226 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



papers on "Forth" Lepidoptera, 1 the arrangement and 

 nomenclature of South's well-known British list have been 

 followed in the case of that group. Where well-established 

 English names exist these have been added, but general 

 adoption of the manufactured English appellations seems 

 both unnecessary and undesirable. 



Cordial acknowledgment of my indebtedness to those 

 lighthouse friends who have taken the trouble to secure 

 specimens for identification must not be omitted. Without 

 their kindly and often enthusiastic co-operation, this report 

 would, of course, have been quite impossible. Through 

 their instrumentality fully 6000 Moths, of which over 4000 

 were furnished by the Isle of May lighthouse alone, and a 

 fair number of other insects have passed through my hands. 

 The greatest number for one night was from the Isle of 

 May in the third week of July, when about 400 Moths 

 representing thirty species were secured, while other not 

 greatly inferior catches have more than once come from 

 that station. At Killantringan 357 belonging to eleven 

 species were boxed on 19th September 191 3 in the space of 

 one hour (10 to 11 P.M.). Though never lucky enough to 

 be present on one of these special occasions, I have taken 

 part in the capture at the Isle of May lantern of some 200 

 specimens in the course of an hour and a half. The 

 weather conditions for a " mothy " night at a lighthouse are 

 much the same as elsewhere a mild atmosphere, overcast 

 sky (haze or light rain is good), and little or no wind. The 

 actual direction of the wind seems to matter little except in 

 its local bearings, that is, in relation to the environing lands, 

 but it has been observed that at the Isle of May moths 

 frequently come with a north-easterly wind. The time of 

 night at which they chiefly appear varies somewhat with the 

 season ; in summer 10 to 11 P.M. and 1 to 2 A.M. are good 

 hours for them, though in point of fact they have been 

 observed coming to the rays at all hours of the night. 



The following is a list of the lighthouses from which 

 specimens have been obtained : 



Isle of May, at mouth of the Firth of Forth; distant 



1 Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., 1897, pp. 89-110, and 1905, pp. 153-160. 



