THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
431 
seems most generally adopted, although that of Dahlbom, 
given in 1835 (Grossulariae), is more appropriate. It is 
worthy of remark that for some years the gooseberry grub 
seems to have resigned its place and powers of destruction to 
a caterpillar of a different family, one which produces the 
beautiful currant moth (Abraxas grossulariata), so remarkable 
for its great variation. In 1841 my gooseberry bushes were 
stripped—they were absolutely rendered leafless—by the 
goosebery grub; now not one is to be found, but their 
destructive duties seem to have been delegated to the currant 
moth, which may be said to swarm, its beautiful chrysalis, 
shining with black and gold, hangs from every twig. Mr. 
Skelton asks for a remedy, but I can recommend none, 
except the tedious one of hand-picking. All the nostrums so 
largely advertised and so strongly recommended I have found 
utterly worthless. In the ‘Field’ newspaper several writers 
have declared that they have found powdered hellebore very 
efficacious, but they have failed to give any practical 
directions for its application. We all must recollect the 
“instructions” sold with flea-powder, beginning “Catch the 
flea.” So it is with the gooseberry grub; you must first 
catch the grub, and then dose it with hellebore,—a process 
much more tedious than dropping it into boiling water or 
treading on it. Nature has provided remedies after her own 
wise fashion,—the cuckoo and the redstart, which birds 
prefer them to any other food .—Edward Newman. 
Ichneumonidw of the Isle of Man .—The present distribu¬ 
tion of insects is the result of their previous migration, and 
an acquaintance with it will tend to show the course of this 
migration. In this respect insects may be divided into three 
parts: the first, those that have effected still-continuing 
stations or encampments along the whole extent of their 
passage from east to west, supposing that their advance was 
in this direction; the second, those which have been more or 
less limited in their advance, and may form several sub¬ 
divisions; the third, those which have passed wholly westward 
from their comparatively primitive habitation. In the northern 
latitudes, and omitting America, Japan and Ireland are the 
two extremes of the journey, and many species are restricted 
westward to England, unless they have passed away from 
Ireland with the forest region which formerly prevailed 
