The Scottish Naturalist. 103 



Buchanan White tells me he took larvse there a good many- 

 years ago. It has not been observed, I believe, since. May 

 the change of climate, which has certainly affected the less 

 hardy cultivated plants of late years, have something to do with 

 it ? This change has been chronicled from time to time by 

 some of our most observant gardeners and others, and in- 

 deed within my own memory, large crops of figs used to ripen 

 on the open wall in my garden, and now scarcely one ever 

 comes to maturity. . 



Nola confusahs is common at Moncreiffe on trunks of trees^ 

 usually oak. 



Nola cncullatella. — Rare ; has been taken by Mr. Herd. 



Nemeophila plantaginis. — Locally common, from 600 feet to 

 the summit. I fancy the males during their wild flight in the 

 afternoons are searching for the females before they emerge. 

 At least I have found that the males occasionally settle and 

 hunt about in particular spots among the heather, &c., and 

 after taking a turn over the ground, return again after a certain 

 time to the same spot. Sometimes 1 have marked more than 

 one place that they return to in this way, and by sitting quietly 

 and watching them, observe that they always make a regular 

 round. I cannot say I have proved it to be the case, but their 

 manner is so very much like that of a male insect when he is 

 aware of the presence of an unimpregnated female, that I men- 

 tion my observations in case they might be verified by some 

 other entomologist. 



Sptloso7na fiiliginosa. — Common, though not so generally 

 distributed as formerly. Burning the furze brakes and wild 

 uncultivated pieces of ground in the neighbourhood, and 

 pasturing them with sheep, has thinned their numbers in this 

 locality, I think. Our Scottish form is darker, and not nearly 

 so bright an insect as the southern. 



S. vwithastri. — Common on the lower part of the Hill, and 

 comes freely to light in my study. Varies from dark cream 

 colour to almost white in the fore wings, and is curiously variable 

 in the number of spots on the hind wings, ranging from i to 

 4, — in one specimen there are 8 or 9. There is a per- 

 fectly formed elbowed line of confluent spots across the fore 

 wings of my darkest specimen, as well as a second line formed 

 in the same way, which almost gives it the appearance of having 

 a distinct fascia across the centre of the wings. 



