suppressed, though there may be a tendency to pink. Ordinary melanic races, such as occur in the North of England, seem to be entirely different, and due to different causes.-T. D. A. COCKERELL; February 26, 1890.

PHIGALIA PEDARIA (PILOSARIA) In January. - As an example of the effect of the mildness of January, I may mention that I captured a male P. pedaria on the night of the 11th of that month, at 8.45, the temperature being at the time 50°. It was at rest on a gas-lamp (at Balham), and apparently quite recently emerged. Upon referring to my notes of the last ten years, I find the earliest date I had hitherto taken this species was on February 19th, 1881, and that the first week in March is the usual time for its appearance.-F. W. FROHAWK; Balham, S.W.

During a short walk on January 26th, I took five Phigalia pedaria and half a dozen Hybernia leucophæaria, at rest on the sheltered sides of fences, excellent evidence this of the mildness of the season; we have March in January.-F. W. BIDDLE; Lanherne, Albemarle Road, Beckenham.

Phigalia pedaria has appeared here very early this year. I took seven specimens on January 16th. The earliest date at which I have previously seen this species is February 16th.-WM. REID; Pitcaple, Aberdeenshire.

[The usual time for the appearance of this species is perhaps between the middle of March and the middle of April, but it has been observed as early as November and December, and so late as the middle of June. Entom. xx. pp. 64, 110; xxi. p. 91; xxii. p. 113.-ED.]

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ARCTIA CAIA.-I found some thirty larvæ at the beginning of June last year, and as I had heard that feeding them on coltsfoot produced the best varieties, I reared them on this plant alone, but of the imagines bred therefrom not one was a variety. Two of the females deposited ova, and when they hatched I gave the larvæ lettuce that was seeding to feed on. This food getting scarce when they were about half-grown, I fed them on a weed that grows among the turnips; the farmers call it "rednees," a species of Persicaria I suppose it is; and they fed on it ravenously. Some two hundred of them refused to thrive, and I planted them out to hybernate. 200 insects emerged; a great many were cripples, but 50 of the specimens were good varieties: hind wings buff to very dark brick-red, approaching a suffused smoky colour; some have beautifully marked fore wings. On the whole I am very well pleased with the result.-WILLIAM JOHNSON; Bankhouses, Aspul, near Wigan.

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GAS-LAMP ENTOMOLOGY.-As a doubt appears to exist in the minds of some entomologists as to whether the Sphingidæ are prone to the attractions of the gas-lamp, the following incident may be worth recording. It is some years since I systematically worked the lamps, but I well remember an occasion, when having spent the evening in mothing along the hedge-rows of what was then known as Burnt Ash Lane,―possibly one of the best suburban hunting-grounds in the district,—and darkness having some time set in, I was preparing to work the gas-lamps on my way home. The first few of these stood well out in the open, and on approaching number one I beheld what had the appearance of a bat suspended from the top rail of the frame, but on going forward to secure my prize found, instead of the bat, a couple of Smerinthus populi hanging on to the iron, side by side, within an inch of each other; on the next lamp visited was another; and on the next, a fourth;—all within a distance of some hundred

yards. My own experience is that it would be much more difficult to say which families are not attracted by gas-lamps than which are, even such sun-loving species as Pieris rape and Vanessa atalanta having been found in such situations, the fact of their returning after being driven away proving, I think, that the bright flame had some fascination for them. A word as to time: some species of moths will, doubtless, come to light even before the twilight has died away, but it is not until darkness has long set in that lamping becomes profitable; and if we are content to spend the still, small hours of a warm dark morning in searching the gas-lamps in any suitable locality, we are not likely to return home with many empty boxes; not only are moths then more common than in the earlier part of the evening, but are more easily secured -R. ADKIN; Wellfield, Lewisham, March, 1890.

There are a few very curious facts in Mr. Arkle's article (Entom. 100), under the above heading, which appear (if correct) to show the habits of Lepidoptera in the vicinity of Chester to be peculiar to that locality. I think every collector of experience will admit that nearly all the nocturnal flying Sphingidæ are attracted by light: atropos, convolvuli, galii, livornica, celerio, elpenor, ocellatus, populi, and tilia are well-known examples, and Smerinthus populi is often very abundant. The Taniocampa in this district are common visitors to the lamps, especially T. gothica and T. instabilis; Plusia gamma is generally abundant, and Dicranura vinula not scarce, the latter sitting on the ironwork of the lamp like many other large species; Spilosoma fuliginosa, although by no means common here, turns up sometimes at light; and Hepialus lupulinus is a pest, both in rooms and at the street lamps. Some of the appearances are also a little peculiar at Chester. I see Mr. Arkle takes Diurnea fagella and Lemnatophila phryganella at light in July; we take the former here in March, April, and May (male). Its popular name used to be the March-dagger. The latter flies in our woods in November. I see Tortricodes hyemana occurs at light at Chester in August. This is worth noting, for with us it is one of the earliest species to occur in our oak woods, and is over by the end of April. Mr. Arkle's list is long, but, including Tortrices, I think most metropolitan collectors could easily double it. It is astonishing what species come to light when that means of capture is steadily worked. I have taken day-flying insects, like Acontia luctuosa and Saturnia pavonia (carpini), in this way; and on one memorable evening, I had forty-one species present themselves between 11 p.m. and 1.30 a.m.-C. FENN; Evenden House, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, S.E.

During several years' experience, I have never seen a single species of the Sphingidæ at lamps. To the lists already given I can add Dasypolia templi, Xylina semibrunnea, and Eucosmia certata. I have seen both Taniocampa gothica and stabilis, as a further proof that some of the Taniocampa are attracted by light.-T. B. JEFFERYS: Bath.

EARLY EMERGENCE OF S. BILUNARIA. On the 30th January I chanced to go into the cold saddle-room where I keep my pupæ, and found, to my astonishment, that a male and female of the above had emerged. Before their wings had dried they paired, and on the following day the female laid eggs, which are apparently fertile. Subsequently others emerged, as follows:-February 2nd, one female; 3rd, one male; 6th, one female; 7th, one female; 13th, one female; 14th, one male. Newman gives April as the date of emergence! As a further instance of

this very mild winter, I may add that in the neighbourhood of Weymouth to-day I saw a sallow in full bloom.-CHAS. E. PARTRIDGE; The Castle, Portland, February 14, 1890.

AGROTIS ASHWORTHII Doubl. A. CANDELARUM, Stdgr. - Mr. W. Gardner is justifiably enthusiastic over the beauty of Agrotis ashworthii (Entom. p. 5), but as to its individuality it must be confessed that it is generally admitted to be merely an illustration of the melanism, so commonly occurring in Great Britain, of common Continental species, and by no means entitled to rank as a separate species. The typical representative A. candelarum Stdgr. = (candelisequa Hb. 397), is of no rare occurrence throughout Europe.-N. F. DOBRÉE; The New Walk, Beverley, E. Yorks, February 3, 1890.

LARVE OF BOMBYX RUBI.—On the 1st December I found several larvæ of the above, at an altitude of 1100 feet, crawling on the heather amongst the unmelted snow, though there was no sunshine, and we had had a week's hard weather. Again on the 15th, on the same ground, I found larvæ, after an exceptionally wet and rough week. Surely this is unusual? -CHAS. PARTRIDGE; Farchynys, Dolgelly.

VANESSA IO AT CHRISTMAS.-Whilst walking about the New Forest, last Christmas Day, I had the pleasure of watching a specimen of the above butterfly on the wing; it sported about ivy for some time, but did not settle upon it; eventually it espied me, and alighted upon the trunk of an oak, within a foot of my head, fanning its beautiful wings, in which position I left it. There were numerous hollies around, looking so fresh and green, and the weather being simply glorious, that really io did not look out of season.-J. HY. FOWLER; Ringwood.

VARIATION IN SIZE OF COLEOPTERA.-In connection with the variation in size of certain species of Coleoptera, mentioned in Mr. Cockerell's recent papers on variation (Entom. xxii. p. 245), it may be of interest to record the following measurements of two species in my collection, which I think are unusually divergent in size for specimens of the same insect taken uuder almost identical conditions:-(I.) Lasiorhynchus barbicornis, male 34, 24, and 11 lines; female, 21 and 14 lines. (2.) Emona hirta, female, 12 lines, male, 9 and 5 lines.-G. V. HUDSON; Wellington, New Zealand, November 20, 1889.

EARLY APPEARANCE OF HYBERNIA MARGINARIA, &c.-Myself and a friend have taken the following moths this year; and as some of them are much earlier than I have ever taken them before, I thought it would be of interest to some of your readers. January 10th, Hybernia rupicapraria; 31st, Anisopteryx ascularia. February 1st, Hybernia marginaria (progemmaria). I may add that we also took nineteen Phigalia pedaria (pilosaria) at lamps, January 31st.-W. E. BUTLER; 91, Chatham Street, Reading, February 14, 1890.

As an evidence of the great mildness of the month of January, my son took a fine specimen of Melanippe fluctuata in our garden on the 2nd of this month. I think this is an unusually early capture of even this very common species. It may interest your readers to know that last season I took a specimen of the black form of Hemerophila abruptaria in this neighbourhood.-DOUGLAS A. ONSLOW; 28, Carlton Hill, N. W., Feb. 22, 1890.

ANGERONA PRUNARIA. Owing to illness since 1887 I have been unable to continue the experiments shadowed forth in my article (Entom. xx. 36), and, as I do not see any likelihood of my resuming them, perhaps some other entomologist will kindly take up the subject and render it more justice than I have been enabled to do. I have, however, managed to rear a few more notable aberrations of prunaria described below, viz., a speckled variety of the male with irrorated spots on basal half of hind wings, suffused, forming a sooty blotch; a palish example of the banded variety of the male, with hind wings, colour and markings resembling the ordinary female variety; and a specimen of the common type of the female form of a very pale straw-colour, with a few indistinct spots of the palest orange chiefly at costal and outer edges of wings. GEO. J. GRAPES; Berkeley Villa, 34, Charlwood Road, Putney, S.W., February 6, 1890.

CHOROCAMPA CELERIO IN QUEENSLAND.-This insect is fairly common here, and it is, I think, interesting to note that the imago appears in September (our spring) and October. The larva occurs in the following month, and feeds up very rapidly; all mine had pupated before the end of November. A green variety of the larva is found commonly, as in the case of C. porcellus and C. elpenor. Here the larva feeds on grape-vine, a species of wild vine, and on fuchsia. I send this note, because I see that Mr. Hellins, in Buckler's 'Larvæ,' only mentions vine as food-plant, while only the brown variety of the larva is figured. To the accuracy of that figure I can bear testimony.-(Rev.) C. D. ASH; Southport, Queensland, Dec. 16, 1889.

IS CENONYMPHA ARCANIA, Linn., A CASUAL VISITOR ?-On overlooking a cabinet containing Rhopalocera collected by me when a boy, and which had not been added to or even opened, except to add fresh camphor, for nearly twenty-four years, I found two specimens of the above-mentioned insect. I cannot account for their presence in my cabinet, except that I may have caught them, not knowing what they were; certainly I have no recollection of buying any as a schoolboy. Most of my collection was made on the borders of Dorset and Devon, within a few miles of the sea.-JOHN H. STILL; Langstone, Horrabridge.

[Although it has a wide distribution throughout Europe, Canonympha arcania is a local species, but in nearly all places where it occurs it is common. Mr. De Vismes Kane, in his European Butterflies,' says that it is abundant in most parts of France. A form of the species, known as satyrion, Esp., affects the more elevated meadows of Switzerland, whilst at lower altitudes darwiniana, Staud., another form, is found. This last is intermediate between var. satyrion and the type. Stephens, in 'Illustrations of British Entomology,' Haustellata, i. p. 69 (1828), includes this species, under the name of Hipparchia arcanius, on the slender evidence of a single specimen in Mr. Plastead's collection, which was supposed to have been captured in England. Wood and Curtis both figure this specimen, and the last-named author, in his British Entomology,' Lep. i. p. 205, says of it:-" captured by Mr. Plastead, it is understood, on the borders of Ashdown Forest."-ED.].

VARIATION OF CHRYSOLOPHUS SPECTABILIS.-During a lengthened stay in Victoria, in the present year, I had good opportunities for collecting and observing the habits of several species of Australian Coleoptera. Soon after commencing to collect, in January, I became impressed with the great ENTOM.-APRIL, 1890.

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variation of several species, and prominent among them being C. spectabilis. In the Nilumbik Valley, eighteen miles north-east of Melbourne, the species is common, and inhabits the low vegetation; I obtained all my specimens on the dark green boughs of the young black wattles (Acacia decurrens). As evening approaches the beetles ascend the stems of the plants, and alternately move slowly and cautiously along the boughs, and resting motionless for some time, when in the latter position the slightest artificial movement of the bough caused the insect to drop suddenly into the long grass beneath. It is, however, more the variation of the species than its habits that I desire to record. I regret that I have not the original description in my possession, but the species is undoubtedly subject to great variation, my specimens ranging from a pale green ground to dark brown or black; some are richly and regularly dotted with gold on a green ground, while others are marked with irregular black patches or dull green and bluish grounds. I have one bright burnished specimen and one black, and other intermediate forms; the species also varies greatly in size in both sexes. When searching for the insects I observed that the dark forms were more difficult to detect on the boughs than the gold-dotted or pale green varieties. I may also mention that last spring and summer were the driest and hottest on record in Victoria, but how such affected insect

life as compared to previous seasons I cannot say. Mr. Cockerell's appeal to entomologists to "take careful notes of all varieties they meet with from time to time, and especially the conditions under which they exist," is certainly to the point, and all-beginners particularly-would do well to act on the suggestion. The chemistry of their food-plants in each season will probably have to be worked out, as having special bearing in all stages on the variation both of the larva and imago.-W. W. SMITH; East Belt, Ashburton, New Zealand, Nov. 25, 1889.

NOTES ON THE SEASON 1889.-On Good Friday I journeyed to Windermere to look for the larvæ of Laverna lacteella. Few collectors can see the difference between this species and L. paludicolella, Doubl. The foodplant, Epilobium hirsutum, was just peeping above ground, and I collected all I could find, hoping that either ova or larvæ might be thereon; but when I examined it at home I could only see two small larvæ; these were obscure whitish in colour, with black heads, and one of them produced a moth in June. In trying to force imagines a month or so earlier from the mines and cocoons I had gathered the previous autumn, I was not eminently successful, as from about 400 larvæ of Nepticula gei and N. splendissimella I only bred about a dozen specimens. As, in subsequently searching for them, I could find very few empty cocoons, I concluded that owing to the cold weather the larvæ had not vitality enough to undergo the change. A similar unsatisfactory result befel a canister-full of Nepticulide and Lithocolletis caledoniella from Renfrew. Nepticula aucuparia, N. tityrella, and N. continuella all did badly. The only species I bred in any number was N. tilie and about twenty-five specimens of N. desperatella. Last year I could not find any larvæ of N. minusculella, but six imagines were bred in 1889 from pupae obtained in 1887. Lithocolletis fared badly; a very few L. kleemannella and L. stettinensis; while of L. bistentella I only got one specimen. Among the larger moths I may mention one fine Cabera rotundaria. During the season I visited Windermere on several occasions, but scarcely saw a Geometra, and Tortrices and Tines were very poorly