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42
Vol. 6, nos.1-3
FIELD AND TECHNIQUE NOTES
ANTHOCARIS IN MISSISSIPPI
The note by Dr. Rawson, "Hilltops and Anthocaris" (Lep. News, vol. 5: p. 70), regarding his observations in New York, supplemented by the Editor's note regarding his experience in Connecticut, suggest that the following observations from Mississippi may be worthy of record. I have been collecting in eastern Hinds County, Mississippi, a few miles west of the city of Jackson, for the past six years. This collecting has yielded 19 specimens of Anthocaris midea (Hbn.): 18 males and one female. Dates and numbers taken are as follows: males: 6 April 47, 17 April 49, 18 March 50 (3), 3 March 51 (2), 10 March 51, 25 March 51 (4), 29 March 52, 31 March 51, 1 April 51 (2), 7 April 52 (2); female: 17 April 49.
These individuals showed no preference for hilltops; indeed if any topographic preferences were indicated they were for low places. I find it difficult to explain the series of 10 males, taken throughout a 30-day period in 1951 as simply indicating the beginning of the brood. I would be inclined to believe that the 1951 crop of A. midea in this locality consisted predominantly of males as a result of biologic rather than topographic, ecologic, or time of observation factors. The winter and spring broods of Colias eurytheme (Bdv.), which regularly appear in this locality in large numbers, invariably have a very large proportion of males to females.
Bryant Mather, P.O. Drawer 2131, Jackson, Mississippi
THE FIRST RECORD OF A BUTTERFLY MIGRATION IN AMERICA
In "The History of the Discovery of America by Christopher Columbus; written by his son Don Ferdinand Columbus" (Kerr . . . Voyages and Travels, vol. 3, 1811, p. 120) we read that, on or about June 11, 1494, during Columbus's second voyage, "Bearing up closer to Cuba, they saw turtles of vast bigness, and in such numbers that they covered the sea. At break of day they saw such an enormous flock of sea crows as even darkened the sun, these were going from sea towards to the island, where they all alighted; besides these abundance of pigeons and other birds were seen; and the next day such immense swarms of butterflies, as even to darken the air, which lasted till night, when a heavy rain carried them all away."
Herrera gives the same account, evidently copied from Don Ferdinand Columbus's manuscript.
AUSTIN H. CLARK, U. S. National Museum, Washington, D. C.
PORTHESIA FEIGNING DEATH
On page 46 of the Lep. News, vol. 4, Edward G. Voss relates his experience with Catocala feigning death; he says he never observed it before among moths. In Europe a striking instance of this rather ineffective behaviour ("ineffective" of course to human predators) is the feigning of the common lymantriid Porthesia similis Fuessl. When caught in the net or taken from the leaf or stem to which it was clinging this small but conspicuous white moth never fails to fold down its wings and to stretch upward the abdominal segments, which bear a mass of yellow hairs. It will remain thus for a considerable time, and when no attention is paid it suddenly comes to life again and may escape. The reaction is a very prompt one; I never saw a specimen trying to get away instantly, but it always fell down in a very deceiving manner. Some other species are said to do the same, particularly Notodontidae (Lophopteryx).
KFES LEMS, 38 Kon. Wilhelminalaan, Leidschendam, Netherlands