NOTES 841 



The Silver-Striped Ha-wk-moth (Choerocampa celerio, L.) 

 in Edinburgh. — Through the kindness of my neighbour, Mr J. H. 

 Young, I am the proud possessor of a specimen of this fine Sphingid 

 which he captured in his back garden at 45 Morningside Park, 

 Edinburgh, on 30th September last year (191 5). It was at rest on a 

 chrysanthemum late in the afternoon, and was easily taken. It is a 

 female, and, though a little " worn," is a wonderfully good specimen 

 considering that no special care was bestowed on it. By means of 

 a stout pin it had been stuck on the inside wall of the tool-house, 

 where it remained till I saw and identified it a couple of months ago. 



Chcerocampa celerio occurs not unfrequently, as an immigrant, in 

 England, more especially in the southern counties, but it is a great 

 rarity in Scotland, where, however, it has been taken as far north 

 as Aberdeen, Banff, and Ross, and as far west as Mull. In the 

 Lothians I know of no previous records of its capture except the 

 two given by J. C Howden in the Zoologist for 1849 (p. 2401), 

 namely, one got at Hopetoun House, West Lothian, in September 

 1848, and one taken prior to that year at West Barns, near Dunbar, 

 East Lothian, by Dr Charles Nelson, in whose collection (now in the 

 Royal Scottish Museum) I first saw it about fifty-five years ago. 

 The only other Forth records seem to be from Alloa, 21st September 

 1864, and Culross, 19th September 1864, which Tutt {Brit. Lepid., 

 iv., p. 131) thought probably refer to the same specimen. The two 

 Lothians records, it may be remarked, appear to have escaped 

 Tutt's notice. — William Evans, 38 Morningside Park, Edinburgh. 



The Water-rail at St Kilda. — In the Scottish Naturalist 

 for last April Mr Eagle Clarke reports the occurrence of a Water- 

 rail {Rallus aquaticus) at St Kilda, obtained last autumn, which 

 he states has not been previously recorded for that island. The 

 first known occurrence of the Water-rail at St Kilda was a bird 

 sent me by my correspondent there, which was captured there on 

 3rd November 1903, the year after my visit to the island. This 

 bird is still in my possession. Mr Eagle Clarke has obviously 

 forgotten the fact that I supplied him with this record, and that 

 he has himself published it in his work. Studies i?i Bird Migra- 

 tion, vol. ii., p. 229, 19 12. It is interesting to note that this second 

 example, which has recently come into Mr Clarke's hands, also 

 occurred in the autumn. — J. Wiglesworth, Winscombe, Somerset. 



Acanthocinus aedilis, L., at Lauder. — A strange beetle was 

 noticed in Lauder — 5th July — on the splash-board of a motor car 

 which had stopped for repairs on its way north. The creature was 



