NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 207 



Birling Gap, but T saw nothing of this insect until almost the end of 

 May, and then only two or three solitary specimens. On the day 

 (June 3rd) that Mr. Adkin saw them in such numbers on the slopes 

 of these cliffs, I was at Abbott's Wood, near Polegate, some five miles 

 inland, and was surprised to see scores of P. cardui hovering over the 

 flowers in a neighbouring field, most of them in perfect condition. I 

 captured a number of them, and found in most cases that their fringes 

 were intact and their colours almost as fresh as in the autumnal speci- 

 mens. They certainly did not appear to have been very long on the 

 wing. This, however, does not preclude the supposition that they are 

 immigrants, as I am convinced that a passage across the sea, even on 

 a high wind, would do less damage to their wings than a few days 

 fluttering about amongst herbage. As some evidence of this, the 

 greater number of those I examined on the 3rd were in good — almost 

 perfect — condition, whereas in a few days, at the same spot, I was 

 scarcely able to find a single specimen that was not worn or damaged 

 in some way. By the 8th and 9th their number was considerably 

 reduced, but as I left for Norfolk on the evening of the 9th, I was 

 unable to continue my observations. On my return at the end of the 

 month they had all disappeared. Particulars of the direction and 

 velocity of the wind for the last few days in May and the beginning of 

 June may be of interest in the matter ; I therefore give them in 

 tabular form : — 



The prevailing winds during May were S.W. and W., and these 

 continued up to the morning of the 3rd, and would be unfavourable 

 to the crossing of any insects from the Continent ; but early on the 

 morning of the 3rd the wind changed to N.N.E., and was moderately 

 strong, and would have been more favourable for their passage, and 

 the continuing easterly winds for their dispersal over the country. It 

 would be of great interest if observers in the Midlands and West of 

 England would send in reports as to the exact dates of their having 

 seen this insect, and whether singly or in some number. — J. E. 

 Campbell-Tayloe ; Belmont, Polegate, Sussex. 



Dates of Appeaeance of ZygjEna filipendul;e and Z. trifolii. — 

 I should like to raise a question as to the approximate date of their 

 emergence. I find that nearly all authorities give early June, or at 

 any rate June, as the time. Now my own experience is that they are 

 more frequently met with in July. I saw nothing of them this year 

 until July 1st, on which date I took both Z.fHipendidcR and Z. trifolii, 

 freshly emerged, at Polegate. On the 7th I found about thirty cocoons 

 of the former on the slopes near Beachy Head, and these emerged 



'■■'■ The figures following the direction indicate the velocity on the scale 

 of 0-10. 



