FOOT ON IRISH LEPTDOPTEIIA. \) 



and I noticed that one of them paid no attention to a train passing 

 along the line, but kept wavering and dancing along till it fell into my 

 net as I stood in its course. On the 30th I saw eight more Colias 

 edusa, most of them flying along a country road, in the neighbourhood 

 of which were several clover fields. Very often they went in off the 

 road over stubbles ; and when they did so, it was very difficult to keep 

 them in sight, particularly if they were over oat stubble, as the yellow 

 of the butterfly became confounded, on the one hand, with the light 

 golden brown of the oat straw, and, on the other, with the ochreous 

 colour of the dry baked clay ; for there had been at this time an unu- 

 sual dryness. 31st August, saw thirteen more C. edusa; the wind 

 still E.; in this point it had been for a considerable time ; there had 

 been a frost the preceding night. September 1st was a cold, bleak, 

 overclouded day, with a fresh breeze from E.; and, although there was 

 a good deal of sunshine in the afternoon, no Colias edusa were seen. The 

 2nd September was a warm day, with very little wind, an air from the 

 N. E. in the morning, which fell off before noon. I saw twenty-six 

 Edusse on this day ; and a lady, who was perfectly acquainted with 

 this butterfly, and who was driving in a neighbouring part of the 

 county, but in an opposite direction to that in which I was working, 

 saw ten. The following day, 3rd September, was overcast, though 

 warm, wind S.W.; searched seven clover fields in the district in which 

 I had seen so many the day before, but did not come across one. 4th 

 September was a bright day, with passing clouds, warm, wind S. ; saw 

 ten Edusse. The weather broke on the following day, and a series of 

 gales from S. and W. came on, with heavy rains. The appearance of 

 C. edusa in that particular district of the Co. Kilkenny, the neigh- 

 bourhood of Thomastown, this year, was for one week, from 28th 

 August to 4th September, inclusive. In those eight days I saw 

 myself seventy, and a trustworthy observer saw ten others. Of the 

 seventy seen I captured thirty-six; two of them were females, and 

 only one of them was in the least torn or faded. I saw eight other 

 specimens later in September, between the 20th and 27th; so that the 

 gross number which I know to have been seen amounts to eighty-eight. 

 In the same district, in 1868, at same period of the year, I neither saw 

 nor heard of Colias edusa being seen ; and a person capable of giving an 

 opinion on the subject told me it was nearly ten years since they had 

 noticed these " yellow butterflies" in that part of the county. I did 

 not come on C. Hyale, though I had been warned by my friend, Mr. 

 Kirby, that I might find it when Edusa is plentiful. On Colias edusa 

 Mr. Birchall remarks : — " Common in some seasons on the south and 

 east coast; occurs more rarely north of Dublin; in profusion atKillarney 

 in August, 1865.'' — (Op.cit., p. 58). Several observations on the occur- 

 rence of Colias edusa in Ireland have been laid before this Society — one 

 by Mr. "Williams was read 23rd January, 1857 (" Nat. Hist. Eev.," vol. 

 iv., p. 70), recording the observations of Mr. TJssher on Colias edusa in 

 Co. Waterford in autumn of 1855 ; another by Professor E. Perceval 



