THE IMMIGRATION OF PYRAMEIS ATALANTA. 17 



argus ; Agriades corydon, and ab. tithonus, and ab. radiosa, A. 

 thetis ; Polyommatus icarus ; Aricia iiudon ; Everes argiades ; 

 Celastrina argiolus ; Lampides hoeticus ; Papilio machaon ; Pontia 

 daplidlce ; Colias hyale, C. edusa ; Gonepteryx rhamni ; Melitcea 

 phoebe, M. cinxia, M. didyma ; Pyrameis cardui, P. atalanta ; 

 Aglais urticcs ; Polygonia c-album, Pararge megcera ; Hipparchia 

 semele, H. arethusa ; Epmephele jartina, E. tithonus. 



Harrow Weald: December, 1911. 



THE IMMIGEATION OF PYRAMEIS ATALANTA. 

 By Major B. Tulloch, F.E.S. 



I HAVE been much interested in reading in various numbers 

 of the ' Entomologist ' discussions as to whether P. atalanta is a 

 regular immigrant to the British Islands or not. 



Without wishing to lay down the law in any way, and say 

 definitely that P. atalanta does or does not immigrate regularly, 

 yet I should like to make a few observations bearing on the 

 subject, and relate certain facts that have come under my own 

 observation. There are always two sides to every question, 

 and my remarks may tend to prove that I am an " anti- 

 immigrationist." As a matter of fact, I have an open mind on 

 the subject, but I am afraid I cannot enter into any wordy war- 

 fare with such eminent authorities as Mr. Frohawk, for instance, 

 as I am too far away. Therefore, from the safe distance of 

 Hong-Kong I can only state facts as known to myself, and leave 

 others to draw their own conclusions. 



My life at school, and afterwards as a soldier, has led to my 

 having lived at certain places which were peculiarly well placed 

 for the observation of the movements of butterflies across the 

 sea. I can also lay claim to have been an observer of butterflies 

 and moths ever since I can recollect catching beetles in the sand 

 on the neutral ground of Gibraltar about 1874. Since then I 

 have lived, amongst other places, at Dover (one period of three 

 years, and another of two years), at Guernsey one and a half 

 years, Alderney one year, Malta one year, Mauritius two and a 

 half years, and now I am on another island — Hong-Kong. 



Now, of the above places, Dover, Malta, and the Channel 

 Islands are situated on the known lines of flight of migrating 

 birds. 



Before continuing the subject further I should like to ask 

 the upholders of the theory of the immigration of butterflies, 

 and of P. atalanta in particular, whether they will agree to the 

 fact that butterflies do not fly by night, or on cloudy days (in 

 England, but not necessarily in the tropics), or when there is a 



ENTOM. — JANUARY, 1912. C 



