THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 275 



profuse occurrence on the eastern coast in 1868, coupled 

 with its abundance in Guernsey during the present year, 

 seems to favour ray theory that our rarer Lepidoptera are 

 frequently "blown over" from the Continent. The speed at 

 which a Sphinx can travel, even when unaided by the wind, 

 is truly marvellous, and when assisted by a favourable breeze 

 it may perhaps be greater still. I see my friend Mr. Biggs 

 combats this idea. — Edward Newman. 



Sphinx Convolvuli. — This insect must have occurred very 

 abundantly this season, as since my last communication I 

 have obtained seventeen more, nearly all in good condition ; 

 and, including those taken by others, upwards of sixty have 

 been taken in the same locality, all flying over the blossoms 

 of marvel of Peru, which seems specially attractive to them. 

 How to account for their occurrence in such numbers is a 

 puzzle ; but T think the greatest evidence against the migra- 

 tory theory is that some of the specimens caught last were in 

 the finest condition, which would seem to indicate a succes- 

 sion of freshly-developed insects. As far as I have observed 

 the insect is rather shy in its habits and easily startled, as I 

 noticed that when struck at and missed they went right away, 

 and seldom or never returned to the same spot to feed. They 

 did not seem to have much partiality for light, as when the 

 glare of a lantern was turned on them they invariably receded 

 from it; but I have seen them flying in the most brilliant 

 moonshine, when you required no lamp to distinguish them. 

 The majority of the specimens taken were females, and 

 several of those I examined contained no eggs. The last 

 specimens I know of were captured on the 1st of October. I 

 visited the spot several favourable evenings after this, but saw 

 no more of them. — C J. Biggs; South Hackney, Oct. 19, 1875. 



[The absence of eggs in the ovaries of many of the females 

 of the larger Sphingidae has been fully noticed by Mr. 

 Doubleday in the ' Zoologist' (Zool. p. 1862), by myself in the 

 'Entomologist' (Entom. ii. 263), and by Mr. Biggs in the 

 above communication. In such cases the abdomen is per- 

 fectly empty, a mere hollow cylinder; and the same 

 phenomenon has been observed in some of the Noctuicla3. 

 This absolute sterility among the females of Sphinx Convol- 

 vuli amounts to a very large percentage : seven out of eight 

 having been found in this condition. The proportion of sterile 



