128 THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S RECORD. 
abundant as in England, P. cardwi literally swarming about the cherry 
and other fruit-trees planted by the road-side, whilst walking through 
the clover fields caused them to rise in clouds. More abundant still 
was P. gamma, which was in enormous numbers and almost put out 
the lights at night if the windows were left open. Snell reports that 
they were equally abundant in the Western Highlands as in the south 
of England. 
Hall noted P. gamma as exceedingly abundant at Deal, in the 
spring of 1888, and also P. cardui, but whilst the descendants of the 
former were in great force in the autumn, those of the latter were 
rather rare, possibly due to the bad weather experienced in June in 
that district. Barrett notes that in Pembrokeshire P. gamma and P. 
cardui had been as abundant as elsewhere in 1879, that in the following 
years they were absent or very scarce, and that although not a single 
P. cardwi was observed in the autumn of 1882, in May, 1883, P. gamma 
suddenly appeared in swarms, and ten days later P. cardui similarly 
was noticed in great abundance. The P. gamma were more slate- 
coloured than those bred in the country, and the specimens of P. cardui 
also were pale. Here, too, as at Deal, P. gamma was abundant in the 
autumn, but P. cardui rare, owing, also, to the bad weather in June. 
In 1889 Carrington observed that, previous to June 1st, he had not 
seen a single P. cardut or P. gamma, although he had been regularly 
on the look-out, but, on that day, one P. cardui was seen, and by the 
8rd hundreds of the species were everywhere as also P. gamma; the 
numbers gradually lessened during the week, probably due to dispersal. 
A steady south-east wind had been blowing for three days previous to 
June 1st. Many active collectors will remember the great influx of 
both species in 1894. Among many other observers Walker notes 
(Ent. Mo. Mag., xxx., p. 162), in June, 1894, the sudden appearance 
of P. cardui and P. gamma in considerable numbers. On the thistles, 
in bloom on the sea-wall in the Isle of Sheppey, on the morning of 
June 17th, he observed two or three specimens of P. cardui on each 
flower, and, in the hayfields, a little way inland, Plusia gamma was 
equally common, getting up out of the grass as one walked along the 
path. The specimens of both species were worn and faded but not 
apparently torn or broken, and their appearance suggested a consider- 
able immigration, whilst during the preceding autumn P. cardui had 
been rare, and P. gamma less common than usual. No examples had 
been seen previously to that date on which they were first so abundant, 
except a single P. cardui at Chatham, on June 14th. Bankes observes 
(loc. cit., p. 210) that he noticed the sudden appearance of P. cardui 
in Purbeck, in abundance, on June 4th of the same year, whilst the 
preceding year it was entirely absent from the neighbourhood. 
As we have already stated, these are only isolated examples of 
dozens of similar records that are to be found scattered throughout our 
magazines. Noone has yet attempted to explain the conditions that 
usually result in the immigration of these very different Species at the 
same time, and apparently under identical conditions. 
G@RTHOPTERA. 
Macroprerous VARIETY oF XipuHiprum porsaLe, Larr.—tl captured 
what Mr, Burr has provisionally determined as a macropterous variety 
