1899.] 279 



vatiou, mild climate, and an abundance o£ lakes, there was a more 

 reasonable expectation of being able to add to the Scottish fauna some 

 new and interesting species. 



I accordingly arranged to spend the month of July in Wigtown- 

 shire, devoting what time I could to the collecting of Trichoptera, 

 Neuroptera, and Lepidoptera. Believing that the more elevated 

 districts would probably not differ much in their water insects from 

 similar localities elsewhere in Scotland, 1 wished to avoid them. The 

 lake district in the parish of Mochrum seemed most likely to suit 

 my requirements. As other interests had, however, to be taken into 

 account, a compromise had to be made, and we finally settled at 

 Monreith, a pleasant little place on the west coast of the peninsula 

 called the Machars — too far away from the lakes in question to work 

 them exhaustively, but being within easy cycling distance I was able 

 to pay them several visits, with most satisfactory results. 



Although these lakes lie in an extensive and rather bare-looking 

 moorland tract, they are in many respects most attractive. They teem 

 with birds, some of the islands on one of them being the site of an 

 extensive breeding place of the cormorant ; and herons, terns, several 

 species of gulls and other water-frequenting birds have their nesting 

 places on the shores and islands, where they carry on their life affairs 

 in a security which is well guarded. The lochs are named Mochrum 

 Loch, Castle Loch (locally known as the White Loch— a favourite 

 name, several in the district being so called), Challochglass and Pell 

 Lochs, and Loch Hempton (besides several others which I did not 

 visit). Mochrum Loch is, perhaps, most productive of insect life ; it 

 is naturally most sheltered, and some plantations have been made 

 about it ; the islands on it are mostly thickly wooded, and the bracken 

 attains a luxuriance such as I have hardly ever seen before. 



The only convenient collecting ground for Neuroptera-Flanifennia 

 was Monreith Park, which is well wooded, and contains a pretty loch 

 (the White Loch). The latter produced some good Triclioptera. 

 Monreith Burn, and a smaller burn adjacent, were also productive, 

 while dripping rocks by the sea-shore were frequented by a number 

 of small forms. 



Extensive peat bogs are scattered over the district, and are the 

 haunts, amongst other things, of G. Tiphon. They were rather disap- 

 pointing with regard to Neuroptera. No doubt, however, they will 

 produce far mox'e than I was able to find during my somewhat hurried 

 visits to most of them. 



It was not surprising to find that the smaller species of Tricho- 



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