8 
flying off when approached. When chased and hard pressed they 
would suddenly drop; and although one could see the very spot on 
which they appeared to alight, I seldom found them till I had 
observed their trick. They fell with closed wings till within an inch 
or so of the resting surface, and then opening the wings took a sudden 
turn to one side and rested about ten or fourteen inches from the 
place they seemed to strike. Many took to the upper regions ten 
or fifteen feet overhead, and were soon out of sight. ‘They were most 
abundant among the scattered firs on the outskirts of the forest ; very 
few were taken inside. 
The larvee of 7: juntperata were obtained by beating the juniper in 
the open spaces, and it could have been taken in thousands, full fed, 
from the 21st of August until about the 7th or 8th of September. 
The pupee were lightly attached to the leaves of the juniper by a few 
silken threads, and fell into the beating tray with the larve. The 
first imagines emerged on the 24th of September, the bulk on the 
4th, and the last on the roth of October. I have placed a typical 
series by the side of some Surrey specimens taken last year by 
Mr. Auld. The former are smaller, darker, and more smoky in 
colour than the latter, and the central fascia of the fore-wings is less 
constant. It is frequently broken transversely, and in many instances 
terminates in a very dark rectangular spot on the inner margin ; in 
a few cases the inner half of the band is entirely obliterated. 
If ants be excepted, the most abundant and ubiquitous insect was 
Eupithecia sobrinata. A single specimen was taken August 3rd. 
On the 8th it appeared freely, and by the 15th it was swarming, and 
continued to be plentiful until I left. It is difficult to convey any 
idea of the lavish profusion of this species. At Loch-an-Eilein it 
could be beaten out of the firs in hundreds. At one sweep of my 
net I took fifteen ; but of course I did not attempt to box them, for 
it was impossible to overhaul them for forms. Besides, I had a 
much better chance when the wet mist came, to which I have already 
alluded. Soérinata was then common on all the fence-posts, and on 
one occasion the palm of my hand would have covered five of them. 
In this kind of weather they were somewhat sluggish, and gave me 
a chance to examine carefully before boxing. Moreover, at this date, 
September rst, they were mostly females, among which the grey form 
preponderated. ‘The specimens appear to fall broadly into three 
parallel lines. First, the brown form of various shades and depths of 
colour, within conspicuous transverse markings ; second, the grey form, 
with an almost white band, and well-pronounced grey and black mark- 
ings on the nervures, passing through various shades to a unicolorous 
grey ; and third, a group intermediate between the two, having the 
brown of the one intermingled with the white, grey, and black of the 
other. The ninth specimen in each group exhibited deserves special 
attention. Each of the three has a distinct black Y mark on the 
upper wings; the apex is on the discoidal cell, and diverges 
towards the hind margin. It is very rare in the brown group, and 
