Welsh Journals

bird hosts or in their nests. In 1902 an example of this species was found on a window in Porthcawl, Glam. A specimen of the swift louse Cataerina pallida (Lat.) was dis- covered amongst the feathers of a young swift found on the ground near Llandudno in August, 1968 (D. Sandbach). This appears to be the first record of this species in North Wales. Its size in relation to that of the swift is such as to cause one writer to compare the effect with that of a land crab scuttling about amongst the underclothes of a man The Forest fly, Hippobosca equina L. has its principal home in the New Forest in Hampshire, but was known to occur in many parts of Wales in the past, when horses were more widely used. The flies from country animals often transferred on market days to the more tender hides of town horses and donkeys, which were said to be driven almost frantic by the irritation caused by the parasites. The Pennant Valley between Portmadoc and Beddgelert in North Wales, was a well-known area for these flies towards the end of the last century, and Miss Ormerod wrote in 1895 of speci- mens taken from his horses by the driver of one of the coaches serving this locality. In September, 1944, several specimens were taken from horses and cattle in the Beddgelert area (J. Hobart). It would be interesting to know if the Forest fly is still prevalent in the Pennant Valley in today's changing conditions. MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES A decline in the number of Lepidoptera, especially butterflies, has been increasingly remarked upon in recent years, in the press and other publications. Several factors are almost certainly involved, amongst which the destruction of hedgerows and their varied edge flora is one of the more serious. Without a plentiful supply of the correct food plant, females will not lay their eggs to produce the next generation. The use of insecticides has also caused misgivings as beneficial and harmless insects may be killed along with the pests. Indis- criminate use and disposal of excess sheep dip may possibly play a part. E. N. Willmer is making a series of observations on the Lepi- dopteran population in the neighbourhood of a cottage in mid- Wales, taking into account the above and other factors. It will be interesting to see how the situation develops over a number of years after he has had time to assess the population in more detail. MIGRATORY LEPIDOPTERA For many years naturalists were puzzled by the varying num- bers of some species of moths and butterflies. Little was known about their life histories, and their marked changes in abundance were put down to the fact that they were becoming extinct, or that new colonies had been established. The Vestal moth, Rhodometra