RETROSPECT OF A LEPIDOPTERIST FOR THE YEAR 1901. 3 



formation it seems probable that the former, at least, is really indi- 

 genous in the district named, thongh its comparative abundance during 

 the last two or three years is probably attributable to phenomenally 

 favourable atmospheric conditions ; the same or similar causes have 

 contributed to the increase of the once rare Heliophila alhijnmrta and 

 Caradrina amhujua, though the reports of the present season appear to 

 indicate that they are already on the wane. Probably, however, C 

 aiiibii/na was never so rare as it was reputed to be ; at least, there is 

 some ground for believing that it was formerly somewhat overlooked. 



Of recent importations (apparently) which have successfully 

 established themselves, two or three deserve mention. CalUmorpha 

 hem — or, as we shall unfortunately henceforth have to call it, C. quad- 

 ripnnctaria, Poda — is still spreading in Devonshire, and there seems 

 now a good chance of getting a series almost anywhere between 

 Dawlish and Exeter, and perhaps, also, in other parts of the county. 

 Plima moneta is also extending its range in various directions, and one 

 or two of us have had the pleasure of welcoming it to our suburban 

 gardens. Whether IthtjKia {Xi/asia) lapponaria ought to be referred to 

 under this heading, and if so, how its importation came about, I do 

 not know ; it is, of course, possible that it has been very much over- 

 looked. At any rate, it is interesting to learn {Entom., xxxiv,, 

 p. 255) that Mr. Cockayne, of Sheffield, has found out how to work 

 for its larvffi in Perthshire, thus following up the success which Mr. W. 

 M. Christy achieved a few years ago. The insect is sometimes re- 

 garded as a boreal variety or race (or " Darwinian species ") of the I. 

 jioiiinuaria of central and soi\thern Europe, but I am not in a position 

 to express any critical opinion on the subject. 



There are a few species which w^e know to be genuinely British, 

 and a few others which we think may probably be so, which yet con- 

 tinue exceedingly rare in collections, owing in part to our ignorance 

 of their habits, but perhaps also, in part, to the number of their 

 enemies in this country, or to some other unfavourable circumstances, 

 climatic or topographical, Avhich form more or less effectual checks to 

 their increase in the " struggle for existence," while, at the same time, 

 not so potent as to prevent their continuing with us, however pre- 

 cariously. Entomologists are always pleased to meet with these, and 

 they are often considered as of sufficient interest to be worth recording 

 in the magazines. I notice that Xyloinines compidllaris is again re- 

 corded this season from a few west-country localities, such as Taunton, 

 Tewkesbury, &c. ; I believe the four counties of Herefordshire, Wor- 

 cestershire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset would cover practically the 

 entire ascertained range of this local moth in the British Isles, 

 although Barrett adds that there are one or two records for Kent, 

 Surrey, Suflblk, and South Wales. Apparently, still rarer species 

 with us are Mcllinia ocellaiis, of which our member, Mr. Burrows, has 

 taken and shown us a specimen ; Sesia (Aet/ena) andrem/oniiix, taken 

 by Mr. Huggins at Gravesend on July 17th ; and Parascotia {Bole- 

 tnhia) fidif/inaria, captured by my friend Mr. E. W\ Bobbins, at 

 Walthamstow, on July 29th. Probably we have still a great deal to 

 learn concerning the habits of these three species ; possibly, also, we 

 do not show sufficient zeal in examining " the old rotten woodwork in 

 the cellars and other structures along the banks of the Thames " to 

 secure good series of the last-named, these being the favourite haunts 



