162 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



that these May larvae come from April imagines, for Swinton 

 records them as abundant at Jaffa, &c, in April, 1896 ; Fletcher 

 observed the species again on June 30th, 1902, at Cyprus, and 

 Mathew almost continuously from May to August, 1878, on both 

 the European and Asiatic coasts of the Sea of Marmora. Romanoff 

 notes it as occurring at the end of April and again in August in 

 Transcaucasia. April is given as the time of appearance in 

 northern Persia and Tunis, where, however, no record is made of 

 the later broods ; near Cape Town it is recorded, as flying by day, often 

 settling on a species of Echium in December, 1863 (Trimen), and it 

 was taken at Eyk, in North Central Somaliland, on July 3rd, 1897 (Peet). 

 In most of the European countries, May-June and August-September 

 are given as the chief times of appearance, the former being, as 

 with us, the time of appearance of the immigrants, the latter, probably, 

 the time of appearance of their progeny. In Sicily, there is a May 

 appearance, another mid-July emergence, and one suspects a 

 September appearance, whilst May-June is noticed for the Roman 

 Campagna, with no record of a second appearance, May-July 

 and September in Baden, May and September in Hungary, May-June 

 and again in July-August at Budapest {teste Bartel), June 4th, 1900, at 

 Postlingberg (Himsl), May-June and August-September in the Haute- 

 Garonne (Caradja), whilst the end of May alone is given for Sarepta and 

 north-west Asia Minor, where later broods are almost sure to occur. June 

 and July are noted as the main months for Lombardy, Tuscany, &c, 

 and at Boscolungo it is sometimes very common (Caradja), but one 

 suspects at least one earlier, and one later, appearance. An 

 example was captured on June 18th, 1890, in Turkestan, and July 

 is given for Quetta. Caradja notes the two autumnal broods, in August 

 and October, in Roumania, where, at least, in the northern parts, 

 the species is not a permanent resident, but only an accidental 

 visitor. Hudak notes May 20th, 1880, July 20th, 1884, and Septem- 

 ber 12th, 1885, as dates of capture at Golnitz, whilst Fritsch gives 

 June 17th, August 6th, August 27th and September 4th at Salzburg. 

 In Britain, where the species only occurs irregularly as an immigrant, 

 many imagines are, in its years, taken in April, May or June. The eggs 

 laid by these sometimes produce imagines again in August or Septem- 

 ber. Larvae and pupae from these latter either have to come to maturity 

 in early winter or are killed off, the conditions of our winter climate 

 being presumably unsuitable for their successful hybernation. The 

 species is probably not really indigenous in Europe, except in a 

 very few favoured spots on the Mediterranean littoral. Throughout 

 almost all Europe years of comparative abundance are often followed 

 by years of complete absence, and the species occurs singly in 

 most parts of Europe only as a vagrant from its subtropical haunts. 

 The following are the dates of the recorded British captures : 

 In 1823 at Sunderland (Backhouse) ; in 1824 at Billingsgate on 

 a Ramsgate steam vessel, in 1827 at Bethnal Green, in 1829 at 

 Hull (teste Stephens), April 19th, 1829, at Wakering (Dale), May 

 20th, 1830, at Castle Martyr (Law); July 5th, 1834, three £s near 

 Peterborough, one of which laid eggs which hatched in due course, 

 another about the same time near Worcester (Dale, Mound's Nat., 

 !•! P- I 3) ) J une 25th, 1844, a 2 ^t Chorlton, a J a few days later 

 (Edlcston), June, 1844, at Winford (Bromfield); one in mid-April, 1846, 



