i6o The Scottish Natiiralist. 



8. Climate has been a chief factor in producing the present 

 distribution. 



9. Ireland derived some of its insects from Scotland. 



10. At least some of the British mountain lepidoptera existed 

 as species previous to the last glacial period. 



The answers, therefore, to the questions asked at the begin- 

 ning of this paper are briefly these : — 



Whence did our mountain Lepidoptera come? 



From continental Europe south of the latitude of Britain, or 

 at least south of all except the south of England. 



At what stage (or time) relatively to the majority of the 

 Lepidoptera ? 



Amongst the very first, or at least before most of the others. 



By what route were they brought ? 



By a continuous or nearly continuous land-passage across the 

 bed of the German Ocean. 



What causes have produced the present distribution ? 



Climatic conditions and other agencies which, separately or 

 conjointly, result in causing the survival of the fittest. 



Notes on Lepidoptera. — Three months ago, when I sent to you a few notes 

 on Lepidoptera, lovers of that study had a gloomy looking forward to. The 

 general belief was, if there could be got a few to replace some of the decayed 

 ones it would be all ; but as the old saying is, " There is nothing surer than 

 disappointment : " and such has been the case with moth and butterfly col- 

 lectors this summer. At least so far my experience has been. I have taken 

 this summer 162 species within two miles round about this place ; and Ber- 

 wickshire, as far as I know of, contributes amongst the Diiimi, Noclunii, 

 Gtvjnetra, and Noctticr, 314 species to the list of Lepidoptera. 



Moths and butterflies have been more numerous this summer than for the 

 few past years, and instead of the extreme severity of the last winter destroy- 

 ing insect-life it has saved it. In species whose larvne bury themselves in the 

 earth in order that their pupoe may be protected from birds and atmospheric 

 influences, let the pupa be ever so hard frozen, as long as it is covered, it will 

 take no harm. I have tried a few, and I find that pupce which are buried in 

 the earth, if exposed in fresh weather to the air for a while, some may be- 

 come perfect insects ; but I never could succeed in rearing insects from pupae 

 which were removed from the earth in frosty weather, although they were re- 

 placed in the earth a short time afterwards. Pupoe whose natur^ is to hang 

 on grass, palings, tS:c., can stand any amount of frost. Last autumn I put a 

 few pupae of the Fox Moth {Bombyx rtibi), the Emperor {Saturnia corpiiii), 

 and the Light Knot Grass {Acronycta nicnyaiithiiiis), on the outside of the 

 window, exposed to all the frost and rain : I took them into cover in the be- 

 ginning of May, and without exception every one became a beautiful moth. 

 Can it not be the case with the snow protecting them from the frost, the 



