14 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



Fastnet Lighthouse, eight miles ont at sea, on the coast of Co. Cork. 1883. — 

 "November 2nd: Weather hazy; nmnber of lai'ge moths, comparable only to a fall 

 of snow." 



Ehymes of Islay Lighthouse, situated on a rock off the south-westerly point of 

 one of the West Scottish islands, and due north of Ireland, whence it is distant some 

 thirty miles. 1885. — "Night of September 7th. Hundreds of moths flying about 

 lantern." 



Heligoland Lighthouse, on the east point of the island, facing Denmark, which 

 is the nearest mainland to it, and about thirty miles from it. 1883. — " August 6th- 

 7th: Wind south-east. Considerable flight of Silver Gamma moth {Pliisia gamma), 

 but nothing to be compared with the perfect ' snowstorm ' of this moth that passed 

 in the autumn of 1882, all going west. October 11th : Wind S.S.W. There was a 

 large flight ot Hybernia defoliaria, mixed with H. aurantiaria; and also during the 

 nights of the last week in October repeated flights of these moths." 1884. — "Night 

 of July 2nd-3rd. Thousands of Flusia ijamma. Night of .July 21st-22nd. Great 

 numbers oiSoinhij.c neustria, east to west. July 22nd-23rd. The same. 27th-28th. 

 Numerous flights passuig on." 



Fiddra Lighthouse, on an island off the east coast of Scotland. 1886. — 

 " August. Moths everywhere after darkness had set in ; some very large and 

 beautiful, and so numerous that they had to be swept down with a towel." 



Would Light-vessel, ten miles off Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast. 1884. — 

 "June 7th, 4.0 a.m., wind S.S.E. One Death's Head moth caught alive; several 

 small white moths rested." 



These records are definite enough, and, in most eases, point con- 

 clusively to the actual migration of several species besides Phma 

 gamma. 



One of the records given above is sufficiently remarkable for further 

 consideration. This is that which refers to the migration of Hi/bemia 

 defoliaria and H. aurantiaria. Both these species occur in late autumn 

 and abound in many parts of England — in fact, the former is one of 

 the most common of the autumnal moths on the lamps, in the suburbs 

 of London, during October and November — and both have wingless 

 females, which could not migrate long distances under any condition 

 whatever. H. defoliaria, in spite of its having a wingless female, has 

 a great range of distribution, existing in favourable spots in the 

 British Isles, and, extending right across the Old World to Japan, 

 reappears again in Vancouver Island. It thus forms another con- 

 necting link between the faunas of the Paltearctic and of the Nearctic 

 areas. 



The list of lepidoptera found in the small island of Heligoland 

 (Ent. Mo. May., xix., p. 164) gives very interesting material for 

 study, and the collector of the material on which the list is 

 based, Gatke, asserts {Heligoland as an Ornitholoi/ical Obseiratory, 

 p. 87) that the movements of nocturnal lepidoptera are subject to 

 meteorological influences, that this view is supported by repeated 

 observations, which show that these insects travel past the island 

 (Heligoland) under the same conditions as migrating birds, and, for 

 the most part in their company, in an east-to-west direction. He 

 says : "They fly in SAvarms, the numbers of which defy all attempts at 

 computation, and can only be expressed by millions." To illustrate 

 this Gatke gives the following details : "On the night of October 25th, 

 1872, during a very extensive migration of larks, many thousands of 

 Hybernia defoliaria, intermingled with hundreds of H. aurantiaria, 

 travelled over the island. In the following year, on the night of July 

 29th, the weather being warm and perfectly calm, thousands of 

 Ennomos anynlaria, together with hundreds of Linopliria quadra, passed 

 in the midst of a strong migration of young golden plovers, ringed 



