56 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and Greece, and recently discovered in Connemara, but not found else- 

 where in Britain. The weevil Otiorrhnnchus auropunctatus occurs also 

 in Ireland, but not elsewhere north of the Auvergne Mountains. 



Stejneger considers that some pre-glacial forms (such as (Jeomala- 

 cus) may well have survived the Glacial Period in sheltered nooks, and 

 adds : — " We see even to-day isolated spots having a southern tempera- 

 ture within the limits of countries with a northern climate, and, on the 

 other hand, similar northern oases in regions bounded by isotherms 

 indicating a southern climate." 



Stejneger also contends that too much reliance must not be placed 

 on an admixture of northern and southern forms, as to conditions of 

 climate. It is well known that the tiger, usually regarded as a tropical 

 animal, hunts the wild reindeer in Manchuria, in a district having an 

 annual temperature of between 0° and —2° C. 



Since the climax of the Glacial Period, whatever may have been the 

 amount of rigour then endured, the cold has gradually diminished, and 

 our islands have been gradually restocked from the Continent. There is 

 little agreement as to periods at which this influx occurred, and these 

 matters cannot possibly be discussed within the limits of this notice. 

 Suffice it to say that the greater part probably took place when the 

 isles (or rather Great Britain only) were joined to the Continent by 

 France and by Scandinavia, although of course there was much topo- 

 graphical shifting during the periods in question. Ireland was cut off 

 at probably a very early date, and it is to this in great part that the 

 meagre Irish fauna is due. Kane, however, insists upon the mis- 

 leading character of a survey of the extant species, based solely upon 

 geological history, without considering the characteristics of the organ- 

 isms, and their capabilities of adaptation to environment. He regards 

 the restriction of distribution in many of the Irish Lepidoptera as due 

 to a similar restriction of the food-plant. lUwdocera {Guneptenjx) 

 rhaiiDu, e.g., is apparently restricted, in Ireland, to the "localities 

 affording a sufficient abundance of FJuDnnns, and not by climatic con- 

 ditions ; C'aisia puliulata is similarly dependent upon its local food- 

 plant," Vaccinium oxi/coccos. Larentia flavicinetana has hitherto only 

 been noted — and that recently — from Ballycastle, but its search is 

 recommended on its food-plant, Saxi/raga hijpnoides, along the Antrim, 

 Sligo, and Clare coast-line. The notable absence of many English 

 fen-haunting species from the Irish loughs, where Arnndo, Typha, and 

 various Oarices are plentiful, is explained by the supposition that 

 these insects "reached England from Holland, and, not finding suit- 

 able conditions west of Cambridge, did not spread further." 



One of the most remarkable and inexplicable failures in the Irish 

 fauna is the lepidopteron V(ine>;m cardiu, which establishes itself either 

 partially or wholly, with difficulty. As the "Painted Lady" is cosmo- 

 politan, having penetrated to New Zealand, and even to the Hawaiian 

 group, it is not easy to account for this instability by a reference to 

 the "insular" climate of Ireland. 



The impression gained from a study of the facts in their widest 

 application leads only to the opinion that it is possible to say very 

 little definite at present — as regards the Insecta, at least — and this is 

 strengthened by close examination of the speculations advanced by 

 White, Scharff, Stejneger, and Kane, in the works cited. 



