NOTES, CAPTURES, ETC. 267 



cursoria, and Miana literosa, flying in hot sunshine, with nn 

 occasional A. prcecox. — J. B. Hodgkinson ; 6, Fishergate Hill, 

 Preston, Sept. 7, 1885. 



TiMARCHA L^viGATA. — On Sept. 9th of this year, at Pegwell 

 Bay, Thanet, I came across an immense number of this common 

 beetle. They were among the grass and small shrubs on a little 

 stretch of ground on the edge of the chalk clifl"s. They were in 

 such numbers that there seemed to be one on almost every 

 square foot of ground, — Edmund Gardner; Roehampton Lane, 

 S.W., September, 1885. 



Notes on Insects at the Lighthouses in 1884. — Under 

 date of June 80th, Mr. Owen Boyle, of the Larigard lighthouse, 

 reports, " A skylark, followed by a string of bees. The plaintive 

 cries of this poor bird first attracted my attention ; it flew so 

 close that I almost caught it ; it was closely pursued by a large 

 number of bees, and in its fright took to the water, followed by 

 its jjursuers. When last seen it was making for the Essex coast." 

 July 31st, at 10.14 a.m., "A cloud of mosquitoes pitched in this 

 neighbourhood, similar to those seen in India ; most of them 

 were carried off at noon by a light breeze." Mr. Chas. Williams, 

 of the Hanois lighthouse, Guernsey, says, under date of July 

 10th: — "A great quantity of large ants, with wings, passing; a 

 great many settled on the rocks and about the lighthouse. I 

 have only once seen them before like this, when I was stationed 

 at the South Bishop Bock, off the coast of Wales." Heligoland, 

 by Mr. Gatke : — "Night, July 2nd to 3rd, thousands of Plusia 

 gamma ; 3rd, myriads of dragonflies ; night, 21st to 22nd, great 

 numbers of Bomhyx neustria, east to west ; 22nd to 23rd, the 

 same ; 27th to 28th, numerous flights passing on." — From the 

 'Report on the Migration of Birds, 1884'; communicated by 

 John Cordeaux, Secretary to Committee. 



Abundance of Aphides at Peterborough. — On Thursday 

 the central streets of the town were rendered impassable with an}'- 

 amount of comfort, owing to the air being thickly laden with 

 myriads of green flies, in some parts almost resembling a mist. 

 The town air seemed in the long-run to upset them, for they were 

 late in the day to be seen covering the ground to nearly an inch 

 in depth. The Corn Exchange had just been repainted, and 

 acted as an admirable flycatcher, causing some amount of 



