430 BRITISH LEPIDOPTEEA. 



Scabiosa, or swarming about the blossoms of a privet bush or Vicia. We 

 have repeatedly noticed the habit of " assembling '■' in Antkrocera hippo- 

 crepidis, St., A. lonicerae and A. exulam, sometimes as many as a dozen 

 males buzzing at one time round a newly-emerged female ; and 

 Oberlander records the attraction of a number of males of A. filipen- 

 dulae by a cocoon (with pupa), at Rouen in 1879, whilst holding it in his 

 hand. Curiously there is no mention of the sex of the pupa, but there is 

 little doubt it was a 2 , and probably near the point of emergence. The 

 British species are but few in number, yet they are not at all well-known. 

 The earliest species to appear are A. hippocrepidis, St., and A. trifolii 

 (-minor) , which fly in pastures and meadows, often with A. statices, in late 

 May and early June ; A. lonicerae occurs in wood-clearings, in middle and 

 late June, and about the same time ,4. viciae (meliloti) appears in the rides 

 of the New Forest, about Stubby Coppice. A week later, A. purpuralis 

 abounds in its western haunts, whilst, in early July, A. fdipendulae puts in 

 its appearance, on sea cliffs and coast sand-hills, inland chalk-hills, 

 moors, and waste places, almost everywhere, its flight, however, often 

 extending well into August. In another week or so A. exulans is to be 

 found on the alpine moors above Braemar, whilst the last fortnight 

 of the month usually sees A. palustris (trifolii-major) abundant in its 

 marshy habitat. A. filipendulae is by far the most common and most 

 widely-distributed species ; A. hippocrepidis, St., is, so far as is known, 

 confined to our south-eastern counties ; A. trifolii is locally abundant, 

 and widely distributed, whilst the same may be said of A. lonicerae. 

 A. palustris (trifolii-major) is very local, and apparently not widely 

 distributed, whilst the other three species are only to be obtained in 

 their known special haunts, or similar ones in likely districts, A. exidans 

 in the Scotch Highlands, A. purpuralis on the western coasts, and A. 

 viciae in the New Forest. Allowance must always be made in the time 

 of appearance for a difference between seasons. In 1888, A. trifolii 

 was out in late June and early July, A. palustris {trifolii-major) in late 

 August, and we saw A. filipendidae in late September. In 1893, A. 

 trifolii appeared in the middle of May, A. palustris (trifolii-major) in 

 mid- June, whilst A. filipenchdae was out in abundance during the latter 

 month. Fletcher considers that, in confinement, if undisturbed, the 

 Anthrocerid larvffi are easy to winter. 



Anthrocera (Mesembrynus) purpuralis, Brunnich. 



Synonymy. — Species : Parpuralis, Briinnich, " Danske Atlas," L, pi. xxx., 

 p. 686 (1763) ; MM., " Zool. Dan. Prod.," no. 1345, p. 116 (1776) ; Auriv., 

 " Nord. Fjar.," p. 53 (1888) ; Kirby, " Cat. Lep. Het.," p. 63 (1892) ; "Handbook," 

 etc., p. 87 (1897). Minos, ?Den. and Schiff., " Verz. Schrnett. Wien," p. 45 (1776) ; 

 ?Schrank, " Fuessly's Neues Mag.," ii., p. 208 (1785); Hb., " Beitr. Geseh. 

 Schmett.," ii., p. 20 (1790); " Eur. Schrnett.," ii., fig. 8, p. 77(1797); "Verz.," 

 p. 119 (?1822); Ochs., "Schmett. Eur.," ii., p. 22 (1808); Bdv., " Mon. des 

 Zyg.," p. 29, pi. i., fig. 7 (1829) ; " Icones," ii., pi. lii., fig. 5, p. 41 (1834) ; 

 Freyer, " Neuere Beit.," vol. i., p. 156, pi. 86, fig. 1 (ante 1833) ; Dup., "Lep. Fr.," 

 supp. ii., p. 40, pi. iv., fig. 4 (1835); " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," 1844, p. 85; Zell., 

 " Isis," 1840, p. 137 ; " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," 1844, pp. 38-43; Evers., "Fauna Lep. 

 Volg.-Ural.," p. 93 (1844) ; H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," ii., p. 30 (1840), vi., p. 43 

 (?1856); Assmn., " Besch. Schmett. Schles.," ii., p. 7 (1845); Hering, "Stett. 

 Ent. Zeit.," 1846, p. 235; Kayser, " Deutsch. Schmett.," p. 168(1852-9); Sta., 

 "Man.," i., p. 80(1857); "Ent. Ann.," 1862, p. 50; "Ent. Ann.," 1866, p. 

 20 ; Speyer, " Geog. Verb. Schmett.," L, p. 340 (1858) ; Hein., " Schmett. Deutsch.," 

 i., p. 155 (1859); Newm., "Zool.," 1861, pp. 7565-6; Dbldy., '*■ Zool.," 1861, 

 p. 7715 ; Wallgrn., " Skand. Het.," p. 90 (1863) ; Lucas, " Hist. Nat.," 2nd Ed„ 

 p. 150 (1804) ; Nolck,, " Lep. Fn f Estl.," i., p. 79 (1868) ; Newm., "Brit. Moths," 



