190 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



at Nantes ; Graeser notes the larvae as very abundant at Behrenfeld 

 in 1870; usually rare in Thuringia, but in some years the larvae 

 are abundant; in 1875 tne larvae were in thousands in the Dresden 

 district ; usually rare at Leipzig, but found everywhere in great 

 numbers in 1888, also generally rare in Crefeld, but common in 1888; 

 at Waldeck, uncertain, generally rare, in some years more abundant, 

 particularly so in 1888, in which year, indeed, the species was 

 recorded as being in unusual numbers throughout the whole of 

 Central Europe; found at Kempten in 1894, although not noticed 

 for 20 years previously ; in the " forties " it was common in 

 New Pomerania and the Anclam districts, but has been found 

 only most sparingly ever since. The years of abundance in Britain 

 have been 1859, 1870, 1888, and, in these years, it was also abundant 

 in most parts of Europe in the same latitude as the British Isles. 

 Grentzenberg notes larvae as very abundant one year at Dantzig, 

 Moeschler that in Upper Lusatia in some years it is not rare ; 

 Schmid that the larvae are sometimes abundant at Ratisbon, Weiler 

 that it is uncertain at Innsbruck, in some years common, Hering in 

 some years common in Pomerania, Heinemann not rare in certain years 

 in Brunswick, and Glitz that it is common in Hanover in certain years. 

 It is difficult to account for this irregularity in the appearance of 

 the species. Fairly abundant almost every year in certain warmer 

 parts of the Alpine region of Europe, the species, without having 

 been noticed to increase to any great extent in its usual haunts, 

 appears, in the imaginal state and at irregular periods, to make inroads 

 into territory from which it has been for many years absent, and 

 strangely, as our " Times of Appearance " show, in different 

 months of the year. The immigrating imagines lay eggs, larvae 

 are found in abundance and pupae produced, but, owing to 

 causes, probably climatic, of which we have little knowledge, 

 the pupae fail to develop their imagines, and the following 

 year few or no imagines occur. The moth flies usually in the 

 early evening, and is to be found at dusk at a variety of flowers. 

 Bartel says that, in Germany, the imagines are attracted by those 

 flowers which are especially loved by the Sphingids, more particu- 

 larly Petunia and Convolvulus arvertsis, whilst, in Roumania, Petunia 

 and Convolvulus tricolor are given as the favourites by Caradja. 

 Newly-arrived immigrants in this country have been taken at 

 verbenas at Brighton (Griffith), and at the flowers of the same 

 plant at Worthing (Wyatt), at Breadsall (Stowell), at Plympton 

 (Purdue), and at Clevedon (Brackenridge) ; at jessamine at dusk, at 

 Holloway (Stoneman) ; at honeysuckle, at Great Yarmouth (Paget), 

 at 8.40 p.m., at Breadsall (Stowell), also at Warrington (Greening), 

 at Oundle (Whall), at Wisbech (Glenny), at Anne's-on-Sea (Baxter), 

 at Macclesfield (Goodall), at Darenth (Mercer), and at Halesowen, 

 near Birmingham (Enock) ; at sweetwilliam flowers at Alford (Garfit), 

 also at Carlisle (Goodfellow), and at Hayton, at 9.30 p.m. 

 (Routledge) ; at petunias, at 6.30 p.m., in Gloucester (Hallett- 

 Todd), also at Hopwood, near Birmingham (Landon), at Brighton 

 (Taylor), at Beccles (Farr), at Leominster (Hutchinson), at Caerwood 

 (Sellon), at Weston-super-Mare (Aldridge), and at Alphington 

 \ D'Orville) ; at rhododendrons at Rugeley (Bonney), at Echium 

 vulgare at St. Margaret's Bay (Williams), at larkspur at Dartford 

 (Youens), at white campion at St. Anne's-on-Sea (Baxter); at scarlet 



