NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 319 



men, suggesting that the insect has some preference for the west, and has 

 winged its flight fi'om the east. And, again, I have repeatedly remarked 

 that when the glass of a greenhouse slopes towards the east, several 

 dead specimens of Dyticus are to be found in the day ; doubtless they 

 have been attracted by the glass they so often mistake for water, whilst 

 winging their flight from east to west. Why, then, is the flight of 

 insects generally from east to west ? — R. S. Chope. 



Callimorpha HERA IN SouTH Devon. — In August, 1884, I first met 

 Mr. Brooks at Starcross, who showed me two or three C. hera which 

 he had captured in that locality. Mr. Waring, of Starcross, had taken 

 it in some numbers years before then, when a boy. I captured my first 

 few the next season, and during repeated visits to that neighbourhood, 

 year after year, have taken it in great numbers, making it my 

 speciality ; and in my frequent notes to the ' Entomologist ' have 

 steadfastly defended it against the numerous attacks which threw 

 doubt on its authenticity. It is, therefore, a relief to me to find that 

 at last the species seems to be generally acknowledged as British ; 

 whence, and at what date, it first made its appearance in England, like 

 many other species, nobody can tell. I notice that in a recently-published 

 number of a professedly leading work on British Lepidoptera the names 

 of several gentlemen, who have captured C. herd m later years, are 

 given as proof of its bona fides. This is very satisfactory to me, as those 

 gentlemen obtained their first information about the locality, habits, 

 &c., from me. This season has been a very productive one as regards 

 C. hera. I stayed at Starcross during the month of August, and had 

 the pleasure of welcoming Mr. H. Eobson, who joined me in the second 

 week ; and Mr. Porritt, of Huddersfield, later on. We worked with a 

 will, and started in the usual way, beating the hedges in lanes and roads 

 with good results, although many of the specimens taken were not in 

 cabinet order. With Mr. Eobson's excellent reflecting-lamp we tried 

 light, but without success. That C. hera comes to light I have ample 

 proof, though the time must be about midnight or after. Mr. Porritt 

 and myself have, however, satisfied ourselves that the first natural 

 flight occurs about dusk, when we saw and took them flying over flowers. 

 As there seems to have been some doubt about this point, I think it 

 is worth recording. With regard to its flight in the sunshine, which 

 question has often been put to me, I must say that in Germany C. hera 

 is generally found on the slopes among vineyards and in flowery open 

 spaces in woods, and certainly they are often seen flying in the sun- 

 shine and sitting on flowers ; but in South Devon the insect inhabits 

 hedges, principally in lanes and main roads. I have only occasionally 

 seen one flying, and have always been inclined to think, owing to its 

 extreme shyness, it must have been disturbed by some vehicle, or even 

 a person walking ; or they might have been changing their position to 

 some sunnier spot, where they are nearly always found resting. In 

 former years I have found the yellow var. lutescens more prevalent, but 

 this season many more of the normal red ones fell to our nets. The 

 yellow form occurs in light and dark shades ; but by far the rarest are 

 the orange or terra-cotta tints, which probably are the progeny of 

 yellow and red parents. The species is very widely distributed in 

 South Devon, and, judging from the number of our captures in the 



