ia».] 383 



in the wildest confusion, almost impossible to keep in a show of order, whilst 

 insects have appeared in proportion. It has always been a matter of wonder to me, 

 and I have never seen it explained satisfactorily, that after an almost utter absence 

 of insect-life, it should suddenly appear in myriads, without sufficient apparent 

 reason. All through our past summer drought, I could find no moths; however I 

 might hunt for them, they were practically absent, yet one month after the rains 

 came, caterpillars of all kinds were swarming on every tree, bush, or shrub, — a most 

 astonishing sight. Whether these will come to anything remains to be seen, being 

 close to our winter, which is often very cold (I have seen the thermometer down to 

 18° on the grass) ; the probability is that most of them will perish in the pupa- 

 state. I took a goodly number, and am anxiously watching to see if any imagos 

 will appear in the breeding cages before the cold sets in. — Geo. Baenaed, Coomoo- 

 boolaroo, Duaringa, Queensland : May 23rd, 1889. 



Occurrence in Worcestershire of Setodes punctata, F., a species of Trichoptera 

 neio to Britain. — Seeing that this insect is a native of France, Holland and Sweden, 

 I have for years past thought that it should be findable in England. I am now able 

 to announce its capture here. On the 19th July, when collecting on the Severn, in 

 a secluded part of its northern course in this county, I swept from an ash tree on 

 the river bank a specimen of the species. I have since devoted five days to working 

 the river, north and south, within the county, but found no more. Strange to say, 

 the only other Trichopteron which turned up was Hydropsyche lepida. The speci- 

 men has fared badly, having lost some of the pubescence and cilia of its front wings, 

 few traces of the silvery dots remaining, and its hind abdomen being somewhat 

 crushed. — J. E. Fletchee, Worcester : August 1st, 1889. 



[Mr. Fletcher sent the insect to me for confirmation of his determination, which 

 I think is correct; but it is unfortunate that the specimen is in indifferent condition. 

 I should like to see further examples. — R. McLachlan.] 



Mschna borealis, Zett., at Rannoch. — In the May number, Mr. McLachlan 

 contributed an interesting article on AUschna borealis, Zett., a rare dragonfly of boreal 

 and Alpine occurrence. The doubt implied therein as to whether the species still 

 survived in its old Scotch haunts, suggested the idea of an excursion to Rannoch ; 

 and we accordingly spent the week ending 22nd June there in search of Neuroptera 

 and Trichoptera. In the meantime we reserve any reference to the large and inter- 

 esting collections made, with the exception that we think it right to record at once 

 that five specimens of JEschna borealis (2 $ , 3 ? ) were taken. These were mostly 

 found (and others were seen) in or near the Black Wood, where they frequented the 

 roadsides and open swampy places. But they were not confined to that quarter : 

 one was caught on the opposite side of the Loch, and the species is thus probably 

 distributed over the whole district. — Kenneth J. Moeton and J. J. F. X. King, 

 Glasgow : July 10th, 1889. 



Heptaulacus villosus, Gyll., near Lewes. — The report of the capture of this 

 species by Mr. J. J. Walker, E..N. (Ent. Mo. Mag., xxv, p. 359) reminds me that on 

 June 8th, 1883, when collecting on the Downs close to this town with my friend 

 Mr. C. H. Morris, we came upon this insect in some considerable numbers in one 



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