PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETING 1001 



This leaves us (conjecturally) 8.000 more to be discovered, and tlie 

 question arises, where are they ? In the first place it is obvious that 

 they are not equally distributed over the land, but on the contrary 

 very unequally. Large stretches of wide plain or cultivated fields 

 may probably be little productive, but even these are liable to contain 

 many more species than might be supposed possible ; the insects mav 

 occur in very limited nooks of only a few square yards, they may be 

 obtainable only for a few days in the year, only in certain weather or 

 at a certain time of day, only by certain means of capture, or only by 

 unusually sharp-sighted collectors. Even of experienced Microlepi- 

 dopterists only a few can perceive a Nepticvla on the wing, and some 

 of the MicropterygidcB, when flying in their favourite conditions of mixed 

 sunlight and shade, although relatively larger, are almost invisible. 

 Limncecia ■phragmiteUa is a "species of not inconsiderable size (20 mm. 

 expanse) ; it was described in 1851 from two wasted English examples, 

 having eluded all earlier collectors, and was thought to be of extreme 

 rarity ; later a chance discovery was made of the larva, which feeds 

 in the seedheads of Tyfha, causing the down to hang out in masses 

 (which however hardly attract attention, being attributed to natural 

 decay), and it was found to be extremely easy to collect and rear ; the 

 imago is excessively sluggish, resting on the foodplant, which it closely 

 resembles in colour, whilst the Tyfha, growing in water, is little liable 

 to be disturbed. Special search presently showed the insect to be 

 common not only in England but in Europe ; I discovered it in North 

 Africa, in Australia, and New Zealand, and have obtained it from South 

 Africa and North America ; so that it now appears that this supposed 

 rare and local species is really one of the commonest and most widely 

 distributed of insects ; but it is still hardly ever taken except by those 

 who know how to look for it. This distribution is believed to be quite 

 natural, the Tyfha being a cosmopolitan plant ; the insect might be 

 looked for in India. Even where insects seem plentiful, it is wise to 

 believe that we are passing over as many species as we find. 



The most favourable localities for number and diversity of Micio- 

 lefidoftera are forest-clad ranges, at elevations of from .3,000 to 7.000 

 feet; these will always repay prolonged and careful collecting. Such 

 ranges, if they form isolated blocks, have probably been islands at 

 some earlier period, and are likely to possess numerous peculiar species. 

 The vegetation naturally gives good indications ; if the trees and plants 

 are varied and peculiar, the Microlepicloftera are sure to be so likewise. 

 At the same time it must be remembered that a large number of species 

 feed on lichens, dead wood, refuse, fungi, and probably on dead leaves, 

 thus making themselves independent of the flora. From mountains 



