 April 29th, 1918), suggests at once a sound economic foundation for 

 the cannibalistic habits of young larvae of this species, and an explana- 

 tion of the prevalence of dwarfed specimens. 



The three common Pierids, P. brassicae, P. rapae, and P. napi all 

 occurred freely throughout the summer ; the first brood of P. rcqme 

 and the second of P. napi producing fine forms. 



The only Argynnid observed was a sohtary Aviiynnis aylaia, at 

 Ballykinlar, on tiie coast of Co. Down, on August 10th. 



Larvae of Aglais urticae swarmed on every suitable patch of nettles 

 in May and June, The pupas were much infested with the small 

 Chalcid parasite and imagines were not common. I bred a good num- 

 ber — all large, brightly coloured examples, not differing in any way 

 from South of England forms. A. urticae in England appears to be 

 continuous brooded in a sense. Larv^ could be found last year 

 towards the end of September, which were certainly a third generation. 

 In Ireland I searched for the second-brood larvc^ about three weeks 

 after the appearance of the first-brood imagines, but none appeared. 

 The imagines first appeared on June 25th, and were well out early in 

 July, No larv^ were seen in July, or early August, and in the places 



