NATURAL HISTORY NOTES 
197 
The entomologists about this neighbourhood will have good reason to remember 
1901 for the number of rare or local species which have been practically common. 
Two grand specimens of Staiiropus fagi have been caught — a male at light and a 
female sitting on a tree trunk. Cymatophora ocularis has been caught .several 
times. I should like to know what is the reason for the sudden increase in the 
number of species of butterflies found here. Last year Theda W-albuvt, was 
first caught — this year it swarms literally, and two years ago Argynnis paphia, 
A. aglaia, Polyomrnalus corydon seem to have been very rare visitors. Alacroglossa 
fuciformis was in great plenty, too, this spring, and I believe till then it had not 
been caught, except one solitary specimen. Phibalocera quercana was abundant 
too : I did not know till this year that it was so much attracted by sugar. The 
profusion of the pretty Thyatira derasa and T. hatis is remarkable, and Gaslro- 
pacha quercifolia is caught most frequently. A specimen of Boarmia roboraria 
was taken at light, and several Pericallia syringaria. Sugaring for moths has 
been tried a great deal this year by most of our entomologists, and great success 
has attended their efforts, a good bag being usually procured, including Zettzera 
cBsctdi. The country in the immediate neighbourhood is admirably adapted to 
the requisites of caterpillar life, there being much woodland and many open 
fields. The ravages of insect hunters do not seem to have reduced the numbers 
of species found in the least. 
Haileybury, July 22. N. R. D. Tennant. 
Holly Blue in London. — I do not know whether the appearance of the 
Holly Blue in London is sufficiently unusual to be worth recording in Nature 
Notes. 
1 have seen it to-day and on seven other days lately. I have seen it in two 
places more than a mile apart, one in Kensington and one in Fulham. The 
butterfly settled mostly on the privet flowers. 
Is it likely that these were some of the butterflies that have been imported 
into the London Parks ? 
15, Airlie Gardens, Campden Hill, IV. John D. Batten. 
August 6, 1901. 
[No Blues have, I believe, been imported ; but this species has been excep- 
tionally abundant this year.- — E d. N.N.'\ 
The Holly Blue Butterfly (Lycana argiolus) has been exceptionally 
common in this neighbourhood ; I see it daily in my garden. It is easily dis- 
tingui.shed from the common blue by the absence of orange spots on the under 
side of the hind wings. 
White Noiley Vicarage, Essex. August "j, 1901. A. F. Curtis. 
Larvae of Vanessidae. — “L.’s” appeal in Nature Notes for July 
caused me to rear a quantity of larvse, and it may be of interest to Selbornian 
entomologists to know the results. In the middle of June I sent some very 
small larvte of V. Urticce and V. Atalanta to a Londoner, who had planted a 
quantity of nettles in his garden on purpose to rear them. By the same post I 
also sent some half-grown caterpillars of V. lo. The little ones arrived none the 
worse, but the others did not like being shut up in a tin, and were unable to stand 
when they reached their destination. The best plan in sending larvae by post is 
to put them in a wooden box with some of their dry food plant, when even 
ventilation is immaterial. I have sent from 3,000 to 4,000 full-grown ones in this 
way in a box eighteen inches long, that have stood the journey perfectly. 
On June 23 I had taken a hundred or two larvae of V. lo from a nettle bed on 
which there were large black clusters of a thousand or more left, and presumed 
they would be there for some little time, as they were not nearly full grown. On 
July 2 I visited the bed intending to capture them all for the experiments in 
Battersea Park ; but they were gone, leaving only their cast-off skins behind. 
What had become of them ? As they had left the nettle-bed, they must have 
separated to pupate at a distance : they do not go underground. Next day I 
found nothing, merely, after a long search, coming across two other beds where 
there had been large colonies that also had decamped. The day after this I found 
three fine lots which gave me about 4,000 latvce, as many as my larva box would 
safely hold. 
I wonder if everybody could coax a hundred nearly full fed larvse of V. lo in 
