176 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



baffles description. In no part of the world have I seen such a 

 wonderful sight ! the moths swarmed in millions round the lamps ; 

 Boers and Britons forgot their differences and sti'uggled good 

 humouredly on either side of the entanglement for specimens. To 

 such an extent was moth catching indulged in that it had to be 

 stopped as there was a distinct danger of some of the prisoners 

 escaping in the confusion. In consequence no one was allowed round 

 the lamps from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. It is difficult to give any idea of 

 their numbers ; sometimes the huts were covered with white moths 

 which gave the appearance of a snow storm, at others carts and other 

 vehicles seemed to be covered with highly variegated turkey carpets 

 composed of innumerable moths. On one lamp post I counted sixteen 

 specimens of a Death's Head {A. lachem's) in a space five feet high by 

 six inches broad, and they were almost equally numerous on each of 

 the fifty or sixty lamp posts. The sentries' beats were a churned up 

 mass of wet mud and crushed bodies and the ground was strewn for 

 yards round with the dismembered wings of the bats' victims. Large 

 numbers of birds including crows appeared at the first streak of dawn 

 and when I arrived at six o'clock the smaller birds were already 

 gorged. I was much interested in watching the swallows and 

 sparrows, which flew against the lamp posts flapping their wings 

 vigorously, thereby causing the moths to fly off, when they were 

 promptly caught. 



It was remarkable that whereas birds of all sorts came in numbers 

 to this moth feast, yet, in the same place and at the same time during 

 the annual migrations of butterflies, which passed over the country 

 in crowds, I never saw a bird attempt to catch one. This, no doubt, 

 was partly due to the rapidity of the butterfly's flight, but nevertheless 

 when settling for the night they were equally free from molestation. 



There is no doubt that moths are more frequently captured than 

 butterflies, and this because of their larger bodies making a more 

 satisfactory meal. The point one more particularly wishes to 

 emphasize is that the capture of an odd specimen here and there by a 

 sparrow or other bird, though a matter of almost daily observation 

 during the summer months, can have little or no eft'ect on the general 

 moth population, and certainly none in the production of a protective 

 colouring by means of natural selection. What is required is a hunt 

 for some bird or birds, which make moths a speciality in their 

 dietary, and which show under natural conditions a marked prefer- 

 ence for certain species. No doubt the task is a laborious and 

 difficult one, but it has to be done if we wish to get a sure basis on 

 which to build a theory likely to be true. 



Notes on Collecting in 1911. 



By C. W. COLTHKUP. 

 (Concluded from page 96). 

 On August 20tb two Mclanippe (jaliata ^ dark form), two Acidalia 

 niari/iucpiinrtata and one Polia chi were found at rest on a railway 

 bridge, and At/lais iirticae emerged from pupiu taken at Brixham under 

 copings of walls. In the evening the following species turned up at 

 sugar :—iVf;f^/<a nibi, Lencania pallenx, A'. jiUrta, X. itnihrosa, Maiiiestra 

 brassicae, Caradihia ainbiijua, IJadena dissimUis, Ayrutis puta, Bryophila 



