Entomologist's Gazette - Vol. 70, No. 2, 2019

Published: 4/26/2019

Article Details for this issue

The extraordinary larva of the White Admiral butterfly, Limenitis camilla (Linnaeus, 1764)

By: BARRY P. HENWOOD & JOHN M. WALTERS

Page: 67–77

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Our observations on the behaviour of the early instars of the White Admiral butterfly, Limenitis camilla are described from the study of wild and captive larvae. These are compared with other published sources.

BOOK REVIEW The Eponym Dictionary of Odonata, by Bo Beolens

By: STELLA BEAVAN

Page: 78

Type: Book Review

Confirmation of the presence of Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina with its host-plants

By: PETER RUSSELL & JIM PATEMAN

Page: 79–92

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Various localities in Croatia were visited in 2015, 2016 and 2017 to search for Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893, which had been reported previously from six locations. Three of these sites were visited in May 2015 and found to be damp meadows and thus most unsuitable for M. ornata. In May 2016 and June 2017, another location (Mt. Sniježnica), given by Koren & Štih (2013) was visited. In 2016, a plant very similar to a known host-plant of M. ornata, Onopordum illyricum L., was found to have been eaten extensively, with copious amounts of larval frass present; however, no larvae were present and no adults seen. In 2017, a male and two females resembling M. ornata were captured at two different locations on this mountain. Also in 2017, a location in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina approximately 8 km southsoutheast of Trebinje (Herzegovina) and 10 km north of Mt. Sniježnica was visited, where a further M. ornata-like female was captured and two egg masses were collected from first year plants of Carduus collinus Waldst. & Kit., the host-plant used by M. ornata in Slovenia. These were returned to the UK and some reared through to adults and confirmed as Melitaea ornata. The butterfly species seen in the Zagreb district, Mt. Sniježnica and Herzegovina are listed.

Observations on the genus Ocys Stephens, 1828 (Coleoptera: Carabidae)

By: P. F. WHITEHEAD

Page: 93–96

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Following the separation of Ocys harpaloides (Audinet-Serville, 1821) and Ocys tachysoides (Antoine, 1933), mapped together under Bembidion harpaloides by Luff (1998), comments on their British distribution and ecological affinities are provided and O. harpaloides is added to the fauna of the Greek Ionian Islands. Ocys quinquestriatus (Gyllenhal, 1810) is described inhabiting a post-mature fruit tree in suburban Somerset.

Post-aestivation puddling by female Chazara briseis larnacana (Oberthür, 1909) and Maniola cypricola (Graves, 1928) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae): influences and implications

By: EDDIE JOHN & ROGER L. H. DENNIS

Page: 97–109

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Mud-puddling by female Lepidoptera is rarely reported. In this paper, post-aestivation puddling by females of Chazara briseis larnacana and Maniola cypricola as a possible means of enhancing fecundity is discussed. Both are long-lived Cyprus endemics that mate in spring but undergo arrested ovarian development pending the return of more favourable conditions for larval survival in the autumn. The delay between mating and ovipositing appears to indicate a need for post-aestivation females to puddle in order to replenish depleted resources initially gained at the larval stages and through the transfer of minerals and nutrients via the spermatophore at mating. A first known report of marine (seawater) puddling by C. briseis is also discussed, as is the importance of Dittrichia viscosa as a late-season nectar resource for many species of butterfly.

Consideration of the places of pupation of Aroga velocella (Zeller, 1839) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

By: S. D. BEAVAN & R. J. HECKFORD

Page: 110–112

Type: Short Notes

Notes on the biology of some butterflies in Greece (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

By: TRISTAN LAFRANCHIS

Page: 113–134

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Information on larval host-plants, life-cycle and behaviour of Greek butterflies gathered between 2000 and 2013 is presented. Observations were made on 141 species of butterfly and more than 450 records were made of larval host-plants in the wild. Observations on ants attending Polyommatinae caterpillars as well as a few parasitoids collected from reared caterpillars are also presented.