BRISTOL MUSEUM : COLLECTION OF BRITISH LEPIDOPTBRA. 223 



about 7 p.m., I happened to catch sight of the flicker of a moth's 

 wing on a nesk by the roadside. The sight inspired a further 

 search, and to my astonishment, within half an hour I had 

 captured some forty-five specimens from this single nest. Sub- 

 sequent visits hardly ever failed to produce specimens, whilst 

 other nests still continued barren of result, and before I left, the 

 nest which became known to us as " the gold mine," had yielded 

 over seventy M. ochraceella. 



The question arises, Why was this particular nest so 

 amazingly prolific ? It was not situated in the Black Wood but 

 on the road up the Camghouran Burn, on the edge of the moor- 

 land. Its position on the top of the roadside bank made it easy 

 to search, but that does not take us very far. It was not a case 

 of assembling, as the majority of the specimens were ? ? . Nor 

 was it a case of a sudden emergence, as the moths were in all 

 stages of freshness. On returning to Devonshire it occurred to 

 me that perhaps the hosts were not Formica riifa after all. Mr. 

 Whittle, who was still at Banuoch, very kindly sent on a sample 

 of the ants, which I forwarded to Mr. H. St. J. K. Donisthorpe. 

 The latter authority at once identified them as specimens of F. 

 riifa, var. alpma (see ' British Ants,' p. 265), and the nest was 

 situated very near the spot where, in 1911, and again in 1913, 

 he discovered the variety. 



The question remains whether this apparently rare variety is 

 preferred as a host by the M. ochraceella to the common type. 

 Further observations may supply the answer. 



In any case, our experience with M. ochraceella was an 

 interesting one, but I fear it sheds no light whatever on the 

 greater question : To what advantage either to ant or moth their 

 life in a common nest may serve ? 



I may add that the best way to secure the moths is gently to 

 scratch the nest with a stick. In a few moments the moths 

 appear as from nowhere and can be easily boxed. The time of 

 day does not seem to matter very much, but perhaps the late 

 afternoon is the best. 



Ottery St. Mary, 



Septembar 4th. 1918. 



BBISTOL MUSEUM: INTEBESTING COLLECTION OF 

 BBITISH LEPIDOPTEBA. 



By George C. Griffiths, 



Hon. Curator of Entomology, Bristol Museum. 



The insect collections of the Bristol Museum were, prior to 

 1894, small in number, the Museum then forming a part of 

 the Literary and Philosophical Institution. They included the in- 

 teresting series of Lepidoptera formerly belonging to Dr. John N. 



