86 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Agrion pulchellum, Vauderl. 27 May, a male ; 21 May, a 

 female. 



Erythromma naias, Hansem. 5 June. A male. 

 Enallagma cyathigerum, Charp. 8 June. A male. 



Neuroptera. 



*Formicaleo tetragrammicus, Fabr. An antlion taken on 30 

 May. 



[Mr. A. H. Jones, who accompanied Mr. Sheldon, gave me 



another antlion, taken at Sarepta in June — *Myrmecaelurus tri- 



grammus, Pall.] 



Kingston-on-Thames ; 

 March, 1922. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Some Lepidopteeous Notes fob South Dorset of Unusual 

 Habits, Ebbatic Dates, and Occubrences fob 1921. — My obser- 

 vations for 1921 have been similar to many others, since the summer 

 was so exceedingly hot that one expected abnormalities in all direc- 

 tions ; yet contrary to these expectations some of the unusual habits 

 which I have to record would have synchronised better with a cold 

 one. For instance, the laying-over habit of pupae I found was very 

 prevalent last summer, much more so than usual, although one would 

 have expected the reverse, and I found that several species which are 

 regularly double-brooded failed to do so, and are still in the pupa. 

 As regards Ehopalocera, I have only two to report on — Cyaniris 

 argiolus and Chrysophanus phlaeas. Of the first I had a large 

 quantity from ova deposited by May females on holly; they had all 

 pupated by June 25th, and 50 per cent, emerged between July 10th 

 and 16th; the rest I expected to emerge in September, but I have 

 them still and no doubt they will emerge as spring brood, after passing 

 through the whole of the hot summer of 1921. I took several female 

 phlaeas in September last, obtained ova to get pupae for spring brood 

 1922, the larvae emerged and I fed them upon sorrel ; I noticed they 

 didn't seem to feed as fast as some of the earlier broods I had reared, 

 and when they got to November (hardly a quarter grown) it was 

 manifest that they didn't intend pupating as they should do, but 

 going to hibernate instead. I have eight still living (February 14th) 

 in a cool outhouse and I feed them twice weekly, but I have had 

 several die lately and am enclosing one that died two days ago as an 

 authentic record. They will remain under a particular leaf for a week 

 or nine days, then move out and eat small holes in the leaves for a 

 day or so. As late as January 10th I found two larvae of similar size 

 to my own under some sorrel leaves I brought home to feed mine on. 

 I think this seems to prove that it has the dual habit of sometimes 

 passing the winter in the pupa, or if the ova are deposited by late 

 females the young larvae hibernate. I should be glad to know if 

 anyone else has had this experience of phlaeas. Taking Heterocera 



