LEPIDOPTERA, ETC., AT SCOTTISH LIGHTHOUSES 57 



or in sufficiently large numbers. The results thus far obtained 

 are given in the list which follows. 



As it is hoped that this paper may be the forerunner 

 of a series of reports on the occurrence of Lepidoptera and 

 other insects at Scottish lighthouses, some allusion to (1) 

 insect " migration " in general, and (2) lighthouse records 

 already published, may not be considered out of place. It 

 should serve, at all events, to show that there are substantial 

 grounds for anticipating many highly interesting and valuable 

 results from an investigation such as I have here indicated. 

 Ornithologists were quick to recognise the value of light- 

 houses in connection with the study of bird-migration, and 

 for a number of years a committee of them was appointed by 

 the British Association to investigate the matter by means 

 of schedules and specimens sent in by the light-keepers. 

 It is a matter for regret that insect-migration was not 

 included in the scope of the enquiry, and a couple of 

 entomologists put on the committee. The opportunity thus 

 missed is not likely soon to recur. 



The so-called migrations of locusts Linnaeus named one 

 species migratorins, and Olivier called another peregrinum 

 are notorious ; but it is not so generally known that similar 

 movements are of frequent occurrence in other groups of insects 

 as well. That butterflies and moths, not only the manifestly 

 powerful-winged, can and do perform long journeys overland 

 and sea is certainly surprising ; when, however, the obstacle 

 to be surmounted takes the form of a thousand miles or 

 more of ocean, or a range of snowy mountains 10,000 to 

 15,000 feet in height, one is disposed to say, impossible! 

 Yet there is the best of evidence that they do occasionally 

 perform these astonishing feats. In a series of able articles 

 on "The Migration and Dispersal of Insects," published in 

 the Entomologist's Record for the years 1898 to 1902, the 

 late J. W. Tutt has brought together and discussed a large 

 amount of scattered literature and other information bearing 

 on the subject, the result making a most engrossing story, 

 in some respects as fascinating as anything that has been 

 written on the migration of birds. To fully appreciate the 

 wealth of records gathered together, and their significance, 

 27 H 



