5i4: THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



Whatever the cause may be, the insect has not been seen since the 

 autumn of 1902. Polyommatus corydon, however, still flourishes in the 

 same locality, but not in its former abundance. Two novelties have 

 been taken at Marlow this year, Plusia nwneta, which flew into the 

 house on July 2nd, and Aurotis agathina, which must, like P. bellargus, 

 be an immigrant, for the root or so of heather amongst which it was 

 found did not exist in the 'seventies, and there is no expanse of that 

 plant within a circuit of at least five miles. — A. H. Clarke, F.E.S., 

 109, Warwick Road, London, S.W. November 21th, 1905. 



Lepidopterological REMINISCENCES. — As a matter of ancient history 

 I may mention that, in 1855 and 1857, Angiades sylvanus was abundant, 

 and Polyonuiiatus astrarche and Hesjjeria malvae [alveohis) by no means 

 scarce, on the West London Railway embankment at Wormwood 

 Scrubbs, and especially on that portion of it which runs alongside 

 Latimer Road. I also took a Polyommatus corydon $ , and saw another 

 in Ladbroke Square, Notting Hill, on August 14th, 1864. — Ibid. 



Female Hybernia defoliakia at light, with some thoughts as 

 TO why apterous females move upwards. — On the night of November 

 25th I was surprised to see a female Hybernia defoliaria running about 

 on the glass outside a window, as if seeking a way in, evidently drawn 

 thither by the lamp in the room. One does not usually expect to find 

 an apterous female so attracted, especially by a light in a house, and I 

 should very much like to know if a similar case has occurred before. 

 I have since been wondering whether their natural habit of climbing 

 trees, etc., is, as is generally supposed, solely due to maternal fore- 

 thought, aided by keenness of scent, in finding a suitable foodplant for 

 their future progeny. May not the attracting power light has on 

 insects induce them, to some extent, to travel upwards? After 

 emergence, the first idea of most moths seems to be to use their legs, 

 and, in captivity, one may observe that they crawl to where most light 

 enters the pupa box. In the case of the winter moths in a state of 

 nature, the attracting light would be the sky, comparatively bright 

 even at night, and, being above, might start them off in the right 

 direction, and perhaps they may have an instinctive feeling that they 

 must get away from utter darkness after all the months they have been 

 bottled up, in total obscurity, under ground. Dr. Chapman thinks the 

 apterousness of the females of the winter moths has come about so as 

 to prevent them going right away from their foodplants, which, in 

 winter, when vegetation is dormant, would give out such little scent 

 that a moth, flying, would fail to detect it. He says, in his article 

 " On Winglessness of Winter Moths " {Ent. Bee, xv., 45), "how is the 

 moth to find the foodplant on foot ? It emerges from the earth, and 

 may tramp away anywhere. In the first place, however, it does it, we 

 know it does it, and does it easily and abundantly. Probably pupation 

 takes place where this shall be tolerably easy, where the ordinary 

 upward climb a moth does on emergence shall bring it to the stem of 

 the required tree. Probably at these close quarters scent is not 

 altogether inappreciable." But if, as I suggest, the light of the sky is 

 sufficiently strong to attract, would not the moth desire to travel up 

 the first prominent object looming in sight and extending in the right 

 direction — upwards ? This object would probably be a tree or bush 

 and also the correct foodpJant, for it would be pertaining to the 

 particular vegetation growing in the locality where the moth passed its 



