4:2 THE entomologist's record. 



Occurrence of Cakadrina ambigua in the Isle of Wight. — The 

 autumn of 1894 which, so far as my own experience goes, has, in the 

 Isle of Wight been a most successful one, will be further memorable 

 by the capture of a comparatively large number of that rare and little- 

 known NoCTUA, Caradrina amhhpxa, whose first acquaintance I made so 

 long ago as 1888, when I was fortunate enough to take two specimens 

 at sugar during July or August. The species was then quite unknown 

 to me, but the specimens were identified for me by Mr. Tutt the first 

 time he examined my collection, and are recorded in Ent. Record, vol. i., 

 p. 249. Although I have worked the same locality ever since, I have 

 not met with the species again till this year (1894) ; in the meantime, 

 however, Mr. Prout obtained a single specimen at sugar at Sandown 

 on Aug. loth, 1893, and another single one this season about the same 

 date. Some degree of uncertainty has prevailed as to the correct 

 identification of this Caradrina, which, whilst very distinct from our 

 common British C. taraxaci, yet presents a great similarity to an allied 

 Continental species, C. superstes, to which my own previous specimens 

 (as well as those of Mr. Prout, ib., iv., p. 279) were afterwards referred 

 by Mr. Tutt, and under which specific name my capture of the same 

 species in Guernsey in 1893 was recorded {^ih., iv. pp. 255, 337). It 

 is remarkable that, in 1893, I found this Caradrina unusually plentiful 

 during August, at sugared flower-heads, on the Coasts of Guernsey ; in 

 fact so plentiful, that for several evenings it out-numbered the other 

 common Noctuse. The duplicates I then took liave been subse- 

 quently distributed amongst a large number of my correspondents, who 

 will, I trust, not appreciate them less under their now assured identity. 

 It is possible that the occurrence this autumn in the Isle of Wight of 

 as many as two dozen captured specimens may be the natural sequence 

 of an abnormal abundance of the species in its usual localities, and in 

 support of this view, it is a fact that I have worked for the insect in 

 Guernsey two or three seasons in succession, and have only taken it 

 singly, and have regarded it as a great prize. The first specimens 

 captured this season were two, by Mrs. P. W. Abbott of Birmingham, 

 on Sept 11th, and, during the next week, single specimens were again 

 captured by Mr. and Mrs. Abbott, by a young friend who was with 

 them, and by myself, the total for the week being seven. A con- 

 tinuance of warm evenings, unusual at this time of year, evidently 

 suited their emergence, and further specimens wei"e taken, including 

 eight by Mr. E. Tait, junr., of Manchester, bringing the total up to 

 twenty-five for a pai'ty of five workers. The last three were taken as 

 late as Sept. 29th, thus prolonging the emergence of the species to 

 almost three weeks, as nearly all the specimens have been in the finest 

 condition. A remarkable asymmetrical variety was captured by Mr. 

 Tait on Sept. 26th. Mr. L. B. Prout, who has been at much pains in 

 elucidating the matter, informs me that C. ambigua is normally double- 

 brooded on the Continent, which confirms my own knowledge of the 

 species in Guernsey, where I have taken specimens, as recorded 

 (ib., iv., p. 302), from the middle of June to the end of October, and, 

 on referring to my series, I find the June specimens (which were 

 captured in either 1891 or 1892) are far worse in condition than the 

 later August ones, and this is further supported by the rather worn 

 state of the two Isle of Wight specimens taken in 1888, which were 

 taken either late in July or quite early in August, as they were in 



