igS THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



enlivened our borders; never common in this district, but, if I 

 remember aright, usually to be seen in autumn. It is now very 

 many years since I have seen one. I would gladly re-import it 

 if I knew where chrysalids were to be had. 



Has it occurred to anyone but myself to speculate how the name 

 Vanessa came to be bestowed on the genus? It was coined, I 

 understand, l)y Dean Swift as a cryptonym for Esther Vanhomrigh, 

 appearing first in his poem, " Cadenus and Vanessa," written in 

 1 7 13, but not published till 1727. "Cadenus" was formed by 

 transposition of the letters in his own title of Decanus or Dean, 

 while "Vanessa" was an anagram composed of Miss Vanhomrigh's 

 pet name Essa or Hessie and the first syllable of her surname. 

 Johann Christian Fabricius (i 745-1808), pupil of Linnaeus and to 

 some extent his rival in classification, gave the name to the genus 

 Vanessa, to which Linnneus added the specific names. Fabricius, 

 unlike Linnreus, was a fluent linguist and paid many visits to 

 England, where he associated closely v\'ith Sir Joseph Banks and 

 other entomologists. Dean Swift died in the year of Fabricius's 

 birth, and it was two-and-twenty years later that Fabricius first 

 came to England. It would be interesting to know by what happy 

 accident he hit upon the name Vanessa for the brilliant genus that 

 bears it. Herbert Maxwell, Monreith. 



Lepidoptera on the Isle of May. While we were on the 

 Isle of May between loth and 29th September, we were surprised 

 by the number of butterflies which we saw about the fields and 

 gardens. The weather was fine, sunny, and warm, and the wind 

 light west nearly all the time we were there, ideal weather for the 

 observation of lepidoptera though not for that of birds. The day 

 on which we saw most was 19th September when we saw three 

 Painted Ladies ( Vanessa cardui), two quite perfect, to all appearance 

 newly hatched, one slightly worn. We also saw eight or nine 

 Red Admirals ( V. atalanta), all beautiful specimens, several Small 

 Tortoiseshells (K urticce), and one Green-veined White {Pieris 

 napi). The cabbages and turnips in the gardens were devoured 

 by the caterpillar of the Cabbage White {Pieris brassica), and 

 everywhere on the island there were hundreds of the Silver Y. 

 moth {Pii/sia gamma). 



On our return home we once or twice saw a Painted Lady 

 about the gardens in Largo during the first half of October. 

 Leonora Jeffrey Rintoul and Evelyn V. Baxter. 



Exile motti (Crymodes exulis) in Perthshire. In the 



Scotsman of 31st August 1920 Mr F. G. Whittle records the capture 



