XOTE ON THE CAMBETTWELL BEAUTY BUTTERFLY. 33 



perhaps for years afterwards scarcely an individual will be 

 seen. 



That nearly every insect, however rare, shall sometime or 

 other occur in profusion, appears to be a law to which all orders 

 of insects are subject, and illustrations of it are constantly taking 

 place. One year a " grand surprise" suddenly rushes into view, 

 perhaps the next a giant Hawk-moth darts upon the scene, to 

 be followed by lesser magnates of the same stamp : whence they 

 have come no man seems able to say. Look again at the destruc- 

 tive species, (white butterflies, many moths, saw-flies, aphides, 

 etc., etc.,) which suddenly appear in countless hosts, and lead 

 men to fear that their progeny may the following year be so 

 numerous as to totally destroy the produce of their fields and 

 gardens. Such a calamity however seldom takes place, their 

 further increase is arrested, and they disappear as quickly and 

 mysteriously as they came. In beetles, too, the same law ob- 

 tains, and very numerous instances might be cited, but one or 

 two must suffice. Visitors to our local watering places must 

 have noticed occasionally the sudden appearance of swarms of 

 Lady -birds of various kinds. One of these, Coccinella 11 -punc- 

 tata, not rare generally, will some years appear in such profu- 

 sion that every stone, brick, or clog of wood lying on the sandy 

 bents will be reddened by congregated hundreds, but where they 

 have come from, and why, is one of those perplexing questions 

 which it is impossible to answer satisfactorily. Two more in- 

 stances may be mentioned : a small Curculio, called Sitones grisea, 

 occurred one year in such numbers on the coast that every sandy 

 hillock seemed to be alive with them ; and again, the very pretty 

 Chrysomela marginata was in some plenty at the same time and 

 place, but since then, although I looked for them every season 

 for upwards of twenty years, I have never been able to meet 

 with more than single specimens of either. 



In conclusion let me state that Vanessa Antiopa is an insect 

 that hybernates, and that specimens may probably be seen on 

 wing in the approaching spring. If so, it would be most desi- 

 rable that they should not be taken, but allowed a chance of de- 

 positing eggs; for could the caterpillars, which are large and 



c 



