no The Irish NaUiralist. Octobei', 



though its wings were of frequent occurrence in the mornings. 

 Wings of the Silver Y [Plvisia gamma) and its relative P. 

 piilchrina were sometimes sca.ttered in such abundance as 

 to outnumber all the other kinds ; but this was only when 

 the rhododendrons round the house w^ere in flower, and as 

 the flowers of these shrubs were much frequented by both 

 the Plusias during and after dusk I have little doubt that 

 the bats hunted among the blossoms and caught the moths 

 at rest drinking nectar. 



As another mark of the Long-eared Bat's predilection 

 for taking insects at rest I may mention the conspicuous 

 absence under their bivouac of the wings of the well-known 

 Ghost-]\Ioth (Hepialus humuli). That this moth is a" 

 favourite prey of some very common bat is proved by the 

 large numbers of its wings that are commonly found on 

 roads ; but as it is much more easily found on the wing 

 than at rest we can understand its falling a readier prey 

 to those bats that chiefly hunt flying insects than to those 

 that, like the Long-eared Bat, seek for sedentary 

 victims. 



The extremely common White Ermine Moth (Spilosoma 

 menthastri), which is disliked but not invariably rejected 

 by bats, was so rarely carried into the house by my long- 

 eared friends that during my five summers' observations I 

 only once found its wings on the passage-floor. Of decidedly 

 more frequent occurrence were those of the Buff Ermine 

 (S. luhricipeda), which I found every year, though this is 

 undoubted^ much the less numerous species in the district. 

 The less conspicuous colours of the Buff Ermine would, I 

 think, suggest that its flavour is probabl}- somewhat less 

 unpalatable than that of 5. menthastri, and the treatment 

 of both species by the Long-eared Bats would seem to point 

 to 'the same conclusion ; though Mr. Oldham's important 

 observations on the feeding habits of the Noctule^ have 

 made it perfectly clear that some degree of unpalatability 

 is possessed by both these moths. 



^ Zoologist, 1901, pp. 51-9. 



