Lepidoptera Rearing Notes, 1958-59

PLANT RECORDINGS

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found it first along the Hadleigh Road f r o m Ipswich. T h e n M r .

Mark R u t t e r f o r d f o u n d it at Lakenheath—each time a single plant. Bonnier says of it " Ca et lä, surtout dans les vignes " and notes it as occurring also in Switzerland. T h e F r e n c h call it " C o q u e r e t " (shell or chrysalis) on account of the three-lobed inflated calyx, difFerent in shape b u t similar to the Chinese Lantern, (Physalis francheti).

T h e corolla is a deep purplish blue fading to white at the base.

M r . A. L . Bull, on the other hand, has sad news of Gymnadenia conopsea, the fragrant Orchis, Coeloglossum viride, the Frog Orchis and Orchis ericetorum, E . F . Linton, all extinct at one feil swoop when a particularly interesting old pasture was ploughed u p and now seems to yield little but Creeping Thistle.

Sisymbrium Orientale had been well established for several years and now has been built upon.

Happier news is that Hieracium brunneocroceum, a naturalised escape, and Rapistrurn rugosum and Conringia Orientale, the last two introduced with imported oats, have become well-established.

T o m e there is more pleasure in hearing of old and loved natives of this land managing to survive h u m a n ruthlessness, if only sparsely, than in welcoming new arrivals, some of t h e m alreadv showing signs of b e c o m i n g rampageous.

LEP1DOPTERA REARING NOTES, by

S.

1958—59

BEAUFOY

White Admiral (Limenitis Camilla L.).

A few hibernating larvae were f o u n d in shrivelled leaves of honeysuckle in Raydon W o o d during the winter. T h e y were kept indoors, b u t all the larvae dried up, probably owing to t h e d r y conditions. T h i s d r y i n g - u p of W h i t e Admiral larvae when kept indoors d u r i n g hibernation has been noticed in previous years.

Another larva f o u n d this a u t u m n is being kept out-of-doors, exposed to the rain and t h e cold.

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LEPIDOPTERA REARING

At the beginning of May two larvae which had just emerged from their hibernacula were found in Bentley Long Wood. Butterflies from these were successfully reared in June.

Purple Emperor (Apatura iris L.).

In August, 1958, a total of 6 ova or young larvae were found and brought home for Observation. One of the larvae died before Hibernation, but the remaining 5 hibernated successfully on a small sallow sapling protected by netting. One of the larvae died soon after it had started to eat again in the spring of 1959.

T h e other 4 pupated and produced butterflies (all male) in June ; one of these was crippled, but the others were perfect specimens and were released in the wood where the ova had been found.

Swallow-tail (Papilio machaon L.) Three ova were found on milk parsley at Stalham in Norfolk in June. These were brought home and the resulting larvae fed on wild carrot. These all produced butterflies at the beginning of August. In the wild State there is nearly always a small partial second brood in August, the remainder of the pupae going over to the following spring before emergence. In the past all Swallowtails reared by me in captivity have remained until the following spring before emergence, but this hot summer of 1959 was no doubt the cause of the August emergence of all three of these insects.

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia L.) In July, 1958, a female was captured in Raydon Wood. It was kept under a glass cloche, and a number of ova were laid on moss provided for the purpose. (In the wild State ova are laid on moss on the side of trees, and are not deposited in the chinks of the bark, as is often stated.) In about 14 days the larvae hatched and ate their egg shells. They were then enclosed in a tin with some dry moss and kept out-of-doors for the winter. In the spring they were transferred to leaves of violet, and no difficulty was experienced in rearing nearly all the larvae, the butterflies emerging in June. It is interesting to note that the hibernating larvae of this species have no objection to very dry conditions during the winter, while under similar dry conditions the hibernating larvae of the White Admiral, as mentioned above, all dried up.