STRYM0N PRUNI. 221 



to settle on privet blossoms, crawling about the bushes, but, if 

 disturbed, flying rapidly away; on one occasion I captured both E. 

 w-album and S. pruni on the same privet bush, the latter worn, whilst 

 the former was in good condition." He adds ; " I have also noticed 

 the 2 s crawling about the blackthorn bushes, possibly ovipositing, 

 but I did not find the ova." Mosley states that, "in Barnwell Wold, 

 the imagines principally affect the privet and bramble bloom, and the 

 best way to capture them is to stand near a good patch of bloom and 

 wait until they arrive." Thompson records that, " on July 4th, 1874, 

 he captured several specimens, mostly $ s, on the flowers of privet, in 

 Linford Wood." It is also recorded as being taken at "bramble 

 flowers," at Kinver Edge (Wells) ; on flowers of valerian, at Barnwell 

 Wold (Kaye), etc. Its recorded habits abroad are almost identical 

 with those noticed in England, e.g., Keynes notes (Ent. Bee, xix., 

 pp. 88-89) that, on June 18th and 21st, 1906, on the banks of the 

 Rhine, near Lahr, he discovered a tract of low privet bushes in bloom, 

 on the flowers of which S. pruni was sitting in scores ; the $ s were, 

 however, then over, but a good series of $ s was taken ; feeding on the 

 same blossoms with these were a few E. iv-album, the latter in fine 

 condition. Reutti also records that, in Baden, the imagines are to 

 be found sitting on plants of different species of Primus, and on 

 Symplioricarpus racemosus. Lowe observes (in litt.) that, at Freiburg- 

 in-Baden, on June 16th, 1901, the species was abundant on flowers of 

 bramble, but much worn, whilst, on June 8th, 1906, in the 

 same place, only one freshly-emerged imago was observed at the 

 flowers. He found it abundantly, however, between June 22nd and 

 July 2nd, 1906, at Eclepens ; here, the insect was observed basking in 

 the sunshine on a thick hedge of mixed growth, rising for short spiral 

 flights, and generally returning to the same spot again. It appeared 

 to show a slight preference for the flowers of Clematis vitalba. Busack 

 observes (in Hit.) that, between June 29th and July 16th, 1904, he 

 noticed the species at Mestlin, in Mecklenburg. He states that "he 

 caught the butterfly flying in the full sunshine, on the outskirts of a 

 wood, where sloe, hazel, and bramble, grow abundantly. The imago 

 •often returns to its old resting-place, sucking the nectar from the 

 bramble-flowers, or sitting upon the leaves of hazel, so that one has 

 only to disturb it to capture it ; yet, it is a very active insect, and 

 particularly so in the hot sunshine, between 11 a.m. and noon." 

 Loffler reports (in litt.) that the species occurs in several places near 

 Heidenheim, in Wiirttemberg, where he usually finds it most abundant 

 on flowers of marjoram, during the morning only, for, at noon, it 

 flies actively about, and is then most difficult to capture. Glaser 

 notes it on flowers of bramble at Giessen, whilst Gillmer observes 

 that, in the forests of Klein-Zerbst and Diebzig, the species occurs 

 somewhat rarely, and is not often observed flying, but is sometimes 

 seen walking about on the sloe leaves, from which it is easily disturbed, 

 the butterfly, however, usually settling down very quickly again. The 

 walking and the basking is only done in the hot sunshine, and at such 

 times they may be seen moving the hindwings to and fro over one 

 another ; during the cloudy periods the butterfly sits quite still. He 

 adds that he has only seen the butterfly sucking nectar from the 

 flowers of Thymus serpyllum, in Thuringia. Wccke also notes it as 

 abundant in some lowland localities in Silesia, flying around sloe 



