Jicne, 1Q13 Bulletin oj the Brooklyn Entomological Society 75 



Butterflies and other Insects Noticed at Barnegat Pier 



By Herman H. Brehme, Newark, N. J. 



Barnegat Pier is a station on the Pennsylvania R. R. oppo- 

 site Seaside Park, Ocean County, N. J., where fishing and pleasure 

 boats harbor and the two boarding houses and several bungalows 

 are all that comprises this summer resort. The writer had occa- 

 sion to spend two or three days out of each week from August 

 7th to September 30th, 191 1, in this quiet little place. Most of 

 the time had to be spent on the saltmarsh, laying out work, as 

 at the time the meadow was being drained for the extermination 

 of mosquitoes, but a little time each day was spent either in col- 

 lecting lepidoptera or taking notes of the different species seen. 



The most common species of butterflies was Catopsilia 

 euhule. The total number which were seen in the period of two 

 months was well over the five hundred mark. There is, of course, 

 no doubt that the same specimens in some cases were seen more 

 than once and probably several times, but as this insect seemed 

 to travel one way most of the time from north to south it is safe 

 to say that not many were seen more than once. 



There is a long trestle across Barnegat Bay at this point 

 and in the afternoon after tramping the meadows in the morning 

 I would rest up on the porch of the boarding house which is nearly 

 in a parallel line with the trestle. The first afternoon I noticed 

 that many insects would come across from the ocean side and 

 generally on the south side of the trestle. Observations were made 

 further down the bay and then north of the trestle, but nothing 

 of that sort was noticed. To find out more about these flights, 

 which seemed to be migratory, several whole days were spent 

 on the porch, all sorts of days were selected, but it is peculiar 

 that while odd specimens would come across in the morning, the 

 real flight would not begin until two o'clock in the afternoon. 

 As a rule, the wind generally changes along the coast about that 

 time and strikes in from the southeast. This happens nine days 

 out of ten and may have had a tendency to drive the insects to 

 the mainland. 



The largest number of any group were noticed on August 

 29th, when from two until five o'clock 659 dragonflies were counted, 

 all coming across the bay. No tally was kept on any other 



