38 (February, 



Vanessa Atalanta and iirticce at Christmas. — The beautiful spring-like weather 

 enjoyed here during the Christroas week enticed both V. Atalanta and urticce from 

 their winter quarters. The former I saw disporting itself near the Town Hall at 

 mid-day on December 22nd, whilst on the following day the latter flitted merrily 

 about the busy shopping folks in the Terminus Koad, who seemed much amused at 

 such an unusual sight as a butterfly at Christmas time. — William Watkins, 

 Eastbourne : January 3rd, 1894. 



Lepidoptera at Armagh in 1893. — The long, fine summer, following an unusually 

 fine and dry spring, might have been expected to produce something remarkable, 

 and I was in great hopes that some rarities would turn up. However, expectation 

 is a thing always exposed to disappointment, and in my case this was partially so. 

 I did not meet with Colias Edusa, though a friend of mine saw one a short five miles 

 from this, nor Vanessa cardui, though it also was seen in the vicinity. Macroglossa 

 stellatarum was only represented by a dead specimen, which I picked up in the 

 Cathedral ! However, I was not doomed to total shattering of glowing anticipa- 

 tions. Vanessa Atalanta appeared in unexampled numbers, and I had the pleasure 

 of gazing on its beauties without feeling a furious desire to capture, kill, and set it. 

 A fine specimen of Chcerocampa Elpenor emerged on June 9th. Zygaena lonicercB 

 was at the same time appearing in numbers, both in MuUinure and in my breeding 

 cages ; I had obtained numbers of larvse and pupa, and these gave me a very hand- 

 some series of the insect. 



Sugar was a total failure in June. I got, however, some nice Plusia pulchrina 

 and P. iota in my garden, also a specimen of Mania typica. In August and 

 September sugar was very satisfactory, and I obtained two species that I had not 

 met with here before, viz., Agrotis saucia and Cirrhoedia xerampelina ; besides 

 these were numbers of Fhlogophora meticulosa, Agrotis suffusa, Noctua c-nigrum, 

 and, what puzzled me a good deal till Mr. Barrett came to my assistance, a second 

 brood of Noetua ruhi. Besides these, I obtained Noctua hrunnea, a single specimen ; 

 Xanthia silago, several ; TriphcBna fimbria ; and a nice fresh Plusia festuccs, which 

 I found sitting on a hop plant at my back door on August 30th. A good many 

 Hydrcecia micacea also came to sugar, and exhibited a considerable variation in both 

 colour and size. 



The earliest butterfly observed by me was Fieris rapce on March 29th. Vanessa 

 urticce did not turn up till April 7th. The autumn brood of the latter were very 

 common, and if 1894 be favourable they should be very numerous. 



Though I have not been able to enumerate any very rare species, I do not feel 

 that I need complain : for in the first place, Armagh is not a very good locality for 

 Lepidoptera, and in the next place I did not give anything like all my attention to 

 them. — W. F. Johnson, Armagh: Decemler \\th,\%^Z. 



Psyche aJbida v. Millihrella, B. — During a stay of over two months at Canssols 

 in the Alpes Maritimes (3960 feet above sea level), I collected over sixty larvse of a 

 Psyche which Herr Ernst Heyne, of Leipzic, to whom I sent some empty " cases," 

 kindly identified for me as "Psyche alhida, Esp., probably v. Millihrella, B., since 

 this variety usually replaces the type in mountain regions." These caterpillars, 

 which I took back with me to Nice, have, unfortunately, since all died, from improper 



