330 
THE MEDITERRANEAN NATURALIST 
assured of this, when one day, I saw a pupa in the 
claws of a small yellowish spi der, that seemed to 
be sucking it; and as there were quantities of these 
spiders I concluded that the other pupae had met 
their death from a like cause. (1) 
The Vanessa Atalanta, as I remarked before, 
has this year been extraordinary plentiful. I 
have myself noticed numbers of them feeding on 
the canes in the valley near Casal Zebbug. 
My attention was first attracted by seeing four ■ 
or five dilapidated specimens of this beautiful 
butterfly fluttering about a cluster of canes. On 
closer inspection it appeared that not only but- 
terflies but also bees were feeding on the juice of 
these canes. 
I noticed that they were all clustered about the 
places where the outer bark had peeled off leaving 
the cane exposed, and that they were reluctant to 
leave the spot, returning to the same place when 
driven off. (2) 
The Vanessa Atalanta seemed to thrive in these 
parts of the Valley, nearly all the specimens being 
of a good size; two that I captured measuring 
nearly 3 inches across the wings. 
They appeared to be very strong on the wing, a 
short fat body and thick strong sucker and 
antennae. \ 
(1) The emoty pupae are due to small parasitic 
Hymenopter 1 mostly of the Braconidae and 
Iaehneumonidae which lay their eggs in the caU > - 
pillar , and the larvae of which feed on the pupa, 
rather than to spiders. The puncture commonly 
found in such pupae is the opening made by these 
minute flies, when after having hilled and devoured 
the pupae they fly away leaving the empty involucre 
of the pupa. On walls in the country it. is a. very 
frequent occurence to see dead or dying caterpillars 
of the Large Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae) 
surrounded by little yellow cocoons of these insects , 
the Microgaster glomeratus L. 
{2) Vanessa atalanta has together with some of Jo > 
butterflies, e. g. F. aegeria the peculiar habit of 
returning after a short flight to the very same spot 
whence it has been scared. This is not only the case 
with flowers, but sometimes you see them reverting 
immediately to the same stone or len t' whence they 
had started so that in hunting for thes , specie* the 
best method is to wait until they come back to you 
by themselves. Other species on the contrary like 
Colias edusa when once they take to flight very 
seldom return to their starting point. 
A. C. G. 
The Papilio Machaon never very mre in Malta 
has this year been very abundant; particularly so 
iu the gardens situated in the higher parts of the 
islands, Boschetto for insta ..ce, and the gardens 
adjoining the Sanitarium at Notabile. where one 
morning in September last I captured no less than 
twenty nine perfect specimens. 
There is one very peculiar feature in the pupa 
of this beautiful butterfly. The original colour 
of this is a light greyish brown, quite at variance 
with the caterpillar, which is of a beautiful vivid 
green with scarlet stripes. 
But occasionally the pupa assumes a greenish 
colour (very much of the same hue as the cover of 
this paper) with pronounced yellow markings 
down its back. I have one such pupa before me 
as I write, the caterpiller of which was captured 
at Sliema and given me by a friend. 
With regard to the Moths, some specimens ap- 
pear to have been quite as plentiful as the but- 
terflies, and others quite as scarce. 
The Cereocampa Celerio for instance hitherto 
rather scarce has this year been comparatively 
numerous. I captured a fine specimen of it in 
August; when, as I was dining with a gentleman 
at Sliema it flew in at the open window and flut- 
tered about the lamp. 
The Sphinx Convulvuli, numbers of which I 
captured at the Railway Station at Notabile, 
where they were feeding on the four o’clock, better 
known by the name of “Hommeir has been fairly 
plentiful; as also the Deilephila Euphorhiae, quan- 
tities of the pupae of which were taken in the 
vicinity of Boschetto. 
Yours faithfully. 
.T. C. Scioetixo. 
To Correspondents: — Surg, Oapt. Day. Flo- 
riana: — Wc cannot help expressing gnat surprise 
at your letter. You have now bem receiving the 
the. “ Mediterranean Naturalist ” *or eight months 
and since you refuse to pay for the copies, we 
must insist upon their immediate return. 
Editor J. H. Cooke, B. Sc., F.G.S., Malta. 
