254 THE entomologist's record. 



Mr. Sioper, Mr. Wheeler, Mr. Dadd, Dr. Eebel, and others, will enlist the 

 aid of those continental micro-lepidopterists with whom they are respec- 

 tively in touch, and who are likely to be able to obtain "plume" 

 larvte. From these one might get larvae of P^elmiplionts byacJti/dacti/liis 

 and (>xi/jitili(s hieracn, two species that, although on our British list, 

 no British lepidopterist really knows anything about, and, of course, 

 many others. Mr. Barrett says that there are some true British 0. 

 Ineracii in the Allis collection at York. We wonder if Mr. Porritt, 

 by actual comparison with a good series of <>. pilosi'llae, O. dbtana, 

 and (). teucrii, could confirm or contradict this statement. 



Orthoptera in the Isle of Wight. 



By MALCOLM BUKll, B.A., F.L.S. 



While spending the later summer months at Freshwater this year, 

 without actually trying to work out seriously the Orthopterous fauna 

 of the Isle of ^Vight, I picked up a good number of species, some of 

 considerable interest, in several localities. The weather, of course, was 

 not very favourable, though we had a few really bright sunny days, 

 but, as a general rule, a strong breeze blew from the west for weeks at 

 a time, although, it is true, we were extremely lucky in having far 

 less rainfall than even on the neighbouring parts of the mainland. 

 Through August, Mr. Donisthorpe was staying also in Freshwater, 

 and we were able to spend some very pleasant days collecting. 



At nearly every place I visited along the coast, I diligently turned 

 over stones and seaweed above high-water mark, in the hope of 

 coming across Lahidnra riparia, Pall., but, in the island, my efforts 

 were not crowned with success. I did not have occasion to visit Bon- 

 church, whence this species has been recorded, nor did I find it on the 

 beach by Niton, on the Undercliff not very far from Bonchurch. 

 On two occasions I made excursions to Boscombe, where it has been 

 recently rediscovered, as I was very anxious to see this species alive; 

 on my first visit, on the afternoon of August 22nd, after spending the 

 morning at Beaulieu Road, I spent nearly two hours hunting on the 

 coast near Boscombe and Bournemouth, but all I found were two 

 very small larv^, which I put in a tube to bring home alive, 

 but before very long, the larger one had devoured the smaller. 

 Better luck attended my second visit, on September 1st, when. 

 Major Robertson, whose daughter had found the insect and run it 

 down to its haunts, kindly invited me over and showed me where it 

 had actually been taken before ; we hunted diligently for some tim'j 

 in a broiling sun, and took two males and a female, all of which we'.e 

 captured by the Misses Robertson, while I actually failed to find, one 

 myself. Mr. W. J. Lucas, who had visited there a few 'iveeks 

 previously, had found them more numerous. 



Forfiritla auriciilaria, Linn., was, of course, common everywhere, 

 but I did not come across the variety furcipata, Steph. I foimd a 

 curious aberration at Compton Bay in horsedung ; I was struck at 

 once by the absence of the wings, and thought at first I had turned up 

 a new British species, and eagerly looked for more ; there were plenty 

 of the typical form of both sexes in the patch of dung, but I found 

 only one other apterous specimen, and these were both females ; I 

 believe this abortion of the wings is extremely rare in this species, and 

 cannot recall any mention of it occurring before. In appearance, these 

 two females resemble very closely a species described from the moun- 



