Page:VCH Herefordshire 1.djvu/138

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

A HISTORY OF HEREFORDSHIRE and Nemophora pilella. The Leominster district, on the Old Red Sandstone, and that of Woolhope on the Silurian Limestone, have been pretty exhaustively worked — the former (especially in the Macros) by the late Mrs. Hutchinson and her family, and the latter by the present writer ; but elsewhere much remains to be done. The north side especially, where the surface is bold and in part mountainous, and the Silurian Limestones have broken through the Old Red just as they have in the south-east, is quite unworked ground. A few old and interesting records were made at Ross by the Rev. W. Purchas and his brother. Then Mr. Harman, in the late 'sixties, collected assiduously for a few years at Whitfield and took many good things. The Rev. S. C. Watkins, besides his notable capture of Seda scoliaeformis, which is probably the only example of this rare insect that has been taken outside its Scotch and Welsh homes, has done some good work among the Macros at Kentchurch, while Mr. Pilley, the assistant secretary of the Woolhope Club, furnished many of the particulars of the Hereford captures. A fair number of species have owed their introduction to the British list to having been taken first in this county, some of them at the same time being new to science, of which notice will be taken in their places. But two insects, perhaps, deserve more particular mention. Both are connected with that characteristic feature of the county — the orchard. One, the lovely Cerostoma asperella, whose right to inclusion in our lists was fast verging on the traditional, was re-discovered by Mrs. Hutchinson at Leominster, in 1865, and continued to be taken at intervals by herself or members of her family up to 1886. The other, Ditula woodiana, though rather secluded in its habits, is by no means scarce wherever old apple trees well covered with mistletoe are to be found. At present it is exclusively a Herefordshire insect, and has not occurred elsewhere either at home or abroad. RHOPALOCERA Aporia crataegi, L. ; formerly at Leominster (Hutchin- son) and Ross (Rev. W. H. Purchas), sparingly ; latest date i860, Leominster Pieris brassicae, L. P. rapae, L. P. napi, L. Anthocharis cardamines, L. Leucophasia sinapis, L. ; not uncommon some years in many of the woods of Ledbury and JVool- hope districts, but rare in those of Leominster ; an odd one or so occasionally seen in the autumn Colias hyale, L. ; Leominster, one in 1868 ; Eastnor, one in 1904 or 1905. C. edusa, L. ; very sporadic in its appearance ; var. helice, Leo- minster, rare Gonepteryx rhamni, L. ; widely distributed, but not common Thecla betulae, L. ; Llangrove Common, one between fifty and sixty years ago (Rev. W. H. Purchas). T. w-album, Knoch., widely distributed. T. quercus, L. T. rubi, L. ; not common. Chrysophanus phlaeas, L. ; by no means common in Herefordshire Polyommatus aegon, SchifF. ; Titley, taken by Percy Home, about 1875. P. agestis. Hub. ; com- mon, at least in Woolhope district. P. alexis, Hub. P. argiolus, L. P. alsus, SchifF. ; ex- tremely local, confined to some old gravel quarries at Burghill, where it was discovered by Dr. Chapman and where it still exists. P. acis, SchifF. ; taken by the late Edward New- man, near Leominster, in 1832 and few follow- ing years, but locality has since been searched for it in vain Nemeobius lucina, L. ; Woolhope district, common Apatura iris, L. ; of regular occurrence at Dozaard, perhaps also at Eastnor ; rarely in the middle (Coicame) and south-west {Pontrilas) of the county Vanessa c. album, L. ; common. V. polychloros, L. ; irregular in its appearance. V. urticae, L. V. io, L. V. antiopa, L. ; once seen by the Rev. 86 RHOPALOCERA (continued) Thos. Hutchinson many years ago, Leominster. V. cardui, L. Argynnis paphia, L. A. adippe, L. A. aglaia, L. ; not common. A. selene, SchifF. A. euphro- syne, L. Melitaea artemis, Hb. ; Leominster and Woolhope districts, very local and often shifting its habitat Melanargia galathea, L. ; Eastnor, in small numbers Satyrus semele, L. ; common on Malvern Hills Pararge aegeria, L. ; common. P. megaera, L. Epinephile janira, L. E. tithonus, L. E. hyperan- thus, L. Caenonympha pamphilus, L. Syrichthus alveolus, Hb. Hesperia linea, F. H. sylvanus, Esp. Nisoniades tages, L. HETEROCERA Sphinges Smerinthus ocellatus, L. S. populi, L. S. tiliae, L. Acherontia atropos, L. ; uncertain in its appearance, and scarce Sphinx convolvuli, L. ; at one time was of almost an- nual occurrence at Leominster; in 1868 Mrs. Hutchinson and her family took twenty-seven over petunia ; very rare in Woolhope and Led- bury districts. S. ligustri, L. Deilephila galii, SchifF. ; once over petunia at Leo- minster in 1870, and more recently at Ross Chaerocampa celerio, L. ; a single example taken by the Rev. J. H. Mapleton at Tarrington about 1855; another at Hereford 1 8 8 5 (Jas. B. Pilley). C. porcellus, L. ; C. elp,enor, L. ; elpenor the commoner in the Ledbury and Woolhope districts, and porcellus in the Leominster Macroglossa stellatarum, L. ; not common. M. bombyliformis, widely distributed, but always singly