SWARMS OF INSECTS, &c., IN THE CRIMEA. 
By Lione, E. ApDAmMs, B.A. 
_On three separate occasions when I have visited the Crimea 
I have encountered one or more instances of various insect 
forms swarming in enormous quantities and being dispersed to 
considerable distances, and it has occurred to me that a brief 
account of these may be of interest to students of the ways and 
means of the distribution of various species across the sea. 
Moths.*—On August 27th, 1901, we left the Bosphorus at 
sunset for Kupatoria, a distance of roughly three hundred and 
seventy English land miles. On coming on deck the next 
morning at eight o’clock I found the whole ship covered with a 
small moth, which also filled the air like flakes in a snow- 
storm. All day long we had a pair of Warblers on board, 
which had apparently been blown off the land with the moths or 
had followed them of their own accord. I caught one in my 
hand and released it unharmed. They were very tame, picking 
up the moths greedily from the deck close to my feet. 
We experienced a strong head wind all the way across to 
Kupatoria, and the flight of moths met us all the way across 
the swarm being plentiful there on our arrival. Four days 
later we anchored in Karkinit Bay in the Gulf of Perikop. I 
quote from my field note-book :—‘‘ Sept. 6th, 1901. I found the 
shore at Bakal lined twenty to fifty yards in width with small 
bushes and brambles. These were thickly crowded with the 
same small moth that we have had in crowds all across the 
Black Sea. At every step among the bushes a swarm of dis- 
turbed moths would fly up.” 
The next year I was in the Black Sea rather later when the 
annual (?) swarm of this small moth was presumably almost 
over, for I find the following entry in my field note-book :— 
“ Aug. 21st, 1902. The same species of Warbler that came cn 
board last voyage came on board at Kavak, and accompanied us 
to Theodosia. It was after the same species of moth as before.”’ 
*« T much regret that the specimens brought back for identification have 
always miscarried. 
