Insects. 1899 



contributors to the ' Zoologist ' may be able to throw light on the extraordinary move- 

 ments of these little insects. — William Allen ; Rye, Sussex, 15th of 8th mo., 1847. 



Extraordinary Flight of Coccinellce. — " Between four and six o'clock on Thursday 

 evening, a long cloud, reaching some few miles across the sea, was observed by many 

 hundred spectators from the heights of Kamsgate and Margate, bending its course to 

 our southern coast, from the direction of Calais and Ostend, but which had more the 

 appearance of a long column of smoke from a steamer on a calm day ; but about ten 

 o'clock in the evening the excitement was intensely increased by the remaining prome- 

 naders on the several promenades and cliffs of the above places being literally covered 

 with lady -birds. Thus many of those persons who had been most exposed, on their 

 return to their homes, found themselves not only enveloped with this compact little 

 shell insect, but so regularly dotted on the clothes, that it had the appearance of a 

 scale armour. At an early hour in the morning, the whole of the line of coast was 

 found to be covered with them, to the great annoyance of all parties ; and in order to 

 give the reader a correct idea of the extent and quantity of these unwelcome settlers, 

 five bushels were swept from the Margate Pier, and nearly the same from that of 

 Ramsgate Harbour. To walk on them might be readily compared to walking on 

 snow on a frosty day. The locality whence they first took flight remains at present 

 unknown." 



" Brighton was swarmed with lady-birds on Saturday and Sunday. They were 

 crushed by thousands upon the pavement of the Grand Parade and the adjoining 

 streets; whilst the houses, the fences, and even the clothes of all pedestrians were 

 dotted over by the tawny strangers. Children were seen gathering them up for 

 amusement literally in handfuls, A similar swarm visited Brighton about seven years 

 ago, and a slighter visitation of the same kind was experienced three years since." 



" A correspondent at Southend writes : — * On Friday the whole of the coast around 

 Southend was visited by one of the most numerous flights of insects on record. They 

 consisted of at least five species of lady-bird, and they came in such dense numbers, 

 as for miles along the coast to resemble a swarm of bees during hiving. The sea 

 destroyed countless millions of them ; the grass and hedgerows, and every crevice that 

 afforded shelter from the wind, were coloured with their numbers, and for many miles 

 it was impossible to walk without crushing numbers beneath the tread. The insects 

 evidently came from the east, the wind having veered round to that point during the 

 night. Every true friend of agriculture, however, hails the appearance of these in- 

 sects, as they are well known to be the destroyers of Aphides, a race of flies the most 

 injurious to vegetation.' " — Times. 



Migrations of Insects. — Lest by any chance it should have escaped your notice, I 

 enclose an extract from the ' Times' of August 16th, 1847 [reprinted above], which 

 gives a very interesting account of a huge swarm of lady-birds, which were actually 

 seen coming in the direction of the French or Belgian coast some hours before they 

 arrived on our shores. Migrations, in large bodies, of Aphides, flies, locusts, and other 

 insects, are common, but this peculiarly well-observed and enormous emigration of 

 Coccinellae from the Continent is well worthy of note. The believers in Mr. Smee's 

 theory of the cause of the potato disease may congratulate the country on this arrival 

 of destroyers of the destroyer. The Aphides being a race endowed with such very mi- 

 gratory instincts, we are not surprised to find that their parasites are obliged to shift 

 their quarters also. If it should appear that the hops in Kent are peculiarly infested 

 with blight next year, how wonderful would this friendly arrival from a distant land 



