40 THE RNTOJMOLOrTTRT's RKCORD. 



minntifx^, aro, nevertheless, keenly alive to the broacler questions of 

 distribution and habitat. Resolving the title into its component parts 

 two points appear cleai- to us ; firstly, that no possible doubt can 

 exist as to the reality of the dispersal of insects in various ways, and, 

 secondly, that notwithstanding the evidence of Scudder and others 

 and the well-known habits of certain of the migratory groups them- 

 selves, the claim of the existence of any true migration in insects (as 

 the term is understood in its application to birds) cannot be sustained. 

 That it is non-existent it would, perhaps, be rash to affirm, but, with 

 the evidence before us, we have no alternative but to return the vei'dict 

 " not proven." That the migratory instinct is most powerfully developed 

 in certain of the Derma)itera (Orthoptera), one of the loAvest hexapodal 

 orders, is of considerable interest and has been most happily referred to 

 by ]Mr. Tutt. That a habit which is purposeful, marked, and compara- 

 tively regular amongst the least changed and least developed of the 

 Insecta should often be only traceable as spasmodic and irregular 

 movements in the more highly organised groups appears certainly 

 suggestive that we witness to-day but the attenuated remains of a 

 custom which was probably once present to a much greater degree in 

 the earlier ancestors of the race. But we want more accurate know- 

 ledge of many present habits, more evidence as the result of organised 

 systematic observation, and, perhaps, the greatest value of Mr. Tutt's 

 brochure lies in the collection and arrangement of the numei'ous 

 records of insect movements that have been preserved, which cannot 

 fail to stimulate us to devote considerably more attention in the future 

 than we have bestowed in the past to the elucidation of the problems 

 pi'esented. Any attempt on my part to review so excellently conceived 

 a manual on so vast a subject would be little short of impertinence ; 

 but with the book before me perhaps I may be permitted to add a word 

 or two on a matter that may lay claim to be included under one of the 

 headings of its title. 



The dispersal of insects by wind and water is a matter which has 

 often struck me as being singularly neglected by entomologists in the 

 compilation of local faunistic lists. How seldom do we see any com- 

 ment appended to the record of the capture of a species new to a dis- 

 trict in any of the " Insecta notabilia " appearing from time to time in 

 our periodicals. A short reference to recent prevailing winds or other 

 meteorological and physical phenomena would often prove of consider- 

 able scientific value, not only by furnishing a clue to the direction 

 from which the particular "addition " may have come, but by being 

 always available for consideration in relation to other observations for 

 the solution of problems which, by lack of any such data to work upon, 

 are now of necessity left unprobed. Some years ago, when rowing 

 from Worcester to Upton-on-Severn, a ladybird rescued from the 

 river and placed in the hot sun on a seat of the boat took so long to 

 show signs of vitality that, knowing the long period that these beetles 

 can remain apparently unharmed in water, I am of opinion it bad 

 travelled a very long distance down the stream. Some six months 

 after embarking on the study of entomology, in October, 1896, I 

 happened upon (amongst other strangers to me on the Hoylake sand- 

 bills) a phytophagous beetle which my friend Mr. W. 11. Sharp subse- 

 quently kindly identified for me as Adimouia taiuurti, L. This cap- 

 ture was interesting on two accounts, firstly from the fact that its 



