Tnmsuctions. 55 



it is met with almost every yeai* iu less or more abundance. 

 Further north it is found every few years, and in the other 

 parts of the country it is only seen at rare intervals. In 

 Scotland the first recorded capture was made in Arran in 

 1848, by Professor Sir Wyville Thomson. Four years later, 

 one was captured near Largs, in Ayrshire, on 12th September, 

 by Mr Birchall. The next, or third Scotch specimen, was 

 secured at Kirkmahoe on August 17th, 18.57, by our own 

 Mr Gibson. I find that information iu the volume of the 

 Naturalist for 1857, and on the same page there is a par- 

 ticularly interesting extract from the Dumfries Herald of 

 date September 4th of the same year, which I now read as 

 follows : — 



" The present season is very prolific in insect life. 

 Seldom have we seen the Peacock Eye and Red Admiral in 

 such abundance in this district. (It might be mentioned in 

 passing that the former has not been seen here for about 

 twelve years, and the latter, although unusually plentiful in 

 Autumn, 1876, was represented this Autumn by a few strag- 

 glers only.) A specimen of the Clouded Yellow w\as captured 

 a few days ago at Kirkmahoe, and on Tuesday seven more 

 wei'e taken, and a good many more seen near Glencaple. As 

 there is only one recorded capture of this " Favourite of 

 Entomos " in Scotland, we liope some of them may escape 

 the ruthless net of the collector ; and we may soon be able 

 to look on it as one of our local species." 

 A wish which was not gratified, however. In 1859 some 

 were seen near Newbie, and in 1862 Mr Lennon took it in 

 considerable numbers near Caerlaverock. 



Since then no one has seen it in Scotland (so far as I am 

 aware), but in Southern England it has been seen occasionally 

 in fair immbers. It was in these circumstances, then, with 

 feelings of no ordinary surprise and pleasure, that Entomolo- 

 gists greeted its great outburst this year. From even so far 

 north as Orkney, where a solitary specimen was seen, to the 

 southernmost point in England, it has appeared in almost 

 every locality in more or less abundance. The Entomolo- 



