z.

V \m

THE

ENTOMOLOGIST'S RECORD

AND

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Edited by

J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

VOL. IX.
JANUAEY TO DECEMBEK, 1897.

PRICE 7s. 6d.
Special Index (with every reference), Is.

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ELLIOT STOCK, 62, Paternoster Row,

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PREFACE TO VOL. IX.

On the completion of another vohime Ave tender our heartiest
thanks to our subscribers, contributors, and all those Avho have been
in any way instrumental in increasing our circulation.

The return to the annual method of publication has resulted in
the rejection of a great deal of material for which we could not
possibly find room, in spite of the fact that the current volume is one
of the largest yet issued.

We have attempted to make a fair selection of the material that
has come to hand, and have done our best to cater for the different
classes of our readers.

We have one important change to chronicle with regard to the
management of the Magazine, viz., that Mr. Horace St. John K. Donis-
thorpe, F.Z.S., F.E.S., will, in future, be responsible for the editing
of all notes on Coleoptera that may appear therein. That Ave haA-e
got such an excellent helper is not only a great source of gratification
to us, but must also be so to all our readers Avho are specially in-
terested in this group of insects.

The large number of " Field Notes " for the different months,
already in hand, leads us to state that this feature Avill be maintained.
Already the material in our possession (for some of the months), is
much more than we can possibly print.

Again Ave have to thank Mr. G. B. Routledge, F.E.S., who has,
for the fourth time, made himself responsible for the preparation of
the Special Index.

TwLe(^"Vs

Vol. IX.

Plate I.

Neuration of the Ehopaloceka.

Enlom. Record, etc., 1897.

4>* AND "^/ii^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 1. January 15th, 1897.

Retrospect of a Lepidopterist for 1896.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

We had thought seriously of leaving our annual " retrospect " un-
written this year, but one does not like to drop an old institution
which appears to be eminently popular among a large section ot
our readers. Space, however, forbids us giving more than a very brief
summary of the year's work. i , • v.

The delightful spring and summer— unbroken sunshine and high
temperature-after a winter of phenomenal mildness, led to some
strikino- features during the season of 1896. Naturally, these were to
a great extent local, and influenced probably by the nature of the soil
and the effect of the drought upon it. , ^. u .v.

Never, perhaps, in the remembrance of many, has there been such
a season for the Lyc^nid^. Thechds and Lyc^nids were abundant to
a decree rarely witnessed in Britain, whilst the Pierids were, perhaps,
equally common. Species, too, were frequently three or four weeks
ahead of the normal time. The collector, pure and simple, recognised
the latter fact very quickly. The collecting of the larvae of Thecla
primi and T. w-album, in May, was followed by the capture of many
hundreds of their imagines during the following month. We heard of
a collector who killed and set 40 specimens of T pmni a.nd then
owned that not a single specimen was fit for the cabinet. Of Lycaena
avion 1 000 to 1,500 specimens are reported as captured, the insects
mostly falling to the nets of those who have been in previous years for
the same species. Insects like Leucophasia dmpis which produced
second broods, did so very early, and the abundance of the dark
aberrations of Limenith sibylla in the New Forest was qmte phenomenal.
A specimen of what was probably Anosia arcMppus {eripims) was
recorded in June, and another as seen in October whilst in the
autumn several FAtvanesm antiopa were captured, chiefly m Scotland.
The most remarkable take, however, was Apona crataerji near Dover.
We have but little doubt that this is a colony, the progeny of ancestors that
have been set at liberty and have eflected a temporary settlement. Ihe
remark that this species is confined in its new haunts "to an area ot
about a few hundred square yards," is inexplicable, and no one who
knows this insect on the Continent can seriously consider this possible.
Among the Sphingides, the feature of the year has been the abun-
danceof Acherontia atropos in the larval state. Sp}dnxcomMi,C. nern
and Dcilephila livornica have also been recorded. Mr. Newnham has

Z THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

again obtained Cerura bicusjns, whilst among the Lasioeamps, Dr.
Freer's re-discovery of Gostropacha ilicifolia is the most noteworthy
capture. The re-introduction of Calop/iasia plaUjptera to the British
list, and the addition of a supposed new species — Lencania faviador,
are the most noteworthy facts among the Noctuides. Xijloutit/e.t
con-yncillaris, Lnicania alhijiuncta, L. ritellina, and Catocala nupta ab.
cacnilcacens have all been recorded, and four Dasi/canqia nibit/inen were
taken at Reading, whilst Caradrina amhij/iia has occurred in Devon, as
well as in the Isle of Wight, and is undoubtedly a much commoner
species on the South Coast than has generally been supposed.
Triphaena snbscqua occurred in its early, as well as later, brood, whilst
Plnsia bmctea was bred by Mr. Finlay, and P. moneta appears to have
become almost common. The breeding of Pachnobia hi/perborea ab.
alpina in considerable numbers, is probably also worthy of record.

The micro-lepidopterists have been quite active this year. Mr.
Bankes is to the fore with Coleophara (/lit zcUa a,nd Anji/rcstkio atmorella.
Mr. Durrant has separated the old (ieUelna pdidla into (i. pdiella and
G. fiuppeliella. He also recorded > the capture of a large number of
Cedestis t/i/ssdinella, Bind gave us notes on Ste;/aHopti/cha pyifwaeana.
Lord Walsingham has discarded An/i/restJiia illuininatdla as British,
and Dr. Chapman has determined the cases of Soloiobia triqiietrdla, in
Sidebotham's collection, to be identical with those of S. iucunspicudla.
Mr. Bankes decides that Nepticula <jei must be called N. fraijariella. Dr.
Sharp comes across Knocephala caltheUa, and wants to make a
Trichopterid of it. The present writer has papers on " Sciap/nla
penziana and S. colquJwunana " and Coccyx cosmophorana. All micro-
collectors are indebted to Mr. Atmore for specimens of Aryyresthia
atmorella.

The destruction of our local insects has loomed large this year. A
paper by Mr. Hodge, in our pages, set the ball rolling ; a discussion at
one of the Ent. Soc, of London's meetings gave it a fresh impetus,
and at present it is moving with considerable force. In our opinion
(and it seems to be a very general one), action has not been taken
before it is needed. We are, we believe, good field naturalists ; we
think little of the purely closet naturalist ; yet there can be no doubt that
collecting is very much overdone in Britain, and, without hindering
bona fide collecting, one does want to find a means of stopping those
men who, posing as amateurs, go year after year to the same localities,
obtain the same species of insects for exchange, and never make a
single scientific observation about the insects they do their best to
exterminate. We wish the committees, now considering the best
means of dealing with the subject, all success.

The periodical excitement about Tcphroda hhtortata [creptiscularia)
and T. crepuscularia (biundularia) is almost inexplicable. So is that
about Bomby.v qnerciis and B. callnnae. Probably it is because these
two pairs of insects form the best illustrations, in our fauna, of
"species " in the process of formation. Too much of a good thing,
however, becomes somewhat tedious, and we doubt whether many
British lepidopterists have not had quite enough of these.

We cannot report very satisfactory progress in the number of
Fellows our annual appeal obtained for the Entom. Soc. of London
during the past year. The large average of the two previous years has
not bean maintained, and there must yet be a very large number of ento-

RETROSPECT OF A LEPIDOPTERIST. 3

mologists who do not see the Transactions of the Society. The City
of London Entomological Society deservedly holds a high place,
thanks to Messrs. Prout, Bacot, and others, whose scientific papers are
of the highest value. Their excellent meeting-place at the London
Institution should attract all London entomologists. The South
London Entomological Society — thanks to its excellent secretaries —
has provided a good list of papers to be read, and issued their
Proceedings fairly early in the year. The North London Entomo-
logical Society maintains its active course, whilst of our provincial
societies, that at Leicester has taken quite a lead in the question of the
" destruction of our local insects." Their Proceedimjs, too, contain
some excellent papers. The Lancashire and Cheshire Society held an
exhibition while the British Association meetings were going on in
Liverpool. Of the Birmingham and York Societies we hear next to
nothing. It is a pity some scientific work is not regularly turned out
from these centres. The Cambridge Society, under the guidance of
Dr. Sharp, maintains its position, whilst the Nonpareil Society
appears to gratify the gregarious want of the workers of East London.

Of papers that have been read this year, few can be classed in the
first rank. " On the relation of the mimetic patterns to the original "
(Dixey, Trans. Ent. Soc. Land.) ; " Notes on Pupae — Orneodes, Eper-
menia, Chrysocurys and Pterophorus" (Chapman, Ibid.), and "On the
Phylogeny and Evolution of the Lepidoptera from a pupal and oval
standpoint" (Chapman, Ibid.), are the best. A brief summary of the
latter is published, Ent. Rec, viii., pp. 287-289. Many useful papers,
however, may have attention called to them : — " Some aspects of
hibernation " (Dixey, Ent. Rec.) ; " On Alucita (Orneodes) he.vadactyla,
chiefly in relation to the structure of the pupa " (Chapman, Ent.
Rec.) ; " Antennffi of Lepidoptera " (Bodine : resume in Ent. Rec.) ;
" Relationship of Endromis to the Sphingides " (Bacot, Ent. Rec.) ;
" Relationship of the lower Lepidoptera with Trichoptera " (Tutt, Ent.
Rec.) ; " On the structure and development of the lepidopterous wing"
(Sharp, E.M.M.) ; " Experiment bearing on the number of larval
instars and the distinctness of larval and pupal instars in Lepidoptera"
(Chapman, -E.il/.il/.). Classification has given us, besidesDr. Chapman's
papers, — " The modern principles on which classification is based"
(Tutt, Trans. City Land. Ent. Soc.) ; " Neuration in the Lepidoptera,
etc." (Quail, Ent. Rec). The discussion on " hybernation " has pro-
duced : — " The resting habits of insects " (Riding, Kane, Ent. Rec.) ;
"How Colias edusa winters," "The hybernating stages of British
butterflies," " Hybernation of certain butterflies in the imago state"
(Tutt, Ent. Rec). " Melanippe jiuctiiata and its varieties," and "The
Tephrosia tangle" (Ent. Rec.) remind us that Mr. Prout loves to
unravel synonymy; whilst the papers on "Mimicry" (Ent. Rec.)
state critically Prof. Weismann's latest pronouncement on this
subject. " The aberrations of secondary sexual characters in Papilion-
idae" (Watson, Entom.) should also be read.

On the other side of the picture we have " Fungi parasitic on
butterflies " (Rickard, Entom.), in which the author described the
well-known androconia as fungi, and stated that he was cultivating
spores from them on glass. " The senses of insects " (Arkle, Entom.),
from which we learn only one fact, viz., that the author's " faith lies
in the story of the creation." Then there are sundry wordy articles

4 THE KNTOMOLOGIST S UECORD,

" On the vertical distribution and derivation of the Rhopalocera in
the Pyrenees," etc., etc. (Bath, Knt<»ii.). We can only say of these
that we envy the author's flow of mystifying verbiage, but when this
has been separated from the remainder (and there appears very little
left), one is inclined to wonder whether the notions of the Alps, based
on the witness of one's senses, must undergo reconstruction. We
have got beyond those early days when we thought that every-
thing that puzzled us must of necessity represent a vast depth of
wisdom.

.. Of separate works there are some exceedingly good ones, the best —
"Uber die palpen der Rhopaloceren " (Renter) and " Bombycine
Moths of America " (Packard). Of purely British works the writer's
" British Moths " (Routledge and Son) has been published to take the
place of Wood's " Common British Moths," which was so wofully out
of date, Avhilst " British Butterflies " (Gill and Son) is simply a
cheap Newman up to date, the life-history, synonymy, distribution,
etc., of every British species being fully written up, and figures of
every species given. " New experiments on the seasonal dimorphism of
Lepidoptera " (Weismann) has been translated in an excellent manner
by Mr. W. E. Nicholson. " Butterflies" (Kirby), although presenting
no attractions to the purely British collector, is of the greatest use to
entomologists interested in geographical distribution. " British
Sphingida3 " (Lucas) is a very useful little brochure, whilst a still
smaller volume is "Insects and Spiders," which deals with the
physiology and anatomy of insects in a concise manner. The expensive
work, " The Lepidoptera of the British Islands " (Barrett), is, after five
years, quite in its infancy, only apart of the old Macro-Lepidoptera as yet
having been dealt with. We have just received from Mr. N. M. Richard-
son a pamphlet entitled " Tinea rinctilella, a species of Lepidoptera new
to the British fauna," and illustrated in her usual careful, artistic
and correct manner, by Mrs. Richardson.

We have only touched on a few of the points that naturally occur
to us, when mentally reviewing 1896 from an entomological standpoint.
To-morrow is New Year's Day. Our fervent hope is that 1897 may
prove a successful season alike to the collector, to the observer, and
to the student. May our societies prosper, and may the entomological
literature of the forthcoming year exceed in scientific value that of the
past.

Neuration of the Rhopalocera** (Illustrated by Plate).

By AMBEOSE QUAIL.

On the argument that " modification tends to reduce the number
of nervules" ((/»^', vol. viii., p. 15B), it seems logical to consider
that, of any superfamily, the genus or family which has the greatest
number of nervules, is the lowest.

In the Rhopalocera, PAPiLioNm^ has the greatest (total) number
of fore-wing nervules (Plate I., fig. 1), but one less hind- wing (anal)
nervule, than the Pierids and Nymphalids. Certain characters, viz.,
the fore-wing cubitus-anal connection, one of the anal nervules, and
hind-wing subcostal radius connection in the PAPiLioNiDiE, are modi-

* Extract from paper read before the North London Nat. Hist. Society, Aug., 1896,

NEtJRATlON OF TiiE ftHOPALOCERA. 0

fied in the lower Nymphalid;e, in which the cubitus-anal connection
becomes a cubitus blotch, the anal nervule becomes abortive, and the
sub-costal radius connection (area) is much reduced (Plate I., fig. 2) ;
they are totally lost in the higher Pierids and Nymphalids. In
general form of neuration, however, the Fam. Papilionid^ differs largely
from all other families of the Rhopalocera, in having a fore-cubitua
nervure with four nervules. It possesses only one media nervule
(fore) as such, i.e., attached directly to the transverse nervure which
forms the discoidal cell. In the general form of neuration, Nymph-
alids, Pierids and Lycsenids agree in having the fore-cubitus nervure
with three nervules. The Nymphalids have two fore-media nervules,
as such, and throughout the family these are retained. Danaidi (fig.
2) is one of the lower Nymphalid tribes ; it has the cubitus blotch, an
abortive anal nervule, and a modified sub-costal radius connection.
Extremes of modification in this family seem to be the total loss of
the transverse nervure which forms the discoidal cell as in Junonia
(fig. 4) and Apatura; our indigenous Vunexsidl (fig. 8), and AniynniM
seem intermediate, as they retain the cell-vein of the fore- and hind-
wings (except Pi/raineis cardui, which has partially lost the hind cell-
vein), but have lost the modified Papilionid characters found in
Danaidi. The Fam. SATYRiDyE (fig. 5), seems to have evolved close to
Danaidi. Its species have a very Nymphalid neuration, and the
bases of the fore-cubitus and anal nervules are much thickened. This
seems to be a modification of the cubitus blotch and abortive anal
nervule. L^?<^oj!j/ta.sm (Plate I., fig. 7) retains two fore-media nervules
as such, Euchlo'e (fig. 6) has the same total number of nervules as
the Nymphalids — but not the abortive Papilionid characters. Kueldoii,
however, has only one fore-media nervule as such, and if " alteration of
position often causes one nervule to fork on to another, especially at
the angles of the cell," it is evident that this has happened with
Enchloe, and all of the Picridi and Rhodoceridi, e.g., one of the media,
by attachment to the radius nervure has caused the other radius
nervules — which were already forked on to each other — to fork on to
it. The Picridi and Rhodoceridi have one less radius nervule than
Euchlo'e, and Pieris daplidicc (fig. 8) has one less radius nervule than
tpyical Picridi. Ncmcobiidi (fig. 9) has a modification of the radius
(hind) nervules, and a similar general form of neuration, to Lcuco-
phasia, though the Fam. Lemoniid^ shows the same forking of fore-
radius nervules as the Pierids and Rhodocerids. ThccUdi (fig. 10),
Chrysaphanidi (fig. 11) and Lycacnidi have a higher neuration than
Ncmeobiidi. Inasmuch as the Pierids and Nymphalids, etc., have
one hind anal nervule more than have the Papilionids — it seems safe
to assume that the latter have lost one — and, as the former have
modified Papilionid characters, it seems that they must have evolved
from a common ancestor, rather than that the Pierids, Nymphalids,
etc., have arisen more directly from the Papilionid.e.

Explanation of Plate I. — (1) Papiliomachaon. (2) Annsia arcMppiis.
(3) Polygonia c-album. (4) Junonia orithya. (5) Enodia kyperanthiis.
(6) Euchlo'e cardamines. (7) Leucophasia sinajns. (8) Pieris dajjUdice.
(9) Nemeobius lucina. (10) Zephyr us betulcic. (11) Chrysophanus
phlaeas.

6 tHE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

A critical resume of the arguments for and against Tephrosia

bistortata (crepuscularia) and Tephrosia crepuscularia (biundularia)

being considered distinct species. '•"

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
{Continued from vol. viii., p. 287).

The third and most strenuous upholder of the one species idea is
Mr. C. G. Barrett. His utterances on the matter have been frequent,
and his opinion appears to have been based on the following con-
siderations : — (1). Mr. Barrett received, in 1886, from Derbyshire,
"specimens of the dark grey variety of what" he "should have
called biundularia, but they were taken on April 12th and 24th
respectively," en/o, they "appear at the time for crepuscularia.''
They are " of a dark grey colour, and bear no more resemblance to
one form (normal crepuscularia) than to the other (normal hiun-
dularia)," errfo, " if we still continue to look upon crepuscxdaria and
biundularia as distinct species, we shall, for the sake of consistency, be
compelled to make one or two more species to admit these grey and
blackish forms " [E.^I.M., xxiii., pp. 41-42). One suggestion at once
occurs : If the two specimens did not more closely resemble biundu-
laria than crepuscularia, why would Mr. Barrett have called them
" biundularia certainly," had they not been " taken on April 12th and
24th ? " Records of T. biundularia in April have been frequent of late
years in the EnUm. Record. (2). Professor Zeller, in 1878, wrote to
Mr. C. G. Barrett : — " I wonder why Staudinger separates these ; I
deny their specific right not allowing the time of appearance to prove
it. With us both are together, and, moreover, a dark variety." At
the same time he sent Mr. Barrett some " dark grey specimens," with
" a challenge to pronounce as to which they belonged." The " dark
grey specimens " suggest the ordinary German type, the true bistortata
of Goetze (vide, Prout, Ent. Rec, vol. viii., p. 78), quite different from
the two seasonal forms of crepuscularia, and from biundularia. Mr.
Barrett failed to do so, and " the examination was deferred." I am
under the impression that Mr. Barrett has since told me that he then
had no Scotch specimens of crepuscularia at the time (although
Doubleday knew the Scotch form well). The Scotch form is very
near the German (with a sprinkling of individuals leaning to the
southern spring form (var. abietaria, Haw.), and had Mr. Barrett had a
glance at any of these he would have recognised the German form at
once.o (8). Mr. Barrett writes {E.M.M., xxiii., p. 87) :— " The
supposition that crepuscularia," as distinguished from biundularia, " is
double-brooded is a mistake. I have taken second-brood specimens
of both forms in July or August, in the south of Surrey, and have
them now before me." As the insects were captured wild, this is,
of course, a pure assumption. We may fairly ask Mr. Barrett to tell
us how he separated and distinguished the second-brood specimens of
what he considered these two species. (4). On June 11th, 1886, Mr.
Barrett took an odd specimen of biundidaria in Staffordshire, " which
actually agreed far better with crepuscularia, only differing in the

• The Continental specimens exhibited by Mr. Barrett at the meeting at which
this paper was read were a mixture of the two species, some of which were typical
r. bittortata, and others were dark aberrations of T. crepuscularia {biundularia).

t. BiSTORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND t. CREPUSCULAtllA (biUNDULARIA) . t

umbreous instead of fulvous character of the brown markings. On
June 19th, the Rev. C. Thornewill, of Burton, also took a brown-
lined specimen, very similar, and these two are the nearest to
the southern crepuacularia that I have seen." This is the sum total
of the evidence offered by Mr. Barrett, and the opinion based on this
evidence reads as follows : — "It seems to me unreasonable to attempt
to keep up the purely artificial distinction between these two forms.
They should surely be united." However, like Mr. Smallwood, Mr.
Barrett was not comfortable, so he goes on : — " If we admit that these
forms constitute but one species, we are still confronted by the remark-
able phenomenon, for which no reasonable explanation seems to pre-
sent itself, that two races exist in the same localities, emerging at
different periods, and presenting a constant difference in the shade of
colour.*'* We know that the hiumlidaria which emerge in May, are
not the offspring of the April crepmcularia,-\ and, as far as investiga-
tion has gone, we find that the offspring of each form emerges at the
same time as its parents, and presents the same characteristics' —
setting aside the few which feed up quickly and emerge the same
season, and exhibit similar characters in a modified form. We have,
in fact, a curious instance of dimorphism in both sexes "| (Ibid., p. 87).
Now, if this remarkable paragraph means anything, it appears to me
to mean this— I see there are two very distinct species of moths
which I can readily differentiate, but as I am puzzled where to put a
few German specimens, and a couple of Midland ones, it will save a
lot of trouble to call them one species.

Mr. Robson very fairly criticised (E.M.^f., xxiii., pp. 111-112) this
paper. He adds no new fact, however, to the discussion, and we demur
strongly against his acceptance of the statement, that " the offspring
of both insects in favourable seasons or localities feed up and emerge
the same year, or part of the brood does." We doubt whether more
than a very occasional specimen of biundularia does this. It has
certainly never been shown, except in two solitary instances, that it
does so. His conclusion that " it seems much more unreasonable to
ignore the truly natural distinction between them, merely because, in
odd specimens, we are unable to find an artificial — perhaps I had
better say superficial — distinction," will surely commend itself to all
lepidopterists.

The next occasion on which Mr. Barrett refers to this subject in
the magazines is in 1895, when he describes (E.M.M., xxxi., p. 199)
some observations made by Sir John T. D. Llewelyn on the increase
of melanism which was observed in " Tephrosia crepuscularia, and its
form, biwidularia." It would appear that, in 1866, Sir J. T. D.
Llewelyn first observed the dark aberrations of T. crejmscularia. He
reared the same form from eggs laid by dark females in 1868 and
1872, and it was not until "ten years later that the same careful
observer found that this form of variation had extended to the parallel,
later-emerging, whitish form of the species (by some held to be
distinct) biwidularia ; but he noticed that in this the variety was
' black, but with the sub-terminal line conspicuously pencilled out in

* This is remarkable, in face of the importance attached to the colour of
the Staffordshire specimens in the paragraph numbered 4 {ante, p. 6).

t Compare this with the remarks quoted from the E. M. M., vol. xxxii., p. 229,
further on in this paper {vide, p. 8). t ? " species," not " sexes."

8 THE entomologist's record.

white.' " It does not seem to Mr. Barrett to have been illogical to
describe hinndnlaria as a whitish form of crepioicularia, when Sir
J. T. D. Llewelyn had actually separated the species for ten years,
showed that the melanic tendency to variation had developed indepen-
dently in the two species, even in the same locality, and that, when,
at last, hinndnlaria did develop a tendency to melanism, its melanic
form was characteristically distinct from that of the earlier species.

In October of this year (1896), Mr. Barrett made a more startling
addition to his views, in which he recanted his former opinion, when he
wrote : — " We know that the hinndnlaria which appear in May are not
the offspring of the April cnjin-^cularia," for he now says (A'.3/.il/.,
xxxii., p. 229): — "I want emphatically to draw attention to these
details — the second brood of the brown crepuacularia is obviously
biundularia ; and, moreover, the evidence produced shows clearly that
the frequent assertion of absolute single-broodedness in the white
hinndnlaria form is erroneous." The first assumption is astounding.
The second is based on the fact that Mrs. Bazett was given specimens
of a I'cjdiroftia, taken by a keeper in July last, at light, in a wood in
which Mrs. Bazett had never seen crejmscnlaria, but in which biiuvhi-
laria occurs abundantly. To come to the conclusion that these must,
therefore, be the second brood of hinndnlaria, is surely playing ducks
and drakes with scientific enquiry.

Moreover, we are constrained to get one more explanation from
Mr. Barrett. Why should the sight of these " very pretty, neat, white
creatures, not more than one-half the size of the parents,"*-' lead Mr.
Barrett to conclude that they are, " in markings and colour, typical
southern hiundularia " ? Are we to take it that he had never seen
similar specimens before ? But this can hardly be, for ten years
before Mr. Barrett had written {K.M.M., xxiii., p. 86): — "Another
point has been put forward, the double-broodedness of crcpnxcnlaria
as distinguished from the other, which is single-brooded ; but this is
a mistake. I have taken second-brood specimens of both forms in
July and August, in the south of Surrey, and have them now before
me." What Mr. Barrett had before him, as the second brood of these
species in 1886, it is difficult to say. One thing is moderately cer-
tain ; they could scarcely have been the second brood of crepmcnlaria,
or he could have hardly expressed his surprise in such measured terms
in 1896. Mr. Barrett treats Mrs. Bazett's discovery, that the second
brood of T. crepnscularia consists of small, white specimens, as a
new discovery, when, as a matter of fact, the knowledge goes back to
Stephens and Wood, who both described two forms of this second
brood as consonaria and strii/nlaria. Yet this explanation is prac-
tically denied us, for there is another remark made by Mr. Barrett as
to his knowledge of the second broods of both species. We read, Proc.
Sth. TAind. Knt. Soc, 1890, p. 25) that Mr. Barrett said that in his
experience he " had found the form hinndnlaria to produce a second
brood as frequently as the other." As to a second brood of hinndnlaria,
in nature, it is practically unknown, and hence, if Mr. Barrett really
has specimens of the second brood of this species, we shall see them,
I trust, to-night, f Still my own series shows much variation in the

* By-the-bye, what is known of the parents of these individuals which were
captured wild, at light?

+ The specimens, we are sorry to say, were not exhibited.

t. BIStORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND T, CREPUSCULARIA (bIUNDULARIa). 9

specimens of the second brood of T. crcpmcalarla, and if Mr. Barrett
had but scanty material, he might easily have made a mistake.

If my remarks should appear in any measure to step outside the
bounds of fair criticism, I apologise most humbly. No one knows
better how much store I set on Mr. Barrett's critical ability than he
does himself, for he has helped me immensely. I know he will
acquit me of truculence and be the first to acknowledge that a
brutally logical argument is the only way to clear up the illogical
position that entomologists are at present in with regard to Tephrosia
crepitscularia and T. biundiilana.

(To he continued).

Habits of the larva of Apamea ophiogramma, with some notes on
breeding the insect.

By W. B. THORNHILL.

Having for several seasons caught stray specimens of Apamea opJiio-
rp-aiinua tlying and at sugar, in this locality (Castle Bellingham, Ireland),
and having a ditch with plenty of Aniiuh) phraipiiites growing in it
close by, I made a close search for larv;e in the reeds last spring
(thanks to bints from my friend Mr. Kane). I began my search
early in April, but found no larvae until May 1st. These were
identified for me as those of Apamea ophiogramma. From that date,
up to May 25th, I continued to find larvfe, though much more
sparingly towards the latter date. Those that I found on May 1st
pupated in about ten days, thus being nearly full-fed when found.
Curiously, practically all I found were about the same size, and
all seemed to pupate in about the same time. This fact leads me
to suppose that the younger larvae live in the roots, or some not very
vital part of the plant, for I found none of my larvte in stems
that were not withered in the topmost .shoot, with frass coming
from one or more holes in the stem lower down, and none that
I found were young larva?, although I searched particularly for such,
as the uniform size appeared difficult to account for. The larger pro-
portion of the larvae I found had not eaten their way up the inside of
the stem from the root, but had evidently crawled up the outside of
the stem, and then, Avhen some six to eight inches above the ground,
eaten their way in, fed on until they had disposed of all the edible
part of the shoot above them, and then bored their way out again and
entered another stem, and so on. I shall be glad to learn if others
have found the larvae in a young state, and on, or in, what part of the
plant. I may add that, although I have plenty of the striped ribbon
grass in my garden, about 50 yards from the ditch in question, I could
not find a single larva feeding there, apparently pointing to this food-plant
as an artificial one. The larvae found, fed up equally well on growing
plants, or cut stems placed in water. For the most part they pupated
in the earth, although some made use of any loose friable matter
they could find, and a considerable number of those fed on the
growing plants, pupated in the dead stems of last year's grass, from
two to three inches above the ground. All those fed on the cut stems
left them, and pupated in the dry earth of a breeding cage. The first
emergence took place on June 26th ; thus (allowing ten days from the

10 tttE ENtOMOLOGISx's RECORD.

date of finding until pupation) forty-seven days appear to be about
the length of the pupal state. The last emergence was on July 18th,
and none are lying over. The greatest number emerged on July 7th.
There seems to be no particular time in the day for emergence,
though, perhaps, the majority appeared about mid-day, and none
emerged after 4 p.m. I bred a considerable number, and was
surprised to find under three per cent, cripples. The proportion
of males to females was 1 to 2, as near as may be ; some
1^ per cent, were ichneumoned by Phyr/adeum abdominalis, as I
understand from Mr. Billups' note in the Ent. Rec, vol. viii., p. 207.
I found no noticeable variation in the imagines, even in a considerable
number.

The cocoon made by the larva is very slight, oval, and formed of
fine white silken threads and loose earth, when subterranean. If
formed in a reed stem, it spins only a very slight white silken cocoon,
just attached to the stem.

Notes on Coleoptera.

" Mud-larking." — The beetles of a mud-flat.
By CLAUDE MOELEY, F.E.S.

Most of us probably have a more or less dim recollection of the
happy daysof our childhood, when " mud-larking " on the sands formed
one of the principal of enjoyments. Many of us still do our share
of scientific " mud-larking," and, in fact, we could not obtain certain
species of Coleoptera and Hemiptera by any other means. Of the
former the species most often found belong to the two great sections,
Geodephaga and Brachelytra, though most of the others are
represented. The time of year at which the greatest number of
these beetles may be found is probably the end of May and June, and
the mere fact of the sun shining will quite double the number of
insects to be seen. That is to say, if you know hon- to see them, for a
fisherman, or a poet, might sit on a bank and gaze for hours at a mud-
flat a foot or two below him, and see simply nothing, where a
coleopterist, seated on the same bank, would, as soon as his eyes
became familiarised with the angle of light, see tiny beetles of all
shapes, sizes and colours, rushing about in all directions, and, for the
most part, for things so small, with incredible alacrity. So fast, in
fact, do they go, and so easily and unerringly do they steer their way,
that one falls to wondering how they do it, but to find out there and then
is simply impossible ; since the pace at which they dart about renders
the following of the insects themselves a matter of difficulty, and of their
legs, of impossibility ; so we must turn to the cut-and-dried laws of
" Insect Propulsion." There we find that each of the six legs is com-
posed of a number of hollow tubes, within which are placed tiny
muscles ; these muscles, by their expansion and contraction, like our
own, are capable, so wonderfully elastic are they, of all the lightning-
flashes an insect will perform across a piece of damp mud. We are
not in the least surprised to find these legs move in the most logically
advantageous manner, for Nature makes nothing but in a way that is
best adapted to its environment. Thus we find two legs on one side
lifted simultaneously with one on the other — the front and back legs on
one side with the middle one on the other — make the first half step,

NOTES ON COtEOtTERA, 11

and the remaining three legs complete it. Tnis rule, of course, excludes
the water insects, which would simply gyrate from side to side if they
attempted to follow it, and consequently they possess a large pair of
hind legs, usually furnished with long swimming hairs, which they
use and " feather," exactly as one does the oars of a boat.

Sitting upon the gently -shelving margin of a stream or pond, with
muddy stones, slightly embedded in the ooze, and patches of
rejectamenta — dead leaves, faggots, and such rubbish as generally
finds its way into water, strewn about upon the mud, we shall see by
close observation that that just beneath us, from which the water has
receded through evaporation caused by the hot sun, which is still
shining brightly, is simply alive with riparian insects. Of these
AncJiomenns manjinatm will be about the largest, and a handsome
fellow he is, too : metallic green, with the distinguishing white marginal
streak at the sides of the elytra, and many others of the genus will be
there ; A. viduus var. moestm, a fairly large black one, a.ndfHli{/inosus,
rather smaller and narrower ; prasinus, with blue, red and green colouring,
and the pale-legged albipes. Very similar to ^. nian/inatus, at first sight,
is Chlaenius vestituf!, which occasionally occurs abundantly in such a
situation, but can be easily detected by the white apex of the elytra,
and more pubescent aspect. Among these, Elaphrus riparius and
cupreuii, with their coarsely shagreened elytra, may dart ; they are
very splendid, irisated beetles, the former bronze-green, and the latter
dark-purplish, with tiny raised patches or warts on their backs. As
regards the smaller fry of the carnivorous beetles, one finds plenty of
sport among the long genus Bembidiiuii, which includes forms of our
smallest Geodephaga, and is, like Apion, so uniform in shape, and, to
a great extent, in size and coloration, that its uncommon and rare
members are always in great requisition among coleopterists. To see
many Bembidium minimum racing about, tiny flashes of metallic blue,
over the dark mud, is a very pretty sight, and one that may often be
repeated, as the insect is among the commonest of the genus, as well
as the smallest. Of the Brachelytra we find on the surface of the
mud, there is a very great number, many species of Homalota,
PhilontJius, Steiius, and Lathrobiuiii, being exclusively taken there.
What the peculiar fascination of the mud is for these beetles is not
well known, but I think it is, probably, for the most part, the old tale of
" Big fleas and little fleas." It will be noticed that almost all the species
found on it are voracious ; the tiniest probably go to pick up what
they can of the organisms evaporation leaves helpless and exposed
upon the bare mud-surface ; larger species go to pick up the tiniest,
and " so ad infinitum." It can hardly be for the same reason that a
fly will bask, in October, upon a sunlit fence for hours without
moving — because the warmth is genial and vivifying to it — for these
insects could be just as warm, and in as full reception of the sun's
rays, in places where they never are found ; although that they are far
more abundant, and to be seen to the greatest advantage when the sun is
hot, is indisputable, and a fact that is only true of those insects that
inhabit places which are able to combine heat with a certain amount
of moisture.*''

* I have often noticed Centhorhynclms littira, and other insects, in very dry-
places, apparently too paralyzed or exhausted to walk with their wonted becoming
dignity by the heat of the mid-day sun beating full upon them, struggling,
squirming, and wriggling as best they can to the mouth of rabbit-holes, and similar
retreats, that they may roll down them, and so escape the strength of Sol. — CM.

12 THE entomologist's RECOKt).

Homalota[Gijnepta)caerulea is excesssively abundant on the mud in
the early spring, before the vegetation is sufficiently grown to afford
good lodgment, and, later on, hundreds may be shaken out of the
Xafiturtuuiia.n([ pond-weeds. One Stcnm more than others I have always
noticed within a very few inches of the water, and never elsewhere ;
this is nitidiiisculm, which is so like about fifty others, that one might
pass it over as one of the commoner species, were it not for the
situation in which it is invariably found. The species of Lathrohium
appear to live on the town-and-country-house system, being found
basking in the sun on the mud-flats in the "season," and securely
ensconced in some warm corner at the base of the willows, on their
margins, in the winter. Praaocurh aucta I have taken walking demurely
along the surface of a drying ditch in a wood, and contrasting strikingly
with the movements of 7i('»/6i(/i?o» 6///«iirtiifwthatscamperedabouton all
sides of them. Having metaphorically chased and secured such of the ones
we want, as we are able, before they have disappeared down the cracks
formed in the mud by its consolidation, we will next turn over what bits of
board, sticks, and rubbish, generally the tide, or evaporation, may have
conveniently left for oiir advantage. Here we shall find Fterostichux
(int/iraci)iHs, ni<ivita, xtrcnuia^, and others of the genus, which, with
Clirinafdssor, dig out for themselves little chambers in the mud, much
as a dog makes a bed for himself before lying down in a thick copse —
by turning round and round, and tramping the soft mud into a hard
floor, pushing the walls against the board which generally forms the
roof of this curious little home. Other species which seek refuge by
day beneath rejectamenta are the common Prasocnrea, Erirhinua
acridulm, and one or two damp-loving species of Ocyjnis. Here
Hetcroceri, Bledii, DijurJiini, whose larvfe subsist upon those of the
two former, and Aphodiux plaijiatm have their subterranean burrows,
and Badistcr luiipustidatm should bo sought for. The ecdysis of
nearly all the voracious water-beetles, as well as of some Geodephaga
and Brachelytra, takes place within the mud of the margin, and the
pupa is securely tucked away from the outside world. A pond that
has become completely dry is still often a good locality for Hydrade-
PHAGA, which do not, as one would suppose, take wing to another
pond immediately, but may often be found an inch or two deep in the
mud. In this manner I have taken several species of A/jahus, and, in
brackish water, A. conspcrmfi. It is very probable that many species
of water-beetles pass the coldest part of the winter, although they seem
to hold the thermometer in less respect than most insects, quiescently
in the ooze. I found a colony of Agahm paludm^m and Parmts
aui'u'idatm under the damp, mud-covered bark of an old post standing
in a running stream, last February, and thought it a very unusual
situation for such essentially aquatic insects. One can hardly pass
without noticing those brilliantly bronze Geodephaga, so common on
the mud of all salt-water marshes, running about in what is termed
a " somewhat aimless way," by Mr. Walker, who goes on to say, of all
three species of the genus I'of/onus : " Here (Isle of Sheppey) they were
to be found, each beetle sitting with its head just at the level of the
soil, in a vertical burrow about half an inch deep ; the earth being
thrown out round the mouth of the burrow in a granular form, as by
a sand-hopper, or a P>lcdim, only in much more regular fashion"
{E.M.M., June, 1896). What is technically known as " swilling "

NOTES ON COLEOPTERA. 13

often yields good things. Many beetles, especially the Palpicornia
and L'anUdae, although, when feasible, they prefer aquatic plants, in
their absence will often sit just at the water's level on the mud at the
side of the pond, and may be washed oft" by throwing water on the
mud, and, as it runs back, it will bring with it a host of little beetles,
all struggling in protestation, into the water, whence they may be
bottled at leisure. Of the mud beneath the water, and the curious,
complex, and varied forms of insect-organisms there to be met with, I
will say nothing ; merely trusting I have shown that another of
the barren places of the earth teems with life for those who care to
look for it.

Contributions to tlie fauna of the Dauphine Alps.

II. — The Moths of Le Lautaret.
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

The moths received nothing like so much attention as the butterflies
((■(■(/(', ante, vol. viii., p. 253 I't seq.) during my stay at Le Lautaret.
They are less easy, too, as a rule, to observe, and, being less familiar,
the peculiarities of their habits are apt to be more overlooked.
However, meagre as my notes are, I trust they will interest British
entomologists, especially those relating to what are also British species.

INCOMPLETiE. ZYGMmnKS. — Procris heijdenreichii, Ld. —
Staudinger gives two species of this genus as inhabiting the Alps, viz.,
P. statice.s var. heydenreicJdi and P. (/fri/oii \av. chri/socephala. I should
not like to have to say for certain that the large male and two small
females which I captured here were specifically identical with either of
these well-known British species. Certainly they are not P. geryon
var. chri/socephala, but they probably are referable to Lederer's var.
hey deny eichii, which is diagnosed by Staudinger as : — " Var. major, al.
ant. Cferuleis ; al. post, aterrimis." Whilst acknoAvledging this, it must
not be supposed that I do not strongly suspect that lieydenreieldi is specifi-
cally distinct from staticea. I observe that Staudinger notes — ''sp.,
Darw. ?." Zyyaena exidans. — In the utmost profusion, even on the grass
plot on which the " dependance " of the Hospice is built. On the slopes
from 7,000 to 8,500 feet, the imagines were in incredible abundance,
whilst the cocoons were equally so on the stems of juniper, grass, and
everything else, indeed, on the mountain side. Sometimes five or six
cocoons were placed altogether, partly on one another, so abundant
were they. The cocoon is a very feeble structure compared with those
of the other species with which I had hitherto been familiar. On the
high skrees, 9,000 ft., the species was still abundant, but decidedly
smaller (as might be expected in such an inhospitable place), although
quite up to those from the lower and more luxuriantly clothed slopes,
in colour. The variation in the specimens is simply marvellous. The
following of the named forms appear to have been taken : — (1) The
type, in great abundance. (2) ab. vanadis (= ab. subochracea, V^h\ie)
rarer in the male than among the females. (3) ab. clara, decidedly
rare. (4) nh.flaeiUnea, moderately common.*'^ Besides these, I have
a number of specimens almost unpigmented, pallid in hue, the fore-
wings whitish, and the ordinary red spots very washed out in appear-

* These forms are all fully described Ent. Rcc, vol. v., pp. 258-207.

14 THE entomologist's RECORD.

ance ( = ab. pallida). A number of specimens in which the red
blotches of the fore-wings are more or less united, to form streaks ( = ab.
striata). Lastly, a grand $ aberration of what might have been the
Jiavilinea form, had not an unaccountable development in the direction
of Z. ininofi, turned it into a specimen quite unique in my experience.
It is of large size, with the centre of the forewings entirely crimson,
the whole of the spots thus enlarged being united, except for the fine
lines which run along the subcostal and radial nervures, and just
separate the blotch into the three portions characteristic of Z. minos.
Zyf/aena viinos. — Only two specimens observed, and these at a distance
of at least a mile from each other, at a height of about 8,000 feet,
Both, too, were worn. Zi/i/aena transalpina. — This species puzzled me.
On the morning that I left Lautaret I scaled the slopes at the back of
the Hospice, hoping to find something fresh on the high skrees. I had
reached nearly 9,000 ft., and was slowly leaving behind me the
species of the lower slopes, when, on the rough ground, I suddenly
came across a colony of this species, of average size and colour, and
in the best of condition. The insect remained abundant at the
greatest height to which I reached.

ToRTRicmEs. — Tnrtri.c f / j viburniana. — Dr. Chapman and myself
are quite of opinion that this insect, which is so abundant at Le
Lautaret, is not co-specific with our moorland species that goes by this
name. On specimens being submitted to Mr. Durrant, he writes : —
" At present these must be called viburniana, but it is very probable
that more than one species is doing duty under that name." In July,
1894, Dr. Chapman obtained larvfe here, 1 believe, and bred the insect.
I, unfortunately, got no females. The males flew freely in the
morning sun, from about 9-11 a.m. Catoptria hypericana. — A single
example, quite indistinguishable from examples caught on the Kent
chalk-hills. Sericoris rindana. — Rather abundant, but worn. No
difierence from British specimens. Aphelia aryentana. — The most
abundant Tortricid. It was disturbed among the long herbage every-
where, but most difficult to get perfect. I dare say a hundred
specimens passed through my net for about half a dozen moderately
perfect individuals worth setting.

TiNEiDEs ? — Butalinfallari'lla, Schl.' — One specimen only, named
by Lord Walsingham. I believe it was swept up from the herbage.

PxEROPHORmES. — O.ri/ptilm kollari. — One specimen only captured.
Flatijptilia metzneri. — Captured among Petasitis, and difficult to dis-
tinguish from P. yonodacti/la, toyvhich 1 shonld have referred it without
hesitation. I have compared it, however, with Frey's specimen of
metzneri, and it agrees absolutely. Miinaeseoptihisstiymatodacti/lus, M.
pelidnodactylns {iiiictodacti/lus, Frey), andil/. coprodartylus. Mimaeseoptili
were exceedingly abundant, and at the time of catching them I thought,
as they were very similar, and had exactly the same habits, that the
specimens were all of one species. Comparison, however, with Frey's
insects in the British Museum, shows that the above species at least
are represented among my captures. Aciptilia tetradactyla. — Not very
common, but pretty generally distributed on all the flowery pasturages
about the Hospice.

OBTECT.E -PYRALOIDS. — GELEcmiDEs. — Sophronia semi-
costella, Hb. [parenthesella. Haw.). — Occasional specimens were
observed ; very similar to British examples. Plenrota ptyropella. —

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHIN^ ALPS. 15

I only brought one or two specimens home, although the species was
common. Of the specimen submitted to Lord Walsingham, he
writes : — " On the strength of a single specimen, I cannot separate
this from some of the forms of jii/ropdla, and believe it to be that
species." OecnpJiora stipella. — One very pale specimen only, named
by Mr. Durrant. I have a large number of this species from Glasgow,
and, speaking from memory, believe I was told that it had some con-
nection with sycamore. I only mention this as, either my informa-
tion must have been all wrong, or the probability of there being two
species mixed under this name must be very great. Gelechia spurcella.
— A single specimen, named by Lord Walsingham. Gelechia
.sawadensis. — Another single specimen, named by Lord Walsingham,
probably the best capture made. The specimen is in good condition,
and is now in Lord Walsingham's collection.

Phycitides. — Pempelia urnatella. — A large form, with the fore-
wings of a greenish-ochreous hue, and presenting some little variation
in the shape of the white transverse line of the fore-wings, was not
uncommon. Disturbed from the herbage by day. Fempelia fmca. — A
single specimen, which must, I think, be this species. Catastia
marii'inea ab. auriciliella. — A single specimen only, taken when flying
in the sunshine.

Crambides. — Crcnnbus radiellut. — Generally distributed on the
highest grassy pastures. The nearness of this species to C. furcatellus
leads me to suggest that our British collectors should be on the look
out for specimens with the streak rather broader, more continuous,
and with the fringes of the fore-wings chequered strongly, opposite
the streak, with pale. Cramhns conchelhis. — A few, the ground-colour
of the fore-wings rather pale. Crawbus cuhiiellus. — Exceedingly
abundant. On the wing in the early morning in amazing numbers,
flying even in the rain. L'm))tbm pascHellns. — Only an odd specimen
or two observed. Probably more abundant than this statement would
appear to warrant.

Pyralides. — Botyti aiistriacalis. — Exceedingly abundant. The
females much smaller than the males, and usually in better condition.
Boti/s aerealis var. opacalis. — Abundant, the males of a much paler
ground-colour than the females, the latter also with a well-marked
conspicuous yellowish transverse band, parallel to the hind margin of
the fore-wings. Like the last species, the female much smaller.
Butijs alpmalis var. rdiginosalis. — In Staudinger's Catalogue, p. 208,
these are treated as two distinct species, of which the former is given
as inhabiting " the Alps and Altai," the latter " the Alps, Hungarian
Mountains, Scotland and Galicia." The specimens at Lautaret are
identical Avith those from Scotland. Heryna phryiiialis. — This dingy
black-grey species was only observed sparingly. Henjna alpestralia. —
Not at all common. Stenopteryx nocUiella (hybridalis). — Fairly
abundant. All the specimens of a dull-coloured and ill-marked form.
Scoparia sudetica. — Settled on the rocks. Fairly common.

OBTECTiE-MACROS.— Geometrides.— Trt»ft^/ra atrata {chaero-
phyllata). — Large, in fine condition, and in great abundance. Flies
somewhat feebly, just above the herbage, in the morning sunshine.
Both sexes were on the move between 9 and 11 a.m. Psodos coracina.
— Widely distributed, but not abundant. The specimens I captured
are small, intensely black, and in perfect condition. They are quite

16 THE entomologist's RECORD.

unlike any of the specimens of this species, and the allied P. trepidaria
in the British Museum (South Kensington) collection, and are,
perhaps, referable to the latter, and not the former species. Their fine
condition and comparative rarity suggest that the species was not fully
out. Piiymaenafuscn. — The males of this strange Geometrid moth
were common, flying lazily in the sun when disturbed, and reminding
one of a Psychid in habit. I knew nothing of the somewhat semi-
apterous condition of the females at the time, or I would have made a
special search for a specimen. Larentia olivata and L. aptata. — I
cannot separate some specimens of these so called species, but believe
my specimens to be the former. Cleoi/ene lutearia. — This large orange- '
coloured moth was in great abundance, and in the most perfect con-
dition, easily disturbed in the daytime, but not flying far. The
females, with their paler-coloured and smaller wings, were less
readily induced to move. The sexual dimorphism and habit of this
species remind one very much of Aspllates strif/illaria (and, indeed, of
A. (u'hrcaria and A. (lilvaria). Strmia immorata. — I was astonished
to find this insect so far above the tree limit. The specimens captured
appear to difi'er in no way from our British examples. I am quite
convinced, after having seen this species in nature, that it is ex-
ceedingly close to S. clathrata. It was nowhere abundant, but was
disturbed here and there over a wide tract of country. Acidalia
mutata. — Only one example of this large prumxitata-looking species. It
really is most absurd to keep this and the next species in the same
genus. Acidalia jlaceolaria, — This beautiful little species, with its
orange wings and black fringes, was very abundant, and generally
distributed. It flew freely in the early morning, even in the rain,
with CramhuH culmellm ; it was also easily disturbed later in the day
by walking through herbage.

NocTUiDEs. — y^-.'»rZ/V/rt f/b/jiltica. — Only one specimen, which,
although not worn, has all the wings peculiarly bleached. Pluua
hdchiiiivartlii. — One fine specimen of this beautiful little yellow under-
wing, with its Plusiid-like mark in the centre of the upper wing, was
caught whilst flying in the daytime.

CiiELONiiDES. — Nemeopliila planta(jinis. — Very few specimens were
observed, and these were flying so wildly that still fewer were captured.
These, however, included the type, ab. hospita and ab. matnmalis.
Setina irronila. — A few typical specimens were captured, and a few of
the ab. andem/nii.

BoMBYciDEs. — Clisiucanipa alpicola. — The larvffi and pupas were not
uncommon, the former feeding on Petaaiti.s, the latter, in cocoons,
spun up on the undersides of the leaves.

I can scarcely conclude these brief notes without calling attention
to a most striking fact, r/:., how large a percentage of species at these
high altitudes are of one (or of a combination) of the three colours — black
(and blackish-brown), yellow, and white. There is no need to go
through the whole list to illustrate the point, which will, indeed, be
patent to all who know the species.

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Eespiration in the Culicid.e.*-' — The account (of the respiration
of Culr.r) by Miall, in his recently published Natural History of

* L. 0. Howard, from The Principal Household Insects of the United States, 1890

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 17

Aquatic Insects, is misleading, for the reason that he assumes that the
end of the body, with its four (or, as he has it, five) leaf-like
expansions, is the breathing organ. As a matter of fact, this end of
the body does not reach the surface, and it is the tip of the respiratory
siphon only which is extended to the air. This respiratory tube
takes its origin from the tip of the eighth abdominal segment, and the
very large tracheie can be seen extending to its extremity where they
have a double orifice. The ninth segment of the abdomen is armed at
the tip with four flaps and six hairs. These flaps are gill-like in
appearance, though they are probably simply locomotory in function.
With so remarkably developed an apparatus for direct air breathing,
there is no necessity for gill structures. Raschke and Hurst consider
that the larva breathes both by the anus and by these gill flaps, as
well as by the large tracheae which open at the tip of the respiratory
tube. Raschke considers that these tracheae are so unnecessarily large
that they possess a hydrostatic function. The writer is inclined to
believe that the gill flaps may be functional as branchial structures in
the young larva, but that they largely lose this ofiice in later life. —
L. 0. Howard, N.S. Dept. Agr., Washington.

I Easchke, Die Larve von Culex nonorosus, Berlin, 1887.
** Hurst, The Pupal Stage of Culex, Manchester, 1890.

:iI^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Notes from the West of Scotland. — The spring (1896) was very
cold, and the prevailing east winds prevented insects from being on the
wing. Sugar was of no use, and the few insects I obtained at the
sallows were only of the very common order, such as Anticlea badiata,
Cidaria siijf'ninata and Taeniocampa gotJdca. About the middle of
May the weather took a sudden change, and then commenced the
disappointments. Everything must have come out with a rush, and
when I went for many of the things I intended taking, I found that
I was too late. On May 21st I made a run up the West Highland
Railway to Ardlui, at the head of Loch Lomond, expressly for Scapula
decrepitalis, which for the last three years has been in fine condition
at that date. All I got were two very poor specimens, after many
hours of diligent searching. Hydrelia unca, which I have taken there,
was also over, three being the total, with two or three specimens each
of Euclidia mi, Pliytometra aenea, FJnpithecia sati/rata, Coremia pro2M(j-
nata and Melanippe tristata, and also two tine Emmelesia adaequata
( blandiata J , which is just about a month before its usual time. June
was undoubtedly the best month here, but, as sugar would not attract
insects, I confined myself to the smaller species. Dicltrorhampha
herbosaua occnvved in greater numbers than I have previously observed.
0. antiquana and Plati/ptilia paUldactijla f bertraiiiij, a few Mimaesg-
optilus ptterodactijliis, and Plati/ptilia (/onodactt/la, common. Phycis
fusca (carbonariella) in some numbers at Bishopton, but Sciaphila
octomacidana was very scarce ; the 23rd was the only evening that
sugar attracted insects out of a number of nights I tried it, but it was
only the common herd which put in an appearance — Mianafasciuncula,
Ayrotis e.rclamationis, Xylophasia rurea, and one Apamea yemina. The
Plusias have also been scarce this year, but I got one Plusia bractea,
from which I have at present a batch of young larvae. I have tried

18 THE entomologist's rkcokd.

to force them to feed up with heat, but they seem determined to
hybernate. Perhaps some of your readers will be able to give a few
hints as to how they should be carried over the winter ? I spent my
holidays in July this year at Ravenscraig, in Renfrewshire, and
never had such a wretched fortnight's collecting. The evenings were
cold, with an east wind almost blowing a gale all the time. Dcmjdia
obfmcata was over when I got there on the 17th, only three being
obtained at rest. Carsia paludata var. imhutata, Laicntia olivata,
L. cacxiata and Coreuiia munitata were all very scarce ; Hupsiin'tcsclutata
very abundant, and of which I obtained a few fine red aberrations.
Single specimens oiPlusiafestncae, Celaena hawurtliii and Lj/copJtofia
strigula (porplujrea) were netted. Sugar would not attract Noctuids,
nothing but centipedes, snails and earwigs. Pamplusia mercuriann
(monticolana) was common ; Tortrix viburninna and Amphisn
gerningana scarce. Ghrysophanus phlaeas, Polyoiamatus icnrus, and
Aglais urticae were all the Diurni I took. A. urticae was going into
hybernation at that early date, several being seen in the house, and I
have not seen a single specimen on the wing since then. In August,
Polia clii was common on the walls, closer to the city than usual.
AnchoceJis litura, Gitria fulcago and C. flavago scarce. I obtained a
good number of larvae of Eujjithecia helveticafa from the juniper, but
50% at least were ichneumoned. In September, about the only insect
taken was Tapinostola fulca. I made one journey for Phibalapteryx
lapidata to the Lanarkshire hills, and obtained about two dozen ; only
about half of them were worth setting. I spent four days at Ardlui
at the end of the month, and sugared every evening. I obtained two
Miselia oxyacanthae, one Orrhodia vaccinii, one Culocampn vetnsta
and one Euplexia lucipara (second brood). The larviu of Phalera
bucephala had been very common there ; whole willow bushes, and
large branches of oak and alder being stripped of their foliage. —
A. Adie Dalglish, 40, Princes Street, Pollokshields, Glasgow.

Collecting on the east coast of Scotland. —The season (1896)
opened hereabout the last week of March, when hybernating larvje of
Bomhyx rubi, Spilosomd fuUgiiioan and Bombyx crt//?r7K/*' began to put
in an appearance, followed a month later by those of Nemeophila
plantaginis, Dasychira f<isc Una, Tricliiura crataegi and Noctnn
neglecta in some numbers. The most noteworthy feature about the
spring larvie was the great abundance of Arctid caia, which actually
swarmed everywhere throughout the north-east of Scotland. In
Orkney I found them in extraordinary numbers, crawling across the
road between Kirkwall and Stromness, many of them crushed by foot-
passengers and passing vehicles. Hitherto, I have found a few larvae
of Fhisia inter rog alio at s on heather, every year, but this season not a
single one turned up. Sallows began to work about the first week of
April, the usual Tiianiocampids were common, Panolis piniperda
especially so. Of this a few green forms were taken, also some nice
banded and variegated Taeniocampa instabilis. On April IHtli I netted a
single specimen of Breplios parthenias in the Blackball Woods, Kincar-
dineshire, which is only the third recorded specimen for this district,
and the first for that county. Sugar during May was, with the
exception of a very few Hadena glauca, Pliaretra menyantliidh and
Mamestra albtcoJou, almost blank. During June it paid niuch better.
Hadena rectiliuea, H, adusta, Noctua brunnea, Apamea gemina, and

KOtES ON COLLECTING. 19

other common things turned up rather freely. Cymatophora duplaris,
Acronicta leporina, Aplecta Tierhida, and one or two others, were
decidedly scarce. Diantlwecia conspersa was netted at campion
flowers on the Kincardineshire coast, but they were generally scarce.
During July, August, and up to this date, sugar has been an absolute
failure. This is all the more regrettable from the fact that it is
usually most productive there. I never, in any previous season,
experienced such a complete dearth of insects. However, when I
found that sugar was not a success, I turned my attention to flowers,
and captured a nice series of Noctun sobrina, Agrotis simulans
(pyrophilaj, A. lucernea, Miana literosa, Triplmena orbona {comes),
and its aberrations, Cnradrina taraxaci (blanda), Mnmestra fnrva,
Noctua dahlii, etc. AtMuchalls, on the Kincardineshire coast, I succeeded
in capturing a few beautiful I'lusia brnctea, being my first acquaint-
ance with this insect in a living state. The Agrotids on the
sand-hills have been conspicuous by their entire absence ; not one
turned up at sugar, marram grass or ragwort. Butterflies,
generally, were fairly represented, so far as they go in this
part of the world. Taken altogether, this has been undoubtedly the
worst season that I have ever experienced. Many good species that
usually turn up in greater or less numbers failed this year to put in an
appearance in any shape or form. — Arthur Horne, Aberdeen.

Collecting AT Portland, ETC. — My experiences have this year (1896)
been rather limited, but, so far as I have seen, the season in this neigh-
bourhood has been bad. The genus Af/roti>!, at Portland, has been
scarcer than usual, very few A. lucernea, fewer A. liuii;/era, and no
A. piivophila have occurred, and the commoner Noctuids were not in
their usual numbers. Geometrides also were not abundant. I cannot
call it a good Micro year ; but I think they fared better than the
Macros. Knniiclda. ciiii/nlalis, which I have found very irregular in
its appearance at Portland, was commoner than usual, as was also
Scoparia mercurella and its var. pnrtlandica. On the other hand,
Phijcis dilutella was scarce, and Kpiachnia bankedella very scarce. I
obtained a good series of two species, of which I have before taken
only two or three odd specimens, viz., Gelechia (listiwtella and Lita
salicorniae. Tinea suhtilella was rather commoner than usual, but the
other little Portland species, T. rinculella, which has now turned up
in Purbeck, was scarce. — N. M. Richardson.

Ivy in Devonshire. — There was a fair number of visitors at ivy
from the beginning until the third week of October. Six Tiliacea
(Xauthia) anrai/o turned up, three males somewhat worn, three
females in fine condition. I suppose they come out a little later and
fly less. I am keeping (Oct. 25th) the latter for eggs, and find that
they lay generally on the stems of the branches of beech, especi-
ally in the axils of the leaves and shoots, and rarely scatter their
eggs on the muslin, as so many other moths do in confinement —
AncJiucelLs rufina for instance. This latter is a famous layer, much
more prolific than I have found T. aura<io. Orthosia luta has been
abundant, with a good many of the red form, ab. rufa, which,
I think, is only taken in the south. (>. macilenta is, as usual, to the
fore in numbers, with the usual variations. Orrhodia caccinii and
O. lif/ida seem very scarce, especially the latter, and only a few Miselia
oxyacanthae have put in an appearance. Cidaria siterata is also

^ THE ENtOniOLOGIST's RECORbv

scarcer than usual. Xijlina ornitluqniH and A', socia turned up during
the third week in October. I find that the latter rarely, if ever, comes
to ivy till late in October, the specimens being then perfectly fresh. —
W. S. EiDiNG, M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell, nr. Honiton, Devon.

Larv^ in the New Forest. — The chief points of the New Forest
collecting (1896) appear to me to have been the abundance of Hijhqiliila
quercana, and of the larvae of Aqjhalia ridens considerably fewer
than usual, whilst the larvfe of Boarmia roboraria and Tephroda
extersaria were plentiful in the autumn, and Lithosia deplana and
Acentia fie.nda have been bred freely. Sugar, except for Noctua
rhoinhuidea and the " Crimsons," has been a consistent failure. —
J. C. MoBERLY, M.A., F.E.S., 9, Rockstone Place, Southampton.

Insects AT Hampstead. — Eeferring to Mr. Newbery's note {ante, vol.
viii, p. 216), I may mention that I have found CaUu-ala nupta fairly com-
mon on Hampstead Heath. Some four or five years ago (I have not my
note book to refer to at the moment) I secured a fine series at sugar
on the West Heath, and I have also obtained them by the same means
in my garden at 132, Haverstock Hill. As regards Cossm litjniperda,
I have a specimen (unfortunately slightly crippled), bred from a larva
found at North End, Hampstead, in 1884, and I have heard of the
species being taken in the neighbourhood several times. The ravages
of the larva are to be seen on a great number of the willows on the
heath. — H. Ainslie Hill, F.E.S., 9, Addison Mansions, Kensington,
W. Xovemhn, 1896.

NocTUA ditrapezium in South Yorkshire ? — In the report of the
meeting of the South London Entomological Society, held on Septem-
ber 24th, Mr. Montgomery is stated to have exhibited specimens of
Noctua ditrapezium from South Yorkshire. If this statement is correct,
it is a very interesting record, as it is not included in Mr. G. T.
Porritt's Lisi of Yorkshire Lepidoptera, published in 1883, nor have I
ever seen or heard of a Yorkshire example. I might add that I know
the South Yorkshire (indeed, all the Yorkshire) collectors and collections
well, and am constantly seeing and hearing from them, so feel sure
that, had such an interesting species been captured, I should have
been advised. As one of the honorary secretaries of the Y'orkshire
Naturalists' Union, I should feel extremely obliged to Mr. Mont-
gomery if he would inform me when, where, and by whom taken. If
desired, I would keep the locality secret. — W. Hewett, 12, Howard
Street, York.

Food-plants of Zeuzera ;esculi. — Our garden being overrun with
Zeuzera aesculi, I think it may be interesting to give a list of the trees,
etc., attacked by the larvae. Some of them, I think, are unusual and
extraordinary. They are : — sycamore, pear, apple, hawthorn, ash, elm,
hazel, silver-birch, lilac, mountain-ash, privet, laurel, yellow jasmine
and honeysuckle. We have never found them attacking poplar,
though both Mr. Barrett and the Rev. J. Seymour St. John mention
it in their works. — J. F. Bird, Rosedale, 162, Balling Road, Hammer-
smith, W. December 2nd, 1896.

Euvanessa antiopa in Aberdeenshire. — I have pleasure in recording
the capture of Kuvaneasa antiopa in Aberdeenshire, on October 4th,
1896, between Logierieve and Esslemont, on the G.N.S. Railway line.
It was caught by Mr. Youngson, a mason, who unfortunately was not
a collector, therefore the insect was a little damaged. There can be

NOTES ON COLLlCCTING. 21

no (juesfcioil about its being a British specimen, as the border of its
wings are almost pure white. I have seen this insect myself, and as
I have a few Continental specimens of E. antiopa, I have no doubt
about it being British. It is now in possession of Mr. Cran, of Ellon,
a young collector. Mr. Cran told me that about six weeks before this
one was taken, he saw one of this same species rise from the top of a
small sallow tree, and, although he was within a yard of it, lost it,
owing to not having his net. Perhaps this may have been the same
insect, as Ellon is only three miles from Logierieve. This is the
second specimen of this rare insect which has been caught in Aberdeen-
shire this season. The other is recorded ante, vol. viii., p. 310. — Wm.
CowiE, 5, Canal Street, Aberdeen. October 2Qth, 1896. [Mr. Home
has also sent a " cutting " from the Biicluai Observer relating to the
same insect. — Ed.]

PoRTHETRiA DisPAR AS A BRITISH INSECT. — The editor's accouiit of
the habits of this species, as investigated by him at Aix-les-Bains and
Bourg d'Aru, is most interesting, and is the excuse for my writing to
ask whence the present (so-called British) race of P. dhpar originated.
It would take a good deal to convince me that it is derived from the
" old Fen strain," which must have been extinct in England for at
least 25 years. If, as is popularly supposed, the present race is of
Continental (European) origin, I must protest against the very casual
way in which nine out of every ten entomologists admit a series into
their cabinets without labelling it as foreign. Personally, I would not
allow one to be seen on my premises ! Most, if not all, dealers include
it in their catalogues, and price it among British species. Only last
month, I happened to be " talking entomology " with a dealer, Avhose
insects are beyond suspicion British, and in reply to a question of
mine, as to why he included P. iJispar in his list, he said he supposed
that everyone knew it was of foreign origin. Surely this is hardly a
satisfactory state of affairs, especially as the slipshod admission
of these foreign P. dispar into nearly every English cabinet, is rather
apt to detract from the value of the few genuine old P. dispar which
still survive, and, I take it, they are not very many. Moreover, many
beginners and collectors, residing in the country, admit these P. dispar
into their collections under the impression that they are British. Only
this May I met an entomologist, hailing from Kobin Hood's county
in a well known Midland Avood, and during our confabulation he
informed me that he had lately got a new cabinet, and was re-arranging
his collection. When I suggested that he should not insert a foreign
series of P. dispar, you would hardly believe what a long face he
pulled. It has haunted me almost ever since. The bare idea of
eschewing a series of the " Gipsy moth " was a great deal too much
for his equanimity, and he went away, if not a wiser, yet perhaps, a
sadder man. — (Eev.) G. H. Raynor, B.A., Hazeleigb Rectory, Maldon,
Essex. P)ec., 1896.

Aplecta advena and Xanthia aurago. — Aplecta advena was very
abundant, though rather worn, this spring, in the same locality as it
occurred last year. It came very freely to the flowers of bladder
campion, Silene injiata. What is the food-plant of the larva ? "Lettuce
and garden herbs " are given by Newman. I have recently taken ten
specimens of Xanthia awwio (six in lovely condition) on ivy here.
Until this year I have only taken it singly, and in widely-separated

22 tHB ENtOMOLOGIST^S RECOUl).

localities. This year I took all but one on a small patch of ivy on
an old wall.- T. Greer, Bath. Oct. 15th, 1896.

Double broods. — Referring to the Rev. C. R. N. Burrows' article
{ante, vol. viii., p. 216), I do not see anything very remarkable in many
of the occurrences he records. In this district many of the insects
mentioned are invariably double-brooded. For instance, ('i/iniiris
an/i()li(.s is well known, I believe, to be vmiversally double-brooded, and
the same may be said of .'i///vj«i.s\/A?<^«, Drepana haimda, Cili.v apinula,
Strenia clat/uata, Pulijoiiuiiatus nutravche, Macaria nutata, Lii/dia
aclmtata, Lopliopterux canwlina, Noctua c-ni(irum, Cidaria truncata,
Pharctra ruiiiicis, Noctua ruhi, Zonowma annulata, Z. porata, Z. punc-
taria, Z. orbicularia, Anaitis plar/iata, Acidalici inan/inepunctata,
[pruinutata) (out of doors), Hadena trij'olii (partially), Atjrutis saucia,
A. sc(/etuiii, Plmia chrysitis and Leucania pcdUna. Timandra amataria
is always partially double-brooded in hot years, also Brenthis ( A.j
sdenc, Dianthoecia capsincola, D. cucid)aU and Pliibalaptenjx vitolhata.
(jrconn'tra paiiilionaria and Aciclalin arerxata remain so very long on
the wing that I can hardly recognise the fact of second broods, as the
larviB hybernate so early — my dates for the former range from the
middle of June to the end of August, and those of A. arcrsata are very
similar. There must be some mistake about Xoctua baia, as it is an
autumnal insect, as is also Crmnhus jdnctcllu.^ — and my experience of
Acidalia hidrnata is the same as regards ^4. acermta. 0)y>/ia (j(in<isti(ima
is surely a retarded emergence, but here we have always at least three
broods of liwiiia cratacgata and Melanippe Jiuctuata. I once met with
the third brood of Polyunimcitus astrarche, in the hot season of 1884.
The apparent double brood of Af/rotis sujf'um may be explained by the
fact that it hybernates. I have repeatedly taken it at sallow bloom. —

C. Fenn, F.E.S., Eversden House, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, S.E. — [Xoctua
baia occurred commonly in early July, and Crauibus jnurtcllus in late
June, at Chattenden. From eggs of Acidalia inornata, laid in July,
Mr. Bacot sent me pupte which emerged in early September this
year. — Ed.] .

I have observed second broods of the following species : — Tcphrosia
bistortata [crejiuscularia), very common, early ; Drepana binaria,

D. falcula, Acidalia iinitaria, Lubophora riretata, Coremia dcsit/iiata,
Aspilatc.s ochrearia, Melanthia occllata, Larentia viridaria. I took in
August, too, several quite fresh Cleora lichenaria, &nd, on September 9th,
got a very fine Mdanippe (jcdiata. These, I suppose, would be second
broods. It is curious that of PK umjuicula, Sclcnia lunaria and S.
tetralunaria, which are normally double-brooded, and of which the
two first were unusually plentiful as a first brood, I have seen no second.
— E. F. Studd, M.A., B.C.L., F.E.S., Oxton, Exeter.

Of unusual second broods, a few Pcvicallia si/rliij/aria were bred in
sleeves out of doors and one Timandra amataria, from a batch of larvae
which are now hybernating. — W. M. Christy, M.A., F.E.S., Emsworth.

I bred a complete second brood of Acidalia man/iiujnnictata
(promutata), which I believe is not unusual, but I was surprised to
breed an almost complete second brood of Staumpjvs fa(/i (only two
pupjB lying over), and, unfortunately, not expecting them to emerge
before next spring, the majority of them knocked themselves to pieces
before I knew that they were out ; the larvjB fed up very fast. They
hatched about June 1st, and by the end of the month most of them
had spun up. — A. W. Meka, 79, Capel Road, Forest Gate, E.

NOTES ON COLLKCTINC,. 23

Plmia mnncta has appeared here, as a second brood at large this
year. — Sydney Webb, Dover.

I was shown Rworintlnis pnpuli. in its second skin two days a^o
taken here (Oct., '96), and given ova of Epiane apiciaria, a third brood.
Of P. iiioneta I took five larvfe at Ascot, in July, and three more were
found on the same plants a fortnight later. With the exception of the
second brood of Ci/aniris an/iolns, I fancy butterflies were very rare
hereabouts. — E. A. Bowles., M.A., F E.S., Waltham Cross.

Plusia moneta and Cirrhcedia xerampelina at Watford. On

the 19th June last, I captured a specimen of Plusia moneta fiyin"' over
honeysuckle in the garden of my friend, Mr. C. E. Fry, here. On the
31st August, Mr. Spencer, Junr., and I each took a specimen of
Cirrhoedia .reraiiipdina at light. — Arthur Cottam, Ildercroft, Watford.
Sphinx convolvuli at Clevedon. — I have only seen one specimen
of S. convolvuli this season, and failed to capture it. — J. Mason,
Clevedon Court Lodge, Somerset.

Acherontia atropos. —Five larv^ie of Arlwrontia atropns have been
brought to me, and I have heard of several others. — (Rev.) C. D. Ash,
M.A., Skipwith Vicarage, Yorks.

Acherontia atropos turned up here in most unusual numbers. I had
twelve larvje and one pupa brought me by the field workers, but up
to October 1st none have emerged, although two are changing colour.
It seems to be a very ill-regulated animal as regards its emergence.
I have had them emerge in November, April and July, the last nearly
a year in pupa. — E. Augustus Bowles, M.A., F.E.S., Waltham Cross.
I have had one A. atropos f ram Emsworth. — W. M. Christy, M.A.,
F.E.S., Emsworth.

Acherontia atropos in 1896. —I know of two larvae of Acherontia
atropos, taken here. One I secured, the other was chopped in two by
the finder, as an object too dreadful to be allowed to live. — J. Mason,
Clevedon Court Lodge, Somerset.

The larvie of A. atropos have been unusually numerous around
Bury St. Edmunds, and in the Eastern counties, feeding on potato
and jasmine. The pupte have also been numerous in one or two
potato-fields. Several years ago, in Norfolk, I saw a potato-field, on
light sandy soil, surrounded by Scotch-pine woods, in which every
potato plant was eaten, and nothing but short stumps of stalks left,
whilst the ground was completely covered by the footmarks and frass
of ^. atropos (as if a flock of pigmy sheep had been folded there till
not a leaf was left). — F. Norgate, 98, Queen's Road, Bury St.
Edmunds.

One remarkable feature of this season has been the extraordinary
abundance of larv^ of Acherontia atropos. I have seen about twenty-
five larvae myself, thirteen coming into my possession. The first
full-grown larva brought to me this year came to hand on July 18th,
and, strangely enough, on the same day a large battered imago was
also given me by a friend, whose bees it had alarmed by entering one
of his hives. This swarm appears to have been a weak one, and the
moth put the bees to flight. On July 21st, another full-grown larva
was brought to me, and others continued to come in during the month,
and also during August, the last on August 27th. All were found on,
or near, potato plants. — E. A. Atmore, F.E.S., King's Lynn.

Several Acherontia atropos larvae have been brought to me by potato
gatherers. — H. H. Corbett, M.R.C.S., 19, Hallgate, Doncaster.

24 THE entomologist's record.

SOCIETIES.

Cambridge Entomological and Natural History Society. —
Oct. 30th, 1896. — SoiTH African insects. — Mr. Rickard exhibited a
number of South African insects, including various Orthoptera of
P/(y//ua^('!W and allied genera, and_ Hymenoptera, and a specimen of
Batracho tHti.r, a very variable insect, whose colour is said to depend
upon the njiture of the ground in its neighbourhood. Thyridopteryx
EPHEMEK.EFORMis. — Dr. Sharp showed various stages of T/ti/iidopterij.i-
('lihemeyai'formU from Washington, U.S.A., including some perfect
insects which had emerged after their arrival in England. Jumping
COCOONS. — Dr. Sharp read a paper upon " Jumping Cocoons." He
described the structure of the pupa, and the mechanism by which it
chisels and hammers its way out of the cocoon. He suggested that
the " jumping " was produced l)y the efltbrts of the insect to free itself
when the cocoon had by accident become detached from its moorings.
Mr. Lamb remarked that the mechanics of the process were rather
obscure.

Committee of the Entomological Society of London for the
Protection of British Lepidoptera. — At a meeting, held on November
25th, it was resolved to invite the co-operation of local societies
throughout the United Kingdom, and to ask them to furnish informa-
tion as to proceedings likely to cause the extermination of local species
of Lepidoptera. Communications will be received by the Hon. Secre-
tary, Chas. G. Barrett, 89, Linden Grove, Nunhead.

Ji\EYIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Help wanted. — I am at work collecting the material for a book on
British Moths, on the same lines as that recently published by Messrs.
Gill and Sons on British Butterflies. I find there are descriptions of
the eggs of very few species published, and that the existent descrip-
tions of the pupa) are, as a rule, too meagre or general to be of actual
value. I should be exceedingly pleased if entomologists generally will
give me help in this direction, either by providing me with original
notes on eggs and pupsf, or with eggs and pupae for description. Larva?,
too, would be useful for original notes on structure. At present, the
Hepialids, Cossids, Cochliopodids, Zygnsnids, Lasiocampids, Satur-
niids and Sphingids are wanted. These will be the first groups dealt
with, as they are the most unsatisfactory in Newman's work, and there
appears to be no doubt that a cheap up-to-date book, on the lines of
Newman, is much wanted by those lepidopterists to whom expensive
books arc prohibitive. Those lepidopterists, too, whose energy is spent
among the foreign literature of our subject could greatly help by
noting all aberrations and varieties they come across in the families
mentioned above. Is it possible, too, to enlist the help of one (or
more) good lepidopterist in each county, so as to get as complete a
geographical distribution of the species as possible ? Scotland is par-
ticularly ill-cared for in this direction. I should be particularly
thankful for copies of any published county (or district) lists. — J. W.
TuTT, Westcombe Hill, S.E.

Eruatcm. — Vol. viii., p. 299, line 5 from bottom, for " B. quercus going," read
"/>. quercus always going."

^0^ AND "^^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 2. February 15th, 1897.

Some observations made in Switzerland, August, 1896.
Les Avants — Evolena — Arolla.

By H. IIOWLAND BKOWN. M.A., F.E.S.

British collectors, whose time of Hitting is in Aiigust and September,
have bad lamentable weather this year (1896) in that happiest of hunting
grounds, Switzerland, while from friends living on the spot, 1 hear
no better accounts of the later autumn, when, to all intents and
purposes, the collecting season for Khopalocera is at an end. I left
England on July 31st, arriving at Les Avants-sur-^lontreux on
Sunday, August 2nd, as beautiful a morning as the heart of an
entomologist could desire ; and as the carriage wound up the long-
zigzags from the lake of Geneva, 1 was soon in a veritable garden of
Eden, the open lucerne and clover patches about the walnut trees on
the town slopes presently merging into green coppices of beech and
elder, about which the VancssuU were sporting themselves in endless
profusion ; Pohnionia c-album, At/lais urticar about the white elder
Howers ; LimcnitU rain ilia skimming the hazel tops, with raranjc
eiH'via in close attendance. Every thistle-head carried a brilliant
Fritillary, and the red L'mtaurca was alive with dazzling " blues " and
sleepy Zyg;enids. By the runnels at the roadside, Pohjonnnatm
(lainon, P. con/don, PlcbeiHs aei/on, P. ar(ius, and an occasional
Polyo)tii)iatm bt'llarf/iis, with not a few Lycaena avion, gave promise of
sport in the future, while I noticed Aporia cratat';/i swinging from the
great moon-daisies in scores. It was certainly a morning not to be
easily forgotten, and the long series of wet days which followed until
the 12th, when I made for the higher Alps, only accentuates the
pleasure of its memory as I look back on the past summer. Les
Avants, which stands 8,188 ft. above the sea level, and close upon
2,000 ft. above the lake, is situated upon an alp surrounded by beech
woods and young firs ; the Gorge du Chauderon beneath being also
densely wooded. The carriage road from Montreux is continued in a
narrowing way some distance toward the path which leads to the
conspicuous Dent de Jaman (G,165 ft.), and further on the now too well
known Roches de Naye (6,708 ft.). It was upon this road, and the
mountains mentioned, that I made the few observations the
weather permitted. Compared with the bewildering numbers of
butterflies that are to be seen on the higher alpine ranges, these green
mountain sides seemed less frequented ; the absence of water, and
consequent scarcity of pabulum, being, perhaps, responsible for the

26 tHE entomologist's RECOKt).

difference. But I believe I am right in saying the fauna of the north
side of the Lake of Geneva, in Canton Vaud, is considerably less
numerous than on the Savoy side, while many of the commoner
butterflies I have met with to the south I have not found in this part.
In the cherry orchards, Apatura iris was supping on the ripe fruit, and
occasionally descending to suck up the moisture from the road ;
Leucophasia sinapis was generally common, but the only Erehia was
E. aethiop^, a very bright form, displaying a great predilection for the
wild parsnip heads. The Argynnidi were represented by Dnjas
papilla, with an occasional ab. valcsina, Aiyijnnis ai/laia, A. adippe,
with, higher up, A. niohc, Brent his cuphrosunc, B. dia, Mditaea
phoebe, Miianarf/ia (jalatca, in swarms, whenever the sun broke
through the clouds ; Paranje macra and Hipparchia semele, with
H. hermione in attendance. Under the Col de Jaman I took four or
j&ve fine Nomiades seniiarifus, and a magnificent Poli/ommatns dori/las ;
but the commonest of all the Lycaenidi here, as at Evolena, was
P. damon, the males very strong on the wing and large, the females
less active, and much addicted to the wild mint flowers. Parnassius
apollo, so common at higher elevations elsewhere, appeared to be
rare. On August 12th, after ten days' almost continuous rain and
mist, I started for Evolena, in the Val d'Herens, walknigup from Sion,
in the Rhone Valley. The next day dawned cloudless, and a more
beautiful road than that between Sion and Evolena, passing the
famous pyramidal rocks, both generally speaking and from an
entomological point of view, it would be hai'd to imagine. 1 have
tramped nearly all the lateral valleys on this side of the Rhone
Valley : the well-known Nicolaithal to Zermatt, the Saasthal ; the
Val d'Anniviers — a famous hunting ground ; the dusty road from
Martigny to the St. Bernard ; but for exquisite flora and all winged
creatures I give the palm to the Val d'Herens, and I am borne out
in my conclusion, I think, by Dr. Frey, in his invaluable Lepidoptcrcn
der Sclnveiz. Once up the long zigzag from Sion, and we avoided the
sun by an early start at six, the ascent is gradual, the road tolerable,
and the surroundings magnificent. It is. in fact, a garden of wild
flowers all the way to Evolena : the wild raspberry canes loaded
with luscious fruit, the scented alpine strawberry, inviting frequent
and delicious rest by the side of the numerous rushing waterfalls that
discharge themselves into the thunderous Borgne far below. The first
insect on the wing as we turned the last bend of the road was
P. damon— ihi?, must have been about 7.30 a.m. Then followed
Colias edusa, with C. hyale, in the lucerne meadows. Fapilio podalirius
and P. viac/iaon, Par}tassins apollu, and the usual Fritillaries, and
crowds of common fry. Melitaea atJtalia, almost over ; j\l. pJioehe ;
the interesting ill. didijma, Staudinger's var. aJpina : Arf/ijnnis
niohe, with an occasional Satyrus jwoserpina : and now, as we
rapidly ascend, Brenthis pales — no two alike ; B. awatJaisia, with
Erehia tyndarus shining glossy green in the sunshine. E. yorye,
E. yoante, Melampias nuiawpus, M. reto, and, in the marshy waste by
the roadside, M. epiphron var. nelamus, Cupido minima, with Pleheius
acyon flitted merrily over the boulders, and the knapweed Avas alive
with aberrations innumerable of Sy richthns fritillum, yvhich yot remain
to be identified, and S.sao ; Spilothy rm laratcrae (1). Pauipltila (■(niima,
very active and swift on the wing, was the predominant " skipper."

SOME OBSERVATIONS MADE IN SWiTZERLAUt). 27

Evolena (4,520 ft.) boasts two hotels, of which the Hotel d'Evoline is
the best built, but for collecting alpine species Arolla (6,570 ft.) is an
infinitely better headquarters, as the latter spot is in the heart of the
glacier region. From Evolena, however, I made several pleasant
excursions, and on the actual summit of the Sassenaire (10,690 ft.), an
easy walk, I Avas fortunate enough to bag Erebia f/lacialis, while the
track to the Col de Torrent yielded E. oeme, E. lappona, Melitaea
aurinia var. merope, very washed out greasy-looking wings, and
diminutive individuals, M. aurelia var. britomartif<, M. ojnthia and B. pales
ab. napaea. Colias phicomone made its appearance in some numbers
above 5,000 ft., and on the hags among the cotton grass at the same
elevation, but not extending so high, Coenonipuplia safi/riou was
common. The mule path from Evolena to Arolla, about three hours
distant, with a good new hotel (Spahr's) building, passes through pine
woods and alpine meadows, but it was clearly getting late in the
season when I left, on August 20th, for the latter delightful place.
Moreover, the weather again became extremely bad, terminating on
the 28th in a heavy downfall of snow, which effectually put an end
to my collecting, and sent me to Geneva, where I remained at Petit
Lancy until September 3rd. Judging from the condition of most
insects on the wing at Arolla, I should say the best time for what
must be a splendid locality is fully a fortnight or more earlier. I,
however, took a very fair series of Pohjommatus orbit ulm on the Pas
de Chevres (9,355 ft.), about five hundred feet below the top of the
pass, varying as much as those described by Mr. Tutt, from the
Dauphin^ {Ent. Rec, viii., p. 255), one large male approaching to
black, the marginal peacock eyes on the hind wings very distinct. Of
Pohjommatus erof<, which I have found commonly with P. donzelii, at
SaasFee, I only took one specimenona piece of marshy ground, where I
also found fine females of Chnjsojjhanus liippothoe var. eurtjbia in soma
abundance, with occasional males, much worn, which suggests that the
latter are earlier emerging. Pieris callidice and Colias palaeno, also
taken on the Gletscher Alp, at Saas Fee, were conspicuous by their
absence. Argynnis niobc ab. eris was common in the sunny openings
of the famous woods which have given their name to the Arolla pine,
while on the moraine, which runs almost down to the old hotel, where
the " edelweiss " grows in great abundance, I took a perfect but
undersized Parnasmis delius, the only one I remember to have seen
in Switzerland this year. This was also a favourite haunt of the
commoner Erebiidi, but, on the whole, butterflies were decidedly scarce,
and after August 25th I saw nothing worth noting, save a fair
specimen of Pieris napi var. bryoniae, at the Lac Bleu, on the 27th.
Under more favourable meteorological conditions I might have seen
and done more, and I hope it will not be long before I visit Arolla
again, earlier in the season, though at all times, I should imagine
it is as well to go provided with plenty of warm clothing,
for the nights are very cold, and the mornings as well, until
the sun tops the amphitheatre of the mountains in which the two
hotels — there is no village — are situated. To the student, the
extraordinary variation and the gradual apparent merging of one
alpine species into another offer an inexhaustible field for research. The
life-histories of many are quite unknown, while the astonishing
altitude attained by individuals is a matter of considerable

28 THE entojiulogist's RECORI).

interest. For instance, our ubiquitous friend Ai/laia urticac — usually
a finer brighter-coloured insect in the higher alps than we know it at
home away from the Scotch moors — I have found, sharing with
CoUasphicoiiionc, the last patch of herbage on the snow line at 10,000 ft.,
while other insects associated in the insular mind with low levels
and sunny English meadows, have a strange way of turning up at
5-6,000 ft. — Eni/onia poh/rJdoros, for instance, at Evolena ; Miianar;/ia
(jalaUa and Aporia rrataciii. As for that much abused person, the
mere collector, with whom {pace our editor) I must class myself,
Switzerland is a perfect paradise for him, and the best of it is that
both he and his more scientific brethren may elongate their series
indefinitely without fear of reproach, since, so far as mountain genera
are concerned, the supply is practically limitless. The great difficulty,
however, for the peripatetic collector is the setting and storage of his
captures. If he is moving about off the beaten track, store-boxes,
drying-cases, and the like, are troublesome impedimenta, and for
shaking the pins out of cork recommend me to the baggage mule. He
must, I take it, therefore, fall back on papers for his specimens, and
my experience in this respect is, that insects relegated to envelopes
are very nearly always more or less damaged — which, however, may
be due to native clumsiness. This year I took my boards along
with me, and had good sized store boxes posted from England in
ample time — mountain posts are erratic — and as you can post any-
thing in Switzerland for next to nothing to every place which boasts
a post-office — that is to say, every place which owns an hotel of some
sort, I believe it is better to proceed in this way than to trust to the
lesser inconvenience of folding butterflies, to be reset at home, if any-
thing is left of them. But on this point I would ask for " more
light," and no doubt the readers of the Kntomoloiiisfft IlecunJ will be
able to supply it. A good field kit for the campaign is a desideratum.
[We should be glad of suggestions on these points. — Ed.] ,

A critical resume of the arguments for and against Tephrosia

bistortata (crepuscularia) and Teplirosia crepuscularia (biundularia)

being considered distinct species.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
(Continued from p. 9).

I have a letter before me from a well-known entomologist, in
which the two following statements occur : " Ido not think T. cr('j}iis-
cidaria (the early species) occurs in Scotland," and, a few lines lower
down: — " I have no Scotch specimens of those s])ecies [T. ciYjiusiulaiia
and T. hiundidan'a)." Now, this is the sort of logic one is always
finding in the quasi-scienco of amateur entomologists in this country.
This gentleman is not alone in his opinion, but for all that, it is an
erroneous one.

We read [Ivnt., xix.,p. 161) the following note by Mr. Doubleday: —
"Oct. 20th, 1861. The dark Tqdtrosia is far more difficult to .-

procure than the pale one 1 have never seen it from the jj

North of England, but it is plentiful in Scotland," and, again, under jj
date of Feb. 5tli, 186B, he again observes : — " About Warrington,
biundularia occurs ; but they get a dark smoky variety, totally unlike

T. BTSTOIiTATA (CRKPL'SCUI.AnlA) AND T. CREPL'SCL'LAni A (lUUNDL'LAlM a). 29

the Scotch crrpHseidaria " {Ibid., p. 162). Mr. Smallwood {Ibid., p. 268)
writes : — " Specunens from Perth are hxrger and better marked than
any of the preceding, the ferruginous band becoming umber-brown."
He also refers (Ibid., p. 269) to the " remarkable fineness of Scotch
specimens." In Entiwi., xx., p. 182, I wrote: — ''Ova of T. cirjuis-
ridaria, laid during the last week in April, from Perth, hatched May
20th. One or two went down June loth ; the others are, with only
two exceptions, pretty well fall-fed. I am anxiously looking forward
to rearing July specimens of this brood, as a second brood never
occurs in a state of nature near Perth. My T. crepwicularia, even
from the north, as well as those from the south-west (Clevedon,
Somerset), were nearly full-fed larva} when the imagines of T. biun-
(lidaria first began to appear in the south (Kent), and, whilst
T. biundidaria are still Hying, T. crepuscidaiia (north and south, i.e.,
from Somerset and Perth) are pupating." I may add here that a f3w
specimens of the Perth cre]>usridaria did emerge as a second brood,
and were of the dull white-grey or leaden hue of the southern second-
brood form. Since then I have bred the Perth insect on three
occasions, always with the same result. I wish to insist on this, as
the form has, I believe, never been really studied, in all its stages, by
any other entomologist. I do not wish to suggest, nor you to infer,
that I do not think that T. biundularia may occur in Scotland ; in
fact, I am astounded that it has not been recorded from the district
south of the Forth and Clyde, and have no doubt that it will be so
recorded at no distant date. [Mr. Adkin has shown me a worn
specimen of a Tcphm-^ia from Moray, which he thought at first might
be T. biundidaria, but careful examination has resulted in Mr. Adkin,
IMr. South and myself, concluding, so far as its condition will allow us,
that it is T. crrpuscidaria, but as Mr. Adkin has pupa^ from this
specimen, we shall probably be able to form a more correct judgment
in a short time] .

Eaference to the Entom. Record, vol. viii., p. 81, will show that the
Continental form of T. crepwscidaria is the bistortata of Goetze, that
our ochreous spring brood is quite unlike it, and is the abietaria of
Haworth, whilst our small, pale, whitish-grey second brood is the
ronsonaria of Stephens. I would now refer you to my collection.
You will see there that the German and Perthshire series of this
species are almost identical, i.e., they are typical bistortata, Goetze.
The early-brooded specimens { = abietaria, Haw.) and the late-brooded
specimens (= eonsonaria, Stephs.) are unmistakeable.

I may refer to a few other points. Mr. Tugwell {Proc. Sth. Loud.
Knt. Soc, 1889, p. 142) exhibited specimens, and concluded: —
'• Although these two insects have a very strong general resemblance,
he was convinced, after repeatedly breeding both insects, that they
were two distinct species." Again {Ibid., 1890, p. 24:) we read :--
" Mr. W. H. Tugwell exhibited a series of Tephrosia erepmcularia and
T. biundidaria, with water-colour drawings of the larvae of both from
life, and remarked that, after repeatedly breeding both insects, he was
convinced as to their being distinct species, although evidently

closely allied In every case the insects remain true to

the parent type, and, although the markings are somewhat alike in
both, yet there were characteristic diti'erences, as shown in the series
exhibited, and this applied to the larval stage also, and was more

80 THK entomologist's iiecokd.

easily followed by the drawing than by any verbal description." Mr.
C. Fenn remarked that he had " repeatedly bred both species, and had
always found that the two species bred true ; he had also observed
differences between the two larvas " {Ibid., p. 25).

I have elsewhere in this paper (ante, vol. viii., p. 285) stated that I
disagree with the diagnoses of these species made by the Eev. G. A.
Smallwood {Entom., xix., p. 162). He states, among other things, that
" crejnm-idaria is smaller, and has the second line followed by a more
decided band of brown." Now, there is no doubt that hiundularia is
distinctly the smaller species, and that when crcjmsndaria is smaller
than hhnvhdaria, as is the second brood, the specimens are of a dead
white (with a tinge of leaden hue) and have rarely any trace of a
brown band, and one can only assume, from his remarks (Ibid., p. 181),
where he states that he had specimens of the " pure cold grey " second
brood of T. creiniscidaria, that he was, as he practically owned,
irretrievably mixed. His remarks on Newman's and South's broad
terms of distribution are probably just, so far as regards the possibility
of the published records, both here and abroad, being unsatisfactory,
owing to the inability of many entomologists to distinguish biundu-
laria and crepuftcidaria, but we demur altogether to his conclusion,
and to the strange use he makes of a quotation from Doubleday's
List (1873), where Doubleday's explanatory notes he considers point
to " the overwhelming authority of Esper, Haworth and Guen6e, for
saying that T. crepnscnlaria and T. binndularia are varieties only of
one species, while Doubleday stands alone as the advocate of a second
species." Certainly Esper figured both species under the same name,
but so he did dozens of other species, whilst Haworth was so inex-
tricably mixed that the two species occur, in some form or other,
under at least three names. Stephens and Wood not only advocated
two, but actually made four, species out of them, and one can only
regret that Mr. Smallwood so readily fell into the same pitfall as do
most English lepidopterists who tell us what the old authors do,
?!f5., take for granted some one else's statement as to what they say,
instead of finding out for himself what they really do say.

I would not trouble you to compare carefully the drawer of
T. bijindidaria with the two drawers of T. ercpnscnlaria, but Mr.
Barvett {Pnic. St/i. Lond. Knt. Soc, 1890, p. 25) says: — "Similar
forms (to the German specimens) have been found in the middle and
north of England." Probably Mr. Barrett has some, but for all that
I ask you whether there are any north English specimens like the
German specimens?*-' Mr. Barrett further says that " the shape of the
wings in the two forms is absolutely identical." I again ask
whether you do not all discern a marked difference in the shape of the
squarer-winged bitmdidaria, in which the breadth is greater, com-
pared with the length. He further states that the difference between
the two species is "merely one of colour." I ask you again to say,
after careful comparison, whether that is so ; and lastly, I would ask
you to compare carefully the small specimens of the second brood of
crepiiKcxdaria with biundnlaria, and say whether " the second brood of

* Mr. Barrett exhibited his German specimens, which were a mixture of
T. creimscularia and the dark ab. of hmndularia. The latter are, therefore, very
similar to those forms which are so common in the middle and north of England,
— J.W.T.

T. BISTORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND T. CRfiPUSCULARIA (bIUNDULARIA). 31

the brown ercinvtc^daria is obvioudij biundularia." You have before
you to-night probably the most extensive series of these species ever
made in Britain. I ask you whether their characters are not patent.
I have, for the sake of expediency, referred continuously in this
paper to the first brood of T. crepuscularia as the ochreous form, to
the second brood of T. crepuscularia as the dull white-grey form, and
to T. biundularia as the paler species, and in a general way these
definitions are true, and we could add to these the typical form of
crepuscularia ( = bistortata, Goetze) as represented by the German and
Perth insects as the fuscous or umber-brown form. But these
are all comparative terms at the best. There are white, ochreous
fuscous, and black (-brown) crepuscularia. There are white, ochreous,
and black T. biundularia. The whitest crepuscidaria are absolutely
whiter than the whitest biundularia, and it is possible to find some
biundularia more ochreous than some crepuscularia, but parallelism of
colour variation is not sufiicient to unite, as one species, insects with
distinct and separate life-cycles, and there is no more logic in uniting
Afirutis cursor ia and A. tritici as one species, because I disagree with
Mr. Barrett as to the exact locus of a particular aberration of what we
know must be one of these species, or, in uniting Cidaria immanata
and C. rmsata, because a certain aberration would be differently
placed by Mr. Fenn and luyself, than in uniting T. crepuscidaria and
T. biundularia, because Mr. Barrett fails to place an aberration from
Derbyshire, or German specimens which represent a race (of one of
the two species) with which he was entirely unfamiliar. For this
reason, I leave out of account entirely the parallel dark aberra-
tions of the two species which require training to locate, but, given
time and practice, I have no doubt many lepidopterists will locate
these as certainly as can Mr. Prout, Major Kobertson and other keen
and practical entomologists.

In taking leave of the aberrations of these species in this summary
way, I would insist that, apart from the melanic aberrations that both
species present, T. crepuscularia is (as asserted by Doubleday, Chappell,
and others, and negatived by Mr. Smallwood) distinctly the darker
species.

The rest of my note must necessarily be brief. Although I have
throughout considered and spoken of T. crepuscidaria as the early
species, and given its dates of appearance as March and April, yet
much necessarily depends upon the season. In 1893, it was recorded
the last week in February, and in 1888, by Mr. C. G. Griffiths, on
May 5th. In 1893, T. biundidaria was out by the second week in
April, in 1888 it was not out until late June, and occurred even into
July. To compare the April emergence of T. biundtdaria in 1893
with the May emergence of T. crepuscularia in 1888, is obviously
useless and absurd, but that is what is repeatedly done, the date
of appearance of biundidaria in one year, compared with the date
of appearance of T. crepuscularia in another, and vice versa (see
Entom., xix., p. 270, and E.M.M., xxiii., pp. 41-42). The second brood
of T. crepuscidaria was out, in 1896, before the date at which
biundularia occurred in 1888, but this does not vitiate the broad
principle nor weaken the general argument. Each year must be
taken by itself, and the relative time of appearance will usually show
a clear four or five weeks between the first emergence of T. crepuscu-

82 THE ENTOMOLOCrST's RECORD.

laria and that of T. hiundularia, and another three or four weeks
between the latter and the second brood of T. crepusculcuia in any
given year. There is also the particular and not uncommon phase to
be considered Avhen a continuation of low temperature may prolong
the emergence of either species over a considerable period of the same
year.

Connected with this question of date is another matter, viz., the
occurrence of partial third broods of T. crejmscularia. Some fifteen
years ago, Mr. Ovenden and myself bred several of the stunted little
creatures, which are the usual result of this brood. These are of the
ordinary type of the second brood of this species. Mr. E. W. H. Blagg
records an individual of this brood {Kntom., xix., p. 303) ; Dr. Riding
records another {Ent. Fwc, viii., p. 189). I dare say it is not un-
common in confinement, although the records are few. Probably, too,
it occurs occasionally in a state of nature.

fTo be concluded).

Notes on Coleoptera.

Beetles that destroy forests (the ScolytiDje).
By CLAUDE MORLEY. F.E.S.

While travelling through Suffolk by rail the other day, and noting
the exquisite autumnal tints of that beautifully wooded county, and
here and there its darker patches of fir coppice, the latter insensibly
carried my thoughts further north, to where one finds mile upon
mile of this darker foliage, not, however, in patches, but in
great continuous woods, in which one might wander about for a week
without coming across any sign of civilisation — woods in which the
ordinary tourist would see nothing but hosts of brown trunks and
green needles, but which would, to the entomologist, be eloquent
with soundless voices, every trunk and every spine have its own
particular tenant, and the very ground upon which he trod be securely
hiding, from molestation and the inclemencies of the weather, its
own particular fauna. A few facts about this insect fauna of the
forest may, perhaps, be of interest, especially since it appears to be
known only to the few that vast and valuable tracts of timbered land
are annually laid waste, and thousands of pounds lost, by the ravages
of beetles, which, to the uninitiated, would appear among the most
insignificant of created beings, ranging as they do in England from
three-quarters to three and three-quarters of a line in length.

We will take, as probably the best known example of the "Borers "
in England, Hyhiniem piniperda, a little, black, rugose, almost
cylindrical fellow of two lines long, and his life-history may be taken
as a fair example of that of the Sculi/tidcw, though some are double-
brooded, which, of course, necessitates greater rapidity of metamor-
phoses, and a shorter span of life for the perfect insect than is enjoyed
by H. piniperda. The pines are almost invariably felled in or about
March, that being the time when the wood is at its best, and conse-
quently, if the weather be open, the beetles will begin to emerge from
their winter quarters and " swarm " about the prostrate trunks, upon
which they alight and immediately commence to bore their little
circular holes, much in the same way as do the the larvffi of Cassvs, or
those of the Sedidae, always first getting in as far as possible beneath
the bark, so that in old trees, upon which the bark has become gnarled

NOTES ON' Cor.KoPTKKA. 33

and rugged, the holes are hardly perceptible until they have been pushed
some distance by the industrious little worker, who throws out periodi-
cally small mounds of the gnawed wood, which look like tiny heaps of
saw-dust accidentally dropped at irregular intervals upon the trunk.
If the bark and liber be stripped off, these burroAvs will be found to
run horizontally through the bark to the cambium-layer, but when
the insect feels the greater resistance of wood beneath, it turns off and
eats its way through the cambium-layer, always in a longitudinal
direction, for a distance of several inches. Copulation is performed, I
believe, invariably, in a remarkable situation : the ^ insect being in
the outer air, and the 5 within the entrance of her burrow. I have
very often found both sexes at the end of the burrow, but do not think
they copulate there. The eggs are rarely laid before the middle of
May, and sometimes not till the first half of July, but this depends
greatly upon the severity or otherwise of the spring.

Under favourable circumstances, there are often as many as a
hundred and twenty larvaj in one family, and this fact becomes serious
to anyone who has noticed the great numbers of these insects that
may be seen flying in the early spring sunshine around a dozen pines,
felled to form a clearing. I have never personally found this par-
ticular insect in a standing tree, but that it does occur there, is beyond
doubt. So abundant are they sometimes that Ratzeburg noticed'"'' a
hundred parent borings (which are generally upon one side only of the
livimi tree) in a space two feet long, and, upon another occasion, fifty-
six larvae within five inches. Each larva bores for about three inches
before turning to a pupa. Now, if one takes fifty-six larv;e in a space
of five inches, and each bores some three inches during its life, it is
obvious the poor host has a very scanty chance of escaping destruction,
since it is the cambium-layer, destroyed by the insects, through which
the sap circulates, and which, becoming hard, adds to the bulk of the
tree, consequently without this layer the tree dies. Having completed
their ecdyses, the little pests emerge about July or August, but their
depredations are not yet at an end : they next fly to the fresh shoots at
the end of each twig, bore a small aperture, about four inches from the
apex, and, making their way up the centre, gorge themselves upon the
luscious sap, and so kill the shoot, which is blown to the ground,
breaking at the entrance-hole of the insect, by the first gale of Avind.
In fir woods the earth is often carpeted Avith these fallen shoots, in
each of Avhich, about the beginning of September, may be found the
cause of the injury. Later the borer escapes through a hole at the
end of its burroAV, and hundreds may sometimes be found hybernating
at the base of trunks in the neighbourhood, comfortably ensconced
just beneath the soil or moss, half concealed in the bark, and in mild
weather they will gnaw promiscuously in their immediate vicinity. This
particular species never occurs in fir Avoods at any great altitude, and
almost inA-ariably on Finns si/lirfitris. though once or tAvice in
Pomerania it Jian been taken from Abicfi curdsa, though it probably
occurred there accidentally.

Hi/lastes! ater is a someAvhat similar species, not only in appearance,

but in habits and choice of environment, though I have never noticed

it attack the same tree. The larA'a, pupa, and imago have occurred to

me in one stump, as early as March 11th, and I Avas much interested at

* J. T. C. Eatzebufg, in Die Forst-Insecten, p. 211. ""

34 THE entomologist's record,

the time in theii" curious economy. Another species of the same
genus, JJ. jialliatus, is by no means a dainty feeder, attacking beech in
addition to all kinds of Coni/crac, and is noted for hitting upon the
pines immediately they are felled, and entering at the sawn end at the
point of junction of the bark and wood. Hijlaatinm obsrunis is any-
thing but a common insect, and I have only taken it in January, in an
old stool, where it was probably hybernating. Pldoeopliorus. rhodo-
(larti/liis is said to occur in the spruce, which, however, can hardly be
the case in England, where this tree is not found in the wild state ;
the beetles may sometimes be swept from herbage on the outskirts
of woods. Occasionally one finds Hylesinus crenatus — I once took a
great many, making use, together with ]\iir/iimis rora.r and Jii/pniildneus
hicolur, of deserted (Vm».s borings — in a line oak, which seemed as yet
quite unconscious of the presence of so deadly an enemy, but more
often it may be taken from weak ash trees, which it never fails, having
once established a colony, to reduce to tinder. H. fra.vini is far more
often taken on the wing, and upon the water of horse troughs, than in
timber, and I once found a specimen sitting contentedly upon a
ScKiittaria-leai, floating at the margin of a river. Of Scolytm
(Ii'strnctur little need be said, it being familiar to every coleopterist,
except to mention the unusual number of dead specimens that are
invariably found in its burrows, Avhich make it appear that the ? ,
after depositing her eggs, dies, and so provides an additional
protection, by blocking the hole with her body, to the young larvre ;
in fact, I am by no means sure that the whole genus does not do this,
since I have taken S. intiicatus in Epping Forest, and S. ^ndtistiiatiifi
at Barham, under similar circumstances. A borer that appears to
make no regular burrow is Cri/phalus abietifi, which simply eats the
bark from beneath in irregular patches at the base of the branches.
The most omnivorous species in England is, probably, Xi/leboriifi
Ka.irscvi, which attacks spruce, pine, beech, birch, and poplar with equal
avidity, and is, also, though more rarely, found upon oak, maple and
lime. Another little species, by no means rare in fir woods, but which
appears to do no more than eat the dead and fallen twigs in all its
stages, is J'iti/djihthonis microiirapJnis, and numbers may be bred by
collecting these twigs in the autumn and laying them by till the
following spring, when the tiny brown beetles, never more than a
twelfth of an inch long, will emerge. The species which is the
greatest pest on the Continent is Tomicus t;/p()(/rajiJ(Us. It occurs,
however, on spruce only, and is consequently fortunately rare in
Britain. Their main bore is vertical, and the beetles are very careful
where to commence it, and will walk round the stem for some time
before arriving at a satisfactory determination, and during which pro-
cess they are often snapped up by Clenis formicariun, Carabidae and
Libiilulidac. Bo abundant was this species in 1783, in North
Germany, that 2,000,000 standing trees were killed by them in the
liartz Mountains alone.

There is little doubt that these insects were originally beneficial in
ridding the ground of iiseless encumbrances, such as fallen twigs,
branches, and trunks, and still carry on the good work in the tropical
forests of Bouth America, and elsewhere, but civilisation has dubbed
tliem injurious, since, requiring the fallen timber for its own uses, it
forces the beetles, which can no longer subsist upon dead trees, to

NOTES ON COLKOPTERA. 35

attack, as the best substitute, the living ones, but it will be invariably
noticed that the weaker the tree, the more liable it becomes to the
attacks of the Scoh/tidac.

On the seasonal dimorphism of Melanitis leda.

By C. A. BIRD.

Looking through my Indian notes, I find some interesting particu-
lars relating to the two forms of the species of butterfly which, I
believe, until 1889, or thereabouts, went under the two names of
Melanitis leda and J/, isiiiene.

On October 15th, 1889, I obtained a female of the form known as
M. leda. By next day I had obtained 80 eggs. These hatched out
in five or six days. The young larvfe fed up well on grass. Two
were accidentally injured, a few escaped and a few died. The
survivors began to suspend themselves on the 11th November, and
between the 12th and 16th November, 18 pupated. From these I
obtained 16 imagines. They began to emerge on the 20th or 21st of
November, when I was unfortunately absent from home on duty, so
that I found five out when I returned on the latter date. One of
these five was of the form leda, the rest, to my surprise, were of the
form ismene. All the remainder were of the form ismene. I feel sure
of this, although two of them escaped so suddenly that I only had a
glance at them as they flew away. I thought I had made a discovery,
but I afterwards read a notice in a number of Tlie Asian^^ of the same
year, but of an earlier date, showing that the fact of these being of
one and the same species was already known.

I suppose this is an example of seasonal dimorphism, but the
following facts must be remembered. One specimen out of the 16 was
of the same form as its female parent, and, in nature, the two forms
overlap in the matter of periods of appearance. 1 took the form
leda in the months of August, September, October and November, and
the form ismene in October, November and December of the same
year ; so that both forms were on the wing in the months of October
and November. I find, from my diary, that the first specimen of is)nene
was taken in the third week of October, that is within a week after the
date on which the batch of eggs referred to above were laid. [We
have ourselves touched on this subject in our last Presidential address
to the City of London Entomological Society. There are some very
interesting facts relating to ••' wet " and " dry " seasonal forms in
Tlie Journal of the Asiatic Societi/ of Bemjal, vol. Iviii., by L>oherty,
and in the Butterjiies of Sumatra, by Niceville. — Ed.] .

* A magazine published in India (Calcutta, I believe), on the lines of The Field.

i^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

The cocoons of Acherontia atropos.— My nephew and I carefully
exhumed the pupae of A. atropos last autumn, and we tried to extract
the "cell" complete. In this we failed entirely. There was not the
slightest cohesion, and in only a few cases did we manage to secure
small pieces of the side to examine. This, of course, in sandy soil.
I presume that in heavier earth there would be a better chance ; but
I am certain there is no trace of silk, and very little of ijuin. The

36 THK KNTOMOI.Or.rST's RECORD.

chief thill"' I could discover was the impression of the face, or one
side thereof, upon the inner surface, whicli was fairly smooth, save for
these impressions. — (Rev.) C. R. N. Burrows, The Vicarage, Rainham,
Essex.

A NEW British speciks of the GELECHiiDiE : Lita interjiediella,
HoDGKiNsoN. — In the October number of The Entoni. Record, I noted
a probably new species of Gelechia. It is quite distinct from Lita
fraternclla and Lita viscanella, the yellow spots being smaller, and the
insect itself more mealy in general appearance. It agrees with a
specimen that I have had for some years, and which has stood reversed
ill my cabinet as undetermined, thinking it might possibly be a worn
specimen oifratrrneUa. I have all the species of this group, except
cKiicati'lla and ricinrlla, and it is referable to none of the species in iny
collection. — J. B. Hodgkinson, F.E.S., Rosebery House, Ashton-on-
Ribble. [There are between 80 and 90 European species of Lita described.
Surely our correspondent should compare his species with the descrip-
tions of all the described European species before providing it with a
name. Several Micro-lepidopterists have since referred the specimen
to L. fraternclla. — Ed.].

How CoLiAs edusa winters. — In the Knt. Fiecord, vol. vii.,
pp. 250-252, I discussed the question of " How Colias ednsa winters,"
and I have summarised the results there arrived at in my recent book on
Jlritish Ijidtcrfiies,])]). 261-262. Regarding the spring emergences of this
species, viz., that in February and March, and the later one of May
and June, Mr. Merrilield has put into my hands information in
support of the paragraph relating to the first of these {Lut. lire, vii.,
p. 251). The writer is an inhabitant of Hyeres, and he offered to get
Mr. Merrifield " larvte and eggs in March or April." Mr. Warburg,
too, has sent me the dates on which he captured these broods at Cannes.
From these I find that he captured the early brood from February 17th
onwards, in 1892, and the second from May 9th onwards. In 1894 the
dates extend from February 17th onwards for the first, and May 10th
onwards for the second, whilst captures in April suggest either that
the first brood hangs about for a considerable time, or that the
second one feeds up rapidly, and appears quickly. Probably it is the
latter, for migrants reaching England June lst-8th, in 1877 and 1898,
produced imaginal progeny July 21th = 6-7 weeks, so that perhaps the
dates of April 11th for 1892, April 4th, 1898, April 10th,
1894, represent the earliest emergences of the second brood. Mr.
Warburg says:— "C ed^tsa is not an insect that one goes out of
one's way to catch on the Riviera, so that the fact of my not taking it
before a certain date does not show that it may not have been out
some time."— J. W. Tutt, Westcombe Hill, S.E,

On the affinities of Epixephele tithonus.-— With regard to your
remarks {ante, vol. viii., p. 236) anent the classification of Epinepluie
titltonns, do not you think that the masculine sexual shading of this
species indicates that the group it belongs to is that which is so cha-
racterised ? I refer, of course, to the patch of heavy scaling on the
fore-wings of the males of most species of Kpim-jdiele, absent in all the
Coenonijiitpltidi that I know. The species nearest to E. tithonus is
E. ida. The females of both species approximate nearly, but the g
patch is different in contour. As to the early stages of the insects
\K. titlionm and Coenunipnplta), I am quite ignorant. — W. F. de V.
Kane, M.A., F.E.S., Drumreaske House, Monaghan.

sctentific notes and obsekvations. 37

Notes on the time of appearance of some butterflies at
Hy^res.— Recently I spent a couple of clays with Mr. Merrifielcl, and
among other things discussed was the time of appearance of many
species of butterflies in Southern Europe. From his correspondence
with a gentleman of Hyeres he gave me the following information : —
" Guiu'pterijx cleopatra flies at Hyeres in March, and lays its eggs at the
end of Alarch and in April." By April 25th (1896), 120 eggs had been
obtained, and in sending them to Mr. Merrifield the collector writes : —
" Some of them will no doubt have become larvsp by the time they
reach you. It is not so easy to get the J cleopatra to lay as some other
butterflies. The eggs sent were laid by a number of different females,
and some of the eggs I found myself out of doors. The second
brood of this butterfly dift'ers considerably from the first, especially the
males, which are much brighter on the underside." " Pararge eyeria
is on the wing in the middle of February, and the specimens of the
brood are probably a little more like the English form than those of
the later ones. Colias edum appears here in March ; larvae may be
found now (Nov. 1st, 1895), and in the spring, Pieris dapiidice. — The
early spring form, bdlidice, is already (Feb. 17th) flying ; the butter-
flies from the eggs of these should emerge in INlay, but they will very
often, I have found, remain much longer in the pupal state, even till
the next spring. Anthocharis belia occurs in April. I have had pupi:B
from the spring brood of A. belia for two years, after which they
emerged in April as the type form. Charaxes jasiiis pupates in
February, from the middle to the end of the month. Aporia cra-
tae(/i. — The imago of this species is now flying (April 25th, 1896)." —

J. W. TUTT.

:ii^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, &c.

Notes on the early stages of Epinephele ianira. — Ova received
from Mr. J. W. Tutt, July 15th, 1896. %7.— With longer axis vertical,
oviform, except that the upper (smaller) end is flat, as though it had
been cut clean ofi'. Roughly ribbed, the flat top has a slight lip or
ridge round its outer margin ; a slightly raised surface in centre of
flat top has a honey-comb appearance. The larva eats an irregularly
shaped slit just below the top, and forces its way out. Neidij-
hatched larva. — July 17th, 1896, 1st skin. — Head. — Rather large,
rounded, green in colour, bearing long, stiff, thorny black hairs.
Body. — -Tapers toAvards anus, and slightly towards head. Scutellum,
indistinct. Has a dark clear green medio-dorsal stripe, and also faint
irregular dark stripes on the sub-dorsal and lateral areas. Segments,
distinct. Tubercles, tall and soft-looking, bearing one hair only ;
trapezoidals placed almost as if at the points of a square. Hairs, white,
long and thorny ; some bend forwards, others backwards. Posterior
trapezoidals smaller than anterior, and bearing smaller hairs (one hair
arising from the right anterior trapezoidal on 3rd abdominal segment
is black, with the exception of a white tip'-'-'). The spiracles are
mounted on short black stalks. It is a very sluggish larva, and
rolls in a ring if disturbed.

August 9th, 1896, 2;i(^ skin. — Colour, bright green, with a faint
darker medio-dorsal line. In all other respects, as to structure, shape,

* Possibly an aberration exhibited by this particular larva only. — A.B.

38 THE entomologist's record.

etc., it agrees with Enndia Jn/perantJim in 2nd or 3rcl skin. It
still rolls in a ring if disturbed, and in this respect differs from
E. hijpcyantJni!^.

September 22nd, 1896, 3/v/ .s/,/». — Length, -^^ of an inch. Rests
with the fore part of the body raised, the head turned downwards.
Head. — ^liright green, rounded, very rough and pitted, larger than
pro-thorax, numerous long thorny hairs. Body. — Tapers from meta-
thorax forward to head, and backwards to anus. Divisions of
segments distinct ; the thoracic segments have 4 sub-segments. On
the abdominal segments the sub-segments are not marked clearly
enough to count. A whitish lateral flange now present. The two
processes projecting beyond anus are longer than in E. hyper ant]ni.<i.
Hairs long, stiff, thorny and curved backwards ; bases, black.
Numerous smaller secondary hairs present, but no trace of spicules.
Spiracles still mounted on short stalks, but they are dull yellowish
instead of black, and do not show up so clearly as in earlier stages.
The larva still rolls in a ring if disturbed.. — A. Bacot, Bow House,
St. James' Terrace, Clapton, N.E.

Egg of a large Gnophid moth, Gnophos furvata. — Barrel
shaped, but yet Geometer-like, laid on its long side, and fastened to
object on Avhich it is laid. About 12 well-developed ribs running
longitudinally from micropyle to opposite end. Length to breadth to
height : : 4 : 3 : 3. The depressions between the ribs marked trans-
versely, with ladder-like ridges dividing the area iip into roughly
hexagonal cells, which become very regularly hexagonal on the narrow
end opposite the micropyle. The micropyle itself consists of a tiny
rosette of very minute cells, surrounded by larger regular hexagonal
cells. The Qgg bears the most extraordinary similarity in general facies
to a Satyrid Qgg laid on its side. At first the colour is pale yellowish , then
reddish, then darker. The empty shell is perfectly transparent, and
the young larva emerges by eating out a very regular hole at the
micropylar end. The moth was taken at Gr^sy-sur-Aix on July 26th ;
the eggs hatched in between three and four weeks. I did not keep
the exact date. — J. W. Tutt.

Feeding larvae of Arctia caia on lettuce. — I can endorse
what was said at the August 18th meeting of the City of London
Entomological Society, about the results of feeding A. caia on
lettuce. I have had them go on from ova to pup® in the space of
two months when so fed. I once had them turn to imagines in
November [uot by forcing, but under very nearly natural conditions, in
a breeding cage kept in the open air). In this case they were not fed
on lettuce, but on dock and other green stuff. — Albert H. Waters, B. A.,
Cambridge.

^^ ARI AT 10 N.

Aberrations of Polygonia c-albuji. — The aberrations of Polyyonia
c-alhum were divided by Petiver into the following: — "The silver
comma (fmca)," " The pale comma (pallidior)," " The jagged-winged
comma (/«rr/-«^/.s) " and "The small comma [minor).''' The "pale
comma " is described as " below, of anoker marble, and paler than the
last." This is, of course, Robson's ab. Itutchini^oni (not hutchinsotiii),
Bath's lufcsrens, and the pallidiar, Pet., of Tutt's " British Butterflies."
The ab. pallida, Tutt, is an upperside, not an underside aberration, so

VARIATIO^f. 39

that Mr. Shipp is altogether wrong in his conclusions [Entnm., xxx.,
p. 16).— J. W. TuTT, Westcombe Hill, S.E.

Local fobm of Agrotis obelisca at Bournemouth. — I captured
some very fine specimens of Agroth obdisca here in August last. They
began to appear just as A. nif/ricans was getting worn and over. They
do not agree altogether with the Freshwater (Isle of Wight) specimens of
A. obelisca, being much browner in hue, and Mr. Tutt informs me that
they are much nearer the Scotch form of the species. — P. M. Bkight,
F.E.S., Eoccabruna, Bournemouth.

Dark aberrations of Limenitis sibylla. — During the first week
of July last year (1896) I captured five specimens of the dark form of
this insect in the New Forest. Four of them were taken on successive
days, within a dozen yards of the same spot, close to a small stream,
and Mr. C. Gulliver took one at the same place. They are all females,
and range from almost wholly black (one spot on the apex of front
wings) to a row of faintly-marked spots. All are slightly worn. —
Stuart G. Hills, Public Library, Folkestone.

Query as to Miana bicoloria and its form rufuncula. — Out of
some fifty specimens of Miana bicoloria and its ab. rufuncula, taken
together last season, I noticed that invariably in this case the insects
died in the cyanide bottle in a difi'erent way. M. bicoloria always
died with its wings upright over the back, whilst rufuncula always
died with its wings in their usual resting position, covering the body.
As this was invariably the case last season, it can hardly have been
a coincidence, but rather points, to my mind, to some structural
difference in the two. Can it be that Haworth was right in treating
this variety as a distinct species? — W. B. TnoRNmLL, Castle Cosey,
Castle Bellingham, Ireland.

IS^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Rearing Polia xanthomista var. nigrocincta. — In answer to Mr. H.
Tunaley's remarks [ante, vol. viii., p. 310), I would like to suggest that
he should at least have made known to the advertiser of the ova of L'olia
var. nigrocincta, that the majority of the eggs he had received had
not hatched, and to have returned the infertile ones, which I
would then have replaced with others. As he has not done this, he
can hardly blame the sender. Perhaps it would be better if he
collected the ova himself, as he might be more particular in selecting
them. At present I cannot say whether the infertility of the eggs
was my fault, his fault, or the fault of the moths. I do know,
however, that the eggs changed colour before I sent them out. — H.
Murray, Lowbank Villas, Carnforth.

My attempts to breed this species from the Qgg, in 1895, and
again last season, have met with no better success than those of
Messrs. Christy and Tunaley {Ent. Rec, viii., pp. 241, 310). Mr.
Murray sent me, on each occasion, about 30 ova, which hatched well
enough, but although the larvae throve capitally for a time, they
aftei'Avards gradually died off, and not one of them survived to go down.
The first batch were fed on sallow and lettuce, the other on flowers
of sea-pink. A few of my friends, who have had great experience in
larvjB breeding, also received ova, but their eftbrts were rewarded with
no better luck, and I have not heard of a single imago having resulted

40 tHE ENtOMOLOGISX's RECOKt).

from the eggs recently sent out by Mr. Murray, which seems strange,
considering that in a letter written to me last year, he says, " I think
it is quite a mistake to say P. niiirocincta is hard to rear, as I think it
is very easy ; at least, I do not find it hard." He does not,
however, mention the percentage of moths that he usually succeeds in
rearing from the egg, which it would be interesting to know. If any
of his correspondents have been more fortunate than ourselves, I hoj)e
they will kindly give us a few wrinkles as to treatment, etc. — Eustace
R. Bankes, M.A., F.E.S., The Rectory, Corfe Castle. Dec. Ibth, 1896.
Plusia festuc.e double-brooded. — Pliisiafestucae is so scarce about
here, that we have not many opportunities of recording its capture,
but the solitary specimen I have taken flew into a lighted room on the
8rd of September last. It was a perfect specimen, and apparently
quite freshly emerged. — W. W. Esaji, Eagle House, St. Leonard's.

The p.\ktial double-broodedness of Plusia festuc^. — As regards
the partial double-broodedness of Plusia festucae, I have never come
across it except in the North of Ireland. On reference to my notes,
I find that, in 1894, June 26th was the earliest date of capture. Ova
were deposited on the 28th, hatched on July Ith. One larva only fed
up quickly, producing an imago in August, the remainder hybernated,
half the larvje being sleeved on growing Iris in an outhouse, the other
half sleeved on Iris in the open woods. On June 4th, 1895, I took
both larviB and cocoons at large, and mine, in both sleeves, had partly
pupated. On June 14th, the first imago appeared, and they continued
to emerge from the three batches throughout that month. I see also
that, on June 27th, I took the insect in good condition at large. Ova
were again obtained, with a precisely similar result, except that two fed
up and emerged, as against one the previous year. The insects and
larviB were obtained in swampy ground round the margin of a large
pond, and both light and dark forms occurred, the latter preponderating
largely. — (Colonel) Chas. E. Partridge, 20, Hornsey Rise Gardens.

British and foreign specimens. — Some years ago a boy brought
me some insects to name, mostly of species common in England, but,
to my surprise, L'naeuiidophurus rhododactylits and Hcrniinia derivalis
were also there, as well asaxA^v-s-.s/a — probably ^JOHfonarm. I asked him
where he had got them, and he replied " About the school." A further
enquiry elicited the fact that he had been to school at Heidelberg. He
ofiered me any specimens I might like, but I took none. I have no
doubt, however, that the specimens are doing duty somewhere,
probably as British, and it shows how easily foreign specimens may be
introduced into British collections. — J. B. Hodgkinson, F.E.S.

Captures at Reading in 1896. — I took a number of good things
last season : Endromis versicolor, Staiiropns fa//i (including 12 of the
black aberration), Noctua rhoiiiboidca, Cahjmnia jii/rcdina, Tiliacca
(Xantliia) aurai/o, Dasucampa riibi(/inea, all plentifully, whilst of
Biri/cla 00 I secured about one hundred specimens, about a half of
which were the ab. renago. — W. Barnes, 7, New Road, Southern Hill,
Reading.

Polyommatus iolas in Switzerland. — A query. — I should be glad
to know whether any of your readers have ever taken Pulijommatus
iolas in Switzerland. Kane speaks of three taken near Sierre (in the
Rhone Valley), and, curiously enough, I have three specimens which I
captured at Sierre (one about five years ago, and two the following

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 41

year), but I have never seen it elsewhere in Switzerland. I also once
found the larvae at Sierre, so that I suppose it occurs there annually in
small numbers. The food-plant, Colutea arborescens, is pretty abundant
in that locality. — K. D. Postans, East Grinstead.

Chcerocampa nerii in 1890. — Your note on Clwerocampa nerii
{ante, vol. viii., pp. 273-4) awakens recollections. The specimen was
taken in 1890 (not 1892). Mr. R. C. L. Perkins, now, I think, in
the Sandwich Islands, was then living at Dartmouth. He saw the
specimen as soon as captured, and wrote to me about it. At my
suggestion. Master H. F. Owen, of Stoke Fleming (not Stoke Henning),
sent me the record of its capture, which duly appeared in the E.M.M.,
vol. xxvi., p. 328. — Chas. G. Bakrett, F.E.S., 39, Linden Grove,
Nunhead.

Abraxas grossulariata emerging in November. — Some two or three
hundred larvae of A. f/rossidariata, beaten last autumn (1896), from
spindle, were brought indoors and sleeved on a branch in water. The
larvae began to hybernate at the end of October (although the room
always has afire in it), with the exception of one individual, which fed
on and pupated, producing a quite normally-marked imago on Nov.
17th, 1896. The remainder are still larvfe of, perhaps, one-third of an
inch in length. — J. C. Warburg, 8, Porchester Terrace, Hyde Park, W.

The GEOGRAPmcAL distribution of Thamnotrizon cinereus. — At
a recent meeting of one of the entomological societies in London, some
specimens of this Orthopteron were exhibited as having been obtained
in the New Forest, with the information that they are " rare." Permit
me to say that, according to my experience, this species is the commonest
and most widely-distributed of the family Locustidae in this country.
I have found it in most of the southern counties where I have
collected, and, though local, it is usually abundant wherever it occurs,
including the New Forest. I know many localities also for it in the
Midlands. — W. Harcourt Bath, Birmingham.

Sale of Mr. C. A. Briggs' collection. — A few of the prices paid,
on Nov. 10th last, for some of the Pyralides sold in Mr. Briggs'
collection are, perhaps, worth mentioning. The chief were : — Scoparia
atonialis (2 abs.), £2 5s. ; S. atomalis (3 abs.), £2 5s. ; S. ulmella
(banded ab.), 22/- ; S. alpina (banded ab.), 25/- ; O.rijjjtilun parvidactylus
(ochreous ab.), 12/- ; Cramhus alpinellm, 10/- (6), 12/- (6), 12/- (5),
10/- (4), 21/- (3) ; C. verellus, 16/-, 26/-, 45/- each ; C. m)/ellus (3),
15/-, 18/- ; C. rorcUus, 30/- ; Ephestia pryerella, 40/-. A further
portion of Mr. Briggs' collection, sold on Nov. 24th, produced, among
others, the following prices: — Setina irrorella (dark ab.), 35/-;
Deiopeia pidcheUa, 6/-, 8/-, 10/- for single specimens, and 16/-, 22/-,
32/6, 52/6 and 30/- per pair. A pale ab. of Arctia caia, fore-wings
cream-coloured, with a few central spots, hind-wings without spots,
£12 2s. 6d; other aberrations producing 35/- (1), 16/- (4), 18/- (7),
40/- (7), 47/6 (8), 22/- (7), 35/- (7), 42/- (7) ; Spilosomamenthastriah.
ivalkeri caused 16/-, 22/-, 22/- to be bidden, and an ab. of S. iirticae went
for 26/-, Laelia caenosa produced 14/-, 12/, 18/-, 18/-, 21/-, 18/-, 22/-
20/-, 21/- per pair, whilst Lasiocavipa ilicifolia produced 35/-, 35/-,
37/6, 40/-, 42/-, 45/- per specimen, and Drepana harpatjida, 18/-, 14/-,
10/-, 8/-, 14/-, 11/-, per pair. Two Microdonta bicolora, reputed as
taken by Bouchard, at Killarney, produced 3 guineas each specimen.
Two Synia musculosa (captor, J. Fielding, as late as 1871) went for

42 The entomologist's record.

27/6 and 20/- each, whilst Leiicania alhipuncta dropped to 7/-, 6/-, 6/-
and 12/- for 4. L. vitellina and L. tinipuiicta produced £1 each. Poor
Ai/rotis mhrnsca fetched 28/-, 12/-, 12/-, 12/-, 12/- per pair. One is
astounded at the giving of 12/- for a Charidca delphinii, stated to
have been " taken by F. Tickner, at Dover, in 1893." Xijlina conformis
produced 10/-, 14/- and 12/- per pair, and Ciicullia (inaphalii, 6/-, 12/-,
12/-, 12/-, 16/-, 14/- per specimen. An Acontia Solaris, taken byEev.
Percy Andrews, in a clover field at Brighton, Aug. 25th, 1859, and
recorded in the Entom. Ann., 1860, p. 131, went for £3. Thalpochares
nstrina produced 10/-, 8/-, 45/- apiece ; T. parva 12/-, and T. paiila
35/-. Plnsia ni, from Mr. Bailey, Penzance, sold for 21/- and 60/-
each, and Catocala fra.vini for 12/-, 8/-, 30/-, 63/-, and an Ophiodi's
lunan's 21/-. Venilia macnlata produced 30/- (1) for a suffused
aberration, and 12/-, 37/6, 14/-, 12/-, 12/-, 12/-, 12/- per pair for the
ab. quadrmaculata. A pair of hybrid Ennomos angularia-alniaria
went for 10/-, and Cleora viduaria, 30/-, 24/-, 10/-, 6/-, 6/- per pair.
Two specimens of Acidalia perochraria produced 22/- and 63/- re-
spectively, and A. ab. circeUata 80/- and 20/- for four specimens,
whilst two aberrations of Strenia clathrata went for 27/6. An Aplasia
ononaria, taken by Purdey, went for £3 5s., and aberrations of Abraxas
grossulariata for £3 10s., 25/- (2), 18/-, 18/-, 12/-, 12/- 18/-, 18/-, 42/-,
14/-, 16/-, 18/-, 42/- apiece. A specimen of Botijs repandalis sold for
21/-. Chnjsophanus dispar fetched 37/6, 35/-, ^30/-, 70/- (2), 94/6
105/-, 35/-, 37/6 (2), 25/- (2), 115/6, 8 guineas (a record price),
63/- ; whilst in a Mr. J. H. Smart's collection, sold on Nov. 10th,
specimens of the same species brought £6, £4, £4 15s., £2 10s. and
£1 Is. each, and some rather poor Agmtis siibrosea 26/- and 18/- per
pair. — J. W. TuTT.

Second broods in 1896. — The following are some of the second
broods noticed during the past season. LeiicopJiasia sinapis, on July
10th ; Tephrosia bistortata and LopJioptery.v camelina, about July
20th ; Drepana unguicula and Acontia luctuosa, on July 23rd,
although both were scarce as second broods ; Polyommatm astrarche,
very abundant, July 16th ; Lohophora viretata, a single specimen,
much smaller than those of the first brood, on August 1st ; Ctipido
minima on August 17th ; and Polyommatus beUargus on August 27th.
— A. H. Hamm, Reading.

AcHERONTiA ATROPos IN 1896. — Here, as elsewhere, the larvae of
Acherontia atropos seem commoner than usual. I have had five or six
brought to me by potato-diggers this autumn. — N. M. Richardson,
B.A., F.E.S., Monte Video, Nr. Weymouth.

Of twelve Acherontia atropos larvae brought to me this year, all
were of the green form at first, turning to golden -yellow when quite
full-fed. I heard of a dark brown one being taken. — E. A. Bowlks,
M.A., F.E.S., Waltham Cross.

J^RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for February.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — The roots of Artemisia should be collected in February, for
larva) of Ephippij^hora focneana, Dichrorampha simpliciaiia and

PRACTICAL HINTS. 4b

E.\'aeretia allisella. The larvfe of the latter mine up the new shoots in
early spring, causing them to die.

2. — The larva of Teichobia verlnwllella should be gathered during
the winter and spring months. It mines the leaves of Scolopendrium
vuhiare (Hart's Tongue), and sometimes feeds on the indusia.

3. — "I observed the larva of Bi(talis</randi])ennis in the greatest pro-
fusion on the furze bushes on the steep hillside between Torrington and
the river. The webs were, in February, quite a feature in the land-
scape " (Stainton).

4. — Beat thatch — whether straw-thatch or chip-thatch — stacks of
bracken and hop-haulm. Hold the net directly under the place beaten,
and catch everything that falls. Stacks of bracken, hop-haulm and
thatch shelter Corisciion brongniardellum, C. cuculipemiellwn, Laverna
decorella, (jrelechia humeralis, Oracilaria stigmatella, Depressaria ciliella,
D. chaerophtjllella, D. alhipunctella, D. ajyplana, D. arenella, D. car-
duella, D. suhpropinqueUa, D. propinquella, D. heraclieVa, D. pwyiirella,
Cidaiia miata, Alucita he.vadactyla, and many other species, which may
be sometimes beaten from such places in great abundance during the
months of February and March.

5. — The cocoons of Cranioplwra luiustri are very hard, and feel
lumpy under the moss on ash-trunks, or, if ivy be on the trees, they
will he found adhering to the rootlets. The moss should not be
pulled off, as it spoils the trees for another year.

6. — Dead wood on or about the roots of sallow trees should be
searched for the cocoons of Cerura furcula. They are often, also, at the
base of a branch, or in a hollow where a branch has been pulled off.

7. — The fluffy spider-web-like cocoons of Gnophria ruhricollis are
spun under moss on oak trees.

8. — Collect, during the winter, stems of Daucus carota which have
small holes in them, for ConchjliH fmncillana.

9. — Roots of ragwort [S. jacohaea) dug during the winter will give
larvfe of Ephippiphora trh/emincma, Eupoecilia atricapitana, Arfjijrolepia
aeneana.

10.— Collect the stems of sea-lavender [Statice limonmm) for the
larvae of C. UmonieUa. " These larvas feed on the flowers, eating out
one of the petals and using it as a case, in which the larva moves about till
full-fed in December ; then, crawling down the stem, it eats its way
inside, covering up the small hole with a slight web, soon after which
the case drops off'" (Elisha).

11. — Roots of DaucKs carota should be collected in the winter
months for larvae of Arf/i/rolepia zephyrana.

12. — Roots of tansy {Tanacctwn rulfjare), dug during the winter,
give Dichrorampha alpinana and I), saturnana.

URRENT NOTES.

Mr. S. J. Capper, F.L.S., has been re-elected (for the twentieth
time in succession) president of the Lancashire and Cheshire
Entomological Society ; Mr. C. Nicholson, F.E.S., president of the
North London Entomological and Natural History Society ; Mr. R.
Adkin, F.E.S., president of the South London Entomological So-
ciety; Mr. J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. (re-elected), president of the City of

44

THK ENTOMOLOGIST S KKCOBD.

London Entomological Society ; Mr. R. Trimen, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c.,
president of the Entomological Society of London.

An excellent and successful exhibition of entomological and
natural history specimens was held by the members of the North
London Natural History Society, on Jan. 2nd, at the North East
London Institute. The hearty thanks of the visitors are due not only
to the members who arranged the exhibition, but also to Dr. Gerard
Smith, for his photo-micrograph exhibition, and to Mr. F. J. Hanbury
for the sight of part of his wonderful collection of plants.

We much regret to announce the death of Sir. W. T. Sturt, on
Nov. 30th last, at the age of 45. He will be remembered by our
readers as having bred Sphin.c convolvnli from larvae obtained at Port
Wrinkle, about twelve months ago, when an account of the incident
was published in our pages.

The members of the Entomological Club, and their friends, were
invited by Mr. G. H. Verrall to dine with him, at the Holborn
Restaurant, on the evening of January 19th. A most enjoyable
evening was spent. Lord Walsingham, Prof. Poulton, Mr. Roland
Trimen, Dr. Dixey, Mr. Distant, and other well-known entomologists
being among the guests. Mr. Waterhouse exhibited an ingenious
piece of work to show the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera, which, if not
convincing in its results, was certainly of the greatest educative value.
A strong provincial contingent was present.

The Presidential address of Professor Meldola to the Fellows
of the Entomological Society of London has been printed separately.
Everyone interested in entomology should read it. It summarises a
number of theories which have long been floating about in a more or
less indefinite form, and expresses somewhat clearly the principle for
which we have been fighting the last five or six years, viz., the
importance of the physiological factors underlying all variation.

There seems to be an opinion among some of the leading Fellows
of the Entomological Society that the subject of electing a president
for one year, instead of two, should seriously be considered. It is the
highest honour that the Society can offer its distinguished Fellows,
and there are several world-renowned entomologists now awaiting
their turn, which must come very slowly under the present conditions.

Mr. Rickard {Entom.) is still talking about "Fungi parasitic on
butterflies." Will he not read Mayer's paper on the development of
these androconial scales, and call them by their proper name ?

Mr. Edward Saunders {E.M.M.) believes that Bonibus pratorum,
joncihis, lapponicus, alticola and pyrenaeiis, in all of which the 3"
armature is practically identical, are all forms of one variable species.
He also says that the insect known as Bomhm smithianm is a form of
the Continental B. cot/nahis.

Mr. Newstead (E.M.M.) adds the Coccid, Aspidiopus hederae, to the
British list, from specimens obtained from holly leaves gathered at
Teddington.

Mr. Eustace Bankes (E.M.M) describes the larva of Aristotelia
(Gelechia) tetragonclla, obtained from Glaux maritinia during May,
and the larva and pupa of Depressaria p)ulcherimeUa, the former found
feeding on May 31st, under a slight silken web, on flowers and young
seeds of Conopodium denudatum (liunium jhxuosum). In describing
the first of these, he " follows such well-known writers as Messrs.

CURRENT NOTES. 45

Buckler, Stainton and Drs. Chapman and Wood, in counting the
head as the ' first ' segment of the larva." We are pleased to see that,
in the description of the second, he appears to have followed Dr.
Chapman's later practice.

Mr, C. G. Barrett adds PlatyptiUa tessi'radactijla to the British list,
from specimens captured by Mr. W. F. de V. Kane and the Hon. R.
E. Dillon, at Clonbrock, in the first week of June, 1895. This species
is very like P. gonodacUjla.

SOCIETIES.

Entomological Society of London. — January 20th, 1897, the
64th Annual Meeting. — Prof. Raphael Meldola, F.R.S., president, in
the chair. An abstract of the treasurer's accounts, showing a
balance in the society's favour, having been read by one of the
auditors, the secretary, Mr. H. Goss, read the report of the council.
It was then announced that the following gentlemen had been elected
as officers and council for 1897 : — President, Mr. Roland Trimen,
F.R.S. ; treasurer, Mr. Robert McLachlan, F.R.S. ; secretaries,
Mr. Walter F. H. Blandford and Mr. Frederic Merrifield ; librarian,
Mr. George C. Champion ; and as other members of the council, the
Rev. Canon Fowler, Mr. Herbert Goss, Sir George F. Hampson, Bart.,
Herr Martin Jacoby, Prof. Raphael Meldola, F.R.S. , Mr. Osbert
Salvin, F.R.S., Mr. James W. Tutt, and Mr. G. H. Verrall. The
President then delivered an address, and took for the subject, " The
Utility of Specific Characters from the Point of View of the
Darwinian Theory." His remarks had reference to the paper on this
subject, read last June before the Linnean Society, by Dr. A. R.
Wallace, and the subsequent discussion. Prof. Meldola pointed out
that the question of " utility," as necessitated by the theory of
natural selection, had hitherto been made to depend too exclusively
upon external and visibly manifest utility, a restriction which he did
not believe to be warranted by facts. He argued in favour of a con-
nection of the nature of correlation between apparently trivial external
characters and latent physiological characters of great importance to
the welfare of the species. From this point of view it was contended
that the diagnostic characters used for purposes of description did
not truly represent the sum total of the characters which must be
regarded as specific. The president concluded by referring to the
losses by death during the year of several Fellows of the Society and
other entomologists, special mention being made of Mr. A. S. Ollift',
Mr. Edward Armitage, R.A., Mr. Peter Inchbald, Miss G. E.
Ormerod, Mons. Auguste Salle, Mr. Arthur Dowsett, Herr Julius
Flohr, Mr. J. Chappell, and Dr. Morawitz. A vote of thanks to
the president was proposed by Lord Walsingham, F.R.S., seconded
by Mr. Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., and carried. A vote of thanks to the
officers was then proposed by Prof. Poulton, F.R.S., seconded by Mr.
R. Trimen, F.R.S., and carried. Prof. Meldola, Mr. McLachlan and
Mr. Goss replied, and the proceedings terminated.

Cambridge Entomological and Natural History Society. — A
meeting of this society was held on Jan. 15th.- Exhibits. — Mr. Fleet
exhibited a good specimen of a large weevil (Cleonus nelndosus) from
the crop of a stone curlew, purchased in the market. It was suggested

46 THE kntomowgist's rkcord.

that a probable locality for both bird and beetle was Brandon. Dr.
Sharp exhibited a fine mass of the cocoons of Aplioinia sociella, picked
up in the neighbourhood. Also some remarkable Dipterous larvae, viz.,
an undescribed Tabanid larva, from the New Forest, with feet dis
posed all over the body, and somewhat allied to Tabanus spodopterm :
he thought it might be the larva of Atijlutus ; larva of Scenopinun
feneHtralis, from Bucks ; he called attention to the importance of
ascertaining whether this larva is injurious, as commonly supposed, or
whether it is present in woollen goods only to destroy other larvae,
such as those of the clothes moth ; larva of Mii-rodon, found in
Portugal, by Colonel Yerbury, which shows no sign of segmentation.
Also IdidutJirips spectrum, sent by Mr. Froggatt, from New South
Wales.

South London Entomological and Natural History Society. —
Jan. 14th, 1897. — Aberrations of noctuid moths. — Mr. Koutledge
exhibited specimens of Fharetra uieni/anthidis, from Carlisle, with a
white thorax ; Xylophasia rurea from N. Devon, light grey, with fine
lines ; Aurotis scgetwn, with silvery fore-wings and unusually white
hind-wings ; Noctna c-nif/rum, with the c reduced to two spots, and
a Tripliaena promOm from Epping, with lunules on the hind-wings.
Tephrosia bistortata and T. crepuscularia (biundularia). — Mr. K.
Adkin : Tephrosia bistortata bred spring brood, March and April, and
summer brood, June ; some of the latter being equal in size to the
former; T. (■repmcularia (biundtdaria), bred May, all from the London
district. Melanic Dianthoeciacapsophila. — Also, on behalf of Mr. W.
F. de V. Kane : Dianthoeda capsophila from a small island ofl' the
Kerry coast, with examples from Howth and Isle of Arran (Galway)
for comparison. The Kerry specimens were unusually dark for the
species, and were bred. Aberrations captured in Yorkshire. — Mr.
Hewett, of York, exhibited a varied series of Taeniocampa tnunda from
York, including a fine mahogany-coloured form ; a melanic ab. of
T. pulveridenta ; a series of abs. of Abraxas (jrosmlariata, including a
specimen of the ab. rarlei/ata, bred from a wild larva ; the various
forms of Spilosdina lubricipeda, including a series of intermediate
forms ; a preserved hybrid larva from ova laid by a female T. inunda,
taken i)i cop. with a male T. stabilis, at York, 1896 [Mr. Bacot con-
sidered the larva typical >ini)tda] ; series of abs. of A. sijhuta (uhiiata),
one being suii'used, and several unusually free from markings ; three
females of Odonestis potatoria of the male coloration ; and three
Saturnia pavonia, one having the left hind-wing very pale, one very
dark male, and a female having hind-wings approaching the male
coloration. Irish lepidoptera. — Mr. Barrett, on behalf of Mr. Kane :
a specimen of Boarmia repandata ab. dcstritjaria, Phothedes capti-
unada, and Aciptilia tetradactj/la from Ireland. Inbred Eupithecia
consignata. — Also K'Hjdthecia consiiptata, hxed in-and-in by Mrs. Hutchin-
son continuously since 1874, and only on one occasion, some ten years
ago, had a wild strain been introduced. At first they gradually decreased
in size, but after the introduction of a wild strain, and the sleeving
out process, they increased in both size and depth of colour. Acherontia
atropos and its aberrations.- — Mr. Tutt : a long series of Acherontia
atropus, bred by Mr. Burrows, of Kainham, showing considerable
variation in the colour of the " skull," and said that he did not con-
sider the species adapted to exist in this country. They were forced.

SOCIETIES. 47

Japanese tephrosias. — Mr. South exhibited a series of Tephvosias
allied to T. bistortata, from Japan and other Eastern Asiatic localities,
which proved exceedingly interesting. Larva of Aplecta occulta, etc.
— Mr. Mc Arthur : a living larva of Aplecta occulta, and a bred series
of HeliotJih ixityjera, Vaeiation of Spilosoma lubricipeda. — Mr.
Young, of Rotherhani : a very long series of Spilosoma lubricipeda
var. zatima, and vth. fasciata, and an ab. very closely resembling ab.
deschangei. It was noted that all British entomologists who bred this
species obtained intermediate forms freely, while it was not so on the
Continent. Tephrosia bistortata and T. crepuscularia. — To illus-
trate his paper, Mr. Hewett exhibited very long series of both broods
of T. bistortata, and also series of T. crepuu-ularia. These were from
some 50 or 60 different localities. Most of the known forms were shown,
as well as preserved larvfe. On behalf of Mr. W. F. de V. Kane, the
latter species from Irish localities, and both species from Swansea, on
behalf of Major Eobertson. He then read a most exhaustive paper on
these two species. He first paid a tribute to Mr. Prout's work on the
synonymy of these species. Included in the paper were, he said, the
observations and experiments of more than fifty well-known ento-
mologists, who had been interested in this question. In the discussion
which followed, Mr. South asked : (1) Did any character exist by
which the species could be separated with absolute certainty ?
(2) Which was the commoner species ? To the latter, members
agreed that T. crepuscxdaria was very local, while T. biundularia was
more common. Mr. Tutt thought that here were examples of recent
evolution, in fact, we had species in the making, as in the case of
some of the Zygjenas. He insisted that the naming of the two forms,
and the consideration of them as distinct, although very closely allied,
were matters of convenience, necessitated in our comparisons with
Continental and Asiatic representatives. Mr. Bacot stated that there
was a distinct difference between the larvae of certain broods that he
had had under observation, he could have easily separated 80 per cent,
of the larvte, although so closely allied.

The North London Natural History Society. — Dec. 24th, 1896.
— A new British species of Diptera. — Mr. Jennings : Micropalpus
pudicm, Rondani, a species new to Britain, taken at the flowers of a tall
Umbellifer, in a wood near Colchester, 19th Aug., 1896. He mentioned
that there were other reports of captures of the species this season.
Moths attracted by electric lights on a ship at sea. — Mr. Bacot
read the following extract from a letter from Mr. Quail, written on
board the R.M.S. " Ophir," en route for New Zealand: — " Off the
coast of Ceylon, about 150 miles from Colombo, the electric lights on
board attracted a number of species of Agrionidae (Neuroptera), as well
as a number of a species of a clear-winged Sphingid {Macroglossinae).
This latter species has a power which is remarkable, and worth
recording. It has three distinct anal tufts : that on either side is
black, the centre one is yellow. When the insect is settled these tufts
cover the extremity of the anal segment, and the abdomen has the
appearance of terminating in a somewhat pronounced point. When
in flight, or if alarmed, however, the side tufts are extended in a fan-like
manner, and form two flat black semicircles at the end of the abdomen.
The hairs of the tuft are about ^^ of an inch in length. It would be
interesting to know the use of this habit of extension. It is a coin-

48 THE entomologist's record.

cidence that these, the only insects attracted at this place, were both
clear-winged. Of course, both are strong fliers. On shore, at Ceylon,
I took a small " micro," white in colour, with black tufts, similar to
the above, but I did not notice a corresponding power of extension.
In the neighbourhood of Ceylon one specimen of Papilio machaon —
which I had brought with me — emerged from a f/rrt 6 -coloured pupa.
The only /^/;w;i-coloured pupa — spun on natural leaves — appears in-
clined to go over. At any rate, it has stood the intense heat of the
equator." Insects in the island of Ceylon.—" There were a great
many Neuroptera on shore at Ceylon . I also noticed a yellow Coliad —
Avhich here replaces the Pierids of England in point of quantity— with
black borders, which give the appearance of torn and tattered wings
when the insect flies. One specimen of a Eeduviid (Heteroptera)
came to light, as well as some Hymenoptera and Diptera."

The City of London Entomological and Natural History Society.
— January 19th, 1897. — Captures at Brockenhurst and Loughton in
]^Q9Q, — Mr. E. Heasler : a series of Aplecta pramia (herbida) taken at
sugar, in June last, at Brockenhurst ; series of Hi/lopJiila blcolorana,
bred from larvte taken at Loughton, and //. pnmnana captured at
sugar in the New Forest. Dark aberration of Acherontia atropos. —
Mr. J. A. Clark : a dark specimen of A. atropns, the larva being taken at
Walthamstow, in August, and imago emerging Nov. 25th. Aberra-
tions OF Angerona prunaria. — Mr. Clark : also picked variable forms
of A. pninaria var. sonlidata, 6 males, 4 females, bred from ova laid by a
female, the last of three impregnated by the same male. The brood
consisted of 82 larvtie, of which about 65 successfully passed through all
stages. Amongst the males, variation occurred in the size of the orange
marking near the apical angle of fore-wings, which marking coalesced
with the central orange area in one specimen ; in another, the orange
area was streaked with black lines. A female was asymmetrically
marked, the left hind-wing being without the broad dark border present
on the right. Aberrations of Aglais urtic.e and Pieris rap.e. — Also
A. {Vani'xi^a) urticae, caught in August last, at Ponder's End, with the
black spots at costal margin much suffused, and the two outer con-
fluent. Also two abs. of P. rapae from the same locality, the upper wings
of one, a male, being almost perfectly white, with no darkening at tip
of fore-wings, and the black spot in the middle showing dimly ; the
second, a female, having the hinder of the two spots on the upper wing in
duplicate. Larv/E of Trochilium crabroniforme. — Mr. G. R. Garland :
larva3 of T. crabninifonne (bciiibfci/oniiis) from Manchester, feeding on
wood of willow. Nyssia zonakia. — Mr. Garland also exhibited a series of
N. zona via taken at Blundellsands, near Liverpool ; and a sample of cotton
made by a new patent process to imitate silk. Dasychira pudibunda
EMERGING IN NOVEMBER. — Mr. D. C. Bate : Five well-marked male and
one female Dasi/dnra pudibunda, bred from larvje iritli black hairs ; all
emerged in November, having been kept indoors. Pcecilocampa
popuLi. — He also exhibited P. popidi, the larva being beaten at Dorking.
DwAKF Hybernia defoliaria. — In endeavouring to breed H. defuliaria,
Mr. Bate said his imagines emerged dwarfs, three being exhibited. The
larvfc were obtained at Dulwich, and wild moths shown from the same
locality were of normal size. Mr. Clark suggested the dwarfing was,
perhaps, caused by keeping the larvre too dry. History of silk. —
Mr. L. J. Tremayne read a paper entitled " The History of Silk," and
a vote of thanks was heartily accorded him.

i^^ AND ^"^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION

Vol. IX. No. 3. March 15th, 1897.

Notes of a few days' collecting at Wallasey (Liverpool), and in the
Valley of the Dee above Llangollen.

By PEOFESSOR T. HUDSON BEAEE, B.Sc, F.R.S.E., F.E.S., and
HORACE DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.3.

Having made up our minds to secure specimens of Cicindela
hijhrida, and to try our luck on the Welsh hills, we left London by the
5.30 p.m., for Liverpool, on Thursday, May 14th, 1896.

Friday morning broke dark and gloomy, with heavy rain, not an
inspiriting outlook when the object in view was such a sun lover as a
tiger beetle ; however, by the time breakfast was over the weather broke,
and prospects seemed somewhat fairer. A short journey by train,
during which we dived under the Mersey to gain the Cheshire side,
soon landed us on the sand-hills. Adopting the hints received, we
made for the shore, and then struck along it till the spot was reached
where the insect is usually taken. By this time the sun was out hot
and strong, making the heavy going somewhat fatiguing. Leaving
the shore, we plunged again into the sand-hills, which are fairly
high and decidedly steep, more especially as each foot up means a
slide back of about the same amount, and one's boots were soon filled
in all their spare crevices with fine sand. For some time careful
stalking up one side and down the other Avas all in vain, and hope
began to sink, when a loud shout from one of the twain announced the
capture of the first specimen. This proved we were on the right spot,
and the capture of a series for each was now but a matter of time and
labour.

Labour indeed it Avas ; up rises a specimen at your feet, too quick
for any attempt to strike with the net, and makes a bee-line for the next
sand-hill. A wild charge doAvn the one and up the other may secure for
you the insect, or it may only enable you to arrive in time to see it
make another bee-line for a still further spot, or, perhaps, back to
where you first started it. However, hard Avork and patience at length
secured the desired result, and having obtained our series of this
extremely agile and beautiful beetle, Ave rest for a feAV minutes to cool
doAvn and get rid of some of the sand which fills boots and clothes
generally.

As we were bound to be in Chester that afternoon, in order to
carry out our programme, Ave had no time to look for anything else on
the sand-hills, and only picked up a few casual specimens here and

50 THE entomologist's record.

there. We tried on the .shore for llmnaUum rttiiuliptnuw, a very local
insect, but Avere not lucky enough to come across it.

The other things taken were : — L'alathus jiariju's, Sitoncs i/riseus,
Leistus fidrilxirbis, Micnjzouiii tibiale, etc. It is, perhaps, as well to
point out that C hijhrida is the only form which occurs on these
sand-hills; the allied species, C. iiiarkiiiia, does not, we were informed
by local collectors, occur there, and certainly we saw no sign of it.

Returning to Birkenhead, we took train to Chester, and thence by
the Dee Valley line through Llangollen, to the qiuiint little village of
Carrog. While tea was preparing we strolled down to the river, and
were lucky enough to secure at once, by splashing the shingle, two
good Biiiibiilici, nainely, D. piuictulatiun and B. prasinuin, both being
fairly common. Several other generally distributed insects, such as
PtcrosticJms strenuus, etc., also occurred under stones in the dry part of
the bed — the long drought had made the river very low — darkness,
however, soon put a stop to our collecting.

Saturday morning saw us early afoot. Crossing the river, we
gradually worked our way up the slopes of the opposite mountains.
Beating hawthorn blossom, we secured specimens of Ti'lcjihorus ahsoints,
a choice insect for southern eyes, and birch similarly yielded ('oripiihitcs
ijid-rciis and I 'oi/onor/iai'iHs hispidus, naturally, manyothercommon things
dropping at times into our nets. A little higher up, when the trees
began to become very stunted and sparse, we crossed a small mountain
runnel (after a hearty drink, not much enjoyed a little later, when
we came across a dead rabbit lying in the water a few paces higher up),
and searched carefully the moss lining its tiny banks. Here some nice
things came to hand— we were evidently amongst genuine mountain
fauna — (Ti/)iim(sa rarii'i/ata, Tachinus chnii/atus, and a LatltinhiuiH,
which caused much trouble in identification. Eventually it was decided
that it must be a small unspotted variety of L. tfrminatiun. This Dr.
Sharp has confirmed ; he says "it is a beautiful small and dark
variety. I can almost match them from Scotland, but not quite ; my
variations do not go to this extreme."

Leaving this stream and crossing a stone wall, we are at length
on the open mountain side, amongst the heather, which grows thickly and
strongly all over these upland slopes, making the walking very trying.
The only form of collecting possible here is by turning over stones
(though we find under sheep's dung the mountain Aphudim
lappomun in plenty). The first truly mountain form we come across
is Calathiis vtii-niptcr^is, then soon Ftc rustic Jni^ vitirus puts in an
appearance, and presently, under stones close to the rough foot track,
which winds away over the mountain side to the distant slate quarries,
some beautiful specimens of Carabus (jlabratm turn up, a most splendid
insect, and perhaps, the most interesting of all our captures ;
C. cotfuulatus, of course, occurs. A Ptciosfir/nts, very like the common
madidn.s, is now and again found under stones, but a closer look at
once reveals that it is the mountain form, always, too, a scarce insect,
aethinps. Neither of these insects just mentioned has been, we believe,
taken on these hills before, though they occur on the higher mountain
masses of the Snowdon range. Of the other things found under the
stones, we may mention Pterustichus uii/rita, Uci/piis bnuuiipt's,
Latlirohium briuinijics, Cri/ptohi/pnus ripaiim, Bradijcellus collaris,
coi/nata, siinilis, etc. Some of these are mountain insects, others, of

COLLECTING AT WALLASEY (LIVERPOOL), AND IN THE VALLEY OF THE DEE. 51

course, occur freely in the low lands. Eventually we reach the cairn
which marks the summit. A few insects are found under the stones at
the foot of the cairn, but there is not much to tempt one to remain on
this bleak and bare summit, with its half-dried pools of inky black
peat water (the drought has evidently been very severe up here), so
we soon start on the return journey. On the way down, in a sheltered
little glen, a number of specimens of that beautiful insect, Cori/mbitea
aeneiisi, occur under stones, its usual habitat.

Tired out, but thoroughly satisfied with our day on the mountains,
we regain the little inn, and after a good meal, set off by train up
the river valley to Berwyn, to meet Mr. W. E. Sharp, of Liverpool,
who had promised to join us for a day.

Sunday was a beautiful day, only rather too hot for climbing the
slippery dry mountain slopes. Our special object was Mmodcra arctica
and ('i/uiindis vaporarionuu, two purely mountain insects; but first
of all, there was a possibility of something very good close at hand.
This w^as the spot on the Dee where that little rarity, Perileptus
areolatiis had been once or twice captured, so down to the shingly bed we
go, in great hopes of adding this to our takings. It has generally been
captured flying, but, though the sunshine was bright and strong, none
were about, so going down on our knees, we carefully searched the
fine shingle thrown up into the crevices of the great rocky bars which
here cross the river, and after much labour and toil at this, varied by
throwing masses of the shingle into still pools in the river, we did at
length secure a few specimens each, not enough to make one, however,
feel thoroughly satisfied with the work. Bembidium decorum and B.
atrocaeruleum also turned up. But time was hurrying on, so, leaving the
river, we start on our upland journey. The hillside is terribly dry and
burnt up, and insects are very scarce, a fine Ci/ehrm rostratus being
about the best thing till we get quite close to the summit. There the
ground flattens out a bit, and stones become more numerous, though
the moisture is still very much wanting ; however, one of our desires,
C. vaporariorum, turns up in fairly large numbers, with it OUsthopjis
rotundatus and Carabus arveiisis occnv, some most beautiful specimens of
the latter, and, of course, several of the other mountain forms we had
taken on the Saturday, but, alas, Miscodera is conspicuous by its
absence ; the drought has evidently been too much for it, as Mr. Sharp
has taken it at this time of the year on these slopes.

Descending from the ridge, we try our luck with a water net,
in a small pool used for watering sheep. There is, however, not much
except A(/abus bipustulatus v. solicri and Ht/drophonisnif/rita. Another
summit is breasted in hopes of Miscodera, but in vain, and at length,
as the day is rapidly waning, we give up the chase and make once
more for the river valley.

A little waterfall close by the hotel is our last spot. Here out of the
wet moss we wring Duinous coerulescens, Stcn^is gttijnemeri, Lesteva
pitbescens, Philontkm bipxiHtulatus, and a few other of the water-fall
loving Staphs.

This is the closing scene of our mountain trip : a hurried meal, and
we catch a local to take us back to Chester, from whence a night
express soon lands us, early on Monday morning, once more in London,
with bottles full enough of choice things to keep one busy for many a
day setting and naming.

52 THE entomologist's record.

Contributions to the fauna of tlie Dauphinc Alps.

III. — The Lepidoptera of Bourg u'Aru.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

I spent Tuesday, August 18th, 1896, at Boug d'Aru, and collected
along the road leading from there to Bourg d'Oisans, as far as the
point at which the Val de Veneon joins the Romanche Valley. It
seems advisable to put on record the insects observed and captured in
this delightful spot, though a day's work must give but a poor contri-
bution to the fauna of this valley. The road is an incline, rising to
about 3,500 feet at Bourg d'Aru, and falling to about 2,400 at the
junction of the two valleys. High mountains covered -with glaciers
bound each side of the Val de Veneon, which, in places, is narrow,
rocky and precipitous. At other times it widens considerably, admit-
ting of a little cultivation on the slopes extending from the bed of
the river to the foot of the mountains. The sun disappears from the
valley by '6 p.m., so the day is necessarily a short one. Many insects
that I had found common at Bourg d'Oisans, and that offered no
variation from the specimens obtained there, were not captured, and
as I kept no record of these species, they are not mentioned.

Papilionides. — Fam. Lyc.enid.e. — I'uUjommatus curydon. — Not
abundant, the males with pale undersides, the females not shot
with male coloration. P. &cZZ«;y/».s, — Not abundant. The males
taken were amongst swarms of P. dainon, drinking at the little puddles
in the roadway. /'. icarm. — Abundant, the ab. icariitus appeared also
to be rather common. P. eschcri. — This beautiful grand-looking
icurm-like species was scarce and going over ; a few females occurred.
P. astrarche. — Rather common, and not unlike British specimens ; the
orange spots round the margins of the fore- and hind-wings fairly well
developed. P. (hinion.—In swarms. There w^ere literally hundreds
at some of the little wayside pools made by the streams that broke
through the rocky precipices bounding the valley. Both sexes were
equally well represented ; the males, of course, are more conspicuous.
Fam. Papilionid.e. —Papilio jmdaliiius. — Very abundant, both in the
clover fields, on the flower heads, and also at the puddles in the road.
P. Diachaon. — Seen now and again all day, but not common. Those
netted Avere of large size, and mostly damaged. One freshly emerged
specimen, that still had slightly limp wings, had one tail entirely
absent (probably bitten oft" by a lizard). Fam. Parnassid.b. — Par-
nasninx apoZ^^— Scarce, but occurring all along the valley. Probably
more abundant in suitable spots at a higher elevation. I observed
this species fighting furiously with Sati/rns actaca. Fam. Pieeid.e. —
Pie lis napi. — Common. Specimens of both sexes very lightly marked on
the upper and under sides. Colias edusa. — Only about five specimens
observed. The species was exceedingly rare. Of those captured,
two were worn and two freshly emerged. Colias Injale. — Fairly
common, and within narrow limits variable. I captured only six
specimens. Four of these showed a tendency to the ab. intennedio.
Many specimens, however, that I observed at rest, were moderately
well marked on the margins. Goneptenjx rhamni. — Next to P. damon,
the commonest butterfly. I must have seen thousands in the course of
the day, but there was no time to overhaul them for aberrations.
Many of the females appeared more yellow than is usually the case, and

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHINK ALPS, 53

there was in this direction a general tendency towards the ab. inter-
media. Lenrnphada sinapis. — The second brood was abvuidant ; but
evidently going over. The ab. dmiensiK and ab. enjsimi both occurred.
Fam. Nymphalid.^. — Mditaea dulyma. — Going over, the species had
evidently been abundant. Brcntim dia. — Fairly abundant, and in
good condition. Ar<jnnnh a<ilaia. — This species was rare, and appeared
to be so throughout the whole of the Romanche and Veneon Valleys.
A. niobe ab. eris. — One specimen only seen and captured. A. adippe. —
The abundant species of this genus ; abounded in suitable places, but
was going over. A. latJumia. — Not uncommon, but seen much oftener
than caught. When A. lathoniais in the humour it can move, neither
species of Colias can touch it for mere speed. Dri/as paphia. —
Abundant, with the last species on a rough slope just before the Veneon
Valley joins the Romanche Valley. This rough slope, down which
I came once or twice more rapidly than I went up, was the
favourite haunt of Erehia nenrida^, Satynis artaea, Prtr»rt.s.s/?rs' apollo,
Arfjynnk adippe and Dnjan paphia. These, with the two Papilios and a
few other species, fought for a place on the thistle-heads, which grew
there somewhat abundantly. The specimens of D. paphia, however,
were all more or less damaged. Limenitis Camilla. — -Two or three
male specimens only seen. These were in good condition, but very
small, Euvaneam antiopa. — Not uncommon, I caught only one
specimen. One reviewer, in slating my British Butterjiies, says it isn't
much of a book, because the author has left out so many important
facts. He illustrates this by stating that I had left out of the letter-
press connected with CoUaa edu^a, the fact that this " species flies
faster than all other British butterflies ! ! " and then quotes the good
old tale about Alpheraky's dragoon, which Kirby had served up again in
the part of his Biitterfiioa (Lloyd's) the week before the review appeared.
I should like to put E. antiopa, A. lathonia, C. edma and (\ hyalc in a
line, give them a fair start, and set this entomological (?) reviewer
running after them. If he caught any (he probably wouldn't) it
would not be E. antiopa, nor A. lathonia. You can stalk them, but
you may as well try to run down a swallow as E. antiopa when it is
on the move. I stalked one specimen ; it took me some 25
minutes to get it, and time would not allow of a repetition when so
many things were Avanted. This merely in explanation of my
enormous catch of a " not uncommon " species. Vanrs^m io. — Fairly
abundant in the clover fields, and apparently quite typical. Pyrameia
cardui. — Rather rare, the specimens I noticed were all apparently freshly
emerged. PoJygonia r-allnon. — One poor specimen (of the ab. pallidior.
Pet. = hHtchinxoni, Robs.) only seen and captured ; evidently passe.
Fam. SATYKiDiE. — Hipparrhia hcrmione. — Not uncommon, but
getting very ragged, especially the males, — Satyrus artaea. — All the
specimens observed were exceedingly pale, the females apparently of
the ab. bryce, Hb. Epinephele lyraon. — Fairly abundant in restricted
localities. E. ianira. — Moderately abundant, with the last species.
Coenonympha arcania. — Practically over, I obtained two poor specimens
only, Erehia neoridas. — Not uncommon, all along the valley on
broken ground ; in one place abundant, but I got no females. The
species puzzled me a good deal. The books say that it is like E. aethiops.
I consider it, both in its habits and general appearance, much more
like E. prono'e. In spite of its dark underside, the pale dusting makes it

54 THE entomologist's RECORD.

very inconspicuous when at rest. Erebia aethiops.- One female
specimen only, in fine condition.

NocTuiDES.-^/>«»H'« ./^///m,«.-One specmien on a flower-head m
the sun ; of the ab. oadea-M-o form. Phtsia bractm. -Klo^■ely male,
found whilst drying its wings on a grass stem at about lO^-^^^;

Cn^j.omivJ.-Ccdlmorpha /...a.-In great force, and m excellent
condition. All along the valley, from about 10 am. til 2 p.m., this
species was to be disturbed from the flowers basking m the^-n ^^^^^^
times two or three specimens on a single Ao^er-head It was also
scattered all over the clover fields, suckmg honey from the Aowers I
did not see a single specimen of ab. hUe^cem, nor of ^b .satumjm.
Lithosia cowplana.-Ock\ specimens were to be obtained here and there
seated on the scabious flowers in the sun. L htndeola.-k few odd
specimens obtained in the same way as the last. /'^'Y'lZ^^^i:
The specimens here were marked like typical irrorella, but they were
of a r ch golden ground-colour, and may be an allied species. Litnosm
lutarcllaLpyinnaeoJa.-The ordinary Br tish form of this species (ab
p,l,.uu'ola) occurred here, and not the usual richly-coloured Alpme tj^pe
This was remarkable and unexpected, as at La Grave, only a few miles
away, but at 2,000 feet greater altitude, the golden lutarella^honnded.
Soine entomologists still throw doubt on these being the same species
because the more golden colour of Intardla is accompanied by a darkei
underside, but iV^pose no one has caught --- . ^P-^f^ ^
Mardla find pygmaeola than myself, and I have no doubt of then

beinc; the same species. t ^ \ i„v.+

Boumcw^s.^Porthetria di.par.- The males exceedingly abundant
flying everywhere, the females seated on the perpendicular faces of the

SATUKNiiDES.-N«eu.Hv:« pyrL-The beautiful larv.^ would have
proved abundant, I believe, had they been closely searched for. I
found several full-fed ones, on one little bush of ^'/'«'"»^f

GEOMETRiDEs.-.S'ir.Hk dathrata—Conunon here and there. The
specimens quite typical. Acidalia mar<iineimnctata {prowntata).-One
ypical .lAmJ Larentia olivata.-One or two specmiens disturbed
frim the sides of a rocky gully. Coremia ferrugata. -One moderately
typical specimen only occurred. FAcbolia bipunctana -Common o a
rather deep grey colour, and well defined transverse bands rather 1 ke
the darker^berrations found among British ^f cimens W^i6«Za;- .^^^^^^^^
tersata,-One specimen, of a grey tmt, m fine ^^of^^^^tion di u bed
from a mass of clematis, which was very abundant all oyer the district
FAipithecia impurata.-One specimen, in poor condition, disturbed

whilst resting on a rock. . t , -u n t . +v^^

PyRALiDES.-Oro6.na ImMli^.-One specimen disturbed from the

herbage in a steep gully. Botys nebrdalu.-One specimen disturbed

in the same locality as the last. . i i i

CRAMBiDES.-CVam&»s- faJsdlus.-k few specimens only observed.

These were not quite so pale as the Gresy-sur-Aix specimens. Crcnnbus

cuhndlm. — Very abundant. , . . „

Gelechiides -(/.'/a-/<ia ^nymnc-ic^^a. -Several specimens, m fine

condition. The species was rather common. k^ a v

Pterophoeides. — Mimaeseoptilm coprodactylm. — Abundant, as
usual. AdptUla tetradactijla. -^ khnndmt, and just like British
specimens.

CoNTRIBtmONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHINK ALPS. 55

Zyct.enides. — Zi/f/acna carnlolica. — Abundant, the creamy markings
better developed than in the Bourg d'Oisans examples.

ToRTRiciDES. — Tortri.r ribcana. — Only one Tortricid appears in the
day's take. This is a specimen of this species.

Hepialides. — Hcpialus si/lriinis. — A large $ specimen of this
species was found in the net, probably swept up from the grass.

A new British Flea (Typhlopsylla pentacanthus).

By the HON. CHARLES EOTHSCHILD. F.Z.S., F.E.S.

Ti/jihlojist/lla pentacantlim, sp. nov. — ^Front of the head slightly
angulated, bearing five genal spines, of which the first two and the
fourth are of equal length, the fifth is half the length of these, and the
third is the longest. Pronotum Avith fourteen spines. The posterior
edges of the first and second abdominal segments bear four spines, and
those of the next three two apiece. The seventh abdominal segment
bears at the apex, on the dorsal side, four long bristles. The hinder
edges of all the tibife are marked with six incisions, bearing six pairs
of strong bristles, gradually increasing in length from the base to the
apex of the tibia.

Parasitic on Muatela nih/aris, Arvicola (u/n'stis, and Mils .si/lraticHs.

The above description is taken from ?i female specimen, caught on
a weasel [Mustela ndi/aris), at Tring, in 1894. We have, however,
examined several other examples of this interesting insect, both in our
own and in Mr. Edward Saunders' collection, and hope to publish
notes on the wale soon.

A critical resume of the arguments for and against Tephrosia

bistortata (crepuscularia) and Tephrosia crepuscularia (biundularia)

being considered distinct species.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

{Cojicluded from p. 32).

I have previously suggested that the records of the capture of
specimens of a second brood of Tephrosia biwididaria at large {K.M.M.,
xxiii., p. 86, and Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Sac, 1890, p. 25), by Mr. C.
G. Barrett, are probably erroneous, and that all the specimens
referred to belong to T. creiniscidaria. This opinion has been con-
siderably strengthened by the examination of the specimens exhibited
by Mr. Barrett for Mrs. Bazett, on Sept. 10th, as individuals of the
second brood of T. hinndnlarla. They are (to me) palpably specimens of
the second brood of T. crepuscidaria, exactly similar to many bred
specimens in my own series, and it appears to me, therefore, very
probable that the previous captures of Mr. Barrett were the same.
To my knowledge there are but three records, in two ca.ses of single
individuals only, of a second brood of T. biundularia. These are : —
(1) Mr. Cooper reports breeding T. hinndularia in August, 1890, from
an egg laid by a female captured the previous June, the larva having
fed upon knot-grass {Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soe., 188(3, p. 56j.
(2). Mr. Bayne, on Nov. 3rd, 1894, captured a specimen of the second
brood of T. biundularia, in Epping Forest, near Chingford. It was

56 THE entomologist's record.

a female, badly crippled, and died without ovipositing. I have
personal knowledge of Mr. Bayne's intimate acquaintance with this
insect in Epping Forest, and his judgment may be considered as con-
clusive on the point of the insect's identity. (3) This is a general
statement made by Mr. Eobson, that " the offspring of both insects
in favourable seasons or localities feed up and emerge the same year,
or part of the brood does. The second brood, in both species, presents
the same characteristics as the first, slightly modified only, as is
usual in second appearances " {E.M.M., xxiii., p. 111). Mr. Eobson
does not say that he has bred them, although I suppose we may
assume that he has. [Whilst this paper has been going through the
press, Mr. Eobson has stated more exactly his knowledge of a second
brood of 2\ hinndularia. He says (K.M.M., xxxii., p. 267) : "I have
only once had a second brood of T, biunchilaria here [crcpmcularia
does not occur). They were smaller, less distinctly marked, more
suffused than the type, and the ground-colour not so white."] I do
not wish to lay more value on this point — the rarity of partial double-
broodedness in T. biumJularia in confinement, and its frequency in
T. m'lnfsndarla — because it really only betokens a difference of habit,
which, whilst it supports the theory of two species, does not prove
it. The separation of these two allies into species is based on a
number of independent characters, and that they have two quite
distinct life cycles in a state of nature.

I have known lepidopterists who speak of T. i-npustidaria as the
larch-frequenting species. It is perfectly true that T. crepmcnlaria is
exceedingly abundant in many larch woods, but it is equally abundant
in woods of mixed growth. At Clevedon, Eeading, and many other
recorded localities, it is said to be abundant in larch woods. At
Chattenden, it is common where there are no larches, and where the
wood consists essentially of oak, ash, hazel, etc. At West Wickham
it is abundant in woods of mixed growth, and in a wood at Cuxton,
where beech and oak are the principal trees. On the other hand,
T. hinndularia is abundant at Cuxton, in another wood, chiefly com-
posed of beech, oak and pine, and so on. There is no very especial
attachment of either species to a certain tree.

This brings us to the strange fact that, in some woods both species
occur, and maintain their distinctness side by side. I have already
instanced the New Forest and Birch Wood. But in my experience this
is not usually the case. It would seem that the conditions suitable for
one species are rarely suitable for the other, and hence their localities
usually lie in separate, though they may be adjacent, woods. Mr.
Doubleday's observations, already quoted, emphasise this point. Mr.
Chappell {^Kntam., xix., p. 254) gives a similar result of his ex-
perience. He found the species in different localities, and there were
no intermediate forms.

The mixture of the synonymy of these species has resulted in some
amusing errors. Some of these may be enumerated. (1) Mr.
Carrington and Mr. Sheldon refer to the dark aberrations of the
species which has been for some time known by the name of biundii-
laria as crcpuscidaria [Proc. St/i. Lond. Ent. Sac, 1886, p. 156). The
same dark form from Derbyshire is referred to by Mr. Sheldon, the
following year, as T. biundidaria {Ibid., 1887, pp. 73 and 87). Mr, W.
F. de V. Kane falls into a series of blunders. He says : — " The whole

T. mSTORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND T. CREPUSCLtLARIA (bIUNDULARIa). 57

problem, as stated by your correspondents, is a most complex one,
namely, that a pale insect emerging in March and April in the South
of England, has a summer form of a warmer tone, while in the same
locality a very similar insect, emerging in May to June, assumes the
livery of the summer form of the other species, but also has occasional
specimens of the pale form." This is " topsyturveydom " with a
vengeance. I have no doubt whatever that all the Irish specimens
mentioned by him in the same note [Entom., xix., p. 210) are
bmndularia. Then the mixture of synonymy again shows itself
(Ibid., p. 254) where Mr. Joseph Chappell calls the early species
T. Idundularia, which he says is taken " on and near larch trees, and
is always a dark and distinct species," whilst he reports having taken
T. crepmcidaria in Delamere Forest, and other well-known haunts of
T. hiumhdaria. Mr. Payne [Ibid., vol. xxviii., p. 171) writes : —
" Tephrnsia crepmcidaria. Barrow. Common. T. hiiuidularla (= lari-
caria). Frequently, south." Here evidently the author of the
Derbyshire list makes a curious mixture in his attempt to unravel
Stainton's synonymy. Mr. Nicholas Cooke (Z6;V/., April, 1887) writes
of " Tephrosia binndularia appearing in March, and was to be found
through April and May," evidently confounding the two species.
Mr. Cooke's use of the names is identical with that of Mr. Chappell
(in the quotation above), who called the early species biundularia.
Mr. Kane {Proc. St/i. Lond.Ent. Soc, 1891, p. 55) exhibited specimens
of T. biundularia, which he said "occurred in May and June, both in
the north and in Kerry, and doubted if the earlier brood existed in
Ireland." Surely Mr. Kane does not think that our English ovy^ff.sTit-
laria are the parents of our later biundularia. If so, it is a great
mistake. These must suffice, although it by no means exhausts the
list.

There is only one other point to notice. In the Proc. Sth. Lond.
Ent. Soc, 1887, p. 39, is a note to the effect that "Mr. Tutt
exhibited a long series of Tephrosia crepuscularia, Hb., from Hungary,
and remarked that he Avas unable to obtain any forms of T. biundularia
from that country, although he had received it from Germany."
What I did say I cannot, after nearly ten years, 'recall, but I certainly
did not say what I am reported to have said. I now have the
specimens of T. crepuscularia then exhibited, with the locality label,
" Hanover," on them, nor have I ever, to my remembrance, possessed
Hungarian examples of T. crepuscrdaria, nor examples of T. biundularia
from Germany.

In closing this " Historical Sketch " of these insects, based on the
data that have appeared in our British magazines during the last twenty
years, I have been careful not to trench on ground which is being covered
by other lepidopterists, whose united exertions are to appear in the form
of a paper to be printed in the Entoin. Record very shortly. I have,
therefore, not dealt with the diagnoses of the larvjB, the microscopic
structure of the scales, and other details, which would have swelled
this paper to undue proportions, although they would greatly help to
elucidate the point under discussion, i.e., as to whether TepJer<isia
bistortata and T. crc^jJt.srifZrtnVf are sufficiently distinct in their structure
and habits to make it advisable for lepidopterists to consider them as
two distinct species.

[A remark made by Mr. Barrett since the above paper was read is

5^ tHE entomologist's RECORl).

likely to prove misleading. Talking at Mr. Eobson [E.M.M., xxxii.,

p. 267), he asserts that the latter laboured under the disadvantage of
not having seen the enormous series exhibited by Mr. Tutt and Mr.
Henderson, " in which the arbitrary nature of the separation of the
two forms into species seemed to be evident." Apart from the fact
that Mr. Robson has stayed with me, and overhauled my collection at
leisure, I would point out that, of the thousand or more examples com-
prising every conceivable form of variation of both species obtainable, ex-
hibited by Messrs. Henderson, Mera and myself, there was not a smgle
specimen that we had the slightest difference of opinion about as to
which species it belonged, and it is surely too late in the day to talk
about " arbitrary separation " of species in the light of our present
knowledge.]

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Habits of the CocHLiopoDm moths. A query. — I know nothing of
the habits of the imago of lletcrivjcm'a asella, except that, when breeding
the species, one finds that it copulates at mid-day, and that unless
one kills and sets the specimens at once, they Hy about the
breeding cage in the afternoon, and very soon spoil themselves. The
male of Apada [LiniacoiJes'j liiiianidcs (^tcstudu), however, flies wnldly in the
hottest sunshine, in July, above the tall undergrowth in our Kentish
woods. The female is lethargic, and is usually obtained when
" beating," falling down like a little lump of brown clay to the ground.
Barrett says of this species: — "The moth frequents oak woods, and
doubtless flies at night. In the daytime it is rather sluggish, sitting
in oak trees — young ones especially — among the leaves, and is readily
disturbed by jarring the tree, when it usually darts to the ground, and
there shams death, but if touched becomes excessively restless " {Brit.
Lep., vol. ii., pp. 171-172). Meyrick says the species of this family
" fly by night, and are retired in habit." Of course, the insects maij
fly by night, but the general incorrectness of these statements, so far
as they relate to the latter species in Kent, leads me to ask for
information on this point. — J. W. Tutt.

:^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c.

Aplecta prasina from ovum to imago in seven months. — On
June 18th, last year, I boxed a worn specimen of A. prasina (Jwrhida)
on a tree in Jones' Enclosure, Lyndhurst. It laid eggs the same
evening, and the young larvae emerged in about a week's time. They
fed at first on dock, later on plantain or dock indifferently. As they
developed very rapidly after the beginning of September, I began to
think, if the weather continued mild, they might not intend tohybernate
at the larval stage, ^^'ith this idea I introduced lettuce leaves, and
tender carrots into the breeding pan, keeping the larvae cool, but
indoors. They now increased in size very rapidly, and at the end of
October began to disappear under the cocoanut fibre which lined the
bottom of their abode. In the middle of November they were brought
into my study, where there was a fire all day, and on December 6th,
the first imago is-sued from the pupa, while many larvfe were still
feeding. The last larva disappeared beneath the fibre on Christuuis-

NOtES ON LIFE-HlStORIES, LARV^, ETC. 69

day. The insects continued to emerge, till now I have 21 bred. The
dates and pauses of emergence are strange : December 6th, one ;
9th, three ; 10th, one ; 11th, one; 12th, one; 24:th, one ; January
5th, one ; 9th, five ; others on January 11th, 15th, 17th, 27th, 81st.
It will be seen that eight insects had reached perfection before the last
of the larvie had thought of pupation. Most of the emergences took
place early in the evening, though one or two issued about 10 a.m.
It appeared to me that there was a marked increase in the rate of
development after they began to feed on carrots, which they eat with
astonishing voracity. The lettuce leaves were equally approved, but
I had reason to think were too relaxing a diet. The larvae were
subjected to the disadvantage of no less than three journeys to
England and back while feeding, but I have had only one cripple. —
(Rev.) Frank E. Lowe, F.E.S., St. Stephen's Vicarage, Guernsey.
Feb., 1897.

Larv.e of the Cochliopodid bioths. — Newman says that the feet
(prolegs) of the Cochliopodid larvae " are retractile, so that when one
of them is turned on its back, the legs appear to be withdrawn into its
stomach ; but when again placed in its natural position, the feet are
protruded, and take firm hold of the leaf " {British Moths, p. 21). Of
course this statement, apart from the feet being withdrawn into its
" stomach," is absurd. Chapman describes the real structures that
exist, and says, ^^ Liiiiacodes has suckers to the first eight abdominal
segments, though the first and last of these are poorly developed.
These suckers are probably homologous with prolegs, and also with
the eight pairs of abdominal legs of Kriacfjihala" {Trans. Knt. Soc.
Loud., 1894, p. 345). Poulton {Ibid., 1888, pp. 591-592) gives a most
interesting note on the progression of Liinacudes, and surmises that it
has arisen from the larva having sticky ventral surfaces. I wish to
ask whether this is not the method now adopted by the larva, as I
have just examined some, coiled up in the cocoon, and the ventral
surface of the larvfe is so sticky that one can pick them up by
means of this adhesive matter, the larva sticking to the flat edge of a
knife. Has anyone further information on the point ? — J. W. Tutt.

Descriptions of eggs of lepidoptera. — Polia ni(jrocincta. —
The eggs are laid in a slightly imbricated manner. They are of the
usual Noctuid character, and are very beautiful objects under the
microscope. In colour, delicate claret-red. In shape, almost two-
thirds of a sphere (somewhat depressed). About thirty longitudinal
ribs, broad, glassy and iridescent, closely packed, and uniting in pairs
near the summit of the egg (and at the summit a third rib often
unites with two others), so that about ten or eleven ribs dip into and
cross the micropylar area, and form a central button, of crinoid
appearance, in the bottom of the basin-like cavity that this area forms.
In the centre of the button the true micropyle is situated. The trans-
verse ribbing is weaker than the longitudinal, yet it is distinct,
especially where it crosses the longitudinal ribs. Between the latter,
the transverse ribs have the appearance of partly-closed Venetian
blinds, when looked at from above. The irregularity of the longi-
tudinal ribbing is very remarkable, and the ladder-like arrangement
of the transverse ribs very beautiful. Mr. Murray (to whom I am
indebted for the eggs) writes: — "When first laid the eggs are much
paler. If fertile, they commence to grow darker in a few days." [The
description was made under a two-thirds lens, on Jan. 15th, 1897] .

60 THE entomologist's kecokd.

Cirrhoedia xerainpelina. — The Qgg is of the Noctuid type, attached
by the base, and upright. It forms a very fiat depressed cone, the
width to the height ahnost 2:1. It is of a dark grey colour to the
naked eye (probably due to the colour of the embryo within, showing
through the transparent shell). Under a two-thirds lens, the egg is
glassy-looking, with 24 longitudinal ribs (running from base towards
the apex). Normally, these ribs should be alternately long and short,
the former running from the base to the summit, the latter stopping
short at about one-fourth the distance from the top. Really the longi-
tudinal ribs are rather irregular ; in one egg examined there were two
short ribs between two successive long ones, whilst in another case the
short one was missing. The twelve long ribs run over the edge of the
apex into the micropylar depression, and being lightly continued to
the centre of the base of the depression, they join in pairs and form
there a hexagonal rosette, in the centre of which is the micropyle.
The transverse ribs are continuous round the egg, forming distinct
knots where they cross the longitudinal ones. The whole system of
ribbing has the appearance of an open transverse network, the spaces
between the ribs appearing very deep, the surface of the egg not being
visible between the ribs. The network is much closer near the apex
of the egg. The sloping sides of the micropylar depression form
roughly hexagonal cells. The micropyle proper is situated in the centre
of the raised button, at the base of the micropylar depression. Mr.
Barnes (to whom I am indebted for the eggs) writes : — " The ova of
C. xerampeliiia were laid on Aug. 4th, 1896. They have turned from
bright or orange-red to the grey colour they now are, in nine days."
[The description of the egg was made under a two-thirds lens on Jan.
14th, 1897] .

TiUacpa [Xanfhia) aiira;/(). — The egg is of the Noctuid type ; it
forms a depressed cone"-"' (much less depressed than the egg of
C. xcrampelina) , its height to breadth being about 2 : 3. Under a 1"
lens it is of a delicate purple-red hue, Avith distinct iridescence, the
micropyle appearing as a tiny black button at the apex of the egg.
The colour is much paler if held against the light, and the egg looks
almost semi-transparent. Under a two-thirds lens, one observes
that there are 15 vertical ribs (running from base to apex), each
alternate one failing before reaching the summit. The others pass
over the summit and unite to form an apical button, on which the
micropyle is situated. There is considerable variation in the arrange-
ment of the vertical ribs, one, two, and even three of the shorter ones
being sometimes obsolete in an egg. These ribs are broad, and leave
but little space between each other. There are about 30 indistinct
transverse ribs, which run round the egg in circles, crossing the vertical
ribs, where they become conspicuous. There is no well-marked apical
depression. This apical structure separates the egg very distinctly
from the egg of C. .rermnpiiina. To the naked eye the egg looks
chocolate-brown in colour, and its resemblance in colour to the scaly
bracts of the leaf-buds, upon which the eggs are laid, is very remark-
able. [This description was made on .Jan. 14th, 1897, from eggs sent
by Messrs. Clarke and Barnes, of Reading. Those sent by Mr. Barnes

* Perhaps this type of ep;g would be better described as " ellipsoid," the lower
part of the ep;g contracting to the base, so that the basal diameter is less than the
equatorial diameter.

NOTES ON LTFE-HTSTORIES, LARVAE, ETC. 61

were laid Hept. 4th, 1896 ; those sent by Mr. Clarke were laid during
the first week of October, 1896] .—J. W. Tutt.

^^ARI ATION.

Pale grey aberrations of Boarjiia abietaria. — I bred a peculiar
pale grey specimen of B. abietaria last year, from a larva obtained in
the New Forest. — J. C. Moberly, M.A., F.E.S., Rockstone Place,
Southampton.

Variation of Oporabia filigrajimaria. — I have bred about a dozen
and a half imagines of (K Jili'/raiiniuiria, from ova sent me from
Bolton, by Mr. Allen. They hatched about the middle of February,
fed readily on whitethorn, and began to go down about the middle of
April. On August 26th the first emerged, and they continued to do so
at intervals until the middle of October. All of them have a slight
purplish tinge ; but as regards size and markings, they range from
large and pale (some large and ample winged, as (K dlliitata), with the
markings hardly more than indicated, to males with dark, clear trans-
verse stripes. I confess 1 hardly know what ( K autuiiinaria is, but a
close study of the different books at hand suggests to me that some of
the larger specimens of these I have bred might very easily be classi-
fied as 0. autuiiinaria, if the imago form is all that is to guide one. I
found that the larvae would eat sallow and birch, as well as whitethorn,
which again makes me suspicious as to O. autuiiinaria being a separate
species, as very little appears to be known about its larva, beyond that
it is said to feed on birch. — .J. C. Moberly, M.A., F.E.S., South-
ampton. Fi'bruarii, 1897.

X^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Abraxas grossulariata in the winter. — -I have recently bred a
specimen of A. iiroasulariata from one of a few full-fed larv;e that I
picked up in the garden quite late in the autumn, so late that some of
the larvie died because there were no more leaves to be found on the
currant bushes. I still have a few pupae which are apparently alive.
Only a day or two ago I noticed one had somewhat changed colour,
and I expected to see the moth emerge, but instead of that I found a
dipterous pupa at the bottom of the box, the larva of the Dipteron
having eaten its way through the pupa case of the A. (/rossulariata.
If the parasite emerges it will find itself a somewhat out-of-date
individual. -A. W. Mera. Fehruanj, 1897.

Autumnal emergences of Acherontia atropos. — I bred a fine
imago of A. atrupus towards the end of October last, from a pupa sent
to me by Mr. J. Anderson, of Chichester. — J. C. Moberly, M.A.,
F.E.S., Southampton.

I bred six fine Aclterontia atropos during November last. As soon
as the nights got cold I began to lose the puptp, although the imagines
were almost matured and ready for emergence. The pupte appeared
to get numbed and feeble. I then put them in a fairly uniform
temperature of 80'^ F., and they here succeeded in emerging again.—
E. A. Bowles, M.A., F.E.S. , Myddelton Hall, Waltham Cross.

Abundance of Lithocolletis larv^ in the autumn of 1896. —
The mines of various species of Lithocolletis were rather more abundant

62

THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD,

than usual last autumn, especially those of L. sorhi and L. emherizae-
penrlla. As regards the former, the mine is found on the leaflets of
mountain ash, and closely resembles that of L. ijomifolit'lla. With us
the species seems very local, being confined to one small strip of
plantation, and only occurring on young trees. There is a good deal
of the food-plant in the district ; but, up to the present, I have failed
to find the mines anywhere except in the plantation. — (Rev.) C. D.
Ash, M.A., Skipwith Vicarage, Selby.

New Fokest ix 1896. —As a summary of my work in the New Forest
last year, I may say that in the spring I found larva-beating pretty
productive, although A^^phalia ridms and Apatura iris were scarcer
than usual. Of the lichen-feeders, the larvae of Lithosia deplana,
Aventia jiexida, Cleora lichenaria and C. f/labraria, there were plenty,
and larvffi of Boarmia ahietaria and B. rohoraria were unusually
plentiful. Imagines of Triphaena subs'equa were taken in June as well
as September, and Epunda luhdcnta was captured in the latter month.
In the autumn there were again plenty of larviE of B. rohoraria,
Tcplirosia extersaria, Kurijmene dolabraria, and (linophria rubricollis,
and those of Acronicta leporina were also fairly abundant. Butterflies
were in great numbers everywhere that I collected this summer ; but
the absence of I'l/raineis cardui and Colias cdiisa, and the rarity of
Vanessa io and Pijrameis atalanta have been very noticeable. — J. C.
MoBERLY, M.A., F.E.8. February, 1897.

BOMBYX QUERCCrS TAKING PROBABLY ONLY ONE YEAR TO COMPLETE ITS

METAMORPHOSES IN CAITHNESS. — I sciid you the following observations
of mine, as throwing doubt on the generally received idea that Bombij.v
ijuercits (/) in the North of Scotland, and at high elevations, is always an
insect that takes two years to go through its changes. The locality I
am dealing with is on the borders of Caithness, and is a wild, bare,
cold moorland country, averaging, I should think, 700 feet above the sea
level, where I found the insect. From the end of May until the middle
of June, I found and examined great quantities of cocoons (about 150 on
one occasion in about half an hour). These cocoons were all empty,
at least, all with the exception of a very few, which produced, not
moths, but ichneumons — a large black and yellow species — about the
middle of June. Two local gamekeepers told me that large brown
woolly moths, similar, in their opinion ,toB. rnbi, which I was able to catch
and show them, were common on the moors in July and August, and that
they had been particularly common the previous year at the beginning
of the grouse shooting season (Aug. 12th, and after). Now, as to the
larvae. I wrote in my diary on May 27th, " the heather is covered with
them : one sees them at every step ; they are from one and a half to
two and a half inches long," and on June 18th, I wrote, "collected a
number to take home ; most of them will, I think, moult once more."
They all died. Now, it seems to me that these larvse were far too
forward for the B. calJunae^ or two-years' variety. They were nearly
as forward as ijuercits would be in the South of England. And I think
they were forward enough to produce imagines that same summer, in
July and August, at the time when the keepers said they had seen large
woolly moths common on the moors. Certainly that race of Bout hij.v could
not have been in the habit of emerging in June, when I believe
vallunae, or the two-year variety, does emerge, for if it had done so,
how was it that all the cocoons which I found in May and June were

MOTF.S ON COLLECTING. 63

empty, and that never during my stay there, from May 27th to
June 18th, did I see an imago of this insect on the wing, even though
the insect was evidently so common in the district ? I am only sorry
that I never reared any of the larvae, and that my observations are
not therefore conclusive. — W. M. Christy, M.A., t'.E.S., Watergate,
Emsworth, Hants. Jan. llth, 1897.

AsTEROscopus SPHINX NUMEROUS IN CO. Galway. — -When lately on
a visit to Clonbrock, co. Galway, I found this moth, which is con-
sidered generally scarce on the Continent, according to such authorities
as I have been able to refer to, decidedly numerous. As soon as the
nights became dark, at the end of October, several specimens were
taken nightly in Mr. ])illon's moth-trap, which was placed in a road
through a wood. On the 1st November, seven were taken before
11 p.m., and nine after that hour, some of which came flying to my
hand lamp, making a total of 16. The next night was very dark and
favourable, and twenty-three were captured before midnight, and five
more by the moth-trap before morning, making twenty-eight. Two
I caught on the wing Hying past me ; and several more came to the
hand lamp. On the 4th there was a pretty sharp frost, but eleven
were taken in the trap. On the night of the 5th the thermometer
registered 29*-' F., and no moths of any species flew. After this date,
till I left, only small captures were made. It is unnecessary to
mention that all these were males. Mr. Dillon and I made careful
search on several occasions for females on the tree-trunks, but in vain.
They varied in strength of colour somewhat, some having the
markings much more pale than the ordinary type. It is interesting
also to remark that specimens have been taken by Mr. Dillon in spring
as well as autumn, although the ova are deposited (at least, ordinarily)
before winter. This habit is noticed by Rogenhofer, according to
Hoffmann [Die liaujien der Sc/imetteiimifi' hhiropas, p. 123) : — " Das Ei
iiberwintert, nach Rogenhofer auch der Schmetterling." The most
noticeable thing about the autumnal captures of this season was the
utter absence of many of some usual species at ivy blossom or other-
wise, such as Xijlina socia, Hi/hi'iniadrfoliaria, etc. — W. F. de V. Kane,
M.A., F.E.S., Drumreaske House, Monaghan. Ihr., 1896.

Chcerocampa nerii in Aberdeenshire. — A wonderfully good male
of the above species was found on September 19th, in one of the out-
houses at Grandholm Works, near Aberdeen, by Mr. John Cameron,
foreman weaver. Excepting a small portion of the thorax, which is
rubl)ed, it is otherwise in good condition. The specimen was very well
set by Mr. John Thomson, a collector who is employed at the works,
and who kindly added it to my collection. I enclose a very accurate
coloured drawing by Mr. Archd. S. Hill, of this town, it will be seen
that the specimen in question has a much greater display of
reddish-pink than the figures in Barrett's Lepidoptera of the British
Islands. — Arthur Horne, 52, Irvine Place, Aberdeen, N.B. Xovewber
lith, 1896.

Chariclea umbra (Heliothis marginata) abundant in 1896. — I
did very little collecting last summer. The only insect I got commonly
was C. umbra {nunyinata). It was at one time almost our commonest
Noctuid, then it became so rare that it was scarcely seen for years.
Last year (1896) it swarmed, and if I could have looked well after it,
I could have taken hundreds, as it was I got a very fair number. — J.
E. RoBsoN, F.E.S., Hartlepool.

64 THE kntomologtst's record.

EuvANESSA ANTioPA AT YARMOUTH. — Walking on the south pier at
the mouth of Yarmouth harhour, on September, 8th, 1896, rny wife,
who was with rne, called my attention to what seemed to her a curious
butterfly, which had jurst alighted on the pier, I at once started in
pursuit, and was pleasurably amazed to see it was E. antiopa. I did
not attempt to catch it, as I do not see the utility of capturing every
rare insect the moment it is espied. As it had the yellow border of
the Continental form, I presume it had come across, lodged in the
rigging of some ship. — Albert H. Waters, B.A., Cambridge.

AcHERONTiA ATROPOs IN 1896. — This spccics was not only commoner
than usual about Cambridgeshire last year (1896), but I noticed when
at Great Yarmouth, at the end of August, that the larvae were
unusually abundant in that part of Norfolk. — Albert H. Waters, B.A.,
Cambridge.

Carnivorous habit of Podisus luridus. — On beating a bush of
I'ihnrtiuiii ojndu-s, I came across I'oduus luridtis, in its larval form,
busily engaged in sucking the juices of Gatt'nudla vihunii. Struck by
the (to me) peculiar fact of a " plant bug " indulging in a carnivorous
diet, I took it home and reared it on wasp grub and flies. I found it
would attack live insects if they remained fairly quiet, but was terri-
fied by the struggles of a Tijnda, or any similarly powerful creature.
It changed its skin three times while in captivity, the resplendent
bronze border of its abdomen and thorax becoming more beautiful with
each ecdysis. — W. W. Esam, Eagle House, St. Leonard's.

Attracti\t>ness of dogwood sap to moths. — Last spring I found
that the sap exuding from freshly cut dog-wood was of such superior
attraction to the usual sallow-loving insects, that the sallows were
practically blank, and each stem of cut dogwood was covered with
moths. Has this attraction been noticed Vjy others ? — W. B. Thorn-
hill, Castle Cosey, Castle Bellingham, Ireland. Y'Vi., 1897.

Pupa-digging in Ireland. — Pupa-digging has been a blank this
winter here : certain trees which for several years have yielded me some
one hundred and fifty pupse, have, this winter, yielded six. The trees
are ash, sycamore, elm, willow and poplar. Will the coming season
be a bad one for the imagines of arboreal feeders ? if not, where did
the larvae pupate ? They certainly are not in the usual places. I
infer that next season will be a good one for all but arboreal feeders,
as I have several times noticed that when the latter are abundant the
former are scarce, and dee vfisa. Has this been noticed Vjefore ? — Ibid.

Tephrosia crepuscularia (biundulaeia) in Ireland. — I think now
that our Irish Tephrosia is T. creinuictdaria (hiundularia), not T. his-
fortata. I have never met specimens before the Gth for 6th) of April,
and they straggle on to mid June, but are then mostly worn, showing,
apparently, that the emergence is spread over some weeks. The insect
is most plentiful about mid May, and appears as numerous in the
Northern districts as in the warm and humid South. — W. F. de V.
Kane, M.A., F.E.S., Drumreaske House, Monaghan.

Phycis oelitella. — On looking over a number of knot-horns I
purchased at Bumey's sale, I found among the llhodojjhaea mavella a
fine specimen of this species. — J. B. Hodgkinson, F.E.S., Ashton-
on-Ribble. [There were so many foreign specimens of many of the
rarest British insects in Bumey's collection, that one would be rash
to suppose that any unlabelled specimen was really British, — Ed.] .

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 65

Cataplectica kakreni. — A specimen that I could not determine
when I captured it, but which I thought was an Rlarhhta, corresponds
with six specimens of ('. fanrni, sent to me by Mr. Farren.— Ihid.

The lepidoptera of Church Stretton in 1896. — The season,
from May to the end of July, was one of the best Avhich I have ever
had in this neighbourhood. Of the productiveness, or otherwise, of
the sallows I cannot speak, having been away, and, moreover, laid up
with influenza at the time that these were in bloom. Owing to the
same cause, a large brood of Kndromh versicolor, which I had reared,
ab ovo, were, for the most part, spoiled, and quite unfit for setting. On
the 25th April, Cucidlia verbasci, a species hardly to be expected here,
came to light. Lciocauipa (lictaroiilca tell to my lot on May 11th; it
was a very good year for this species, which continued out till the
beginning of June. On the 18th of the former month I got several
specimens of Si/richthus malrac (alrrolus), which, as a rule, is not
common with us. The first Noiicophila iiUuitcujinh was noted by me
on the 17th of the same month, and a few ab. honpita on the 28rd
and 26th. This ab., I regret to say, was very much rarer
this season than last, a circumstance which I attribute mainly to
the very open winter of '95-'96. I was lucky enough to get a very
dark form of Aniji/iidasi/x hctularia ab. ilouUcilai/aria, at rest on a large
oak, on the 19th May. The following day may be considered a red-
lettered one, in so far as L. dlctacoidcs is concerned, for, on that date, I
caught two 3 s and two $ s at rest on birch, though it was one of the
very coldest days of our spring. About this time I found a few larvtB of
Lithosia coinidana roaming about, apparently in search of snug
quarters for pupation. On the 21st, I bred a very beautiful form of
Craniophora li;/i(stri, which, instead of being more or less green, was
suffused with violet, very similar in shade to that found on
Diantlioecia cucubali. The same evening I took another specimen of the
same form, resting on ash. On May 2Kth, a beautiful J ('crura
bicuspin emerged from the pupa which I had cut from a birch the
preceding August. It is a very large specimen, almost as wide across
the wings as my largest $ (.'. bifida, and is much dai-ker than any of
the same insect got off alder ; indeed, the central band on the fore-
wings is almost black ! About this period, (Jhorrorainpa porrdlm
began to appear pretty freely at honeysuckle and rhododendron bloom ;
it was joined, during the earlier part of June, by its congener,
C. elpcnor. Now sugar began to pay here; insects turned up as
freely as they did in " the seventies." Of this I was very glad,
having begun to think, owing to frequent failures, that this form of
attraction had lost its charms for lepidoptera. I never remember
seeing so many Triphaena pnniuba before, their fore-wings being of
almost every possible shade, varying from putty-white to almost black.
Leiuania rovima, too, was very common ; it is a large, well-marked
form which we mostly obtain. By this means also I managed to
get Xi/lophasia lithoxijUM, Xijlopluma rurca ab. cowbusta, X. hcpatica and
X.polijodon ab. brunnea, Tutt, and ab. infuscata, White, as well as very
m.any common species. Three splendid specimens of PImia interro-
fiationis were taken by me, ri~., on the 28rd and 27th of June, and on
the 5th of July. Passing on to this latter month, I was greatly
surprised, on the 6th, to net a very fresh CVr/70 inaf.tira {ci/t/icrca)
flying in one of the dampest meadows about here, and a good distance

6.6 THE entomologist's KECOUD.

away from any dry stony banks, which this insect seems usually to
frequent.*-' Theda w-albuin was so pa^.'nl by the 8th and 10th of that
month, that, though I saw a dozen on the former date, and seven on
the latter, all either settled on or flying over bramble sprays, I was
glad to let them alone, after netting a couple, and discovering the state
in which they were. I managed to get a good series of X. scalopacina by
searching rushes and thistle heads in a damp wood about a mile away,
where I further secured a few very good examples of Xurtna stit/matica,
as well as N. ilahlii. On July 12th and 18th, I captured on the
heather, about the summit of the Longraynds, an insect, which I feel
much inclined to call N. cunflua-\ ; it is smaller, and, as a rule, more
brilliantly coloured than N. f estiva, which latter occurs with us usually
in damp woods, while the smaller species is restricted to the heather,
which in extent covers miles on the top of " the hill." In the same
locality I obtained some very good forms of Dryobota fnrva, which
appears to be partial to high ground. C'haraeas yvaminis was very
common during the first half of August at the spot where earlier I had
got A', ticolopacina. I managed also to rear these two from cater-
pillars. I got a few full-fed larvte of Clioerocampa elpenor as early as
the 21st July ; they were very large, and ought to produce splendid
imagines. Aip-otis lucernea again made its appearance in its old
habitat ; I noticed a few flying on the 14th July. About this time I
bred a small number of Tet/iea siibtusa, from larvae found in the spring.
I was very much astonished to get A(/rotis obdisca here, both at light and
sugar, also two examples of Noctua depnncta ; these two species were taken
in August. On 29th August, and on 6th September, I captured 5 s of
Neuronia popularia for the first time ; they were flying around lamps ;
the S is common here at light most years. From the middle of
September to the end of October, eight specimens of the autumnal
brood of N. jdontaglnis emerged, one of these, a $ bred on the 28th
September, has the hind-wings tinged with red, nmch as the Conti-
nental type of this sex. On September 18th, I caught two specimens
of Jjithomia solidcupuh at rest, on some large ash-trees in the valley, and
one more on the 28th, in a like position. The first few days of
October I got a few Xylina ornithopux, on these same trees ; they were
as fresh as if they had been reared. I did not, this year, see a single
Mdlinia yilvapo or Cirrltoedia xcrampellna, though I began looking for
the latter early in August. On the other hand, I am glad to say that,
on the 7th October, I found a $ Tiliacra (Xanthia) aurayo at rest on
a blade of grass ; I placed her in a box with a branch of beech, and
fortunately she has laid some twenty eggs or so, the larvtc from which
I hope to rear next spring. This species is new to the locality.
During November, I bred a good series of Fnecilncampa popuU, from
larvjc found in June last. They vary very much in size. 1 have, for
some seasons past, reared [Aipcrinaccupitix from young larvjc, and have
always fed them exclusively on meadow-grass [L'oa annua) ; the

* This species is very abtindant on Wicken Fen, and along the ditch sides at
Deal.— Ed.

I Noctua co)ijliia, Tr., is only known as British from the Shetland and ? Orkney
Islands. N. ccDijlua, H.-S., is a large form of N.festira. Our correspondent's
specimens would appear to be .V. cuiijhia, Newn., a quite different insect, generally
recognised now ai» a moorland form of N. /estiva, and with no title of claim at all
to the name conjiita (vide., Brit. Nuct. and their Vars., ii., p. 119, and Eiit. lice,
vol. vii.. p. 77)— Ed.

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 67

perfect insects, obtained from larvas thus treated, will compare very
favourably as to size with any specimens of this species which I have
seen, so that there must be some cause, other than the one suggested,
for the dwarfed condition of those bred by Mr. Ficklin {Ent. Rec, viii.,
p. 279).— F. B. Newnham, M.A., Church Stretton, Salop. Dec, 1896.

Notes from Yorkshire, 1896.— I did but little work last year,
but whilst at Saltburn during the first fortnight of July, I took
Hadena ahjecta, and, from leaf-mould brought from Sandburn, I bred
NoUxJonta chaonia. In the autumn I went over with Mr. Porritt to
the home of Haleam (iiittaUpennis, and found it literally in thousands.
— G. C. Dennis, F.E.'S., 39, Blossom Street, York.

:]^RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for March and April.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — The larvfe of DichrorJiampa plumbana and Z), plumhcuiana are
to be obtained in March and April by digging up plants of L'hrysan-
theynuin leucantliemwii . The latter tunnels in the centre of the root-
stocks, whilst the former occurs deeper down in the roots, grooving
them deeply under cover of a web. The larva of D. phimhana also
mines in stems of yarrow (Acltillea millefolium).

2. — At the end of March and first week of April, collect the catkins
of birch, and tie up tightly in linen bags, or turn them into a band-
box with a close fitting lid. Paedisca hilunana and other species will
be bred.

3. — In March and April the larva of Paedisca oppressana feeds
within the buds of l-'opidus nigra.

4. — In early spring, collect cones of spruce-fir for Coccyx strobiliella.

5. — Young currant shoots with withering leaves should be collected
in April for Incurcaria capitella, and young raspberry shoots, showing
a similar tendency, should be collected for larvae of Lampronia ruhiella.

6. — Stems of wild cabbage, collected in April, showing little heaps
of frass sticking out of the new shoots and leaf-stalks, give larv^ of
Stiymonota leplastriana.

7. — The larva of Depressaria assimilella is to be found in united
broom-twigs in early April.

8. — Seedheads of Arctium lappa should be collected in April for
pupae of Parasia lappella. They pupate in the heads, and emerge in
July.

9. — The shoots of Anthyllis should be examined in April. Their
bleached appearance betokens the presence of Anacampsi.s anthyllidella.

10. — During April, beat heather, J////i(a, cranberry, etc., into an
umbrella by night. Larvae of local Noctuides, Geometrides, Coleo-
phora pyrrhidipennella, C. juncicolella, and others, have thus been
taken in abundance. It is best to tumble the beatings into a bag,
and carefully overhaul them at home.

11. — The larva of Lampronia praelateJla is to be found under wild
strawberry leaves, in April.

12. — The larvae of Coccyx hyrciniana are plentiful on spruce firs, and
Coleophora laricella on larches, about the middle of April.

13. — The second week in April, the central shoots, at the tips of
branches of young trees of Scotch fir, should be collected for larvje of
Retinia turionana.

G8 THE entomologist's UECORI),

14. — In April the males of Xijssia ::ii)iana are to be found
sitting on the bare twigs of the previous year's dwarf sallows, or on
tufts of grass on the Wallasey sand-hills.

15. — The sunny side of spruce hedges should be beaten during the
first week of April for Stri/cmopti/rha piff/maoana. It can only be dis-
turbed from about 12.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. During this period the
male flies out if disturbed, but the female drops to the ground.

16. — The full-fed larvae of Birphos parthcnias and J), nntha must
have a piece of old cork in which to pupate.

17. — Search the beds of striped grass in gardens for the larvae of
Apamea opliio;iramtna, which feed low in the stems.

igfURRENT NOTES.

The last successful exhibition of natural history specimens held by
the City of London Entomological and Natural History Society, and
the brilliant gathering of entomologists and their friends at the
London Institution, will be in the recollection of all our readers.
Another exhibition will be held on April 27th, which bids fair to more
than rival the success of the last. It will be held at the London
Institution, on the evening of April 27th, and will be opened by the
Rt. Hon. Lord Walsingham, M.A., F.R.S., etc., who is one of the
hon. members of the society. Tickets may be obtained from Mr. H.
A. Sauze, 4, Mount Villas, Sydenham Hill Road, S.E. As the com-
mittee wish to prevent any possibility of crushing, and the number of
tickets issued will be limited, early application should be made for
them.

The South London Entomological Society owes much to its leading
members. Mr. Stanley Edwards, who a short time ago placed the
society very much under obligation by the presentation of a magnifi-
cent lantern, has now presented them with a large screen for use with
the lantern.

SOCIETIES.

City of London Entomological and Natural History Society. —
Feb. 2nd, 1897. — Larv.e of Bombyx (Lasiocampa) quercCs and B.
sPARTii. — Mr. Bacot exhibited larva- of Jiomhi/.r spartii and B. (jnerciis
from ova laid by parents (received from Mr. Warburg) from S. France,
and larvae of English qucrcits (received from Mr, Goymour). Also blown
larvffi of Bu)iibi/.c ruhi, B. trifoln, Clisioca)tipa castrensis, for comparison.
He said that the difference between .yxn-tii and the French (juercus was
quite apparent after the 2nd moult, but was more marked after the
3rd. It consisted in the different colour of the dorsal coat of short
hairs or fur. This, in xpaitii, was light red-brown, while in the
qmiTiis it was white. The larva^ of the English ijiwrciis differed
markedly from both S. of France forms in the 4th or r)th skins. They
seemed to be quite a moult behind the French races in getting their
adult skins. The head was dark blue or blue-black, while in the French
species it was usually reddish-brown, with a white marking on the
face, that was generally absent in the English form, although a few of
these larvffi had a dirty white marking on the face, which, however,
differed in shape from that on the French larvje. The hairs were also
much more scanty in the English form, and the long hairs, which in

SOCIETIES. 69

the French races were white, were brown in the English larvae. The
white sub-dorsil. line, and the remnants of the oblique stripes, were
also stronger in the English forms, and there were traces in some
larvffi, strongly developed, of a blue line or band just above the sub-
dorsal line, probably a remnant of the blue stripes that are well
developed in B. trifoUi and (JlUioauiipa nemtria, and slightly less so in
L\ castrensia. The English (jiicrciis, Mr. Bacot took to be the older form,
the French qiwirux occasionally having faint traces of the blue, coming
between it and spartu, which was more constant, and tended to approach
B. rubi in the loss of these markings. Mr. Warburg had also verv
kindly given Mr. Bacot a few larvae, the result of a pairing between
a <? quereih (French) and a $ spartii. The larvae were now in about
the 4th stage ; 4 of them had the white quercus coat, 6 the red coloured
fur of spartii. Ox a fixed hybernating stage in larv.'E of Orgyia
GONosTiGMA. — Mr. Bacot said that he had placed some larvae of
Onpjia ifnn(>sti(/iiia, which had passed the usual hybernating stage
before the food supply failed, in a cold room, to see if they would
hybernate. They attempted to do so, fastening themselves in one
position, which they occupied through October, November, and most
of December. But they had subsequently died, being unable
apparently to stand the recent cold, which had had no ill effects on larvre
hybernating in their normal stage. European and American
Catocalids. — Mr. Dadd exhibited Catocala fraxini from Germany,
C mipta from Wood Green, C. sponm and C. promissa from the New
Forest, and C. pacta, C. luciana and C. concumbens from Dakota,
U.S.A. Hybrid Zyg^enid^. — Mr. Tutt then exhibited some hybrid
Zyg^nides, and read the following notes : — " It is in the memory of
you all that Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher has bred hybrids between
Z. loniccrac and Z . jilipemlulae , and between Z. hniicrrae and Z. trifolii
(the progeny of the latter proving fertile for four generations). In my
pamphlet, 'Notes on the Zygsenidse,' I described fully two very distinct
Zygienids, which had been united by Staudinger under the name of
Z. trifolii var. clubia. These were Zijyaena medicat/inis, SbudZ, ochsen-
heimeri, Zell., the former a five-spotted species, closely related to, but
larger than Z. lonicerae, the latter a six-spotted species, closely allied
to Z. jilipendulae , aberrations of which have been erroneously referred
to this species. Whilst we were at Courmayeur (Piedmont), in 1894,
Dr. Chapman sent eggs of Z. ochsenheimeri to Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher.
These duly hatched, and when the imagines emerged a $ ucJisini/wiiiwri
was paired with a ^ filipmdnlae from the Sussex Downs (Lewes or
Shoreham). Eggs were obtained, and a part of the moths resulting
by the cross I now exhibit. Mr. Fletcher adds that the hybrids (or
mongrels) paired inter se, and the larvae duly hatched. You will
observe that the true Z. ochsenlu-imeri shows considerable sexual
dimorphism, the male being smaller than the female, the sixth spot
(or lower of the outer pair of spots) being almost obsolete, with a
distinct concavity on the outer margin of the hind-wing, which is
largely ascentuated by the widening of the rather broad black margin
at this area. The females show the same peculiarities, but less
markedly than the males. You will also notice that the males of the
cross exhibit very markedly the characters of the male of ochsenheimeri,
the sixth spot, in all but two of the male specimens, being much
reduced, and in a majority of the specimens the hind-wing is like that
of ochsenheimeri. On the other band, the females, with two exceptions,

70 THE KNTOMOLOGIST's RECORD,

are strikingly jilipenduhw, and the hind-wing character is ahnost
entirely lost," Insects fkom the Cheshire coast, Bidston, etc. —
Mr. Tutt exhibited some Lepidoptera from the Cheshire coast,
Bidston, etc., and said : — " The insects, which I exhibit for Mr. H. B.
Prince, were captured on Wallasey sand-hills. The following par-
ticulars about the specimens may be interesting : Nyssia zonakia. —
These insects are remarkably uniform at first sight, and yet, when
carefully examined, exhibit considerable variation. In some specimens
the darker areas of the wings are but faintly developed, and the
specimens have a very pallid and unicolorous appearance. At the
opposite extreme, the transverse basal line is continued up to the costa,
and the space between this and the next transverse line is filled in
with dark grey shading, forming a more or less distinct transverse
band. In other specimens the basal transverse line is almost, or
quite, obsolete, and leaves the whole area, from the discoidal lunule
to the base of the wing, with only the two dark longitudinal neurational
markings. On the hind-wings there is an equal range of variation,
the paler having scarcely any trace of the three transverse bands,
which are very distinctly marked in the darkest specimens. The
apterous females show no marked variation. TripJtaena orbona
(conu's). — A moderately variable series, with nothing approaching the
range of variation found among the Scotch specimens. Of the colour
aberrations, you will observe the ab. adsfqua, Tr. (pale grey), ab, (/risea,
Tutt (dark grey), ab. ocltrca, Tutt (pale ochreous), and ab. nifu-uchrea
(pale ochreous, tinted with red). For descriptions of these forms vide
Brit. Nnctuae and their Varietii's, vol. ii.,pp. 9G-99. At the same time it
will be observed that two or three specimens closely approach the
ab. connuha, Hb,, and the ab. suhseqiia, Haw. This is probably the usual
range reached in our Southern and Midland English counties.
Noctua xanthoiirapha. — Among these we get the usual range of
variation, extending from the pale grey ab. cohaesa of Herrich-Schiifter,
the typical .vcDithnnrapha, Fab., the pale reddish-grey ab. rufescfutij&nd
an approach to ab, obscura, without reaching the range to which the
Scotch specimens often reach, Triphaena pioiinba. — The range in this
series comprises some of the more usual forms. There is the pale
grey type, the ab. oclirca, Tutt (greyish-ochreous form), the ab.
hrunnea, Tutt, and the ab. ochrea-bninnea, Tutt, Altogether the series
tends to the darker aberrations. Mdlinia circellaris. — The series of
this species is composed of about half each of the greyish-ochreous
type {i-ircdlaiis), and the redder dJo. ftrrwjinea of Esper. The suffused
ab, viacilenta, Hb., is not represented. Ortluma luta. — These are a
most uniform series of the insect. Of the thirteen insects 11 are quite
of the typical coloration, whilst one shoAVS a tendency to approach the
ab, rufa, Tutt. Apamea basilinea. — The four specimens sent are very
fairly typical. Ematim/a atomaria. — These specimens were captured
on Thurstaton Common, by the river Dee, in May, 1896, They are
rather smaller than our southern form, and more nearly approach in
size, and in their dark fuscous coloration, those from the northern
moors, Hypsipetea ruberata. — Captured at Flaybruck Hill, near
Bidston, in May, 1896. These are an interesting series, somewhat
smaller than the Wisbech specimens. Most of the individuals show
the transverse markings fairly well, whilst only two examples exhibit
the pale central band so conspicuous in the two allied species — tri-
fasciata di^nd fiircata {sordidata).

SOCIETIES. 71

Entomological Society of London. — February 3rd, 1897. —
Tyrolean and Portuguese Coleoptera. — Mr. Champion exhibited an
extensive series of Coleoptera, collected by Mr. R. W. Lloyd and himself
in July last in the Austrian Tyrol, and containing about 450 species,
including 85 of Longicornia and about 20 of Otiorrhynchus. He also
exhibited about 85 species of Coleoptera from Cintra, Portugal, col-
lected by Col. Yerbury, the most interesting of these being C'arahm
Imitanums. Zeugophora flavicollis at Colchester. — Mr. Champion
exhibited, on behalf of Mr. W. H. Harwood, two specimens of the rare
Zeu<)ophoraflavicolUi<, Marsh., from Colchester. Micro-lepidoptera fro.m
Lancashire. — Mr. Tutt exhibited, for Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson, a number
of obscure British Micro-lepidoptera, many of which had been regarded
as new species. The validity of the determinations was questioned by
Lord Walsingham, Mr. B. A. Bower and others, and the first-named
speaker strongly deprecated the practice of positively recognising or
describing such obscure forms, particularly when British, from single
or worn specimens. A suffused aberration of a Gelechia, taken at
Witherslack, and described under the name of Lita intennediclla [Knt.
Rec, ix., p. 36), was referred to Lita fratcnuila. Platyptilia tesse-
radactyla in Ireland. — Mr. Barrett showed specimens of the true
Platyptilia tesseradacti/la, L. (= P. Ji^cheri, Zell.) new to the United
Kingdom, and taken in co. Galway by Mr. W. F. de V. Kane and
the Hon. R. E. Dillon. The species was Avidely distributed in N.
and Central Europe, often occurring at a considerable elevation, and
was said to feed on (jncqihalium. Mr. Tutt stated that he had found
P. jischeri to be common in the Alps among Petasitifi ; and Lord
Walsingham spoke in support of the identification. Locusts as an
article of food.— -Mr. McLachlan exhibited cooked locusts {Srhisto-
cerca pere<jnna) received from the Rev. A. E. Eaton, and sold in the
market of Biskra, Algeria. They were cooked whole, but the abdomen
only was eaten. Seasonal Dimorphism in African Butterflies. — A
paper on this subject was communicated by Dr. A. G. Butler, who con-
tested the views of Mr. Guy A. K. Marshall {Tr. Pint. Soc. Lond.,
1896, pp. 551 — 566) as to the distinctness of certain forms of Acraea,
and maintained that one part of Africa cannot and does not represent
the entire range of a species, with its extreme dry and wet-season
forms, and that the dry season form of a moist district may be the
intermediate or a wet season form of a drier district. The author
also stated that the black apical patch of the fore-wings in Acraea
was not of specific value, inasmuch as all grades existed between the
broadest apical patch and no patch at all ; it was probably only a
seasonal development or a mere variation. Many of the species recog-
nised as distinct by Mr. Marshall were merely varietal, and were
linked together by intermediate forms in the collection of the British
Museum. Such were Acraea pudoriiia, Staud., A. acrita, var.. Trim.,
A. acrita, Hew., and A. chacrihnla, Oberth. Mr. Trimen upheld
Mr. Marshall's conclusions. A long discussion followed, chiefly on
the so-called " dry season " and " wet-season forms." Mr. Merrifield
stated that he had been unable experimentally to modify the colour
and markings of Lepidoptera by variations in humidity. Mr. Tutt
said that it was recorded that Mr. IXiherty had obtained " wet-season
forms " of Melanitis leda by keeping the larvte, that should normally
have produced the " dry-season " form, in a moist atmosphere.

South London Entomological and Natural History Society. — :

7^ THE entomologist's RECORD.

Feb. 11th, 1897. — Dianth(ecia conspersa ab. ochrea. — Mr. Routledge
exhibited a fine ab. m-hrea of D. conspersa, bred from pupte received
from the Orkney Islands. The ground-colour was of an ochreous tint,
the usually white markings being grey. Larv.e of Hepialus lupu-
LiNus. — Mr. Tutt exhibited two living and several dead larvae of
Hepialus lujndinus, dug up on Feb. 10th, by Mr. E. A. Bowles, at
Waltham Cross, at the root of a Poeoiiia :>jfici)ialis, within an area of
one square foot. The dead larvae had been attacked by a fungus, and
were quite rigid with the vegetable growth which had completely
replaced the internal organs and tissues of the larva. Living larv/E of
Bryophila PERLA. — Mr. Tutt also exhibited living larvae of B. peiia,
found by Dr. Chapman, at Hereford, on Feb. 10th, in situ, on a
small piece of the fungus-covered stone on which they were found.
The larva lives during the winter in a little close nest or cocoon, each
solitarily, and does not feed in the winter, but had evidently already
begun to do so when taken. The larvae appeared to be in the
penultimate skin. Aplecta occulta bred in winter.— Mr. McArthur
exhibited a specimen of Aplecta occulta bred on the day of the meeting
(Feb. 11th), from a Rannock larva. Mr. Adkin exhibited a long
series of imagines of the same species, recently bred from larvjB taken
in the same locality. Photo-micrography. — Mr. F. Clark, assisted
by Mr. Furneaux, then exhibited some 60 photo-micrographic slides of
insect anatomy, with the aid of the lantern. The slides were most
interesting and instructive, those exhibiting the differences between
the antenntP of Hi/beruia aurantiaria and //. defoliaria, the tongues
of various insects, the androconia of the Lycjenids, etc., being much
admired.

KIEYIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Die Deutschen Pterophorinen. — [With three plates, pp. 194,
Regensburg, 189'4-95, by Dr. Ottmar Hofmann] . — The object of
the present notice is to call attention briefly to a paper which
is the most important contribution to our knowledge of the
Plume moths yet published in Germany. The author, it is believed
correctly, regards Plume moths as a separate family from the I^i/ialidae.
Dr. Hofmann divides the species under 13 genera, and gives a careful
description of all the stages, with new and interesting anatomical
details. Particularly valuable are the observations on the pupa, and
the embryonic condition of the veins in the pupal wing. It is
probable that the generic groups founded by Dr. Hofmann are of
sub-family value. Among the English species identified by Dr.
Hofmann on the Continent, is O.ri/ptilus heterodactylus (teucrii. Green.),
with its variety, celusii, Schmid. Analytical tables for the determina-
tion of both genera and species are given, and the figures on the three
plates are finely executed. The limits of the present notice will not
allow of further detail, but the careful work in the separation of
the genera may be briefly commended. Dr. Hofmann shows that
Oedematnpliorus is a good genus, differing from Leioptilus by the scale
patches on the middle tibiae, the neuration, and in that segments 2-3
of the abdomen are comparatively more elongate than in Leioptilus.
In view of the uncalled for suppression of natural genera, which is
occasionally noticeable in the works of recent writers, Dr. Hofmann 's
careful study is most grateful reading. — A. R.adcliffe Grote, Roemer
Museum, Hildesheim.

Vol. IX.

Plate II.

Laeva and Pupa of Thecla pkuni.

Eiitoiii. Jlrcord, etc., 1897.

^^ AND -^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 4. April 15th, 1897.

Contributions to the life=history of Thecla pruni.

(Illustrated hij Plate J.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

I. — The full-fed larva of Thecla pruni. — The larva of Thecla
pruni, in its last skin, is of a lovely delicate green, with a tinge of
yellow in it, especially laterally, the sides ending below in a pale
tumid sub-spiracular ridge. It is well supplied with short brown
hairs. The ventral surface is much paler, i.e., is of a whitish-green,
rather than yellowish -green ; it is also very glassy, and the skin is
more sparingly sprinkled with pale glassy-looking hairs.

Head. — The head is very small, of a very pale whitish-brown hue,
the mouth-parts darker brown ; the ocelli are transparent, placed on
two black lunules, one on each cheek, five ocelli being arranged in an
arc on the side nearest the mouth, a sixth being separate, and placed
by itself on the side of the cheek remote from the mouth.

The head is sprinkled with a number of glassy-looking hairs. It
is quite retractile within the prothoracic segment, but is extended to
some distance beyond the pro-thorax when the larva is attempting to
find a crossing from one leaf to another.

Thorax. — The front edge of the pro-thorax is also studded with
glassy-looking hairs, similar to those on the head, but further back
(dorsally) the pro-thorax becomes covered with short, black, curved
bristles. The segment itself is very extensible, and stretches con-
siderably when the larva is actively moving. The true legs are very
pale and glassy, well-sprinkled with long glassy hairs, and terminated
with a dark brown retractile hook. The meso-thorax and meta-thorax
are flattened dorsally, although the segmental incisions are very deep,
and there is a gradual rise from the head to the second abdominal
segment.

Abdomen. — The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, .5th and 6th abdominal segments
bear a double ridge of raised dorsal serrations, the raised points
decreasing in size on the 5tli and 6th abdominal segments. These
are distinctly separated by the deep segmental incisions, and by the
fact that they do not extend so far forward as the 1st sub-segment of
each segment. The apices of these raised projections are edged with
purplish-red internally, and yellowish externally, and are well sup-
plied with purplish-red hairs. The spiracles (on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th abdominal segments) are very minute,
scarcely to be detected by the naked eye, but, under a one-sixth lens

74 THE entomologist's nECORD.

each shows as a dull orange-coloured cup-shaped hollow, with a
darker (brownish) rim. Just above the spiracles, a sub-spiracular line
is to be traced slightly paler than the ground-colour. Under a high
power (one-sixth) this line is found to be studded with minute
glandular-looking warts, probably the traces of supra-spiracular
tubercles, a few similar warts occupy the position of the pre-spiracular
tubercles, but they are all quite smooth, and bear no hairs, although
the skin is plentifully supplied, both laterally and dorsally, with short
brown hairs. These are particularly abundant on the hinder
abdominal segments, and on the posterior edge of the anal segment
the black hairs are much longer than elsewhere, and form a dense
fringe, which is even visible to the naked eye.

Mode of walking, prolegs, etc. — The slow gliding motion of the
larva is very remarkable. The anal prolegs are pushed forward as far
as possible ; and this forward movement is followed by each pair of
prolegs in turn, and then by the true legs, so that a wave seems to
run from segment to segment along the body. When at rest, the legs
are retracted, and the larva rests almost flat upon the surface of a
leaf. When in motion, the anal segment is slightly raised. The pro-
legs are retractile, exceedingly pale, and terminated by a broad flange
covered Avith short, and apparently weak, pale brownish hooks. The
joints of the prolegs are supplied with long pale glassy-looking hairs,
like the true legs. The movements of the larva give some variation
to its tint, for, whilst the larva at rest is very uniformly green, in
motion there is a distinctly darker green medio-dorsal line traceable
from the head to the anus, making the central furrow look darker than
the ground-colour, but this darkening is largely due to the food in the
alimentary canal.

This description was taken on the morning of May 30th. The
larva assumed the quiescent form during the evening of the same
day, and by the following day had spun a silken pad and girth, and
was ready for pupation.

II. — Larva of Thecla pruni in the quiescent stage preceding
pupation. — On May 26th, I received from Mr. H. Mousley a larva of
Thecla pruni which had already attached itself to a leaf of blackthorn
by a white silken anal pad and slender white girth, that passed round
the centre of the post-thoracic segment. The head was quite retracted,
and the dorsum had assumed an arched appearance, although the
venter was closely appressed to the leaf to which it was fastened. The
larva in this position gradually increases in height and width from
the pro-thorax to the 3rd abdominal segment, and then narrows again
to the anal segment. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, ,5th and 6th abdominal seg-
ments bear a double longitudinal serrated ridge, in the form of a
series of raised points on either side of the medio-dorsal area, which
forms a furrow between the two ridges. This furrow narrows pos-
teriorly, and ends in a point on the anal segment. The absence of the
ridge on the thoracic and first abdominal segments makes the dorsum
slope rapidly from the 1st abdominal segment to the head.

The colour of the larva at this stage is yellowish -green, the apices
of the ridge-points purplish-red, externally edged with yellowish, the
central furrow rather darker green than the ground-colour. The skin
is thickly sprinkled with short black bristles, these are mixed with
longer brownish hairs on the thoracic segments, with longer white hairs

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE LIFE-HISTORY OF THECLA PRUNI. 70

along the sides, and purplish hairs on the dorsal ridges. The seg-
mental incisions are deeply cut, causing the segmental sections of the
ridges to appear to be pointed backwards.

Thorax. — The pro-thorax is narrow, but protuberant, and covers
the retracted head. It is thickly covered with long pale brown hairs.
The pro-thoracic spiracles are placed low down, one on each side, just in
front of the segmental incision that separates the pro-thorax from the
meso-thorax. The meao-tliorax is wider than the pro-thorax, extends back
considerably, and is somewhat protuberant, the two transverse sub-
segmental divisions apparent on the dorsum, and suggesting the meso-
thorax of the pupa. The meta-thorcu- is wider transversely, but very
narrow from front to back. It is round the centre of this segment
that the silken girth is placed at this stage, although it slips back to
the 1st abdominal when pupation takes place.

Abdomen. — Dorsalh/. — The 1st abdominal segment is narrow from
front to back, and without any special armature. (It may be readily
distinguished, however, by its conspicuous spiracle). The 2nd, 3rd,
4th, 6th and 6th abdominal segments have a raised ridge on each
side of the medio-dorsal area. These are broken up by the segmental
incisions, and, owing to the stretched condition of the larva in this
stage, it is seen that the portions of the ridge do not extend to the
anterior sub-segment of the segments on which they are placed. This
suggests, also, that the backward direction which each portion of the
ridge takes has been brought about to make it appear as complete as
possible, when the larva is crawling, whilst the absence of the ridge
on each anterior sub-segment gives freedom of movement to the larva.
The upper edges of the ridges are of a purplish-red colour, edged with
pale yellowish externally, the purplish portions being well-supplied
with purplish coloured hairs, the yellowish portion with pale hairs.
Although the ridges practically end with the 6th abdominal segment, the
median furrow is theoretically extended to the anal segment, where the
ridge crops up again as a raised median, purplish-red, dorsal, terminal
point. The furrow is but very little darker than the ground-colour.
The anal segment bears some general resemblance to the pro-thoracic
segment in its flat, lip-shaped appearance.

Lattrally. — The sides of the caterpillar are separated from the
venter by a slightly tumid longitudinal marginal ridge, well supplied
with long whitish hairs, whilst above this, and parallel with it,
is a pale, sharply defined, longitudinal sub-spiracular line, which
extends the whole length of the body. The segmental incisions are
well defined and pale, and the points, where the segmental incisions
cut the sub-spiracular lines, are very prominent. The dull orange
tubercles are very conspicuous, and placed very high on the sides,
about half-way between the lateral (sub-spiracular) line and the
dorsal ridge.

The larva changed to a pupa during the night of May 27th.

III. — Pupa of Thecla peuni. — The pupa of Tlwcla priini is, in its
dorsal aspect, more like a bird-dropping than any pupa I have
before observed. The general colour of the pupa is black, with a
whitish patch on each side of the anteriorly protuberant pro-thorax,
another on the lower central area of the swollen meso-thorax, and a
third, somewhat ) — (-shaped, crossing the constricted meta-thorax
transversely, and terminated by the wings. Two other narrow lateral

76 THE entomologist's UECORIJ.

whitish patches run along, one on each side of the abdomen, lielow the
spiracles. These white patches produce a marked effect on the black
ground-colour, and there can be no doubt that the pattern of colora-
tion is protective. The skin is somewhat wrinkled and thickly covered
with short golden bristles, except on the wing-, leg-, antenna- and
maxilla-cases. These are smoother, of a greenish-black hue, and some-
what translucent.

Dorsal view. — The head is placed ventrally, tho pm-thoia.r rounded,
bulging somewhat anteriorly ; the iiwso-thora.r is large and swollen,
the central area bulging, and rounded, and not medially ridged. The
nieta-t/inm.r is narrow, and (with the 1st abdominal segment) con-
stricted to form a very marked waist. The ahdaminal s/'<i)nenfs
gradually increase in size from the 1st to the third, and then decrease
to the anal segment. The first abdominal is more constricted than
the meta-thoracic segment, and the girth passes over this segment.
The 2nd and 8rd abdominal segments, however, bulge out rapidly,
whilst the 2nd, 8rd, 4th, 5th and Gth segments bear a double row of
dorsal prominences, corresponding with the segmental sections of the
dosal ridges of the larva. Of these the prominences on the 8rd, 4th
and 5th are most conspicuous, those on the Gth the least so.

Lateral view. — The pro-thoracic spiracle is very inconspicuous,
black in colour, and placed in the black ground-colour which forms
the segmental incision between the pro- thorax and meso- thorax.
The wings are dull blackish-green, somewhat translucent, the outer
and inner margins sunk in the abdominal segments, which form raised
ridges around the wing edges. The spiracles on the 1st, 2nd, 8rd,
4th, 5th, Gth and 7th abdominal segments are small, prominently
situated, though not conspicuous, placed high up on the sides of the
pupa, upon little elevations, below which is a row of small pointed
sub-spiracular points, forming a sort of lateral ridge on either side, on
the abdominal segments 2-7. Each spiracle has a dead black rim,
surrounded by a shiny black cincture. Along the lateral edge of the
abdominal segments 2-8, small whitish patches form a broken lateral
line along the ridge.

Ventral view. — The mouth-parts and glazed eye are ventral,
greenish-black in tint, the glazed eye edged with shiny black,
and extending from the base of the 1st pair of legs to the antennre,
which edge the pro-thorax laterally, and are then rapidly brought
round into the medio-ventral line of the body, ending with the apices of
the wings on the 5th abdominal segment. About half-way down the
wings the antennaB hide the maxilbe which pass beneath them, and are
not seen again. The joints of the two pairs of legs (which lie between
the antennae and the base of the maxilbe), and the joints of the antennfc
are not very distinctly marked. The colour of the wings ventrally is
somewhat lighter, but still greenish-black. The ventral area of the
Gth and following abdominal segments is much restricted, and the
skin is folded into deep corrugations. The genital organs are,
however, conspicuous.

The pupa is attached by a cremastral pad, and by a white silken
girth. It does not get rid of the cast larval skin.

I am indebted to Mr. H. Mousley for the loan of the original
drawing (made by Mr. W. Pearce) from which the block for Plate II.
has been made.

fiiK COLEOfXERA Ol- A LONDON GRANARY. 77

The Coleoptera of a London granary.

By HORACE DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

Having visited a London granary for the purpose of obtaining
Coleoptera for the last nine years, and having for some time past noticed
that I could find nothing fresh, I conclude that I have obtained all
the species there are to be got from it, and I thought it might
prove of interest to publish a complete list, with a brief account of my
iiiodns operandi.

It will be seen that I have obtained no less than fifty-nine species,
some of which are very rare, and others can only be found in such
places. One or two are, no doubt, of accidental occurrence, being
introduced in hay, etc., but the majority are thoroughly established,
turning up year after year.

The means I employed to find the beetles were : — Searching in the
cellars in dark corners, and under old sacks, and round the edges of
the walls where they were damp ; looking regularly on all the windows
whenever I called ; sifting old flour, grain, etc. ; searching in the
lofts on the beams and walls ; and always taking away a little bag-
ful of siftings to be carefully gone through at home.

There Avere, kept in one of the cellars, unpleasant-looking blocks
of stuff" called " graves," which consist of kitchen refuse boiled down
and pressed into cakes. In these I found the two species of Dermestes
and Xccrobia. There Avas also a stock of old biscuits, in which Trogosita
niauritanira and Anobium panicewii abounded. Of other species worth
mentioning — SiiJiddrm lencophf/ialiiius, avery l-Avge black fellow, which
is only found in cellars, and is widely distributed, but decidedly rare
in Great Britain, occurs here regularly, as I obtain a few specimens
every year, and have been able to supply many of my friends with it.
Dendruphilus pwictatus and Gnathonrus punctidatus were found
together running on the bottom, and hiding in the chinks of a damp
cellar wall, the former in some numbers.

M[/ret(iphaiim ijuadrii/Httatus is one of the rarest of the Mi/cctophai/i.
I generally found it in the bags of refuse. Hlaps stimilis only occurred
in one cellar, and was found very sparingly, but Blaps imicraiiata, the
common species, swarmed in all the cellars.

Rye, in his Ih-itish Beetles, says that mealworms from the East-
end of London usually produce Tenehrlo obsciirm, and those from the
West-end Tenebrln violltor. I found both species in this granary, and
also reared them from the larva.

I was also fortunate enough to take the little Latheticus onjzae,
Mr. Waterhouse's species.

The following is a complete list of the species taken : —

Sp/iodru-s leiicophthaliniis, L., Prlstoni/chu^ terricnla, Hbst., UalatJnis
clsteloldes, Pz., Aiiiara acuininata, Pk., Harpalus ruficornU, F., Quedlus
fnh/ldus, Gr., Q. fuUf/inosafi, Gr., Creophllns wculllosu!^, L., (hiialium
drplanatum, Gyll., 0. conclnnuin, Marsh., Dendrup/iilHs jninctatus, Hbst.,
LTnathoncm jiunctulatm, Th., Tro(/oslta maurltanlea, L., Laeninpldoeu^
fernti/liieHs, Steph., L. inisillus, Sch. , Sllranjls fmrlneDuem^ls, L.,
Cri/ptophaiiHs saf/lnatiis, Sturm., ('. badius, Sturm., C. ajfinis, Sturm.,
C. cellaris, Scop., Lath rid ins nific(illlf<, Marsh., L. niinntus, L., L'ortlearia
fidra, Com., Mi/cetop]ia;iHs quadririHttatHs, 'Mi'ill. , Mycetacu lilrta,l^lnriih.,
Dermestes viilpinus, F., D. lardarlus, L., Atta>ienHt> pelllo, L., Mei/atuiua

78 THE entomologist's record.

andata, L., AiitJircniis carius, F., Anthocoiiim fasciatus, L., Xeerobia
nijicollis, F., N. rufipes, F., Ptiiim fur, L., Nij^tus hululeiicus, Fald.,
X. crenatii-s, F., Meziiuii ajfine, Boield., Anobium dumestlcum, Four.,

A. panicc'um, L,, Rhhopertha pmllla, F., JBlapn mui-ronata, Latr.,

B. Hunilis, Latr., Triholium fernujinewn, F., (Jnathocenis curnutiis, F.,
Hijpopldoem depressUH, F., AlpJdtobius piceus, 01., Tenebrio ubaciirus, ¥.,
T. molitur, L., Anthmis fioralis, L., Latheticiis ori/zae, 'W&t., Calandra
;/ranaria, L., C. onjzae, L., PldoeophaijUH aeneupiceiis, Boh., Bruchiis
pisi, L., B. nijunanm, Boh., B. sp. (/), Chrysumela ;jraiiunis, L.,
C fastuusa, L., Casaida viridis, L.

On the wing=scales and their pigment in Lepidoptera.

[Notes on Mr. Mayer's Paper.]
By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.E.S.

I daresay attention will be called in the Record to a very able and
laborious paper by Mr. Alfred Goldsborough Mayer, on the " Develop-
ment of the wing scales and their pigment in butterflies and moths,"
printed last June, for the Museum of Comparative Zoology, at
Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., so that there will be no
necessity for me to point out the nature of the research, and the
general conclusions arrived at by Mr. Mayer. Having gone over a
great deal of the same ground several years ago, in investigating
the wing development during the pupal stage, with a view to satisfy
myself as to the real nature and meaning of " Poulton's line," I am
well able to appreciate the value of Mr. Mayer's work, and the general
accuracy of his determinations. I may say, in parenthesis, that the
questions I had raised for myself as to Poulton's line, were by no
means solved, and require further researches than I have yet been
able to make.

There is only one point in Mr. Mayer's observations in which I
feel unable to agree with him, and therefore desire to call attention
to, in order that further observations may be made. It is very possible
that Mr. Mayer is correct, and that I am in error, but so many pupal
wings of the Vanessids, including several of P. atalanta, which gives most
facility for the observation in question, were examined by me at all
stages, that, were Mr, Mayer's conclusions correct, I can hardly
believe the matter would have appeared to me in such a different
aspect.

Mr. Mayer says (p. 200) : " The protoplasm continues its retraction,
until finally it is entirely withdrawn from the scales, and they become
merely little flattened hollow chitinous sacs containing only air. The
scales are now completely formed, but they still lack the pigment, this
being introduced later. Owing to the fact that they are hollow, and con-
tain only air, they difiract the light, and therefore appear pure white, so
that the whole wing is now in the 'white stage.'" Again (p. 228): "Those
scales, which are destined to be white upon the mature wing, are
now completely formed, and undergo no further changes. Hence,
ontogenetically speaking, the white spots upon the wings are the
oldest of all. Those scales, which are destined to be pigmented, have,
however, a different fate ; for the " blood," or httmolymph of the
chrysalis, enters them, and they become completely tilled with the
fluid."

ON THE WING-SCALES AND THEIR tlGJlENT IN LEPlDOtTEKA. 70

My observations teach me that no air enters the permanently white
scales, or any others, until the pigment is fully elaborated, and
that air enters all the scales, pigmented as well as white, for the first
time, and finally, as the last stage in the development of the scales, not
very long before, and possibly often not till after, the emergence of the
imago from the pupa. I examined the wings in the fresh state,
without staining or preparation, so that, whilst missing much of the
histology that Mr. Mayer demonstrates, I probably had a more correct
view in this particular matter of the air ; at no early stage whatever
was there such a change in the specific gravity of the wing as the
presence of air in the scales would cause, a change that, many of my
manipulations being carried out under water, would have made very
unmistakably apparent.

In the second place, in the " white stage," there was never any of
that opaque chalky whiteness that is characteristic of the air-filled
white scales of F. atalanta. Thirdly, the white scales of P. atalanta
(and others) were clearly full of fluid up to the date of the complete
pigmentation of the other scales, and were diflicult to see, instead of
white, as afterwards.

The clear fluid which fills the scales at the white stage is probably
not the " hjemolymph," and it seems very doubtful whether the haemo-
lymph simply, ever enters them, but rather a secretion from it, con-
taining the matters necessary for going through the chemical change,
resulting in pigmentation. In the white scales it never contains this
pigment basis.

The white scales in the fringes of P. atalanta form very easily
observed subjects for this investigation ; the frequency with which
they passed under my observation as objects somewhat difficult to make
out, owing to their clearness and transparency, at various and even
very late stages of the pigment development in the coloured cells, the
specimens being perfectly fresh, and no traces of air (either as
completely filling the scales, or as separate bubbles left behind
in them) existing, seems alone sufficient to justify my doubt as to the
accuracy of Mr. Mayer's conclusions on this one point.

Something might, perhaps, also be said as to the antecedent
improbability of a temporary occupation of the cells by air in the way
described.

Contributions to the fauna of the Dauphine Alps.

IV. — The Butterflies of Boukg d'Oisans. — Sexual dimorphism of

POLYOMMATUS. DrINKING BUTTERFLIES. PaRARGE MEG^ERA AND

P. MiERA ON THE SAME GROUND. On THE OCELLATION OF ErEBIA

NEORIDAS.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

From August 12th until the 19th, we collected in the neighbourhood
of Bourg d'Oisans, a small village situated on the left bank of the
Romanche, at an elevation of 2,400 ft. above the level of the sea. The
river here has spread out a great plain, bounded on either side with
lofty mountains, the precipices often rising almost sheer from the
plain to a height of from 1,000 to 1,500 ft., and presenting, on their
exposed faces, remarkable instances of contorted stratification. The
country worked here was the fields and slopes directly behind the

80 THE entomologist's RECdRb.

Grand Hotel, and the woods behind, leading up to the Alpine pastures
at a height of about 6,000 to 7,000 ft. The insects here were, of
course, not of an Alpine character, except at the higher elevations,
where an occasional G. phicomone occasionally reminded us that we
had reached to a considerable elevation.

HESPERIDES. — Spilotkyrus altheae. — The only specimen of the
tribe hespekidi observed here, and only three specimens of these.
These were larger and browner than the specimens obtained at Le
Lautaret. They were in fine condition, and it seemed rather
remarkable that the species should be only just emerging here, more
than a fortnight later than at Le Lautaret, and at 4,200 ft. less
altitude. Paviphila covima. — This was the only species of the tribe
Pamphilidi observed. Again, only a very few specimens, and these
large in size, were observed. A very fine 5 example of the ab. latro,
Grum., was taken.

PAPILIONIDES. — Div. : Lycenida. Fam. : Lyc^nid.i:. —
Chrijsoplianus dorilis. — Evidently just appearing, both sexes being in
fine condition, though scarce. The females rather red in colour. This
is a most interesting species, with its striking sexual dimorphism,
appealing to one as a sort of connecting link between the " blues " and
" coppers." C. alcipliron var. gordius. — One worn male only, tinged
with purple. C. virgaureae. — This species was practically over on
the slopes just behind the village, but about 2,000 ft. above, on the
mountains ; although the males were worn, the females were in good
condition. Fohjommatus dnmon. — The specimens taken here were
large in size, and with two forms of the male, one of a much brighter
blue than the other. Some of the specimens were very sparingly
marked with spots on the underside. P. conjdon. — Generally large,
with a dark hind marginal band on fore-wings = ab. marginafa, Tutt.
The silvery blue-green type was also taken, as also the ab. caeruleo-
margivata. The females were nearly all of the typical form, without
blue scaling. On the under-sides many specimens approached the ab.
striata. P. hellargus. — Two or three male specimens only were
captured ; possibly the second brood was only just appearing.
P. Icarus. — The typical lilac-blue form occurred, but the bright ab.
clara was much more abundant. There was also considerable
difference in size. The ab. icarinus was exceedingly abundant,
especially on one little strip of grass near the hotel. The females
were all entirely of the form known as ab. iphis, Baumb. P. escheri.
— At this level, the males appeared to be practically over, and only
one female was observed. The very distinct sexual dimorphism in
these species, and especially P. icarus and P. corydon, is very marked.
There are practically no female specimens with the blue scaling of the
male at all developed. These individuals evidently have no very
great chance of success here, and hence the colour dimorphism is very
sharply marked in these species, as also in P. escheri, as is normally
the case. P. astrarche. — At about 2,000 ft. above the village, where
the alpine pastures commence, this species and P. corydon were
collected in hundreds at all the little mmnels that crossed the
pathway. They flew up in little clouds in front of one, but quickly
returned again. The most remarkable sight of butterflies drinking
that I ever saw was on the pathway in the Veneon valley. There, at
one spot of about a square yard in extent, I saw 3 Pajjilio podalirius,

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHINE ALPS. 8l

1 Euvanessa antiopa, 2 Leucophasia sinapis, and hundreds of
P. damon, P. corydon, with a few P. heUargus and P. astrarche. The
damp ground was just one seethmg mass of insect life, the dift'erent
shades of blue looking brilliant in the sun, the /'. podnlirins, with
their wings drawn up closely over the back, and the tails stretched
out behind, clear of the damp, were very remarkable looking objects.
Niceville, in his Buttcrjiies of Sumatra, gives some interesting notes
on this habit.

Div. : Papilionida. Fam. : Papiliomd^*;. — Papllio machaou. —
Not uncommon. Flying rapidly about the lucerne fields in the morn-
ing sun. The specimens of moderately large size ; in sufficiently
good condition to show that they were a second brood, and very
recently emerged. P. podaltrius. — Much commoner than P. mnchaun,
and going over, the species became much rarer during our stay. The
specimens haunt the lucerne fields during the morning and noon, but
about three o'clock make for the trees, where they appear to roost.
They might be seen flying round the tree-tops until the shadow
thrown by the mountain walls reached them, and then they im-
mediately settled down for the night. Fam. : Parnassid.e. — Par-
nassius apoUo. — Only two or three specimens observed. These were
all in a rocky gully behind the hotel. The species did not appear to
occur up the mountain slopes behind. Fam. : Pierid.e. — Pterin
napi. — The $ specimens were large, very white, and with scarcely
a trace of the darker nervures, either on the upper or under-sides.
They appear to belong to the var. meridionalis, Riihl. P. rapae. —
The males, with a well-marked apical patch, and one distinct small
blackish spot on fore-wing. The females strongly marked and
yellowish. Probably these are referable to the var. manii of Mayer.
Leucophasia sinapis. — Common. Many of the male specimens had
the apical spot resembling that of the spring form, others Avere well-
marked specimens of ab. diniensis. Many of the females were
referable to ab. erysimi. They were usually on the wing from about
9 a.m. until 2 p.m., rarely later. Colias edtisa. — Distinctly rare.
Not a half-dozen specimens were observed, although I kept a sharp
look out for them, wanting eggs for Mr. Merrifield. The specimens
caught were in good condition. Colias hyale. — Not uncommon, and
in fine condition. One could generally rely on seeing a dozen in the
course of a morning's stroll. The ab. apicata and ab. intermedia
were both taken, but the marginal band was usually fairly typical.
Colias phicomone. — Two or three observed on the high pastures. One
in a lucerne field low down at the back of the hotel. Gonepteryx
rhamni. — Very common, especially on the last day or two. The
females approached the ab. intermedia. Fam. : Nymphalid.e. — Dryas
paphia. — Rare and worn, evidently passe. Argynnis adippe. — In
fine condition, moderately abundant, and remarkably typical.
Argynnis lathonia. — In fine condition; evidently the second brood was
just emerging ; more easily caught in the lucerne fields than elsewhere.
The specimens are very strongly marked, but not dark, like those Mr.
Warburg gets at Cannes. Brenthis dia. — Abundant in the lucerne
fields. The females were in much better condition than the males.
Argynnis daphne. — One worn specimen only, another, equally
worn, was captured on a scabious flower at Bourg d'Aru, and should
have been in the list, ante, p. 53. Meliiaea aurelia. — Two or three

S2 THE entomologist's RECORD.

female specimens only were observed, possibly the species was over.

M. dictynna. — Two specimens only captured, in good condition ;

the male very dark. M. didyma. — A few only observed, the males

were not worth taking, the females in very fair condition. Euvanessa

antiojja. — It was a great treat to see these fine fellows flying among

the walnut trees, about half-a-mile lower down the valley than

Bourg d'Oisans. They were moderately common, but kept well out of

reach of the net. Vanessa io and Pyrameis ataJanta,. — A few

specimens observed, presenting no variation from British specimens.

P, cardui.— Two specimens only observed, both evidently freshly

emerged. Limenitis Camilla. — Two small males only seen, on

bramble blossoms, probably over. Hipparchia hermione. — The

specimens here are very close to the figures of H. alcyone. They are

very wary, and on the rough stony ground difficult to capture. Satyrus

actaea. — The males moderately typical, the females of the ab. bryce,

Hb. Not uncommon on rocky slopes. Pararge megaera. — Bather

rare and richly coloured. P. maera. — Frequented the same stone

walls and rocky watercourse as P. megaera, which I thought very

strange. The females were large, and the under-sides very grey.

Both species were in good condition, and evidently freshly emerged.

Epinepliele ianira. — Exceedingly abundant, the females with the

fulvous patch much extended = ab. hispuUa, Hb., whilst there was

also a fair number of examples of the ab. pjallens, Thierry-M. The

under-side of most of the specimens showed a strong tendency to

form a distinct band = ab. grisea. E. lycaon. — Not abundant,

flying, as usual, with E. ianira. Coenonympha pamphUns. — Fairly

common, none of the specimens, however, being of the form lyllus,

Esp. One or two fine under-side aberrations of the ab. ocellata were

obtained. All the aberrations of the pupillated spot on the fore-wing

seemed to occur. Erebia ligea. — Two specimens only seen. One a

very fine male of dark coloration, and with the characteristic marking

on the under-side of the hind-wings, snowy Avhite. The other, a

female, quite characteristic of the species. E. curyalc. — Aboiit 1,500

feet above where these two E. ligea were captured, a small grassy spot

gave a few specimens of Erebia euryale, both sexes of which were

rather worn. Erebia goante. — A single specimen only appears among

the captures. It was quite overlooked at the time of capture, and

certainly not recognised as that species at the time. E. aethiops. —

Two females only captured, both of the ab. leucotaenia. E. neoridas.

— Not uncommon on the steep slopes behind the hotel, and occasionally

reaching the cultivated fields below. The variation of the ocellation

of this species on the fore-wings shows the following results : (1) With

a double apical ocellated spot, followed by a small, then by a large

ocellated spot = 4 spots. (2) With double apical spot, small spot in

next interneural space missed, then a large ocellated spot, then a

small one = -4 spots. (8) With double apical spot, then small spot

missed, then ocellated spot = 8 spots. (4) With double apical spot,

then small spot, then large ocellated spot, then another small spot =

5 spots (in one specimen, right side, only). On the hind-wings, 4

ocellated spots are rare, 3 common ; a specimen from Sassenage

(near Grenoble) has none. Melanargia galatea. — Pretty abundant,

and widely distributed ; most of the specimens, though, were much

worn. They exhibited more black markings than is usual in British

examples.

CONtRtBtlTIdNS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHINE ALPS. 8^

V. — The Lepidoptera of the Romanche Val,ley.
By E. S. HARRISON.

The following general notes may be of interest as supplementing
the more detailed notes which Mr. Tutt has so far published on the
fauna of this district. The specimens were all captured during
August, 1896.

Hesperides. — Fawphila xiilvanus., very abundant at Grenoble. P.
comma, found in the high grounds and pastures above the village of
Bourg d'Oisans. iSpilot/ii/rus altlieae, captured at Bourg d'Oisans.

Papilionides. — L'hnjmphanns rir(/aureai', common on the heights
above Bourg d'Oisans ; C. dorilis, two specimens only, both females,
at Bourg d'Oisans ; Polyommatux cori/dun, P. daman, P. icarus, very
abundant ; Papilio machaon, throughout the valley (also at Luino, in
Italy) most of the specimens were worn ; P. podalirius, Grenoble,
Bourg d'Oisans, etc., very abundant and generally distributed, much
more abundant than P. machaon ; Aporia cratae(ji, Bourg d'Oisans
(the females, with very transparent wings, were very abundant in the
Monte Genevra Pass) ; Pieris brassicae, P. rapcw, P. napi and Leuco-
phaxia sinapis occurred throughout the valley ; Colias hyale, fairly
common at Bourg d'Oisans, where also C. edusa occurred, but much
less commonly than at Grenoble ; Gonepteryx rhamni, Bourg d'Oisans,
2 very common, very little variation ; Dry as papkia, fairly frequent,
both in Dauphine and Italy (the ab. ralesina rather frequent at Torre-
Pellice) ; Aryynnis lathonia, Bourg d'Oisans, the specimens captured
were evidently newly emerged ; A. adippe, common in Dauphine (but in
Luino, I only captured var. cleodoxa, which, so far as I saw, was the
only form there); A. aglaia, rare at Bourg d'Oisans ; BrentJiii^dia, also
at the same place ; Mditaea cin.ria, M. did y ma and M. dictynna were
all taken, some of the latter very dark ; Yanesm io, Bourg d'Oisans
(and Torre Pellice) ; luivanessa antiopa, common at Bourg d'Oisans
(those captured at Torre Pellice very large and with yellow margin) ;
Polyyonia c-alhum, Bourg d'Oisans (elevation about 4,000 ft.), Grenoble
(elevation about 2,100 ft.), [Torre Pellice (8,000 ft.)] . The underside
of the specimen caught at Grenoble was of about the shade of the
u-s. of P. cardui, that taken at Torre Pellice much darker, and at
Bourg d'Oisans as dark as u-s. of VAo ; Pyrameis cardui and P. atalanta,
very generally distributed ; Pararye egeria, very generally distributed,
also great variation in size of fulvous blotches, u-s. tinted very
warmly with purple ; P. meyaera and P. maera, also very generally
distributed; Hipparchiasemele, one specimen ( $ ) has its markings very
indistinct, and is very pale, both on upper and underside ; Hipparcliia
actaea and Satyrus hermione, from Bourg d'Oisans; Ppinqdwle janira,
very generally distributed, and varying (upper-side) from unicolorous
black-brown with very faint pupillated spot = c? , to very pale fawn-
colour = 5 . The former is deep ochreous on the under-side, under-
wings almost without trace of band, and showing faintly two small
black spots, the latter very strongly banded with only one or no spot ;
E. lycaon andi*7. i2V/(o»?(.s, moderately common; Coeno7iymphapampJtilus,
very generally distributed ; Erehia aethiops, rare ; E. neoridas, general in
distribution. The variation of the spots extended from 2 to 4 on fore-
wings, and from a mere trace to 4 on hind-wings, some much more
highly pupillated than others. Coloration : — From deep fulvous to dark

84 tllE entomologist's UECOKb.

black-brown, Mcianari/ia (jalatlwa, Bourg d'Oisans, no variation
except in depth of black markings.

Sphingides. — 2Iacr(i(/l(issa stcUataruii} , Grenoble and Bourgd'Oisans.

Zyg.-enides. — Zi/i/at'jia trcoisalpina, Bourg d'Oisans ; Z. cruhDis,
La Grave ; Z. jilipeiuJiilac and Z. rarnioUca from Bourg d'Oisans.

Cheloniides. — Lithosia ctniiiilana, Bourg d'Oisans ; ('alliiiniia
miniata, on the Mont Cenis Pass ; Calliinorjiha Jwra, Bourg d'Oisans
[and Torre Pellice] ; Nemeophila rmsida, Grenoble ; iSpilosuiiia
iiwHt/iastri, Grenoble.

Lasiocampides. — (Tiistnijiar/ia querclfolia, $ , at light, at Bourg
d'Oisans.

The following Noctuides were captured at Grenoble : — Gonoptcya.
Ubatri.r, Jvudidia f/h/phica and Aiinip/nla trahealis, whilst the
Geometrides taken in the 'neighbourhood of the same town com-
prised : — Jlniiiia lutcolata, Mctmcainpa man/aritaria, Nevioria riridata,
llijria aumraria, Ast/ieiia candidata, Acidalia nrnata, Strenia clathrata,
S. iiiniKirata, Kiuaturfja atoviayia, Aspilatcs fillraria, Lomanpilix
)iuin/inata, (Jaiiiptdf/rcniDiia hillncata and Ortludltlia hipnnctaria. The
Pykalides included Pj/ralis i/laucinalis, llcrhida ccsjntalis, llotijs
fiificalis and Spilodea ciiictalis. Of the Tortricides I have Tcni'^
contaiiiinaua from Bourg d'Oisans, whilst Ypomnncuta padella and
Ilit/n/ia carnclla were also taken in the same locality.

I have inserted in brackets a few Italian localities, where I
obtained the species, both in Dauphine and Italy.

Hydriomena furcata (Hypsipetes sordidata) : Its Synonymy,
Variation, Geographical Distribution and Life=history. -

By LOUIS B. TKOUT, F.E.S.

The whole generic grouping of the fMientiiduc Avill certainly
require overhauling in the light of modern ideas, but I have as yet
done no work which would justify my taking this question into con-
sideration this evening. As some of you may be aware, Lederer got
over the difficulty presented by the assemblage of tolerably closely
allied genera by lumping them nearly all together as Cidaria ; but it
is quite certain that this imsatisfactory arrangement will not be
allowed to stand permanently. Professor A. K. Grote, in a recent
comnnmication to the Entomological Society of London, pointed out
two landmarks in what he calls the " Cidarian wilderness," but as for
the rest, I would venture little or nothing.

I believe, however, that w'e have in the so-called genus Ihjpsipctcf,
(by error " Ypsijndes"), Steph., a really natural little sub-division,
comprising our three European species (all British), a few North
American, and one or two others ; being very closely associated in
larval form and habits, as well as in the imago state. This genus
is the Hijdrunncna of Hiibner {Vcrzeichniss, p. 322) and Packard,
though the former author included one species, aqmata, which is not
congeneric. Prof. Grote kindly writes me that this name {Hi/dridiiima)
appears available, and should be restored.

As to the individual species selected for present consideration,
certainly the commonest of its genus in this country, it was named

* Abstract of Paper read before the North London Natural History Societv,
Oct. 22ud, 1890.

HYDPTOMENA FITRCATA (lIPYSIPETKS SORPTnATA). 85

SDnliclatti by l'\ibiicius, in 179 i; but there is, at least, one name
having a prior claim, and I cannot understand how it is that
Werneburg and Staudinger have ignored it ; it is accompanied by a
figure, and thus has even an advantage over the sonlidata of Fabricius,
of which merely a brief diagnosis is given. The name in question
is furcata, Borgstrom (in Thunberg's Dissertation's), and the date
1784. Borgstrom describes it as " alis cinereis, fascia simplici bifida
et trifida fuscis. Wings entire, rounded ; fore-wings cinereous, black
dusted and fasciated ; a slender fascia at the base, and another near
this, simple ; in the middle a broad fascia bifid towards the outer
margin (i.e., costa) ; at the apex a broad fascia projecting a trifurcate
branch," etc., etc. Of sonliilata, Fb., I'Jnt. Si/st., iii., Pt. 2, p. 185,
the diagnosis was : — " Phalfena seticornis alis virescentibus ; atomis
strigisque fuscis punctoque postico atro," and a careful, though brief
description, follows. This is mainly the same common sallow-
frequenting form as Hiibner's elutata (tig. 224). Guenee takes this
green form as the type, and gives three varieties : — (A) Entirely
green, without the dark bars ; sub-var. grey-blackish, also without
markings. (B) Hiibner, tig. 8S2, a curious and rare aberration.
Guenee includes here the specimens Avith the black bands very pro-
nounced, entire, and multiplied, and the central area paler. (C)
Hiibner, tigs. 381, 313. — The green ground-colour replaced by brick-
red, or sometimes by carmelite brown. This last is the " var.
fusen-undata, Don.," of Staudinger's Catahujuc, and Guenee has an
interesting note upon it. He notes its smaller size, and agrees with
Herrich-Schaefter, that it belongs to the bilberry-fed examples ; and he
then adds that Delaharpe considers this variety is artiticial, and may
be produced at pleasure by exposing the insect to an acid vapour ;
but he (Guenee) is satisfied that it is perfectly natural. He possessed
recently disclosed examples, met with under the same conditions as
ordinary green forms, and he points out that green lepidoptera,
especially those of an oZ//v-green shade, are peculiarly subject to these
colour changes — e.tj., Smerintlms tiliae.

Staudinger, in bis Catalocfue, gives two named varieties : (1) " ab.
{etY.^)fusco-un(lata, Don. {Xat. Hist., xi., pi. 386, fig. 3), testaceous
or reddish, black banded." (2) "v. (et ab.) infmcata {/ tacetaria,
Frr., 640-2 ab.) al. ant. fere unicolor. infuscatis vel grisescentibus,
indistincta nigro-strigatis." Some of Staudinger's own Iceland
specimens, from which this variety was named, are in our collection
at South Kensington. None are so dark as our extreme British
melanic examples.

In North America, where also the species appears to be common, we
find two other well-marked varieties, named by Packard ; they were
at first described by him as distinct species, and it seems to me not
improbable that one at least of them will really prove to be so. The
varieties in question are nxihilofaseiata. Pack., Prur. Bost. Soc, X. U .,
xiii., 398, Mono(jyaph, PI. viii., fig. 31 ; and albifasciata, Pack., Si.vtli
Eeji. Peab. Acad. Sc, 41, Monoijraph, PL viii., fig. 34.

I have not been able to give sufficiently close and continuous study
to the details of variation to work out anything very satisfactory in this
connection at present ; but a few generalisations may perhaps be found
of some assistance : — (1) /S7;t'.— This varies a good deal, from con-
siderably uiider an inch to slightly over an inch and a quarter ; the

86 THE entomologist's record.

chief point of interest being in the generally smaller size of the
bilberry and heath form, as compared with those which breed in low-
lying districts on sallow. (2) Colour. — The ground-colour of the
sallow forms is generally dirty greenish, frequently tinged more or less
with reddish, especially in the median area. The moorland or
mountain forms are, as is generally known, by far the more variable
as a rule ; often wholly reddish or yellowish-brown ; at other times
cinereous, or more frequently fuscous, or nearly black. Mr. G. T.
Porritt has kindly sent for my inspection the pick of his series, bred
from bilberry, from a wood on the hill-side near his own residence, at
Huddersfield. He writes me that a large proportion is of the uni-
colorous, or nearly unicolorous, black form, though he has not sent
very many, as this offers less range of variation than the more
variegated forms. It is further to be remarked concerning coloration,
that the colour is often more or less varied with whitish, or even with
clear white. The usual positions for the pale portions are the median
band, and a central roundish blotch on the sub-terminal dark band,
this latter blotch being often extended right to the inner margin,
leaving only the characteristic trifurcate sub-apical mark dark.
(8) Markiu;/s. — I have already touched on these in dealing with the
colour variation, and need only add that the dark bands are very in-
constant. The basal dark mark, and the inner broad band, are the
least so ; the outer broad band also, as already noticed, is but seldom
icliollij obliterated. Two narrower bands between these two are
generally broken off at the middle of the wing, but either or both of
them may often continue right to the inner margin, and either or both
of them may, on the other hand, be wanting altogether ; or, once
again, they may unite at the middle of the wing, with the two broader
bands in a very irregular Y-form. The pale spot in the centre of the
outer dark band is fairly constant, and has been pointed out as a dis-
tinguishing mark of the species ; but it is occasionally absent.

Out of this heterogeneous material I have only ventured, at present,
to work up the following rough table of named forms, based chiefly on
colour differences.

Genus : Hydriomena, Hb., Ver^., p. 322 (Type : autumnalin, Strom.
= tnfaficiata, Thnb. = implnn'ata, Hb.).

Furcata, Thnb., D/,s,s., i., 13 [17H4] ; Miata, Hfn., Bed. Mo,/., iv.,
524 [1767] nee. L. Ueetawiulata , Fb., Si/at. Knt., 636 [1775] iiee. Ij.
/ Vin/ata, Fourcr., Eut. Paris., ii., 285 [17851. Sordidata, Fh., Knt.
.S'//.s'f., iii., 2, 185 [1794]. Elutata, Rh., 224 [post 1797] . Fusco-
vndata, Don., Nat. IJist., xi., 73 [1806] .

1. Cinereous, with dark bands (the type form, in bibliographical

sense) = fnreata, Thnb. : / taeetaria, Frr.

2. Cinereous, without distinct bands, ? = infnseota, Stgr., pro

parte : = cinereata, mihi.

3. Green, with dark bands = sordidata, Fb.

4. ,, without ,, ,, = ohliterata, mihi : var. A, Gn.

5. Testaceous (or reddish), with dark bands = fuseo-undata, Stgr. :

T)on. pro parte, var. C, Gn.

6. Testaceous (or reddish) without dark bands = testaceata, mihi.

7. Fuscous, nearly unicolorous = iufiiseata, Stgr. : sub-var. of var.

A, Gn.

8. With whitish median baud = / albi/asciata, Pack,

HYDRIOMRNA FUKCATA (lIYPSIPKTES SORDrDATA). 87

I only add, iu connection with this tabulation, that probably the
really red forms should be separated from Nos, 5 and 6, and that our
ordinary whitish banded forms ought to be denoted by such " long-
winded " titles as sorilidata-albifasciata, etc., according to the ground-
colour ; it seems unreasonable to suggest a different name for each of
these sub-varieties, and yet their effect is so very distinct, that it hardly
appears right to ignore them. Guenee's var. B is to be referred here.
( To be continued J.

Notes on the Zygasnides.

I. — General remarks on the genus Zyg^na. — Zyg^na lonicer.e a con-
stant SPECIES. — Hybrid Zyg^enid^. — Have we three five-spotted
British species (exclusive of Z. exulans and Z. meliloti) in
Britain ? — Are Z. hippocrepidis, St., and Z. filipendul.e distinct
British species ?

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

This is meant to be a tentative paper, and is written in the hope
that it may lead to observations being made during the approaching
summer, and to the record of new facts. We do not by it invite
opinions, of which there will doubtless be many ; but we do hope it
will lead to the making of an attempt, by exact observation, to clear up
the present hopeless confusion that exists about some of our British
species of this genus.

In previous papers we have attempted to solve some of the
difficulties relating to certain Zyg^nid species, ri-., Z. viinos ( Knt.
Eec., vi., pp. 270-276), Z. exulans {Ent. Bee, v., pp. 258-267), Z.
carniolica, Z. achilleae, Z. transalpina, Z. medica(/inis and Z. oclisen-
liebneri I Papers on the Zijijaenidae, 1894). The notes relating to
Z. niedicat/inis and Z. ochsenheiineri are particularly important to
British lepidopterists, because the first has been erroneously considered
an Alpine form of Z. trifolii, and the name of the latter Alpine species
has even been introduced into our magazines as a British form of Z.
Jilipendulae. We simply mention these as we do not intend to traverse
the ground already covered.

The genus Zi/gaena is exceedingly interesting, from the facts that
some of the species are somewhat ill-defined, and that, in some cases,
the species hybridise pretty freely with each other, and produce fertile
progeny. The collector gets over the difficulties thus presented by
lumping the various forms as one species, but the student recognises
that if evolution be really a fact, and that new species are evolved
from earlier forms by modification, it is pretty certain that nature is
now at work on some plastic forms, and is, so to speak, developing
new species. We have, in the genus under consideration, this process
of evolution taking place before our eyes, and whether we unite all
the forms into one group and call it a species, and its component parts
sub-species, or allow each of the latter to be called a species, it is only
a matter of terms, and does not interfere with the scope of our
enquiries.

Of the five-spotted Zyga?nids occurring in Britain, Z. exnlans
and Z. meliloti are the most fixed forms. Z. lonicerae is also a most
constant species. In all its British localities it is practically invari-
able and readily recognisable. There is no difference whatever in

88 THE entomologist's record.

the general facies of the specimens captured in the Alps of Dauphin6
the Tyrol, Kent or Yorkshire.

The essential difficulties of the group, so far as our British species
are concerned, lie in the study of Z. trifolil and Z. tilipcndular.
Before considering these, however, in detail, it may be well to
observe that (1) Z. hmicerae has been crossed with Z. jilipendulac, and
the hybrid progeny, although exceedingly large, failed to produce
fertile eggs. Mr. Fletcher, however, does not consider that this
proves the hybrids to be infertile inter sc, although he was unsuccessful
with this particular brood. (2) Z. hmicerae has been crossed with
Z. frifolii, and the hybrid progeny have proved fertile inter se to the
fourth generation. (3) Z. ochsenheiirwri from the Alps (Courmayeur),
and Z. jiUpcndulae (Sussex) have been crossed, and the hybrid progeny
produced fertile ova.

Mr. T. H. Briggs was, we believe, the first entomologist to point
out that we had in Britain three very distinct five-spotted Burnet
moths (excluding Z. exulaux and Z. mcliloti) Avith distinct life-cycles.
(1) The early (and small) Z. trifoUi, found usually in pastures and
meadows in May and early June (often with Prucris statices). (2) The
well-known and well-defined Z. hmicerae occurring in June and early
July. (3) The late (and large) Z. trifolii-viajor found in marshes in
July and early August. Very few entomologists appear to know all
three of these in a state of nature. Exact and comparative life-
histories of the first ftrifoUi) and last (trifoUi-inajor) are very much
needed.

Another difficulty has to be explained, riz., the nature of the
relationship existing between the two forms of six-spotted Burnet
moths that exist in Britain. These are Zi/i/aena hijipocrejii'li.s, St.,
and Z. fiUpendnhit', Linn. The former occurs with (or just a few days
later than) Z. trijhUi, and in the same or similar localities to those
frequented by this sj^ecies. Having six spots, the specimens are
usually referred to as Z. fdipendnhic, although those who have recorded
them as such have usually stated that the true ^./77<^j('»^//<Zflf has been,
even in neighbouring localities, in the larval state, whilst these
aberrant six-spotted specimens were flying. These six-spotted speci-
mens have usually the marginal band of the hmd-wings broader, and
the sixth (outside) spot of the fore-wings less well-developed, than in
Z.fdipendnUie; and Boden, who observed in a series of Continental
Z. oc/isenJiei)neri (for sale in Stevens' rooms), the ill-developed sixth
spot, referred our May and June six-spotted specimens to Z. orJi.sen/iei-
ii\eri, and the name has been erroneously applied to them ever since.
"Wood figures a yellow aberration of this form under Stephens' name.
This difiiculty has been complicated by the fact that we have a
common aberration among true Z. jilipendidac, parallel, so far as the
peculiarity of spotting in these early Z. hipporrepidis and Z. ochxenhei-
iiirri is concerned, and hence we find, in collections, a mixture of
Z. Iiippocrepidia and the aberrations of true Z. jilipendulae which
assume a similar form.

The difficulties of our British species do not seem to extend to the
late (July and August) Z. trifoUi, which, in its marshy haunts, is
rarely overrun by the other species. The only difficulty that I have
observed is one with regard to "Weston's specimens, referred to by
Briggs, and quoted later on in this paper.

( To he cun tinned.)

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 89

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

A STATISTICIAN WANTED. — I should like to draw attention to what
would be exceedingly valuable in reference to the records of captures,
double-broodedness, and many other phenomena. It is that there should
be prepared a statement of the weather, showing earliness or lateness of
the seasons for say thirty or fifty years back. Anyone who is a Fellow of
the Meteorological Society can get all the particulars. What is
wanted are the temperature, rainfall and sunshine for each month for
Greenwich or Kew, and, if possible, some station in or near York
and Aberdeen, and perhaps South Wales ; with general remarks on
the earliness or lateness of season (spring and summer), as showing
by budding or blossoms, or appearance of certain insects, very true to
season, in their exclusion from pupa. It would be invaluable for
many biological purposes. The stations selected should be near sea-
level. There is a reputation to be earned by any trustworthy person
who would do this work. — F. Merrifield, F.E.S., 24, Vernon
Terrace, Brighton.

:]^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, &c.

Bearing Polia xanthomista var. nigrocincta from the egg. —
With regard to the rearing of P. var, nvjvocincta, I failed completely
in 1896, as have all your correspondents, but in 1895, under different
conditions, I was successful in breeding two examples of the moth.
The larvae were kept in the open on potted plants of the narrow-
leaved plantain, gathered on the shore near here. — F. G. Whittle,
3, Marine Avenue, Southend. March, 1897.

A note not having appeared in reply to Mr. Christy's in-
quiry as to whether anyone has had success in rearing the above
species from ova [Ent. Bee, viii., p. 241), I think it only just to Mr.
Murray to record mine, which, although not great, may be an
encouragement to others to try again, and do still better. In 1895,
Mr. Murray kindly sent me, as a present, two dozen ova ; twenty duly
hatched, the larvae feeding very slowly on a species of sallow, with
small and hard leaves ; the whole twenty eventually entering the soil
in their breeding cage. On Sept. 2nd, two moths emerged, and a third
on the 7th. As no more appeared during the following fortnight, the
earth was turned out, when it was found to contain three pupa-skins
and seventeen dead larvae. — B. A. Bower, F.E.S., Lee, Kent.
March, 1897.

Food-plant of Lasiocampa callun^e. — At St. Bees, last September,
I noticed large numbers of L. callunae feeding on the flowers of
stunted gorse on the sea-coast. So abundant were they that some
hundreds might have been collected in an hour. I had never seen
them so abundant before. — A. Robinson, B.A., F.E.S., Sylvanhoe,
Chislehurst.

Descriptions of Lepidopterous eggs [(Jontinuecl from p. 61). —
Dicycla ooS' — The egg of this species is the most aberrant Noctuid
egg that I have observed. It is of a honey-yellow colour, and looks
almost spherical to the naked eye. It is attached by the base in

* On pointing out the peculiar egg of this species, Mr. Bacot informed me that the
head of the mature larva of D. oo is also aberrant, being somewhat square in shape,
find notched like that of Apatela aceris.

90 THE entomologist's record.

ordinary Noctuid fashion. Under a two-thirds lens the base is seen
to be somewhat contracted below the equatorial area, and there is a
large basin-shaped apical depression. At the bottom of this, one traces
a minute, central, circular ridge, within which is the micropyle, but
the structure is difficult to make out. There is no trace of ribbing
(vertical or transverse) even with a one-sixth lens, only the merest
traces of longitudinal striations, on what otherwise appears to be the
perfectly smooth and shining surface of the egg. The egg-shell is
apparently transparent. Mr. Barnes (to whom I am indebted for the
eggs) wrote, on Nov. 15th : — " The eggs of D. oo were laid on June
19th, 1896, and have not changed in colour since they were deposited."
[The eggs were described on Jan. 14th, 1897, when their colour was
still unchanged] .

Porthetria dispar. — The egg is almost spherical, pale salmon colour
soon after being laid, but quickly becoming of a dirty-brown colour,
owing to the development of the embryo. The surface of the shell
appears almost smooth under a two-thirds lens, but under a high
power is covered with fine hexagonal reticulation. At the apex of
the egg is an open, basin-shaped depression, the micropylar rosette
being indistinctly traceable at the bottom of it. The shell is evidently
transparent, and now (Jan. 15th, 1897) the head parts of the embryo
are very distinctly visible through it. The eggs are laid side by side,
thickly covered with brown hairs, from the anal tuft of the female.
Sometimes the eggs are laid upon each other. They are always laid
in patches, which vary, however, greatly in size. — J. W. Tutt.

:iaOTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Notes of collecting in 1896. — Snnt/tcnd and Caniri/. — Until
the end of July, the season here was very good, but after that time
sugar was all but useless. Our local insects all appeared in increased
numbers. I obtained a few cases of Kpichnopteri/x irticdla, from
which, in due course, females occurred, and these attracted a crowd of
males. On June 9th I found larva? of Lithosia comjdana and T/njwc-
licus lineola, the former on a lichen-studded post. Both pupated in
due course, and the moth emerged on July 12th, the butterfly on
July 1st. T. lineola was unusually common, during the first Aveek of
July, at Canvey ; Mtianar<iia galatca occurred at the same time, but
was restricted to one field. Pohjommatiis astrarchc was tlie butterfly
on the sea-wall, on the southern side of Canvey, on August 3rd, when
it was most abundant. I only saw one Vanessa io, one Pjirawein
cardui, and not one P. atalanta. I netted a female P'lmrodesvia
sinarafidaria on the evening of July 22nd, and on the 26th I boxed a
very fine male of the same species, and Thiiandra amntaria and Acidalia
vianjineininrtata occurred more commonly than usual. C'lisiocaiiqia
castrensis also were more abundant than in 1895, but there was less
variation in the imagines, and females occurred in about the propor-
tion of 3^ to 1 male. Swarms of Noctuids came to sugared black-
thorn and reeds at the end of June and well into July, Leucania
straminea (larvie found at the same time), Hadena ahjecta (not much
variation), and Calamia phrapinitidis were among the best. IJijdroeeia
nictitans (? H. paludis, Ed.) also presented considerable variation. Her-
minia crihralis occurred rather commonly, and Eupithecia subnotata

Notes on collecting. 91

was taken among Atrvplex. During August I took one Aylossa
cuprealh and two Cirrhoedia .verampelina. During October, Calamia
liUom swarmed in a reed bed near here, and the specimens vary very much
in size and colour. — F. G. Whittle, 3, Marine Avenue, Southend.

Cumberland. - The season of 1896, at Keswick, was a very moderate
one. My first excursion was to Watendlath for Emwelesia adaequata
{hlandiata) on May 23rd, when I also captured a few freshly emerged
Larentia salicata, Fidonia atoniaria, Bombi/x rubi, Melanippe montanata,
Epliippiphora cirsiana, Catoptrla cana, and Eupithecia nanata. On the
26th, I went again and took about thirty E. adaequata, several pairs in
cop. On June 8th, I captured a fine lot of Melampias epiphron, also Cram-
b2is ericellus a,nd N'eDieophila plantai/inis, but M. epiphron was out on June
2nd, the earliest date I know, and it may be well to remark that this
species strayed almost a mile from its usual haunts, and several hun-
dred feet lower down than they have ever been captured before.
During the fortnight ending June 25th, I sugared several times,
and captured Aplecta tincta, Xylophasia polyodon (all shades from
pale grey to black), A. nebulosa, A. prasina (herbida), Plusia
inter rogationis, Cymatophora fliictuosa, Triaena psi, Leucania impura,
Xylophasia rurea, and its ab. combmta, Dryobota furva, Apamea
(jemina and its aberrations, A. unanimis, Mianastrigilis, M. fasciuncula,
Rusina tencbrosa, Lycophotia striyula, Gleoceris viminalis, Hyppa
rectilinea, Erastria fasciana, and many commoner species ; whilst I
also captured Geometra papilionaria, Zonosoma i>endularia, Acidalia
fumata, etc. On July 10th, Thyatyra batis appeared, and on the 12th
and 13th Aryynnis acflaia, P. inter rogationis, P. chrysitis, P. iota,
Uropteryx sambucata, Larentia caesiata, L. olioata, Emmelesia unifasciata.
On the 14th, Stilbia anomala, Cymatophora Jiiictuosa, Eupithecia sub-
fulvata, Drepana lacertinaria, Dyschoristasnspectajand Celaena haworthii.
On August 10th, I took Calocampa solidaginis, Xoctua dahlii, Epione
apiciaria, Ennomos erosaria (the first specimen captured here), Mania
maura, Hydroecia lucens, Xoctua glareosa, CirrJinedia xerampelina,
Phibalapteryx vittata, Cidaria siterata, and many other species. It may
be worth mentioning that Xoctua dahlii and Dyschorista suspecta were
scarcer than usual, and that I did not see a specimen of Agrotis
agathina. On the other hand, the larvfe of Phalera bucephala were
exceedingly abundant. — H. Beadle, Keswick.

Folkestone. — 1 have nothing to be jubilant over with regard to
collecting in 1896. At Folkestone, sugar, in July and August, was an
absolute failure. I noticed Melanargia galathea were more abundant
than usual, and Polyommatus corydon and l-*. bcllargus were in good
numbers. Acidalia marginepunctata was to be obtained by diligent
and daily searching on the face of the cliffs. The only capture that
interested me was a female Porthesia chrysorrhoea, which I kept for
ova. Of these I have a good supply, but, alas ! they are still ova, and
I understand that this species hybernates in the larval state. I may
add that I spent a considerable time on several successive days in the
hopes of turning up other specimens, but without success. My wife
saw a ragged specimen of Pyrameis cardui fiying across the Downs,
and a day or so later captured another, rather the worse for wear.
These were all that were seen of this species, although in other years
it has been noticed to be abundant. At Dover, I saw a young
collector capture a beautiful specimen of Colias hyale, but I heard of

92 tHE entomologist's RECOfiD.

no others being captured. An/ynnis cujlaia was abundant, and I heard
that Cupido minima was plentiful as a first brood on Whit-Monday.
Larvte of Sphin.c lujuatrl were common on privet, a collector telling me
that he took over 60 in two hours. A local professional collector
observed two Colias edum in June, but none since. — H. E. Pagk, F.E.S.,
25, Casella Eoad, New Cross, S.E.

New Forest. — I was in the New Forest in the middle of July, and
append a few notes, although we took nothing extraordinary. Amongst
the Diurni a feAV CJ-onepterijx rhamni were seen (both sexes), but it
was not very common. Dri/as paphia was getting worn, but we took
one or two interesting aberrations, which have been exhibited at the
City of London Ent. iSoc, and mentioned in the Ent. Record. Besides
these, we also captured two white-spotted ones — 1 ? , 1 ^ , and a few
An/i/nnis adippe. Kuijonia polijcldoroH came fairly freely to sugar.
We were not fortunate enough to take any of the black Limenitis
Hihijlla, and we only captured two Apatura iris, 1 <J and 1 ? , the latter
dying without ovipositing. {Melancm/ia (jalatea was fairly common at
Swanage). A brood of Paran/e ef/eria was coming out in the Forest.
Hipparchia aemele was plentiful (in both localities), the $ getting
commoner towards the end of our stay, and it came to treacle, as did
also Epinephele janira and E. tithonun. ZepJn/nis qiwrcih swarmed
round one small oak in an enclosure ; ChryHophanxis phlaeas was rare,
but we took one dark one approaching the ab. eleua. Coenonijnqdia
IHuiipliilus, Plebeius aegon, Cijaniria artjiolus, Pamphila sylvanua, and
T/iymelirHs linea were seen (also T. actaeon, at Swanage). Generally
speaking, however, we noticed nothing very particular as to the
abundance or otherwise of the day-flying Lepidoptera. Among the
moths, Nola strii/ula came fairly freely to sugar, but they were nearly
all very worn; and Nudaria sene.r, Ccdliyenia miniata and Lithosia
mcsomella were in a similar condition. Single specimens of L. helveola
and L. cnmplana turned up, the former on a tree-trunk, the latter on a
sugared post. Ellopia fasciaria and Pericallia si/rim/aria were over.
Cleora glabraria was commoner than we had ever seen it ; we took
eight in two days — they were mostly in bad condition, and though
all the 5 s were kept for ova, the result was nil. Boarmia ahietaria,
too, was not scarce, and we captured a few very fine ones on the larch
trunks. It is a rather difficult species to see, and it has a habit of
flying ofi" suddenly as you approach the trunk, and dropping sharply
to the ground and resting there ; fanning the trunks for them is a
good dodge. Tephrosia bistortata (2nd brood) were mostly worn,
and we only trod up one Gnophos obscurata. Epliyra orbicidaria did
not fly so freely as usual, or perhaps it was over, and Acidalia
.itraminata, A. emarginata and A. inornata were also rather worn. We
only saw one Macaria alternata, and two or three Pachyaiemia hippo-
castanaria and Collix sparsata. Sugar was decidedly poor, except for
the " crimsons," and in the Noctuides generally we did not do so well.
We found one Thyatyra bati.t at rest (I had never seen but one in the
daytime before, and that sat on a fence). It was sitting on a small
fir-branch, with the head towards the trunk, the wings close to the
twigs, except at the tips, reminding one rather of Asphalia jiaricornis,
and the petal-like spots did not render the insect at all conspicuous.
We made our first acquaintance with Acronicta leporina, taking one at
sugar. Leucania turca and L. pudorina were worn ; a few Caradrina

irOTES ON COLLECTING. 93

atsines and taraxaci put in an appearance. Of the yellow underwings
we took two TripJuwHa jiinbria and two T. mbscqua, one a beauty, the
other was kept on chance of its being a ? , but died on the 15th. We
were glad to find a few Di/schorista sKsptrta at sugar, Avhich was a new
species to us. Amongst the smaller Noctuids we took a few Erastria
fasciana, Anarta wi/rtilli, Heliuthis dipsaceus and Hijdrelia unca; and
of the Pyralids, Tlwloiniges turfosalis was common, but very worn,
and a few Hypenodes costaestriijalis and liivula sericealis survived to
welcome us. Finally, Aventia jiexula seemed much more plentiful
than usual, but was in tatters. — A. F. Bayne.

Dasycampa rubiginea at Slough. — Among other insects captured
last autumn, I took three specimens of Dasyccuupa rubii/inea, which
are, perhaps, worth recording. — J. B. Williamson, 2, Hencroft Street,
Slough.

Moth traps. — I should like to try " light " here during the coining
summer. Will any of your readers give a short but clear account of the
structure, and mode of working, of one that has proved successful ? —
E. M. Cheesman, Old Bank House, Stromness, Orkney.

Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) in Morayshire. — I hercAvith
send you the only specimen of the Tephrosias (whose specific dis-
tinctness is being discussed) that I have ever taken. I found it on
Saturday, April 16th, 1892, resting on the trunk of a fir tree in the
Altyre Wood, near Forres, Morayshire. I have always sujjposed it to
be T. crepuscularia {hiundularia), but my series of T. bistortata and
T. crepuscularia are so completely mixed up, owing to my having no
personal experience of either species, that I should be pleased to have
your opinion about it. — A. Horne, Aberdeen. [The specimen is a
very fine male example of the Perthshire type of T. bistortata, and,
like the darkest of the specimens from that locality, approaches more
nearly to the typical Continental T. bistortata, than the specimens from
any other British locality. — Ed.]

Captures in Orkney in 1896. — The following is a list of the
Lepidoptera that I captured in Orkney last year. I have marked the
species that were common thus — " /,'' those that were very common
thus — "//." Those which have no mark were not common.
Saturniides. — Saturnia pavonia !. Lasiocampides. — Lasiocarnpa
querci/s var. callunae. Cheloniides. — Nemeophila plantagiuis,
Arctia caia, !, Spilosoma fuligiuosa var. borealis. Noctuides. — Ily-
droecia micacea!, Xylophasia rurea and ab. alopecurus ! !, X.
pohjodon and ab. iiifuscata ! !, Caradrina quadripunctata I , Mamcstra
furva, M. brassicae ! ! (a specimen of this species was brought to me
by a friend, who found it in the house on Jan. 12th, 1897), Ajntmca
gemhia and ab. remissa! !, Apamea didijma, Miana fasciuncula ! !,
Agrotis sufftisa, Noctua glareosa !, N. plecta, N. c-nigrum, N. rubi,
Graphiphora augur, Triphaena pronuba !, Taeniocampa gothica,
Scopelosoma satellitia, Mellinia circellaris, Brotolomia meticulosa,
Hadena adusta !, H. dentina, Calocampa vetusta, C. exoleta,
Gucullia umbratica, Habrostola tripartita ! !, Plusia pulchrina !,
P. gamma. Geometrides. — Ematurga atomaria !, Cheimatobia
hrumnta I, Eupithecia satyrata, E. nanata, E. pumilata, Hypsipetes
sordidata, Melanip2)ejiuctuata ! ! , Coremia munitata, Cidaria prunatal ,
C. testata. Pyralides. — Scoparia zelleri I, Xylopoda oxyacanthclla
{^fahriciana). Ckambides. — Aphomia sociella, Crambus pratellus,

94 THE entomologist's RECORb.

C cuhneUus. Tineides. — G^copliora formoseUa. Tortricides. —
Ephip'piphora pftitgiana, Tortrix rosana ! .', Peronca sponsana ! !
(? Ed.), P. variegana ! !, Catoptria uJicetana. Hepialides. —
Hcpinius hnmuU!. — E. M. Cheesmax, Old Bank House, Stromness,
Orkney. March, 1897.

Notes on Acidalia rusticata. — This species used to be very
abundant at Higham, among the herbage by the roadside, and for
some years has been much over-collected in its restricted habitat.
It has now become comparatively rare, and I believe the same
collectors still go annually to get as many specimens as possible. I
was always inclined to consider its food-plant Farietaria. I after-
wards found the insect on the undercliff, at Kingsdown, between Deal
and ])over, quite near the sea, and here again it was attached appa-
rently to Farietaria. Mr. Webb writes that : " Greenhithe was for
many years the only known locality for A. rusticata ; there it affected
a dusty piece of hedge by the side of the road, and was not found
elsewhere." He further states that this species "occurs on both sides
of Dover, and not in dusty places at all." Mr. Richardson says that
he finds " A. rusticata in places where pellitory grows, at Portland ;
but it does not appear to be specially attached to that plant, and is
not, as a rule, beaten out of it. The moth occurs in various spots,
all near the sea, some within twenty or thirty yards of it. It has no
taste for dusty spots in Portland, as far as I know." It may interest
our readers to know that I took this interesting little species in the
magnificent gorge, which the Eomanche has cut in its passage
between La Grave and Le Freney, at an elevation of about 4,500 feet.
Here it occurred among the rocky Jebris at the foot of the mountains,
and here again I observed the Farietaria. Still there may be no real
connection between the moth and the plant. — J. W. Tutt. Marc/i, 1897.

Early collecting notes. — The season appears to be a very early
one thus far. Mr. E. W. W. Bowell (Sissinghurst) states that two
^.sp//f(^/r/ //rtru"o?-»/.s obtruded themselves on his notice on the evening
of Feb. 27th. Mr. Hamm (Reading) writes that " the season is again
very early, Phiffalia pedaria and Hybernia leucophaearia being taken as
early as .Ian. 5th, on the gas lamps. On Feb. 13th, the latter species,
as well as Anisopter>j.i- aescularia, Tortricodes hyemana were common,
whilst one ^ Cheimatohia brumata, and several Hybernia viaryinaria
occurred. On Feb. 27th, five male Nyssia hispidaria were captured,
whilst Peronca ferruijana and T. liyewana were flying in numbers. A
few Kpiijraphia avellancUa were also found on the twigs. Asphalia
flavicornis was in numbers on birch twigs ; the latter is quite 8 or 10
days earlier than I have seen it before." Mr. Day (Carlisle) writes : —
" I was rather surprised to see a specimen of A', areola at rest on a tree
trunk on February 28th ; the date is fully three weeks earlier than I
have previously observed it. The weather of the past fortnight has
certainly been mild, but not sufficiently so to warrant such an early
emergence. Such moths as Hybernia rupicapraria, H. vraryinaria
and Phiyalia pilosaria have appeared normally, so that this appearance
of A', areola must evidently be capricious." A note from Dr.
Chapman, dated Feb. 27th, and written from Cannes, states that he has
"seen Fararye eyeria, Callophrys riibi, Antliocharis belia, Fieris rapae,
P. napi and /'. brassicae on the wing, whilst Macroylossa stcUatarum
is abundant, but spring," the doctor adds, "is hardly on yet." Mr.

NOTES ON COLLBCTING. 95

Christy (Emsworth) says that, " on Jan. 20th, he took what appeared
to be a freshly-emerged male specimen of Phigalia pedaria at rest,
out of doors." Dr. Chapman writes again on March 8th, from
Cannes : "I took a Laitipides boetica yesterday, very worn," whilst, on
the 9th, he writes : " I have seen (Joneptenjx cleopatm. ]\[. fttdla-
tarum, in all conditions, is common. I have seen none ovipositing,
all on walls and hot banks, flying in the manner you wot." On
March 13th, the doctor further reports the capture of a Pohjgunia cgea.

URRENT NOTES.

Mr. Harcourt Bath thinks that the Fellows of the Entomological
Society are a poor lot not to be able to see that " Darwin " and
" Wallace " and " amixia " are responsible for the extermination of
British Lepidoptera. We would like to know whether the "insular
isolation " of, and influence of " amixia " on, Lycacna arion, are any
greater to-day than they have been at any period — say — for the last
tAventy thousand years. We have an idea, too, that we have seen
a small bird or two occasionally in France. But, evidently, Mr,
Bath should be a Fellow of the Entomological Society, in order to
explain Darwin's views more fully to the members of that much over-
estimated and self satisfied body.

Mr. Kane records the capture of a small specimen of Leucania
unlpnncta [extranea), at Timoleague, on the coast of Cork, at sugar,
on a railway post, in September last. This is the second Irish
capture, the other being taken in the same month, at Clonbrock,
CO. Galway.

The Nonpareil Entomological and Natural History Society held a
very successful exhibition of natural history objects at their meeting
rooms, on the evening of Feb. 18th, 1897. Much credit is due to
the secretaries and committee, who had the matter in hand. There
was a large number of visitors.

Mr. Tutt read a paper on " The Variation of Lepidoptera and its
causes," at the meeting of the Essex Field Club, held on March 6th,
at Buckhurst Hill.

We would call attention to the fact that the Rev. Prof. Wiltshire
(25, Granville Park, Lewisham, S.E.), the secretary of the Ray
Society, can still supply the early volumes of Buckler's Larvae of
Butierjiies and Moths, to the more recent recruits to our ranks.

Mr. Graf-Kriisi again brings his nets to the notice of British
entomologists. We have no hesitation in recommending them to our
readers, as we have used nothing else for collecting for the last three
or four years.

:]^RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for April and May.

By H. H. COKBETT, M.E.C.S.

1. — The larva of Cosmia paleacea is to be found at the end of May
or beginning of June on birch. Beat the lower branches hard. The
larva is very sickly-looking, and, before I knew them, I used to throw
them away, thinking that they were ichneumoned.

2. — The larva of Taeniocampa populeti is to be found at the end of
May, between flatly united leaves of poplar. The larva of Tethea

96 THE extosiologist's record.

aubtusa is to be found at the same time and place, but in leaves folded
upwards upon themselves.

3. — Aspen leaves that are rolled up like cigarettes will yield Toiirix
hranderiana.

4. — The larvae of Sciaphila simiana are to be found in the flower
heads of hyacinth ^ S. nutans/ just before the flowers are over. A
distorted head with some silk spun among the flowers, or the corolla
closed by silk threads, is sure to contain the larva.

5. — The larva of Laverna raschkiella makes long irregular yellowish
mines in the leaves of Epilobium awjustifolium. When looking for
them, I always find myself singing —

•' White mines they never hold larvae,
But yellow ones always contain them, I see " —
and this couplet is quite true.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

G. — At the end of April (20th-30th) the larvse of A'/rotis randela-
rnm var. ashicorthii feed freely and crawl about on the rock-cistus in
the day-time, as well as at night. In captivity they will feed on
primrose, dandelion (flowers), and sallow catkins.

7. — The larva of Arnyrestlda aurulentdla mines the leaves of juniper
at the end of April. It never enters the stem.

8. — By the end of April the twisted oxeye daisies should be
collected for Dicrorhampha acundnatana and D. consortaiia.

9. — Towards the end of April the larvae of Xematois aclaffermiller-
iella feed on the radical leaves of Ballota nvjra. They Uve in cases,
and drop as soon as the plant is touched, so that the best way is to
search the ground around the food-plant for the flat, oblong, figure-of-
eight or fiddle-shaped cases, in which they Hve.

10. — The larva of Laverna miscdla is to be found mining the
leaves of Hilianthemwn towards the end of April.

11. — The larva of B/iodophoea adrmdla spins together the hawthorn
buds in April or May, or if there be no buds, it spins up the young
leaves. It is of a bright green colour with red sub-dorsal lines. The
lar^-a can be beaten, but is best obtained by searching (Richaedsox).

Notes ox beeedixg Agrotis agathixa. — In the spring of 1891, I
obtained many quite small larvae of A. agathinn. I kept them
indoors on growing plants of Galluna vidgaris and Erica tetralix.
They preferred the latter, and I put them on a growing plant of
Erica in my garden, secured them, and left them to themselves. The
remainder I tried indoors on potted plants, but they died one by one,
and none reached the pupal stage. Three moths emerged in August,
in the cage out of doors. Acting on this experience, I planted several
plants of Erica tetralix in my garden during the autumn, and in the
spring of 1896 went for the larvae again. Unfortunately it was a
wretched season, and, like everything else, A. agathitia was very
scarce. I only got about 60 larvae, and of these I sent most to Mr.
Porritt, keeping only 15 myself. These 15 I put out when very
small (about ^ inch in length) on the growing plants, and left them
to themselves, only shifting them to a fresh plant when one was
eaten. I probably lost one or two in this process, as I put 12 only on
to the last plant, and I did not again disturb them, only examining
them occasionally with a lamp. These larvae produced 8 moths
(3(? , 5 $ ), but some of these emerged when I was away for a night,
and got a bit damaged. Mr. Porritt tried his in captivity, but though

PRACTICAL HINTS. 97

they " went down," or at least a good many of them, he did not breed
a single moth. In case anyone, who has hitherto failed, cares to
try my plan, it is as follows : — Take a section of a 40 gall, paraffin
cask, out of which the oil has been thoroughly burned, place it over the
plant of Erica, plunging it into the ground to the depth of 6 or 8
inches — the topmost shoots of the plant should be about level with
the top rim of the section. Then cover the whole with muslin. I
use a light framework of cane to raise the muslin well above the tub
and plants. — (Rev.) C. D. Ash, M.A., Skipwith Vicarage, Selby, Yorks.

j^OCIE TIE S.

City of London Entomological and Natural History Society. —
Feb. 16th, 1897. — Heredity notes relating to T/Eniocampa stabilis,
Demas coryli, and Ennomos quercinaria. — Mr. Bacot exhibited two
broods of Taeniocampa stabilis with their $ parents. No. 1, of 19
specimens, contained d 3's (47-37 %) and 10 $ s (52-63 %). No. 2 con-
tained 10 specimens, the sexes being equally divided. All the speci-
mens were much smaller than their 2 parents (hardly larger than
T. I ml re ride nta). This was probably due to their having been largely
fed on sycamore (a food to which they were not very partial), and
perhaps also to their having been occasionally allowed to run very
short of food. Neither brood seemed to closely follow the $ parents,
■either in tone of ground colour or shading. Considerable variability
existed in both broods as to the distance separating the orbicular and
reniform stigmata. Mr. Bacot also exhibited 22 specimens of Deiiias
coryli, bred during August, 1896, from a $ taken in Epping Forest,
by Mr. A. F. Bayne, last April. These contained 12 ? s (or 54-5 %)
and 10 ^ s (or 45-5 %). He said : " The 5 parent I carelessly lost ;
but, so far as my memory serves me, she was a strongly marked form,
the dark and light areas of the fore-wings being sharply contrasted. A
tendency in the same direction is noticeable in many of her offspring.
The $ s seem to vary much more than do the J s, both as regards
size, and also as to the depth of colour and sharpness of outline of the
dark band of the fore- wings." Mr. Bacot also exhibited 23 specimens
oi Fynnomos qiiercinaria, conidAmngVd 3 ^ and 10 $ s, bred in 1896,
from a S and $ of his '95 brood. The parents of both broods were
also exhibited. A comparison with the far larger brood of 106 speci-
mens, reared in 1895, showed that the proportion of J s to $ s was
almost exactly reversed ; the figures for the '95 brood were 56*6 % $ s
and 43-4 % i s ; while for the '96 brood they were 43-5 % 5 s and
56-5% (? . The moths bred during 1896 exhibited but slight variation,
the ground-colour being of almost exactly the same tone in all the
specimens, only 1 $ being noticeably lighter in this respect. They
also showed far greater stability as regards the strength of the dark
suffusion in the fore-wings. In every case, with possibly one excep-
tion (the ? previously alluded to), the '96 brood was as dark, or darker,
than their parents, and also than their grandparents, if the sexes were
taken separately and compared with the grandparent of the same
sex. At least one 5 and many of the males were darker than either
3 parent or grandparents. In the '95 brood 23 % had hardly a
trace of suffusion ; 33-66 % were suffused, but to a less extent
than their parents ; while the remaining 43-34 % were as dark as the

98 THE entomologist's record.

J parent, and considerably darker than the 2 parent, only one 3'
specmien, however, being darker than the 3 parent. The second
crossing (possibly through the action of intra-selection) had appa-
rently tended to eliminate or suppress the pale (?) ancestral strain
(determinants). In any case, the ditterence between the '95 and '96
broods of the same race seemed worth attention. Lastly, Mr. Bacot
exhibited 3 3 and 4 5 specimens of Ennomos qiiercinaria, bred in
July, 1896, from ova given him by Dr. Buckell. One had no trace
of suffusion, the remaining 6 all being strongly marked in this direc-
tion, and one 3 in particular having the whole ground-colour of
both wings of a smoky hue, instead of the usual bright yellow.
Livixft Endromis versicolor. — Mr. Garland exhibited a living female
specimen of Kndiviiils rersicolor, which emerged from pupa Feb. 14th,
1897 ; also four imagines of Zi/i/aoia Innicerac, from Enniskillen,
1896, Plnsia j)ulchri)ia, from Enniskillen, 1896, and CuculUa hjchnitis,
bred May, 1896, from Hampshire pup^e of 1894. Remarkable aber-
ration OF Dromius 4-notatus. — Mr. Heasler exhibited a remarkable
aberration of Dromius 4:-notatus, taken under bark at Richmond in
Jan., 1897. The head was shorter, flatter, and broader ; the eyes
being closer to the anterior margin of the thorax than was usual,
owin" to the short neck. The head was also strongly alutaceous
and striated at the sides, making it appear very dull, whereas in the type
form it is shiny, owing to the strife being obsolete and the surface
very finely alutaceous. The thorax was depressed on the disc, and the
central channel fine and sharply defined. The upper surface was
very dull and rugulose with scattered transverse striae. In the type
form the disc of the thorax was convex, with a broad central channel,
and was very shiny. The elytra had the strife rather deeper than in
the type form. On the underside, the head and thoracic segments
all exhibited the coarse striation and dull appearance, so different
from the type, but the abdominal segments were typical. In fact, the
whole of these remarkable variations were confined to the head and
thorax and their appendages. Perhaps the most remarkable differ-
ence occurred in the femora, of which Mr. Heasler had drawn and
exhibited a rough illustration, showing in what a marked manner
they differed from typical femora, which were not only typical for the
o-enus, but also, so far as he knew, for the whole of the British
Geodephaga. The femora were also flattened on both the upper and
undersides, and both surfaces were striated transversely. Mr. Heasler
read the following notes on the species : — " This species, in common
with other members of the genus, has carnivorous habits, feeding on
small insects, found on the trees which the Dromius frequents. It
is a nocturnal species, hiding in crevices of the bark by day, and
feeding during the night. It hybernates under bark during the
winter, in company with many other insects, which are always found
in similar situations. Bearing in mind that the species is under
bark quite six months of the year (Oct. to March), and also that there
is in company with it a large quantity of insects which might become
its natural food, and that nowhere else would it find food so readily
during this time of year, it is quite possible that under these condi-
tions the habits of the species might gradually become changed, so
that the species became exclusively a sub- cortical feeder. The ten-
dency to a change of habit like this would, I think, be accelerated in

SOCIETIES. 99'

England by the mild winters that we usually experience, and which
would tend to shorten the hybernating period of a species, especially
with food so close at hand. Under these conditions, it is evident
that if a flatter variety occurred with more powerful legs, it would
have a good chance of obtaining food that was beyond the reach of
its less specialised neighbours, and it is precisely these variations
which are shown in the specimen exhibited, so that in spite of the
abnormal shape of the femora, I cannot think that it should be
classed as a monstrosity, but rather as an important variation, which
in time may become a permanent and distinct species. The great
difficulty is, that at present the specimen stands quite alone, and all
the other specimens I have seen, show no tendency to vary in any one
of the points in which this specimen shows so striking a divergence
from the type."

March 2nd, 1897. — European and American lepidoptera. — Mr.
Dadd exhibited Xcnwopltila plantcuiinu ( $ with red hind-wings) ;
Zj/i/aena jiUoseJlae, Z. trifulii, Z. filipendulcw, from Saxony ; Anosia
arcJiippm and Limenitis (lisij)pns, to show mimicry; Af/rotis campestris,
A. (juadridentata, A. messoria, A. venerabilis, A. introferua, A. ai/restifi,
A. in^iiinata, A. stibgothica , A. clandestina, from Dakota, U.S.A.
CtENONYMPHA TiPHON vav. iNORNATA. — Dr. Buckell, exhibiting as a
visitor, showed specimens of Comionymplia inornata, on which he read
the following notes : — " In the paper on Coenonipnpha tiphnn, which I
read here in Oct., 1895 {Eut. liec, vol. vii., pp. 100-107), I alluded
to the American butterfly, described by W. H. Edwards, under the
name of C. inornata, which he and Scudder considered to be a distinct
species, but which the late .Jenner Weir looked upon only as a variety of
C. tiplion. My paper was read by Mr. James Fletcher, of Ottawa, the
entomologist to the Dominion of Canada, and he very kindly sent me
the five specimens of what, as he writes, ' we here call (J. inornata,'
which had been taken in the North West during the summer of 1895,
and which I exhibit this evening. In the right-hand column, I have
placed some specimens of the Scotch form of C. ttphon var. laidion,
and may just remind you that the characteristic mark of this form is
the obsolescent condition of the ocellated spots on the underside of the
hind-wing. Comparing the two insects, the American specimens
have a brighter coloration on the upper surface, and the hind-wings
are very little, if at all, darker than the fore-wings, whilst in the
Scotch specimens they are distinctly darker. On the under surface of
the fore-wings it is noticeable that the apical ocellated spot is much
more developed in the American than in the Scotch specimens. The
marked feature of the under surface of the hind-wings is the entire
absence of ocellated spots in the four upper specimens ; on the lowest
there is just a trace of one. In four of the Scotch specimens there is
likewise an entire absence of ocellated spots. On the whole, I am
disposed to adhere to the opinion, that I expressed provisionally in
1895, that C. inornata is not sufficiently different from C. tiphon var.
laidion to be worthy of a varietal name." Heredity notes on Amphi-
DASYS STRATARIA. — Mr. Bacot exhibited 122 specimens of Aniphidasi/s
strataria, bred during 1896 from the ova of a <? and ? of one of his
'95 broods. He also exhibited the '95 brood, together with its parents,
which were bred from larvae beaten in the New Forest in 1893. The
'96 brood consisted of 58 <? s and 64 $ s, or 47*54% J s and 52-46%

100 THE entomologist's RECORD.

$ s. Mr. Bacot read the following notes on his exhibit : — " The
variation of the specimens is not very marked, and can, I think, in
every instance be traced to one of the parents or grandparents. It
consists chiefly of minor details of marking, and the amount of dusky
suffusion on the white ground of the fore-wings. Only one point is
perhaps worthy of special mention. I refer to a tendency in some of
the 5 s, for the dark bands on the fore-wings to close together at the
base. The larvfe of both '95 and '96 broods were fed on cherry, and
those of the grandparents on oak." Larvae of Orgyia gonostigma. — Mr.
Burrows exhibited (a) larvae of (>. i/oiwutifiiiia, hatched July, 1896,
hybernated in bag out of doors on oak ; (b) ditto, a full generation
ahead, hatched Sept. 1st, 1896, hybernated indoors. The winter home
OF Apamea oPHiOGRAjniA. — A single larva, believed to be that of A.
opkioi/ramiiia, was also exhibited by Mr. Burrows. It was embedded
in the root-stem of striped grass. Double-broods of 0. gonostigma.
— With regard to the double-broods of (J. i/nnostiiiuia, Mr. Burrows
said, in 1887 the imagines emerged on June 28th, the ova hatched on
July 18th, and the larvfe pupated on Aug. 30th. In 1893, the
imagines emerged on June 14th, the ova hatched on June 27th, the
larvfe pupated on Aug. 13th, the imagines again emerged on Aug.
25th, and the ova again hatched on Sept. 15th. In 1896, the imagines
emerged on June 22nd, the ova hatched on July 2nd, the larvfe
pupated on Aug. 3rd, the imagines again emerged on Aug. 15th, and
the ova again hatched on Sept. 1st.

Cambridge Entomological and Natural History Society. — Feb.
25th, 1897. — Stridulatory organ in the larva of Geotrupes. — Dr. D.
Sharp exhibited a larva of one of our common Geotrupes, and called
attention to its stridulatory organ, in which one pair of legs work upon
the pair in front of them. He said that this beetle in the imago state
also possesses a stridulatory organ, but it is situated in a different
position anatomically, and therefore not corresponding with the larval
organ. The latter is lost in the imago, and it is clear that this
elaborate structure exists solely for the larval state ; but Dr. Sharp
acknowledged that he was unable to guess what use such a structure
could be to a larva, leading as this does an underground life, and
having, as far as we know, no relations with the lives of other
individuals of its own species that could be influenced by any sound it
might make. March 12th, 1897. — Termites.— Dr. Sharp, exhibited on
behalf of Dr. Haviland, part of his magnificent collection of Termites.
His method of preparation consists in placing the various forms of a
species found in one nest, in glass tubes, divided into compartments
by cotton wool, and filled with spirit. A photograph of a Termitarium
of Teruies inalai/anns, taken i)i .^itu, after it had been sectionised, showed
the royal cell in the middle of the structure, and the chambers for
growing fungi — this species being a fungus grower — about the peri-
phery portions of this nest, and individuals taken from it, were
exhibited. The nest is composed of thin, fragile laminje, of a pottery-
like structure ; but the royal cell, composed of this substance, is very
thick and solid. The fungus chambers are not constructed of clay,
but of comminated vegetable matter, subsequently cemented together.
The specimens taken from this nest included two queens and one
king from the royal cell, large and small soldiers, and large-headed
and small-headed workers.

4^* AND "V^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 5. May 15th, 1897.

Lycaena arion in the Cotswolds.

By JOSEPH MEREIN, F.E.S. (Author of The Lepidopterist's Calendar).

Insects, like mankind, are generally esteemed in proportion to the
interest they excite. This interest may be aroused by a variety of
circumstances, in which strangeness, ingenuity, rarity and beauty
play, perhaps, the most conspicuous parts. To the exhibition of most
of these L. arion may well lay claim. Happily, in the wordy war of
nomenclature, our Large Blue has been spared the tyrannical re-
christening to which many of her relatives have been subjected, to the
confusion of the tyro, the horror of the veteran collector who has,
perhaps, just finished the arrangement of his treasures, and the
regret of many a student anxious to learn more of things than of
words. How we old "Entos." love these charming classical names.
Besides their Attic flavour, they have the charm of long companion-
ship, and we find a difficulty in calling upon our memory to recog-
nise the change to a name which some ancient brother of the net gave
to the species a few years before the generally accepted title was
substituted.

Leaving this argueable topic, we will mount some of the Cotswold
Hills, in the neighbourhood of Gloucester, which we shall find well
charged with the saline aroma born of Atlantic breezes. These hills,
which extend in a broken line from Dorset to Yorkshire, are capped
at' their highest points, between 800 and 1,000 feet above the sea,
with the Great Oolite formation. The hills of the Middle and Lower
Oolite, however, are the most interesting, from the number of plants
and insects they produce. Many of the hills present wide, bare
stretches of short or rough grass, with tufts of vetch, thyme, etc.,
stone walls taking the place of hedges, with woods of beech, larch,
etc. It is about the middle of June, and, assuming the season to be
an average one, we may possibly succeed in having an interview with
L. arion. I have taken it in at least half-a-dozen dift'erent localities
on the hills, many miles apart ; and its wide range, in many instances,
" far from the haunts of men," strengthens the hope that it may
be long before it is hunted to extermination. One of the many
wonders of insect life is the punctuality in point of time with which
some species assume the perfect state ; but the temperature of the
prevailing season has to be reckoned with. I began taking L. ario7i
towards the end of the " fifties," when the seasons seemed generally
more productive than they have been in recent years, I have taken it

102 THE entomologist's hecoud.

as early as the 7th June, and as hite as the middle of July, in fair
order, the bright, warm weather before and after emergence doubtless
being a leading factor in the variation.

But, surely, in such a wind as catches our breath on this stony
ridge we shall not even see, let alone catch, our Large Blue. Step
down among the debris of the deserted quarry hole, and lie perdu for
a time. Pi/rausta jmrjmralis, Enni/vliia aujiuinalis, or E. cingulalis,
you will, by sharp watching, see popping from flower to flower ;
Acidalia ornata may be awakened from her nap in the coarse grass,
and the Common Blue may seek refuge from the bufl'eting winds in
the friendly hollows of the rough ground. Then, if you are lucky,
L. arion may come saiUng along, and dip down among the tall grass.
Let it settle, and note its spotted beauty as the slender mast of grass
it holds by bends with its light weight in the breeze. If the time is
late in the afternoon, our friend may select the grass stem that suits
him best for his night's lodgment, and like the common blues, who
have already gone to roost, with their heads downwards on the shorter
stems, he, too, may settle down for the night. He has probably
flown many miles during the day, and the slanting sunbeams from
the west light him to his well-earned rest ; while the wind plays
an iEolian lullaby to the hundreds of winged things that seek repose
and safety from their enemies. Though a storm of rain may rush
along, and lightning even blaze its terrors forth, all the curious
centres of life nestling on these apparently inhospitable hills, instinc-
tively hold on to their bending couches, while the rain-drops fall over
them harmlessly. The ruby-eyed moth may pay a flying visit in
" the glimpses of the moon " to the scented grass-flower, or the small
thyme-cups, but he soon passes on to gayer flowers. All the buzzing
and bustling community remain quiescent, until the morning sun
sends its message of light and warmth, and life once again startles the
sweet silence of the time.

Now we visit our most promising spots two or three weeks later.
The weather is hotter, and only a female L. arion or two are seen
flying from clump to clump of thyme. As they rest on the flowers
their jagged wings are conspicuous from their shabbiness. Closely
watch them, and they will be seen to "mean business." Note the
spray of thyme they have just rested upon, and when they have left
it crouch down and examine it, and a little white egg will be found to
have been deposited near the base of a tiny blossom. I have watched
this process go on repeatedly, and have gathered many sprays of thyme,
each with its white egg. Anxious to work out the larval life-history
of the species, I have dug up clumps of thyme and sent them, or
sprays containing eggs, to the late Messrs. Newman and Buckler, Mr.
Porritt, and others ; but, as stated in NeAvman"s History of British
Butterflies, none of us got beyond a sight of the small pinkish larva,
which emerged, and after feeding a short time entered on the dan-
gerous career of hybernation, and speedily disappeared, whether from
the visit of some voracious enemy, or the absence of alternative food-
plants, no evidence was forthcoming. Marked clumps of thyme, con-
taining eggs, left undisturbed on the hills, I found to be equally
tenantless of larvae in the spring. Further searching in this direction
may, however, lead to better results. Many entomologists have come
from London and other distant places to capture the species, with

LVC.KXA ARION IN THK COTSWOI.DS. 108

more or less success, and some few dealers and young amateurs have,
perhaps, in some years, been over-anxious to fill their boxes. So
scarce did the species become at one time, that the late Prof. Marker
read a paper before the Cotswold Naturalists' Field Club, on its
" extinction " from the Cotswold district. I was invited to the meet-
ing, and expressed the opinion that it was not extinct, and my pro-
phecy has proved correct, for it has been taken, or seen, with a few
exceptions, nearly every year since that time, though sometimes only
singly. Other causes than over-catching have, it is pretty clear, been
at work to deplete the species. The original locality, near the Eoman
entrenchments, has been completely cut up by timber hauling and
quarrying, to say nothing of excessive grazing and golfing. The
disappearance of local species occurring in the Cotswold district is not
confined to L. ariou. For many successive years several species were
plentiful which now are rarely seen. The pi'ide of having long series
has, perhaps, something to do with the desire to catch large numbers
of particular species. If collectors could be induced to be content
with, say a male and female as types of a species, only adopting the
long-series system in the case of variable kinds, I think the persistency
of rare and local species might be prolonged in many localities. After
all, there may be occult influences at work to increase or diminish
particular kinds, which we have not yet been able to discern.

Notes on the Zygaenides.

II. — History of Zyg.ena hippocrepidis, St., as a British species. —
Z. hippocrepidis. Wood. — Zyg^na hippocrepidis, St., probably a

HYBRID FORM BETWEEN Z. TRIFOLII AND Z. FILIPENDUL.E. GeNERAL

records referring EITHER TO Z. HIPPOCREPIDIS OR THE PARALLEL
ABERRATION OF Z. FILIPENDULiE.

(Contintied from p. 87 ).
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
It may now be advisable to give a brief summary of what I have
been able to glean concerning Zygaena fnppocrepidis, St. This species,
it need scarcely be said, is not the hipjwcrepidis oiHuhnev cindOchaen-
heimer, which is generally accepted as a var. of Z. tranmlpina, nor is
it Z. uchsenheiineri, Zell., which I have shown (Notes on Zijijaenidaf,
pp. 19-21) to be an Alpine species. Stephens separated this species
from, and compared it with, Z. fiUpendulae. He captured it first in a
field near Coombe Wood, in June, 1810, and subsequently near
Darenth Wood. He describes it as varying in size like Anthrocera
fdipendulae, "which it greatly resembles, but the border of the
posterior wings is considerably more distinct than in that insect, and
undulated internally ; the sixth spot on the anterior wings (the one
towards the anal angle) is generally small, with a coloured neryure
passing through it ; the under surface of the anterior wings with the
disc entirely red, and the maculations not defined. Above, the
anterior wings are blue-black with six red spots, disposed as in A.
Jilipendidae, and the posterior wings red, with an undulated greenish-
blue margin; the abdomen immaculate" flllus. of Brit. Entom.,\.,
p. 109). Stephens further describes a yellow-spotted form of this
species (three specimens of which he bred) from the neighbourhood of

104 THE entomologist's UECOP.D,

Darenth Wood. ^Yood {lud. Knt., iv., fig. 6) figures the yellow form
under the name hijipnrirjiidis, and gives the species as occurring in
Middlesex, Surrey and near Coombe.

Writing of the early form oiZi/f/aena trifulii, which appears "from
the second week of May until the second week in June," T. H. Briggs
says : — " I have nearly always found this insect in company with Z.
/ili/H'Utliilae" {Travs. Ent. Soc. Loud., 1871, pp. 422-423). He
further states: — " On June 16th, 1864, I found X. trijhlii in abund-
ance in some rough dry fields, abounding in Lotus rDrnindatHs,
bordering on Barnwell Wold, Northamptonshire ; the insects were
very much worn, of a very small form, in fact, types of the ' early '
trifnln. Z. jilijH'udulac, which also occurs there, was just coming out."
Again he writes : — " On June 16th (1871), at Folkestone, Z.fdipcn-
dxdae larvffi swarmed in the warren, but no moths could I find. On
Castle Hill, the moths were out, but they were very small, and with
a tendeirey to the obliteration of the sixth spot ; antennae shorter than
usual ; one specimen, a J , is of the size, contour, and has the broad
black border to the hind-wings, of the early trlfnUi found at Folkestone,
which was out. Surely these were hybrids ? " {Ibid., p. 429).

In 1874, Richardson records that " in a field sheltered by woods,
and in a low situation, about four miles from Winchester, he took, on
June 9th, two specimens of Z. jdipcndidae .... in company with
Z. trijalii.'' At this time, he adds, '■^ Z. JiUpeiuhdac (which is common
on many of the downs in the neighbourhood of Winchester) had not
there even assumed the pupa state, nor did it begin to do so for some
time after this date. The first imago I saw on the downs was on
July 10th, just a month after the appearance in June " {Kntom., viii.,
p. 21). In 1882, Briggs records the fact that Weston had a splendid
series of Z. jUipendulae, in which the sixth spot is only faintly trace-
able, from Tilgate Forest, many of them bred, and that he had taken
a similar variety at Folkestone. The Folkestone specimens, however,
" not only appear early in June, before the majority of Z. fdipvndidae
are out of the larval state, but are smaller and have the border of the
hind-wings broader than the Tilgate specimens, especially in the
females, and I have been somewhat inclined to regard them as hybrids
between Z. trifolii and Z. fdipendulai'. It was a curious circumstance
that Weston's specimens were from a part of the Forest where for
several years I had taken the large marsh form of Z. trifolii, but had
never seen Z. jdipendnUw in any of its stages" {K.M.M., xix., p. 48).
In 1885, Boden writes that he has taken, in the metropolitan district,
for several years, a Zijt/acna, for which he could never find a name.
It differed from ty\)[cii\ Jilipi^jididai' in "that the spot near the centre
of the costa, and the one nearest the tip, are much smaller than in the
type; also the green nervure cuts through the spot nearest the tip;
and, what is more striking, it has a broader border on the under-wing.
The time of appearance is much earlier than that of Z. jdijieiuhdac,
as I generally take it in May " {Entow., xviii., p. 317). In 1890,
Robertson writes that, in early June, in the neighbourhood of Swan.sea,
he " came across Zi/i/aenn tiifoiii and Z . filipendulac in the same field,
which was a boggy sort of place. All were more or less worn or
faded, though, oddly enough, the males of Z. trifolii were in
moderately good condition, while the females generally were passee "
[Ent. Uecord, i., p. 205). Weir, m his presidential address to the

i^otES ON THE ZVG^ENIDES. 105

members of the South London Entom. i^ociety, 1893, says : — "In
nature, I have observed and taken hybrids between Anthrnccra jilipen-
diilat' and A. trifolii. These are gregarious species, and it is in
certain localities only that tiocks of the two are found in company.
My experience of more than fifty years' collecting on the South Downs
is that A. jilipcndulae only occurs on those chalk-hills; but in the
Weald of Sussex, the two species are often found together, and from
the experiments made by Mr. Fletcher, it appears that hybrids are
easily obtained between them in confinement " [I'roc. Sth. Land. I\nt.
Soc, 1898, p. 92). In 1892, South writes that, on June 11th, in a
meadow about half-way between Eickmansworth and Northwood
stations, " Ino staticcs, Ziji/aoia filipendidae and Z. trifolii were all
out," and that he " secured some nice specimens of each of the latter,
including two examples of the confluent form of the last-named
species. Both species were flying together" {Kntuni., xxv., p. 178).
Barrett writes : — " Weir has met Z. filipendidae paired with Z. trifolii
in damp meadows " [Brit. Lep., ii., p. 137).

In March, 1893, I stated that "in a certain field in Kent, some
ten years ago, what is known as the small form of Zi/i/aeiia trifolii was
taken very abundantly during the first week in June. These speci-
mens were very characteristic, many of them being strikingly
blotched ; but occasionally an odd specimen was taken with six,
instead of five, spots on the fore-wings. The species afterwards got
very rare, and of the specimens captured, at least 50 per cent, had six
spots, although still retaining the small size and general characters of
the old five-spotted form. Two of the five-spotted specimens
captured in 1892, had their fore-wings taken off, and their bodies
forwarded to Mr. Pierce, of Liverpool, who examined the genital
organs, and returned them as undoubted Z. jilipcndidae. Knowing
their history completely, I felt satisfied that these represented the
development of a race of six-spotted Z. trifolii." " There were," I said,
" two suggestions open : (1) that we have a separate species
occurring in late May and early June, distinct from both Z. flipendulae
and Z. trifolii, which (like some of the Continental species) may be
either five- or six-spotted ; (2) that Z. plipendnlac and Z. trifolii,
although distinct enough in most localities, are, in others, in such a
transition state that they have the inherent ability to change from one
form to the other under certain conditions. The ease with which
Mr. Fletcher had hybridised the species seems to point to the latter
as a more probable conclusion." I then added that " both typical
Z. lonirercw and Z. fdipendidae occur in the immediate neighbourhood,
but that the former rarely appears until the form described above is
well over, whilst the latter is also a week or two behind Z . lonicerar "
{Tram. Knt. Soc. Loud., 1898, p. x). Paying particular attention to
the form, which was well out at the end of May, 1898, I observed that
out of about two hundred specimens taken, five only were absolutely
typical, the remainder having a tendency to assume a six-spotted
form, these, in most cases, being well marked and similar to Z.
niipendnlae {Proc. Stii. Loud. Knt. Hoc, 1898, p. 119). At the
meeting of the South London Ent. Soc, January 10th, 1895, in a
discussion following Mr, Tutt's account of a six-spotted race of
Zi/i/aena, having during the last fifteen years almost superseded a
family of the early Z. trifuUi in North Kent, " several members gave

lOG THE entomologist's RECORb.

instances of a small six-spotted Zi/z/aena being taken in early June in
various localities." These references, which have come to hand
without much trouble and I feel certain by no means exhaust the
records, refer exclusively to the occurrence of the early six-spotted
Zi/iiaena (described by Stephens as /lippocrepidis), with the early five-
spotted Z. trifulu.

There are now two or three records so general in their nature as
to be almost useless for any scientific purpose, which may or may
not refer to the hippocrepidis of Stephens, or to the parallel aberration
of Z. jilipcndulae. The dates of the captures, and other par-
ticulars, would have made the records valuable. In 18iS2, Barrett
records that two very interesting specimens of Z. jilipendulae were
exhibited at a meeting of the local (Pembroke) Field Club. "In one
of them the posterior (or sixth) red spot on the anterior wings was
entirely absent, and in the other only faintly traceable, so that both
might easily have been passed over as 'five-spotted.' They have,
however, the very narrow blue-black border to the hind-wings, and
the form and general characters of Z. Jilipendulae, and were reared
with a number of ordinary examples of that species from cocoons
found in one of the hollows of the coast-cliffs, Avhere no other species
of 2r////a<'«a is found " {E.M.M., xix., pp. 21-22). Commenting on
this, C. A. Briggs says : — " I have always been somewhat inclined to
look on these forms as hybrids between Z. tri/olii and Z. /ilipcudulae,
and should, therefore, have expected to find that Z. ^^//uZ/j occasionally
occurs on the summit of the cliffs to which Mr. Barrett alludes, but,
either from its early appearance, or from the summit not being so
much worked, had been overlooked. The aberration in which the
sixth spot is entirely absent is far the scarcer, and as, so far as my
experience goes, it is confined to the female specimens, it would be
interesting to know whether the specimen referred to by Mr. Barrett
is a female or not. In the specimens I have seen, the absent spot is
always to be found on the under-side, so, beyond the question of
hybridism, no doubt as to identity exists " {E.M.M., xix., p. 43). In
1888, Meyrick writes that, at Marlborough, " a colony of Z . Jilipendulae
frequenting a small patch of heath, was remarkable, in that the sixth
spot of the fore-wings was, in fully three-fourths of the individuals,
greatly reduced in size, sometimes, indeed, so inconspicuous that it
might well have been passed over as absent. As, in the other fourth,
the spot was of its usual size (with connecting links), and as there
appears to be no other definite difierence between the forms, I suppose
we have here a case of an individual variation becoming prevalent
through isolation ; or might the colony possibly have been crossed
with one of the five-spotted species ? I observed no specimens showing
this variation among other colonies in the district ; and where the
species are so little defined as in this genus, it appears worthy of
record" {E.M.M., xxv., p. 184). In the report of the exhibits of the
City of Lond. Ent. Soc. for February 21st, 1893, we read that Mr.
J. E. Robson exhibited specimens of " Zy//«c»rt fHipendnlae with five
spots on the fore-wings " {Ent. Bee, iv., p. 125).

As I said at the commencement of this paper, these remarks are
purely tentative, and written with the view of obtaining some exact
observations on these species. We do not want opinions, nor
generalisations (except from those who capture both forms), as neither

KOTES OK THE ZYG^NMiESi. 167

will add to our scientific knowledge, but only increase the doubt at
present existing. ( To be contmued. j

[Note. — So far as Mr. Hewett's paper is a criticism of our own
writings on this subject, we have taken the liberty of explaining the
differences of opinion we seem to hold by means of a series of brief
footnotes. We are sure our readers will prefer this to another paper
on a subject which successive communications seem as yet to push no
more forward. — Ed.] .

Are Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) and T. crepuscularia
(biundularia) distinct species?*'

By WILLIAM HEWETT.

The burning question of the hour among some British lepi-
dopterists appears to be whether, in T. hifitnrtuta and T. crepuscularia,
we have two distinct species, or merely a species and a well-marked
variety ? Many competent authorities — Doubleday, Guenee (? Ed.),
Adkin, Tutt, Fenn, Jones (A. H.), Prout, Robertson, Sheldon, Riding,
Hamni, Mason (J.), etc. — incline, or have inclined, to the former
belief, others— Zeller, South, Meyrick, Barrett, Bignell, Smallwood,
etc. — to the latter.

Staudinger, in his Catahuj, shows two species, but, from the " ? "
placed in front of T. crepuscularia [biu)i(lularia), it is evident that he
entertains some doubt. Kane states that he has " an open mind on
the question."

It will be observed that (almost without exception) all those
gentlemen who, themselves, have observed and taken both T. bistortata
and T. crepuscularia are unanimous in considering the insects to be
two species. Most of those who believe them to be one species, either
have their information second-hand, or else appear to have personal
experience of one species only, viz., T. crepuscularia (biundularia).

It may be Avell if I state at the outset what my ideas of a species
are. I consider the terse definitions of the term " species," as given
by the botanist, De Candolle, and by the zoologist, Swainson, and set
forth by Wallace {Darwinis)ii, p. 1), to be a satisfactory interpretation.
Wallace writes: — "The term 'species' was thus defined by the
celebrated botanist, De Candolle : ' A species is a collection of all the
individuals which resemble each other more than they resemble any-
thing else, which can, by fecundation, produce fertile individuals, and
which reproduce themselves by generation in such a manner that we
may, from analogy, suppose them all to have sprung from one single
individual.'" The zoologist, Swainson, gives a somewhat similar
definition: "A species, in the usual acceptation of the term, is an
animal which, in a state of nature, is distinguished by certain
peculiarities of form, size, and colour, or other circumstances, from
another animal. It propagates, ' after its kind,' individuals perfectly
resembling the parent. Its peculiarities, therefore, are permanent."
Absolutely there is no such thing as a species in science. It is only a
term for an arbitrary group. The information I have been able to
collect from various collectors covers 20 English, 13 Irish, 4 Scotch,
and 2 Welsh counties.

* Abstract of a paper read before the South London Entomological Society
Jan. 14th, 1897.

108 THE entomologist's RECOliD,

In the TeiiJnmia controversy of 1886 {K)it(»ii.), Mr. Smalhvood
considers the double-brooded T. bistortata to be an exchasively southern
insect, and I agree with him, as I have utterly failed to obtain any
reliable evidence of this species occurring in the north of England, '••'
the Midlands, Ireland, Scotland,'-' or North Wales. Mr. Tutt,
speaking of the date, May 2nd, as given by Mr. Harrison for
T. crrjnificidaria [binndularia) in Yorkshire, says, " he has information
that the insect occurs there generally some three or four weeks later,
and that only in early seasons is it found at such an early date."
That T. crepuscularia occurs later than May 2nd, in Yorkshire, is
quite correct, but that it also occurs very much earlier, no matter what
sort of season, is also correct, viz., Doncaster, middle of April, 1893
(Corbett) ; Rotherham, "end of March " (Young) ; SkipAvith, " April
29th and 80tb, 1895" (Ash); Barnsley and Doncaster, "May 2nd
and 9th " (Harrison) ; York, " April 4th and 10th " (Hewett).<>« Mr.
Tutt, further commenting on Mr. Harrison's specimens, says: — "I
am not surprised that a second brood does not occur in the IBarnsley
district, as the species obtained there is T. crejiuxcularia (hiundidaria),
the single-brooded species," and states further : — " There seems
little doubt there is only one species obtainable there." I am quite
agreed Avith Mr. Tutt that only one species {crepusndaria) occurs in
the Barnsley and Doncaster districts, and, further, I am quite con-
vinced that only this species occurs in Yorkshire, although Mr. Tutt,
writing to Mr. Young about some specimens afterwards sent to him,
stated that there were both T. bntortata and T. crepusndaria among
them, and, in a letter to me, dated April 23rd, 1896, says :- — " I have
a specimen which Mr. Harrison sent me years ago with a lot of
T. crepuscularia (biundularia), which I believe to be the earlier
species, although we expect in closely allied species occasional parallel
variations, which this may well be." I add to this — undoubtedly is.f

Mr. Smalhvood {Entom., 1886, pp. 266-268) says : — "I am con-
vinced that any definite difference will be found, if at all, in the ova."
Dr. Riding states that the eggs of the first brood of T. bistortata are
larger than those of T. crepuscularia.

I must confess, on first reading Mr. South's opinion [Entom., 1886)
that " the first of these broods (bistortata) cannot be other than an

* Compare Porritt, List of Yorkslnre Lepidoptera, p. 35, and Ent. Eec, viii.,
p. 286; ix., pp. 28-29.— Ed.

* * We do not quite see how these occasional early occurrences affect the
general statement. From Mr. Hewett's own Yorkshire notes we take the following
facts: — " I have visited Edhngton in March and April, but have never seen a
Tephrosia. My first dates are :— 1871, May 19th ; 1873, June 12th ; 1874,
May 10th ; 1875, May 9th ; 1876, June 6th (up to June 24th) ; 1877, May 22nd ;
1880, May 2nd (plentiful on June 5th) ; 1881, May 23rd ; 1884, June 6th; 1887,
June 7th (plentiful on 17tli) ; 1888, May 26th (plentiful on June 13th and 25th) ;
1890, May 2Gth to June 5th ; 1891, June 12th ; 1892, June 6th; 1893, May 9th-
12th; 1894, June 18th ; 1895, May 24th."— J. Harrison, SejJt. Uth, 1896. Then
we read : — " I have taken T. hiuiidiilaria as early as March 2nd, and as late as

July 29th but my observations lead me to believe there is only one brood

in this (Edlington) district It is at its best from about the middle of May

to about the first ten days in June." — J. N. Young, Sept. 18th, 1896. Again we
find : — " I generally get T. hiiinclularia about the middleof May." — H. H. Corbett,
Sept. 28t}i, 1896. Surely this information bears out our statement. — Ed.

t As Mr. Hewett had never seen the specimen, which has been repeatedly
exhibited, this positive remark must be considered simply as a pious opinion,
based on entire ignorance of the specimen. — Ed.

t. lilSTORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND T. CREPUSCULARIA (bIUNDULA1;Ia). 109

earlier emergence influenced by climate in the first instance, and
perpetuated by inheritance, etc.," that I thought he had found the
correct solution of the phenomena ; but how is it that T. histDrtata
has not ousted, or is not ousting, T. crcpuscularia in the Southern
counties ? Mr. South says it has been brought about by favourable
environment and climate, but these have not altered in Somerset,
Berks and Kent, for long periods. Therefore, T. hiatortata ought,
long ago, to have supplanted T. crepuxcidaria in the South, but it has
not. The two exist together, and there are no signs of the favoured
variety {= bistortata according to South) supplanting the original
form (= crcpiificulayia). Yet this process is occurring in Yorkshire and
Cheshire, according to Mr. Arkle and my own observations, where the
ab. (lelanwrenais is gradually supplanting the pale form of T. cre-
puscular i a. Again, if T. bistortata be a variety, it must have been
crossed now and again by the parent {crcpuscularia) form, when the
dates of emergence permitted, and many intermediate forms ought to
be constantly taken in Somerset, Berks and Kent. Y'^et we know
such specimens are not taken. Then, again, why should altered
colour and facies occur together with a shortened pupal stage in a
variety ? The same causes would be acting on the parent form at
the same time in the same localities (as they exist together). Why
should not the parent form also alter the length of its pupal stage like
the so-called variety ? Why should not T. crepuacularia emerge in
March in the south of England, if T. bistortata, its supposed
variety, does so ? Then, again, is there any record of a variety of any
other insect that has ever been supposed to have similarly altered its
time of emergence ?

Mr. Tutt {Ibid, p. 304), in some remarks on what constitutes a
species, says:— "The important factor to me seems to be, will the
individuals copulate freely in a state of nature*'* to propagate their
own particular kind ? If so, however variable the forms may be, I
think it is generally recognised that the progeny form but one
species." He further enquires whether Mr. South, or any other
observer, ever saw, in nature, an undoubted specimen of the early
species {bistortata) in copulation with an undoubted specimen of the
later species {crcpuscularia). That freshly emerged T. bistortata
and T. crejmsctdaria will not copulate has never been proved. On the
other hand, I think it highly probable that, under favourable
circumstances, they would pair, and that their hybrid offspring would
prove fertile. f If Messrs. Butler, Hamm, Robertson, Vivian, Studd,
A. H. Jones, or Fenn, who obtain T. bistortata in April, will retard
the emergence of some of their specimens, obtainable after the middle
of April, I would endeavour to pair them Avith some of my earliest
T. crcpuscularia, or I would send the latter, in order that they might
attempt to cross them with T. bistortata. I would also suggest the
importance of obtaining reciprocal crosses.
(To be continued.)

* It is most important that this should be in a state of nature. Many species
hybridise when confined artificially. — Ed.

t These insects have since been paired by Dr. Hiding and Mr. Bacot, in con-
finement, but it proves little: Teste, Smerinthus occllatns + S. populi, Amphidasys
strataria + A. bettdaria, Zygaena filipendidae + Z. lonicerae, etc. — Ed.

110 tHE entomologist's RECORD.

Hydriomena furcata (Hypslpetes sordidata) : Its Synonymy,
Variation, Geographical Distribution and Life=history.

By LOUIS B. PEOUT, F.E.S.

{Coucluded from p. 87.)

Geographical distribution. — As with so many of our common
moths, this is very extensive, though it cannot actually be considered
a cosmopolitan. Staudinger gives Northern and Central Europe,
Iceland, Piedmont, Ural, Altai and Amur; to which must be added,
after Packard, an extensive range in North America. The aberration
fmcd-undata, and the variety (et ab.) infmcata, are apparently chiefly
boreal or mountain forms. Staudingcr specifies England, Switzer-
land, Iceland, etc., for the former. Northern England and Iceland for
the latter.

That this is essentially a northern species, nearly all my available
information goes towards showing. Staudinger tells, in the Stcttincr
EntomoloiiUche Zeitmuj (1857, p. 263), of its abundance in Iceland,
and the Scandinavians write of its abundance in Norway, etc. In
some parts of Scotland, at least, it appears to be in boundless profu-
sion. My friend Mr. -J. P. Mutch was quite recently telling me of the
swarms met with during his summer holiday in the North, while
hardly anything else was to be found. But it seems to be more or less
common over nearly the whole of the British Islands.

On the Continent, however (even in Germany, for example), I read
that it is more local, though still abundant in places, and as one pro-
ceeds further south it disappears altogether.

My notes on the life history of this species will, I am afraid, be
very fragmentary, but I shall at least endeavour to be accurate. New-
man [BritixJi Moths, p. 153) has a circumstantial account which, alas!
(like only too many of Newman's '-circumstantial accounts") is
largely apocryphal. As the work is readily accessible, it is needless to
quote ; but I may point out that I knew long ago — and many of my
audience must have known long ago — that it does not hybernate "half-
grown," for we find it extremely small when working sallows at the
beginning of April. But as Newman seemed so well acquainted with
his subject, I felt loth to accuse him of any serious error, and assumed
that possibly the larva hatched in autumn and laid up for hybernation
very early. Two sources of doubt, however, presented themselves : 1st,
the well developed ovipositor of the female, which I thought ought to
indicate some more secure concealment of the eggs than would be
necessary if they were to hatch " in twelve days ;" and, 2nd, the entire
change of habit of the larva which would be necessitated in the spring,
when it took to its concealed mode of life, as compared with the open
feeding on mature sallow leaves, which was assumed for the autumn.
I therefore pill-boxed two females for ova during my recent sojourn at
Sandown. The eggs obtained, of which I shall speak in further detail
immediately, appeared fertile, but have not i/rt /latclwil, and I have since
found that Dr. Bossier, in ]>ie Sc/nfjipcnfiih/ler, indicates the egg as the
hybernating stage.

The egg. — This is probably laid in crevices of bark, or some
similar situation, in July, August, or even the beginning of September.
In captivity this species does not seem disposed to lay so readily as
most of the Larentiidae ; at least, my females only laid respectively two

HYDRIOBiENA FUHCATA (hYPSIPETES SORDID ATa). Ill

eggs and one — the former concealing them under loose wood in the
chip box, in what I take to be, more or less, the normal way. When
laid, the eggs are whitish ; in two days they begin to change to a
fleshy shade, which gradually deepens in intensity ; in another eight
days they become grey, gradually deepening in two days more to
deeper blue-grey, which should (by analogy with other Larentiid eggs)
be their final colour, and in which condition they still abide. I rather
suspect the larva is developed within the egg-shell.

The larva. — I have never had the newly-hatched larva, and have
made no description of the larval stages. I do not recollect that it
undergoes any important changes in coloration or markings, nor do I
consider it variable on the whole. I may refer you to Newman for a
description of the full-fed larva. I am not disposed to agree with that
author, that it " grows very rapidly." Of course, I assume that the
comparative adverb, " rapidly," is to be taken with reference to other
Larentiid larvae. If he is comparing its growth with that of a man, or of
a cedar tree, I have no fault to find. I have, unfortunately, no notes
on the subject, but I am certain the normal larval period cannot be
much under two months ; and as the growth is very irregular, some of
the larvae would no doubt take a great deal longer. Surely this growth
is not " very rapid," when compared with Melanippe Jiuctuata, sociata,
f/aliata, Anticlea rubidata, Coreiiiia denynata, etc., etc., all of which, in
my experience, can go from e^g to pupa in about three weeks. As
regards the food-plants of this species, it is a fairly general, yet by no
means an absolutely indiscriminate, feeder. The lowland forms
usually feed on sallow, willow or nut ; in confinement they will, of
course, accept any species of poplar. Some of the old Continental
works indicate alder, or even birch, as food-plants ; but I am not cer-
tain whether this has had recent confirmation, and there may have
been some confusion with the allied H. trifasciata. The moorland
forms, etc., have quite different food-plants, namely, Ericaceae. In
the Yorkshire hillside woods, Mr. Porritt considers that they are con-
fined to bilberry ; but the Scottish mountain forms feed chiefly on
heath (? Callnna), as was first suggested by Mr. Jenner Weir, in
vol. XV. of the Entomologist, and corroborated by Mr. Hinchcliffe, of
Alva, and Mr. W. Keid, of Pitcaple. They ever prefer that food to
bilberry in places where both grow together.

The pupa. — Treitschke says that this is green, Hiibner figures it of
a bright red-brown. The latter is correct, and probably Treitschke
described from an immature pupa. It is interesting that the colour is
quite different from the black pupa of the closely-allied H. trifasciata.
The Rev. Joseph Greene {Insect Hunters Companion, p. 35) says that
the pupae of the three species of this genus " are all black and very
active." Considering that the pupa is Mr. Greene's speciality, and that
he used to find those of sordidata "in abundance at the roots of willows,"
I am puzzled that he should have described it as black. It is hardly
likely that a subterranean pupa would be very variable in colour. I
cannot find any entries in my note book as to the duration of the pupal
period, but I fancy it is about three weeks, probably a little more in
the case of individuals which pupate very early.

The imago. — This is on the wing for a tolerably long period during
the summer months. Dates in my own diary range from May 30th (in
1893) to September 15th (in 1891), but my early dates are only for bred

112 THE entomologist's RECORD.

examples, and I do not think I have met with it at large before the
beginning of July ; and even in breeding, one does not ordinarily
obtain them till about the middle of June — 1893 being an abnormal
season. In the Knt. Mo. Mk;/., vol. ii., pp. 90-91 (1865), Dr. Jordan
recorded that in Devonshire (Dartmoor, etc.) the imagines from the
bilberry- fed larva appear a month earlier than those from sallow and
nut, namely, from the beginning of June. Mr. Porritt tells me that
this is certainly not the case in Yorkshire, where both forms appear
together in July and early August. Dr. Jordan, in this same note,
says that he can detect no difference, either larval or imaginal, between
the bilberry and sallow forms. I am not aware that any writer has
noticed any difference in the larval stage, but certainly the imaginal
(as already remarked) shows very decided differences in many localities.
As a set-off against these early records of Dr. Jordan's (from the
beginning of June), I quote the following instance of late emergence
from some brief notes by J. Sparre Schneider, on the entomology of
Arctic Norway {Ent. Tidskr., vi., p. 151) : — " In 1881, I found a pupa
under a stone, 11th September (!), from Avhich the moth emerged the
day after, a small and dark, but well developed, $ ." It is to me not
conceivable that this species should throAV even an occasional speci-
men of a second brood ; and I look upon all late dates as instances of
retardation, probably in the time of hatching, or in the rate of progress
in the larva, but possibly occasionally also in the development or dis-
closure of the imago.

As to the resting habits, etc., they probably vary a good deal in
the different races. In districts where I have collected, tliey generally
resort to the cover of hedges or bushes. They may be readily disturbed
by day by the beating stick, often in great abundance. Like nearly
all Geometers, they fly freely at dusk, and they frequently visit
flowers, if not also sugared trees. As far as 1 remember, I have
noticed them chiefly at flowers of Kupatnrlwn cannabinuiii.

Notes on the Larva of Saturnia pyri.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
Larva of Saturnia pyri. — The larva is of a lovely pea-green
colour, rather darker in colour between the sub-spiracular flange and
supra-spiracular tubercles ; paler (tending towards whitish) between
the two rows of dorsal tubercles ; a faint and indistinct medio-dorsal
line can be discerned on some of the abdominal segments. The head
is comparatively small, rounded in shape, but tending towards a
trapezoidal form, and slightly notched on the crown ; the surface is
smooth ; the colour green, with a dark red isosceles triangle in the
centre of the face, the base of which runs along the upper edge of
the mouth, the apex of triangle not quite reaching the furrow dividing
the apex of the head ; the mouth parts are reddish-brown. The
head is retractile within the pro-thorax, the cheeks with a few dark
hairs. The upper edge of mouth with a fringe of long whitish hairs.
The thoracic segments are deeply cut, and the pro- and meso-thorax
are partially retractile. The juv-tltora.r, with two turquoise blue pre-
spiracular tubercles elevated on stalks, with seven points round the
edge, bearing black hairs, and two central black points also bearing
long spatulate hairs. Two compound, similarly coloured, dorsal

NOTES OU TIIK l.ARVA OF SaTURNIA PVIU, 113

tubercles (one ou either side of the dorsal line) — rei^resenting the
combined dorsal and supra-spiracular tubercles of the succeeding
segments —being elongated, and not having the special coronal form
exhibited by the other tubercles. The prothoracic spiracle, just in
front of the segmental incision, is white, oval, with blackish rim.
The inesn-tJtora.c has two large turquoise blue, corontil, dorsal tubercles,
with a circle of nine black hairs on the circumference of the tubercle,
and each tubercle containing two black points, bearing long spatulate
hairs ; two supra-spiracular tubercles, with seven black hairs on the
circumference, bear one long central spatulate hair ; there are also two
similar tubercles just above the line of the sub-spiracular tubercles of
the abdominal segments ; two much smaller turquoise blue tubercles
below lateral flange and above true legs. The latter dark red-brown
in colour, with yellowish bases. The tubercles of the wcta-tluira.v
similar to, and agreeing with, those of the meso-thorax. The
1st, 2nd and 3rd ahdiniiiaal sci/iiwiits have a similar series of
tubercles to those of the meso- and meta-thorax ; but the dorsal
with fewer circumferential points, and with only one central
hair. The 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th abdominal segments have
similar tubercles, but the sub-spiracular tubercles of the 7th and
8th give rise to more than one central hair ; the 9th abdominal
segment bears only the two dorsal and two supra-spiracular tubercles
of the series. The anal segment is very distinct and separate from
the 9th abdominal ; it is very fiat, and bears a dark red-brown
saddle-shaped chitinous patch, the rounded edge of the saddle forming
the posterior edge of the flap. The bases of the anal j)nilr(/s are also
provided with somewhat similar smooth, red-brown patches ; these
prolegs are themselves purplish in colour, with a large velvety black
base retractile within the green fleshy bases ; the joints are provided
with rims of comb-like white hairs. The four pairs of abdominal
prolegs are very similar to the anal. (Mr. Bacot observes that the
proleg has the J_-shaped foot that is so noticeable in Liparis). A
fringe of stout bristles surrounds the vent. A conspicuous pale
yellowish-green sub-dorsal flange runs along the first eight abdominal
segments, and is broken up into a series of sections somewhat lunular
in shape by the segmental incisions — these sections carry the sub-
spiracular tubercles. The flange is continued, but less conspicuously,
on the three thoracic segments, but its edge is placed just beneath
those tubercules, which are almost in line with the sub-spiracular of
the abdominal segments. The abdominal spiracles are exceedingly
large and conspicuous, and ))laced in the same line (transversely), as
the tubercles. They are white, with very deep red borders. The
thoracic segments are sub-divided into three suh-sci/mntts, the middle
subsegment carrying the whole series of tubercles. The abdominal
segments are sub-divided into four more or less distinct sub-segments,
the tubercles being on the second sub-segment, so that the row of
tubercles appears to be rather nearer to the front than to the back of
the segment. The ventral area (below the lateral flange) is of a
rather darker green than the lateral areas. The segments gradually
increase in size from the head to the meta-thorax, and the increase in
diameter is maintained through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd abdominal seg-
ments, and with but very slight decrease to the 7th, the 8th being a
little narrower. The hair.s of the larva are very beautiful spatulate-

114

TIIIC KNTO.MUI.OGIST S UKCOUD.

looking structures, directly after the last moult, but they soon get
damaged and the tips broken oif (in captivity, at least). Bacot adds :
" {Similar hairs arise from the base of some tubercles, and also from
the skin surface. There were also some shorter and finer hairs
present. There is, further, a coat of very fine hair or down on the
iarva ; I could distinguish this, with an one-inch objective, on the
sides of the larva, but am not sure whether it covers the whole skin
surface, or only exists in patches. Possibly this may correspond to
the short (secondary ?) hairs on the shagreen tubercles of Sjiwrinthus,
etc." The dorsal area becomes orange two days preceding pupation,
the spiracular region remaining green. After commencing to spin, the
larva rapidly becomes reddish-brown. The individuals described
came from Bourg d'Aru {ride, ante, p. 54).

Notes on Coleoptera.

Beetles that desteoy Fouests (Longicornia).
By CLAUDE MORLEY. F.E.S.

There is no time in the life of a tree at which it is not exposed to
the attacks of insects, and Coleoptera do their share of the fighting to
some purpose. If the seed escapes from weevils, and germinates,
there is the larva of the cockchafer, Mdolontha vuh/aris, ready to bite
off the young root ; while, at a later period, Plujtophaga devour the
leaves, Scuhjtidae destroy the vital tissue beneath the bark, and various
others drive long galleries through the solid wood, permeating it in
all directions.

Of the latter class, the Lnnt/icomia are perhaps the most con-
spicuous, though, from the fact that they usually prefer decaying
trees, they do proportionately little harm. Their place in Nature is
that of scavengers of the forest, charged with the task of clearing away
the masses of dead and dying trees which would otherwise stifle the
newer growth. No sooner does a tree begin to show signs of decay —
even such signs as are often imperceptible to us — than it is seized
upon by the beetles ; long shafts and tunnels are excavated through-
oat its substance, admitting rain and moisture, which speedily reduce
the wood to a pulp, serving only the beneficial part of food for a fresh
generation of trees. 80 is the erstwhile monarch of the forest laid
low, and we again realise that " Life springs up from life's decay."

The larvffi of these insects are cylindrical (rarely flattened) ; the
head is large, depressed, and of a horny texture, armed with powerful,
wedge-shaped jaws ; the meso- and meta-thorax are short, and the
nine aljdominal segments, sometimes gradually tapering, at others
slightly enlarged, towards the anal segment (which is continuous with
the body), are each furnished with a patch of corneous scales above
and below, and also with fleshy lateral protuberances which serve as
organs of locomotion. The galleries seem to be made at random, without
any regular plan ; but the larva always approaches the surface when
about to pupate, in order that the imago, when it emerges, may have
no difficulty in effecting its liberation from the pabulum in which
it passes the majority of its life. That the larva should thus approach
instinctively the surface, without quite touching it, is both curious and
interesting, in that it should know in the first place just where to

NOTKS OX COLKOPTEIiA. 116

find the surface, and also be cognisant with the fact that, did it not
do so, it would assuredly die, since its jaws in the perfect state are far
less formidable than in the larval, and, indeed, these beetles acquire
nutriment for the most part by means of the ligula or tongue, rather
than by their mandibles. That they can make very good use of the
latter upon occasion is abundantly evidenced by their extreme pug-
nacity, and by the free use they make of these small, sharp jaws upon
any less hardy insect that may happen to cross their path — sometimes
even upon their own species. I have put a dozen Sapcrda iiopulnea
into a large box, and taken only one whole specimen from it an hour
later.

Some pupae, as in Hha/iiuui, form a cocoon from chips of wood;
this, however, unlike that of Dicranura, is of very flimsy consistency,
and to take the pupa unhurt from it is a matter of much difficulty ;
others, as Sapcrda, make a chamber by filling up the entrance with
fragments of wood. The pupa is always found upright, that is to say,
in a vertical position, as it were standing on its tail, though isolated
cases of inversion have been recorded — a constant position almost
unique among Coleoptera. One of those species which can be con-
sidered as really harmful is Hi/lotrupes bajidus, which is most injurious
to posts and rails, but fortunately this species is rare and local.
Another, Sajwnla carcharias, is known to destroy young poplars, but,
according to some Continental authorities, never touches trees of more
than twenty years' growth. Canon Fowder says the beetle is found
" in and about old willows." Personally I have never taken it any-
where but upon poplar, in which also, as a close ally to the preceding,
it would naturally occur. S. populnea is very common locally on
aspen, among which it undoubtedly does much damage by boring into
the young stems of saplings, and into the branches of older trees.
Callidium violacewn, a by no means rare species throughout the
country, is taken in some numbers every spring in the New Forest,
where I secured a fine series, in May, from a fence about six feet long,
dividing the front from the back garden of the house at which I was
staying. Cli/tus arietis and Acanthocinun aedilis, together with the
foregoing species, are celebrated for their tenacity of life in the larval
state. There are many records of these beetles emerging from
branches, used in mounting birds and other natural history objects,
in our museums, after retarded development, lasting several years.
The baking to which such branches are treated, and the often powerful
disinfectants and insecticides inserted in the hermetically sealed cases
having apparently little effect upon them.

Who has not, at least, heard of the Musk Beetle, Aroiiiia jiioschata,
which emits so powerful an odour, like that of the sweet plant, its
namesake, that the insect may often be detected, like the larva of
Cossus, by its smell ? Most people who know anything of entomology
must also be familiar with its beautiful metallic body, which for
brilliance and richness of colouring vies with little disadvantage with
that of the Brazilian Diamond Beetle. It is said that this is a somewhat
common insect in the fens and marshes where willows, upon wdiich
only, I believe, it is found, grow in profusion. There is fear, however,
that with, alas ! so many other species throughout the whole gamut
of the British insect world, this lovely beetle is yearly becoming
scarcer. It once occurred not unconnuonly throughout England

116 THK entomologtst's rkcord.

[I\ntniii()l()(iisf, vol. XXV., No, 350] , but especially in the London
district, being recorded from such present brick-and-plaster localities
as Battersea Fields, Lewisham and Hackney. I have never met
with the species, eagerly as I have sought for it in many localities,
but that it is still to be found, the Rev. Theodore Wood, writing in
1S84, points out, when he says he once took ten or fifteen examples
from a single willow stump barely a foot high \_(hir Inwct Allicft,
p. 204] .

Rliat/iuin inquisitor overthrows the old theory that no beetle ever
afiects both Cuni ferae and deciduous trees, by occurring on beech,
ash, elm and oak, as well as on various species of Pinm. It is
among the counnonest of our Lowiieornia, and may sometimes be
discovered in mid-winter, just emerged from the pupte, in its cocoons
in beech stumps, and at the base of various trees, and is still abuu;
dant in Epping Forest, where I have turned it up in November in
some numbers. In the spring it is often found upon the blossoms of
the whitethorn, crab-apple, etc., from which it sucks up the SAveet-
ness by means of its hairy ligula, and subsequently lays its eggs
beneath the bark of its pabulum.

Our large importation of timber from the Continent, North
America, and tropical regions, has caused a great many species of
Lonniniriiia to occur in England, which could never have been, nor can
be, acclimatised to the British Isles. The larvre of this group, by usually
passing several years in that state, and remaining the whole period in
the interior of often the largest trees, offer themselves especial objects
of export. In this manner there was in the old days much doubt
among the jjritish Lonijifornia as to which were and which were not
indigenous to this country, and this uncertainty, in some cases, such
as that of our largest species, Ccrconhi/.r hcros, is not yet removed. In
Stephen's Mtonial, published in 1839, no less than twenty-eight species
are doubtfully recorded as British from the above cause.

My friend, Mr. Ernest Elliott, to whom I am indebted for some
of the most interesting of the above facts, drawn chiefly from his own
observations in Germany, further informs me that the pupa of
BliaiiiiDii is usually found with its back to the surface of the tree or
stump.

:i:^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c.

Hybernating stage of Argynnis aglaia. — The following scrap of
information is valuable from the fact that A. adippc hybernates as a
fully-formed larva inside the eggshell, whilst A. cnihtia hybernates in
precisely the same stage oiitside the eggshell. Eggs of A. ai/Iaia, received
from ]\Ir. Wolfe, hatched about Aug. 13th, 1890, whilst I was on the
Continent. They were supposed to be dead when I looked at them
through the glass tube, on Aug. 20th. They were turned out on Sept.
16th, and found to be alive, and remained alive till late in November.
Evidently the larva hybernates without feeding at all. Empty egg-
shell AND newly-hatched LARVA. — The empty e;i<isJieU is pearly white,
only eaten away around the apex. The head of the newly-emerged
larva is shiny black, with long white hairs. Skin of body, pale
yellowish. The iJro-f/^o/A.r with four central tubercles coalesced into
a dorsal plate, bearing long brown hairs. A pale medio-dorsal line

KOtES out LiFE-HlSTORlES, LAKV^, ETC. Il7

runs down the back. A ring of four''' dark tubercular buttons on each
of the two hinder thoracic and on the abdominal segments — those on the
dorsum of the abdominal segments, with two points, each bearing a
long recurved dark brown hair. The tubercles are in a similar position
(transversely) on each segment. There is a trace of a pale spiracular
line.— J. W. TuTT.

Description of lepidopterous eggs. — [Continued from p. S)0.) — •
Ennomoa aulumnaria. — The eggs are laid in rows. In the first
row each egg is laid on its side, but with the micropylar end much
raised above the surface on which the qqq is laid. Each succeeding
row is laid overlapping the preceding row, so that, although a flat
Qgg, the micropylar end is much higher than the base. The egg is of
a deep chocolate-brown colour. It is shaped somewhat like a broad,
fiat flask (without a neck), with a very conspicuous whitish rim at
one end (surrounding the micropylar area), and a shallow depression
on the upper surface of the egg. The rim surrounding the micropylar
area is oval, the depression within it shallow, with a cellular aj)pear-
ance, the micropyle itself forming a black spot not quite central at the
bottom of the depression. The shell itself is not quite smooth, for
under a two-thirds lens it has a minutely pitted appearance, with a
faint suspicion of the pits being arranged longitudinally. There are
also faint traces of a transverse reticulation. [The eggs, for which I
am indebted to Mr. Garland, were described under a two-thirds lens
on Jan. 15th, 1897.]

Zcphyrus qiwrcih. — The egg is echinoid in appearance, a depressed
cylinder with rounded edges in shape (viewed laterally), the length :
breadth : height as 2 : 2 : 1 ; i.e., it forms a long oval in vertical,
and a circle in horizontal, section. Its colour is of a yellowish milk-
white, somewhat waxen in appearance. The surface is covered with
a rough, raised reticulation, formed by two oblique series of curved
ribs running from the edge of the apical depression to the base, in
opposite directions, thus cutting each other and covering the surface
with irregularly formed diamond-shaped cells ; or the surface may be
likened to a chain-harrow, in which the blunted teeth (or tines)
extend centrifugally, with no regular arrangement of the processes.
The apical depression is somewhat hexagonal in shape, its base pitted ;
the micropylar rosette, placed centrally in the base, also hexagonal ;
the diameter of the apical depression about one-third the equatorial
diameter of the egg. The diamond-shaped or rhomboidal cells are
smaller at the top, and form approximately about 16 rows from the apex
to the base. [The description was made (Jan. 18th, 1897) from an eg",
sent to me by Dr. Chapman, laid upon an oak-twig, on which, in spite
of its colour, it was not conspicuous, looking like a small, incon-
spicuous fungoid growth.] —J. W. Tutt.

* My note is unsatisfactory here. It says " four." I believe, speaking from
memory, that there were four on each side of the medio-dorsal line, i.e., eight on
each segment. — J. W. T.

^^ ARI AT I ON.

Variation of Phigalia ped.aria. — I have just taken from the
setting boards a remarkable series of /-*. pedaria, taken by my brother
in North-west Yorkshire, last month (February). Of 33 males, 21

118 . THE entomologist's RECORD.

have the foui- transverse bars more or less well developed, though the
ground-colour varies very considerably. They range in size from li§
tol^'^ of an inch in expanse of wing. Two others have four black
spots on the costal margin — the only indication of the bands. The
remaining 10 have no trace whatever of the bands ; they vary in size
from 1^^ to Ij^ of an inch, and in colour from black to a dull smoky
olive. Two out of six females are black. Another peculiarity is,
that all the small dark insects were taken before the 18th. We have
occasionally, during the last twenty years, met with dark P. pedarin,
but only occasionally. There must, of course, be some cause for this
abundance of melanic varieties this year. I can hardly see that the
comparatively low temperature at the time of emergence, or the
excessively wet weather of last autumn, could produce this result. It
seems more likely that unusual conditions during the larval stage are
the cause, such as dryness or scarcity of food. What do you think ? —
J. E. BuTTERFiELD, B.Sc, 35, Wrottesley Koad, Plumstead, S.E.
[The fact that the dark specimens are smaller points distinctly to in-
nutritious food, or an insufficient food supply, being a probable factor
in this instance. That the scale-determinants in this species have a
possible range from olive-green to black, we know, of course ; but our
want of experience of the species in nature makes us unable to guess
as to the lines utility would take in moulding the aberrations once
produced into a definite race, but we assume, from our only visit to
Yorkshire, that it would be most distinctly in the direction of main-
taining the melanic tendencies once they were set up. — Ed.] .

Senta maritima ab. bipunctata. — A specimen of this aberration
visited my sugar on the evening of June 22nd last. Although the type
and theabs. wismariensis and ?w/ro.s«y/rtta have been taken here, I do not
remember to have seen any record of the occurrence of ab. bipunctata.
— F. G. Whittle, Southend.

Melanic Triph^na orbona (comes) from Slough. — In June last I
bred a few Triphaena orbona, with underwings nearly as dark as those
I have from Aberdeen and Paisley, and in marked contrast to those
I have bred from Burnham. — J. B. Williamson, 2, Hencroft Street,
Slough.

Aberration or Plusia festuc^. — In the marshes, near Deal, I
captured, on July 20th last, a larva of I'lusia festucae, which produced
an imago having a decided green tone over the wings, and the metallic
blotches much smaller than those I have from the North of England
or Scotland. — Ibid.

Aberrations of Argynnis aglaia and Cidaria populata. — I cap-
tured, in July last, a specimen of A. aglaia, in which two or three spots
at the anal angle of the fore- wing are confluent. I also took one
brown aberration of Cidaria populata. — H. Beadle, Keswick.

Black aberration of Phigalia pedaria. — I captured an entirely black
aberration of this species in fine condition, in Leicester, on Feb. 21st.
— F. BousKELL, P.E.S., Sandown Road, Leicester.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

On the protective covering of eggs in Tepiirosia bistortata. —
It has been generally stated that the protective covering which certain
female lepidoptera lay about their ova, consists of hairs or scales from

SCrENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 119

the abdomen. I have recently been watching the deposition of ova by
Tephro.sia bistortata. In her case, the covering is one of" silk. It is
contained in a pouch at the extremity of the abdomen, between the
upper part and sides of the vaginal sheath and the abdominal walls.
The silk is packed in dense, wavy bundles, about 2mm. in length, and
under 1 inch power, closely resembles locks of wavy flaxen hair. It
seems to be extruded just outside the vaginal sheath, partly by the
working of the ovipositor, which pushes the silk forwards and arranges
it around the ova with its very flexible terminal tube. This is used
like a finger, and apparently partly entangles the silk by means of
short, stiff' hairs (most abundant on the two chitinous rods and their
branches), which point backwards at an acute angle ; and possibly by
the few longer ones, eight of which are terminal. The inner distal
tube can be protruded as much as 4mm. at least from the sheathing
proximal one, and the whole ovipositor seems capable of protrusion
outside the body to as much as 7mm. or 8mm. The continuity of the
silk is difficult to trace, both in situ and around the ova ; but I could
not find pieces much more than 2mm. in length, nor any much shorter.
How the silk comes to be deposited in the extremity of the abdomen
of the imago, must be an interesting matter for future investigation.
— W. S. Riding, B.A., M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell, E. Devon. March
nth, 1897.

URRENT NOTES.

Monsieur L. Dupont (3, Rue de I'Orangerie, Le Havre), has sent
us a most interesting article on the affinities existing between the
North American and European fauna. There is one on the same
subject in British Noct., vol. iv., pp. xv.-xx. Another, by Prof.
Grote, will appear in due course in the Proc. of the South London
Ent. Sac.

Monsieur A. Suchetet, Chateau d'Antiville, par Breaute (Seine-Infe-
rieure), asks entomologists to supply him with magazine references
(and details of specimens) of hybrid lepidoptera for a work on which
he is engaged.

Mr. Newstead records, from the Royal Gardens, Kew, as additions
to the British fauna, the Coccids, Aspidiotus cydoniae, Comstock, on
the trunk of the large sugar-palm [Arcmja saccharifera), from the
Malay Archipelago ; Diaspis cahjptroidcs, Costa, on several species of
Cacti ; Coccus tomentosus, Lam., on Opaentia ful<jida, recently imported
from Arizona.

Mr. J. H. Fowler records that, in 1896, near Ringwood, Ennjdia
cribnim appeared on June 1st, when he took 41 ; on June 2nd, 52,
" time to give friends a warning, so wrote to two or three, who put in
their appearance in due course. The first day we averaged about 25
each ; but upon comparing notes, of course, each stated it to be much
less. Very few collectors like showing their captures, or giving num-
bers, when a good insect is discussed. On June 5th, E. cribruia
nearly over, saw four only " {Entom.). Roughly, about 300 specimens
in four days. Was the insect " nearly over " or " nearly extermi-
nated " for the season? We also admire Mr. Fowler's estimate of the
collectors' veracity.

Mr. Bankes refers the unique specimen of Tinea cochylidella , Sta.,

120 THE entomologist's record.

captured by Douglas, at Sanderstead, July 7th, 1852, now in Dr.
Mason's collection, to T. rurkoUcUa, of which species he considers it
a strongly aberrant specimen. He is inclined to keep T. ruricollella
specifically distinct from T. cloactila, because, in 1893, the former was
bred by Machin, from fungi, collected in Swanscombe Wood, Kent,
and there were no T. duacella among them.

We had hoped to have found space to review the Proceedings of the
South London Knt. Societi/, and The Transartions of the Citi/ of London
Ent. Soc., but, unfortunately, cannot. There are still some provincial
entomologists, we believe, who do not see these publications, and
hence miss many facts relating to entomology which it is necessary to
know if one wishes to be au fait with the subject. The few pence
each costs is infinitesimal.

The bye-laws of the Entomological Society of London are under-
going revision. Among other alterations, an increase in the number
of members of the Council is suggested.

A most interesting paper on the generative organs of gynandro-
morphous Lepidoptera is published in the Illmtiicite Woeliensvhrift far
Entomoloijic for April 4th.

:]^RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for May and early June.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — " The larva of Bucculatrix cristatella, in May, mines the leaves
of yarrow, and then eats the leaves half through from the outside"
(T. Wilkinson).

2. — The larva of Coleojihorci chalcoi/raminrlla was discovered in the
larval state by Mr. T. Wilkinson, near Scarborough, feeding on the
leaves of Cerastinvi arrense, in May.

3. — In May, the larvte of Bnlalis senescens make little web-
galleries amongst moss at the roots of thyme.

4.— Sweep the reeds by night for larvcD of Lencania .strain inea, in
late May and early June.

5. — Old seed-heads of Jiincus riiaritiinns should be gathered in May
for cases of Coleophora obtnsella.

6. — Bright green larvje, collected in May, feeding in the shoots of
Salix capraea, and drawing the leaves together with a slight web, will
most likely produce Penthina capreana.

7. — In early May, search golden rod in shady places for larvn? of
Leioptilm tepliradactijlm. Their presence is easily detected, as they
strip the leaves pretty successfully.

8. — " At the end of May, 1870, I beat three of the larvje of A(/rotis
siibrosea, in the evening twilight, from Andromeda polifolia, L. In cap-
tivity, they also ate several species of willow " (Berg).

9. — The larva of Harpiptenjx scabrella may be beaten into an
umbrella from hawthorn, early in June. It is not unlike Cerostoma
radiatella, but has a white stripe down the back, and I do not think
it is quite so lively. It is easy to feed up, and spins a beautiful
cocoon of white silk, boat-shaped, with a triangular transverse section
(Richardson).

10. — The larva of Xeiiticida poterii, in early June, mines the leaves
of Poterium samjuisurha.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 121

11. — Spun shoots of LntHs major, collected in early .June, will give
larvae of Auaconipsis rorticella.

12. — Examine stunted whitethorn and blackthorn bushes, growing
on exposed slopes almost anywhere. During the first fortnight in
June you will find the silken galleries of Ulwdophaea mavclla spun
close to the twigs.

13. — Examine well-grown plants of Ecldiua vnhjare on exposed
slopes, during the second week in June. Dnuijla.na omerustomdJa
sometimes abounds, flitting about such plants, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

14. — From the middle to the end of May, beat junipers for the
larvae of Eiipithecia snbrinata.

15. — The first week in June, search aspen and poplar. The larva
of Tethea mbtma lives in a single leaf turned over on one side, and
fastened with silk ; that of Taeniocampa populeti lives between two
leaves, one fastened on the top of the other.

16. — When the foxgloves are in flower, search the solitary plants
growing in the open spaces in, or on the outskirts of, woods, for spun-
up flowers containing larvae of Euplthetla pulcltellata.

KiLLiNfx INSECTS. — I 866 that " naturalists " are now prohibited
from selling cyanide bottles. I have lately tried H.C.N, (strong
solution, made in laboratory, not bought) for killing. The effect is
really instantaneous as far as I can make out — no fluttering occurs.
I use it like ammonia -880, viz., a drop or two on blotting paper put
into the pill box. — E. W. Wake Bowell, Sissinghurst Vicarage,
Cranbrook, Kent.

:ig^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Mixtures for sugaring. —I should very much like to know the
opinion of lepidopterists as to different sugaring mixtures, so as
to find out the most attractive. I have used the following : —
^ pint ale and li lbs. sugar, boiled, skimmed, then bottled. From
this I fill a small bottle for use when wanted, and add about one
teaspoonful of rum. This makes a rather thin mixture, but instead of
using a brush, I take a very little in my mouth, and, with a sharp
spurt, send it out in fine spray and small drops. I do not know of
anyone else using this method, but the advantage is that you can
apply it anywhere, and I find bushes in leaf, sugared in this way,
will attract moths when I cannot get one on the tree-trunks, and
the bushes always pay much better than the trees. The sugar I
now use is as above, with the addition of a drop or two of essence
of pear, and this adds about 10 % to its attractiveness. I have tried
methylated spirit, and do not like it. — H. A. Beadle. [We don't
think we should "like" methylated spirit, beer, &c., applied in

the fashion described, but "it's all a matter of taste, you know

simply a matter of taste." — Ed.]

With regard to the mixture that I use, I merely put a few pounds
of coarse sugar (date sugar for preference) in a jar, and pour a little
beer on it, and let it soak a few days, when it will be ready to pour
into your can. I never boil it, and seldom put either rum,
methylated spirit, or any of the essences in it ; for myself I don't believe
they add to the attractiveness. I have on many occasions sugared a
round in the same wood and same time as my friends here, who

122 THK entomologist's record.

have used essence of peav, etc., aud have always fared as well as they,
and I find sometimes that sugaring the foliage pays far hetter than
sugaring the trunks. — A. H. Hamm.

Aporia crat.egi in Kent. — a few more explicit notes as to my
capture of this insect in Kent, last year, will, I think, be looked for,
especially by those gentlemen with whom I exchanged specimens,
since Mr. Tutt, in his " Ketrospect for 1896," says there is " little
doubt but that they are the progeny of planted Continentals."** This
I do not think is the case, considering that Aporia cratacgi was at
one time so common and Avidcly distributed throughout Kent. I
think Mr. Tutt and others, who may at present feel rather sceptical
as to the English genuineness of the insects, will, after reading the
following notes, agree that they are the progeny of an indigenous
colony, which have been for many years breeding in the locality where
I captured them. Some nine or ten years ago, an acquaintance of
mine told me that he had taken the Black-veined White not very far
from Dover, but as he would not tell me the locality, and left the
town shortly afterwards, I gave up all hopes of taking it, and began
to wonder whether he might not have been mistaken as to the insect.
I thought no more about A. crataei/l (or perhaps I should say I
thought it extinct) until the autumn of 1895, when an entomological
friend of mine told me that, in 1898, a person coming in from the country,
knowing him to be a collector, told him there had been such numbers
of a large white butterfly in the fields near her house, and as he had
at the time a book on butterflies before him, he showed her plates of
the "whites," and she, readily distinguishing the insect, pointed out
A. cratacai. He was very much surprised, and thought she must have
made a mistake. Owing to ill health, he found no opportunity of
visiting the neighbourhood in w^hich he had been told they were to be
taken. He told me of this incident, and, on June 21st last, I went to
the spot, and found large numbers of A. cratoc(/i in a clover field, and
took about two dozen (I could have taken two score). The following
day I again went and took a few more, and I also watched a female
lay some eggs on the extremity of a leaf of whitethorn, of which there
was a thick hedge bordering one side of the clover field. The insects
wore very sluggish in their movements, and easily captured. They
seemed confined to the clover fields, in which grew quantities of the
ox-eye daisy {(Jhri/santhenmm leucanthemiun), for which they seemed
to have a predilection, and when disturbed soon settled down again.
I left home the following day (Wednesday), and did not return
until the middle of July, when I thought it would be too late for
A.cratacjii, and I have not been to the place, which is some distance
from this town, since ; however, I hope soon to go and look for the
larvae, which I think I should have no trouble in finding, as I left
scores of A. crataefii flying about. I have made enquiries as to the
whereabouts of the man who first told me about A. cratac;ii,
and find that he caught nine specimens and gave them to his
brother-in-law, who is now living in Dover. I called on him a
short time since, and saw the nine specimens, which are with other
insects, one of the others being no less than a Deilepkila galii (!) ,

* We do not remember having made this statement. We said: — " We have
little doubt that this is a colony, the progeny of ancestors that have been set at
liberty, and have effected a temporary settlement." — Ed.

i^OTES ON COLLECTING. 12^

and of which he did not know the name, now in a case hanging
in one of his rooms. He told nie that they were caught in July,
1886, at rest on bramble in the same locality as my 1896 specimens.
He laughed at the idea of "planting" when I ask him whether he
knew if they had been brought from the Continent and let loose,
and said, " I shouldn't think anybody would take the trouble."
An interval of ten years elapsed from the time of my having been
first told about A. cratacyi being taken near Dover, and my capturing
them, which points very strongly to the fact that they have at least
been breeding in this special locality for the past ten years, and
are, in my opinion, the last remaining link connecting them
with the A. erataiyi of bygone days. The whole story of my
capture may be summed up as folloAVS : — I was told some nine or
ten years ago that A. crataeiji was to be taken near Dover. In 1895
I ascertained the locality, and in June, 1896, captured them, and,
having recorded it, am told they are undoubtedly planted foreign
specimens. — H. Douglas Stockwell, 2, Albert Road, Dover.

[How Mr. Stockwell can have converted our carefully worded
general statement into the definite statement he has substituted, is
beyond our comprehension. Like our correspondent's friend, we also
are inclined to laugh at the idea of anyone " bringing A. crataegi from
the Continent and then letting them loose." We never make
suggestions without fair knowledge that our suggestions are probably
true. For many years Mr. Edmonds bred A. cratmyi in the open,
at Windsor, and hundreds possibly escaped. We have a letter in our
possession, in which the fact is stated that several hundreds of pupsB
were bought on purpose to re-stock the old haunts of this species.
Two excellent lepidopterists, whose names are well known to our
readers, having bred some dozens of this species, and having no wish
to indulge in the doubtful pleasure of killing the specimens wantonly,
set them free. Two large broods that we kept ourselves for observa-
tion in the larval state, escaped from our oAvn garden, owing to the
growing branches of the plum tree, on which they were feeding,
forcing their way through the sleeves. These instances might be
increased tenfold without trouble. So long as the lepidopterists in
Britain are aware that hundreds of this particular species have been
set free in Surrey, Essex and Kent, science is not injured. The
district around Dover was well worked from 1880 until 1890, when
we ourselves spent the greater part of each summer, with other
entomologists, in the neighbourhood. Of course we might have
missed A. cratacf/i, but there were very few species we did miss at
that time. Like Mr. Stockwell, we don't think anyone brought
A. cratcu'i/i from the Continent and let them loose just where he
caught them. We never suggested anything so unlikely. — Ed.]

ACHERONTIA ATKOPOS IN THE GuiLDFORD DISTRICT. Although for

several years past I have heard rumours of the occurrence of this
interesting species in the district, I only succeeded in obtaining speci-
mens, in any stage of development, last year. Early in November,
potato-digging on a large scale was in progress near, so I made
enquiries of the men engaged thereon, and at last met a very
intelligent man, who informed me that about twenty pupse had been
found daring the previous day or two in a field where he w^as working,
and he was able to describe the pupa of A. atropos sufficiently to

124 THE entomologist's record.

convince me of its occurrence there. When I asked what had heen
done with them, he told me the boys employed in the field had played
"tip-cat " with them ! ! the pup.e of atrujios taking the place of the
" cat," I presume ? His disgust was nearly equal to my own, when
informed what they were worth, I saw him again a few days after,
and he had obtained three or four more pupie, but unfortunately —
with one exception — they were all more or less damaged. The perfect
one was forced, and although it showed signs of life for a week or two,
it eventually succumbed to the rough handling it had received. —
W. Grover, Guildford. March, 1897.

Tephrosia bistort ATA AT Keading. — It may interest your readers
to know that I took, on March 21st, two specimens of T. histortata in
the wood in which, in July last, Mrs. Bazett got eight specimens of
so-called second brood of 7'. crejmscidaria (biumlidaria). When these
specimens were exhibited, Mr. Adkin and yourself were of opinion that
they were examples of the second brood of T. hUtnrtnta, although this
species was stated not to occur in the woods. It looks as though Mrs.
Bazett and her supporters will have to agree with your conclusion, and
give up the " notion " that the specimens were those of a second brood
of T. crcptiscidaria, Ent. Hcc, viii., p. 223. Since March 21st, I
have taken two more specimens of T. biiitortata in the same woods.
They have all been taken in or close to a larch plantation, right in
the middle of a beech wood, interspersed with oak. I have looked over
the beech, but have not found T. bistortata there nor, up to the present
this year, T. crcimscidana (biundidaria), although the latter species is
frequently common in this wood in the latter part of April and in
May. We shall get this in three weeks' time. The time of appearance
of the T. bistortata in these woods coincides with that of the species in
our best-known T. bistortata locality. Mr. Hamm took the latter
species in the latter place on March 21st and 22nd, in fine condition.
Mr. Holland has seen my specimens, and is satisfied. — J, Clarke, 26,
Zinzan Street, Reading. Ajnil -ith, 1897.

Early collecting notes. — licadinff.— ]\it<Jr:ii>us rrrsirolnr was out
on the heath on March 19th, the earliest record here. — J. Clarke.

I have been successful in rearing Kndrovns rcrsicahir. I found a
female on April 6th, 1896, and have bred, from ova laid by her, some
very fine specimens during the last month. I have also got fertile ova
from the progeny. — W.Butler, Hayling House, Reading. April, 1897.

®Mtuarn.

ALBERT HOUGHTON, Died Feb. 23rd, 1897.

Those whose habit is to visit Wicken during the collecting season
will, in future, miss a familiar face and voice. Mr. Albert Houghton,
who is so well known to many as one of the professional collectors of
that district, died on February 23rd. I have many recollections of
his genial humour and kindly readiness to help, both in pointing out
good localities in his neighbourhood, and also with his sugar and
lighting apparatus in the fens. He had a great knowledge of the
habits of the insects of his own locality. By careful and diligent
searching he discovered, a few years ago, a locality in which he took
many specimens of Tapinostola concolur. He never despaired of re-
discovering Aijrutis subrosca, and during the years 1894-5 worked hard

OBITUARY. 125

in its old habitat among the beds of Mi/rica ijale, but his efforts in
that direction were not crowned with success. I believe him to be the
only collector who has taken Ihulcna atriplicia quite recently — it
would not be altogether surprising if that species were now to become
extinct. He used to warm with enthusiasm over his tales of the
golden days when LacUa coenom, and other species, now, alas ! all too
scarce, if not altogether extinct, were not unfrequently taken. His
regret for those happy days made him most careful to preserve on
every possible occasion the food-plants of scarce or local species. In
this, as in many other respects, I, in common with many other ento-
mologists, shall have cause for missing him sadly. — J. C. Moberly, M.A.

JAMES B. HODCtKINSON, F.E.S.
Born Oct. 27th, 1823, Died Feb. 17th, 1897.
James B. Hodgkinson was born at Preston, but when only four
years of age, his parents removed to Carlisle. At fourteen, he
returned to Preston, where he served seven years' apprenticeship as a
mechanic, although, for two years previous to his apprenticeship, he
had worked as a boy in a mill, from 5.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., at 2s. 6d.
per week. Even then his love of collecting had commenced, and on
Saturday and Sunday he would walk to Keswick and back to catch
butterflies and moths. An early meeting with Wailes (Newcastle)
and Hancock was said by Hodgkinson to have been the origin of his
entomological tastes, and, at 19, he gave a lecture at the Mechanics'
Institute, at Preston, on "Entomology." From Preston he removed
to Manchester, Avhere he had free access to Sam Carter's collection,
and obtained such insects as Litlutmia suUdayinis and Oporahia polata
(fiUyrcunmaria). Of the latter insect, he states that he once took
forty-two in a short time, on stones in a stream, when the stone walla
were unproductive. He was also one of the first entomologists to obtain
Nyssia zonaria at New Brighton, Avhilst he always insisted that he was
the first captor of Cidaria recticulata, Hijdroecia petasitis and Aplecta
occulta in England. He relates that on one occasion, "old Weaver"
called on him when he (H.) had a number of Htjdrelia uncana in dupli-
cate, and Weaver then offered him Anarta vidua (inelannpa) in exchange,
the //. uncana being valued at 6d., the A. vidua at 7/6 each, so he says
" the exchange did not come off." He only saw Weaver once after
this, and then he was " hiding behind a tree in the Black Forest,
Bannock." He claimed acquaintance at this time with E. Sheppard,
Bond, Bentley, S. Stevens, Bouchard and Waring. He visited B.
and J. Standish, and once visited J. Jenner Weir. Of Desvignes, he
had a lively recollection, for the latter gave him a number of Pyralides
and other insects, which he took at W^hittlebury Forest. He also
knew Bedell, Stainton, Douglas, Ingall, Robertson (and his man
Hindley). About that time, too, he relates that he once walked into
the West India Docks with a box of insects under his arm, and when
he was coming out again, the box was examined. At the time, he
asserted, there was a duty on foreign insects, and had it not been that
one of the men knew something of British insects, he would have had
to pay duty on the specimens, or they would have been forfeited.

Hodgkinson was not a collector pure and simple, although it
was his wish to obtain fine specimens and to find new species that
led him to add many facts to our knowledge of the life-histories of the

126 THE ENTOMOLOGISTS RECORD.

insects he reared for these purposes. The hardships of his early
life led him to put a money value on every insect he captured, and
herein, perhaps, he was not very different from those whose lots have
been cast in easier places. For some years he openly dealt in insects,
buying and selling all the reputed British species, as Stevens' cata-
logues show. Of late years he had been much more successful in
business matters, and gave up selling insects, in fact, he was a frequent
buyer at Stevens' salerooms himself. When a lad he lost one eye
(blown out when shooting), but to the last he could see as much with
the other one as most people can with two. How keenly the competi-
tive method of collecting lepidoptera had hold of him may be surmised
from the following extract from a letter written only two months
before his death. Rewrites: " When I was working at Northtieet
I used to walk in to Dartford every morning before work, in order to
be first at the fence for Aleiicis pictaria.'" He was also very keen on
the rare Lepidoptera. Only a few days before his death (Jan. 27th)
he writes : " Have you seen in the Kntnm. the advt. of ' old ' Xi/ssia
lapponaria ? I wrote to the advertiser the day after the advertise-
ment appeared, but have had no reply. I asked how they came to be
' old.' Had the advertiser had them by him, as N. zonaria, without
knowing what they were?" The addition of a species not in his
collection was to him a matter of joy beyond description. We received
at least three letters during the fortnight before bis death, begging
for information as to where he could get a specimen of Jiliodop/taea
rnbrotibiella and O.ri/ptilits hleracif, the former at best but a doubtful
species, the latter probably never really taken in Britain. The mania
to obtain new species led him oftentimes to describe odd specimens
that he could not at once determine, as such, and hence he incurred
the contempt of some micro-lepidopterists for his precipitate haste.
At the same time, he really has made some notable additions to the
British lists, and his energy and capacity for hard Avork are worthy of
all praise. Compared with some of the dilettanti entomologists of
the present time, to whom field work, with the exception of going for
special rare and local species for exchange, is unknown, J. B. Hodg-
kinson was an enlightened naturalist. He was well versed in the life-
histories of a very great number of micro-lepidoptera, and his obser-
vations on the Tineina — Tyithocollftix, XepticnJa and FJachista — only
ended with his death. The poverty of his early life, the long hours
of work for a bare subsistence, the accident which left him with his
sight impaired, had no power to check his entomological ardour, and
he stands out clearly an example to men whose lots have been cast in
pleasanter places, whose professional duties leave them much com-
parative leisure, and yet who not only have no knowledge of
Neptinila and Lithocnlletia, but could not even tell the name of a
Crambus or a Pyrale, and whose knowledge of the ToRTRicmEs is
only equalled by the ignorance of those who scoff' at " bug hunters."

By the death of J. B. Hodgkinson, at the age of seventy-four, we
have lost an entomologist " of the old school," one of those collectors
whose every spare moment was spent in the open fields, and who
learned by observation of actual objects the facts of their existence.
For that old school we have every respect. It served its purpose — a
good purpose — and has enabled us, by its accumulation of facts, to
progress at a rapid rate in the more philosophical branches of our

OBITUARY. 127

subject. One by one the remnant of this old school is dying out,
and we, of the newer school, have many reasons to regret the decease
•of the last victim that death has claimed.

je^OC IE TIE S.

City of London Entomological, and Natural History Society.
— March IGth, 1897. — -T. crepuscularia (biundularia) not in Moray-
shire.— Mr. Tutt said that it had been stated, on the strength of
a specimen in Mr. Adkin's possession, and another in Mr. Home's,
that T. crepiiiicnlaria [buinfhiian'a) was found in the Altyre Woods in
Morayshire. He had examined Mr. Adkin's specimen, and so also
had Mr. South, and Mr. Adkin, Mr. South and himself were all
inclined to refer it to T. histortafa. He now exhibited Mr. Home's
specimen, captured on April 16th, 1892, on the trunk of a pine tree
in Altyre Wood. This, a male in fine condition, is identical with the
Perthshire race, which, as has been pointed out, is more nearly allied
to the Central European typical form of T. bistortata than any other
form occurring in Britain. Mr. Tutt further said that, although he
had not yet seen specimens of T. rrepusnilaria {biundularia) from
Scotland, he suspected that the southern counties, at least, would
produce the species. Mr. Adkin stated that Mr. Home's specimen
was a very fine one, and dark. His (Mr. A.) specimen had been sent
to him alive, and, having spent some hours in a chip box, had injured
itself considerably, but he had been fortunate in obtaining a few eggs,
which produced larvje in due course, and he expected the imagines
shortly now. On the larval nest of a gregarious Europterid moth.
— Mr. Tutt exhibited a nest of an Europterid, which he had received
from Dr. Chapman, who had cut it from a pine tree in the neigh-
bourhood of Cannes the previous week. He did not know which
species it was — one member suggested pit.i/orampa — as he was quite
ignorant of the larvfe of the members of the genus to which they
belonged. The larvje were busy feeding, some being outside the web
at the time the exhibition was being made. Mr. Tutt said that, when
not feeding, the larv;e retired within the web, and came out again to
feed. He also referred to the urticating properties the hairs of these
■creatures were said to possess, but stated that, although he had
handled these larvfe, he had felt no ill effects. The eggs of T. bistor-
tata and T. crepuscularia (biundularia). — Mr. Tutt made some
remarks on eggs of T. histortata, eggs of T. crepuHculavia (biundularia)
and eggs of $ T. bistortata, that had been fertilised by a (? T. biun-
dularia. The first two sets showed considerable differences, which
were exhibited by drawings made under the microscope by Messrs.
Rowe and Baty. The eggs of T. biatortata, as exemplified by the batch
that had been examined, were long and cylindrical, with rounded ends.
Those of T. crepuscularia [biundularia) were of only about two-thirds to
half the cubical contents of those of T. bistortata, and, al though exhibiting
considerable variation, were of a somewhat oval form, or inclining to
the shape of a hen's egg. To the naked eye, there did not appear to
be much difterence in colour, both being of a pea-green, but those of
T. crepuscularia {biundularia) were of a somewhat yellower tint.
Under the microscope, however, the difference of colour became more
marked, that of T. bistortata appearing of a pearly-green hue, that of

128 THE entomologist's kecokd.

T. crepiiscidaria beingyellow, and whilst theshellof the formerwas irides
cent and slightly transparent, that of the latter was somewhat opaque.
There were also faint traces of longitudinal ribbing, just round the
shoulder of the micropylar end, in the egg of T. bistortata, such traces
not being discernible in the egg of T. crepmndana. The Qgg of T.
bistortata, too, was also noticeable for small irregular depressions, which
occurred on the surface, and which appeared to be due to pressure or the
contraction of the protoplasmic contents of the egg. These were not
to be seen in the egg of T. crepmcidaria, the shell of which appeared,
under a high power, to be minutely pitted. Another character of
differentiation in the two sets of eggs observed, was in the position of
the lateral depression, which is so characteristic of many Geometrid
eggs. In the egg of T. bistortata, the depression was placed well
toward the micropylar end, whilst in the egg of T. crepuscularia it is
placed much nearer to the centre. In the set of T. bistortata eggs
examined, which had been fertilised by a male T. biundularia, the
general shape, colour and appearance were very similar to those of the
first set of 2\ bistortata. The eggs were, however, slightly smaller,
and tended to be a little more rounded at one end than the other,
showing some trifling variation between the two sets, and one or two
of the eggs out of a considerable number examined, exhibited a most
complete oval shape. They were, however, still very distinctly T.
bistortata eggs, as apart from those of T. crepuscularia. In colour, the
cross fertilisation seems to have had some efl'ect, for the eggs were,
under a good power, certainly yellower than the other batch of T.
bistortata eggs. This may, however, have been due to a slight
difference in age. The lateral depression of this batch of eggs was
puzzling, but, after a number of eggs had been repeatedly examined, it
was found that it was placed well up towards the micropylar area, but
was somewhat obscured by the depressions described as being character-
istic of T. bistortata, being often placed in close proximity therewith.
These eggs, like those of many other species that are laid in crannies, etc.,
e.fj., Orrlioilia, etc., appear to be capable of much modification in shape
by pressure, the moth pushing the egg into a cranny, and the soft egg
being affected, more or less, by the pressure, and becoming somewhat
similar in shape to the cranny into which it is pushed. It is very
probable that the eggs of these two species have never before been
examined side by side under the microscope, owing to the different
dates at which the insects usually appear. The chance of doing so
now is due to Mr. A. Bacot, who, by forcing ^he pup^? of T. crepuscu-
laria, brought out the imagines at the same time that those of T. bis-
tortata were appearing in the breeding cages. By this means also he
obtained pairings between $ 2\ bistortata and ^ T. crepuscrdaria,
although it appeared that they would not cross the other way. This
is, of course, exactly parallel with Dr. T, A. Chapman's experiment,
when he forced A. betnlaria to appear in March, obtained pairings
between that species and A. st rat aria, and not only obtained fertile
ova, but bred the hybrid imagines. Living specimen of Aglais
URTic.E. — Mr. Garland exhibited A. jirticae, taken at rest upon a brick
wall at Harrow Green, Leytonstone, about 10 o'clock in the morning
of Feb. 19th. Aberrations of Hybernia defoliaria. — Mr. Garland
also exhibited bred male aberrations of U. defoliaria, he'ing larger than
captured specimens. Bruchus lentis. — Mr. Newbery exhibited Bnichus

SOCIKTIKS. 129

lentis, from Egyptian lentils. He read the following notes : " This
species is erroneously stated to be without a thoracic tooth, by both
' Cox ' and ' Fowler,' although the contrary is stated in the original
description." Field observations. — Mr. May said that he had found
Asphalla ftavivurnis, Taeniocampa stahilis, T. pidcendenta, T. incerta, T.
munda and T.tjotJnca, on Feb. 27th. Rare species. — Mr. Tutt exhibited a
series of Cedfi^tia (i!/>isdi.itell(t, Dup., captured by Lord Walsingham and
Mr. Darrant at Merton on July 4th, 1896 ; specimens of Stei/a7iop-
ti/i'ha pi/ftinacana, Hb., captured by Mr. Diirrant, also at Merton, on
April i9th, 1896. Also a specimen of Caratemna tevebrdla, Zk., bred
by Mr. Diirrant on July 18th, 1896, from Cephalo)iica, at Merton.
Loc-\i. CoLEOPTERA. — Mr. Heasler exhibited his collection of Club-
horned Coleoptera, the latest additions being Myrmestis picem, taken in
a nest of Formica rufa, in the New Forest, and Rhiznpliarjus fernujineus,
captured in Richmond Park, under bark.

North London Natural History Society. — March 25th, 1897. — ■
Notes on breeding Peridroma saucia. — Mr. Prout bred series of
P. saucia from ova, laid by Sandown J s, on which he read the follow-
ing notes : — " The brood. No. 2, is a small batch bred last winter from
a $ of the aberration nifp-ocosta, Tutt. It will be observed that 13
out of the 24 show a tendency, more or less pronounced, to follow the
parent $ , though varying considerably inter se. In the palest two
or three this tendency only asserts itself through a darkening of the
thorax, and the extreme base of the costa, and through the dark filling-in
of the orbicular. The remaining 11 are of the normal red-costa form —
saucia, Hb. — yet not precisely the same as brood 1, appearing to
me to be of a rather more purpled red. Brood 1 is a representative
selection from a large batch, bred in the winter of 1895-6, from a
typical ? . Not one of a large number, bred by myself and friends
(some hundreds, I should think), inclined tow-ards the ab. ni<jrocusta,
not even to the extent of showing the dark orbicular. They were very
constant, on the whole, the only deviation from type being in the
direction of paling off towards whitish-grey. Neither of the broods
contains a single example of the ochreous or mottled form known as
ab. aequa, Hb., nor ab. nian/aritosa, Haw., and it will be interesting to
breed a series from a $ of one of these forms when opportunity offers."

Nonpareil Entomological and Natural History Society. — April
1st, 1897. — Brephos parthenias in Epping.— Specimens of both sexes
of B. parthenias, recently taken in Epping Forest, were exhibited by
Mr. Craft, sen., Mr. Craft, jun., and Mr. Harper. Mr. Lusby ex-
hibited a series of B. parthenias, taken in Epping in 1895 ; and on
comparison with those captured this year, a distinct inferiority in size
was noticeable. Recent captures. — Mr. Craft, sen., exhibited Larcntia
vmltistrigaria and Taeniocawpa pulveridenta, captured in Epping
Forest. Mr. Harper also exhibited Larentia multistriijaria, Anticlea
hadiata and Scopelosoma satellitia from the same locality ; whilst a very
fine, recently-bred series of T. miniosa was exhibited by Mr, Samson
from larvae obtained near Winchester last year. Mr. Stevens ex-
hibited Amplddasys strataria, both sexes, the S bred and the female
captured in Richmond Park.

Entomological Society of London. — April 7th, 1897. — Photo-
graph OF Brachycerus apterus. — Mr. McLachlan showed, on behalf
of Mr. Gerald Strickland, a magnified photograph of Ihrirhprerus

130 THE entomolocjist'.s uecord.

ajitrriis, obtained by direct enlargement in the camera, and extremely
clear in definition and detail. Silk of Tephrosia bistortata. — Mr.
Tutt exhibited some of the silk used by Tcphioxia bistortata to cover
its ova, and discovered by Dr. Riding. It was contained in a pouch
at the extremity of the abdomen, in the form of dense bundles about
2 mm. long, and resembling, in miniature, locks of wavy flaxen hair.
Hitherto all such coverings were supposed to consist of scales from the
anal segment.

Committee for the pkotection of insects in danger of extermi-
nation.— At the meeting of the Entomological Society of London,
held on the 7th instant, the following memorandum of association was
adopted and signed by the President, the Council, and many
members : — " We, the undersigned, being desirous of protecting from
extermination those rare and local species of insects which are not
injurious to agriculture, nor to manufactures, do hereby agree, by our
own example, and by the exercise of our influence over others, to
discourage the excessive collecting and destruction of those species of
insects which, from their peculiar habits or limited range, are in
danger of extermination in the United Kingdom. We further agree
to accept, for the purposes of this association, such lists of species in
need of protection as shall be drawn up, and from time to time, if
necessary, amended, by the committee of the Entomological Society
of London appointed to this end." A copy of this memorandum of
association has been forwarded for signature to such of those societies
which have expressed themselves as being in sympathy with the objects
of the committee. — C. G. Barrett, F.E.S., Hon. Sec, 39, Linden
Grove, Nunhead, S.E. April Idth, 1897.

:iS\EVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

On mechanical selection and other problems. By Karl Jordan,
Ph. D. [From Nuritate>i Zoologicac, Dec, 1896. — Quarto, 100pp.,
4 pL] . — This is a paper that every scientific entomologist must read.
It deals with the principles of " physiological selection," the accessory
organs of the reproductive system of lepidoptera, the value of the term
" species," etc., with special reference to the genus Pajrilio, and the
philosophical questions arising therefrom. The paper is carefully
worked out and closely reasoned, and the whole essay deserves the
careful study of all entomologists.

Practical hint on Apamea ophiugramma. — Now is the time for
larvfe of A. nplriofiranima. Here and there the striped grass shows a
drooping or faded leaf. Find the bottom of the infected shoot and pull,
avoiding pressure as much as possible. In the stem, generally head
upwards, lies the larva. It feeds only as far as the solid or semi-solid
part of the stem goes. When that is gone it leaves for another stem,
which it enters by making a large, irregular hole near the ground. —
(Rev.) C. R. N. Burrows. Ajirii 2itl,, 1897.

¥jimxT\.~ 'J'ili(ire<( aurdijo.— p. (il, line 1, for " Sept. 4th, 18U(J," read "Oct.
4th, 18i)0." Cirrlioedia xeraiiipeliiia.— ]}. (JO, line '2-5, for "Aug 4th, 1890," read
" Sept. 4th, 1890. - W. B.\RNEa, 7, New Uoad, Eeiuling.

p. 44, line 9 from bottom, for " Axpidiajnoi " read " Asiiiiliotits."' p sO, line
(), for " specimen" read " species. "

Vol. IX.

Plate III.

ThK DKVKLOI'MIO.NT OK THE WlXG, ^YI^•^;-SC•.\LES AND TIIEIK rUiMENTS IX
BUTTEKFLIEri AND MoTHS.

Kiitom. lli'i-ord, etc, ls'.(7

^-^ AND ^/ii^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 6. June 15th, 1897.

The development of the wing, wing=scales and their pigments
in Butterflies and Moths.*-' ^ Illustrated by Plate j.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

I.— The development of the wing and wing-scales. — A short
time since, we gave a brief account of the development of the Avings of
lepidoptera {Ent. liec, viii., p. 111). In it we stated that Verson had
found traces of wings in the embryo caterpillar of Bomhyx mori some
days before it leaves the egg, when the wing consists of a few cells in close
propinquity with a tracheal branch placed in the interior of the wall
of the body on the meso- and post-thoracic segments. Landois (1871)
and Pancritus (1884) discovered the rudimentary winglets in young
lepidopterous larvjc only 4min. long. At this time they appear as
infolded hypodermal pockets, penetrated by tracheae. When the larva
is full grown it is evident that the wing is really a folded portion of
the hypodermis {lidnn., PI. iii., fig. 1) itself, enclosing a thin layer of
mesodermal tissue {mbr. m., PI. iii., fig. 1). The conditions, however,
are complicated. The wing-pad proper is a pocket-like owrfolding of
the hypodermis, which is more or less folded upon itself. This
pocket, instead of lying exposed between the hypodermal covering of
the larva and its cuticula, is protected by being sunk into a deep sac-
like /((folding of the hypodermis, the walls of which are very much
thinner than those of the wing-pad, and, indeed, thinner than the rest
of the hypodermis. The walls of the infolded sac follow quite closely
the foldings of the wing-pad itself. In penetrating, from without
inward, one would traverse, in the region of the wing-pad, five layers
of the epidermis : (1) The outer and inner layers of the operculum-
like fold of the hypodermis which covers in the wing, then, in
succession, (2; the thick outer and inner layers of the wing-pad, and
(8) the thin inner layer of the infolded sac (Mayer).

The trachere ftr., PI. iii., fig. 1) penetrate between the two
thickened layers of the wing-pad, the outermost layer being destined
ultimately to form the upper wall of the future wing, the inner layer
becoming the lower wall. The cells which compose the wing-pads
are more crowded in the longitudinal direction than in the direction
across the wing. The cells forming the tissue at this time are spindle-
shaped hypodermal cells (PI. iii., fig. 2). When the larva changes

* A critical summary of a i^aper on " The development of the wing-scales and
their pigment in butterflies and moths," by Alfred Goldsborough Mayer [Published
at The Museum, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.].

132 THE entomologist's record.

into a pupa, the wings expand to about sixty times their former area,
and the cells, being no longer crowded, lose their spindle shape, and
flatten out into a pavement epithelium.

The chitinous outer cuticula {eta.') of the pupa encloses each wing
in a separate sheath (PL iii., fig. 3), exhibits a stratified condition,
and is deeply pigmented near its outer surface (PI. iii., fig. 4). A
delicate structureless membrane, known as the inner cuticula f eta.",
PI. iii., fig. 4), lies between the outer cuticula feta.' j and the hypo-
dermis (lidnii.i. At this stage each wing consists of a hollow bag,
the wall of which is composed of a single layer of liypodermal cells
f lidrm., figs. 3 and 4) which contain large oval nuclei, the latter ex-
hibiting chromatin granules arranged near the periphery. One now
finds a delicate membrane {)ii}>r. j»:, PL iii., fig. 4) lining the whole
interior of the wing-bags. This is the " grundmembran " of Semper
(1857), who showed that it was produced by mesenchymatous cells,
which applied themselves to the deep surf.ice of the hypodermis, and
sent out lateral processes, serving both to connect the cells with one
another and to give them a stellate form. These stellate cells secrete
an intercellular substance, filling up the interstices of the network
formed by them, and this substance, together with the metamorphosed
cells that produce it, finally become the thin structureless membrane
to which Semper gave the name " grundmembran." This membrane
is widely separated from the hypodermis as a whole, and the space
between them contains lymph corpuscles in large numbers (Mayer).
It appears to be probable that there are communications between the
sub-hypodermal spaces and the chief lumen of the wing. At rather
regular intervals the " grundmembran " of one wall becomes con-
tinuous with that of the other by means of hollow tubes {tb., PL iii.,
figs. 3 and 4), formed by the folding of the membrane itself. The
cavities of these tubes are direct continuations of the sub-hypodermal
spaces of the upper and lower walls of the sac. Leucocytes are fre-
quently found within the tubes. A slender thread-like prolongation
of the hypodermis cells {}»-c., PL iii., figs. 3, 4, 5) extends inward
from each cell of the hypodermis to the " grundmembran ;" each cell
gives rise to only one, and occasionally a cell is seen without any,
process. The wings at this stage are still little more than simple out-
pocketings of the general hypodermis of the chrysalis. In fact, in the
larva itself the general hypodermis of the body is lined on the inner
side by a thin membrane, coincident in relative position with the
" grundmembran " of the wings, and where this membrane is stretched,
as in PL iii., fig. 9, the hypodermal cells send out processes which are
connected with the membrane. This reminds us of the condition of
the processes {pre, PL iii., figs. 3 and 4) in the pupa.

The wings are filled with hnemolymph (blood), and this fluid con-
tains blood corpuscles of different shapes {leti\-y.,le%ivy.',leu\-ii.",V\.
iii., figs. 3 and 4), some of which are vacuolated {leu'nj.', PL iii., figs.
4 and 5) and appear to be corpuscles in the course of degeneration.
Mayer supposes that these are the fat cells of Semper.

About three weeks before the insect will emerge (a less period, of
course, in those species in which the pupal period is very short),
" certain of the hypodermic cells {cLfriii., PL iii., fig. 5), which occur
at regular intervals, begin to be modified. They begin to increase
slightly in size, to project a little above the level of thp ordinary hypo-

WING, WING-SCALES, AND THEIR PIGMENTS IN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 133

dermis cells, and, most remarkable of all, to acquire each a vacuole."
These modified cells are destined to give rise to the scales. They are
the formative cells of the scales, the " Bildungzellen " of Semper.
The evidence at present available tends to show that these scale-pro-
ducing cells are hypodermal, and not mesenchymatous cells, that they
are, in fact, modified hypodermal cells.

In the next stage the scale-producing cell (sq. j has already grown
outward as a blunt process, which bends distad or towards the outer
edge of the wing. The protoplasmic prolongations at the deep ends
of the formative cells have nearly all disappeared. There is usually
only one vacuole, occasionally there are two, in each of these cells
(PI. iii., fig. 12).

The pupal wing of Ai/lais urticae, three days after pupation, shows
a slight advance in development on the above. The formative cells
are quite large, and each contains several small vacuoles ; they no
longer exhibit any trace of protoplasmic processes.

At a slightly more developed stage (the pupa examined is that of
A. a)-cldppm) the formative cells have greatly increased in size, and
the vacuoles have entirely disappeared. The upward projections,
which are to form the scales, have grown outward to a much greater
extent than in the stage last described. The hypodermis is thrown
into a regular series of transverse ridges (across the nervures), each
ridge corresponding in position with a row of formative cells, and
each furrow wnth the interval between two adjacent rows. As a con-
sequence, the scales always project from the tops of these ridges. The
" grundmembran " does not partake in the folding, and the deep pro-
cesses of the hypodermal cells, that once extended to this membrane,
have now disappeared (PI. iii., fig. 13).

About eight days before the emergence of the imago of A. archippus,
the inner cuticular membrane, which previously lay almost in con-
tact with the hypodermal cells, has been pushed outward by the
development of the scales {vide., PI. iii., fig. 7). The growth of a
single scale at this period, separating the cuticular covering of the
pupa, is shown in PI. iii., fig. 6, where the scale s(j. is seen in con-
nection with the formative cell {cl.frm.) of the scales {vide., PI. iii.,
fig. 7). The protoplasmic processes which joined the hypodermis to
the "grundmembran" (/»ir. /)/•.) have disappeared, the latter being now
nothing more than a simple homogeneous structure, with the appear-
ance of a structureless membrane lying below the hypodermis (PI. iii.,
fig. 7). At this, and, still better, at a little later stage of develop-
ment, it is observed that the body of the large formative cells lies
below the level of the ordinary cells, and sends a protoplasmic process
upward to form the scale. This is well exhibited in PI. iii., fig. 6.
The scale at this stage is a minute flattened chitinous bag, filled with
protoplasm, and whilst the scales remain full of protoplasm, they
appear as transparent as glass, but when the protoplasm shrinks out
of them they become whitish.

The hypodermal cells, although no longer separated by well-defined
cell walls, are still well marked cut by the peculiar arrangement of the
finely granular contents of the cells. The hypodermis, too, has now
begun to secrete the chitinous cuticula of the wing membrane ; but it
is as yet very thin, becoming much thicker as the wings develop.
Each of the hypodermal cells, at this stage, gives rise to a new pro-

134 THE entomologist's record.

longation (fbr. Ji'dnti.) from its base, which, piercing the grundmem-
bran below it, traverses the himen of the wing, pierces the grund-
membran of the opposite side, and finally unites with the cuticula of
the opposite surface of the wing (fig. 8,/bi-. h'dnii.), and thus every
hypodermal cell becomes converted into a long, thin fibre, stretching
from the upper to the lower surface of the wing, and the similarity
of their appearance to muscular fibres suggests that they may be
contractile ; although Mayer believes that they, in time, become ten-
dinous cords, serving to hold the opposite membranes of the wing-
together during its great expansion, directly after the exclusion from the
chrysalis. Schaft'er thought that these fibres were merely the original
protoplasmic prolongations (such as are shown in PI. iii., fig. 5,
pre.) fused together, but he was quite unaware of the absorption of these
prolongations, and the subsequent development of the fibres uniting
the opposite membranes forming the wing.

In the scale itself, the protoplasm which fills the primitive scale
undergoes contraction, and becomes coarsely granular, and gradually
withdraws from the scale, leaving little chitinous pillars (elm., PI. iii.,
fig. 11) which bind the upper and lower surfaces of the scale together.
Mayer says that the protoplasm is entirely withdrawn, and that the
scales then become merely little flattened, hollow, chitinous sacs, con-
taining only air. Chapman, however, dissents entirely from this
view, and states that no air enters any of the scales until the pigment
is fully elaborated. We have ourselves noted that the scales, at this
so-called " white " stage, are very different in appearance from the
opaque whiteness which characterises actually white scales filled with
air, at the final stage of development. It appears that the scales,
at this stage, are not filled with air, but are filled with a clear secre-
tion from the ha^molymph, containing all the necessary materials for
going through the chemical changes which result in pigmentation.
The stria tions of the scale may be observed, at this stage, to be due to
a series of parallel longitudinal ridges on the upper surface (PI. iii.,
figs. 10-11), the under surface of the scale is pro\ided Avith but few, and
these ill-developed, ridges.

The next stage of development shows the wings of a yellow-ochre
colour, for the secretion from the hsemolymph, which fills the scales,
now begins to undergo the chemical changes, which result in pigmen-
tation. The formative cells now show great change, and the forma-
tion of the scales being completed, and there being no further use
for these cells in the economy of the insect, they undergo degenera-
tion. At this stage, certain scales (? androconia) situated either upon
the nervures or near the outer edges of the wing, have a leucocyte
enter them ; the pigmented scales contain no leucocyte.

The insertion of the scale into the wing membrane is brought
about by the filling of the narrow cylindrical stalk of the scale into a
minute close-fitting socket, which perforates the wing membrane
(PI. iii., fig. 10). It is not set into a tube, as Landois supposed, nor
did Mayer discover anything resembling the " Schuppenbalg" de-
scribed by Spuler, for the insertion of the scales.

The transverse folding of the wing membrane is very sharp, and the
latter is, in fact, thrown into a very regular series of closely compressed
folds {eta. al., PL iii., fig. 10), a single scale being inserted on the
crest of each fold. When the imago emerges from the chrysalis, the

Wing, wing-scales, and their pigments in butterflies and moths. 135

hfemolymph (blood), within the wings, is under considerable pressure,
and this would tend to enlarge the wing into an inflated bag ; but the
hypoderraal fibres (PI. iii., fig. 8), before described, hold the upper
and lower walls of the wings together, and the bag becomes a fiat,
instead of an inflated, one. In A. archippm, Mayer points out that
" the area of the wing of the imago is 8-6 times that of the pupa, ihe
wing of the newly-formed pupa has about 60 times the area of the
\v[n<r in the mature larva, so that it is evident that, m passing from
the larval state to maturity, the area of the wings increases more than
five hundred times."

(To be continued).

DESCRIPTION OF PLATE III.

Fi- l.-Loncritudinal section through the left hind-wing of the
mature larva of Pleris rapae. The plane of the section
is parallel to the frontal plane of the larva, i.e., perpen-
dicular to its dorso-ventral axis.

Fio- 2 —A portion of a cross-section of the larval wmg of P. rapae.

Fio' 3— Longitudinal section {i.e., with the trend of the nervures)
through the pupal wings of Samia cecropia. ihe sec-
tion is taken near the lower free edges of the pupal

wing cases. i i.- i„

Ficr i —Portion of a longitudinal section through the pupa cuticula

°' ■ and wing tissue of S. cecropia. Specimen killed m

January.

Ki^ 5 —Portion of a longitudinal section through one ot the young

puiml wings of a chrysalis of Eucanesm antiopa.
Ki„ 6 -Portion of a longitudinal section through a pupal wing ot

°" ■ Anoua archippm, about eight days before emergence.

FicT 7 —Portion of a longitudinal section through one of the pupal
"■ ■ wino-s of A. archippm, about eight days before emergence

Fio- 8 -Portion" of a longitudinal section through a pupal wmg ot

°' ' A. archippm, about five days before emergence.

Fio- 9 —Portion of a cross section through the mid-dors^il region ot
°" ■ a larva of P. rapae, taken just back ot the head, m the

place where the cuticula splits when moults occur.
Fi. 10— Portion of a cross section (i..'., perpendicular to the trend
"■ ■ of the nervures) through the pupal wmg of A. archippm,

about six days before emergence.

11 _View looking down upon the upper {i.e., exposed) surface of
one of the large scales situated upon the nervures of
A. archipims. Stage, about four days before emergence.

11a.— Leucocyte found within the scale represented by fag. 11,
about four days before emergence. „ i *

12 -Portion of a longitudinal section through one wall only o
the pupal whig of E. antiopa, slightly more developed

Fi-. 13.-PortioT ot^ a'' longitudinal section (/..., parallel with the
trend of the nervures) through the pupal wmg ot Awma
archippm, about eight or nine days before emergence.

Fit

Fio-

a.

anterior.

leu'

:>j".

cl. trill.

formative cells of the scales.

elm.

chitinous pillars found in
scales.

mbr

. ha.

eta.

outer chitinous cuticula of
the larva.

mbr

. III.

eta'.

outer chitinous cuticula of

mbi

.pi:

eta".

the pupa,
inner cuticula membrane of

nl.

ctn. al.

pupa.
wing membrane.

P-

fhr. h\lrm

hypodermal fibres of pupal

wings.

pre.

Ji'drm.
leii'cij.
leiCrij'.

hypodermis.
leucocytes.

vacuolated leucocytes, as
found in the very young

sq.
th.

pupa.

tr.

l36 THE entomologist's RECOf.D.

ABBREVL\TIONS USED IN PLATE III.

elongated spindle-shaped
leucocytes.

basement membrane of the
larval hypodermis.

middle membrane of the
larval wings.

Grundmembran of Semper.

nuclei of the stellate cells
that secrete the Grund-
membran.

posterior.

processes of young hypo-
dermis cells.

scale.

tubes prodnced from the
newly - formed Grund-
membran.

trachea.

On Lepidopterous larvae.

By HAERISON G. DYAR, Ph.D.

Mr. Tutt has requested me to point out briefly the characters of
Lepidopterous larvte that are the most valuable in their classification.
I have found these to consist in the positions of the tubercles or warts
from which the hairs arise, not so much in the ultimate structure of
the hairs, humps, horns, or other modifications. Considering only
the abdominal segments, there are in the simplest and lowest condi-
tion, five hairs on each side, each arising from a simple tubercle.
These are the five primary setje — i. or anterior trapezoidal, ii. or
posterior trapezoidal, iii. or supra-spiracular, iv. or posterior sub-
spiracular, and v. or anterior sub-spiracular. There is also a tubercle
on the base of the leg (vii.) which bears more than one hair, and a
single-haired one (viii.) on the inner side of the leg. This condition
may be found in the newly-hatched larvae of some species of all
families of the Lepidoptera, and also in the Mecoptera. In certain
groups there is further a tubercle (vi.), situated above the base of the
leg, which may appear after the first change of skin. I have called
this a sub-primary tubercle. All these tubercles may become many
haired (warts), or there may be developed more or less numerous hairs
from other parts of the surface of the body (secondary).

The sub-order Frenat.i: (Comstock) divides into five great groups : —
I. — Butterflic'^.— In the first stage the primitive five setse are found.
Tubercles iv. and v. are in line, or iv. is moved upward somewhat behind
the spiracle. The principal characteristic of the group is that, after
the first stage, all the modifications of armature, hairs, etc., are
secondary, not corresponding exactly with the location of the primary
setae. II. — Sphimjids. — In this group the first stage shows the
primitive set«, but v. is very regularly moved up before the spiracle.
After the first stage, the setje are obscured by fine secondary hairs or
granules, somewhat as in the butterflies. III. - Soturnian.^. — In this
and the following groups, the mature structures are developed from
the primary tubercles, only in rare cases obscured by secondary hairs,
and even in these cases the original tubercles have a persistent cha-
racter, as shown by their appearance in earlier stages than the

ON LEPIDOPTEROUS LARV^. 137

secondary ones. The Saturnians are further characterised by the
union of sette iv. and v., below the spiracle, into a single tubercle,
and the absence of the sub-primary tubercle vi. IV. — Bombycids. —
Tubercles iv, and v. are remote, audi v. is moved up behind the spiracle,
becoming the post-spiracular tubercle. Tubercle vi. is present. The
group, as here defined, comprises the Bombycids, Noctuids and
Geometrids. V. — Tineiih. — As in the Bombycids, except that
tubercle iv. is not moved up, being in line with v. or else united with
it. The group includes Tineids, Tortricids, Pyralids, and a few
small families, such as Cossidae, Limacodidae, Zygaenidae, Sesiidae and
PsycJddae.

The sub-order, Jugate, needs further study. It comprises Hepialus
and Micropteryx. The larvae seem to be characterised by simple setaB,
tubercle vi. absent, or replaced by a different set of sub-primary hairs,
iv. and v. remote ; but not enough material has been examined as yet.
Careful descriptions of all stages of the larvfe of these genera are
needed, with special reference to the number and positions of the hairs.
The family Thyridac has not yet been placed from larval characters.

For further details the following papers may be consulted : —
Miiller, Zooloqische JahrbiicJier, 1886, p. 417 ; Dyar, Annals Neir York
Acad. ScL, viii., 194 (1894) ; Tram. N. Y. Acad. ScL, xiv., 49 (1895) ;
Journ. N. Y. Ent. Soc, iii., 17; American Naturalist, 1895, p. 1066 ;
Proceedings Boston Soc, Nat. History, xxvii., 127 (1896).

Double=brooded Lepidoptera in 1896.

By E. F. STUDD, M.A., B.C.L., F.E.S.

During the season of 1896 I noted second, or unusually protracted
single broods, of the following insects. There were, of course, many
other common insects, normally second-brooded, which I did not con-
sider worth noting at the time, and which I will not therefore include,
not having their exact dates : —

Cyaniris aryialm. — Oi this there was a fairly numerous first brood,
which appeared about a fortnight later than usual, and a very nume-
rous second brood, which I first noticed on July 5th. On July 12th
and 13th, I saw a large number of $ s flying low over the gorse, and
constantly settling on it, as if seeking a place to oviposit. Do they
ever do this on gorse ? I could not find any ova, but then gorse is a
very difficult and unpleasant plant to search. They seemed to have
quite deserted the hollies, totally unlike the first brood, which kept
high up among them, and rarely came within reach. I saw far more
$ s than <? s of the second brood.

Drepanafalcataria and D. hinaria were taken in May, and again in
August.

Leucania littoralis. — Of this insect I took several specimens, quite
fresh, on Dawlish Warren, on August 25th. It was suggested, I
think by the Rev. E. C. Dobree Fox who had taken it at Tenby in
June, that these would be insects of a second brood, and, judging
from their condition, I should say he is right. L. /^aZZfHs.— Newman
and Stainton give June to August for this. I took it here in pro-
fusion at the end of August and in September. They had undoubtedly
only just emerged, for they were in the finest condition, and it is an

l38 TflE KNTOBIOLOGIST*S RECORD.

insect which soon gets worn ; but whether they were members of a
second brood, or only late members of a single brood, I cannot say
for certain, not having bred it. I find, however, that I took the
insects on May 24th, and in June, and it seems to me a long period
over which emergences of a single brood may be spread. I find that in
1895 also I took it quite fresh on September 19th, and this seems to
be the usual thing here. 1 ;-.houl(l think these September insects are
the product of the May and June ones, especially as I find I have no
record for it in July or earlier in August than a single specimen on
the 7th, in 189G. Habiospila trijiartita. — On May 25th and August
25th. F/ddi/ojiItora wetirulosa. — In April and September. Airiitiaflc.rida.
— June 18th to August 4th. I h/pma probosciilalis was out early in
June, and quite fresh till end of September. I should think there must
have been two broods. Klh)pla jnosaiiiaria. — Newman gives the date
of this as " about midsummer," and Stainton, end of June and July.
It was out here from May 28th to July 7th, and appeared again, an
undoubted second brood, in September. Selenia bilunaria. - The first
brood appeared on March 12th, and a numerous second brood in
August. Cli'ura Uc/icnaria. — Appeared in May, and was taken, on and
off, till August 18th. Whether there Avas more than one brood I
cannot say, but the August ones were quite fresh. Then, again, a
perfectly fresh J was taken on October 8rd. I suppose the May and
June insects were precocious emergences from the ordinary July
brood, and a few of their larvae produced a small brood in October, or
the latter end of September. Uoannia i/i'iiniiaria.— 3nne 6th to August
19th. Tc'jilirosia bistortafa. A very numerous and early second brood
occurring from June 19th to middle of August. Zonosoma jiorata and
Z. linearia. - In May, and a second brood in August and September.
Acidalia mari/inepiautata.—l took a few on August 13th and 25th, but
cannot say whether they were a second brood or not. I see Newman
and Stainton give June and July, but in such an early season, pro-
bably, it was out by May, and would hardly have lasted till August
quite fresh. J. /;»(7rt;/rt. — Newman gives August 14th only as date
of a bred one. Stainton, July and early in August. I took it at the
end of May, in June (12th, 15th and 30th), in July (13th and 15th),
in August (5th and 13th), and September 3rd. I think there must
have been two broods, undoubtedly, as the late ones were quite fresh,
and it is an insect which wears directly. J. arermta. — In June and
September. Macaria liturata. — Newman and Stainton give July. It
occurred here in May, and again, probably a second brood, on August
19th and September 5th. Aspilah's oc/trraria. — Occurred in May, and
a second brood in August and September. Laroitia viridaria. — New-
man gives " throughout June and part of July;" Stainton, "June and
July." It appeared here at end of May and in June, and again on
September 8th. I find, on reference to previous years, that this
insect normally appears here in June, and again at end of August and
in September ((\//., September IGth, 19th, 20th, 1K95). Knimdcfiia
ajfinitata, K. airliniiillata and K. dccohirata. — These were all out from
first week of ]\Iay to middle of July, and K. aiJUiitata occurred again
quite fresh in August (('.//., 12th). Enpitltccia nanata. — Newman and
Stainton give May. Here it is normally double-brooded, appearing
from middle or end of April to middle of June,, and again in August
{e.g., August 28th, 1894, August 8th, 1896), E. pumilata. — I cannot

bOtJBLE-BROODEt) LfiflDOPTKRA. 130

say how many broods of this there may have been, but I took it fresh
in April, May, Jmie, July, August, September, without any break,
and full-fed larvfe on August 11th. K. coronata. — May 13th and July
19th. Lohophora viretata was very numerous in May and early June,
and a second brood appeared in August (1st, 13th, 1-ith, 18th). New-
man and Stainton only give May and June. Tlwra rariata. — In May
(5th) and early June, and again in September and October (September
i7th, October 4th). This is the normal thing here. Newman says,
" during the summer months," and Stainton gives June to September,
as if there was only a single brood. I do not appear, however, ever
to have taken it in July or August, and I should suppose it is regu-
larly double-brooded, in spring and autumn. Stainton seems to
imply this when giving the time of appearance of larva as March to
May and July. Hi/psipctes trifaseiata. — Newman says : " May, and,
according to Guenee, also in July and August." Stainton gives May
only. I can confirm Guenee, having taken it last year on July 11th,
fresh as bred. Mdanthia ocellata. — Newman gives June ; Stainton,
June and July. I got it here in May (6th) and early June, and again
in August and September (August 18th, September 6th). I find, on
referring, that I ordinarily get it here twice a year, in these months-
very rarely in July (July 21st, 1891). M. nuciata. — Earlier than
usual — April and May (April 17th, May 5th, and again towards end
of June. M. (/aliata. — Newman gives June ; Stainton, June and
July. It appeared here in May (11th), and again in August and Sep-
tember (August 16th, September 6th). Coremia desii/nata. -In May
and August last. 0. feriKi/ata and C. unidentaria. — I am unable
to distinguish red C. unideiitaria from G. ferriujata, so call all red
specimens "fcrnu/ata,'' and all dark ones " unidentaria." The red
occurred in April (20th) and July (14th), the dark in May (2nd)
and June (10th), and again in August (8th). Cidaria tnincata. — In
May (6th) and June, and again in August (6th) to October (9th). C.
silaccata. — In May (6th) and July (9th), and August (6th). Euholia
plumharia. — From May (6th) till August (2nd). Mesotype vivfiata. —
Newman gives May and June ; Stainton, May to July. On Dawlish
Warren, near here, it is always to be got in August, I should suppose
a second brood, as they are quite fresh. I got it last year on May 7th,
and August 7th and 25th. Anaith plcujiata. — Newman gives the
times of appearance correctly as May, and August and September ; but
Stainton gives June to August, as if there was only one brood appear-
ing in June, July and August, which is very misleading. The latest
date I can find in my notes for first brood is June 7th (1890), and
the earliest for the second is July 27th (1893). These are the
only records I have for June or July. Scoparia iiwrcnrella. — June
(12th), and August (6th), and September (8th). Dictyopteryx loeflin-
ijiana. — On and off, from June 3rd to September 17th. Tinea sevii/ul-
vella. — Stainton only gives June. Here this insect is normally
double-brooded, occurring in May and June (the latest entry I have,
June 19th, 1895), and in August and September (earliest entry August
8th, 1894). It occurred freely from May 5th to 29th, and again in
September (7th and 15th). Liracilaria alc/niiiiella. — In May (7th) and
August (10th).

In the above notes I have ventured to correct what appear to me
to be inaccuracies in Newman and Stainton. Possibly many of these

140 THE entomologist's RECORb.

may have been noted in the magazines ah*eady. If so, I must apolo-
gise for the repetition, owing to my ignorance. As against these
second broods I noticed none of Drepana cultraria, Selenia lunaria or
S. tc'tmlunaria, which are said to be double-brooded. Of D. cultraria
and <S. lunaria there were unusually numerous first broods. I have
never myself come across the second of either, (The same remark,
however, applies to D. falcataria and D. bi)iaria until last year.)
Of S. U'tralunaria there was a very numerous second brood in 1894,
but I have not come across any second brood of it since. I got a
few first brood specimens in March, 1896.

Contributions to the fauna of the Dauphine Alps.

VI. — Description of a Gelechiad new to science.
By the Rt. Hon. LORD WALSINGHAM, M.A., L.L.D., F.R.S., etc.

TINEINA. — Gelechiad^. — Megacraspedus, Z. — Megacraspedus
tutti, Wlsm. sp. n. — Antennai' minutely biserrate ; mouse-grey.
Palpi : apical joint erect, slender, naked ; second joint thickly clothed
with a long projecting tuft, reaching more than the length of the
apical joint beyond its base ; pale cinereous, shaded with mouse-grey
externally. Head whitish cinereous. Thorax mouse-grey, some-
what paler in front. Fore-irinr/s elongate, narrowly lanceolate ;
mouse-grey, with very faint indications of paler lines following the
neuration — these are scarcely distinguishable except along the upper
margin of the cell ; costa narrowly whitish from the base to the
middle of the costal cilia; cilia brownish cinereous. K.vp. al. 18 mm.
Ilind-winiis pale-grey; cilia brownish cinereous. Abdomen dark
brownish-grey. Z^tv/.s pale cinereous ; hind tibiae hairy.

Tiipe, S Mus. Wlsm.

tiab., France - Dauphine— La Grave, 5,000 ft. VIII. 1896.
(J. W. Tutt — two specimens).

With the exception of exnletellus, Ersch., from Turkestan, I am
fortunate in possessing specimens of all the described species of this
genus, and I have no hesitation in recognising this species as quite
distinct from any of them. It is decidedly darker in colour than
dolnsellus, Z., to which it appears to be nearly allied, although the
wings are somewhat longer in proportion to their breadth, and the
pale lines which forcibly remind one of the genus Culeophora, Hb.,
are in this species almost obsolete, whereas in good specimens of
doloaellm they are plainly visible. In shape it agrees more nearly
with mbdoUihis, Stgr., from Andalusia, which is, however, much
paler ; and, indeed, none of the known species of the genus possess
the dull mouse-grey colouring, which resembles more nearly that of
Paltodora striatella (Schiff.), Hb., but with perhaps an even fainter
admixture of brown.
VII. — The moths of Bourg d'Oisans. — Is Emydia Candida co-specific

with E. CRIBRUM ? LlTHOSIA LUTARELLA AND ITS VAR. PYGM,E0LA

— Dianthcecia capsophila IN Dauphin^ — Dark aberrations of
Bryophila perla.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E S.

The moths of Bourg d'Oisans were particularly interesting from

the British point of view, so many species that are extremely localised

in Britain being here found, as it were, also in a very restricted area.

There was nothing startling, although one felt that a fortnight or

CdNtRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHIN^ ALi>S. 141

three weeks earlier would have produced better results. Still, the
number of species was large and, in themselves, not uninteresting.

Sphingides. — Ma':n}(/losHa stcllatanun. — Evidently just emerging, a
few specimens were captured, apparently just out of pupa. They
affected flowers, not walls.

Saturniides. — iSatuniia pijri. — A few larvffi were brought into
the hotel, in the yellow stage (just preceding pupation), and mostly
injured. They were, from their colour, evidently the victims of acci-
dent, whilst in search of a pupating place.

Lasiocampides. — Cliniocampa neustria. — The males of a pale yellow
or buff form came up freely to light one evening. A specimen
of (jrastroparha quercifoUa (?) came also on the same evening.

Cheloniides. — CalUmorpha hera. — This species was not really
common, although specimens were met with here, there and every-
where. They were in fine condition, and, as usual, hanging on
flowers, from which they started off swiftly when disturbed. All the
specimens were of the red form, neither ab. lutescins nor ab. saturnina
putting in an appearance. Neiiieophila nissula. — A few male specimens
were disturbed. These were evidently freshly emerged, but in such
small numbers, that we suspect this second brood is only very partial
as to numbers, although very general as to appearance in this dis-
trict at low elevations. Eulepia cribrwn ab. Candida.— We are begin-
ning to doubt whether Candida really is co-specific with E. cribrum.
It has a wide range in Dauphine and Piedmont, and appears to exist
from an altitude of 2,500 to 6,000 ft. Only two or three specimens
Avere captured here. Lithosia lutarella var. pygmaeula. — We are asto-
nished to see {Brit. Ta'p.) that Mr. Barrett is one of those who doubts
the specific identity of these insects. We are not aware whether
he has ever seen either or both forms alive. At Bourg d'Oisans this
species came to light, to the hotel windows. All the specimens were
quite typical pi/(j)naeola, except one, and might have been captured on
the Deal sand-hills ; the one exception was a very good intermediate
between the golden lutarella, from the higher Alpine regions, and the
pale var. pijipnacola. This capture of the type at Bourg d'Aru and
in the lower part of the Cogne Valley, fixes the range of the type at
above 4,000 ft. elevation. The species flew by day, and also came
to light at night. Lithosia complana. — Not uncommon on flowers by
day, also came to light. The specimens are exceedingly pale grey,
with the costa very pale yellow ; in one (ab. pallida, nov. ab.) the
specimen is of such a pale grey ground-colour, and the costal streak
so nearly white, that one might easily suspect the specimen to be
L. caniula. These are very different from the Tyrolean (Mendel
Pass) specimens, which have very dark fore-wings, but have none
of the dark shading that characterise our " Moss " var. sericea.
Lithosia lurideola. — Almost typical, although a little pale. This also
was found on the flowers by day, and came to light. L. unita ab.
flaveola. — Two specimens appear to be referable to this form, as
diagnosed by Staudinger : " al. ant. flavis, al. post, unicolor." Stau-
dinger records this aberration from " Spain and Hungary." We
have also taken it in the neighbourhood of Aosta, so that France and
Italy must be added to the distribution of this form. Naclia ancilla. —
One specimen only came to light. We did not, therefore, learn any-
thing beyond this of the habits of this little species.

142 tflfc entomologist's record.

LiPARiDES. — PortJif'tria dispar. — The males were flying in the
greatest profusion in the hot sunshine, in one steep gully, at a short
distance from the hotel. They were also pretty generally distributed
wherever the trees were a little thick. Many examples came to light,
all males. The specimens captured here, as at Bourg d'Aru and
Aix-les-Bains, were very small, and quite difierent from the huge
Grenoble examples.

NocTuroEs.— //rt'/('/?rt ilissiiiiilis ab. w-latinuin. — One very fine speci-
men of this dark aberration came to light. Evidently there is a
partial second brood of this species, as with us. DiantliDevia capso-
pJdla.—A worn, rather brownish, but unmistakeable specimen of this
species, captured by day in a lucerne field. Hadcna tri/olii {cheno-
podii). — One specimen only, disturbed in a lucerne field during the
day. Hadcna rubrircna. — One fine specimen, at light. Apamea late-
ritia. — One specimen, at light ; rather grey in colour. Caradrina
tara.raci. —One worn specimen, also disturbed on the borders of a
lucerne field, by day. Xoctna jdtrta. — One specimen, evidently of
second brood, captured at light. Ai/rojihila tral/ealis. — Not uncommon,
on a piece of ground overgrown with grass and wild flowers. Its
short, jerky flight, when disturbed, was unmistakeable ; but we
were surprised to find it so restricted here. The specimens were
much darker than our Suffolk examples. Helinthis dipsaccus. — A
few specimens only captured, flying by day, in the lucerne fields.
This insect is regularly double-brooded in the Paris environs,
the second brood occurring in early August, at Bagneux, so that,
although the Bourg specimens were in good condition, probably the
bulk of the emergence was over. Brijophila peiia ab. svfum. — A
most interesting form, darker than anything we had seen before, with
the exception of a specimen or two from the Mendel Pass, in which,
however, the dark coloration was mixed with orange. We could
not find the walls they frequented, or at any rate, we could not find
the moths on the walls ; perhaps they were too well protected. Those
captured were attracted by the light.

Deltoides. — Hi/pena crinalix.— One specimen only, and that worn.

Nycteolides. —Sarrothripa undulanus (rcrai/ana). —Two forms were
captured, at light : (1) Dark grey, almost unicolorous, the basal and
costal spots reddish, and only faintly marked. (2) Pale grey, with
dark, conspicuous basal and costal markings.

(To be continued.)

Are Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) and T. crepusciilaria
(biundularia) distinct species?

By WILLIAM HEWETT.

(Continued from p. 109).

In the discussion already alluded to (Ibid., p. 805', Mr. Tutt refers
to the Tephrosia from Perth, as being specifically identical with the
southern T. bistortata, and says : — " It seems to me remarkable, and
worthy of notice, that so far north, where T. bistortata is single-
brooded, '•* a small percentage of the progeny apparently assumes the

• Mr. Tutt has since bred the Perth insect, and has obtained second-brood
specimens. — Ed.

T. 13IST0RTATA (cREPUSCCT.ARIA) AND T. CREPUSCULARIA (bIUNDULARIa). 143

size and superficial resemblance of our southern July brood {i.e.,
ab. comonaria, St.)." I think Mr. Tutt is in error in referring
those Perth specimens to T. hisU>rtata,-\ for the following reasons : —
(1) The date of emergence, which is that of T. crcjiuscularia [hiiuuhi-
laria). The earliest dates on which this form has been noticed are
April 28th (Lawson), April 10th (Bush), April 28th (Wylie). Mr.
Lawson states the species to be in its prime from May 5th to 10th ;
Mr. Wylie, from May 4th to 10th. These datesj, in my opinion,
establish beyond a doubt the identity of the species with T. creptiscu-
laria. (2) I consider them to be T. orpusnilaria, because the Perth
insect is always single-brooded, a striking characteristic of this species,
and one that rarely occurs with T. hi.stortata, which is generally
double-brooded in the localities where it occurs.

At my request, Messrs. Kane and Eiding have very kindly given
me their views as to the Perth specimens, I having previously sub-
mitted specimens for their examination. Mr. Kane says: — " As to
the Perth forms, I find myself much perplexed. The two submitted
agree with many of the ordinary forms of T. hi.stortata.^' Dr. Riding
writes : — " For those who hold, as I am inclined (from the Perth
specimens I have seen), that the Perth insect is T. bistortata, there
seems no other explanation than that the latter must have spread
themselves as far as Perth, where they found a suitable environment,
whilst those in the gap between Perth and their southern habitats
lost their foot-hold, owing to subsequent changes and unsuitability.
To my mind it is much more reasonably accounted for by considering
T. hiatortata to be the original stock, and the Perth forms a reversion,
under local conditions, from the northern T. crejmscularia, formerly a
variety of -Z'. bistortata, but now established as a separate species."

Having now reviewed, although briefly, the principal points of
interest in the discussion carried on in the Entom., 188G, I will now
refer to the material collected from the 58 British lepidopterists, in
answer to questions which I asked, and which were printed in the
Entom. Record, viii., pp. 236-237. To mention all these gentlemen by
name would be superfluous, and the material has assumed such
gigantic proportions, that I can only comment upon the most
important points.

The first of these refers to Mr. Arkle's belief that there are two
broods of T. crepuscidaria, " at least in some seasons," in Delamere
Forest, where, it would appear, only the ab. delaiiifreiisis occuvh. I do
not agree with him in thinking that the dates furnished by him,
vis., April 20th to June 13th, prove the existence of two broods,
but am convinced that they are only examples of protracted emergence.
Mr. Arkle's dates agree with mine for the appearance of the York
specimens, viz., April 4th to June 13th, and here there is certainly

+ These are nearer to the Continental type of 2'. hixtortata than any other
British specimens. Our ordinary ochreous southern form = ab. ahietaria. Haw.
We are pleased to see that Messrs. Kane and Eiding came to, what we consider,
a correct conclusion on two specimens. — Ed.

t Surely these dates suggest exactly the opposite. Mr. Young (see footnote
p. 108) gives " from the middle of May to June 10th," as the best time for
T. crepuscularia in York. Perth is 2^^' farther north, and the localities for
T. bistortata are distinctly Alpine. The larch woods of Kinnoull Hill and
Kinfaun are at a considerable elevation, and Burnham Hill (15^ miles north
of Perth) has an elevation of 1,324 ft. — Ep.

144 THE entomologist's record.

only one brood. The dates given by Mr. Young — end of March to
July 29th — are certainly somewhat of a poser, but these dates are,
undoubtedly, for very early and very late seasons, and are not normal.
Mr. Young states that there is no interval in the emergence, and that
he believes, as the result of long experience, that there is only one
brood, and this is my own opinion. Mr. Kane asserts, without
hesitation, that the Irish specimens, which emerge from April to June,
are all to be referred to one brood.

A distinct interval between the emergence of the first brood of
T. histortata and T. crcpim-ulaiia is mentioned by Mr. Porritt. This
does not, in reality, seem to exist, as my notes prove. Mrs. Bazett's
second brood (wild) of T. rirjinscularia {hiundularia) is possibly
referable to T. bistortata, with which the specimens seem to correspond.
Mr. Fenn states that the two species occur at different times of the
year. This statement is only partially correct, as several gentlemen
record their occurrence together, and will not dispose of the cross-
breeding. Mr. Fenn asks whether it is possible that there can be two
forms or races of one insect appearing in the same district, one of
which is in the larval state and nearly full-fed, whilst the other is on
the wing. Mr. Tutt states, in a letter dated April 19th, 1896 :— " It
would appear that the discussion ten years ago, in the Entomohxiht,
landed us about as far as we are likely to get. Evidently it (bistortata)
is a species still in process of development." Mr. C. G. Barrett,
writing on April 17th, 1896, says : — " I thought that the subject was
about thrashed out."

Now, having gone through the whole of the controversy, I fail to
find anything that would warrant such an assumption as that made
by Mr. Barrett. Indeed, I am convinced that most of you will agree
with me, that the controversy, and subsequent remarks thereon by
Messrs. Barrett and Briggs, only made the confusion worse confounded.
That Mr. Tutt thinks that there was more to be said is proved
by his " Critical resume of the arguments for and against T. biator-
tata and 2\ nriiuscularia being considered distinct species," the
published part of which I have read with much interest, whilst all
lepidopterists owe a deep debt of gratitude to Mr. Prout for the
masterly manner in which he has dealt with the intricacies of the
synonymy of these two species (Jvnt. Ecc, viii., pp. 76-81).

With regard to the variability of both species, Mr. Adkin says that
" both are variable." Mr. Lawson says the Perth specimens " vary
little, but females are lighter than males." Mr. Bush states that the
Perth specimens " vary considerably," and Mr. Wylie says that the
"males are generally darker than the females, and vary much."
Mr. Kane says that " the Irish specimens do not vary much, except
in size." A peculiar banded form is taken by Mr. Mason, of Clevedon,
and is only recorded from that locality. Messrs. Mason, Prout and
A. Jones say that T. bistortata varies the more, whilst Messrs. Nesbit
and Fenn say that 7'. crcjmsmlaria (biundidaria) varies the more.
(To be amtiniied).

Notes on the Cocoon and Pupa of Saturnia pyri.

By A. BACOT.
CocooN AND PUPA OF Saturnia PYRI. — A larva of .*?. /'//'■') which I
received from Mr. Tutt, spun up among the twigs of its food-plant,

NOTES OH THE COCOON AND PUPA OF SATURNIA PYRI. 145

but a second cocoon given to me by Mr. Tutt was attached to a piece of
crumpled paper. This cocoon was 2^ inches long, and of a deep
brown colour, very similar in shape and construction to that of
SatKrnia pavonia, except that it is longer, narrower, and has not so
pronounced a neck as the latter. It is composed of very hard and
tough silk, which cuts like thin horn. The outer surface is rough,
covered with a thin coating of stout, wiry silk threads. The interior
has a smooth glazed surface, two separate coats of the viscous silk
having apparently been used in its construction. This can be best
seen by opening the cocoon lengthwise. The opening, like that of
S. panmia, is constructed on a similar principle to that of a crab
or lobster foot, with the exception that it prevents ingress and
not egress. In the cocoon of S. pi/ri this trap is double, a dis-
tance of about i of an inch separating the outer from the inner.
The cocoon of S. paconia also has remnants of an outer trap,
but it is imperfect, being little more than an opening with ragged
edges, while the inner is even more perfect than that of S. pi/ri.
The PUPA is that of a <? ; it is a shade less than 1^ in. in length,
and about | in. in width, across the 4th abdominal segment, just at
the end of the wing cases. Colour. — The 4th to the 8th abdominal
segments, also the wing-, antenna- and leg-cases, and ventral surface
of the head, are deep red. The thorax, dorsal head-piece and dorsal
portion of all the segments to the 3rd and upper portion of 4th abdo-
minal segments, are deep brown — almost black; the thorax, and two
small plates on either side, being rather lighter (redder) than the other
parts. The antenna-cases are very wide and large, showing the line
of the central shaft and lateral pectinations clearly. The .ytiradcs are
large and very dark. The abdominal sct/wentfi, 5, 6, 7 and 8, are well
marked (incisions deep), but compressed ventrally. The surface is
rough, and has a dead appearance (no polish), the incisions having a
slight bloom on them. Traces of the sexual on/ans can be easily seen,
but, on account of the compressions of the anal segments ventrally, it
would be difficult to say of which sex the pupa is, without the antenna
as a guide. The ventral surface of the 10th abdominal is very rough,
and, at its extremity, slightly hollowed on the dorsal surface. It is
slightly extended, forming a low double creiiiaster with a few short
scythe-shaped spines on it. In this last feature it resembles the pupa
of S. pavonia, except that, in the latter, the ventral hollow and cre-
master are developed to a far greater extent. It, however, differs
greatly in shape from the pupa of S. paconia, which is much flattened
out laterally, curved ventrally, and tapers rapidly towards the head
and anus. The pupa of 8. pyri is, in shape, almost, if not quite, cylin-
drical, tapers only very slightly to the shoulders (base of wings), and
then abruptly to head, forming a blunt front. It tapers more evenly
towards anus, which is rather blunt, and does not curve up ventrally
as the pupa of S. pavonia does, though the segments are somewhat
compressed ventrally. The pupa of S. pyri is not unlike that of
Smerinthus tiliae in shape, only rather wider in regard to its length,
and, of course, differing at head and anus. In general shape and
appearance, omitting the antenna-cases, it tends rather towards the
Smerinthid than the Saturniid shape, as typified by S. pavonia. Some
pupa-cases of a large South African Saturniid moth, that I have
received, are very similar in shape to the pupa of *S', pyri, with the

146 THE entomologist's record.

exception that the abdominal segments 5, 6, 7 and 8 are ridged at the
lower edge, and the cremaster is reduced to a blunt point, with very
stout pyramid-shaped projections on it. In fact, the cremasters of this
species,*' S. pijri, and A'ndroinis versicolor, form a very good series of
connecting links between the anal spike of the Sphinx pupa and the
bristly cremaster of S. paconia. The order will be as follows : S.
jiaronia, S. pyri, E. versicolor, the South African Saturniid and the
Hawk moths, e.(i., Smerintkm or Acherontia.

* I have been unable to name this species yet. It does not appear to be in the
National Collection.

:iaOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARYiE, &c.

Description of eggs of Lepidoptera. — Dianthoecia hiteaf/o var.
bar ret t a. — The ovum is of a honey-yellow colour when freshly laid,
globular, but somewhat flattened equatorially in shape, and the
micropylar area slightly depressed, which disappeared as the embryo
developed. Under a low power, they exhibited minute pittings,
diverging in rows from the apex. The larvae were discernible within
the transparent pellicle in eleven days, fully developed, and emerged
next day.

Stilbia anomala. — The ovum globular, viewed from above ; from
the side, the base is flattened, and the apex bluntly conical. Orange
in colour, and strongly ribbed, the ribs radiating from the apex.—
W. F. de V. Kane, M.A., F.E.S.. Drumreaske House, Monaghan.

Neuronia popularix. — A 5 taken at light on evening of Hept. 6th,
1896, deposited a few ova, singly, in collecting box. When fresh
they were of a pearly straw colour, subsequently (? on formation of
larva) turning leaden, which colour they were to the naked eye, with
a darker spot in centre, when described. Under a lens the shells
were seen to be transparent, and the larvae could plainly be seen inside,
fully formed, ready for hatching, being of a metallic green colour, and
thus giving the eggs an iridescent appearance. In shape, like an
apple or an orange, from which about ^ of the height has been cut off
at the bottom, forming a slightly concave base, and which (the
orange) has been pressed down from above to form the micropylar
depression, thus causing the circumference to bulge (? = depressed
sphere). The height about equals, and, in some instances, slightly
exceeds, the diameter of the base. Thickly ribbed longitudinally from
the centre of the micropylar depression to and into the concave base,
the ribs and interspaces being of about equal width. [The description
was made on March 9th, 1897] .— E. F. C. Studd, M.A., F.E.S.

L'atocala nupta. — Eggs laid on the flat surface of the box, slightly
imbricate. The base is flattened, and the egg forms a very depressed
cone in shape, the apex (the micropylar area) being flattened. The
colour of the Qgg is pale creamy-grey, with dark purplish markings
(due to embryo within). There are about 36 slender prominent
vertical ribs, very shining and silvery on the ridges, uniting in twos
or threes (although some remain single) on the shoulder of the egg,
so that about 15 or 16 run on to the micropylar area. The micropyle
is conspicuous, stellate, somewhat rosette-like in appearance, formed
of irregular, quadrilateral cells outside, and smaller, more rounded
cells towards the centre. These are arranged concentrically. There

NOTHS OiV LIFK- HISTORIES, LARVyf:, KTC. 147

are a very large number of slender transverse markings (hardly ribs)
running very closely and parallel to each other round the egg, becom-
ing conspicuous where they cross the longitudinal ribs, and less so in
the depressions between. Twenty-five of these may be counted be-
tween the micropylar area and the equator of the egg. The j unction
of the vertical ribs on the shoulder of the ring suggests a transverse
ring or ridge in that area under a low power, but this disappears when
the egg is mounted under a two-thirds lens. [Eggs received from
Mr. Bacot, and described April 12th, 1897, under a two-thirds lens] ,

Catocala fiaxini. —Five eggs were examined, laid on each other,
their appearance suggests that in nature they would be laid slightly
iml)ricate, as in (/. nupta. The shape shows considerable difference
from that of the egg of C. nujita. It has a rounder base, is less
flattened, and becomes somewhat echinoid in appearance. The apex
(micropylar area) is flattened. The colour of the egg is orange- or
greenish-yellow, with bright primrose and dark purple markings
(= embryo). The vertical ribs prominent, with acute edges, which
are silvery in appearance. They vary in number, 22 and 27 being
counted in two different eggs, and of these four and eight respectively
did not reach the micropylar area. The ribs stop short on the shoulder,
and do not unite as in C. nupta. The micropyle is very beautiful,
forming a very delicate rosette, the cells composing it having silvery-
looking partitions. These cells are larger on the outside, and gradu-
ally decrease as they near the centre, where they are exceedingly
minute. There is a very conspicuous primrose-coloured segment of a
ring running round the egg for about three- fourths of its circumfer-
ence. This is differently situated in different eggs, and is probably
a structural part of the embryo, so that its position changes with
that of the embryo. [The eggs were sent to me by Mr. E. Harrison,
and described April 12th, 1897, under a two-thirds lens] .

l'()li/!/<)iiia ci/rd. Three eggs examined. Laid singly on a rib on
underside of leaf of Pavietaria : not unlike a green gooseberry or
mountain-ash berry in shape. Green in colour, matching well with
that of the leaf. Vertical ribs run pretty regularly from base to the
edge of the micropylar area, where they end somewhat abruptly ; these
ribs are silvery in colour, prominent, and of very delicate structure.
The space between ribs finely striated transversely, but the striations
do not partake of the nature of ribs. The vertical ribs vary in number,
the three eggs examined give 9, 9 and 10 respectively. The vertical
ribs terminate on the margin of the micropylar area, the micropyle
proper- forming a little green button at the base of a somewhat shallow
apical depression. The cells are very minute, somewhat rounded,
and the whole of the depressed area has a very finely reticulated
appearance. The central micropylar button is slightly elevated and
rosette-like. The green coloration is distinctly of two shades within
the egg, suggesting that the latter is undergoing development. [Eggs
sent by Dr. Chapman, from Cannes, on April 6th, 1897. Described
under a two-thirds lens, on April 12th] .

Dasi/caiiipa rubii/infa. — The newly-laid egg is of a pale yellow
(creamy) colour, with the vertical ribs, from base to micropyle,
exceedingly shiny. To the naked eye, the colour changes run in
sequence — yellow, orange-red, reddish-brown and purple, as the
clevelopment of the embryo proceeds. Under the microscope, how-

148 THE entomologist's record.

ever, these colours are broken up into various hues, the disposition of
the colours, as a result of the embryonic development, continuously
undergoing re-arrangement and distribution. Successive eggs ex-
amined give the following results : — (1) x\lmost uniform reddish -
brown, with pale apex. (2) Pale at apex and base, orange-red cen-
trally. (3) Creamy base, apical half blackish-grey. (4) Purplish,
with creamy ring round the shoulder of the egg. (5) Purplish-red,
much mottled, suggesting strongly the mottling shown in the Acro-
nyctid eggs, figured by Dr. Chapman {Ent. Rec, vol. ii., pi. 7
and 8). The egg is of the typical Noctuid shape, about three-
fourths of a compressed sphere, with 27 conspicuous longitudinal ribs
running from the base towards the apex. Of these, 13 reach the
micropylar area, the others terminating just before attaining so far.
Theoretically, the ribs should be alternately long and short, but
practically the arrangement is not quite constant ; occasionally two
short ribs are adjacent, and more rarely two long ones. A number
of fine transverse ribs (twelve betwee i the micropylar area and
equatorial region of egg) surround the egg parallel with the base, and
where these cross the longitudinal ribs, the latter get a wavy appear-
ance in the upper part of the egg, whilst lower down, in the equator
of the egg, the points of section of these two sets of ribs are dis-
tinctly knotted. The micropylar area is small, and is banded by a
circular ridge formed by the union of the longer longitudinal ribs,
which, however, sub-divide before uniting to form its margin. The
micropyle proper forms a tiny raised rosette (reminding one of the
appearance usually given in pictures to a sea-anemone with its ten-
tacles retracted) placed quite centrally in the space within the circular
ridge. [Eggs received from Mr. Eustace R. Bankes. Description
made April 30th, under a two-thirds lens] . — J. W. Tutt.

On the trapezoidal tubercles of Saturnia. — I made the following
note on a young larva of S. panmia last May : The anterior pairs of
trapezoidals are developed to an immense size, and bear numerous
hairs ; the posterior pairs are very small, in fact, they can only be
seen with the aid of a microscope, and do not, so far as I can see,
bear any hairs. This is also the case with the trapezoidals of the
larva of Bomhijx juori in its 1st skin, the anterior trapezoidals being-
large and bearing four hairs, while the posterior pairs are very small,
and only bear one hair. This can be best seen on 1st abdominal.
I also noted that I could just make out a downy appearance which I
took to be a coat of spicules. Are not the lateral flanges a feature
in the larva of Afflia tau ! — A. Bacot, Bow House, Croydon.

Cocoons of Craxiophora ligustri on privet. — \\'ith regard to your
note [cintc, p. 43), I used to take C. lUjnxtri in my father's garden
freely in the " sixties." It there fed on privet. 'I'here was a privet
hedge bordered by a stone wall. The larvft were abundant on the
privet, and the pup^e, in tough, but not hard, cocoons, under the
" toppers" of the wall.— (Rev.) E. Hallett Todd, M.A.,2, All Saints'
Villas, Cheltenham.

Site for cocoons of Gnophria rubricollis.— I used to obtain
the pupa of this species in a slight cocoon, surrounded by an outer
covering of spider-like web, under the "topper" of a stone wall
which surrounded a fir plantation (larch, spruce and Scotch) ; the
larvaj feeding on the lichens of these trees, and probably on the
iichens of hawthorn which hung over the wall, — Ibid,

NOTES ON LIFE-IIISTORIES, LARViE, ETC. 149

Forcing Lasiocampa rubi. — I had a small batch of ova last June ;
they hatched on the 17th, and I sleeved them on a willow tree in my
garden ; they were full-fed by the end of September. I then put
them into a cage and kept them supplied with fresh willow, but they
only nibbled a little now and then. At the commencement of
October they all went under the rubbish at the bottom of the cage.
I kept them out of doors until the end of December, when I obtained
a large bunch of heather, put it into a jar of water, placed it in the
cage, and brought them indoors. I placed them near the oven in my
kitchen, when they very soon got lively, crawling about on the
heather. By January 3rd, several had spun up, but two did not spin
up until February 4th. On February 14th, I had the first emerge,
one (? and one $ , another $ on the 20th ; altogether I have had a
dozen perfect specimens. — W. E. Butler, Hayling House, Beading.

Some further notes re T. bistortata and T. crepuscularia (biundularia).

By W. S. EIDING, B.A., M.D., F.E.S.

My first T. bistortata — from 2nd brood, Clevedon parentage, 1896
— emerged on February 17th, 1897 (one from Clevedon, 1st brood,
came out on February 15th), and continued to do so till March 27th.
During the winter, they, as well as other pupte alluded to further on,
had been kept out of doors under shelter, and were brought into a
cold room facing N., about the middle of February. Only a few ? s,
which were used for pairing, appeared Avith the S s for the first ten days.

k. $ T. hiundulana var. lUiawei-cnsiH emerged on February 26tih,
but few came out before March 9th, when a S J"- biwuhilaria.
appeared, and both continued doing so freely till the end of the 2nd
week in April, a few stragglers showing themselves as late as April
27th. The first ? var. r/<'^rt/»r;r».s/.s appeared on March 11th, and the
first 5 T. biundularia on March 14th. These were the imagines of
pupfe bred from ova laid by a $ var. ildaiiierensis from the York
district, which hatched May 30-81st, 1896. The T. hiundularia are
more spotted with blackish-brown than our southern specimens, and
the fact that both were produced from the same batch of ova, shows
that inter-breeding is going on between the type and the variety.
Probably, however, all these T. biundularia, when not marked var.
delamercnsis, are more or less "intermediate" vars. approaching the
type, but there is no regular gradation between the two.

A cage of T. biundularia pupjB, reared from the ova of a $ T.
biundularia from the York district, which hatched June 3-4th, 1896,
was brought into a warm study towards the end of February, as well
as another cage with some of the pupte of var. delamcrcnsis. These
began to emerge on March 7th, and continued to do so till the end of
the first week in April ; the c? s being a week or ten days in advance
of the 2 s for the most part. Both produced the type (or inter-
mediates) as well as the variety in nearly equal proportion (with a
slight preponderance of T. biundularia from the pupa3 of the 5 T.
biundidaria) just as the unforced pupa? did.

Reciprocal crosses were made, besides pairing similar insects, with
the following results : —

150

THE entomologist's RECORD.

DATE OF
I'AUUNG.

Feb. IH
Feb. 28

Mar.

J PAKENT.

T. bistortata
var. dcbniwrcnsix
(slightly crippled)
T. biitiidiilaria
do.

(2nd pairg.)
Mar. 9 var.
„ 9
(2iul pairg.)

delumerensis
do.

Mar. 10
., 11
„ 12

T. liUuidularia
T. hixtnrtatd
var. (h-hnnerensis
(slightly crippled)
T. hiiindularia
do.

5 P.^ENT.

T. bistortata
T. hi>:tortatu

T. bistortata
do.

T. bistortata
do.

2\ bistortata
var. delamerensis
T. bistortata

OVIPOBITION.

Ova, Feb. 20-21
nil

Ova, March l(j
nil

DATE OF
HATCHIXCi.

April (5-7-8

April 21-22

Ova, March 14 April 18-19
Ova, March 13-14 April 18-19

Ova,

nil
March 15
nil

April 2t;-27

April 27-28
April 27-28

Ova, March lG-17

Ova, March 18

Ova, Mar. 20-21-22 Apl. 2.5-2(1

Ova, March 22 April 28-29

The

14 T. binndularia T. bistortata nil

\\ 14 do. do. Ova, March 20 April 22-23

(2nd pairg.)
Mar. 14 2 T. biundnlaria 2 T. binndularia

,, 1-5 var. dehniicreiisis var. delanicrcnsis

,, 17 2 T. histortatd 2 T. binndularia

,, 20 var. dclanicrcnsis var. dclanwrcnsis

This table shows that the insects are reciprocally fertile,
number of ova laid in each batch was between 200 and 300.

I had an opportunity this year to compare the ova of each, side by
side. Those of T. hhtortata were larger, as I noticed in 1896 ; calcu-
lating roughly, the proportion of cubical contents would be about 4 : 3.
As might be expected, the eggs by $ T. lastortata, fertilised by S ^'•
liiuiiihdaria, produced ova of the size of those of T. bistortata, whilst
those laid by ? T. binndularia, fertilised by g T. bistortata, produced
smaller ova (the size of those of T. binndularia). As regards shape,
there seemed to me no constant difference, the irregularity of contour
in so many of the ova of all the broods being evidently due to pres-
sure, probably in extrusion through the long ovipositor, as I noticed
some of the ova passed with their long axes making an angle of 45 '^
or more with the axis of the passage, as well as externally, as the
shell, though tenacious, appeared soft. In colour, I found a differ-
ence, the ova of T. bistortata being pale yellowish-green, whilst those of
T. Idnndnlaria and var. delann'rcnsis, and the crosses with either of
these for $ parent, were much brighter green, with a decided bluish
tinge. This difference was marked, so that the batches, when in
mass, could be easily separated. I found, however, that this brighter
bluish tinge was lost as the eggs developed, and after a time they all
became pale yellowish-green, until they assumed the dark sea-green
colour, which immediately precedes hatching.

As my experience in this respect seems somewhat different from
that of Mr. Tutt, it is probable this variation in colour is not constant ;
at all events, the point requires further observation. The pupae of T.
bistortata (2nd brood), which I placed for three weeks in a refrigerator
directly they pupated last autumn, yielded five imagines, the first on
February 26th. Two were somewhat crippled, and none showed any
difierence from typical first brood T. bistortata. — April 'SOtii, lb97.

^^ ARI ATION.

Red-coloured aberrations of Smerinthus tili^e. — I have lately
come across a statement made by Mr. Barrett {British Lepidoptera),

VARIATlOtJ. 1^1

that the reddish colour of S. tHiae is f!;enerally due to changes pro-
duced after emergence. This is certainly incorrect as a general
statement, as I have bred a good many since living in Devonshire,
and the majority have a very considerable colouring of reddish terra-
cotta, on emergence, and all have retained their green shades, as yet,
without change. I have two, which are coloured entirely reddish and
yellowish-brown (the latter colour between the second line and hind
margin), and have not a trace of green. They emerged as such, and
are S' and $ . The male with this colouring is, I believe, rare. My
specimens are from dug pupa?, a few forced in the spring, but the
majority allowed to come out at their usual time, the end of May or
beginning of June. There seems to be a considerable tendency to
asymmetry, four of my specimens exhibiting this peculiarity. — W. E.
Riding, M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell, nr. Honiton, Devon.

It used to be supposed at one time that the red <S. tUioc were
specimens that had fed entirely upon elm, but, not only do they come
from larvjB fed upon other plants, but elm also produces specimens of
an olive tint. For myself, I have dug at least ten pupte from elm to one
from lime. — Sydney Webb, Dover.

The beautiful aberrations of S. tiluie described by Mr. J. A. Clark,
and figured in the Entout. Ercord, vol. i., No, 11^, should have been
sufficient to have guarded Mr. Barrett against making this general
statement. The most beautiful red hues are to be found on
many freshly emerged specimens of this common species. The
red colour may be occasionally produced artificially, but most of those
in our cabinets are bred specimens. — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Note on the home of Aphytocekos vagans, Tutt. — In the Knt.
Record, vol. i,, p. 203, are some notes on a Pyralid moth, described
under the name of Aphi/toceros vcuiam, which had been taken at Chep-
stow, and was in the possession of Mr. Mason, of Clevedon. I
suggested at the time that it might be a native of South America
or the West Indies. I am informed by Sir George F. Hampson that
a specimen has more recently turned up from the Murchison Range,
in the Transvaal. This is in the British Museum collection, and has
been re-described, by Warren, as loiuiijialidK, A.M.N.H. (6), ix., p.
391, and has been referred to Guenee's genus, Leuciiwdcs, the moth
standing in the British Museum collection as Lcucinodcs nu/aiis. These
two specimens are, at present, the only known individuals in exis-
tence.— J. W. Tutt.

Note on the specific distinctness of ]\Iicropteryx salopiella and
M. unimaculella. — I have no hesitation in asserting that these are dis-
tinct and good species, although in the Kntinnohxjist Si/nonj/mic List,
^[. salopiella appears as a synonym for the $ of M. uni)nacidella.
This is evidently an error. Stainton defines the two well in the
Manual. The two insects are never out together, so far as I have
observed, M. salopiella being generally a fortnight after M. unimaculella
in the time of its appearance. I have also repeatedly taken both
species in cop., but they have always been paired true. The spots on
the inner margin are quite distinct in shape in the two insects ; in

l52 THE entomologist's RECORb.

.1/. salitpiiila it is tiiaiigular, and in J/, unimaculdla somewhat cres-
cent-shaped. The head of the former is grey, that of the latter dark
fuscous, and there are other well-marked characteristics. — A. H.
Hamm, 24, Hatherly Koad, Reading.

:]P>RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for June and early July.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
1, — The larvae of Pachnohia Jn/jierborea are to be found under moss
during early June, in firwoods where Vaainiiun wijrtillm grows
(Staudinger), but the larva feeds on crowberry and bilberry, prefer-
ring the former (Meek).

2.— During June, the shoots of Li/simarliia should be collected for
larvfe of Oclcchia tnorosa. Wicken Fen is the best known locality.

3, — At the end of June, the stunted plants of sea-thrift growing on
rocks on the sea-coast should be searched for pupje of .SV.s/(/ philantJii-
fnniiis. The larva hollows out the main stem of the plant, and, for
pupation, forms a silken tubular cocoon within the hollow.

4. — The flowers of Silnw iiiaiitiina, growing in a little recess, about
10 feet across, among the rocks on the shore near Douglas (I. of Man),
of easy access, produced 105 Diantlioccia rocsia, 32 D. capsopliila,
4 Plusia indclirina, 12 KnpWwcia venomta, and many other insects,
during twenty evenings in June and July, 1876. The specimens were
captured without moving from the spot, indeed, I v/as sitting on a
stone most of the time (Birchall).

5. — When larvae pupate in cork, be careful to isolate each one as it
prepares to bore, otherwise two or more are almost sure to enter the
same burrow, and only one (the last) will have any chance of escape.
G. -Webs of Porthcsia rlni/xorrJioea should be searched for early on
hawthorn. Mr. J. J. Walker informs us that he has this year observed
them in the Isle of Sheppey, after the species has been practically
absent from the district for nearly 20 years.

7. About the beginning of July, before the healthy reeds overtop
the affected ones, look over reed beds for reeds having the top shoot
of the reed withered. About the end of July cut such reeds low
down. A circular scar will be observed well down where the larva
of Nonaiiiia (leminipuncta has gnawed through the reed-stem, except
the outer skin, in readiness for the emergence of the imago.

8. — Place at the bottom of an old chip hat-box two inches of sand.
Collect the seed capsules of Silme iujiata, S. ccDiipcstris, etc., and lay
on the sand. Cover the top of the box with gauze by means of an
elastic band. Put in a few fresh capsules occasionally, and you will
breed Dianthncvia mmpersa, P. rarpophaiia and KKpit/irria vcnosata
(Hall).

9.— Although Leitcauia strain iiii'o is best taken on the wing from
9 p.m. to 10 p.m. from about July Ist-August 1st, a drop of sugar
in the centre of a flower of the dwarf thistle, common on the side of
the dykes in the marshes, will frequently attract it.

10. —The larvffi of Eupithecia .subninhrata (scabiosata) feed on the
flowers of Daucm carota in July. The larva of Spilodes palealis feeds
later in heads of the same plant.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 153

11. — The examples of Sciaj>kila conftijcrsana, taken on the salt-
marsh at Southend, "appear to be very different from those captured
in the neighbourhood of Dover, on the chalk cliffs, not only in colour,
but in texture. They may ultimately prove to be a distinct species"
(Howard Vaughan). This has never been reported upon.

Flower pots as breeding cages. — I use two garden pots for breed-
ing purposes, a large one of 18 inches diameter, three parts or more
filled with earth, and a small pot in which the food is planted, partly
sunk in the earth of the larger one. Round the outside of the larger
one sticks are placed, and round these, and attached to the rim of the
pot a muslin side is formed. There are very few plants that do not
trail over the edge of the pot when growing, and if the larva> fall out-
side they have no trouble to find the food-plant again ; whilst, when
full-fed, the larva?, as a rule, pupate in the outer pot. - S. Webb.

:il^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Note on Callimorpha dominula. — Having found, with the help of
a friend, during the last year or two, one or two localities in which
this species appears to occur pretty regularly, on some of the hills in
this neighbourhood, it is interesting to note some of the characteristics
it exhibits. In a hill-side wood, in which little that was noteworthy
occurred, bordering one of the narrow tracks through it, the moths
were found resting on the varied herbage usually occurring in such
places. Only the hottest sunshine appeared to arouse them from their
lethargy. They were frequently found in cop., and, although the moth
is beautifully and conspicuously coloured, as it rested amongst the
variously-tinted herbage, it was not nearly so conspicuous as might be
supposed. Not the slightest objection was offered to the boxing
operation, and from the freedom with which eggs were laid, the student
might be led to conclude that the chief purpose nature had in view in
bringing the insect up to the development of wings was that flight
might be evoked to facilitate the generation being continued. Amid
the multiplicity of herbage, it was at first difficult to ascertain which
were the food-plants the larvfe most preferred. Strawberry and let-
tuce were found equally acceptable with the time-honoured hounds-
tongue. This latter, however, grows most commonly in the open,
on waste hilly ground. The following year (that is the present), how-
ever, disclosed another and very different locality in which the larv£e
appeared in extraordinary numbers. While this was not more than
a quarter of a mile from the original locality, it was out in the
open, though upon a gentle slope, and, reversing the general order of
things, the insect appears to have been befriended by man in the
introduction of a fresh and more relishing food-plant, if one may
judge from the numbers seen banqueting upon it, or enjoying a siesta
after having satisfied their hunger, when, in the genial sunshine of a
gusty March day, they appeared to be "O'er all the ills of life vic-
torious." The plants upon which they were feeding or resting were
sturdy tuberous-rooted specimens of the common comfrey, of which
there were some hundred or two dotted about, being apparently the
remains of a crop which had been sown for cattle fodder, and which,
with a ruinous garden and building adjoining, had been for some time

154 THK ENTdMOI.OOIst's liECORD.

deserted. C. di mi inula, however, though apparently enjoying the
conifrey, did not confine its feasting to that plant, but also severely
lacinated the adjoining stinging-nettles. How many more plants are
comprised in the )Uf)iii of C. (Uniiinula further observation will, per-
haps, some day record. There is, at least, one thing certain about its
/lahit.at, it will only settle down on a secluded hill, or a hillside wood,
where a good blow of fresh air generally prevails, with a large
assortment of diti'erent orders of plants. — J. Merrin, F.E.S., 2, Oak-
leigh Villas, Barnwood Lane, Gloucester.

New food-plant for Tiliacea aurago. — On March 28th, I found
a few larvje of 7'. anra(/o had emerged, and, as the beech-buds were
not even expanded, and maple unavailable, I tried them on sycamore,
on which they have since fed without further trouble. — W. E. Butler,
Heading.

Endromis versicolor bred. — I have bred a few very fine Endromis
versicolor, from eggs obtained from a female taken here by myself on
April 6th last. — Ibid.

Agrotis cinerea. — With regard to Mr. Nash's capture of /U/rotis
cincrca in this district [Kntoin., p. 115), I may say that I recorded the
species from this district {Entom., xxvii., p. 71). I also captured
three specimens last year. — Ibid. [The note to which our corres-
pondent refers is a strange mixture in which Gloucestershire and
Beading insects are all recorded from Reading, due, Mr. Nash informs
us, to a printer's error. With regard to the record of A. riucrca, Mr.
Nash goes on : " A. riucrca is, I believe, considered a Cotswold insect."
Now, one would ask, as the record is made in a scientific magazine,
how this belief originated? That the insect occurs in the Cotswolds
is well-known, but the species is par e.vccllence a Lewes and Wye
insect. The recent records for the species are Reading (7'/«^rtw., xxvii.,
p. 71); Winchester (7<7««. 7iVr,, ii., p. 807; iii., pp. 13B and 1G2) ;
Isle of Wight [Ent. liec, ii., p. 1(52) ; Chinnor Hill {Ent. Ecc, ii.,
p. 164) ; Swansea {Ent. Eec, vi., p. 41) ; Brighton {Ent. Rec, v., p.
305) ; etc.— Ed.] .

Lophopteryx carmelita at West Wickham. - At West Wickham,
on April 19th, I took a very fine specimen of L. raruuiita, on the
trunk of a pine tree. — Albert Sampson, 71, Pownall Road, Dalston.

Acherontia atropos. May I, though somewhat tardily, add to the
records of the capture of Acherontia atropos, last autumn, two speci-
mens, viz., a larva taken on August 7th, 1896, which pupated a few
days afterwards, but was unfortunately " stung," and a pupa taken in
the first week in October, 1896, which subsequently died? Both
specimens wore taken at Seaford, Sussex, by my friend. Dr. H. N.
Evans, of that town, Avho kindly presented them to me. — H. Ainslie
Hill, F.Z.S., F.E.S., 9, Addison Mansions, Kensington, W.

Early appearances of Lepidoptera. — On April 22nd I had brought
me a fine specimen of Smerintlins tiliae, which had been taken from
one of the electric arc lamps here, and during the last week I
have obtained from the same source another S. tiliae, four ( 'crura
rinula ( J ), two Cucullia rerbasci, and one very fine Dr>/mo7iia cluuniia
{3). Are not all these remarkably early captures ? — L. L. Winter-
BOTHAM. Cheltenham. April 'dOth, 1897.

Dasycampa eiibiginea and other spring insects at Reading. —
During ^^larch I sugared regularly every week, in the hope of taking

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 155

Daaijcawpa nd>i(iiiua, but met with no success until March 20th and
21st, when I obtained two each evening, all females. I fed them
carefully with thin syrup, but two died in a few days, and a third on
April 30th, whilst one is still (May 4th) alive. They commenced to
lay on March 22nd, and have continued to do so at intervals until
the present time, so that I have now ova, larvfe and imagines at the
same time. A few of the larvte have already moulted twice. On
March 20th and 21st the Taeniocampids were well represented. T.
pidrerulentci (very common), T. i/otltira (common), T. incerta (a few),
T. stabilis (fairly common), T. iinuitla (a few),T. {/ raci lis {two), 2\
mimosa (a few), Panolis piniiwrda (one), and in addition, at sallows,
T. populeti, Orrhodia vaccinii and Scopelosotna satellitia were common
both at sugar and sallow. On March 20th and 21st, Teplmisia bistortata
was well out, and continued to be taken sparingly up to April 24th ;
on the latter date I took my first T. crespusndaria (l)iundularia), in the
same wood. Xi/ssia Jrispidaria continued to be taken sparingly until
March 13th, when a friend and myself took eight males and one
female. I have not seen it since. Lohup/uu-a lobnlata was first taken
on March 21st, and on April 16th I captured a male LophoptenjA- air-
nielita, and on the 17th and 18th a few Tejihrosia punctulata, L. lobn-
lata, Xylocavijia areola, Fidonia atomaria, I'ocJn/cntniia liippocasianaria,.
Evpithecia pnwilata and T. bistortata (3). These latter are the first
taken in an entirely new locality. On April l^ih.. Boar mia cinetaria
and Eupithecia abbreviata were obtained ; and on April 24th, Tephrosia
pmictnlata, L. lobulata and Lopjiiopten/.r carmeUta (male) were cap-
tured, besides the T. bistortata and T. crepuscularia previously men-
tioned. On May 1st, T. neprtscidaria (binndularia) and Cucullia
wiibiatira were captured, whilst T. punctidata was very abundant. —
A. H. Hamm, 24, Hatherly Road, Reading.

URRENT NOTES.

Mr. Champion {E.M.M.) shows that A. succicola, Thorns. (? = A-
sparsa, Heer), not hitherto recorded from Britain, and A. moesta,
Gray., are confused in British collections under the latter name-
Most of the specimens in British collections are A. succicola, Platys-
tethns alutactiis, Thoms., is also recorded as a British insect from
? Morden, Surrey, and Slapton Ley, Devon (captured April, 1897).

Mr. Eustace R. Bankes (E.M.M.) gives a very interesting resume
of the distribution of Geleckia snjqjeliella, Wlsm., in Britain and
Germany. The larvfe from which Warren bred G. suppeliella {E.M.M.,
XXV., p. 161), were taken near West Wickham, and the Rev. G. H.
Raynor captured the species at Sandy, in Beds, in 1883. He further
points out that the true G. peliella probably does not occur in Britain.
He considers that Stainton's descriptions in 7. B. Lep. Tin., p. Ill
(1854) and Xat. Hist. Tin., ix., 106-15 (1865), must have been made
from suppeliella, and not from peliella. Lord Walsingham adds that
the distribution appears to be as follows: — " 6^. ^Wid-ZZa, ? Lapland,
Livonia, Oesel, Germany, Holland and Corsica. G. suppeliella^
Germany, Holland, England."

Mr. Lucas records {Entom.) and describes (with figure) Anisolabis
annnlipes, Lucas, from Kew Gardens, the specimens having come to

156 THE entomologist's record.

England from Ootacamund, in the Presidency of Madras. The
first British specimen came from Tavistock, in Devon, in 1894.

A superficial and illogical paper on " Melanism and Climatic
Conditions " appears in the Entoiu. for May. The author writes from
the College, Winchester, and the paper might readily be supposed to
emanate from a school boy who did not understand his subject. But
why such a prominent place in TJw Entomohxjist '

Dr. Dixey read another very interesting paper on mimicry, at the
meeting of the Ent. Society of London, on May 4th, and Mr.
Blandford, to illustrate his remarks on " Homseochromatic groups of
butterflies," exhibited a part of the unparalleled Godman and Salvin
collection, including many of Bates' original types and figured
specimens. Why was not Dr. Dixey's paper properly advertised as to
be read on that evening, we wonder ? Many entomologists will attend
to hear Dr. Dixey and Prof. Poulton who come at no other time.

A very successful conversazione was held at the London Institu-
tion on the evening of April 27th, by the City of London Entom.
Society. In the course of the evening Lord Walsingham delivered a
short, but highly interesting, address to the members and their friends,
dwelling particularly upon the value of scientific societies. Mr. Enock
gave one of his excellent illustrated lantern lectures, " The trap-door
spider," and Dr. Gerard Smith discoursed on X-rays, and illustrated
his remarks by a series of very interesting experiments.

The insects sent by Dr. Standfuss for exhibition at the Conver-
sazione of the Royal Society have been placed in the Insect Gallery
of the British Museum, South Kensington, so that all entomologists
may examine them. They consist of : (1) Remarkable mongrels and
hybrids. (2) Aberrations resulting from series of temperature experi-
ments. Some of the more remarkable aberrations produced by Mr.
Merrifield are also placed on exhibition with them.

SOCIETIES.

The City of London Entomological and Natural History Society.
— April 6th, 1897.— Cidaria immanata from Raindene Wood. — Dr.
Sequeira : a series of Cidaria inimanata from Raindene Wood, near
Folkestone. Xyleborus saxeseni from Richmond Park. — Mr. Heasler :
a series of Xyleborus sa.rcseni from an oak stump in Richmond Park
last November. He said : " This species belongs to the group which
bore into the solid wood, and are usually difficult to obtain, especially
when they take to oak. The whole of my specimens, however, were
taken in the bark in company with Dryococtcs rilloam, Placusa puntilio,
Rhizophaifus fcrrw/inews, etc." T.eniocampa populeti. — Mr. Taylor : a
series of Tacniocainpa populeti from Wimbledon, illustrating the entire
range of variation of the species in this district, and including speci-
mens of ab. ubsoleta, Tutt, and ab. intermedia, Tutt. The Lepidoptera
OF THE Isle of Dogs. — Mr. Woolley read some " Notes from the Isle
of Dogs." He gave a list of the Lepidoptera to be taken on the
island, and exhibited many of the species and some plants. The
particular piece of ground from which all these were taken was about
a mile square, and was constantly used by the Millwall Dock Company
as a receptacle for the mud which is dredged from the bottom of the
dock. The land was divided into three parts, and each division was

SOCIETIES. 157

flooded with mud every third year. The following is a list of the
Lepidoptera taken on the island. Khopalocera : — I'ieris brassicae
(common), P. rapae (common), P. napi (common), A(/lai>i urticae
(common), Pi/rauwis atalanta (fairly common), P. canhii (not common),
Chri/.sophaiiUN jildaeas (not common). SpHiNomES : — SiiiermthiiH
ocellattis (not common — 3 imagines, 4 larvte), -S. popuU (not common).
Cheloniides : — Spilosoiiia Iiibrici/Ji'da (common), S. iiienthastri (common),
S. urticae (single specimen), Arctia raja, (common as a larva), Dciopeia
jndchiila (single specimen), Lipaiis saliris (single specimen), Onijjia
antiqiia (common). Notodontides : — Divranura rimda (single speci-
men). Geometrides :—liiiiiila crataegata (common), Abra.ra>i (/rosau-
lariata (not common), Hemeropliila abruptaria (not common), Cauipto-
t/raiiinia bilmcata (single specimen), Boaniiia rcpaudata (not common),
B. ;/ei}int.aria (fairly common), Melanipjie sociata (common), M,
Jiiutuata (common), didaria ronjlata (not common), Kupitliecia cen-
taureata (not common), A', subnotata (common), Pduiya comitata
(common). Noctuides : — Arroni/rta inei/aeepliala (larv;e only, and not
common), Lcurania conii/era (fairly common), L. jiallens (common),
L. iinpura (common), L. (■(nniiia (not common), Hi/droecia niicacea
(not common), Xylopliasia lithd.ri/h'a (common). A', polyodon (very
■common), Gaitt/na jiaraiji} (took 15 in 1892 — ^never before or since),
Mamestra brassicae (very common), Lnperina testacea (fairly common),
Apaiiiea basilinea (not common), A. didi/iiia (common), Caradrina
cubicnlaris (not common), Peridruma sujfusa (common), Agrotis exclaina-
tionis (very common), A. nbiricanx (very comnion), Tri/phaena promiba
(common), T. fimbria (single specimen), Noctua xantliographa (common),
Cosiiiia trapezina (not common), PIdoiiophora meticidosa (not common),
Plnsia (/amiiia (very common), Hadeiia trifolii (very common), H.
oleracea (very common), Hecatera serena (single specimen). Hepia-
LiDES : — Hepialus Jniinuli (common), /i. lupuUnus (common), H.
sylvinns (not comnion). Mr. Tutt wondered what <^'idaria conjlata fed
upon in the Isle of Dogs, but said that ( 'aiiijttoijravniia biUneata generally
occurs wherever there is any garden herbage. Arctia caia ab. flaves-
■CENS. — Mr. Clark exhibited bred specimens of Arctia caia Sih.flacescois,
from larvte taken near Hackney Marsh. Astynomus ^dilis at Lea
Bridge. — Mr. Clark also exhibited two specimens oi Astyuanrm aedilis,
taken at Lea Bridge. Biston hirtaria in March. — Dr. Sequeira
reported B. hirtaria as abundant in North London. He had taken
seven specimens in less than half-an-hour on the 21st March.

April 20th, 1897. — Spring moths.— Mr. Dadd exhibited represen-
tatives of the genus I aenidcam pa, which had been captured at Oxshott
at the end of March and on April 1st. The exhibits included a very
fine series of Taeniocainpa iiiiuiosa. Cidaria psittacata. — Dr. Sequeira
exhibited some very tine specimens of C. psittacata, including many
banded individuals from the New Forest. Larva-beating. — Mr.
Dadd reported that he had beaten for larvae at Oxshotc, on April 1 9th.
The pines gave four species, including T/wra cariata and Klloplu
fasciaria. He had also found imagines of Teplirosia bisturtata, on
fences, and beaten imagines of Panulis jiiniperda from a pine-tree.

Cambridge Entomological and Natural History Society. —
Abdominal chambers in Chrysiridia madagascerensis. — At the meet-
ing held on April 30th, Dr. Sharp called attention to a peculiar struc-
ture which he detected some years ago in Clni/siridia madagascerensis,

158

THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

better known as Urania rJiiji/uns. On each side of the 2n(l abdominal
segment there is an ear-like opening, usually much concealed by over-
lapping scales, giving entrance to a chamber, which extends to the
middle line, and forwards, towards the base of the abdomen, so that a
considerable space in the anterior and upper part of the abdomen is
occupied by the chambers. At the anterior external part of this.
depression or chamber there is a second vesicle-like chamber, formed
by a delicate membrane. He considered this structure to be some
kind of sense organ, and thought it must be of great importance to
the creature, as it occupies a large area of the abdominal region. It
is independent of sex, and apparently occurs in all the members of
the families rraniidac and KpipUniiiilae. Mr. Oberthiir had kindly
supplied him liberally with dried specimens, for the examination of
this organ ; but fresh individuals, or some well preserved in spirit, are
necessary before any of the finer details of the structure can be ascer-
tained.

;KiEYIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Das Studium dee Braconiden, etc. von Dr. 0. Schmeideknecht.
[Pubd. by J. Neumann, Neudamm, Germany. Price Is.] — The idea
of this brochure is a good one, but the mode of its execution leaves
something to be desired. It would appear that the Rev. T. A.
Marshall has in vain tried to use it in concluding his 3rd volume of
the Braconidae. The dichotomy of the table is so imperfect, that the
enquirer is sure to lose himself at every fresh search. New headings
occur in the middle of the work without any numbers leading up to
them : e.v. (jr., at the beginning of Bracon, No. 7 has no connection
with any previous no. One is tempted to surmise that the author
has only a hazy notion of dichotomy, as the definitions are not always
contradictory, as they should be. This is not important in the case
of old and well-known species, but the 22 new species are absolutely
indeterminable. Of course, they require detailed descriptions, and
anything short of this is merely illusory. The manner in which the
divisions are printed gives no assistance to the eye. In fact, the con-
fusion already subsisting in the genus Bracon will not be mitigated by
anything in this paper, and the list of doubts is increased by 22. It
is to be regretted that the writer is a blind partisan of C. G. Thomson,
and adopts without enquiry all his conclusions, some of which are
certainly wrong. The chief mistake which falls within the scope of
this present work is the insertion in the genus Vipio of some species
belonging to the Donjctidae (p. 6, Nos. 26-29) ; this is from Thomson.
And again, No. 31 is not Vipin, but Bracon {IpJnanla.v, Forster). This
last fad of Thomson's leads to a confusion quite chaotic, if adopted,
and destroys all distinctions between Vq)io and Bracon. Many
hundreds of exotic species of Bracon (Ijihianla.r j are now to be joined
to Vipio, though totally unlike, merely on the authority of Thomson.
Lastly, Dr. S. has not quite included all the described species of the
two genera.

Notice. — Owing to the summer holidays, the July and August
numbers will be published on July 1st and August 1st respectively.
Exchange Lists, Advertisements, etc., for these numbers must be sent
in accordingly.

^ J^^-^

<s

■%•

y. —
y.

< <

4^^ AND ^"^^4

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 7. July 1st, 1897.

A New British Flea (Tryphlopsylla dasycnemus, sp. nov.).

(Illustrated hj Plate).
By the Hon. N. C. ROTHSCHILD, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

TriiphhipsijlJa dasi/cneuiufi, sp. nov. — De.scriptum — Front of the head
rounded, and more or less hairy, with four genal spines, situated as in
T. afisiinilis of British authors, and a small fifth spine at the anterior
edge of the antennal groove. The pro-thorax has sixteen spines. On
each side of the dorsal posterior edges of the first sLv segments of the
abdomen there is a siiu/le short spine. The ventral plates of the
ei(/htli segment display /n^fr hairs, of which the upper one is much the
longest. The uiiter surface of the tibia?, more especially of the hind
ones, is extremely hairy.

Parasitic on Sore.v vuhjaris.

The present species was discovered this year by Dr. Jordan, on the
above-mentioned animal. I am much indebted to him for specimens
and the beautiful drawings of the head, pro -thorax and tibia.

The development of the wing, wing=scales and their pigments
in Butterflies and Moths.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

II. — The development of the pigment within the scales. — In
the previous part of this paper, we have seen that when the scale first
appears it is only a small protoplasmic cell, which very soon increases
in size, and flattens out, and finally assumes the outward shape of
the mature scale. A layer of chitin is then secreted over its entire
outer surface, so that the scale becomes a thin, flat chitinous bag,
filled with protoplasm, the chitin upon the upper surface of the scale
being striated, the lower surface smooth. Alany scales have two
sets of strife — a well-developed longitudinal set, and a finer transverse
set. These striations difiract the light, and give rise to the iridescent
colours observed on the wings of many lepidoptera.

So long as the scales remain filled with protoplasm, they are quite
transparent, but the protoplasm afterwards becomes coarsely granular,
and appears to give place to a secretion from the h^emolymph, Avhich
contains the necessary material for the elaboration of the pigment,
the white coloration being different from the opaque whiteness notice-
able in air-filled scales. Mayer says that " the scales which are

160 THE ENtOBiOiX)GIST*S RECORt).

destined to be white upon the mature wing are now completely
formed, and undergo no further changes, hence, ontogenetically speak-
ing, the white spots (? scales. J. W. T.) upon the wing are the oldest of
all." Here we would ofier two notes of criticism : (1) That the white
scales of an insect's wing are of tAvo entirely different classes. Some
white scales are quite richly pigmented (see Kntoui. lur., vol. vi.,
p. 35 et se(]., 109 et scq., 204 it seq.). The white areas of the wings of
An/c (/ncdat/ica, the white spots on the wings of !^i/rirJit/nif: iiialcae, and
numerous other examples, have been already fully discussed. '••' (2) That
the whole of the scales (pigmented and unpigmented) are supplied
with air, only in the final stage of their development.

The secretion from the hfemolymph (= the " pigment factor " of
Riding), which fills the scales destined to become pigmented, now
enters them. It does not enter scales which will finally be white
(due to air contents), but does, in many insects, enter other scales, which
are ultimately white. Mayer says the htemolymph of the chrysalis,
which is a clear amber yellow fluid, now enters them, but Chapman
has already adversely {aiiti', pp. 78-79/ criticised this view, and has sug-
gested that only a secretion of the lupmolymph does so. The material
in the scales now becomes " ochre-yellow " in tint, whatever their
ultimate colour is destined to be, and, having remained in this stage
for about 24 hours (in the case of A. archqipm), the mature colours
begin to show themselves. " These mature colours always appear
first within scales which are situated between the nervures. They
are faint at the beginning, but gradually increase in intensity. For
example, if a scale be destined to become black, it first becomes pale
greyish-brown, and this colour gradually deepens into black. f This
pigment is no doubt derived from the haunolymph within the scale
at the time when it first appears. It is probably produced by che-
mical processes that are somewhat analogous to the clotting of the
blood, for the pigment is found to be sublimed over all the surfaces of
the cavity of the scale, the layer of pigment being especially thick
upon the upper surface of the scale."

III. — The probable chemical and physical nature of the pig-
ments OF Lepidoptera. — Landois, in 18G4, found that when the
blood of beetles and butterflies was allowed to evaporate in the air,
crystals separated out. He also found that the blood consisted chiefly
of egg-albumen, but that globulin, fibrin and iron were present. He
further observed, that when the blood was allowed to dry in the air, it
generally became brownish or yellowish, and that while the colours of
the blood were different for different species, the colour assumed by the
dried blood was apt to be similar to the ground-colour of the wings of
the mature insect from which the blood Avas draAvn.

Mayer states that he believes the pigments of the scales are derived
from the ha^molymph, or blood, of the chrysalis ; and his chief reason
for believing this is, that he can find no evidence that there is any-
thing but h!i3molymph Avithin the scales during the time that the pig-
ment is formed. Chapman doubts AA'hether the crude h^emolymph ever
enters them, but thinks that a secretion from it does so, and that the

* " The genetic sequence of insect colours." — British Noctuae caul their Varieties,
vol. ii., pp. i.— xviii.

+ This fully bears out our contention as to "pigmentary blacks." — Brit.
NocL, ii., pp. vi. — vii. ; Ent. Record, vi., pp. 38-40 and pp. 104-111.

i

Wing, wing-sciales, and their pigments IN butterflies and moths. 161

latter contains the materials necessary for going through the chemical
change resulting in pigmentation,

Mayer has made a chemical analysis of the pupal blood, which agrees
with that made by Landois. When the hremolymph is agitated with
ether, the proteid substances are coagulated, and a clear amber-yellow
solution is left. When thus isolated the proteids are shghtly yellowish,
but they soon dry into a drab-coloured mass, very much as the ha^mo-
lymph does upon exposure to the air. Spectrum analysis shows that
the colour of the amber-yellow solution is due to xanthophyll, and
Poulton found that the colours of many lepidopterous larvte and
pupfc were due to chlorophyll and xanthophyll, derived from their
food. The hnsmolymph is acid to litmus, and contains a large
amount of orthophosphoric acid. The mineral bases of the htemo-
lymph are iron, potassium and sodium — -the iron in considerable
quantity. " The freshly-obtained hiBmolymph is a clear opalescent
amber-yellow fluid ; it soon becomes turbid upon exposure to the air,
and in less than half-an-hour after removal from the chrysalis be-
comes opaque, and drab or greenish-drab in colour." Mayer further
notes that the drab colour, assumed by the dried hfemolymph from
the pupa of CalloKaniia pwiiicthea, and the greenish-drab assumed by
the dried hsemolymph of Philosamia ci/nthia, are very similar to the
principal colour of the moths' wings. The change in colour exhibited by
the hsemolymph upon exposure to the air is probably not due to a
simple process of oxidation. It takes place slowly in an atmosphere of
hydrogen ; an atmosphere of CO.^ prevents it ; whilst, if the ha^mo-
lymph be sealed up in air-tight glass tubes, it retains its amber colour
indefinitely. Heated to 54^0, it begins to congeal, and above 63*^C
solidifies into a chrome-yellow mass, and in this condition it will keep
indefinitely, and retain its original chrome-yellow colour ; but when
congelation is produced in htemolymph that has become drab by
exposure to air, the congealed mass is also drab in colour.

To test whether the colours of the mature wing are derived by
various chemical processes from the hsemolymph of the pupa,
Mayer performed the following experiments : (1) He treated the
haemolymph of Samia ccr^vyx'rt with warm concentrated HNO 3, when
it congealed into a deep chrome-yellow mass. Ammonia (in excess),
added to this, changed it to reddish-orange, very similar in colour to
the reddish-orange band that crosses the upper surface of the hind-
wings of the moth. The reddish -orange band of the moth is changed
to chrome-yellow by HCl or HNO3, and, on ammonia being added,
the original red colour returns. Exactly the same sequence of
reactions is produced with the pigment derived from the htemolymph.
(2) Treating the drab-coloured outer edge of the wing of S. cecrupia
with warm HNO3, and evaporating the acid off at a gentle heat, the
drab pigment of the scales was found to be changed to a deep chrome-
yellow. The addition of ammonia makes it reddish. Similar reactions
are obtained from the hfemolymph, after it has congealed in the air,
into a greenish-drab mass. (3) The drab hsemolymph of C'allo><amia
prnmethea is dissolved and changed to a sepia-brown colour by warm
HCl, to which a crystal of KCIO3 is added. An exactly similar
change occurs when the drab-coloured edges of the moths' wings are
treated in a similar manner.

These experiments, like those of Coste {Entomulutjiat, 1891, ct seq.)

162 tflB ftNtOMOiX)GIST*S HECOKti.

and Uroch {Zait. f. iria.s, ZooL, Ivii., 1H98-1894), got no further,
in fact, not so far, in relation to the white pigmentary scales as
Coverdale and myself got some twelve years ago {lUit. Nort., vol. ii.,
pp. iii. — xviii.). A brief statement of the general action of alkalies in
changing pigments, and of acids in restoring the changed pigments
to their original colours, was published by Coverdale {Kntovi.) in 1886.
(I'd he continued).

Paper as a Pabukim for the Larva of Tiresias serra, F. : with some
notes on the Larva and its Pupation.

By HOllACE DONISTIIOia'E, I'.Z.S., i-'.E.S.

I have just succeeded in rearing a number of Tiresias xena from
the larvie, by feeding them on paper.

The larvae, which were of all sizes, were obtained under loose
bark of hawthorn trees, last March, in Kichmond Park, where they are
very abundant. J placed them in a collecting bottle which contained
some paper, and left them there for a day or two, during which time I
was making inquiries as to what to give them to eat. I was told to give
them Hies to feed on, which I intended to do, when I discovered they
had eaten holes all over the paper which was in the bottle, and so I
thought I would try if I could rear them on such food. The experi-
ment turned out quite successful, and they conuiienced to pupate in
about thrcK; weeks, and the perfect insects began to appear in a little
over a fortnight.

The larva is a very curious animal — it is hairy, like those of all the
Deniirstiilar, and has bunches of hair on the last segments of the
hind body, with a long tail of hairs at the apex ; these bunches the
creature can erect at will, and, when agitated, the tail hairs vibrate
very rapidly. It pupates within the larval skin, and, on changing to
the imago, it remains within the skin till mature. It is a curious fact
that, though the larvae occur in great numbers, and are very common,
the perfect insect is decidedly scarce, and is generally found singly.

An attempt to breed Leucania albipuncta.

Uy LOUIS 13. i'liOIJT, I'.K.S.
On August J-Jlst last, I captured a worn female of the above-named
species, at sugar, at Bandown. I placed her in a glass jar, with a sod of
grass at the bottom ; and about the dth or oth of Heptembor some ova
were deposited, to the number of 82, or thereabouts. These were laid
in four fairly regular rows, from sax to twelve in each, three of them
on the sides of the glass (very likely, however, under blades of grass,
which were torn away in removing the sod), the others between the
points of two fine blades of grass, which were glued together by them.
This would, probably, be the natural egg-hiying habit of the species.
The eggs were of about average size, roimdish, smooth, and of a
shiny, Avhitish straw-colour, and I noticed nothing particular to
remark in them with the unaided eye. In about eight or nine days
they changed to a light, shining grey, and on Heptember 15th and lOth,
the larvee hatched (to the number of 2H). These were of a tolerably
uniform pale grey, greener in some individuals (? after commencing

AN ATTEMPT TO BREED LEUCANIA ALBIPUNCTA. 163

to feed), and with the back of the thoracic segments darker ; the head,
orange-brown, appearing somewhat horny. All the prolegs were
developed, but only the posterior pairs were used for clasping, hence
the usual looper gait was assumed. They rested in a slightly arched
posture, the head being brought down to the resting surface, but the
legs apparently drawn together, not used for clasping. They were
rather restless at first, and when they were touched, or the grass upon
which they were resting was moved or jarred, would frequently drop
by a tine thread.

I am, unfortunately, entirely ignorant of the names of the different
species of our common grasses ; but I think I may state positively
that the larvte were not particularly discriminating, for they fed freely
on any that were offered them.

On September 18th, I made the following notes as to their habits,
etc. : — " Twenty-five are thriving, the other three missing. Feed
very freely on the broad, or moderately broad, but tender blades.
Never attack the edges, but chiefly make elongated holes (right
through the blade) between two of the ribs, and generally near the
edge. To-day, at 9 a.m., I am watching some of them feeding on
the fresh food (they are not at all shy of the light) ; they rest on the
edge of the blade, and reach the fore-part of the body round to the
'point of attack,' at the underside of the blade. They are still
decidedly restless, and after being alarmed into dropping, begin to
crawl immediately. Since feeding, they are much greener in colour,
the fore part of the body slightly the stouter, and somewhat dark.
The first abdominal segment apparently paler."

The following day I presented 16 of the larvsfi to my friend, Mvr.
J. A. Clark, whose usual success in breeding led me to hope he would
get them through ; eight I retained myself for further observation.
Unfortunately, some of Mr. Clark's larvje must have escaped from the
box in which I took them to him, for when he came to put them out
next day he found only 11, and these gradually dwindled down from
various causes, until the last one succumbed at its final moult. I am
afraid I am in part responsible for Mr. Clark's want of success, as I
told him that the larvae would have to hybernate, and he misunder-
stood me to mean that I did not advise forcing them up indoors, and
he had lost most of them before he learned from me that I was
forcing my own, and that they were doing much better. However, he
attributes the failure largely to his recent pressure of business, ill-
health, and absence from home. He has kindly placed in my hands
the notes ho made, for incorporation with my own in this paper.

I noticed about this time that the larviB showed a much greater
propensity for concealment than was observed the first day or two,
generally retiring to hide in the centre of a foldod grass blade, or up
at the junction of the leaf -portion with its stem.

The first moult was reached on September 21st. In the second skin
the colour was still mainly grey-greenish, as before, but less shining
and more opaque. Head transparent pale-brown, with faint indica-
tions of two curved blackish lines down the face. Dorsal line whitish,
slender, bounded by very faint black lines ; sub-dorsal pale, bounded
with black above ; then a double dark line, very fine, then a black
line just above the spiracles, also double. All these lines appeared to
bo continuous. The ventral area and the claspers, paler brown. The
" looping " propensity of the larva not abandoned.

164 THE ENTOMOLOGISTS RECORD.

In this skin, the growth began to be somewhat irregular, and
three of my " forwards " were in their third skin by October 3rd. No
important change was noticed in this skin. As their appetites seemed
to be falHng oft", and I suspected they intended laying up for hyberna-
tion, I brought them into a warm room, where they all continued
feeding, though one or two got far in advance of the others. On
account of the irregularity of growth, I found considerable difficulty
in keeping exact count of the moults ; but it is tolerably certain that
the most forward specimen — the only one which I got into pupa —
moulted six times, and probably even seven ; namely, about the
following dates :— Sept. 21st, Oct. 1st, Oct. 24th ?, Oct. 81st, Nov. 6th,
Dec. 4th, Dec. 14th. The third skin would probably be the hyber-
nating stage ; but, if so, it is curious that there should be so many
changes subsequently. From Mr. Clark's notes it would appear that
his larv?e only moulted twice after he began forcing them (when they
were certainly still quite small), and one of the most careful German
observers of the last century (Brahm, in Seriba's BcitrlKji', 1791), also
says that those larvffi which he found in winter underwent two
ecdyses before pupating.

The changes in the different skins were not very marked. After
the first two or three stages the greenish tone of colour was replaced
by a pale wainscot-brown ; at about the same period the looping gait
was abandoned. I made a fresh description on November 6th, just
before the 5th (?) moult, but it talHes pretty closely with the earlier
one. The portions which are to be described as being of the ground-
colour were really composed of very fine and close longitudinal stride.
The length was now about half an inch, or slightly over. The larva
now rested in a straight posture, with legs and claspers attached ; but
when disturbed would draw itself into a slightly arched position, with
the legs and front pair of claspers resting slightly on the grass or
other surface, but apparently unattached.

After this change, the dark grey-blackish lines were more pro-
nounced, and the single black line (sub-dorsal) was now first accom-
panied by a row of minute deep black dots, one to each segment,
except the last two or three. In this skin (the 6th ?) there was
another temporary cessation of appetite and growth, and this may,
perhaps, be the normal hybernating stage, which would leave for the
spring the two changes which have been specified by Brahm. But it
is mentioned that the species is of somewhat irregular habit, found
of various sizes at the same time, and I confess I am very sceptical
about rigidly fixed hybernating stages (as advocated by Mr. Tutt) for
many species. This last winter I have been breeding Mclanipjic
vunitanata, and found that the var. shiilmuUca hybernated in the last
skin but one. Some of a London batch laid up for hybernation in the
same skin, but died during the winter, while the only two of that
batch which came through successfully were in their la^t skin, and
only fed seven and ten days respectively in the spring, before pupating.

In the last stage but one (7th ?) my forward albijmncta showed a
further advance in the direction of the darkening of the sub-dorsal ;
the black spots upon it becoming too large to be designated " dots,"
and there being two apparent on each segment. All the moults with
this species appear to be rather laborious ; most of them (including
even the first) occupied about two days ; while the final change

AN ATTEMPT TO BREED LEUCANIA ALBIPUNCTA. 165

occupied about five days (Dec. 14th-19th), and it was at this change
that my last larva but one succumbed, and also Mr. Clark's last.
Growth in the last skin but one (Dec. 6th-14th) was so rapid that
I thought the larva was going to make this the final stage. I do not
apj)ear to have measured it on December 14th, but I fancied it would
be large enough to produce a moth about the size of Taenioccviijia
jndvernlenta, and supposed that through some mismanagement I was
going to breed a dwarf. However, as already mentioned, it moulted
again, and fed up in its final skin till January 5th, 1897, when it
went to earth, having attained a considerable size, proportionally to
the pupa which it produced. This pupa was, roughly speaking, about
the size, shape and colour of an ordinary Hoporina eroceaqo. Of
course, this is only a rough superficial comparison, and I do not for
a moment wish to suggest any structural relationship ; I know prac-
tically nothing of the normal Leucanid pupa.

In its last skin the larva was a more striking creature in appear-
ance, through the greater intensification of the markings ; but it was
nothing like the gay figure which Owen Wilson gives in his " Larvfe
of British Lepidoptera." Old Brahm's figure, executed nearly 100
years earlier, is far better in shape, colour, etc., albeit rather rough ;
however, Brahm says he has found the larvae very variable, and we
must suppose that Owen Wilson's figure (which we learn from his
introduction was from Nature) represented a very brightly-coloured
specimen ; yet he might surely have done better justice to the taper-
ing form. His (learn'ptinn seems accurate ; that by Brahm is really
first-rate, and if his work were in the hands of the pre.sent generation
of entomologists, I would not waste space in re-describing the full-
grown larva. However, as probably none of my readers have seen
his description, I append the following notes, which I made on
December 26th : — " Now measures li inch when drawn up at rest,
just upon 1| inch when stretched in crawling. Tolerably stout in
proportion, tapering slightly to anal extremity. Head, somewhat
shiny horn-colour, with two indistinct grey lines down the face ;
scutellum intermediate in colour between the head and the dorsum
generally, slightly shiny ; traversed by three yellowish-white stripes,
being the commencement (differently coloured) of the dorsal line and
the sub-dorsal. Body, a sort of wainscot-brown, more inclining to
dirty flesh-coloured laterally and ventrally, leaving the dorsal area
clearer yellowish-wainscot colour. The line or band below the
spiracles is also fairly well defined, being paler than the two areas
which it separates ; it is decidedly waved, rising to the segment-
incisions, and falling below the deep black (but small) spiracular
dots ; the skin on this lateral line is somewhat loose-looking and
rugose, especially on the final three segments. The dorsal area is
really of two shades, clean yellowish against the sub-dorsal line, more
fleshy agamst the dorsal. The dorsal line (as remarked in earlier
skins) is double, blackish (very fine), enclosing a fine whitish line ;
the two blackish lines approximate very slightly in the centre of each
segment, diverging a little at the boundaries. The lateral area, above
the spiracles, is likewise not really uniform in colour, but the lower
half is more fleshy, the upper half more yellowish ; the two bands
faintly separated by an indistinct grey line. The sub-dorsal line is
slender, white, bounded laterally by a very slender, brownish line,

166 THE entomologist's record.

dorsally by a very conspicuous black-brown line, interrupted at the
segment-incisions, and paling off from black-brown to umber pos-
teriorly on each segment ; the effect is as though the whole line were
umber, and overlaid with deep black on the anterior two-thirds of
each abdominal segment, the black giving place to a slight sprinkling
only, as one proceeds posteriorly. It should be mentioned that the
thoracic segments are slightly dirtier-looking (more tinged with
greyish) than the abdominal, and that on the former the umber line is
not overlaid with black, except a very slight and inconspicuous freck-
ling, and one deep black dot on each segment. Tubercles very minute
and inconspicuous, except the trapezoidals, of which the anterior are
further apart, and, I think, rcnj diijhthj larger than the posterior ;
bristles very short and inconspicuous, I believe, single ; but I made
no note on the point."

The larva is rather shy, and seems to feed only at night (except in
its very earliest stages). Brahm used to find the larva? by day concealed
on the ground, under leaves of low plants, chiefly mullein, burdock,
teasle, etc., and found they would also eat chickweed. I occasionally
offered my larva? the last-named plant, but did not observe them
touch it.

The pupa was kept close to a fire, and the final darkening took
place on February 21st, after a pupal period of over six weeks. The
white spot of the wings showed very prominently through the cases. I
suppose I did not keep it sufficiently damp to counteract the influence
of the heat, for, to my great mortification, it died, instead of emerg-
ing ; and the satisfaction of having bred a specimen of this rarity was
denied me, though I have had the interest of watching it through its
complete life cycle.

Notes on the Zygaenides.

III. Z. LONICER^ A CONSTANT SPECIES IN BeITAIN, AuSTRIA AND FrANCE.

— Zyg^na medicaciInis earlier in its appearance than Z.
lonicerve. — Fertile hybrids. — Criticism of Barrett's remarks
on the specific identity of z. lonicer.e and z. trifolii. z.

MEDICAGINIS, BdV. (dUBIA, StDGR.) as a distinct SPECIES. Z.

MEDICAGINIS MORE CLOSELY ALLIED TO Z. LONICERyE THAN TO Z.

TRIFOLII. — Criticism of Lederer's and South's remarks on the

RELATIONSHIP OF Z. MEDICAGINIS WITH Z. FILIPENDULyE. Z. HIPPO-

CREPIDIS, St. NOT CO-SPECIFIC WITH Z. MEDICAGINIS. UnION OF

Z. MEDICAGINIS AND Z. OCHSENHEIMERI BY CONTINENTAL AND BrITISH
ENTOMOLOGISTS. EeMARKS ON SO-CALLED SIX-SPOTTED Z. MEDI-
CAGINIS.— Baker (-Bethune)'s captures in the Buttier Valley,

(Continued from p. 107 y.
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

Zi/i/aena lonicerae is probably the most constant of all the British
species of that particular group of the genus to which it belongs.
Occasionally, a blotched specimen occurs (Nix, Entom., x., p. 180,
Hewett, two bred specimens, Knbnn., xxv., p. 251, Bower, Ent. lice,
vi., p. 19), but the form is rare, and it would appear to be equally
rare on the Continent, for Oberthiir writes : " La Zi/i/acna loniirrac
aberre tres rarement par la confluence des taches. Nous n'avons

NOTES ON THE ZTG^NIDF.S. 167

encore capture qu'un seal specimen de cette vari^t6 ; tandis que dans
la tfifolii des plaines du centre de la France (laquelle trifnlii de nos
pays differo un peu de celle du Midi) la continence est tres commune "
{ Etudes (VKntomohviii', " Lep. des Pyrenees," p. 31), I have a note
to the effect that this form = Hiibner's aclullcac, Eur. SvhwHt., fig.
165. As for the type form, it can usually be recognised without
difficulty. I have taken typical specimens of this species quite in-
distinguishable from those obtained at Strood, York, Mansfield and
other British localities, at Courmayeur (Piedmont, 3,500 ft.) August,
1894, on the summit of the Mendel Pass (Tyrol, 4,000 ft.), where
it was just emerging, from July 28th to August 3rd, 1895, on the
zigzags between St. Michel de Maurienne and Valloire (Dauphine,
4,000 ft.), just emerging on July 27th, 189G, on the hills of Gresy-
sur-Aix, on July 25th and 26th, 1896, and other localities. The
capture of the typical form of this species in abundance at Mendel
from July 30th-August 3rd was interesting, as Dr. Chapman and
Mr. Lemann had previously taken worn Z. vicdtcai/inis on the same
ground, the species being quite over before X. louiceiac appeared.

In a letter written to me in May, 1893, referring to the fertility of
the hybrids of Z. hmicerae and Z. trifolii, which he had just proved
so conclusively, W. H. B. Fletcher writes : — " I am not at all prepared
to admit that the fertility of hmiccrae-trifolii hybrids proves that these
species are but one. Many hybrid plants are fertile, as are also some

hybrid water-fowl I am inclined to think that Z. hniircrae and

trifolii are good species." This opinion, from fZ/c entomologist who has
had so much experience in breeding hybrid species, and from whose
experiments all our data with regard to hybrid Zygiienids have been
obtained, is exceedingly valuable.

Barrett [lirit. Lep., ii., p. 158) says that he has " described Z.
hmicerae and Z. trifolii as distinct in deference to the universal admis-
sion of them as separate species .... but they are exceedingly difficult
to separate in the perfect state .... But the difficulty has been very
seriously enhanced by the discovery that they not only pair together
with perfect freedom, but produce fertile eggs, which produce, in due
course, moths having intermediate characters, or the characters in

part of both parent races These experiments render it difficult

to believe that what we call by the two names (trifolii and lonicerae)
are more than local races of the same species very rarely found inter-
mingled." We criticise this statement with some diffidence, knowing
that Mr. Barrett is a firm believer in the original creation of species,
a determined opponent of the principles of evolution in every shape
and form, and a disbeliever in the efficacy of natural selection ; still
we are constrained to ask what explanations he would offer as to the
following queries based on facts, so far as our own experience goes :
(1) Why may one breed hundreds of either Z. trifolii and Z. lonicerae
without getting any doubtful forms ? (2) Why, if they are forms
of one species, do they separate into one invariable ionn = lonicerae, and
two variable forms = trifolii and trifdii-major f (3) Why these forms,
being widely distributed over the British Isles and the Continent,
maintain their absolute distmctness, with neither of them anywhere
having a claim to be considered a local form which has diverged from
the type? (4) Whether the mere fertility of the lonicerae-trifnlii
hybrids is sufficient to prove that they are but one, considering that

168 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

(as Fletcher has pointed out) many hybrid plants, water-fowl, and
even cattle are equally fertile inter xc .' With all due deference to
Mr. Barrett's opinions, I would urge that as evolution becomes more
certainly patent as a factor now at work in determining species, and
when more careful experiments have been performed on a large scale
with the view of proving the fertility of hybrids, the more certain we
are to find that closely allied species — of the nature of these Zi/i/amae —
will give us fertile hybrid progeny. This, however, must not be
allowed to interfere with the recognition of their specific distinctness
in a state of nature. Oberthiir writes :— " Ce qui complique la
question, c'est qu'ilest av^re que les Zmiaenac de ce groupe s'accouplent
facilement avec des papillons qui n'appartiennent pas a leur espece "
(Tjip. (/('s Pj/renct'-'f, p. 31) ; still, he does not on this account lump
these allied species. Meyrick, whose weakness for lumping allied
species to which he has not paid particular attention is well known,
keeps the Zygfi^nas distinct, and writes: — "The species are very
similar, often inter-breed, and are particularly liable to form local
races, so that their study is excessively difficult." Kirby {Jiutts.
and Motlis, p. 92) writes of X. hmvrrae : — " Many experienced
entomologists consider this insect to be only a variety of the last."
With the exception of Barrett, we know no "experienced entomologist "
who docs this. Of course, plenty of collectors, who are not students,
make the suggestion in their early days. It appears to us deplorable,
from the scientific point of view, to attempt to unite such distinct
insects.

I was not aware, when I wrote my note on Z. nwdirai/inh, Bdv.,
and insisted on its specific distinctness from Z. tn'fhlii and Z.
hmicrrac [Xatcs on the Zi/i/acniilac, pp. 16-17) that Oberthiir had
already come to this conclusion, although his retention of Staudinger's
name diihia for the species is quite inadmissible. As a practical field
naturalist, who knows all these insects in a state of nature, we value
his opinion, and find ourselves in almost absolute agreement with what
he writes concerning them. He remarks : — " On distingue aisement
la plupart des individus de trifolii, lonicerae, dubia, fdipcndulae et
transalpinct, mais il est impossible de s^parer avec une certitude com-
plete certaines Zi/naena lonicerae de certaines dubia on meme de
trifolii " [Lcp. des Pi/rences, p. 81). Of course, individual cases of
difficulty will always occur in the location of such closely allied species.
Another statement fully bearing out my remarks f Notes on the
Zi/'iaenidae, pp. lG-17) that Z. inedicat/inis { = dHbia, Stdgr.) is much
nearer Z. lonicerae than Z. trifolii, a variety of which Staudinger
makes it, is a quotation by South, who says : — " Christoph would
appear to hold the opinion that dnbia, Htdgr., and also stoecJiailis, Bork.,
are southern Alpine forms of Z. lonicerae " [Entom., xxiv., p. 235).
I have already suggested {Ibid., p. 18) that stoec/iadis, H.-S. (from the
neighbourhood of Cannes) is specifically identical with Z. rnedicai/inis,
but they are certainly distinct from Z. lonicerae, and Staudinger
treats Z. stoechadis, Bkh., as distinct from Z. stoechadis, H.-S.
Oberthiir's remark that " il est impossible de s^parer avec une
certitude complete certaines Zi/t/aena lonicerae de certaines dubia,''
also suggests a close alliance between these species.

It is generally assumed that c/iaron, Bdv. [Mon. Zi/;/., p. 65) non
lib. = stocc/tadis, H.-S., and that both are synonymous with nwdi-

NOTES ON THE ZYG^NIDES. 169

cai/inifi, Bdv. fct Led.). South, however, writes that " Lederer has
observed that, in Transcausaria (? Transcaucasia, J.W.T.), Z. filijien-
dulae, gradually becomes changed into tmnmlpina, Hb., and cJuiron,
Bdv. (two insects generally known under the name of Z. trifnlii var.
(lubia) " [Ejitoiii., xxiv., p. 284). We do not know Lederer's original
quotation, but to say that the six-spotted Z. jiliiioididae gradually
becomes changed into an absolutely distinct five-spotted species
f transaljJijia, Hb. = charon, Bdv. == mcdirai/inis, Bdv.) is to make a
statement for which there appears to be no foundation, and we take it
that South's further remark, that nwdicai/inis (= dubia, Stdgr.) " is
connected by intermediate links with Z. filipoididai'," is based on
Staudinger's diagnosis that didiia has " al. ant. macul. 5 vel 6."
We have captured and looked over some hundreds of so-called inter-
mediate links, and have found them all perfectly distinct from inedi-
cct(/infs, and referable to ochscnheiineri, Zell. (vide, Xutcs on Zi/i/aotidoc,
pp. 20-21). The further remark that "our British five-spotted
filipnidulac appears to fit here, and is, I think, really referable to
dubia, Stand.," cannot be substantiated in the remotest degree, for these
so-called ^'ii\'e-s])ottedjdipi'ndulac" are usually referable to hijijiDcrcpidis,
St. (vide, ante., pp. 103-107), and show no alliance whatever with the
purely Alpine species referred to here as dubia, Stdgr. (=:iin'dica</inis,
Bdv.).

I observe that Milliere unites charon, Bdv., and dubia, Stdgr., and
reports of it : " En juin et juillet. Rare an mont Leuze, on M.
Bryat, de Nice, I'a rencontree." This author, besides treating dubia,
Stdgr. = iiicdicai/inis, Bdv., as distinct from Z. lonicerac, of which he
says: " On la trouve en juin dans les garigues," also separates both
from Z. stoechadift, Bork. Of the latter, he says: " Elle n'est pas
rare a la fin de juin, au mont Leuze, suivant M. Bryat, de Nice. La
chenille (7c'., iii.,pl. 107, fig. 1 a 6) vit snv le Dori/ritiuw mfruticusum.''
Milliere, however, makes tmnsalpina, Hb., now generally recognised
as a synonym of dubia, Stdgr., as a var. of Z. lonicerae, and makes it
synonymous with Zeller's ochsenheimeri, and says of it : " Cette
variete constante ne semble pas rare sur les pelouses bien exposees des
environs de Cannes." This would suggest that Milliere's own
opinion was that mcdicaijinix (dubia, Stdgr.) was a form of Z. lonicerae,
his separation of dubia (= charon), as a distinct species, simply being-
based on M. Bryat's record of the form under another name, whilst
one is not at all clear whether Milliere's stoechadis, Bork., is not
really stoecliadis, H.-S., the latter of which is a Cannes insect (and a
probable form of medicafiinis), and yet is not mentioned by Milliere.
Z. stoechadin, Bork., according to Staudinger, is quite a distinct species.

I have already explained (Xotes on Ziiyacnidae, pp. 15-21) my
reasons for believing that Staudinger's original diagnosis of dubia,
so far as relates to its having " sometimes five, at other times six, spots
on the fore- wings," was due to the fact that he had united specimens
of the six-spotted Alpine Z. ocJisoiheimeri with the five-spotted Z. niedi-
caninis, both of which species sometimes cover the same ground, and,
I l)elieve, have been said to occasionally pair, although otherwise
quite distinct. I have specimens of ochseuhciiueri in my collection,
sent out by Staudinger as var. dubia, and I have seen many in other
collections. I have captured large numbers of uwdicai/inis in various
parts of the Alps, some of which occurred, and some of which did

170 THE entomologist's record.

not occur, in localities also inhabited by oclmmheimeri. Oberthlir
follows Staudinger here, and says : " Nous avons vu beaucoup de
fhOiia avee cinq ou six taches aux ailes superieures, mais jamais nous
n'avons observe de confluence de taches dans duhia " {Lcp. des.
Pi/rdnees, p. 31). We notice that Oberthiir has not yet recognised
ocliscnlwijiicri as a Pyrenean species, and are inclined to think his
specimens of six-spotted dnhUi {iiicdicai/inis) are really referable to this
species.

I was much interested recently in re-reading some notes by G. T.
Baker (-Bethune), on Z. medicaiiinis (Ent. Mo. Maij., xxi., p. 9). The
observations referred to were made in 1883, in the valley of the
Buttier, between Aosta and the Great St. Bernard Pass, a district
practically the same as that between Aosta and Courmayeur, in which
my own observations (Xofcs on Zi/iiacnidac, pp. 16-21) were made.
His description of the occurrence of the species suggests that they
occur in the same kind of places, and under similar conditions in the
two adjacent valleys, and I have no doubt from his descriptions that
the insects designated as " « " and " 6 " are jiwdicai/inis, whilst those
designated " c " (only a single specimen) and " (/ " are males, and
those "e" and "/" are females, of ochscnheiineri. The separation
made by Mr. Baker is so identical with that I made myself, on my
first acquaintance with these species, that there can be only such
doubt existing, as must always exist, when the specimens are not
actually under observation.

The remarks made, prefaced by Staudinger's diagnosis — "Zi/t/ama,
var. duhia, var. major, al. ant. macul. 5 vel 6, al. post, latins nigris " —
are as follows : "Of this insect we took a large number in the Buttier
Valley, in none of which are the central or basal spots confluent.
The series is so interesting that I will describe them in detail : —

" a. Fore-wings steel-blue, with the median spots red instead of crimson, and
narrowly separated ; hind-wings also red with a broad black border, spots on
underside all disconnected.

h. Fore-wings bluish-bronze, with the spots crimson, smaller than usual, the
median ones being more widely separated ; hind-wings crimson with a broader
black border.

c. Fore-wings bluish-green, with all the crimson-red spots very small, the
median ones being very oblique, and still more widely separated, and the hind-
wings having an exceptionally broad black border. On the underside of this
specimen there is a distinct trace of a sixth red spot on the fore- wings.

d. Fore-wings greenish-bronze, with the crimson-red spots small and the sixth
spot just visible (well marked on the underside) ; the hind-wings are erimson,
with a broad black border. [In none of the foregoing are the anterior wings at
all transparent.]

e. Green or blue-bronze, with markings similar to " d" but rather redder and
the sixth spot becoming much more visible ; the black border of the hind-wings is
decidedly narrower and more uniform, and the underside of the fore- wings is
suffused with red, and they have also a tendency to being slightly transparent, as
is noticeable in Jilipoidulae.

f. In this variety the sixth spot is well marked, and were it not for the very
broad and blue-black border of the hind-wings, it might be mistaken fov filip end ii la e."

With our own long series before us from the adjacent valley, we
have no hesitation in referring a and b to Z. medircviinis, and c, d,
e and _/■ to Z. ochsenheiweri. Baker is " inclined to believe that
considerable interbreeding must take place between it {duhia) and the
six-spotted Zijuacnac" {Ihid., p. 10). Careful examination of the paired
insects in the adjacent valley led me to believe that tkere was little or
no intercrossing between the species, the apparent mixture being due

NOTES ON THE ZYG/ENIDES. IVl

to the lumping of mcdicai/inis (a five-spotted species) with ochscnlwiiiun-i
(a six-spotted species, in which the males have the lower outer spot
very ill-developed or absent on the upper side). It may be added that
Mr. Baker and myself found typical Z. lonurrac in the Buttier and
Dora Valleys respectively.

I think these notes cover all the records of value relating to the
specific claims of Z. loniccrae, so far as they have been referred to in
recent years in our magazines and other works. I trust I have
made it clear that my observations of the living insects lead me to
believe that Z. hmiccrae is a distinct species from Z. tri/ulii, that
Z. iiicdicai/ini:^ [fluhia, Stdgr.) is also a distinct Alpine species, much
more closely allied to Z. lonurrac than to Z. trifidii, and that the
so-called six-spotted Z. medicafjinis are in reality specimens of
Z. ufh^enlieimeri.

Are Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) and T. crepuscularla
(biundularia) distinct species?

{^Concluded from p. 144).

By WILLIAM HEWETT.

The melanic forms are recorded from the following localities : —
(1). T. crepuscularia ab. dclaincroisis, B. -White. — Yorkshike. —
Kotherham, Doncaster, Edlington, Thorne, South Cave, Drewton
Dale, Skipwith, Wentbridge, Wheatley Woods, Houghton, Sledmere,
Strensall, Sandburn, Elvington, Hull. Cheshire. — Delamere Forest.
Warwickshire. — Birmingham. Derbyshire. — Bakewell, Derb3\
Nottinghamshire. — Mansfield. Staffs. — Rugeley. Glamorganshire.
— Swansea, and from Ireland. (2). T. bistortata ah. passctti, Thierry-
Mieg, is only recorded from Port Talbot, and the neighbourhood of
Swansea, Glamorganshire, in both of which localities it appears to be
common.

Doubleday, in speaking of the Warrington smoky forms, is
doubtless referring to the ab. delaiiwrcnsis, obtained by the Warrington
collectors from Delamere Forest, Mr. Collins informs me that neither
species occurs at Warrington.

It will be noticed that the following food-plants are given for the
two species : — T. bistortata. — Plum, hawthorn, osier, blackthorn, fir,
larch, poplar, elm, birch, sallow. T. crepuscularia. — Birch, wild-rose
(Perth), geranium, larch, plum, alder, sallow, willow, oak, knotgrass
(J. A. Cooper).

The following points, among others, seem still to require elucida-
tion : — (1) The number of eggs laid by T. bistortata (first and second
broods), and 2\ crepuscularia. (2) Will T. bistortata and T. crep2tscu-
Zrtrm pair, *^* and will the hybrids be fertile or sterile? (3) Will the
Perth form, considered by Mr. Tutt to be T. bistortata, pair more
readily Avith T. crepuscularia or southern T. bistortata? (4) The
examination of the eggs of more broods of the various forms of both
species to ascertain whether the difference in size is constant.

The information I have received re the distribution of T. bistortata,
fully confirms Doubleday's statement to Hellins, that the dark

* Dr. Riding <and Mr. Bacot have both answered thig in the affirmative since
the paper was read. — Ed.

172 tHE ENTOBIOLOGIST's RECORtJ.

Tcp/tm.sia (evidently hhtortata) " is far more difficult to procure than
the pale one, being very local in this country."

I am not a believer in the immutability of species, or the special
creation theory, but as firmly convinced as any of my readers that,
in descent with modification by means of natural selection, and the
consequent " survival of the fittest" theory, as propounded by Darwin
and Wallace, we have the correct interpretation of the means by
Avhich species are evolved.

I am certainly of the opinion that 7'. crepmcularia is the species,
and that T. bistortata is a sub-species, or a species in the process of
development, but whether it will ever develop into a species, or be
finally supplanted in the keen struggle for existence by the more
widely distributed "-•' and much more plentiful *■* T. crepmcularia, is
another question.

That the specimens received by Mr. Barrett in 1886, from Derby-
shire, were T. crcpim'xdaria, and not T. bistortata, as stated by Mr.
Barrett, I do not entertain the least doubt. The dates, April 12th and
April 21th, agree very well for those of the former. T. bistortata does
not occur in Derbyshire.

That the double-brooded specimens of '/'. crcpusndaria (biioidiilaria)
referred to by Mr. Barrett, exist only in that gentleman's imagination,
and that Mr. Tutt is quite correct in stating that a second brood of
this species in nature is unknown, I am also firmly convinced. I
observe also that Mr. Barrett seems to be unaware of the existence of
April T. crepuscidaria [biundularia).

[Since writing the above, Mr. R. Stafford, in a letter dated
November 26th, 1896, states that " both species are double-brooded here
(Pwcllengare)," and this gentleman has sent me specimens of the
second brood of 2\ crcpusrnlaria (biundularia) as well as its ab.
ddaiiirrcnsis. They are quite distinct from the second brood of
T. bistortata.]

As I have no intention of allowing my interest in the Tcphrosia
question to flag, I should be glad to receive specimens, with dates and
exact localities, from North and Central Europe, North Asia, Japan,
North America, Shetlands, Orkneys, Hebrides, North Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, or the northern, eastern and midland counties of
England. I should also like information, together with specimens
and particulars of geographical distribution, temperature and elevation
of locality above sea-level, from any district not mentioned in my
paper. I particularly want to know Avhere the species have not
been noticed by collectors residing in the district.

In conclusion, I wish to specially thank Messrs. Riding, Bacot,
Mason, Prout, Robertson and Kane, who have each rendered me
excellent service. To Messrs. Riding and Bacot I am specially
indebted, as, without their most valuable aid, my paper would have
lost much of its interest and scientific value. I must also thank most
heartily all those gentlemen Avho have contributed to my paper, for
their ready response to my many questions, and their evident wish to
help me by every means in their power. They have very materially
lightened my labours, and enabled me to place before you a great

* Is this true, except for the British Islands? T. bistortata has a marvellous
range over the whole of the PalBearctic and Nearctic regions. The distribution of
T. crqniscularia is, so far as records go, much more restricted. — Ed.

t. BtSTORTATA (cREPUSCULARIa) AND T. CREPUSCULAIUA (bIUNDULARIA). 173

deal of reliable information as to the life-history, geographical distri-
bution, etc., of the two species under discussion, as well as to clear up a
great many errors and mistakes in connection with this difficult
subject.

Contributions to the fauna of the Dauphinc Alps.

VII.— The moths of Bourg d'Oisans, {Continued from p. 142). —

DoUBLE-BROODED GeOMETRIDES. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AciDALIA

OCHRATA FROM DeAL AND DauPHINE.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E S.

Geometrides. — Metrocampa man/antaria. — One specimen only, in
good condition ; second brood evidently. Exactly like our British
examples. ludis trrnaiia. - One beautiful example came to light. It
is, probably, a very abundant species in the district, as clematis
grows everywhere. The species had been abundant in Kent in late
June, so we suspected this must have been a specimen representing a
partial double-brood. This is not known to occur, we believe, in
England. Xonoria poninata. — Of this little emerald, one specimen
only, taken in a lucerne field. Exposure had, however, changed it from
green to brownish. Sdidoscina ericctaria (plwiiaria). — One specimen
only, in a lucerne field, a large male. This species is doubtfully double-
brooded in Dauphine and Southern France generally. We found the
species moderately abundant on a piece of heathy ground at Gresy-
sur-Aix, towards the end of August, in 1894. Eiiiatun/a atojiiaria. —
This species, partially double-brooded in England, becomes evidently
wholly double brooded here. It was very abundant for the first two
or three days of our stay only, when it became scarce — evidently over.
The examples were large, with bright fulvous ground-colour, and very
variable, in the direction of developing a bright yellowish coloration.
The females were very fine, large and variable, and also roughly
dimorphic, one lot grouping into fulvous forms, the other into grey.
Strcnia clathrata. — Rather common, the ground-colour usually
white ; we observed no specimens of the ochreous colour so
common with us in England. Stirnia iiJimorata.— A few worn ex-
amples only, more like the ochreous Lewes examples, than is the grey
form from Le Lautaret. The <? specimens were worn, as might be
expected, considering the species was coming out a fortnight before at
Le Lautaret (8000 ft. elevation) ; the females were in better condition.
They disappeared entirely after our third day, so the species was
evidently over. Aspilatcs (jilvaria. — Rather common, and exactly like
our British specimens. ]\Unoa murinata. — One example only of the same
brown form that we usually get in England. The grey form appears
to be much rarer. It was the only form, however, seen at Bregenz, in
August, 1895. Anaitis plai/iata. — One very large and beautiful speci-
men disturbed. Very like a specimen captured on Ben Donich
(Loehgoilhead), in August, 1893. Kuholia hipunctata. — Very abun-
dant, and rather darker than our Kent examples. I'dun/a cnniitata. — ■
One worn specimen only came to light. Caiiiptoi/raiiniia hilincata. —
Common in one or two spots. A pale form, inclined to greyish, Avith
no distinct dark bands. Most of the specimens were worn, and the
species was going over. Melanipix' Jiuctuata. — Very like well-marked
London specimens might be, with the basal area, costal and

l74 ttifi ENtOMOLOGIST's RECOftt).

apical marks well defined. ^L'lanippe rivata. — One specimen only.
M. sociata. — One example, in fine condition, with dark central band.
Larentia aqueata. — A few specimens came to light, mostly worn, one
only had the delicate green tinge which marks the recently emerged
specimens. The habits of this species are very like those of its ally,
L. mlkata, to which it bears considerable resemblance as it sits on
the rocks. L. ri/anata. — One specimen only, which came to light.
This was a small male. L. injidaria. — Two beautiful specimens of
this species, which is closely allied to L. Jiaiicinctata, came to light,
one of each sex. Von'mia fernifjata. — One example, in fine condition,
at light. Antirlea bcrbcrata. — The Alpine specimens of this species
difter considerably from British specimens, the black transverse lines
being more continuous, and the brown markings absent. One finds
it pretty generally distributed in the Alps, where barberry is very
abundant ; yet I never remember having seen the moths abundant.
It came to light at Bourg. Boannia repandata. — One worn example,
also at light. />, (jeiniiHiria. — One specimen taken on a pine trunk, at
about 4,000 ft. elevation. Gnophosobsciirata. — One very dark example,
captured at light, closely resembling the specimens from Perthshire.
a. diliu-idaria var. iiwndicaria. — A few specimens, in very poor condi-
tion, came to light. Acidalia nd)ii/i)iata {rubricata). — This species
was not at all uncommon in the lucerne fields, and on waste slopes
covered with long rank herbage. The specimens appear to be
just like our Sultolk examples. A. ochrata. — The specimens of this
species were abundant on one little slope, overgroAvn with wild flowers
and grass. They were much larger and more brightly coloured than
our British examples, which are, indeed, the var. penn-hraria, St.,
the brighter, larger race of southern Europe being the type of the species.
This was probably a second brood. The species used to be at its best at
Deal the first week in July, seven weeks earlier than the date of capture
at Bourg. A. rnfaria. — One male specimen only, worn. A. Jiuiniliata.
— One worn example only, without red costa. A. arersata. — A few
specimens of the unicolorous grey form (ab. spuliata) only taken, the
banded type not seen. A. vianjinepiuictata. — One specimen came to
light, of the same pale form that occurs in Kent. A. ornata. — Abun-
dant, and in fine condition, on the same rough slope that A. uchrata
frequented. KnuncJcaia adaeqiiata and iV. minorata. — Kather uncom-
mon, at about 5,000 ft. elevation, on the mountains behind the
village, the latter much worn, the former in good condition. We
took the former on the Little St. Bernard Pass, on July 81st, 1894, at
nearly 7,000 ft., flying, at dusk, in profusion. Here both species
were evidently going over. Kupithevia centaurcata, KupU/iccia iiiipurata
and E. nepetata. — Used to come to light every night ; the K. iinpii-
rata were very fine. E. tcuiiariscata. — One specimen only came to
light. E. Kobrinata. — One specimen only, also at light. Two other
species of the genus Kupitluria, taken at light, are quite distinct from
anything in the British Museum collection.

Crambides. — Crambns jioidlus. — Perhaps common in some locality
not explored. Several came to light, although we did not notice
many specimens during the daytime. The specimens were all typi-
cally white, and not at all approaching the ab. warrhu/toni'llus. C.
inquinatdlm. — Not common. The few specimens seen were very
typical. C. cuhnellus. — Common, the males with silvery- white fore-

CONTRIBUTIONS To THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHINK ALPS. 175

wings. C. trhtdlua. — At light, not uncommon, and quite typical.
Honiaeosoma nimbella and H. sinudla. — Both species came to light.
Anerastia lotella.— Both sexes came to light, probably from the
marshy ground towards the Romanche. The specimens are redder
than those examples of the species that I have captured at Deal.
Ili/thi/ia carndla. — Both forms occurred, i.e., the form with, and that
without, a pale costa. Dionjctria splendidella (abietella). — Two speci-
mens at light, one exceedingly fine. Both are specifically identical
with specimens in my collection from Forres and Shoeburyness. The
Dauphin^ specimens, however, are very strongly marked.

Pyralides. — Cledcohia {Actinia) brunnealis. — Two specimens in a
lucerne field, both males, disturbed in the daytime. Knni/chia ciiu/u-
lata. — One very large specimen came to light. None observed on the
wing. Uhodaria san<iuinalis. — Brighter and yellower than the Wal-
lasey specimens. They are very like individuals captured at Cour-
mayeur and Aosta (Piedmont). The specimens taken here came to
light. Pijrausta punicealis and P. imrpuralis. — Were both captured,
and not uncommon. Hydrocampa stcujnalis. — One rather small male
specimen came to light. Botys jiavaUs.— One specimen only, in very
fine condition. It is very unicolorous, yellow, and with scarcely a
trace of darker markings, probably the ab. liUealis, Dup. B. repan-
dalis. — Not uncommon on the borders of the lucerne fields. In fine
condition, of large size, and not at all so strongly marked as most of
the specimens in the British Museum collection. B. tcrrcalis. — A worn
specimen only was captured. tSj/ilodea rcrticalis {cinctalis). — Not
uncommon, fairly large, i.e., as large as our British specimens, and
larger than specimens of the second brood that we captured at Bag-
neux (Paris), in early August, 1893. These are also much more
strongly marked.

Pyralgides.- — Dcpressaria ociilana. — One specimen only came to
light. Fsecadia pusidla. — One specimen only of this species (so
abundant at La Grave), found on a window. Hyponovieuta cayna-
ydlm. —Common at light ; the specimens quite typical.

Alucitides. — Alucita hc.radactyla. — Taken at light, and in the
house (bed-room). Plad the latter come in for hybernation?

Pterophorides. — Miiiicu'SL'ojitilus ^ap/iodactyluv {l(ieirii). — Common
on the same ground as A. uchrala. AciptiUa -pentadactyla. — Common
in the hedgerows and fields. A. baliodactyla. — Worn and scarce,
probably going over. l-'terop/idrus nionodactyla. ■ — One specimen
only.

ToRTRiciDEs. — Dichdia ynomana. — Two or three specimens only,
disturbed from the hedgerow by the side of the slope Avhere A. uchrata,
etc., occurred. Sericuris cespitana. — Genevvilly common. Penthina
corticana. — One specimen disturbed from the herbage near the hotel.
Carpocapaa pomonana. — One specimen only, came to light.

Zygaenides. — Zyyaena carniolica. — Abundant in all the fields and
lanes about the village. The greater number with the normal creamy
rings very ill developed, and the central pan- of spots often united
(already described, anti'., vol. viii., p. 217). /^. achillcac. — The species
was going over. I found only one or two specimens on the thistle-
flowers with Z. (■arniolica. Z. transalpiiia. — This species was in
splendid condition, of rather small size, and very abundant at a little
elevation behind the village. Kirby says this is a " southern form of

176 THE entomologist's HECOUt).

Z. filipenihdae ," a very bad shot for one of the most distinct of the
Alpine species of Ziji/aoia.

Jg^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, &c.

Eggs of Lepidoptera. — Fiihniia cunsiiiciuita. — Attached by flat
side, in crevices, or against the roughnesses of the box in which the
eggs are laid. A flat oval in shape ; the micropylar end rather
narrower. Length : width : height : : 4 : 3 : 2. A rather deep de-
pression, markedly cellular in appearance, occupies the greater part
of the central area of the upper surface. Colour green, with a series
of raised longitudinal ribs running the whole length of the egg, and
crossing the central depression. Fifteen of these can be counted on
the upper half of the egg. They are apparently made up of a large
number of raised whitish points, arranged longitudinally, and united
transversely by short raised ribs running obliquely between the
longitudinal ones, so that the egg in some positions appears to be
honeycombed all over. The shell is shining, and white ; the embryo
within of a distinctly darker green colour. The micropylar area does
not present a very distinctive appearance. It is composed of a rosette,
formed of the endings of the longitudinal ribs, the micropyle proper,
consisting of a smaller but similar rosette, situated centrally within
the outer one. [Eggs laid April 22nd, described April 26th, 1897,
under a two-thirds lens.]

Xiuiwria pnlceraria. — Uf a plump oval in outline; length : breath :
height : : 4 : 3 : 2|, with an oval depression on the upper surface,
occupying about half the upper surface. The shell reticulated with
delicate hexagonal pittings, the pits arranged somewhat longitudinally,
and more distinctly developed in the oval depression of the upper
surface. Colour pale yellow, to the naked eye, pearly white under
lens. The micropylar area is at the narrower end, not easily distin-
guished. It is composed of slightly elongated cells, arranged concen-
trically, with the narrower end of each cell pointing towards the
micropyle ; two rows of such cells visible, the inner one smaller.
The micropyle proper is a very minute delicate stellate structure,
situated in the centre of the micropylar area. The eggs (received from
the Rev. C. R. N. Burrows) were laid indiscriminately, but singly, on
the leaves of the food -plant and surface of a chip box, on April 25th.
[Eggs described April 26th, under two- thirds lens.]

Aleuci-s pictaria. — Two eggs laid in the fork of a twig of sloe, a
single egg in another fork. To the naked eye they appear to very
closely resemble the colour of the bark of the sloe. Under a lens the
eggs are seen to be almost covered with a number of tiny, short, stiff,
pieces of transparent material resembling coarse silk, intermixed with
black particles, probably broken scales, but with a distinct superficial
resemblance to particles of coal dust. The eggs are so far covered
that the structure is entirely obscured, and the eggs have to be washed
for description. The egg is cylindrical, with rounded ends, the
length : breadth : : 3 : 2. It is of a pale yellowish colour, becoming
redder as it approaches maturity. The egg-shell is shiny, transparent,
the contents of the egg examined (well advanced in development) of
an almost uniformly blood-red colour. The central area of the egg is
exceedingly minutely pitted, but at the two ends the pitting is much

NOTES ON UFE-HTSTORIES, h\nVJE, ETC. 177

coarser, and is very roughly but distinctly hexagonal. The micropyle
is placed at one end of the egg, in the centre of a very slightly depressed
area, which is composed of more regular cells than the surrounding
parts. At the centre of this area is a minute depression, the micropyle
proper, with four small black points, which give the micropyle a
blackish appearance, under a very low power. [Eggs received from
Rev. G. H. Raynor, described under a two-thirds lens. May 12th, 1897.]
Centra fiurnla. — Of a deep purpUsh-black colour, with a some-
what dead, silky, appearance. The egg forms a little more than a
hemisphere, the flat end forming the base. It is covered with an
exceedingly close, but somewhat deeply cut reticulation, forming
roughly, irregular, hexagonal cells, which are much more distinct on
the shoulders and upper surface of the egg than on the sides. There
is a tiny central cone (point) at the apex of the egg, the sides of which
are covered with a more open network than the rest of the egg. The
micropyle proper forms a minute stellate structure placed at the apex
of this cone. [Eggs received from Rev. G. H. Raynor, described
under a two-thirds lens, May 12th, 1897].— J. W. Tutt.

Eurrantlds plwnhtraria. — Eggs laid loosely. Somewhat cylin-
drical in shape, with rounded ends, a slight depression in the centre
of the upper surface. The micropylar end much narrower than its
nadir. There are 16 longitudinal ribs, which are pretty distinct
centrally, but lose their character as ribs towards the micropylar and
opposite ends of the egg. A series of raised white buttons on the
longitudinal ribs terminate the less developed discontinuous trans-
verse ribs. The transverse ribs form, with the longitudinal ribs, dis-
tinct and almost regular hexagonal basins over the whole of the
upper fourth and lower third of egg. The micropylar area forms a
distinct circular depression of a golden-brown colour, surrounded by
small, modified, more regular, hexagonal cells, the white buttons
absent on the margin of the depression. The inner micropylar area is
much darker, with a ring of dark cells enclosing a circle oi lighter-
coloured and much smaller cells, in the very centre of which is the
micropyle. The colour of the egg appears to be dull greenish to the
naked eye, but under the microscope it is a pale, shining gold, the
whole surface minutely roughened. The arrangement of the white
buttons is very remarkable. At the two ends one is placed at each
corner of the hexagons, with which these areas are covered. In the
central portion of the egg, the white buttons are arranged thus •.'.•
along the longitudinal ribs ; this arrangement is due to the fact that
the alternate buttons belong to transverse ribs, which cross to the
next longitudinal rib on opposite sides. The white buttons are very
ill-developed over the area occupied by the central depression. [Eggs
laid April 28th, by a ? captured at Digne. Description made May
4th, 1897, under a two-thirds lens.]

Rcnicrophila ahntptaria.— The eggs are laid partly upon each other,
more or less imbricate. In shape they are broadly oval (not unhke a
hen's egg), the micropylar end much broader than its nadir.
The length : breadth : height : : 5 : 3 : 3. There is a slight lateral
depression on one side. The colour of the egg is, at first, bright green,
becoming pinky- red (to the naked eye) as the embryo matures. The
shell is shiny, with a golden tint, and the colour, under the micro-
scope, at first bright green, becomes brownish-red. The whole surface

178 THE ektomologist's record.

of the egg is covered with a network of hexagonal cells, with a glisten-
ing white knob or button at each angular point (here and there
heptagonal and pentagonal cells exist side by side, where one of the
knobs has migrated to an adjacent cell). Each cell is depressed with
raised edges, and the ground of the cell is minutely pitted. There is
no definite arrangement of the cells into longitudinal and transverse
lines, and the buttons of the cells directly surrounding the micropylar
area are less prominent, not so large nor so shiny. The hexagonal
cells are occasionally very regular, but usually more or less irregular.
The micropyle is placed at the bottom of a small depression, situated
centrally at the broader end. In the green stage of the egg, it is most
difficult to distinguish, but becomes more conspicuous with the darken-
ing of the colour. It is exceedingly simple, being formed of a number
of rounded cells with a stellate arrangement. [Eggs sent by Mr.
Bacot, May 14th, in the green stage, described May i7th in the red
stage, under a two-thirds lens.] The close resemblance between the
sculpture of this egg and that of Knyrantltia plumistraria is very
striking. — T. E. Baty.

Note on the newly-emerged larva of Polygonia egea. — The
newly-emerged larva of P. ct/ca is very like a Noctuid larva (say that
of Dasycampa mhu/inea, for example) on emergence from the egg.
After the first moult it bears considerable resemblance to the larva of
P. machaon in its first skin, so far as regards tubercles and hairs ; but
it is far more specialised than the larva of P. machaon, both as regards
the arrangement of the tubercles or processes {i.e., embryonic spines),
which are not in the usual trapezoidal form, and also in both having a
central dorsal row of these processes or spines. — A. Bacot. May, 1897.

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Discussion on the attractiveness of light. — The attractiveness
of light has often puzzled me, and I cannot see my way to any
explanation ; but can imagine that, in some way, it is connected with
an insect's sense of colour. Bees, as Sir J. Lubbock has shown, are
very sensible of colour, and mostly attracted by blue. Night moths
seem to find yellow and white flowers out, as most night-opening and
night-scented flowers are one or other of these, e.y., the night-
flowering Silenes — mitans, viarithiia, noctifiora, Mi/7rtirt, etc., as against
the allied red Lychnis dioica (sometimes placed among the Silenes),
Nicotia7ia affinis, which only wakes up of a night, and many
others, all of which are specially adapted for fertilisation by nocturnal
insects. Once allow the attractiveness of a white flower to a nocturnal
insect, and the influence of light becomes explicable, for a light would
surely act on that insect in a much stronger manner. — E. A. Bowles,
M.A., F.E.S., Waltham Cross.

Mr. Bowles' explanation of the attractiveness of light is ingenious,
but white and yellow flowers may only be attractive at night by
being more conspicuous, and moonlight nights ought thus to be the
best to capture moths at flowers, which is contrary to experience.
Are white and yellow flowers the most attractive ? The red nettles,
red clover, rush bloom, red verbena, geraniums, red valerian, and many
others, are all very attractive. We must account for the fa^t
that insects come far more freely oji dry evenings, and after a,

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 179

spell of dry weather, than on rainy nights, though these send some
visitors to our moth traps. The effect of light on insects seems
such that, once drawn within its influence, they seem hardly capable
of escaping. Yet we see others of the same species, pass and repass
the light without noticing it. As a general axiom, it may be laid
down that the drier the atmosphere (east winds excepted) the better
will be success at light. Moonlight, of course, settles the question,
but, given a warm night, after a dry interval, and species generally
swarm. I once had 45 species in my room on such an evening.
Moths come early, but the bulk arrive between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
One condition is, however, a mif qnil non, viz., absence of wind,
and, in working street lamps, such as are in a sheltered place are by
far the best. The cause of the attractiveness of light is a matter
that would well repay study. — C. Fenn, F.E.S., Lee.

My most successful evenings at light have been damp ones ; the
dry ones are distinctly less successful. 8o far as I am guided by rule
at all, it is that I look upon wind (especially east wind) as the chief
deterrent to success at light. — J. C. Mobicrly, M.A., F.E.S.

The working of light (so far as shop windows and street lamps are
concerned) is not very productive in this district. Only when I wish to
obtain Scopana cciiihrac, do I make a raid on the shop windows, and
then I am most successful on fine calm evenings. The electric light
in the works of the Steel Co. of Scotland, at Newton (near Glasgow),
attracts a number of Dasi/polia tcinpli, every autumn. — A. Adie
Dalglish.

I have not found light pay at Portland, except in the autumn,
when HdiopJi()b7ts hi.yiidus, KjiuiuJa lichcnea, etc., are much attracted
by it ; but all specimens so attracted are males. I do not think that
the female of //. j^apularis is often attracted by light, though, when
this moth is common, the males come in great numbers. — N. M.
Richardson, B.A., F.E.S.

Mr. Fenn's criticism on my " ingenious explanation " is not so
hard on me as it at first appears. For instance, it is because pale
yellow and white flowers "are more conspicuous at night" that I
mentioned them. It is a fact that they reflect certain rays of light
instead of absorbing them, as red and blue would ; these rays affect
the eyes of insects, the flowers are seen and visited, and a feast of
honey benefits the insect and fertilizes the flower : both are
encouraged to continue, and, a natural habit of being attracted by
light objects, in expectation of honey, grows up in the insect, and
night expansion and pale coloring are fixed in the flowers visited.
Coming to Mr. Fenn's moonlight criticism, I think I see neutral-
izing + and — signs. Thus, he says, " given a warm night," and
we know that to be moonlight a night must be clear, and clear nights
are cold nights, and insects fly not on cold nights. Again, of course,
given sufficient moonlight, any flower would be conspicuous, and the
insects so widely distributed, that to wait at any particular patch of
flowers for them, would not pay. I do not deny that red flowers are
attractive, but it is chiefly by day and often by scent, as in the
clover, verbena and nettles cited, which are chiefly fertilized by
diurnal insects. But it is only the attractiveness of light at night
that we are discussing, and I maintain, in answer to Mr. Fenn's
query — "Are white and yellow flowers the most attractive?" By

180 THE entomologist's record.

night, certainly — Yes ! for the majority of flowers specialized for
fertilization by nocturnal insects are either pale yellow or white. In
support of which see Kerner's Nat. Hist, of Plantu, vol. ii., p. 196 :
" That scarlet flowers are not visited by hawk moths, owlet moths,
and other crepuscular and night-flying animals is obvious, since, when
twilight falls, scarlet, as well as purple-red, violet and blue flowers
become invisible. At this time only those flowers can be seen which
are coloured white or yellow on the side turned towards the flying
animals, as for example the evening primrose, honeysuckle, some
Ni/ctanincae f ('.</., Mirabilis longifiora}, many Solanaceae (I'.'j., Nicotiana
affinis, Datura atramonmm), numerous Carijoj)hi/llaceae of the genus
Silene, various species of Yucca and Calonj/ctiou, and, most of all, the
large flowered Mexican cactuses of the genus Kchinocactus and Cereus.
When dark-coloured flowers are visited at night by insects, for
example, those of Ilespcrh ^ristis, P dan ionium tristc and atrum, it is
not in consequence of the colour, but of the scent of flowers." In
Grant Allen's Tfw Cohnirs of Flowers, p. 41 : — " The day lychnis (L.
iUurnca ) has red scentless flowers, opening in the morning, and it is
chiefly fertilized by diurnal butterflies. But its descendant, the night
lychnis ( L. (rs/j<irt/»rtj has taken to fertilization by means of moths,
and as moths can only see white flowers, it has become white." In
Sir J. Lubbock's British Wild Flowers in Fielation to Insects, p. 11 : —
" Night flowers are generally white or pale yellow, these being the
tints which render them most conspicuous in the dusk of evening." —
E. A. BowLKs, M.A., F.E.S., Waltham Cross.

:]P>RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for July and August.

^ By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — In July and August, the females of Stilbia anomala are to be
found early in the evening, sitting on the flowers of ragwort.

2. — The larva of CucxdUa (jnaphalii is to be found feeding on
golden-rod, from the end of July to the end of August. The
woods above Sevenoaks and Seal are well-known habitats for this rare
species.

3. — The larva of Ilydroecia petasitis feeds on the subterranean
stem of I'etasites ruh/aris, in which it makes large excavations, during
July. The large plants in a dry situation are the most likely to be
affected. The pupae should be dug up about the third week in August.

4. — During July and August the twisted heads of Fpilohiu)a should
be collected for larvae of Laverna epilohiella.

5. — The larva of Peronea cristana feeds between united hawthorn
leaves in July.

6.— Towards the end of July and throughout August the imagines
of Freiiiohia ochroleuca are to be found sitting in the centre of a
scabious bloom, or that of Centaurea scahiosa.

7. — The imagines of A</lossa cuprealis are common in July and
August, in the barns and stables attached to all the farms about
Wicken (probably elsewhere). They sit on the woodwork among
swarms of A. pini/uinalis and Pyralis farinalis.

tllACtlCAL tiiNtS. l8l

8. — The larvee of Sarrothripa undulanm [revaijana) may be beaten
from oak, in July.

9. — The larvae of Craniophora [Acromjcta) Ivjustri are sometimes
to be beaten from privet hedges, in July and August.

10. — The plants of Galiiiin, rcrum should be well searched, in
August, for larvjB of Antidca vuculata (sinuata).

11. — The first week in August, the larva of Hecatera chri/smona
is to be found stretched at length across the flowers and seed-heads of
lettuce, in gardens.

12. — The second week in August is the best time to collect the
galls made on the stems of Polygonum acu-ulare, by larvie of Asi/clnia
acratella. These should be exposed to direct rays of sun.

13. — The larvte of (Jelechia scriptella fold the leaves of maple, in
August.

14. — Seed-heads of cowslips should be collected in August forlarvre
of Eupoecilia ciliana. The larvae want cork in which to pupate.

15. — Leaves of buckthorn, folded and fastened together the whole
length of the leaf, should be collected in September for larvae of
Pho.voptenjx dcmaana. They do not pupate until spring, and should
be given cork in which to pupate.

16. — During July, August and September, some white web over
the mid-rib of elm leaves indicates the presence of the plain green
larva of PempeUafonnom, which feeds openly by day on the upper sur-
face of the leaves, and probably uses the web for shelter only at night.

17. — In the last week of July, on the banks of the river Bure, I
found Sericoris dnuhledaijana, flying gently among Lastrea, M)jrica,
and reeds, in the late afternoon sunshine. It is necessary to look for
the moths, so little do they rise above the undergrowth (Meek).

18. — In early August, Gelechia palmtrella flies directly after dusk,
i.e., when it is actually getting dark, and may be then taken flying
over the reeds, Spcnyanium, Tijpha, Iris, etc., that go to make up a
veritable ditch flora. Later on it comes to light. I have taken it
from 10.30 to 12.30 p.m. by this means.

19. — In July, the cones of Gracilaria populetoniiii are to be found
on birch. The cone occupies an entire leaf, in which the green, rather
transparent, larva feeds.

^^ ARI ATI 0 N.

Aberration of Eupithecia abbreviata. — I took, among other speci-
mens of the same species, in April, at Swansea, a fine aberration^ of
Eupithecia abbreviata, the middle of the wing being nearly white.
— (Major) R. B. Robertson, Wellington Court, Cheltenham.

Amphidasys betularia ab. doubledayaria at Forest Gate. —
On May 23rd, I picked up a specimen of A. betularia ab. doiibledaijaria
in this neighbourhood. As I have not seen any record of this
aberration being taken in the London district, I thought perhaps
it might be of sufficient interest to insert in the Record. — A. W.
Mera, 79, Capel Road, Forest Gate. May 2ith, 1897.

^I^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Dasypolia templi at Swansea. — I have been shown a male Dasyjiolia
templi, which was taken at Swansea in the autumn of 1896. This
species is quite new to the district. — (Major) R. B. Robertson.

l82 THE ENtOMOLOGIST*S RECOftC.

KeTARDED ElIERGENCES OF PeTASIA NUBECULOSA, AND HINTS AS TO

PAIRING THIS specibis IN CAPTIVITY. — I had, in April, a few Petasia
nubcculosa from 1895 larvae. Pupae of 1893 and 1894 of the same
species are still standing over. I obtained two pairings of those bred,
and obtained fertile ova. The insects are not difficult to pair if placed in
a large box, and out in the open air or near an open window. I
noticed that they did not copulate till the fourth or fifth night after
emergence. The eggs were laid, scattered over the gauze at the top
of the large box in which I kept the females. — T. Maddison, South
Bailey, Durham.

Retarded emergence of Nyssia hispidaria. — I bred a male Xyssia
Jiisjiidaria this year, which had been three years in the pupal stage. —
C. Fenn, F.E.S., Lee, S.E.

Spring lepidoptera at Carlisle. — A cold backward spring has
caused lepidoptera to be correspondingly late in appearing, and with
few exceptions they have been scarce. The sallows were productive
of little but the common Taeniocampids, yet these are quite as
interesting as rarer species which vary little. I got a nice lot of
TaciUDcampa stabiUs abs. pallida, (Mujua, suff'usa and rufa. The ab.
vbliqua is much the commonest form here. T. histabilis varied from
a pale grey form with dark reniform to the extreme ab. fii-scata. The
type of T. (lotldca is rare with us ; ab. rarici/ata predominates. A few
T. jiojiuletl turned up in two new localities ; it is never common here.
Pauolis jiiidjienla, usually abundant, was represented by one specimen.
Parhnobia rabricusa was not scarce, but in poor condition. At rest on
tree trunks, Xiilocauipa areola, Tephrosia hiiuuhdaria, and Lobdjdtora
carplnata were in fair numbers, while Antidea badiata, A. nvjrofasciaria,
C'idaria sujf'ioiiata, and Curciiiia unidcntaria, were netted along hedge-
rows at dusk. Callophrya rubi has been much scarcer than usual ;
two outings in quest of it only gave me a dozen. Euchlo'e cardamincs
is just coming on. Night searching for larvae, with one exception,
has been unremunerative : Nuctua trianyuluin, N.xantho;irapha, X. haia,
Graphiphora amjur, Triphaena fimbria, T. comes {orbona), Leucania
lithan/i/ria, and Melanippc iiiontanata, represent what I met with,
the majority very sparingly. The exception to the general scarcity
was Xoctua castanea. The larvae of this species have been very
abundant on heath. Though most are to be swept at dusk, and
during the night, a good many may be taken in the morning and in
the late afternoon. During the middle of the day they appear to
drop to the roots of the heath. I find that they feed voraciously on
hawthorn in captivity, preferring it to their natural pabulum. A few
Aspilates .striiiillaria were swept along with X. castanea, and also one
or two Lycophotia striyula. Larvfe of the last named will not feed with
me. A few days after being taken, I find them at the bottom of the
breeding pot, dead or dying. The choicest sprays of heath they
disregard, and I cannot get them to eat hawthorn or any other plant.
On one of the " mosses " here, my friend Mr. Wilkinson and I met
with larvcT3 of Ai/rotis ayathina. In less than half-an-hour we swept
twenty about half-an-inch long. While gloating over these, we were
rudely interrupted by a gamekeeper, and our acquaintance with
A. ayatliina in its haunts was abruptly terminated. A letter to the
proprietor of the " moss," asking permission to collect there, was
politely replied to in the negative. I am afraid that we shall not

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 183

rear the few we did get. They are looking very unhealthy just now,
and eat next to nothing.— F. H. Day, 6, Currock Terrace, Carlisle.
May 11th, 1897.

Epichnopteryx reticella larv^ at Canvey.— On May 3rd, I
obtained a good supply of larva? of Epichioptenj.,- reticella, on a salt
marsh at Canvey. It is necessary to lie down and search very closely
for the cases, to obtain them in any numbers. — F. G, Whittle, 3,
Marine Avenue, Southend.

Spring collecting at Swansea.— Spring collecting at Swansea has
been unsatisfactory. A few T. lmt,ntata (melanic specimens were rare),
Xijlocawpa areola (litJtoriza) and Lnbapliora lohidata were taken at rest,'
and Eupit/uria abhren'ata was abundant at rest on oak, larch and
other trees.— (Major) K. B. Robertson, Wellington Court, Cheltenham.

Taeniocampa opima at Canvey.— I found a fine Taeniacampa opiina at
•Canvey, on sea-wormwood, on April 19th.— F. G. Whittle.

Melit.ea aurinia in Ireland. — I have been very successful in
getting the larvae of this species into the pupal condition. I found a
web in the winter, the larvs have fed up slowly, and I have now, at
least, 150 pupae. The larva? appeared to be very partial to warmth,
collecting at the hottest corner of the cage, and becoming lively when
the sun was on them. I noticed they continued to make use of a web
throughout their larval existence. The pupa is a very beautiful object,
and, suspended, it looks like the bud of some flower.— C. Bingham
Newland, Killetra, Mallow, co. Cork.

Dasycampa rubiginea and other spring Lepidoptera at Beading.

•Of the early spring lepidoptera, Hybemia leucophaearia was well to
the fore, the dark-banded forms not uncommon, and H. maryinaria
was in plenty. Nys^sia Jn'spidaria was not very well forward, but I
had one good day's work at AspJialia jiavicornis. Sallows produced
fine forms of Taeniocampa instabilis, T. yracilis, T. popnleti, T. iiuuida,
T. miniosa, Calocampa retmta, and Panolu piniperda, whilst sugar, on
March 21st, produced three Dasycawpa rubiyhiea. I took Tejdirosia
■bistortata in the larch woods on the same date. — W. Barnes, Reading.

Spring lepidoptera at Reading.— Collecting in our beech woods
has been saved from utter barrenness during the last month by an
occasional capture of Staurojms fayi. It has been on since April
S6th. I have in various years captured it from April till July. It
has appeared as a second brood in August from larva^ sleeved out of
■doors, and has been taken in our woods as late as November. What
other large moth has such a range in time as this ? Tephrosia conso-
naria is again all but absent. One female I took on May 4th. This,
•and one other specimen, comprise all those taken to my knowledge!
The insect is seldom abundant; 1892 was a year of plenty ; in 1893
it occurred sparingly, the number taken since could be counted
on the fingers. I'latypteryx cultraria and Donas coryli are scarce.
Leucophasia dnapis is not out in its usual plenty. Maovylossa himbij-
iiformis (the narrow-bordered species) flew freely 'in the" sunshine "to
flowers of OrobK.s tuherom on May 22nd, 24th and 25th. I have been,
•during May, eleven times to the beech woods, and have not seen
Tejdirosia rrejniscidaria [biundnlaria). It has been a good season for
T. bistortata, but to date (May 31st) only two or three of its near
relatives have been found on the beech. ' If the two were one species,
the conditions favouring the one form should not be absolutely bad
lor the other.— J. Clarke, Reading. Maii 'dlst, 1897.

184

THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

Steganoptycha pygm.eana at King's Lynn. — -I took a nice series
of Stei/andpti/r/Ki pi/i/nicK'ana this spring, by working on the sheltered
side of a pine wood. Among the Micropterygids, I took, besides M.
■suhjnirpuri'lla — which was as common as usual — saiKjii, sewipurjuir-
dla, purjiurdla, iiniiiiartdella and sjKirnunuila.—'E. A. Atjiore, F.E.S.
Mai/, 1897.

EpICHNOPTERYX RETICELLA and LARV.E of ClISIOCAMPA CASTRE.N'SIS

AT Queenborough. — The majority of the larvie of Clisinccaiipa castrensia
are now about half-grown. They are plentiful enough this year, but
not, I think, quite so abundant as they were last year. It was such a
glorious morning, that I was tempted to look for Epichnoptcnj.r rrfi-
(U'lla, but I found only one specimen. — J. J. Walker, F.L.S., F.E.S.,
23, Ranelagh Road, Sheerness. June Qf/i, 1897.

Late appearance of Pararge egeria. — I notice the imagines of
P. ct/cria have been decidedly late in the date of their appearance this
spring. P. vieijaera was out in May with the first brood of P. cijeria,
which is unusual in my experience. It looks as if /'. e<icria can be
delayed by unfavourable weather. — J. J. Wolfe, Skibbereen.

CrURRENT NOTES.

The members of the Council of the Entom. Society of London will
spend a few days in Oxford at the commencement of July as the
guests of the Hope Professor of Zoology (Prof. Poulton, M.A., F.E.S. ,
F.Z.S., etc.).

The second Annual Congress of the South Eastern Union of
Scientific Societies was held at Tunbridge Wells on May 2ist and
22nd, 1897. The delegates were warmly welcomed, and a Conver-
sazione was held, at which the Mayor was present. Mr. R. Adkin,
F.E.S., represented the Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc. ; Mr. S. Edwards,
F.L.S., F.E.S., the West Kent Nat. Hist. Soc. ; Mr. H. Mellon, the
Bromley Nat. Hist. Soc. ; Mr. A. J. Rose, F.E.S., the North Lond. Nat.
Hist. Soc. ; and Mr. J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., the City of Lond. Ent. Soc,
so that entomologists were well to the fore. Papers, among others,
were read by Messrs. Rose and Tutt. The Presidential Address, by
the Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing, M.A., F.R.S., was an excellent piece of
work. The heartiest thanks of the delegates are due to Dr. and Mrs.
Abbott. Evidently this Congress may easily develop into a local
British Association. Bromley has invited the Congress for 1898.
Copies of the papers read can be obtained from the Secretary, Dr.
Abbott, 2, Queen's Road, Tunbridge Wells.

Mr. J. H. Carpenter, of Shirley, Sutton, Surrey, has some first-
class specimens of CItnjsophaiius dispar for disposal.

"A list of Portland Lepidoptera," by Mr. N. M. Richardson, B.A.,
F.E.S. (with an excellent plate, showing the life-histories of Lita
instohUirlld, Doug., L. salieorniai', Hering, and L'i>li'i>jiJinra adjunctcUa,
Hodgkn., drawn by Mrs. Richardson), reflects the greatest credit on
the compiler, and we owe him thanks for his interesting and useful
notes on the various species. A local list like this is really a very
important and necessary addition to an entomological library.

The meetings of the North London Entomological Society will in
future be held on the //rsf and tliini Thursdays in the month, so that
they will no longer clash with those of the South London Entomo-
logical Society.

CUHliENT NOTKS. 185

Mr. Champion H'^.M.M./ records that E.romias {Barifpeitlies)
Pl/rencifus has occurred at Plymouth occasionally since 1888. He con-
siders that B. p!frenaeii.s, which is treated by Dr. Seidlitz as a variety
of />'. arancij'onais, is specifically distinct from the latter. Mr. Cham-
pion further notes that the insect standing under the name of T^nna
en'r/isoiii, Suffr., in British collections, should be referred to L. septea-
trionis, Weise.

SOCIETIES.

The City of London Entomological and Natural History Society.
—May 4th, 1897.— Lepidoptera from Digne. — Mr. Tutt exhibited
a box of insects of various orders, collected during March by Dr.
T. A. Chapman. These, he said, were interesting, and the presence of
freshly emerged specimens of CoUas edma and C. hiialc supported the
now practically proved view that they hybernated as liirvffi, and pupated
and emerged in early spring. Among other species captured were
Sitildt/n/nis (ilceae, TliaU puhf-cena, T. meJesieaste, Plerin dapUdice,
Anthocharis bclia, Euchlo'e cardaiiiines, E. eiiphenoiden (very fine ex-
ample of both sexes), Leucophasia sinapif:, Gonepteryx rhamni, G.
cleopatra, Nomiades iiuianops, Poli/ommatm haton, Pnli/uonia eqea,.
Miiitaea cinxia, Brenthis dia, Parcmie eijeria (the southern fulvous
form), P. vw/aera, and a magnificent series of Eirhia rjiisti/fine, from
Grasse. Among insects of other orders were many Hemiptera, Hyme-
noptera, Coleoptera, etc. Also several specimens of Asralaiihns coccajus,
W. V. Larv.e and pup^ of Charaxes jasius. — Mr. Tutt (for Mr.
Stanley Edwards) exhibited a number of larvae of Chara.ve^ jamis
on the food-plant (Arbutus), which had been captured by Dr. Chap-
man at Cannes. He drew attention to the hood of the larva, and
to the remarkable structure of the pupa. Porthesia chrysorrhcea
ON OAK. — Mr. Tutt also exhibited larvae of Port/it'sia rhri/sorr/ioca, two
nests of which Mr. Edwards had cut from oak in the neighbourhood
of Digne. Tephrosia crepuscularia and T. bistortata. — Mr. Bacot
exhibited three broods of T. crepuscularia fhhindularia) : Nos. 1 and 2.
bred from ova of the York form, and No. 8 from ova of the ab.
ddamcrcnsis. The eggs of all three broods were sent him by Mr.
Hewett ; three broods of T. bistortata [crepuscularia) : No. 1 from ova
sent him by Mr. Hewett, who had received them from Major
Robertson, No. 2 from ova which Mr. Hewett had received from Mr.
Mason, No. 3 reared from eggs laid by moths of brood 2, that emerged
last June. Larva of Anchocelis pistacina. — Mr. May : a larva of
Anchiicelis pistacina, one of a brood bred from ova laid by a ? taken
on Tooting Bee Common, September, 1896. Exotic Coleoptera.—
Mr. Clark : a very fine exhibit of foreign Coleoptera, including the
following: <? and $ Chalocosonin atlas [Indi-A), $ and 2 Odontnlabis
f?(m-« (India), ^ and $ Ceratorrhina polijpheuius {\\. Mv'ica.), $ and
$ Xiilntrupes dichotormus (Japan), $ and $ Euri/trachelus titan
(Java), Goliathus druryi (W.Africa), Batocera wallacei (var.), Chiacoy-
nathus (jranti (Chili). Oporabia nebulata and Oporabia filigrammaria.
—Mr. "Prout : a representative series of named forms of Oporabia
nebulata {dilutata) ; a variable series of (>. tiliijrannnaria from Ireland,
Yorkshire, Bolton and Isle of Lewis ; examples of the different forms
which have by various authors been named autwnnata {aria), namely:
autwnnata, Bkh., from Germany, a North Finland specimen agreeing

186 THE entomologist's record.

with the figure of autuinnata, Gn., a large specimen from Scheeberg,
received as dilutata, but agreeing in the genitalia with Jilitiramiiiaria
or autwnnana, and a short series of addendaria, B. -White =
autuwnaria, Weav. ; also a bred specimen of approxhnaria, Gregson,
lent by Mr. F. N. Pierce, of Liverpool ; also larvae of nehulata
(dibftafa) in the second, third, fourth, and fifth stages, and those of
fili<iraiiiniaria in the fourth and fifth stages. Mr. Prout read an ex-
haustive paper " On the genus O/iorabia." Mr. Tremayne said he had
once come across a specimen of this genus, presumably O. fili;ira)ii-
vxiria, in the Fairy Glen, Penmaenmawr. It was resting on a trunk
about 6 ft. from the ground, with the fore-wings slightly raised
inwardly over the back, so as to leave the hind-wings slightly pro-
truding at the sides, after the manner of (jastro/iar/ui quenifnUa, when
at rest. The month was September, and the specimen was a perfect
wreck, but had evidently belonged to a strongly banded form. Early
APPEARANCE OF Melanippe fluctuata. — Mr. Riches said that he had
taken a specimen of Melanippe fluctuata on May 1st.

:]i^EVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Harrow Butterflies and Moths, Vol. II., by J. L. Bonhote,
M.B.O.U., and Hon. N. C. Rothschild, F.E.S., F.Z.S., 1897. Demy
8vo., X + 112pp. [Published by J. C. Wilber, Harrow. Price 2/6.]
— Some time ago we called attention to Vol. I. of this work ; and all
the praise we accorded the authors for that volume is equally well-
deserved for the second. It is exactly what a local list ought to be —
a record of the species occurring in the district, to which is attached
the exact localities affected by each species, the authority for the
locality, and a series of short interesting annotations concerning each
species. It is full of information, and has an entomological value far
beyond that of a mere local list. The keys to " the genus Ennoinos "
{FAKjonia), to " the Apterous female Heterocera," to " the Acidaliidae,"
to "the genus Mdanipju,'' and the table for "the genus Kupit/iccia,"
as well as ' the key to the genus Knjtithrria,'' are Avorthy of all
praise. There are, as is generally the case even in the best of books,
a few unaccountable errors, such as Addalia tiincniinata, stated to be
" found only in the western counties of England," the quotation
that L. sfraiiiinea may be distinguished from L. hiipura " by the post-
median black marks in the hind-wings," a character which is well
■developed in some L. inipnra. (The thoracic crest, more pointed fore-
wings, the central longitudinal shade of fore-wings and white hind-
wings of stirnninfa, are all better differentiating characters). Taken all
round, the nomenclature is well up to date ; but one is rather astonished
to find Prout's corrections of the synonomy of Acidalia dilutaria, Hb.
^linhisi'iicata, Dup., and A. iuterjirtaria, Gn. {Ent. Pwc, vii., pjD. 124-
125) not included, and we presume the book had gone too far to include
Prout's later corrections as to the Tephrosias. But these are of little
importance. Hanntr Buttcrfiics and Motion is a little book which all
lepidoptorists must obtain.

Eeratum. — p. 90, line 11 from bottom, for "July" read "June."

NOTICE. — Owing to the summer holidays, the August number will be published
on (or before) August 1st. All exchange notices, ad\'ertisements, etc., for this
number, must be sent in early for insertion, otherwise they will be delayed
until September 15th.

Vol. IX.

Plate V.

NeMEOPHILA PLANTAGINIS, ITS ABERRATIONS AND VARIETIES.

Kntom. Record, etc., 1897.

*^* AND ^^-^^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 8. August 1st, 1897.

Nemeophila plantaginis: its aberrations and varieties.

(Illustrated by Plate.)
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

The British lepidopterist usually gets few good aberrations of N.
plaiifai/inis : yet, if each were to look carefully through his series,
assuming that the specimens have come from diiierent districts, he
would probably observe that they show a considerable range of minor
variation. The specimens from our northern and western mountains
exhibit the greatest amount of variation, whilst those from the Scotch
Highlands present many of the peculiar aberrational tendencies which
characterise the species in different parts of its wider range — for, if
the American petrosa be really only a specialised form of the ab.
lioapita, the species practically circles the north temperate region of
the world.

There is, in the minor variation to be noticed everywhere, a dis-
tinct sexual difference to be observed. The male, with its pectinated
antenna?, slender body, and rapid flight in the late afternoon sun, has
rather more ample wings than the heavy-bodied female, with its slow
and lethargic movements, which is rarely seen on the wing, and never
at the time that the males are so active.

The pale markings of the fore-wings may be described as consist-
ing of: — (1) A narrow longitudinal line at the base of the costa.
(2) A central transverse costal streak, situated a little less than mid-
way between the base and apex of the wing. (3) An oblique costal
streak, running from a point situated on the costa (at about one-third
from the apex towards the base) to the anal angle. (4) An apical
streak (near apex) parallel to the preceding. (5) A longitudinal
streak or band parallel to the inner margin.

I find, in my long series of British specimens, that the costal
basal streak varies from complete obsolescence to a small rectangular
blotch, broadest at some little distance from the base ; occasionally it
forms two distinct costal spots, which are very rarely continued down-
wards to meet the longitudinal streak (No. 5 above), thus reducing
the basal portion of the black area almost to vanishing point. The
central costal streak varies very greatly ; sometimes it forms an irre-
gular spot of variable size, cut off from the costa by the black ground
colour ; more generally it is connected with the costa by a narrow
streak ; at other times it forms a large irregular blotch, extending
from the costa, and occasionally being connected with the central

188 THE entomologist's KECORb.

longitudinal streak. The oblique costal streak (No. 8 above) is
exceedingly variable, being usually broad and well-developed, and
giving out from its centre two branches, one on each side, at right
angles to the line of its direction, one joining the longitudinal streak
at some distance before its termination, the other joining the lower
end of the apical streak ; occasionally, however, it is narrow and
unbranched, or only branched on one side ; when this is so, it is
usually the inner branch (the one that joins the longitudinal streak)
that fails first. The apical streak is usually lunular in shape, varies
much in width, and is, more often than not, joined at its base to
the oblique costal streak, as previously described. It frequently also,
on its outer edge, gives off tiny pointed serrations, which occasionally
reach the outer margin ; very rarely it becomes so broad as to absorb
the normally black apex of the wing. On the other hand, it is some-
times very much reduced, and then arrives at the normal condition of
the American /irtrasa, the absence of this apical marking being very
frequent in the latter form (or species). The longitudinal streak
varies much in width, being broadest towards the base, and narrow-
ing at about the centre of the wing ; occasionally it is divided at this
point into two distinct portions. We have before observed that it is
frequently united by a branch line with the oblique costal streak
(No. 3 above), and the lower side of the longitudinal streak often
iDears a prolongation as if the branch portion had cut right through
it and had been continued on the outer side, and it is actually thus
continued in a few of my specimens until it reaches the inner margin.
The longitudinal streak usually ends before it reaches the anal angle ;
sometimes it bifurcates at its extremity, giving oft' two fine branches,
one joining the base of the oblique line, the other running out to the
margin at the anal angle.

The females are probably more uniform in the distribution of the
black and cream colours of the fore-wings than the males. Compared
with the latter, the costal basal streak is usually, perhaps, a little
better developed, and the longitudinal streak often becomes Avider,
more often united with the pale costal streaks, and more branching at
the anal angle. I have a female bred from larvae, sent to me from
Winchester, by the Rev. G. M. A. Hewett, in 1893, a male bred by
the same gentleman in 1890, and another male bred by Miss lumber,
in which the cream colour greatly preponderates, and the black area
is, of course, proportionately curtailed.

Whilst I have been examining my specimens for the above facts,
my attention has been riveted upon a detail which appears to me to be
of remarkable significance. It is, that X plaiitat/ini.s exhibits in
its hind-wings an arrangement of the black and yellow markings
perfectly parallel with that exhibited by the fore-wdngs. In fact, the
modifications are so simple that one cannot fail to trace the peculiarity
as soon as it is pointed out. Evidently, then, the markings of the
fore- and hind-wings were at one time probably identical. It is
necessary to get a long and variable series of specimens to work this
similarity out in detail, but when such examination is made, there
can be no doubt of the fact.

The black markings of the fore-wings may be said to consist of
three oblique costal marks, and these have exactly analogous markings
in the basal costal mark, the discoidal lunule and the upper spot

NEMEOPHILA PLANTAGINIS I ITS ABERRATIONS AUt) VAKIETIES. 180

(occasionally produced to the costa as an irregular blotch in the
female) of the hind-wings ; then there is a similar longitudinal line
joining the bases of these costal streaks in both wings ; the black
basal streak in both fore- and hind-wings is structurally identical ; a
similar irregular black band can be traced on the outer margin of both
wings, whilst there is also a black spot towards the anal angle of the
hind-wing, which evidently represents the insulated black mark
usually found just within the anal angle of the fore-wing. This
latter fact also gives us a clue as to the actual position of the anal
angle on the outer margin of the hind-wing. Even the blocks formed
by the union of these typical black markings show a remarkable
parallelism in both wings.

But the yellow colour normally encroaches more on the black of
the hind-wings than does the creamy colour on that of the fore-wings,
and whilst the pale markings strike one as giving the pattern to
the fore-wings, the dark markings do so to the hind-wings, and
this is probably the reason why the parallelism mentioned above
has not been described before.

The principal of these black (pattern) markings on the hind-wings
may be described as : — (1) A short oblique costal streak not far from
the base. (2) A central longitudinal streak starting from the base,
and rarely extending beyond the centre of the wing. (3) A discoidal
lunule united with the longitudinal streak. (4) A basal streak
running along the inner margin from the base to the anal angle.
(5) An outer marginal band. (6) An irregular spot (sometimes an
extra small one above it) or blotch near the apex of the wing, rarely
extended to tha costa. (7) An insulated spot towards the anal angle.

Of these. No. 1 is rarely present in the male, but is very constant
in female specimens, and is often blocked solidly with the central
longitudinal streak. The latter varies much in width, from a fine
line reaching to the base of the discoidal lunule, to a solid block,
coalescing (as is often the case with the analogous markings on the
upper wing) with the costal streak and discoidal lunule into a solid
mass, extended frequently at the base (and more rarely thoughout its
whole length) into union with the basal streak, and still more rarely
with the spot (No. 7 above), and through it with the marginal band.
(This indicates the line of development of the aberration matronalis,
PI. v., fig. 2). The basal streak varies from a fine linear marking,
extending from the base to about two-thirds across the wing in the
direction of the anal angle, to a broad band reaching to the anal
angle and to the inner margin, uniting at its extremity with the
outer marginal band. When the costal streak, central longitudinal
streak, basal streak and discoidal lunule become united into one
large black blotch, as is often the case with the females, and more
rarely with the males, the yellow ground colour is confined to a
narrow band between the blotch thus formed and the outer marginal
band. The spots, too, are frequently united with the large blotch
described above, extending the dark area even more, and restricting
the yellow colour to two or three elongated spots parallel with the
outer margin. The direction of these yellow spots may be modified
by the union of the black spots with the outer marginal band, instead
of with the large central blotch ; the yellow markings then fall within,
instead of outside, them.

190 THK entomologist's record.

I have never, to my recollection, seen a British specimen of N.
plcmtai/Tins with entirely black hind-wings, a condition which
frequently occurs in the American A\ iwtmsa, found in mountainous
districts and previously referred to.

To return for a moment. The coloration of N. plantagijiis is a
deep velvety black with paler markings. In the males, these are
usually of a rich cream colour in the fore- wings, bright yellow in the
hind-wings, whilst a rich orange shade runs along the costa of the
fore-wings, and reminds one of the somewhat similar red one in
Euthcinonia rmsula. In the females, the fore-wdngs are as in the
males, but the hind-wings are usually of a more orange tint. But a
well-known form is found in the Alps, in Scandinavia, in the Scotch
Highlands, and probably throughout all the highest latitudes and
altitudes of its extensive range. This form varies as much in the
proportion of black and pale markings as the yellow form, but has
the pale parts of the fore-wings of a delicate cream colour, of the hind-
wdngs white. This is known as ab. hnaidta, Schiff., and Staudinger
diagnoses it as " alis posterioribus albis, nigromaculatis," i.e., with
the hind-wings white, black-spotted. Some of the more extreme
forms, in which the dark streaks in the centre of the hind-wings are
almost obsolete, are most striking (ab. alha-ohsulcta, PI. V., fig. 1),
but although the greater number conform more or less to the typical
form in the distribution of the markings, others have the black spread
over the wings to the same extent as is often prevalent in the yellow
forms, and then = ab. alha-malrnnalU (PI. V., fig. 2). The aberration
/lofijnta is not at all uncommon in the Scotch Highlands, and Mr. W.
Reid, of Pitcaple, who has done so much for Scotch entomology, gives a
most interesting account of its occurrence in Aberdeenshire {Knt. Hecord,
vol. iii., pp. 67-58). I have received it also from the Dundee and
Perthshire collectors. Mr. Newnham records it as not uncommon in
Shropshire {Ent. Itcc, vii., p. 185, etc.).

Matronalls is Freyer's name for that aberration of the species with
almost entirely black hind-wings, i.e., the form in which the pale-
yellow colour of the type is restricted to a narrow, irregular band, or
to a few spots parallel to tiie outer margin [ri<h', Pi. V., fig. 2). This
form is rare in Scotland. I possess specimens given to me by the
Dundee and Aberdeenshire collectors, and also a specimen received
from the Darlington men.

Rare as these extreme forms are in Britain, they become more or
less abundant at high elevations on the Continent. In fact, we should
not be far out were we to call the species in some localities poly-
morphic. With regard to this polymorphic tendency, it may be well
to quote Zetterstedt, who writes : — " T'he colour and markings of this
species vary almost infinitely, and of 50 specimens which 1 have
before me, scarcely two are alike. ]5esides the principal difierences
in colour — white, yellow and tawny — the markings vary also in form
and number, especially in the hind-wings. In the white aberration —
hospita, the posterior wings very often have only a few black spots,
placed chiefly on the outer margin. In the yellow forms the hind-
wings are very often black from the base to beyond the middle, then
fulvous, with a few black spots scattered within the margin. Never-
theless, it is impossible to consider these different varieties, occurring
together, as distinct species" [Insevta rMjijianica, ]). d'60). The first

IIEJIEOPHILA FLANTAGINIS : ITS ABERRATIONS AND VARIETIES, 191

time that I saw this species in great abundance was amongst a bed of
Alpine rhododendi-ons, at a height of about 7,000 feet, on that face of
the Mont de hi Saxe that slopes towarde the Val Ferrex. It was
towards the end of an afternoon in early August (about 5.30 p.m.),
and they were flying wildly about. I netted a few specimens but
having no empty boxes, brought none away with me, and we did not
visit the spot again. However, I saw quite enough to learn how
variable the species was. There were typical (yellow-) and hospita-
coloured specimens of the obsolcta form, with apparently every inter-
mediate form, so far as the black markings were concerned, in both
colours (yellow and white), up to the real )iiatronalis form. Then I
saw several on Monte Eowan, on the afternoon of July 28th, 1895,
but it was left for Dr. Chapman to get a long series of the species.
This he did, finding it towards the end of August (1895), on a grassy
and heathy slope on the north side of the Oberalp Valley, a mile
below the pass, at about 7,000 feet in elevation. The males were
flying freely in the afternoon sun, the females difficult to obtain.
Out of fifty specimens brought home by Dr. Chapman, only two are
females. The males, however, exhibit well the various phases of
variation in markings that I have described. There are ordinarily
three colour tints in the hind-wings — bright yellow {Intea), pale
yellow {ftava), and white [alba) — as distinguished by Zetterstedt,
and as each of these colours give specimens exhibiting the three
grades of markings in the hind-wings, viz., the obsolete [obsolvta)
represented by fig. 1, the typical, and the very dark (niatronaUs)
represented by fig. 2, we may form the following table : —
(1).— Bright yellow (Z//f('aJ form: — [a) ab. liitea-ohsoh'ta, n. ab. (with few black
markings on hind-wings, PI. V., fig. Ij. (6) pl<nit<t(funs, L. (normal
markings). {<■) ab. mutroiidlix, Frr. (hind-wings heavily marked with black,
PL v., fig. 2).
(2). — Pale yellow {flava) form: — {<i) ah. /h(v<t-ob^olet(i, n. ab. (/<) ab. Jhira.n. ab.

(c) &h. ^flava-niatronali'i, n. ab.
(3). — White {(liha) form : — (a) ab. alha-ohsolcta , n. ab. {h) ab. hospita, Schiff.
(r) ab. allia-matronalis, n. ab.
One female, however, of the Oberalp captures has the hind-wings
distinctly red, and I find this is occasionally the case in English, and
frequently in Scotch, specimens. One with rosy hind-wings is men-
tioned by Mr. Home {Hnt. lire., iii., p. 58). This therefore gives us
a fourth series : — -

(4). — Pied [nifu) form : — [u] ab. nifa-ohsoleta, n. ab. (//) ab. ni/a, n. ab. (c) ab.
rufa-matromdh, n. ab. [In series, this would precede (1) above].
I have noted that the females of our British specimens frequently
have an orange costal streak running along the edge of the fore-wings.
This appears to become more common as we advance to the east,
until, in Armenia and Caucasus, the costal area is red. Staudinger
calls this race var. caucasica, and diagnoses it as: "alls posterioribus
subangulaHs, alarum anteriarum costa in (? , et in ? , rufa," adding
that it is probably a Darwinian species.

The large size of the abdomen of the female is frequently accom-
panied by a decrease in the wing area, sometimes also with a failure
of pigment development. Indeed, pathological aberrations, in which
one or both hind-wings have partly lost their pigmental matter, are
not at all uncommon. The abdomina of the females also show
marked colour dimorphism. Of 30 ? specimens in my series 28 have
red abdomina, 2 yellow, an overwhelming preponderance in favour

192 THE entomologist's RKCOKI).

of the red. The males, so far as I have observed, always have yellow
abdomina. Another interesting phase of variation occasionally ob-
served not only in this species, but also in the allied Arctia raia and
A. rillica, is the development of a smoky hue over the normally yellow
portions of the hind-wings. j\Ir. Home {Knt. R-c, iii., p. 58) refers
to one, and I have at various times seen several similar specimens.

Before concluding, I would call attention to an article {(/au. Knt.,
1895, April and May),'-'' comparing this species with the North Ameri-
can K. jH'trosa, which is an extreme development, in its normal con-
dition, of the alha-matronalis form, i.e., in the direction of the excessive
increase of the dark markings of both fore- and hind-wings. An excel-
lent plate illustrates the article, and it will interest many of our
readers to see what A', jilantat/inis may become in its far-distant and
isolated localities. It is quite a moot point whether petrom should be
awarded specific or varietal rank, and it seems impossible to determine
this until the early stages have been carefully compared by competent
entomologists.

In conclusion, I would add that our readers might do worse than
overhaul their series of this species, and carefully tabulate the aberra-
tions captured in the various parts of our islands. Especially in-
teresting would be the results obtained as to the distribution of the
various forms by those whose specimens have come from the higher-
lying and western districts of the British Islands.

* These numbers can be obtained, price 6d. each, from Kev. C J. S. Bethune,
Port Hope, Ontario, Canada.

Notes on Charaxes jasius : its life=history, protective resemblance,
etc., with some observations on moulting and pupation.

By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.E.S.

LiFE-HisTOKY OF C. JASIUS. — The interest attaching to this butter-
fly is very various. It is our largest European butterfly, though not,
perhaps, incontestably so. It belongs to a group not otherwise repre-
sented in Europe, but characteristic of Africa, and especially equa-
torial Africa. It has a very handsome and curious caterpillar, whose
habits are not, perhaps, very widely different from those of our own
Apatura iris, which itself is one of our most interesting butterflies.
C. Jasim is found in Europe, only along the southern coasts, and, of
course, only where its food-plant. Arbutus uuedo, grows freely.

I first had the pleasure of seeing this butterfly alive thirty odd
years ago, thanks to the kindness of a friend wintering at Mentone ;
but not till this spring had I the opportunity of searching for the
larva myself.

It would appear to be sufficiently common in some places for
local collectors, who know its habits, to obtain several hundred larvai
during the winter, whilst it is still small, and not thinned by the
many accidents that may befall during hybernation. My search was
made late in March, when most are in their last skins, and when
the numbers are certainly much fewer. On a fine day, at this period,
one may not only fancy himself in Africa as searching for an essen-
tially African species, but in the Esterels, where I made my search,
C. jasius so affects the warmest situations, that the sun, even so early,

NOTES ON CHARAXES JASIUS. 193

has some African suggestions. Nothing, indeed, is so striking, as
regards the habitat of the larva, as the selection, not perhaps
invariably, but so usually as almost to justify that word, of the very
warmest available spots. The plants selected are on the southern
slope of the hill, not too near the top, and even close down to the
sea ; they must not be in the shade of any other tree or bush ; they
must have a back ground of protection from the north, either of the
Arbutus itself, or of other trees, rocks, etc. ; a thinly-leafed bush
standing alone is never tenanted. The larva is almost always on the
south side of the tree, low enough down to have the upper part of the
tree as a protection and shelter. The larva usually rests on the
upper surface of a leaf, or of several leaves fastened together, by the
silken carpet with which it clothes their surface, and which is neces-
sary to give it firm foothold, and so commonly do these leaves so
slope as to give an almost vertical exposure to the sun, that that may
be described as the normal position. The larva appears to rest a good
deal during the day, basking in the sun ; though those I had in
captivity were so comparatively sluggish, owing to cold and want of
sun in a room, that a short exposure to the sun often roused them
up and made them eat actively. To feed, they often appear to prefer
to go to a neighbouring spray, not interfering with the normal
appearance of their own. The larva does not appear to change its station
often, sometimes, possibly, not at all, during the whole larval exist-
ence ; but, often near a larva, a previous station can be found with its
leaf clothed with silk ; nor does the larva travel far to pupate —those
on sprays in bottles never wandered further than the next spray to
select a place to suspend themselves, nor, except when first brought
home and thus severely disturbed, had they any tendency at any time to
wander, so that a spray in a bottle sufficed for them, without the
necessity for any cage or confining agency. Of course, I cannot be
certain of their habits when young, but I fancy they are the same.

Protective resemblance. — Exposed in this way, one would
suppose them to be very obvious on the trees, and no doubt when
once one has trained the eye as to what it has to look for, they are not
difficult to find. Still, the leaf on which the larva sits is usually
surrounded by others, and the way in which the larva, seen from
whatever direction, exactly imitates some aspect of leaves or buds
under the dift'erent efi'ects of light and shade, renders it possible
for an untrained eye, in many instances, to look at it, and for it, for
some time before seeing it. The yellow lateral line resembles the mid-
rib of the leaf, seen from above or below according to light ; the colour
and apparent texture of the skin are the same as of many leaves.
The extraordinary head, with its coloured jaws and spines, suggests in
many aspects the little group of buds at the extremities of the branches.
One has often to look a second time at certain leaves and branches,
as well as at the buds, to be sure that they are parts of the tree and
not a larva. The curiously coloured circles on the back of the
abdominal segments 3 and 5, which are more brilliant with their blue
and yellow than anything on an Arbutua leaf, nevertheless produce
exactly the effect of certain little rings of fungus or decay, that are
very common on the leaves.

In the mimicry of larvc'e, it is to be noted that the larvye do not so
often exactly imitate the thing mimicked, as some particular aspect

194 THE entomologist's RECORt).

of it under certain illuminations, and so here the larva is not at all
like a leaf, but many leaves on a tree will look exactly like some
particular larva does as it rests amongst them. In the same way the
head does not resemble the buds at all closely, yet I have fancied I saw
a larval head, when after all it was only a group of buds. Perhaps the
most typical instance of this indirect mimicry is in the larva of Acmnicta
h'jiorina, which, seated beneath an alder leaf, looks exactly as if a spot
of sunshine were falling upon the upper side of the leaf.

The pupa is a little paler than the larva, and of a bluish-green,
and often has sundry white spots on the wings, but as I have
not seen the pupa in its natural surroimdings, it would be mere
speculation to suggest the precise aspects of the leaves and branches
from the resemblance to which they derive protection ; but, since the
young shoots are now forward, a different colour from that of the
larva is obviously a probable necessity. The larva, by the way, never
eats the young shoots and leaves, though they are often advancing
before the larva is full-fed.

( To hr cnjitinued.)

On the Classification of the Lepidoptera.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

It will be in the minds of our readers that in the Ent. Record (vol.
viii., pp. 25-29) there is an article on " The relationship of the lower
Lepidoptera with the Trichoptera," and in the Trans. Knt. Soc.Lnnd.,
1895, is another, entitled, " An attempt to correlate some recent Clas-
sifications of the Lepidoptera." Dr. Chapman's paper^'' in the Trcois.
Ent. Soc. Lond., 1896, and the recent work of Dyar and Packard,
have pushed the matter of the classification of the Lepidoptera a little
further than indicated in those papers.

The " old order of classification so long accepted," as a well-known
entomologist once fondly called it, was the division of the Lepidoptera
into groups, according to the size of the insects, viz.: — (1) Macro-
LEPiDOPTEKA. (2) ]\IicR0-LEPiD0PTEKA. It will be remembered that, on
comparing Chapman's results with those of Comstock, Dyar, etc., we
came to the conclusion, which we adopted, that Chapman's primary
division of the Lepidoptera into Incomplete. andOr.TECT.?^., was preferable
to Comstock's division into Juc4at.e andFRENAT.i: i which, indeed, Hamp-
son had already shown to be untenable\ from the facts that : (1) The
two super-families — Hepialides and Micropterygides— comprised in
JuGAT.E, although maintaining many ancestral features in common,
were in reality in much closer relationship with other super-families
than with each other, the Micropterygides with the Adelides, the
Hepialides with the Cossides and Zeuzerides. (2) These two super-
families formed the bases of two different evolutionary stems, each
bearing many branches, with which they are more naturally related
(and hence classified) than with each other. We were inclined to
agree with Chapman's acquiescence iji the separation of the Eriocepha-
LiDEs, as a separate sub-order, from the rest of the Lepidoptera, and
have provisionally accepted Packard's title — Proto-lepidoptera — for

* "On the Phyloj^'eny and Evolution of the Lepidoptera from a pupal and oval
standpoint, " T. A. Chapman, M.D., F.E.S., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1896.

ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE LEPIDOPTERA. 195

them. For the second of the above reasons, however, we have hinted
that Chapman's divisions, Incomplet.e and Obtect^, will ultimately
have to go, as they represent, as it were, horizontal slices of different
evolutionary stems, and not distinct and separate stems.

In the TrauK. Ent. Sor. Lmid., 1895, p. 346, we wrote : — " When,
therefore, we find Chapman, Comstock, Dyar and Hampson agreeing
that the pupa, the jugum, the generalised condition of the setiferous
tubercles of the larva, and the low developmental stage of the
neuration, all unite in indicating that the true place of the Micro-
PTERYGiDES and Hepialidks is at the bottom of the Lepidoptera, the con-
clusion must be looked upon as one not likely to be iipset by the
study of any other set of specialised characters, but, on the contrary,
as one that will be ratlier strengthened thereby." The position of
these at the bottom of the Lepidoptera, i.e., as the more ancestral
Lepidoptera, has been strengthened by the study of the scales (Kel-
logg) and antennfe (Bodine) ; but we do not wish our readers to
assume that, by placing them at the bottom of the Lepidoptera, we
would unite them, as Comstock and Meyrick have done, into a section
equal in value to all other Lepidoptera. On the other hand, Ave
would keep them quite separate, as indicating the bases of two quite
different lines of descent.

With regard to this matter, we have been charged with incon-
sistency, because, in our little book on BritiAli 2[nths (Routledge and
Sons) we have not maintained Comstock's main divisions of Frenat.tE
and .JuGAT.E, but " have separated the Hepialitlaf, Microptenjiiidae and
Kriocrplxdidac from each other by numerous families." Blandford
considers that " the position, remote from all other Lepidoptera, that
has been assigned to these three, is one of the most important and
widely accepted of recent changes " (Nature). Of course, everyone
who has studied them has recognised them as the most generalised of
the moths ; but no one has yet suggested that they have any direct
alliance with each other, except that they have certain characters in
common (generalised neuration, trichopterygoid scales, and jugum),
which they have retained from their original hypothetical Neuropterid
base. It is altogether asking too much that we should classify these
families together, simply because both represent ancestral forms, and
have retained a generalised form of neuration, and a jugum ; whilst
recent study makes it probable that they are in different lines of
descent. The direct affinities of the Micropterygids are with the
Trichoptera on the one hand, and the Adelids on the other. Sharp,
at the meeting of the Ent. Soc. of London, March 4th, 1896, ex-
hibited specimens of the pupje of Micropteryx (probably M. sojiipur-
purclla), and stated that he considered " the pupa to be that of a
Trichopterous insect," and suggested, that the Micropterygids " should
be treated as a group of Trichoptera, whose larvc'e are not aquatic in
their habits." He concluded that " if this course were not adopted,
he felt clear that Trichoptera could not be maintained distinct as
an Order from Lepidoptera." We are not prepared to admit this
co-ordinal relationship. It is certain that the true affinities of the
Hepialids are rather with the Cossids and Zeuzerids, and not with
the Micropterygids ; whilst the affinities of the Micropterygids and
the Hepialids are only such as betoken a common ancestral origin,
going back, probably, almost as far as Lepidoptera commenced to
exist as such.

196 THE entomologist's record.

Chapman's latest paper (already referred to) has given us fresh
clues for the real evolutionary stems along which the Lepidoptera
have probably been evolved, and if it were not for the uncertainty
relating at present to the Geometkides and Platypterygides, a very
fairly complete genealogical tree might be constructed, comprising, at
least, the principal families. Chapman's paper distinctly suggests
three main stirpes, derived from a hypothetical base, which we may
term : (1) The Sphingo-Limacodid stirps. (2) The Noctuo-Hepialid
stirps. (3) The Pyralo-Micropterygid stirps. It is very doubtful
whether the ERiocEPHALmKS do not really represent a very ancestral
form of the Pyralo-Micropterygid stem. At present, of course, they
are considered as a separate sub-order, by Packard, and the arrange-
ment would then fall.

Sub-order I. — Lepidoptera-laciniata (Proto-lepidoptera). —
Eriocephalid stirps.

Sub-order II. — Lepidoptera-haustellata (Pal.eo- and Neo-lepidop-
tera). — 1. Sphingo-Limacodid stirps. 2. Noctuo-Hepialid stirps.
3. Pyralo-Micropterygid stirps. As I have just stated, the super-
families, about which one feels the least certainty at present, are the
Geometrides and PLAiYPXERYGroEs. We had always considered the
former somewhat closely allied to the NocTumEs, and the latter to the
Pyralides. The egg- structure of the Geometrides forbids the associa-
tion of this super-family with the Noctuides, and we are inclined to
think it should be connected with the Sphingo-Limacodid stirps. The
PLATYPTERY(imEs still appear to us to belong to the Pyralo-Microp-
terygid stirps.

As matters stand at present, it would appear that we are on pretty
safe ground in making the following associations : —

Stirps 1. SpmNGo-LiMACODiD Stirps. — CdcJiliopodides, Xi/;iaeni(h's,
LamH-atnpidt.s, (Tcoinctridcs (/), Kudidiiiidcs, Satur-
iiiidi's, Sp/ihit/idi's.
Stirps 2. Noctuo-Hepialid Stirps. — llcjiialidcs, Zeu^eride-s, Cossides,
Tortricides, i^i/ctaeolides, NalideK, Notod(»itides, JJiui-
ride.s, Arctiides, Noctuides, Hesperidesi, Papilionides.
Stirps 3. Pyralo-Micropterygid Stirps. — Micropteri/i/ides, Ade-
lides, Tineides, Scmdct {/), Psi/chides {/), ColeopJiorides,
Crambides, Pyralides, Platypterygides ( ! }.

On the structual characters of Lepidopterous Larvje.

By HAIUIISON G. DYAE, Ph.D.

I. Larv.e of Bombyces. — The larvie of theBombyces have tubercles "•••=
iv and v remote, iv almost always moved well up behind the
spiracle. The group is a large one, and covers a considerable range
of characters. The most generalised families have simple single seta},
the snbprimary ones present. This condition is seen in the Noto-
dontidfu, Noctuida?, Geometridi?, Agaristidse, etc., which are very
uniform, and give no characters which will separate the individual
families. Specialisation takes place in the conversion of the simple
tubercles into warts with many hairs. This has taken place in two
types. In the first there are seldom any secondary hairs, and the warts

* The positions of these tubercles are described ante, p. 130.

ON THE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERS OF LEPIDOPTEROUS LARV/E. 197

on the raesothorax consist of but two above the lateral anteriorally
situated one, or, if there are three, the lower of the three is rudi-
mentary. This type appears in the ArctiidaB, and their derivatives the
LithosiidpB and Syntomidfp, as well as in the Apatelid Noctuids,
PericopidfB, etc. In the other type there are three thoracic warts
above the lateral wart, the upper one of the three rarely becoming
rudimentary. Secondary hairs are often present, and in the highest
forms may become predominant over the warts. The hairy Noto-
dontians, Liparidte, Lniionia, Bombycidae and Lasiocampidns, illustrate
this type. Home of these groups are much specialised, and their
structure can only be determined in the earliest larval stages.
EndroDiis is an aberrant form, probably belonging here. The thoracic
warts do not correspond to the type in stage i, and afterwards they
soon disappear ; but, judging from the Australian Chelcjitcn/.r, which
seems closely allied, we have to do with a degenerate Lasiocampid
form. Considering the size of this group, the larval characters run
very evenly, and it is only in the most specialised species of the
Lasiocampid stock that any doubt or confusion is likely to arise.

II. The LARVJi OF THE Saturnians. — The larva) of the Saturnians
are characterised by the union of tubercles iv and v, and the absence
of the subprimary setjc. There is a strong tendency to the hyper-
trophy of all the tubercles, except ii, vii and viii, of abdomen, and to the
union of the two tubercles i of the 8th or 9th abdominal segments,
into a single unpaired dorsal process. In the simplest forms the
setfe are single in stage i, though borne on elongated tubercles.
Nearly all species have warts in the later stages, often much elongated
or hypertrophied. The warts may be variously modified. I know
of no species in which the single haired condition persists. Secondary
hairs are often present. The group divides into two large types, and
one of these into smaller ones, as follows : —

I. — A single dorsal tubercle on 9th abdominal segment.

(1). — A pair of tubercles on the anal plate . . . . Citheroniidae.
(2). — No tubercles on the anal plate ; setae con-
verted into stinging spines Hinuilencidac.

II. — No single tubercle on 9th abdominal segment Satnrniidcu'.

The first two families are the lowest, and are only found in
America. In the CitheroniidiB there is a primitive first stage ; the
tubercles are elongated and branched, later several haired. All the
genera, except Anisota, have the unpaired tubercle on the 8th
abdominal segment. The Hemileucidte difi'er in the loss of tubercles
on the anal plate, and the conversion of the setae of the warts into
strongly stinging poisonous spines, both characters of specialisa-
tion. The Saturniidae have a world-wide distribution, and a more
considerable range in modification. In at least one genus {Satuniia)
the dorsal tubercles of segment 8 are not consolidated. Most of
the larvae have short tubercles, with not many hairs, a few, or even
many secondary hairs. There is no primitive first stage, so far
as I know. In Crinda the warts are practically absent, and the
larva is clothed with soft secondary hairs. Aijlia is an unique form,
with a quite generalised condition of the tubercles at first, but later
they are entirely lost. The African forms have a tendency to smooth,
sharp, thorn-shaped tubercles without secondary setae. Utota presents
a curious structure of many little smooth flattened warty excrescences.

198 THE entomologist's record.

developed at base of the short obsolete secondary hairs ; the primary
warts also nearly absent. The whole group of Saturnians is rather
uniform, and without a wide range in the larval characters.

III. The larv.e of the Microlepidoptera or Tineids. — The
larvae of the Tineids have tubercles iv and v in line longitudinally
or united. In the lowest forms these tubercles are remote ; the setae
are single and snnple, and the subprimary ones are present. This is
seen in the Plutellidte. There are two different lines of specialisation.
The original Tineid larva was probably an internal feeder, and one
line follows out this habit. The larvie have become leaf miners, and
the setfB are remarl^ably reduced. So little material has been
examined, that I am unable to say whether any of the subprimary
sette have actually disappeared, and this point is a good subject for
future investigation. The other line of evolution is easier to trace,
though it is more complicated. The first step is the consolidation of
tubercles iv and v, as seen in some Plutellidfc and Gelechiida^, and in
all Cossidae, Pyralidae, Psychidie and Sesiidse. Next, tubercles i and
ii consolidate {ci/., Butalis basilaris), and after this the change of the
tubercles to many haired warts occurs. As examples of this stage
are Pterophoridae, Zygaenidae, Pyromorphidae. In a few instances
there are secondary hairs, only in the Pterophoridae, so far as I know.
The final stage consists of a reduction in the subventral warts
following a change in the mechanism of locomotion, whereby sucking
discs are gradually substituted for abdominal feet. There is also a
strong tendency for the conversion of the hairs into stinging spines.
The beginnings of all these tendencies are seen in the Megalopygidae.
In the Limacodidae they are completed, but also greatly modified
in the several species. The Megalopygidae possess, besides the ordinary
abdominal feet on segments iii to vi and x, a series of paired sucking
discs on segments ii to viii. The warts of the Limacodidae have
diverged into three types of change from the original Megalopygid
structure. In the Palaearctic group the warts have degenerated and
nearly disappeared, leaving a hairless granular skin, as in tlctenKjenea
and Ajioda. In the American group, represented by Phohctron, the
warts are elongated, often unequally, fleshy, and with short hairs of
various structure. The third group retains the unequal Heshy horn-
like warts, but the seta; are converted into stinging spines. This
group is well represented in America and India, but seems to
culminate, curiously enough, in Australia, where part of the horn-
like warts have become retractile, the others spineless (as in Doratifcra
rulncrans, li'iri)ii and casta), and in other species even the whole
structure remodelled into the smooth type by the loss of part
{Mdci/tha sciiiicana) or all the warts {M. iiifrcijuois').

The development of the wing, wing=scales and their pigments
in Butterflies and Moths.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

f CoiKiidled I'niiii p. lG2y.

As to the chemical nature of the pigments in the scales, we know
but very little. Hopkins has shown that the white pigments in the

WING, WING-SCALES, AND THETB PIGMENTS IN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 199

Pieridae are due to uric ackl. Mayer quotes this, and yet seems to
have failed entirely to apply the self-evident deductions to his own
observations on the white scales. Throughout his paper we read
nothing of the pigments in the white scales of certain butterflies ;
but the general assumption is more than once expressed, that the
colour of all white scales is due to their being devoid of pigment and to
the reflection of light. Hence the justice of Chapman's criticism
{Ent. life., ix., pp. 78-79) becomes still more evident. Hopkins not
only isolated this white pigment, but proved that under certain con-
ditions it could be readily changed into yellow. It happens that the
white Pierids, which have become mimics of the orange Nymphalids,
have really changed their colour from white to orange. The chemical
change, Hopkins has shown, is easy. Yet we know nothing as to how
it has been brought about.

Hopkins has demonstrated that the pigment-factor in the wings
of the Pieridae was of an excretory nature, containing uric acid. The
production of the yellow Pierid pigment may be obtained by heating
uric acid with water, in sealed tubes, at high temperatures. This
" lepidopteric acid," as the yellow Pierid pigmentary matter is called, is
closely related to a red product, easily obtainable. To the practical
entomologist it will at once occur that white, yellow and red are the
three colours that function chiefly in the ornament of the I'ieridae,
and its importance is at once evident. The uric acid derivatives,
however, appear to be confined to the Pieridae among butterflies, for
when a Pierid mimics an insect belonging to the Xi/)iiphalidae, the
pigments are chemically quite distinct. Griffiths {( 'omptes Pie)idiis
Acad. Sci. Paris, cxv., pp. 958-959) shows that the green pigment
found in certain Papilionid, Hesperid and Nymphalid butterflies,
as well as in certain Noctuid, Cleometrid and Sphingid moths, also
consists of a derivative of uric acid, which he also calls "lepidopteric
acid" (Cj^-^ Hj^Q Az^ Ny Oj^^). By prolonged boiling in HCl it is
converted into uric acid.

Since it is the modification of these pigments, into whose origin
we have been enquiring, that produces variation in the colours of
insects, I would return to the text on which I have repeatedly preached
during the last few years, viz., that all changes of colour in the scales
of insects are but outward manifestations of the living activities and
physiological processes of the animal in its earlier stages — egg, larva,
pupa — or some interference with the normal course of these activities,
or with its usual conditions of development. I need not here repeat
what I have already published^'-' on these heads, but the truth of which
is being substantiated by recent ei:bquiry, and it is quite evident that
in studying variation we must consider the vital processes of the
animal, and the peculiarities under which they are carried on, if we
are to get a true conception of the actual causes of variation.

Mayer farther states that, " in connection with the phenomena of
pigmentation, it is interesting to note that, while uric acid may easily
be demonstrated by the muroxide test in the fluids of the alimentary
tract of the pupae of the Satuntiidae, it is never present in the hiemo-

*Brit. Noctuae, vol. ii.,pp. i — xviii. " Variation considered biologically " (Ent.
Rec, vi., pp. 181, et seq.). " Pupal development and the colour of the resulting
imago" {Ent. liec, iv., pp., 311 — 315), etc.

200 THE entomologist's record.

lymph of the imago, nor can it be detected in the drab-coloured pigment
of the outer edges of the wings. The amount of uric acid in the fluids
of the alimentary tract of the pupa increases as the pupa becomes
older, so that the fluid which is voided upon emergence is always
strongly impregnated with it. In the case of Pieris rapae there is no
uric acid, either in the alimentary tract or haemolyraph of the larva,
but it is present in the alimentary tract of the pupa. It seems to me
probable that the uric acid of the alimentary canal of the pupa may
be a product of the metabolism of the hsemolymph that is removed
from the fluids of the body by the Malpighian tubules."

It is important to notice that Mayer's proof that the scales are
formed from modified hypodermic cells makes them truly homologous
with the hairs of Arthropods.

Another important fact insisted on by Mayer is that " the pupal
wings exhibit two sets of corrugations or foldings, one being parallel
to the trend of the nervures, and the other at right angles to it. In
either cross or longitudinal section these corrugations appear as a
regular series of ridges, and a single scale arises from the crest of
each ridge."

He further writes : " Very large scales are found along the nervures
and upon the outer edges of the wings in A.arcJtippus. In fact, these
scales are so large, that, after the protoplasm has withdrawn from them,
a single leucocyte enters each one. These leucocytes soon degenerate,
and finally disintegrate, without, however, contributing directly to the
pigmentation of the scale. The fact that the leucocytes degenerate
after entering the scales indicates that the hsemolymph within the
scale is not in a normal condition."

Another point insisted upon by Mr. Mayer is that " dull ochre-
yellows and drabs are, phylogenetically speaking, the oldest pigment
colours in the lepidoptera, for these are the colours that are assumed
by the hfemolymph upon mere exposure to the air Dull ochre-
yellows and drabs are at the present day the prevalent colours among
the less diflerentiated nocturnal moths. The diurnal lepidoptera have
almost a monopoly of the brilliant colorations, but even in these
diurnal forms one finds that dull yellow or drab colours are still quite
common upon those parts of their wings that are hidden from view."

Since the above has been in type we have received from
Mr. Mayer another brochure, entitled, " On the colour and colour-
patterns of moths and butterflies." It is published by the Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.,
and is, in every respect, an essay which will still further enhance the
scientific reputation of the author. Our readers who are at all
interested in variation, mimicry, &c., must read the paper, or other-
wise they must remember they have missed one of the best and
most important of the papers yet published on these subjects.

Some named Varieties in the Larentiids.

By L. B. PKOUT, F.E.S.

L;/ijri^ po/iulata ab. dotata (? Linn.), CI. — This is the form of L.pojni-
lata with the central fascia not darkened, hence only indicated by its
boundary lines. It is represented in many collections, and its occa-

SOME NAMED VARIETIES IN THE LARENTIID.E.

20l

sional superficial resemblance to L. associata is commented upon by
Dr. F. B. White in Faun. Perth., ^p. 26. I take occasion here to point
out that the much-abused name, dntata, is to be abandoned entirely as
a specific name. At the instigation of my friend, Mr. G. B. Rout-
ledge, who complained of the difficulty of correctly indexing the Record,
I thoroughly sifted the matter. As long discussions of synonymy are
not interesting reading, I Y/ill content myself Avith saying: 1, Linne
gives a very brief and insufficient diagnosis in Si/st. Xat., Ed. x.,
which will apply to either of the allies ; the type specimen in his
cabinet is my L. pnpulata ab. dotata. 2. Clerck's figure of dotata was
long ago determined by Zeller and Werneburg for this same pale
form of pnpulata. Hence dotata, Gn., Dbld. List, retains the name
associata, Bkh. ; while dotata (??Linn.), Stgr., South's TAst, must be
called pyraliata (? Fb.), Bkh.

Hydriomena autuninalis, Strom, (trifasciata, Bkh.) ab. literata,'Don. —
This figure (Don., Xat. Hist., xiv., pi. 499, 2) is quite certainly the
fuscous (or, according to the figure, rather rust-coloured), non-greenish
form of trifasciata, Bkh. Guenee cites it to H. ruberata, and Staudinger,
though adding a ?, has nevertheless (inconsistently with his general
commendable practice) given precedence to the queried name ; hence
it has come into use on the Continent. Mr. South has wisely refused
to substitute it for ruberata, Fr.

Anticlea ninmfasciaria ab. ludoricata. Mill. [Ann. Soc. Knt. Fr.,
(6) vii., pi. 5, fig. 14). — This grand aberration, a single specimen, bred
by De Rougemont, has the whole central area of the darkish-brown
colour, which in this species is usually confined to a narrow inner bar.
It thus associates a member of the genus Anticlea with the bulk of
the allied "carpets" (J/f/fOfr/v^c, etc., etc.), which have generally a
dark central area. It would be interesting to learn whether any of
our rich British collections contain similar instances.

Melanthia hicolorata. — This species is a very easy one to clsssify
roughly into aberrations, and it may be Avorth while to clear up a
little confusion which prevails. If we only alloAv tAvo groups of
forms, southern and northern, the names usually assigned — hicolorata
and ab. pluwhata — Avill do Avell enough. If Ave Avant to sub-divide the
former, we shall get — (a) Bicolorata, Hfn. = contaviinata, Hfn.
= alstroemeriana, Sulz. = alha, Strom. = ruhiijinata, Fb. — Central
fascia as a spot on costa only. [b] Ab. parvula, Retz. (named on De
Geer, ii., pi. 6, fig. 2) =albaria, Vill. = rubiginata, Hb. 250. — Fascia
reappearing on inner margin as a single or double spot. But the
northern forms are still better Avorth dividing into tAvo, and it has to
be pointed out that (as Mr. Adkin has already stated, Fntom., xxv.,
pp. 108-109) Curtis admits the handed Scotch form as plumbata, and,
indeed, that is his type, though he also includes aberrations Avith the
entire wing suffused. The forms Avill consequently be : (c) Ab. plum-
hata. Curt, = rirc/ata, Tutt, Fnt. Bee, i., 321 = fasciata, Tutt, Brit.
Moths, 273.—" Inclining to cream-colour ; a fascia across the middle."
This is the next stage to ab. parvula. (d) Ah. fumosa, mihi = j^lum-
bata, NeAvm., Brit. Moths, p. 155. — " The smoky-blue colour more or
less spread over the wing." Owing to the confusion which I have
mentioned, I believe this extreme form has never been especially
named.

202 THE entomologist's record.

Contributions to the fauna of the Dauphinc Alps.
Vlir. — La Grave en Oisans — Sweet lavender— The Rhopalocera
OF La Grave — Abundance of Polyommatus escheri.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

La Grave en Oisans, between Le Lautaret and Bourg d'Oisans,
is most delightfully situated. Perched on a rock, 5,000 ft. in height,
it lies in full view of the fine glacier of La Meije, which stretches
away to the south ; whilst to the east and north the Col du Goleon
and the Plateau d'Emparis extend to an elevation of some 9,000 ft.
above the level of the sea. To the west the Romanche valley runs
down between lofty, precipitous and glacier-covered mountains,
into the Combe de Malaval, a ravine of picturesque grandeur, and
almost unparalleled wildness. The steepness of its sides causes the
glacial streams to fall over the rocks in magnificent waterfalls, whilst
the (Ichris is covered with forests of sweetest lavender. At the termina-
tion of the Combe is the hamlet of Le Dauphin, whilst a sterile,
rocky valley lies between the latter and Le Freney, beyond which,
again, is the magnificent gorge, L'Infernet, which is shut in by almost
perpendicular walls of gneiss, which rise hundreds of feet from the
bed of the torrent. This leads out at last at the Pont St. Guillerme
to the valley in which Bourg d'Oisans stands, the Pont being at the
junction of the Romanche and Veneon rivers.

The collection of buttertlies made at La Grave must be looked
upon as somewhat of a fraud, from the fact that, during the week
(Aug. 5th-12th) we were at this delightful place, we did not have a
dozen hours of sunshine. All the butterflies were taken in three
mornings' work of aboiit two hours' duration only, so far as sunshine
was concerned, added to an afternoon's walk from La Grave to Le
Freney. We are under the impression that, given sunny weather. La
Grave would have proved a perfect El Dorado of butterfly life. The
following is an annotated list of actual captures : —

Hesperides. — Hksperidi.— Si/ricJitJius alirus.— A series of about a
dozen fine examples, captured on the slopes on the outskirts of the
pinewoods leading up to the Glacier de la Meije. They were taken
oft" the flowers, in the drizzle, whilst resting, with their wings over their
backs in the most approved butterfly fashion. The range of variation
was considerable. PAMPHiLmi.— 77/v»^'^/r».v Jinenla. — Abundant on the
slopes high up towards the ^Nleije. Common also, but worn ; on the
roadside about a mile below the village. PampJiila rouinta. — A few
taken at rest on the flowers, probably common.

Papilionides. — Lyc^nid.e. — C'hri/sopha)tns ciri/auirac. — This species
was generally distributed, and evidently common. The 3 specimens,
however, were very worn. C Mjipi)tli()c var. eiin/hia. — Common on
the rough ground directly at the commencement of the ascent to the
Meije. The specimens appear very similar to those from Le Lautaret,
the females with a slight coppery tinge on the fore-wings. Poli/oni-
matun cori/don. — Abundant, the undersides, as usual throughout the
district, very pale. 1'. da)nun.— Still more abundant. The specimens
were of a deep purplish blue with broad outer margin, and very
sparsely spotted on the underside. P. esc/uri. — On a steep shaly slope,
with but little vegetation, this beautiful species was abundant, the
males were in first-class condition, the females, probably, not out, at

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THE DAUPHIN^ ALPS. 203

least, I did not see any. On the walk down to Le Freney it was
exceedingly abundant on the delightful lavender-clad slopes leading
to the precipices on either side. It flew up repeatedly, too, from the
runnels crossing the path, where it congregated with P. damon.
P. icanis. — Eare. I only saw two or three specimens. P. eros. —
One 3' specimen, worn, on the slope beloAv the Meije. Probably
over. Plehcius ari/ii.s. — Abundant on the same slopes, and in good
condition. /'. acuon.— By the roadside just above the village of Les
Freaux.

VkPiuomnjE.— Parnassms apidlo.- Not abundant, but generally
distributed all over the district. J^iF.RiDM.—Lcnrojiha.tia siiuipis, L'oliaft
hijale and C. cdma. — None of these species were observed, either on
the slopes behind La Grave, or on those leading up to La Meije.
They all occurred in the Combe de Malaval, but only very few speci-
mens were seen. Nymphalid.e. — Mditaca trivia. — I have two or three
worn specimens which I refer to this species. M. phoebc. — The males
worn ; two fine large females, in good condition, captured on the
slopes some distance below the village. M. cynthia. — One female in
moderate condition, taken from a flower, well up towards the Meije.
No males observed. A}yipinis niobe ab. crh. — K few specimens, in good
condition, on the lower slopes leading up to La Meije. A. ai/laia. — On
the same ground. The specimens of these two species were all exceed-
ingly small. I once bred the former as small from Niirnberg, but
have never seen A. ai/laia so small before. A. lathnnia. — In fine con-
dition, but rare. A. adippe. — Large and fine. On the flowers by the road-
sides just below the village. Satywd^. — Sati/ni>i cordida. — Both sexes.
The females are of the form known as ab. bryce. Hippan-lda Iiennione.
— In the Combe de Malaval. This species pairs in the afternoon.
I took a pair in cop., the J with the wings hardly dry. H. semele. —
The large Alpine form occurred in the Combe. I only saw the female.
Coi'nonyiiipha satyrion a,nA (J. iphi.'t.— As nt Le Lautaret, these occupied
the same ground, but the bad weather prevented my capturing the species
in numbers, or making any fresh observations. The form of C iphi^, that
occurred at La Grave, was that which we have named var. dauphini.
Kn'bia tyndarm.—khx\n([?in\j on all the slopes leading up to the Meije.
The form is a rather large one. The female brighter on the upperside,
and the underside whiter than in the <? . The underside of the latter
dark grey. E. scipio. — Two worn specimens were captured near the
summit of the Plateau d'Emparis, but the basal half of the fore-wings
on the underside, up to the band, is quite dark. The species was
evidently over ; but even the worn ones were not to be caught on the
steep slopes here. E. etiryale. — Exceedingly abundant on the rough
slopes up to La Meije, but very worn. The spotting of the specimens
examined was very constant, viz., three ocellated spots on the fore-
wings. The underside near ab. adyte. The specimens taken in the
valley between La Grave and Le Freney were much more ocellated.
E. neoridas. — Not uncommon in the valley from La Grave to Le
Dauphin, haunting the rough, stony slopes. Mdanaraia yalathea. —
Common, but going over. We would again reiterate here that the
remarks made are subject to the consideration that the weather was
altogether unsuitable for butterfly-catching, and that, therefore,
many species were, probably, not seen that may be common, and that
others, of which I saw but few specimens, are really by no means rare.

204 THE entomologist's record.

Entomology at the Royal Society.

The conversazione of the Royal Society was hold at Burlington
House, on the evening of May 19th. Entomologists mustered strongly.
Lord Walsingham, Prof. Poulton, Dr. Dixey, Messrs. Blandford,
Champion, Durrant, Ehves, Enock, Goss, Kirby, Lloyd, McLachlan,
Meldola, Merrifield, Salvin, Trimen, Tutt, Verrall, and Waterhouse,
were present. Mr. Blandford was in charge of a number of micro-
scopes, etc., illustrating The Tsetse Fly and the parasite of the
Tsetse Fly-disease, or Ngana. The Tsetse Fly disease, familiar
during the past fifty years as a scourge to domestic animals in Central
and South Africa, has been recently shown by Surgeon-Major Bruce
to be due to the presence in the blood and serous fluids of the
ali'ected animals of a parasitic Protozoon [Tnifianosoma). Surgeon-
Major Bruce has proved experimentally that the parasite may be
present in the blood of wild animals shot in the " Fly Country,"
which, however, are not known to suffer from its presence. The
part played by the ily appears merely to be that of communicating
the micro-organism from infected to healthy animals. The disease of
animals known as " Surra," in Asia, is closely allied to Ngana, and
a similar parasite occurs in this country in the rat, but without
producing the same fatal effects. Dried specimens of the Hy, specimens of
the Ngana h^matozoon, both alive and stained, and of the rat ha^ma-
tozoon, were exhibited. Mr. Enock exhibited Microscopic Prepar-
ations OF the Mymarid.e, a small family of parasitic hymenoptera,
hitherto represented by some eleven genera, containing thirty-five
species. This number has been recently increased by eight new
genera, and many species. These most minute winged creatures
(the smallest one eighty-fifth of an inch long) lay their eggs within
those of other insects, which are thus destroyed by the tiny larvfe
feeding upon the contained fluid, which is sufficient to sustain the
parasite until it has reached maturity, when it bites a hole in the
shell and escapes. It will be remembered that Caraphractus cmctus
uses its wings for swimming under water. The exhibits of Dr. M.
Standfuss, of Zurich, were most interesting, and we congratulate the
talented exhibitor on the strength of mind that led him to trust
such valuable material to the tender mercies of carriers. The
Lepidoptera resulting from temperature experiments formed a most
instructive exhibit, and placed side by side, as they were, with some
of the more striking of Mr. Merrifield's specimens similarly obtained,
their value was much enhanced. The Hybrid Saturxiids, etc., were,
if anything, still more interesting. The exhibit comprised the products
of the crossing of various species, and the issue of these crossings by
re-crossing the hybrid males with the females of the original species,
or the pairing of these males with the females of a third species. A
number of most interesting Mongrels was also exhibited. These
were, of course, the products of crossing various local races (varieties
in the true sense of the word) of the same species. Mr, Merrifield's
interesting exhibit consisted of Insects which had been altered by
temperature applied in the pupal stages. The temperatures applied
were roughly three, rh. (1 ) Forced, about 80*^ F. to 104« F. (2) Cooled,
about 48" F. to 52o F. (8) Iced, about 84^ F. Summer pupa? are
generally much more affected than winter pupa? which, inmost species,
are not affected at all. The pattern appears generally to be most

feNTOMOLOGT AT THE ROYAL SOCIETY. 205

affected by temperature in the early pupal stages. In the summer-
pupti3 of such a species as Sdenia tetralnnaria, the combinations of
winter pattern with summer colouring, and summer pattern with
winter colouring, were shown, by examples which were exhibited, to
be capable of production in moths proceeding from the same parents.
Lord Walsingham had an interesting exhibition of Examples of

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AMONG THE MiCRO-LePIDOPTERA, illustrated

by specimens and coloured maps, and the strange distribution of some
small species, in which migration to their various habitats under
present geographical conditions appears impossible, suggests strongly
the notions (1) whether the insects are not to be traced back to a time
when America, Africa and Australia were united, and (2) whether
the insects have remained practically unchanged since they first
occupied a continuous tropical habitat. The delicate and short-lived
insects exhibited, being almost exclusi^■ely phytophagous, and fre-
quently attached not only to the same genus, but to the same species
of food-plant, appear to be not only altogether unadapted for migra-
tion, but also for artificial distribution, and it becomes exceedingly
difficult to explain the distribution of the species exhibited, when it
is further taken into account that the normal distribution of these
insects is, with one exception, that of Plutella cruciferarum (which,
by-the-by, Mr. Durrant says is not the correct name for this species),
extremely local.

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Hybernation of Vanessa io. — For the first time, I found, during
the past winter, Vanesf:a io hybernating. Unlike those mentioned by
Newman, the one I found was alone, and placed where its colour was
not protective — on the underside of a flat stone. One day, late in
February, it had gone, possibly my three or four visits had disturbed
it, as I had to raise the stone on edge to see it. Anyhow, I saw no
V. io on the wing this year until April. I usually see them in March,
and last year saw one on February 9th. — J. J. Wolfe, Skibbereen,
CO. Cork.

The genital organs of Tepheosia bistortata (crepuscularia)
AND T. crepuscularia (biundularia). — I have just come across the
following note by Mr. Nicholas Cooke : — " There is a great difference
between Tephrosia cnqninndaria and T. hiundulaiia in the structure of
the anal appendages" [Kntom. x., p. 95). — J. W. Tutt.

:ig^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARYiE, &c.

Goncptcrijx clcajiatra. — Egg (of presumably this species) found on
April 23rd, at Digne, on Bhaninns. Of a pale greenish-colour, resem-
bling somewhat closely the colour of the undersurface of the leaf on
which it is laid, and from which it stands out almost at right angles.
On April 26th, the colour of the egg had become bright orange, except
the apex, which was yellower. The egg is tall, spindle-shaped, the
base considerably broader than the apex, gradually becoming wider
from the base upwards to about the centre, and then gradually con-
tracting to the apex, which is almost pointed. There are a dozen
raised longitudinal ribs running from base to apex, and also very faint

206 fate entomologist's REcoftb.

transverse ribs, about 40 in number, faint pittings occurring between
these. The micropyle forms a small darker-coloured crater at the
very apex of the egg. [Egg described April 2Gth, 1897, under a two-
thirds lens.]

(roHi'pti'ri/x rluoiini. — The egg is described by lleilins as follows : —
"Laid singly, generally on a rib of the underside of a leaf of llhamnus
frani/ula, but one leaf, which I picked, had two eggs on the underside
and one on the upper. The shape of the egg is flask-like, cylindrical,
set on end, about 1"3 mm. high, •■4 mm. in diameter at the base,
•5 mm. at the widest, narrowing to -15 mm. at the top ; the shell is
very delicate and glistening, with twelve longitudinal ribs or flutings,
and fine intermediate parallel lines ; colour silvery-green at first,
turning at last to yellow" {Larr. of Brit. Butts., vol. i., p. 146). I have
mislaid my own description of the egg, made in 1898, and can only
find the following note : — " Just before hatching, the egg of (x. rhamni
turns to a dull brownish-grey colour, whilst the markings on the
embryo appear, under a two-thirds lens, as a black spiral running
up the egg from the base. The base is distinctly flanged, i.e., has a
flat outside rim, owing probably to the weight of the egg affecting its
fluid condition when laid. The apex is roimded."

[jcucopJuisia (luponclH'U. — The eggs are attached to a leaf-stalk of
the food-plant. " The egg is pale yellowish when laid, gradually
turning a darker yelloAV " (Merritield). It is a tall slender egg, of
Pierid appearance, someAvhat fusiform in shape, the basal attachment
being wider than the apex, the latter being turned a little to one side.
The basal attachment is circular and transparent, and the egg is of a
deep orange colour (under the lens) above the transparent base. There
are eight prominent longitudinal ribs, extending from base to apex,
although occasionally two unite just before reaching the summit of
the egg ; they are bright silvery in appearance. The slender trans-
verse ribs (50 in number) are very conspicuous where they cross the
longitudinal ribs. The micropyle at the apex is placed in a very
conspicious depression, which fills up the whole of the apex. [Eggs
laid May 5th, by females received by Mr. Merrifield from Dr. Chapman,
from Digne ; sent to me by Mr. Merrifield, May 11th, and described
under a two-thirds lens on May 12th.]

LciicdjiJutsia sinapis. — One egg laid on the upper-side of the petal of
a flower of LatJii/nis, and a second on the under-side of a leaflet near
the apex. They both stand out at right angles to the surface to which
they are attached. The egg is of a pale yellow colour, the surface
very shiny, somewhat fusiform in shape, but narrowing much more
rapidly towards the apex than towards the base. The base is moder-
ately wide, and from it the egg slowly increases in size, until it reaches
about one- third from the apex, where it narrows off somewhat rapidly
to the apex, which consists of a shallow depression, at the base of
which the micropyle is placed. Looked at from above, the egg
presents the appearance of a circle, bearing angular (12 and 11)
points on its circumference. These are the longitudinal ribs, which
are somewhat conspicuous, and run from the base to the apex. The
surface is very finely ribbed transversely, about 42 ribs between the
base and apex. The number of longitudinal ribs appears to vary ; in
the two eggs examined, they numbered 11 and 12 respectively. There
is not such a well-developed base as in the egg of L. diiponcheli, nor

NOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 26i

has the basal part the transparent appearance noticeable in that
species, but still it is moderately distinct, and there is a slight con-
striction in its upper part. [The eggs, for which I am indebted to
Mr. Butler, were deposited on May 23rd by a 5 captured on May
20th. The description was made on May 25th under a two-thirds
lens.] .—J. W. TuTT.

On the hybernating larv.e of Hipparchia semele.— Ihad eight or
ten larvie of H. sonde last autumn. These remained small all the
winter, although they fed a little occasionally, and showed no ten-
dency to burrow, always remaining on the grass. They seemed less
careful to hide in daylight than the larvte of Enudia JnjperantJnts. —
J. J. Wolfe, Skibbereen, co. Cork.

On the hybernating larvae of Ccenonympha pamphilus. — From
eggs laid last June, I had about a dozen larvas of C. pamiihilm.
These grew very slowly, and attempted to go through the winter in
the larval stage. Only two, however, managed to do so, the remaining
larvffi dying off. The two that survived the winter were full-fed in
April, when they died. — Ibid.

Larva of Eupithecia debiliata. — About 8^ lines long, smooth,
and of equal thickness throughout. Colour, very dark dull greenish-
black. A broad black band runs down the back, bordered on each
side by a yellowish -white band, which is divided by a slender black
line. The larva rather reminds me, on a small scale, of Abraxas
r/rnssulanata. It feeds on the bilberry, and fastens two or three leaves
together, in which it hides during the day. — W. J. Kaye, F.E.S., 37,
Lower Hastings Street, Leicester. June 29th, 1897.

"VARIATION.

On the variation of Stauropus fagi, and the protective advantage
OF THE COLOURS ASSUMED BY THE MELANic FORM. — There are two distinct
forms of this insect taken in this district : — (1) The type which is
grey, and (2) the black form. The latter is a constantly recurring
aberration. I have often wondered why this black form has had no
varietal name given it. This matter, 1 think, deserves consideration.
In the beech woods, the type can be picked out ten or a dozen yards
away, but the inelanic forms want close searching to find. Some years
ago, in The Kntumolcxjlst, I suggested the probability of the melanic
form becoming more numerous by the process of natural selection.
Facts, as far as they go this year, point in this direction. Then 25
per cent, of those taken were dark, now the proportion has risen to
30 per cent. In oak woods, I take it, the grey would be the better,
and, perhaps, the only form protected, and the black should be
extremely rare or absent. Is this so ? — J. Clarke, Reading. Maii
Q\st, 1897. [The best and most complete notes on the variation of
this species, and on the special advantages oft'ered for protection to
the various forms by resting on different kinds of tree-trunks, are
those by Mr. Holland (E.M.M., xxviii., pp. 236-7) and those by Mr.
Bayne ( Knt. Pwc, iv., pp. 34-35). The latter summarises Mr.
Holland's notes, and compares the habits of the imago at Reading,
where it affects beech, with the habits of the insect in Epping Forest,
where it affects trees with pale grey trunks, and where, under some con-

208 tllE entomologist's flECORt).

ditions, it would appear that the grey form is well protected, although,
under other conditions, the melanic form is the better protected. The
Linnean type is described as " rufo cinereis ; fasciis duabus linearibus
luteis flexuosis " {Sj/s. Nat., xiith Ed., p. 846). Some specimens show a
strong tendency to form a dark band across the fore-wings. This
form might be well called ab. rin/ata. The deep brownish-black
melanic form might also be called ab. obscum. — Ed.] .

:]P>RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for August and September.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — In the middle of September, the larva of Ebnlca atachijdalis
feeds on the leaves of StacJn/s Ni/lvatica, living in a sort of tube, formed
either by turning down the top of a leaf and folding it closely to
the under surface with a quantity of silk, or else by drawing together
a fold of the under surface, and covering it over with a thick silken
web, in either case leaving an opening at the end. It comes out at
night to feed. The larvae are usually found low down on the plants,
eating large holes through the substance of the leaves, but leaving the
margin and veins untouched (Buckler).

2. — The spruce -fir cones should be collected during September for
the larvfe of Enjdthecia t<M/ata. They feed between the scales of the
cone, upon the ripe seed at the base. The protruding frass makes an
affected cone quickly recognisable.

3. — Seedheads of Daucus carota, collected in September, some-
times give imagines of Depressaria ilf2)ressclla the following month.

4. — The larva of Einmelesia decolorata may be found in the flowers
of the campion [Lychnu dioica) in August. Its presence is first
made known by the half-eaten petals, and it is usually found within
the calyx of the unopened flower-bud. Later on it re-enters the
seed-capsule.

5. — The larva of Anarta iin/rtilli should be swept for on heaths
(covered with Calluna) with a circular net, which is better than beat-
ing into an umbrella for this species. August and September are the
best months. Does this species still occur on Wimbledon Common
(the side near the park) '?

6. — In early September the conspicuous white mines made by
larvfe of Gdcdna naerifcrella are to be seen in leaves of C/icnopodiuni.
At the same time, and on the same plant, the less conspicuous mines
of (t. hermandla are also to be found.

7. — At the end of August, sweep the flowers of Calluna vuhjarh
for the larvaa of Kupitkccia nanata.

8. — During August, collect the twisted tops of osiers for the larvae
of Earias chlorana. The larvae of Perunea Jta.stiana are often abund-
ant in a similar situation, a week or two earlier.

9. — TajiinnstDla lielhnanni, iisually supposed to be a fen species,
occurs abundantly in Monk's Wood (Hunts) in August. It is much
more abundant on the outskirts of Wicken Fen than in the Fen itself.

10. — Thistles in sheltered situations give, in early September, the
cases of Coleophura therinella.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 209

11. — In early September, the blotched appearance of the leaves of
sallow betokens the presence of the larviie of Gclcrhia notatcUa. On
the same plant, and at the same time, the cones of (h-adlaria stii/ma-
tt'Ua (in their white silvery-looking cocoons, on the underside of the
leaves) are to be found.

12. — The larva of (Tclechia scriptella is to be found feeding between
united maple leaves, in the early part of September. The larva
changes to a pupa, in a slight silken web in the folds of the leaf,
towards the end of the month.

13. — Collect, in August and September, the seeds of gentian, I'im-
pindla saxifraf/ct, wild carrot, etc. ; place in flower pot, and expose all
winter. In July next year, you will probably breed Scmasia rii/illava,
(Ecophora flavin) aexdella and Asi/chna profwjtila.

14. — " The larvffi of Euplt/wcia denotata (plmpinellata ) may be
found in scores on the seeds of Pimpinella sa.rifrai/a in September.
Some of the larvae were green when the seeds were green, but later in
the season, when the seeds were brown, the larvae were chiefly
brown" (Hodgkinson).

15. — During the first week in September, the cases of Culeophora
iiuiiluti'lla, which are very like the dark seeds of Mdilotus, are to be
found on the latter plant.

16. — In August and September, the cases of Coloopliora n'ilkin.w-
nella, C. liwoHipenndla and 0. paripcnella are to be found on birch.
The larvae hybernate full fed, but pupate next year without further
feeding.

:]i\OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Notes from the Isle of Man, — The cold winds experienced here
during March and April, accompanied by heavy rains, completely
destroyed the sallows for collecting. During the early part of the
season, Taeniocampa (/ntJiica, T. ^tahilU, T. instabilis and T. rubrico.m
came freely to the bloom, but, after the first few days of storm, insects
were conspicuous by their absence. At the time of writing, flowers
of white pink are proving very attractive to Choerocanipa porcelluii, C.
elpenor and Diauthoecia capsincola. On the coast, I), caesia has
occurred sparingly at flowers of Silene maritima, and D, capsnpJtila has
been somewhat scarce. The latter insect was on the wing by May
13th this season, and D. caesia on May 28th. In certain localities,
Seti)ia irrorella has been abundant, while larvae of Polia ni{/rocincta
( xanthomiata ) have been extremely rare. — H. Shortridge Clarke,
F.E.S., Sulby Parsonage, Isle of Man. June 15th, 1897.

Peronea permutana at Barnes ? — i should like to ask a question
about the reported occurrence of this species on Barnes Common.
Stainton {Man., ii., p. 235) gives "New Brighton and Barnes Com-
mon." Gregson (Entoin., xiii., p. 46) says that " in 1851 he took
the insect at Barnes Common." Probably this was Stainton's autho-
rity for the statement. The species was, a few years ago, more than
once recorded from the same locality, by Mr. Gates, at the meetings
of the City of London Entom. Society, but I examined some of these
specimens, and found them to be the form of P. rarie/iana, which bears
a somewhat superficial resemblance in coloration to P. pervmtana. Has

210 THE entomologist's record.

the species really ever been taken there, or has the peculiar aberration
of P. vormiana, taken there, done duty for the species ? — J. W. Tutt.

The New Forest at Whitsuntide. — On June 4th, 1897, the
members of the North London Ent. vSociety started for an excursion
to the New Forest. Lyndhurst was reached at about 10 p.m.,
although Messrs. Clive B. Smith, Bacot, and W. H. Smith were
unable to get down till the following day. Part of the party put up
at "Lynwood," the other part at the "Fox and Hounds." On
Saturday, several of the members were early astir. Larva-beating in
Beechen Lane was tried, with even less success than usual. Scarcely
anything worth taking seemed to be about, though larvte of the
commoner species were plentiful enough. JJj/lx'niia ilefoliaria was not
for once the commonest larva, that honour being about evenly
divided between //. mari/inaria and H. aurantiaria. H. defoliaria
had probably mostly gone down. Of imagines, there were found a
few ].'<u-ln/ji(i(i<i)i haibalis, lodis lactcaria, Acidalia rmnntaria and A.
straminata. The fences only yielded a fine specimen of Hadcna
t/enistac to Mr. Woodward. By 10 o'clock the day was broiling hot, and,
soon after breakfast, the party, with the exception of Messrs. Harvey
and Woodward, who preferred to go to Ehinefield, started for the
celebrated "Knightwood" oak. Mr. L. J. Tremayne opened his
entomological account with a specimen of Acidalia triijeminata, and
Mr. C. Nicholson found a field where Euchlo? cardainines was on the
wing. As the party proceeded, it became evident that Parari/e eacria,
in all conditions, was also flying, Goncptenj.r rhamni was ovipositing,
Brenthis ciiphrosijne, apparently not fully out, was seldom to be
seen more than one at a time, and several of the commoner
Geometrids were to be had by beating. An insect which appeared to
be in greater abundance than usual was Formica nifa. The route
being rid Bank, the party soon entered Gritnam Wood, where
larva-beating was once more tried, and Taeniocawpa miniosa, and full-
fed ZepJn/nis quercus, together with a few Psilura monacha, began to
come down. Before reaching the Lymington Eiver, a halt was called,
and Messrs. Bacot, Bishop and Jennings, finding collecting improving,
decided to remain where they were, and Messrs. C. Nicholson and L.
J. Tremayne were left to push on to the Knightwood Oak alone.
They first turned into Rhinefield, where the President took a fine
specimen of Macrofilossa himhuliformis, but no more were seen, and
another collector on the ground stated that he had been there the
whole morning and only taken three, of which one was worn.
In the meantime, Messrs. Bacot and Bishop had augmented their
larvJB by the capture of Asphalia ridcns and Xi/ssia Jiispidaria. Messrs.
Harvey and Woodward, who had been to Rhinefield, had succeeded in
capturing both the Bee-Hawks, and had turned up Tanar/ra atrata,
and larvfB of llinnbyx cjiwrens. Messrs. Jennings, Bacot and Bishop
had been attacked on the Christchurch Road by a species of Tahanus,
which resembled autwnnalis, but which Mr. Jennings thought must
be a different species, as the specimens were worn. After tea, some
of the members started for evening work. To begin with, Mr. C.
Nicholson knocked down a flying specimen of Ascmuiii driatuui in the
garden, and this was one of the very best captures made during the
visit. Up to the year 1893, it had never been found in the South of
England, being essentially a northern species, though occurring in a

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 211

certain locality in Cumberland. At Whitsuntide, 1893, a single
specimen was taken in the New Forest by Mr. Bertram Rye,
who again met with it in 1895, when he captured two specimens at
Bookham, Surrey. It is, like all the Longicorns, a wood borer, and
is attached to pine. It has been introduced from Scotland to the South
of England, in young trees imported for planting purposes. At
Hurst Wood, scarcely anything flew at dusk, a few Mdanippe iiiontanata
being almost the only captures, though New Park was tried as being
better ground. Sugar also was an utter failure, not attracting a
single Lepidopteron. Larva-beating produced a few Asphalia rideu^,
Zephjrus tpiercus and Psilura monacha. Messrs. Harvey and Woodward,
however, were successful in taking Scodiona hehjiaria on Whitemoor.
The next day was again intensely hot, and Messrs. C. B. Smith,
Harvey, Bacot, Woodward, and Bishop left Lynwood, after breakfast,
for Beechen Lane, Denny and Matley Bogs, and Stubby Copse.
Beating in Beechen Lane, Mr. Bishop brought out a specimen of
Epiune advenaria, and Mr. Bacot one of (inophria ruhricollh. Bombi/.v
ndii was found commonly on the heath near Denny Bog, as well as a
few Satuniia carpini, Mr. Woodward also took Lithosia mesomella and
linophvia ruhricollis. The larvje beaten were those of Taeniocanipa
miniosa, Axpltalia ridens (a few), Xeplii/riix qucrcKs, Aniphidasijs atrataria,
and Psilura iiumacha. The party remained out the best part of the
day, and returned by the Beaulieu Road, picking up some more
Scudiona beh/iaria on Whitemoor. Mr. C. B. Smith had previously
returned to dinner, and, in the afternoon, he and Mr. L. J. Tremayne
sauntered down to the " Bombyx " Heath, and took several B. rubi,
and, coming back, took a fine specimen of Enpit/u-cia togata from a.
fence. Meanwhile, Messrs. Jennings and W. H. Smith had spent the
day at Rhinefield, and taken eleven specimens of Macroi/lossa fuciforui is.
They also found several species of large SyrpJiidae in numbers at the
rhododendron blossoms. Amongst them were Sen/comyia borealu,
Crio7-rJiina n.ryacanthac, VoliiceUa bo»ihi/la)is, and var. plnwata, and
Myiatnqta florea. S. buiralis much resembles a wasp, both in its
markings and in its manner of flight, and, when caught, produces a
loud humming noise by the vibration of the halteres, which resembles,
in miniature, the crying of a child. A single specimen of Conops
rcsicularh was seen, but unfortunately escaped. On the way home,^
Mr. W. H. Smith took Metrovampa ))iar;/an'tan'a, Cieoinetra vernaria,
and a larva of Catocala spon.m, beaten from an oak close to Clay Hill.
The larvfe of Diloba caeruleucephala and Kola cucvllatella were
abundant on the banks of the Lymington River, and, in Hurst Wood,
Mr. Jennings saw a 2 of IHoctria oelandica, one of the predatory
Diptera, with its prey in its jaws. Beechen Lane and Whitemoor
were the scenes of the evening work. Sugar was as useless as on the
previous night, and dusking only slightly improved. On Monday,
most of the party started for Matley Bog, rid Whitemoor. For
Lepidoptera, this was the best day of the trip. The alder swamps in
Matley Bog yielded Hijdrelia 7ivctda, Eupisteria ubliterata, Hypsipetes
trifasciata, and Eiastria fasciana, while Aspilates striyiUaria occurred
not uncommonly on the heaths, and Drcpana falcataria was found
among the birch. Mr. Jennings met with the only good Weevil
taken during the trip, a specimen of Erirrhinm bimacidatus, also the
best species of Diptera taken, ciz., a <? of Spilouiyia speciosa, boxed

212 THE entomologist's record.

from the side of the brook, running through Matley Bog. This
gentleman also obtained a $ of Merodou equestru, which species also
Mr. Nicholson had taken at flowers in the " Lynwood " garden.
This is an introduced species, having been brought to England in
bulbs, in which the larvai live. It is now well established in this
country. The party returned early, and after a hearty tea, caught
the 7 o'clock train back to town. Mr. Jennings reports the following
species, other than Lepidoptera, taken during the trip, in addition to
those already mentioned : — Coleophoea. — Geodephaga : — Cahmniia
inqmutdf (two beaten from oak, and one each from hazel, beech, and
hawthorn); Ahax striola (one, under log on heath) ; Harpahis ruhripi's
(ditto) ; Dromms 4.-maculatus ; four species each of PteroHticJiux,
NutiopJiilus, Harpalus, and (Jahithiifs, not yet najUied. Brachelytra : —
Creo))hihis maxUlosics (under a dead rabbit on Whitemoor). Necro-
phaga : — Hilpha ^-punctata (beaten commonly from oaks) ; S. rw/osa ;
>S. sinuata (several obtained from the before-mentioned dead rabbit) ;
Saprimis (two unnamed species from the same source). Lamellicornia : —
(Teotrupea rcnialis (on Whitemoor) ; Tro.r salndosus (under an old rag
at a spot where there had evidently been a gipsy encampment) ;
McIolontJia ruh/aiis (several beaten from oaks) ; Vliijlhipertlia hortirola
(four in various situations) ; Lnranus n'rnis (several). ELATERiD.i;: : —
Campijhis linearis (out of hawthorn) ; ('(iri/inbitefi hnloxL'rirem (common
on oaks). Malacodermata : — Dulichoaoina nobile (from aspen). Longi-
cornia : — AnopAodera si'.ri/uttata (on a wall) ; lihwjiuin hifasciaUun, 11.
inquisitor (at sugar in Jones' enclosure) ; CUjtus arietis (two on dead
wood) ; To.cotus nieridianiis (netted, flying near the Lymington Eiver at
Rhinefields) ; Strcou/alia ni(jra (three from Matley Bog). Phytophaga : —
Cli/thra quadripiuictata (taken by Mr. Bacot at Denny) ; Crijptocephalux
lineola (from heather on Whitemoor) ; Adimonia capreae (several) ;
Flii/todccta riiiiiualis (several]. Heteromera : — Lat/ria hirta (out of an
oak in Hurst Wood). Rhyncophora : — Attelahtis nircidionides (two
out of oaks; lilt ij ncli ites pnlicscens {se\era\ ont of oaks); (HiorrJn/nvm
piripcs (several from hawthorn) ; Strop/iosmnm corijli (common on
anything but hazel) ; Ih/Iohins ahictis (three) ; Krirrhimis tortri.r
(two from aspen) ; A', inacidatiis (several from aspen) ; Balaninm
(/landiwii (beaten from oak). Diptera : — Baiiihi/lim major (in a
most dilapidated condition, having half of both wings gone, and
very ragged pubescence). Hemiptera-Heteroptera : — AcantJiosoina
(three specimens of a species beaten from hawthorn), a yellow
species was common on oaks, and a fine green Capsid was beaten
from hawthorn at Rhinefields. Hymenoptera : — Tenthredinidac :
Tenthrido )iiacidata (taken by Mr. Harvey, near Brockenhurst). —
Lawrence J. Tremayne, Buckley Road, Brondesbury.

SOCIETIES.

City of London Entomological and Natural History Society.
— June 1st, 1897. — Tiresias serra bred. — Mr. Heasler exhibited
Tircsids s<rni, bred from larva obtained under bark at Richmond, last
January. This species appeared to pupate in the last larval skin.
Notes on breeding Arctia caia. — Mr. Bate exhibited four female
Arctia rata, the offspring of a pair exhibited with them, which were
the second brood of 189G, emerging in September last. He said :

SOCIETIES. ■ 213

" These four ' forwards ' fed through the winter indoors, pupated in
February, 1897, and emerged after exactly 50 days in the pupal state.
They were generally dark, and had more or less black fringe to hind-
Avings." Vakiation of larva of Saturnia carpini. — Mr. Bate also
exhibited two larvae oi Satuniia 2)(it'onia-iui)ior, one in the 2nd, and
one in the 3rd skin. The first was black, with orange tubercles ; the
second was green, with interesting club-shaped hairs on the thoracic
and last two abdominal segments. Notes on Melaxippe montanata.
— Mr. Prout exhibited a short bred series of Mdauippt' niontanata,
from a 5 captured in Epping Forest. Eight of these fed up and
emerged in the autumn ; two hybernated in their final skin ; also two
bred specimens of the var. s/wtlaiKlira, Weir, the larvae of which
hybernated in the last skin but one ; also a specimen of the var.
lappanica, Stgr., from North Finland. Mr. Tutt, in his British Motli.s,
p. 274, appears to unite these two varieties, but they seem to differ
considerably (as Herr August Hoffman has remarked), in that the
former is darker 'Bud more ochreous, the latter much paler than the
type form. Living larv.e. — Mr. Bacot : Larvae of Acidalia marfiine-
punctata and A. inornata, Porthesia cJiri/sorrhuea and P. fiiviilis, Polia
xantJunnbta var. nigrocincta, Catocala fra.nni and C. mipta : also
newly-hatched larvae of FAurantlm plumUtraria and Hemerophila
ahruptaria; also larvae of Tep/trosia crepuxcularia ( humdularia / in
1st stage. Mr. Bacot read the following notes : " Although the
eggs of E. plumistaria and 11. ahruptaria are very similar, with respect
to certain strongly-marked characters, the larvae are entirely different.
The young larvae of E. plum istr aria are superficially similar to those
of T. cripuscularia. Differences of detail are, however, apparent with
the microscope. The coloration and characters of newly-hatched
larvfe of Sdenia and Ni/.tsia are also similar to those of TupJtrosia, and it
seems probable that Selenia is really much nearer to Tephrosia than
to Eugonia, with which it is usually placed."

June 15th, 1897. — Boarmia consortaria in the. New Forest. —
Mr. Nicholson exhibited a specimen of Boarmia cumortaria, taken in
the New Forest on Whit Monday last, and some of the eggs laid by it.
Malformation of Pieris brassic^.— Mr. Bate : One ^ and five $
Pieris brassicae, bred from larvae found last autumn. Two females
showed slight malformation, due to the tightness of the silk sling
which the larva spun, and which caused a deep indentation in the
pupa. With reference to this exhibit, Mr. Nicholson said that he had
always bred (ioncptfnj.v rhamni with the mark of the pupa-case
(silken girth ? — Ed.) across its wings, though not so badly as in these
specimens. Aberrations of Coremia ferrugata, etc. — Mr. Bayne :
('orcmia ferrugata {!) with the ivfin spot obsolete, from Epping; (2)
with the twin spot strongly developed, from the New Forest ; (8)
with the red lighter than usual, from Aylesbury ; (4) with the band
very dark, from Aylesbury. He also exhibited red-banded C. unident-
aria, from Epping ; Melanippe galiata, one with black solid band,
from Aylesbury ; Cidaria corglata, from Epping, one suffused with
olive ; Aglais urticae, approaching var. pulari.s, from Hoddesdon, 1897 ;
yola ciuullatella, with the melanic var. ; Thgatira hatis, one from
Epping, without the pink colour in the spots, though very fresh.
Oxshott in June. — Mr. Bate had been at Oxshott on Monday last,
•AXi^\.\xa.i\io\\\\(\. Bupalm piniaria, a few Brenthis si'lcne, PoJgommatus

214 , THE entojiologist's record.

icarvfi, and many Adda deijecrella. He had also found a swarm of
bees hanging to one of the lower boughs of a pine tree. The bough
being cut in half, the bees vanished, but they presently returned, and
Mr. Bate then captured them, bough and all. Hydrilla palustris at
WicKEN. — Mr. Clark reported that Hijdrilla palustris was taken at
Wicken Fen on June 5th.

Nonparkil Entomological and Natural History Society. — June
17th, 1897. — Exhibits : Mr. Craft, Jun,, showed various species from
Winchester, including a very fine and varied series of Xe)iieopln'la
pJa)ita(/i)iix, along with Xj/lopJiasia sublmtris, AsplmJia fluctnosa,
h'.urijwene dolahraria, Anaitis plwiiata and L. adiiatata : also some
fine healthy larvae of Erioi/aatcr lanintris. Macrai/lossa fuciformis,
from the New Forest, was exhibited by Mr. Norman, and also a variable
series of Si/ieriuthus tiliae, bred from Dalston and Penge larva?. One
of these had the triangular bar on the superior wing very well marked,
whilst on the other it was entirely absent. Larvae, both living and
preserved, of I'lmucavipa rastrntsis, from Benfleet, were shown by
Mr. Gurney, and created general interest. The finest exhibit of the
evening was that of Mr. Huckett, Avho showed a magnificent series of
AiKjcrnna priinaria, bred from Chingford larvae, one dark one
especially being very much admired. A slightly varied series (bred)
of Abraxas (irossulariaUt, Polipmiiiiatus icarus from Croydon, and a
specimen of N. tiliat', taken in the heart of London, was Mr. Samson's
exhibit, A curious cocoon, formed of pieces of beetle wings, found
near a pond at Hendon, was shown by Mr. Smith. Although
nothing definite could be said as to what species it belonged, it was
the general opinion that it was the cocoon of some beetle. Mr. Lusby
exhibited a series of Arctia rillica, bred from Willesden larvEe ; also
living larvse of Sattirnia carpini, bred from the egg.

Committee for protection of insects in danger of extermination.
— At a meeting of the committee, held on June 2nd, it was resolved
that the following species of Lepidoptera, being local species in danger
of extermination, be more particularly recommended for protection, in
accordance with the final paragraph of the Memorandum of Associa-
tion : — Papilla macliaon, Li., Leucajdiasia sijiajds, Ij. , Ajxiria cratacf/ijlj. ,
Melitaea athalia, Esp., Melitaea cin.via, L., Apatura iris, L., Livienitis
sihylla, L., Tliecla jinoii, L., L^icaoia arion, L., Carteroceplialus panis-
CKs, Fab., Tliymelicns actacon, Esp., TrochiUwti scoliaffoniw, Hiib.,
Ztpjacna vuiilati, Esp., Ztpjaena e.rulans, Hoch., Nola stihjula, Schift'.,
Kola centonalis, Hiib., Nola albnlalis, Hiib., Eulepia cribrum, L.,
Portln'sia cliri/sorrhoea, L., CUsiocampa castrensis, L., Drepana sicula,
Schift'., Diplitlicra orion, Esp., Acosmetia calif/inosa, Hiib., Dianthuecia
irriujidaris, Hufn., Plnsia oric/ialcea, Fab., Kpione rcspprtaria, L,,.
Pidnniaconspicuata, Schift'., Scoria dealbata, L., Cidaria reticulata, Fab.,
LitJiostcf/c f/riscata, Schift'., Atjrotera nciiioralis. Scop., PteropJtorux
rJiododacti/his, Schiff. Further resolved, that a copy of this list be
forwarded to every society co-operating with this committee, with an
explanation (where necessary) that the committee does not desire to
hamper any local society, in any more stringent action proposed to be
taken by them, for the protection of local species. Also resolved,
that each such society be invited to delegate one of its members, who
shall be received as a member of this committee. — Chas. G. Barrett,
F.E.S., Hon. St'c, 39, Linden Grove, Nunhead.

Vol. IX.

I'LATK VI.

Oi'Ti-iNics OK Ova of Tephkosia citEPUscuLAniA and T. iustoktata.

A. Ovii of T. cn'piiM-uhiv'oi.
R. Ova of T. hUtortata.
c. Ova of 2'. Imtortata.

II. Typical shai^e of ova of a batch.
// Typical shape of ova of b batch,
c. T^-pical shape of ova of c batch.

Eiitviu. Itccuid, etc., 181)7

'&!^ AND "^^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 9. September Ioth, 1897.

The ova of Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) and T. crepuscularia

(blundularia) {lllmtrated Inj Plate).
By J. W. TUTT, F.E S.

Hellins described the egg of T. crepuscularia (biwidularia) as fol-
lows :— " The egg is oblong, cylindrical and full, more conical' at one
end than the other ; the shell of dull appearance, without any gloss,
but also without any reticulation or granulation, except just in the
centre of the fuller end, where there is a small circular patch of oval
reticulation ; the colour of the egg is of a light bright green "
{E.M.M., vol. xiv., p. 236).

We are indebted to Mr. Bacot and Dr. Riding for another move
in our knowledge of these tAvo species. The difficulty of comparing
the eggs side by side, owing to the fact that they emerge at different
seasons of the year, has been met by these gentlemen, by slightly
forcing pupae of T. crepiiscnlaria {bhuuhdaria) so as to obtain the
emergence of the imagines at the same time as the ordinary
emergence of 2\ bistortata. Not only has this been done, but
reciprocal pairings between the two species have been obtained, and
the eggs have proved fertile. Mr. Bacot was kind enough to send me
three lots of eggs. (1) T. bistortata eggs, the result of a pairing of
two typical insects of this species on Feb. 26th (PL vi., fig. B). (2) T.
bistortata eggs, fertilised by a male T. crepuscularia on Feb. 2(Sth (PI. vi.,
fig. C). (8) T. crepuscularia eggs, the result of a pairing of two typical
specimens of this species on March 3rd (PI. vi., fig. A). These hatched,
respectively, on March 25th (27 days as ova), March 30th (30 days
as ova), April 1st (28 days as ova), but no stress can be laid on this
period, as the eggs were subjected to quite abnormal and varying
conditions of temperature.

On March 10th, Mr. Baty mounted for me, side by side, several
eggs belonging to the first and third batches ; the eggs were then 12
and 7 days old respectively. The differences between the eggs, as
seen under a low power (only magnifying 70 diameters), are sufficient
to put at rest any possibility of their belonging to the same species.
The eggs belonging to the two sets were quite easily separable, both
by Mr. Baty and myself.

Er/ej of T. bistortata (12 days old). — The egg of T. bistortata is,
to the naked eye, of a delicate pale pea-green colour. It is somewhat
cylindrical in shape, with rounded ends, and although the eggs are
slightly variable in size, and somewhat variable in shape, due to
certain indentations, evidently caused by external pressure at the

21G THE entomologist's record.

time of laying, such abnormal depressions are very clearly marked,
and the general contour of the eggs is maintained. The characteristic
oval depression, seen in the upper surface of most Geometrid
eggs, is rather well marked, and moderately large. The surface of
the egg is smooth, finely pitted at the micropylar end. The oval
depression is placed well towards the micropylar end. There are
faint traces of irregular ribbing towards the curved edge of the same
end. The shell is very transparent, and the egg-contents also inclined
to be so.

Eijii iif T. crcpmtularia (7 days old). — The e^g of T. crepiiscularia
is, to the naked eye, of a pale pea-green tint with a suspicion of
blue in it. It is oval in shape {i.e., of the shape of a hen's egg).
The eggs are peculiarly constant in size, with an oval depression on
the side nearly midway between the micropyle and its nadir. The
micropylar area is covered with a distinct pitting, although the shape
of the micropylar cells are difficult to make out. The micropylar
area occupies a considerable portion (about two-thirds) of the broad
end. There is no trace whatever of ribbing. The egg-shell is not
transparent.

(Jou)parisnji of tlw ci/// of T. histortata irith that of T. crepmcularia, —
The comparison of these eggs is a very easy matter, for they differ in
several particulars. As they rest side by side under the micros-
cope, the larger size of the egg of T. histortata is very evident. It
has about double the cubical contents of that of T. crcpusnilaria.
The colour of the egg of T. histortata is now (under the microscope
with a good light) of a pale pearly whitish green, that of T. crepiis-
cularia of a dull yellow hue, in which there is scarcely a trace of
green. This is particularly interesting, considering how nearly of
the same tint they appear to the naked eye. In shape, too, the two
sets of eggs are very different. The shape of the egg of T. histortata
is not unlike the long cylindrical eggs, with almost equal rounded
ends, so characteristic of many Geometers ; that of T. crcpusnilaria
resembles somewhat a hen's egg in shape, with one end much fuller
than the other. The outline sketches (drawn to scale) from the two
lots of eggs, as they lay side by side in the field of the microscope,
will give a better notion of the difterence in shape and size than any
amount of description will do. The egg-shell of both species is very
smooth, but that of T. histortata is shiny and somewhat transparent,
whilst that of T. crepiuicularia is dull and opaque. The depression
on the upper side of the eggs is placed near the micropylar end in
T. histortata ; that of 2'. crcpiiscnlaria is placed near the centre of the
upper surface. The shell of T. histortata is irregularly wrinkled longi-
tudinally ; no such wrinkles are observable in the egg of T. crcpusm-
laria. The micropylar area of T. histortata is a marked depression,
that of T. crcjiuscularia is spread over the convex surface of the broad
end of the egg. It is most interesting to have had the eggs of the two
species side by side for examination. I am quite open (and so is my
friend Mr. Baty, who has made the microscopical examination with
me) to separate normal eggs of these species from each other.

I strongly suspect that the difference of colour— the more yellowish
tint of T. crepu.scidaria— in the early stage, is due to a real difference
in the embryonic development of the egg, and not to the difterence of
age, for the 2\ crepiiscularia eggs were five days newer than those of

T. BrSTORTATA (cREPUSCULARTa) AND T. CREPUSCULARTA (bIUNDULARIa). 217

T. bistortata, and one would have imagined, had the difference of colour
been due to age, that the eggs of T. crcpuscularia would have proved
the older. I observed also in the eggs (10 days old) of T. bistortata,
which had been fertilised by a (J 2\ biwuhdaria, that the colour was
distinctly more yellowish than in the eggs of T. bistortata, which
were two days older. The difference here referred to is not the
assumption of the yellowish-green tint, which all the eggs take on in
a later period of their development, and which is distinctly visible to
the naked eye just previous to the final colour change that precedes
hatching.

These notes were written before Dr. Riding's note {ante, pp. 149-
150), but at the time that I exhibited these eggs, and made the
remarks printed, anf(\ pp. 127-128, I had not learned from Mr. Bacot
the age of the eggs. I print this with some diffidence, in the face of
Dr. Riding's note, but have no doubt that further observations will
make clear the points of difference.

Notes on Charaxes jasius : its life=history, protective resemblance,
etc., witli some observations on moulting and pupation.

By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.E.S.
{Concluded from p. 194.)

Physiological notes. — When the larva moults — I had several
which changed from the penultimate to the last skin — the head of
the larva retreats from the effete head to the pro-thoracic segment,
leaving only the mouth parts within the old head ; this is a fact easily
observed in many species of larvje, but it struck me here as curious
that the four horns or spines of the new head were not directed back-
wards, but laterally two to either side, under the skin of the pro-
thoracic segment.

In many Noctuid (and other) larvae with transparent heads, it is
easily seen, at the period of moult, that the old head is not entirely
filled by the jaws, etc., of the new head, but that the old head is
largely occupied by fluid, which bathes the new skin beneath the
old one. At this stage the head has really moulted, being chiefly
within the pro-thorax. How is the excess of fluid within the old
head removed just before the actual casting of the skin — is it swal-
lowed by the larva, or does it desiccate ? It can hardly be swallowed,
as the mouth is at this period occupied by the effete esophageal
membrane. This fluid contains some chitinous matter in solution,
and the dampness of the newly-changed larva dries up into a super-
ficial layer of chitinous material. The cast skin also, which is damp
on being first cast, can, during a brief period after, to be measured
by seconds, be extended and displayed ; but if once dried in its
shrivelled state, I have always failed by any process to so soften it
again as to make it capable of being extended. Some larvfe leave
their skins partially extended by all the prolegs retaining their hold
of a silken carpet. To return, however, to C. jamm, it may be noted
that, as with many other species, in the larval moults, the head is
cast entire, but at the pupal moult it splits up. At a larval moult

218 THE entomologist's record.

the larva eats the cast skin, except the head, but I think it is the case
that it does not specially eat up the leaf with the silken carpet on
which it has rested, as our Cerurae invariably do when possible.

I had the good fortune to observe one specimen throwing off its
larval skin and assuming the pupal state ; and whilst I saw several
things that are now well known and understood, there was one
circumstance I noted that was quite new to me, as I had never seen
it before, nor have I read of it. The pad of silk, to which the larva
suspends itself, is made in a few hours ; the actual pad is made by
the larva withdrawing its head from the surface, and so making a
free loop of silk, longer than is necessary to reach to the point of
surface to which it returns, and the repetition of this process gradu-
ally forms the pad ; it is always so placed that the larva shall swing
clear of all surrounding objects, and never, as many Vanessid larvje
will, so that the pupa can touch a vertical surface. It has a certain
amount of surrounding spinning, usually apparently with no other
object than as standing room for the larva whilst spinning the pad,
but in one instance, when the suspension was beneath a leaf, certainly
tending to prevent the leaf falling oft' by spinning the petiole to the
twig. I never happened to see how the larva made sure of where the
pad was when it secured itself thereto with its anal claspers, and it
must fall to the suspended position immediately, as I never saw one
with its claspers in position on the pad and still holding by the
ventral pro-legs, a position held for many hours by most Vanessid
larvae I have noticed. As soon as suspended, it curls itself up into a
ring, with the mouth to the under surface of the 8th abdominal
segment ; this position is maintained for two or three days (in my
room, possibly less when at large in a warm exposure). When ready
to change, the coloured anal appendages are visible through the
larval skin. The first actual steps towards the moult are very slight
and slow in progress ; a certain amount of movement is visible by
depression or contraction of segments, somewhat rythmically, and
apparently, as all these movements are, vermicular, that is, passing
from segment to segment. During several hours, however, the results
are slight, just as the movements have been : they consist, so far as
can be seen, in a few white lines under the first and second, and
dorsally on the terminal, abdominal segments, as well as a few in
front of the second segment. These indicate places where slight folds
have occurred in the effete skin, and probably indicate that the
operations of the past few hours have been more important thaji
appears, by making the skin everywhere free from the pupal skin
beneath, breaking down any remaining cellular attachments, and
leaving nothing between the old and new skin but a little fluid. By
this time the head of the larva is opposite the sixth abdominal seg-
ment, and not quite touching it, so that only a little straightening
has taken place. More active (apparently) movements now occur,
strictly vermicular in character, that is conmiencing at the anal seg-
ment which contracts, and passing forward to segment after segment ;
after five or ten minutes the larva is |_-shaped, that is, the thoracic
segments are now horizontal, and the head far removed from the
front of the abdominal segments. It is now obvious that the 2nd and
3rd thoracic segments are enlarged, a change that had already pro-
gressed during the first stage ; the first thoracic is small throughout,

NOTES ON CHARAXES JASIUS. 219

Additional slight folds of effete skin occur across the dorsum of the ab-
dominal segments. The third stage, if not of greater activity, at least
of very much more rapid progress, is entered upon. The skin of the
abdominal dorsum slides • backwards, and accumulates at the anal
extremity, ventrally, the suspensory processes of the pupa, which are
very large and conspicuous in this pupa, are easily seen through the
delicate skin to hook into a fold of the skin of the last segment, or
rather into the fold formed by the incision with the next segment,
and the skin of the ventral surface accumulates in front of this. It
is also tolerably evident, though the folds of larval skin are now thick
enough to rather obscure it, that the cremastral process is thrown
backwards at each vermicular movement, acting from the suspensory
processes as centres of rotation, so as to push the successive folds of
dorsal skin, as formed, down between it and the suspensory processes.
The succession, or rather concurrence, of events is now very rapid ;
one notes the white points formed at the spiracles by the dragging
out of tracheal linings, quickly extending into a continuous line, and
one notes especially such a lining drawn out between the 2nd and
3rd thoracic segments, where the imago has, but the larva has not, a
spiracle. Suddenly one sees that the larval skin is ruptured down
the centre of the thorax, and soon that the head is split in half, with
the clypeus in a separate piece, which follows the mouth parts.
Quickly the Skin passes towards the tail, the cremaster has pushed all
the dorsal skin below it and appears, through the dorsal slit, and at the
second push through, it seizes the pad of silk, and then the movements
of the pupa push it oft" the suspensory processes, and, all weight being
taken off it, and receiving some upward pushes, the crochets of the
anal pro-legs also are loosened from the pad of silk, and the skin is
free and falls. This pupa, chiefly perhaps from its large size, but also
from the colouring of the suspensory processes, renders the part the
latter play in thejcasting of the larval skin, very easy to observe, a func-
tion which was very carefully demonstrated a number of years ago
by Dr. Osborne. The casting of a tracheal lining from the 2nd
thoracic spiracle at pupation I do not remember to have observed
before, but inferred that such occurred, since I had seen it many
years ago in numerous larval moul tings ; first in the large silkworms
[Antheraca yama-mai, L.), and had also demonstrated the existence of
this spiracle in the imagines. The pupa is still of considerable
length, and comparatively narrow, and the wings and appendages are
short, only reaching to the middle of the 3rd abdominal segment ;
all the abdominal segments also are rounded with deep incisions.
Vermicular movement continues, with the result of gradually bring-
ing the pupa into its short, squat form, with very dwindled terminal seg-
ments. During this process the wings and appendages nearly double
in length, and the vermicular movements seem to cause this result
by a process of forcing the fluids from the diminishing to the increas-
ing parts. It was during this stage that I noticed the phenomenon
that I have alluded to as entirely new to me. At the commencement
of this stage the spiracles (abdominal) are wide, oval depressions,
with apparently the spiracle proper of a brownish colour at the bottom,
and during the process they become narrower, till they are, in the
mature pupa, very narrow lines, with questionably any actual lumen.
I did not catch this detail immediately, but within a minute or two

220 THE entomologist's kecord.

of the skin being cast, I noticed what could not be bettor described
than by saying that these spiracles winked at me. The brown-
coloured portion was now at the bottom of an oval slit, not much
wider at the surface than below, but just within the outer opening
there descended from above, and hid the brown base, a pale green
diaphragm, exactly like an eyelid, and then rose again. I examined
this process through a strong pocket lens, and when I took to timing
it, found it occurred once every three seconds, the opening being now
the shortest part of the sequence, and lasting half a second. I could
not be sure that they were simultaneous with the vermicular move-
ments, but they continued till the spiracular openings became too
narrow to see them distinctly. It may be an entirely erroneous con-
clusion, but I could not resist the idea that these were valvular
arrangements, associated with the pumping process necessary to the
expansion of the appendages. They may be merely a development
occurring (rapidly like that of wings) for the occlusion, more or
less complete, of the spiracles during the pupal state ; but then, are
the spiracles quite occluded during the pupal state ? I doubt it ; and
secondly, why the winking ? A gradual development would be all that
was necessary, as with the wings, which do not flap as they increase in
size. This is obviously a matter that wants following up. I ought,
perhaps, in order to be more clear, to say that the observation was, of
course, made as the pupa hung in its natural inverted .position ; the
descent of the eyelid was therefore from the posterior margin of the
spiracle, the final narrow slit being parallel Avith the lines of incision,
or nearly so. I was unable to make any observation on the spiracle
of the first thoracic segment.

When the pupa has assumed its permanent squat rounded form,
it is still very soft and delicate, and for several days, if touched or
disturbed, it is capable of movement, which afi'ects the incisions on
either side of the 5th and 6th abdominal segments, and seems also to
produce flexion of the pupal integument ; but later, say a week after
moulting, the pupa appears to be solid and incapable of movement,
but considerable irritation produces a trifling amount of movement,
not of flexion, but of retraction, so that these segments (5th and 6th
abdominal) are in this species both free. For some hours before
emergence they are fully extended, as they never are during pupal
quiescence, by the inflation that is so general a phenomenon in insects
at emergence from the pupa.

My pupa?, brought to England, continued in the pupal state about
five weeks, and of this period, the time necessary to the development
of the imaginal colours, appeared to me exceedingly short. After some
increase in opacity of the ordinary green tint, the brown colour of the
margin of the fore-wings became evident and fully developed as to
colour, whilst the rest of the wing was still green, then the black
colour of the mass of the wing appeared. From the first trace of
brown colour to emergence, only 38 to 48 hours elapsed, and from its
full development, before any black appeared, to emergence, less than
80 hours ; in one case, on a warm day, less (I do not know quite how
much less) than 21 hours. A high temperature would doubtless
diminish even these periods.

THE RIIOfALOCERA FoOND IN THE BASSES-ALl'ES (dIGNe) IN APRIL. 221

The Rhopalocera found in the Basses=Alpes (Digne) in April.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

Three of our most energetic students and collectors of European
Rhopalocera — Messrs. A. H. Jones, Lemann and W. E. Nicholson-
have at various times visited Digne, in the Basses-Alpes, recorded
{E.M.M., vol. xxvi., pp. 280-2H8 ; vol. xxviii., pp. 270-275) its insect
fauna, so far as the species that occur in the summer months are
concerned, and thrown out hints as to the possibilities of the locality
in early spring. Dr. Chapman and myself arranged to meet there
this spring, and spend a few days, during Easter, exploring its
recesses. I was joined by Mr. Stanley Edwards, and on April 16th
we found Dr. Chapman awaiting us there. The doctor had arrived
on April 13th, and he stayed on until April 29th, so that the result of
this fortnight's work may be taken to represent a very fair sample of
the insects that can be taken at Digne during this period of the year.

We were much impressed by the odours of the town. One of the most
evil-smelling streets was called the Rue de la Mere de Dieu, and this led
into a dirty court, known as the Place de Paradis. Whether the Digne
notion of heaven was idealised in these places we know not. How-
ever, we spent a very enjoyable time, captured a fair number of speci-
mens ; yet we were, after all, too late for fine Erebla epuUjiim', which
appears to be at its best during the last week of March, and there can
be no doubt that, as a mere matter of obtaining specimens generally,
we were a week or fortnight too early. True, we got a large number of
species, but, with very few exceptions, they were not fully out, and Dr.
Chapman's bag on his last day (April 29th) alone equalled that of the
combined nets on any other two days spent there, and insects that had
previously been scarce were by this time in considerable abundance.

Digne lies at an elevation of 2,000 feet, a factor that all travelled
entomologists will understand. We directed our excursions to the hills
around the town, and the top of one of these hills from 3,000-3,500
feet was usually the objective of each day's excursion. At the eleva-
tion at which we collected then, the vegetation bore a very close
resemblance, in point of development, to that of a wooded district in
the south of England in late April, and one was rather astonished to
find so many diurnals abroad among such comparatively bare sur-
roundings. Still, in spite of the vegetation being so little in advance
of that in Britain, the days were intensely hot just before and after
noon, and Dr. Chapman found an Adiantum growing on the rocks at
8,000 feet elevation, which says much for the absence of severe winter
frosts even at this elevation. The butterflies obtained were numerous
and interesting. Perhaps they had better be dealt with seriatim.

Hesperides. — Sidldt/n/nis alceac, Si/richthus alveus, IS. sao. —
Two or three specimens of each of these species were obtained ; evi-
dently they were just appearing. T/iauaos ta(/es, Sijriclithm inalrac,
both well out, the former very abundant, and differing, so far as I
observe, in no wise from British examples.

Papilionides. — Lyc^nid/E. — CaUop/iri/s /7(6/. — This was probably
the most abundant species observed. It swarmed about the Pnuim
flowers, and flew about everywhere over the broom, on which
the eggs were possibly laid ; but the larva is not particular in its
choice. Chri/wpha)im dorilis. — Just appearing, the dark males with

222 THE entomologist's record.

a row of very distinct blue spots parallel to the hind margins of the
hind-wings; the female very bright and resembling C. phlaeas in
colour. It is regularly double-brooded in southern France. C.
phlaeas. — Also just appearing. The females very large and brightly
coloured. Poh/oiiimatus baton. — Abundant, generally distributed, and
showing marked sexual dimorphism. The females are somewhat
variable, some being much more plentifully besprinkled with blue
scales than others. Frey says that this species is found up to 7,000
feet in Switzerland (in tlie Albula Pass). P. astrarclie. — Just coming
out. The females large, and both sexes brightly marked with mar-
ginal orange spots. Frey says that " the early brood of Hwiss speci-
mens bears, on the upper side, traces only of the reddish-yellow or
peacock eyes, which appear larger and more distinctly on all four
wings in the summer brood," and he further emphasises this state-
ment by saying that "in the Alps of Wallis, Berne and the Grisons,
common, in the form of the spring brood, with gradual disappearance
of all red spots on the upper sides of the males, whilst the females
still preserve distinct peacock-eyes. The brood is in this case single."
In Britain, there is but little difference in the orange spots, the
females of both broods having the spots much better marked than in
the males. In Piedmont, the Tyrol and Dauphine Alps, I have found
that the males of the second brood have the least trace of these spots,
sometimes entirely absent, and the brightly-marked spring specimens
from Digne bear out this conclusion. F. irarux.^^wni appearing.
Males only observed. A fair number of the specimens captured were
ab. icarhais. P. hi/las. — Just appearing; specimens on the 2.Sth and
29th of April. L. Ixdlaiym. — Two or three males only seen ; evidently
newly emerged. No females were observed. Frey notices that Alpine
females are nearly always uniformly brown, or only very slightly
sufi'used with very pale blue. Cijaniris aniinlus. — A few specimens,
mostly torn, about the Prnnioi blossoms. Frey says that the vertical
distribution of this species is not great, and that is my experience.
Xoiinadc-'i vijllarus. — Abundant ; a beautiful insect with skyblue bases
to the undersides of all four wings. Frey says that the Swiss speci-
mens are "variable in size, shape of wings, ocellated spots and
metallic l)luish-grecn basal powderings. The latter are greener in
specimens from Wallis, whose underside is thereby brightened up when
compared with southern specimens." The variability in size is very
great at Digne, and there is some difference in the brilliance of the
metallic powderings, which, however, are blue rather than green.
The males are given to wandering, flying about bushes, and being
more conspicuous, appear commoner, but the females are not uncom-
mon on the borders of the meadoAvs. The doctor was most insistent
that the females were scarce, according to Kane, probably because
he found a very fair number of this sex. .V. vuianops. — This purely
southern species was abundant, perhaps the most abundant blue. It
was very generally distributed. N. sebrm. — Just emerging on April
29th, as also was Cujiido inininia, a specimen or two of each species
only being taken.

LEMONnD.E. — Noneobim lucina. — Generally distributed, and in one
wood not uncommon. The insect had evidently been on the wing
some days. The specimens are bright and very strongly marked.
Frey gives " sorrel," as well as Primula, for the food-plant. We got
specimens where the cowslip was abundant.

tflK rMOPALOCBRA found in the BASSES-ALPES (dIGNk) in APRIL. 223

Papilionid^. — Papilio podaUrim. — Well out, and very generally
distributed. The specimens appear somewhat pale. P. wachaon. —
Also well out, but rarely seen, except when flying round the summits
of the lower mountains, to which we climbed. In these positions
they were abundant ; in some cases P. podalirius joined them in
their breezy gambols. I have often noticed the habit in P. machaon.
before, and Frey says that P. j)odalirins haunts mountain tops at " not
above 3,000 feet." The undersides of P. machaon, decidedly pale.
Parnassiufi apollo. One larva only on St'duw, more than one-third grown
already (April 20th), good progress for an insect that hybernates as an
egg. Thais nu'desicastf. — This species was well out by April 17th, on
which date at least 37 were captured by three collectors from Les Dourbes
— 25 by one, and 8 and 4 respectively by two others. We did not
attempt to work the favourite ground of these collectors, nor were we
particularly keen on this species, being more concerned to discover
the number of species that were out. One thing is quite certain, and
that is, that the species has been, and is now, persecuted to such an
extent that it is comparatively rare, and although the nature of the
ground will prevent its actual extermination, it must soon get
perilously near it. A conversation with the Coulets drew out the
facts that they posted the insects which they caught, unset, on the day
of capture, and that the species, which used to occur in the greatest
abundance, was now getting comparatively rare. We understood that
only one specimen of the ab. Itonoratii was captured last year, but 16
were taken during the previous season. We heard of no liouaratii
being captured during our visit. We picked up odd specimens of the
type over a considerable area of ground during our stay. When the
insect is no longer sufficiently abundant to pay these collectors to
come from Les Dourbes, a walk of six miles, it may recover again
for a brief period at least.

PiERiD.E. — Aporia cmtaei/i. — Larvae on C'rataetjiis, from about half-
an-inch to full-grown and hung up for pupation ; certainly not very
abundant, although not rare. Pieris brassicae. — Just coming out.
P. rapae and P. napi. — Both well out and common. P. dapUdicc var.
bellidicc .—The spring brood was going over already ; most of the
specimens captured were worn, a few, however, in fine condition.
There seems to be considerable difierence between the specimens
captured and those I have taken of the second brood, in many locali-
ties. The distribution of this insect seems to suggest that, except
under exceptional conditions, this is purely a South European species.
Frey says that, "even in the latitude of Geneva, r/oyy^/^/ur becomes
scarce, and in the remainder of Switzerland occurs very rarely, or
only as an occasional solitary example." Antliocharis bclia. — Rare, or
not fully out. We saw very few examples, possibly not more than
half-a-dozen altogether. They were of the usual South European
form, possibly a little smaller than those Dr. Chapman obtained at
Cannes, and from which he already had pupa; of the second brood,
var. ausonia. Frey thinks that the var. siniplonia, which is widely
distributed in Switzerland (and also occurs in Piedmont and ? Tyrol)
in June and July, from 3,000-5,000 feet in Simplon, Wallis, Laquin-
thal, Visp, Rytielberg, Arollathal, is the old type which has resolved
itself into the forms of helia and ausonia. A. ta;ps var. bcllezina. —
This species, which has made Les Dourbes famous entomologically,

224 THE ENtoMoLOGISr's KECOktt.

occurred very sparingly at about 3,000 feet elevation. The species
most certainly was not fully out, Eurhloe canhanines. — Well out
and abundant ; variable in size, extending from ab. major, Tutt, to ab.
turritis, Och. The underside marblings, yellower than those of British
examples, and with the paler markings forming a distinct white band
on the underside of the hind- wings, parallel to the hind margin.
Lrucopliasia sltiapl^. — Abundant and very generally distributed in the
district, with darker shading on the undersides of the hind-wings
than in British specimens, and probably the true ab. latlnjri. On the
upper side, quite indistinguishable, in both sexes, from British speci-
mens. Kane's description of ab. lathi/ri [Eur. Butts., p. 15) is dis-
tinctly a duplication of the description of L. duponchelL Frey's notes
lead one to suppose that in Switzerland the two broods are very
similar to our British examples. L. diiponcheli. — Moderately abundant,
haunting precisely the same ground and occurring with L. ainains,
some of the latter, in their dark underside shading, running it very
closely. Were it not for the difierences between the females and the ova,
I should be strongly inclined to suspect it as being only a well-marked
form of L. sinapis, but the marked sexual dimorphism of the latter is
not followed in L. (hijinncheU, in which the sexes are somewhat similar,
and the ova are differently sculptured. It is, however, interesting to
stand in a gully, by the side of a brawling streamlet, and capture
these two species, one after the other, and not be able to tell, until
the underside is examined, which species you have. On one occasion
I observed a male LcHcophasia attempting to pair with a female ; as
they appeared to copulate, I covered them with the net. Whether
they actually paired or not I am not quite certain. If so, they must
have separated as soon as the net covered them, and when I took the
specimens out they proved a J sinapLs and a S' duponcheU. Dr.
Chapman says that " L. dupoiic/idi is a week or so later than L.
sinajns, i.e., one takes L. .sinapin alone, then L. duponchdi appears,
and is rare, then both are equally common, and finally, just before I
left (April 29th), L. sinapis was rather rare, and L. dupinicluii quite
common." (JoUas lii/alc. — Just emerging ; in fine condition, and
capable of flying like " Old Harry." The specimens captured were
evidently the fore-runners of the spring brood atDigne, where, I surmise,
the insect is regularly double-brooded. I saw ten specimens on the
morning of April 22nd in about two hours, and Dr. Chapman says it had
become very abundant by the 29th. Frey remarks that in Switzerland
there is " one scanty brood in May and June, and one numerous brood
from July to September. Higher up, ('.(/., at Bergiln, only one brood
in the year." I suspect that it is the usual thing for the warmest of the
Alpine valleys to produce a " scanty brood in May and June," the individ-
uals of which, with their marvellous powers of flight, spread to the
higher levels (and in some years to higher latitudes), and lay the eggs
which give " the numerous brood from July to September." Colias
edma. — Only just appearing. A few specimens freshly emerged ;
evidently this species is a few days behind (\ Iij/alc in the date of its
appearance, and is also very much less common in the south than C.
lujalf, Goncpwnj.vrkamni and (J . dcopatra, — Both these species occurred
and covered the same ground. Nothing more brilliant than the flash of
a male di'opatra along a wooded mountain side, in the bright sunshine,
can well be imagined. The specimens of (J. rhanini were evidently

tHE Rtloi'ALOCERA FOUNt) IN THE MSSES-ALPES (dIGNE) IN APRIL. 225

hybernators, and so, in my opinion, were those of (i. cleupatra, nor do
I observe, in the few Digne dcopatra captured, any difference in the
size between them and rhamni. Does (r. cleopatra hybernate in the
same manner as G. rluinini' What larval and pupal differences are
there? The eggs are certainly much alike, the food-plants the same, they
cover the same ground here (at Digne). They are of the same size.
Certain it is that at Cannes, dcopatra is the larger, but is this only a
concomitant of increased food supply, and consequent energy
resulting in larger size and brighter colour ? Who, of our southern
observers, can give us facts with regard to these points ?

Nymphalid^. — Pohjijonia ('//*'(/.— Two or three specimens seen each
day sunning themselves on the dark shaly rocks, in the crevices of which
grows the Parietaria, on which the female lays her eggs. Very wary
and difficult to capture. P. c-alhum. — An odd specimen or two,
hybernated and very worn, were captured. Eiujunia jtoh/chluros. —
Several hybernated specimens observed. Eucanessa antlopa. — One
specimen, with most approved white border, on the Col de la Croix-
Haute, evidently searching out the sallows for egg-laying. Frey says
that this species is universal singly, and suggests that probably the high
Alpine Salices explain the phenomenon. He further says that the
butterfly is single-brooded, with " partial hybernation." What does
he mean by "with partial hybernation?" Pi/ra>neisatalanta. — Flying
with P. inac/iaon round the tops of the mountains. P. canlui. — Two
only seen, and these appeared to be in fine condition ; one was busy,
and looked as if egg-laying, the other flying with /'. atalanta, P.
iiiachann and P. podaliri.Hs, about some precipitous rocks at the summit
of one of the smaller mountains. This species is almost polyphagous,
and appears as uncertain in appearance inmost parts of Europe north of
the great mountain chain as with us. I saw no Vanessa io, but
A<jlais urticae was locally abundant in the larval stage. Some of the
larvee were sent to Mr. Merrifield, and the earliest of these produced
imagines on May 5th, at Brighton. Melitaca cinxia, — ^ Widely dis-
tributed all over the neighbourhood. Well out, large, in fine condi-
tion, and moderately abundant. Frey says that in Switzerland this
species occurs in meadows and low mountain pastures almost every-
where. Melitaca aurinia. — Just out on rather dry grassy slopes, and
in meadows, becoming very abundant on April 28th and 29th. The
specimens were mainly of the ab. artemis, Fb., but the ab. brunnea,
Tutt, and ab. prorincialis, Bdv., were also represented. Some of the
females were very large, and came very near var. ibcrica, Oberth.
{(hsfimtalnesi, H.-S.). I had expected to find the species here
exhibiting quite racial characters in the direction oi proiincialis, Bdv.,
but cannot say that this altogether happened. M. athalia. — Just
appearing. I got four specimens on April 22nd, the doctor one. I
do not know whether the species became abundant later. It was a
strange experience to see, on April 22nd, in a meadow almost ready
for mowing, Melitaca cin.ria, M. aurinia and M. athalia, flying with
many P>rcnt/ns dia and an occasional Arc/i/nnis lathonia. I must own
this day alone knocked a great deal of the London fog, accumulated
during the winter of '96-'97, out of me, and made quite clear that
the summer of 1897 had arrived. Brcnthis dia. — Really abundant ;
some specimens were already worn. P. euplirostjnc. — The first and
only specimen taken by the doctor on April 29th, a large male.

226 THE ENtOMOLOGIST*S RECORD.

An/i/nnis lathnnia. — Rather small, the spring brood only just emerg-
ing. This species is regularly double-brooded in the lowlands,
occurring in April and May, and again in July and August, and this
prevails up to about 4,000 feet. The autumn brood, however, goes
up to 7,000 feet, Frey says up to 8,000 feet in Switzerland. Paran/e
c'lcria. — Possibly over. A few specimens of the bright fulvous
southern type were captured, flying about in the same slow
manner that characterises our British form. Frey says that "in Swit-
zerland P. ojeria passes, in hot summers and in very warm places, into
the bright yellow var. nwone, as in Unterwallis, the Tessin Riviera
and at Lugano." P. menaera. — The first brood well out. The speci-
mens brightly marked above, the undersides rather suffused, other-
wise not differing from our British examples, ('(wnoui/iupha paiiiii/iilus.
— Common in one meadow only, occasional specimens in other
localities. The doctor captured, on April 14th, the most striking
specimen of the dark-bordered ab. li/llus, Esp., that I have ever seen.
Our other captures were quite typical, and did not incline to this
form. PJrcbia episti/i/Hc. — This fine Erebia was found on all the lower
mountains, at about 500 feet above the town, and continued to their
summits, but most of the individuals were worn and useless for
cabinet purposes. There is a marked difference in the undersides of
the sexes, but I noticed no difference in their habits. They would get
up from the herbage, fly a considerable distance, and then settle again.
The native collectors told us that it had been very abundant during the
flrst week of April at Les Dourbes. Erebia erias. — The black glossy coat
of this grand fellow reminded me of PJ. )U'rinc. The insect Avas only
just emerging, and very difficult to get ; needless to say the few speci-
mens obtained were in grand condition. The only female captured
was paler than the males. Frey says this is a southern species, and
only belongs to the southern part of the Swiss faunal region — Wallis
and the Grisons. It " occurs in Wallis in May and beginning of
June, and higher up in July."

Notes on a few Orthoptera captured in the neighbourhood of
Cannes, in March.

By MALCOLM BURR, F.E.S.

The few specimens of Orthoptera captured by Dr. Chapman in the
neighbourhood of Cannes during the month of March, work out as
follows : — ACRIDIODEA. — TRvxALm.E. — PJpacrowia strepens, Latr. —
One male and three females from Cannes examined. This species is
common in the south of Europe, being found in the south of France,
Spain, Dalmatia, Greece, and it also occurs in Algeria and Asia
Minor. It may be found in the adult stage at nearly every season of
the year, and seems to prefer dry hot sunny places : it flies often and
higher than most Orthoptera. There are several species of the genus
Epacromia, all very closely allied, the distinction being, according to
Brunner, " iiberaus subtil." [There are two other European species :
the rather rare E. triyt'stiita, Muhlf., and E. thalassina, Fabr. The
latter is common, and differs from E. stn'fh'us by its more slender form,
narrower elytra, hyaline wings (smoky at the apex in strepens), and
by its more slender posterior femora. There are other points of

NOTES ON A FEW ORTHOPTERA. 22?

distinction, but these are the most noticeable. E. tcrifi'ntivn, Muhlf.,
is quite a distinct species ; the bhie posterior tibire, with a black ring
at the apex and base at once distuiguish it from E. strepenH and
E. thalasxina, in which the posterior tibife are red. E. taiindua,
Fabr., perhaps better known under the synonym, tricoloripes, Burm.,
is one of the most widely distributed species in Asia and Australia.]
In two of these specimens from Cannes the wings are tessellated
with yellow : this is not noticed in the descriptions given by Brunner
and by Finot.

Oedipodid^. — Avrotijlua insnbricus, Scop. — One male, one female,
Cannes, March, 1897. One female, Digne, April 26th, 1897. This
extremely pretty little species is common enough in the south of
Europe, round the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the north
of Greece, Provence, Pesth, Volga, and also in Asia Minor and
Algeria, In the south of France it seems to be fairly common, and
was observed by Dubrony to hybernate, and appear in the following
spring, which these specimens had evidently done. As in other
Oedipudidai', the colour of the wings varies. Brunner records
specimens from Aleppo, in which the red of the wings fades into
yellow ((•/(/(', Proc. Ent. Soc. Loud., 1897, p. xv.). [There are two other
European species: (1) A. lomjipefi, Charp., in which the wings are
yellow hyaline at the apex, and there is no black fascia. (2) A.
patrudis, Sturm., is closer to A. inmbricn^, but differs by its smoother
pronotum, which is constricted in front and rounded behind. In
A. insuhricus the pronotum is not constricted, and is pointed behind,
and the dorsal aspect is rugose ; the antennje are much longer in
A. patnicUs than in A. insubricus.~\

Pcir/ii/ti/lns cint'i-ascciis, Fabr. — One female, Cannes. This species
is an inhabitant of western and northern Europe ; it is connnon in
the south of France, and by reason of its large size and comparative
al)undance, sometimes causes some mischief in gardens. It is also
found in Spain, Italy, Dalmatia and Greece, but has further an
extraordinarily wide distribution, no doubt caused by its great powers
of flight. Outside Europe it is found in the Canary Islands, all North
Africa, Egypt, Asia Minor, Syria, Mauritius, Java, Japan, Philippine
Islands and New Zealand. It is often mistaken for P. luif/ratoriiis,
L., from which it dift'ers as follows : the pronotum is produced to a
blunt point anteriorly and posteriorly, whereas it is rounded in P.
iiiiliraturiun ; the posterior tibiae are reddish (livid or yellow in P.
iiuiiratnrim) ; the pronotum is more raised in this species than in
mii/ratormfi', in cvwrasci'iis the male is considerably smaller than the
female, but the sexes are about the same size in P. miijratoriux.
P. mi;iiatorius is an Eastern species, and very rarely straggles as far
westward even as France. P. cineraacens has even been confounded
with Scliistocerca pert'iirinn, Oliv., a very distinct species, that may be
at once distinguished from the Oedipodidac by having a distinct
tubercle on the prosternum. In the south of France, P. cincrascenH
often hybernates and appears in the spring ; the eggs that are laid in
the beginning of the year soon hatch, and the insect is adult in
autumn.

AcRiDHD.E. — Acridiu))! iu'iniptinm, L. — One male and two females,
Cannes, March, 1897. This tine species is common in the Medi-
terranean region, and, like the last species, has straggled to England,

228 THE entomologist's record.

It is found as far east as the Kirghis Steppes and Bussorah, on the
Persian Gulf. In spite of its size, it does not do any serious damage
to agriculture, like its near neighbour, Srhistoorra jnieifrina, Oliv.,
which is notorious.

TETTiCrmjE. — Tcttix sufiulatKs, L. — One specimen only, Cannes,
March, 1897. Common in Central and Southern Europe, and not
uncommon in this country. It is an exceedingly variable species ;
in fact, Zetterstedt made four species of it, whilst Philippi counted
twelve varieties, and Fieber fourteen. It is usually a dark species,
but this specimen is nearly white. I have taken similar aberrations in
the allied T. blpunctatus, L., on the chalk at the Warren, Folkestone.
The species of Tettic are the only grasshoppers that are known to
hybernate in England. Some exotic species of the group are re-
markable, from their habit of leaping into running streams, and
sitting on a stone, and allowing the water to completely cover them.

Contributions to the fauna of the Dauphine Alps.

IX. — The Moths of La Grave. — Resting habit of Sphinx convolvuli.
— Lazy Deilephila euphorble larv^. — Abundance of yellow-

AND white-coloured MOTHS ON MOUNTAIN PASTURES. ThE PlUMES

of AN Alpine Valley.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

If the warm wet weather experienced at La Grave was against
butterfly catching and long journeys, it had perhaps one good result,
inasmuch as it made us work hard for small things in the near neigh-
bourhood of the hotel, and probably the Micro-lepidopterists will say
that we got much better results than we might have done with
sunnier weather. Here, too, I would acknowledge my great indebted-
ness to Lord Walsingham and Mr. Durrant, who have overhauled and
named the greater part of my captures among the smaller fry. It
would appear that La Grave is a marvellous locality for "plumes."

SPHINGO-BOMBYCID STIRPS. - Sphingides.— Sphingid^.—
Sphinx conroUndi. — We were pleased to find a specimen of this
grand moth at rest on an old post, at a height of almost 6,000ft.
above the sea-level. It is a treat to see a moth like this in its
native wulds at rest, and the excellent manner in which it was
protected was very striking. We remember seeing several specimens
of this species resting on the wooden frames of the hop-bins, in
the hop-gardens on the outskirts of Cobham Woods, in the early
" seventies." Even there they were excellently protected. Bcilephila
I'liphorbiac. — Large and apparently conspicuous as these larvae are, it
is easier to walk over them than to see them until one knows how to
look for them. They were very abundant on the wayside banks and
slopes all round the village. The lazy habits of this caterpillar are
beyond belief. We used to keep the larvje on the mantel -piece of the
I'oom without any covering whatever. They never left the food until
the last mouthful was eaten.

Geometrides. — It was a wonderful sight, on two mornings,
when, in a warm drizzle, the sun struggling against the rain, the
mountain side swarmed with moths. Some people who have never
been up a mountain sometimes talk as if all moths that inhabit high

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE FAUNA OF THK DAUPHINK ALPS. 229

moimkiins are black. Of course, rock-resting species usually are,
but on the high Alpine pastures this idea is absurd. Yellow and
white and black are the prevalent colours, and yellow and white
usually predominate, and I believe moths which are yellow or white in
colour are more independent of the sunlight to make them active. To
see, as I have, on many occasions, hundreds of the golden LitJwsia
lutareUa, Cli'o;/ene lutearia, Acidalia jkin'olaria, the straw-coloured
CramhiVi culiiuilus, the white Lanntia verherata, and sheeny Sciaphila
an/L')itana flitting everywhere over the pastures on a warm dull morning,
at 6,000 up to 8,000ft. elevation, would very soon modify the opinions
of these people. True, Odeziaatrata ( chaenqjJii/llata j is also there, but
the specimens are just like those seen at the sea-level in Britain, the
mountain environment not having modified them at all.

Fam. Geometrid^e. — Phaioilt'swa siiiarai/daria. — A wayside insect,
to be disturbed from the great clumps of Ahsijnthium growing along
the roadside, a very different habitat from that on the Essex coast.
The specimens were getting worn. Acidalia nihricata. — A few fine
specimens in a field just below Le Dauphin. A. coinjHiria and A. mutata.
— Single specimens only of each. This was remarkable for the latter
species. A. /'u-v^/frt^rt. —Two specimens disturbed from Parietaiia, in
the Combe de Malaval. Kather less strongly marked than Kent
specimens. A, humiliata. — Disturbed among the herbage on the
roadside, and also on the mountains at from 5,000 to 6,000ft.
Acidalia jiavcolaria. — In great abundance on all the mountains, flying
in the early morning almost everywhere. Larentiid.e. — Larentia
aqneata. — Males of a delicate greenish hue ; a few found resting on
the rocks. L. aptata. — A few disturbed in the rocky gullies. Larentia
irrbcrata. — Common in the highest parts of the mountains. ( 'idaria
t'ulrata. — One very large specimen, much paler than British examples,
disturbed from a bush in a gully at the back of the town. Fidoniid^.
—Ortlidlitlut bijiuuctata. — Rather dark in colour. Very abundant,
both on the banks by the road-sides and also on the lower slopes of
the mountains. O. limitata. — Very abundant on the borders of all
the pastures, among the tall weeds — Ccntaurea, Scabiosa, etc. Cleofienc
lutearia. — The abundant moth on the mountain sides. We saw them
sometimes in thousands, flying in the early morning. Strcnia
clathrata. — Not uncommon, and not differing from British specimens.
Odezia atrata. — Eather common, flying in the morning over the
pastures. Boarmiid.^. — Dasi/dia nbfusvata. — A single specimen only,
of a very fine dark form, captured whilst flying along the roadside,
having been disturbed whilst at rest on a rock. Pi/;/maena fmca. —
Only a few specimens observed.

Zyg.enides.— /^////rt<'»rt luniccrac. — Two typical specimens of this
species were captured. X. acliilleae. — Mostly worn, one remarkable
specimen had the typical spotting on the left fore-wing, but the red
spots were united into a blotch on the right fore-wing.

NOCTUO-HEPIALID STIRPS. — Noctuides.— A^oe««rt cuprea,
Ajinitis alpcfitris and Charaeas f/rawinis. — These species flew about on
the mountains, at about 6,000 to 7,000ft. elevation, in the fitful
gleams of sunshine. They were generally to be found in the openings
of the pine woods towards the foot of La Meije. Citria fulrac/a ab.
JJavcsccn-'i. — A specimen, drying its wings, was taken from the trunk of
a poplar tree in the village of Le Dauphin,

230 THE entomologist's record.

Deltoides. — Herminia mode/ttalis. — One or two specimens only.

Cheloniides. — LMosia lutarrlla. — In great abundance. We must
have seen several thousands one morning. They were everywhere ;
the little crowds accumulating and dispersing, as a newly-emerged
female called and paired, being very remarkable. It would have been
quite easy on some occasions to have caught 20 or 30 with a single
stroke of the net. Xcweophila plantac/inis. — The type, ab. hospita, and
ab. itiatronaUs, all occurred on the same ground, and appeared pretty
generally distributed above 6,000 feet.

hiPARiDEn.— Leiiconi a ftalicis. — A single ^ specimen in fine con-
dition, brought to me by one of the servants at the hotel. Poplars
were not uncommon in the district.

ToRTRiciDRs. — Scriairis stihiana, S. riridana, S, ccspitana. — Occurred
in considerable abundance on the open pastures on the slopes leading
up to the Meije. Dir/iror/uDiipha alpinana, Tr. [ = politana, Gn.,
Wilk.] . — Very abundant, flying in the afternoon sunshine, around
the yarrow {Achillea millefolium) blossom. This plant was exceedingly
abundant by the roadsides. C'nepliasia iraJdbnuiiana. — Not uncommon.
The specimens, Durrantsays, " agree with a long series of wahlbamiana
collected by Zeller at BergQn." Dichelia (jnomana. — One or two
specimens only, not so common as at Courmayeur or at Bourg d'Oisans.
Sciaphila an/eutana. — Abundant among the longer herbage on the
pastures. Fenthina inearnatnna. — A few among the rose bushes on
the lower part of the slopes leading up to La Meije. Tortrix rosana /
— The larvae exceptionally abundant on the wild gooseberry, on the
way up to the Plateau d'Emparis. Conrhi/lis meridiana. — One very
pale specimen, much paler than C. alternana, to which it bears much
resemblance, ('entanrea was very abundant at La Grave.

PYRALO-xMICROPTERYGID STIRPS.— Pyralides.— o</o»f/«
dentalift. — Two imagines were kicked out of the herbage by the road-
side, bordering which was any quantity of bugloss (Echium vuhjare).
The specimens are very like British ones. BuUjfi mistriacalis.— ^ ot
uncommon on the mountains. Ereri/extis (Ornhena) snpJiialis. — One
or two specimens only. Hoti/a jlaralift. — The large yellow form, with
scarcely any trace of dark markings on the fore- wings, was not at all
uncommon on the steep shady slopes about half-a-mile below the
village. Scuparia siuletica. — Common as usual on the mountains.
S. (iiiihiiiualis. — Two only, exactly like south British individuals.

Crambides. — t'ramhus ndiiiellns. — This was the only really common
species of the genus, and it abounded everywhere. Most of the
specimens were very like British individuals, but a few were of a very
dark smoky hue = ab. ohscura, n. ab. C. tristellus. — A few typical
specimens only observed. C. alpinelhm. — Two beautiful specimens
taken by the roadside, just below the village of Le Dauphin. I see
no difference between these and the specimens I have captured at
Deal. PJii/cis omatella. — The large insect, referred to this species,
and recorded from Le Lautaret [ante, p. 15) was also fairly abundant
here. Ephestia elutella. — One specimen only.

Pyraldids. — Psecadia pusiella. — One of the most interesting species
I captured. At the back of the village was a steep gully, leading up
to the cultivated plots on the sides of the mountain. In this gully
were three or four old ash and willow trees, and the trunks of these
trees proved the haunts of this beautiful insect, At about 8.80 a,m.

Contributions to the fauka of thk dauphink alPs. 23l

they might be found drying their wings on the grass (almost the only
plant that grew on the steep banks of the gully). They were in such
abundance that, although I took and set about 150 specimens from the
trunks of only three trees, hundreds of specimens were then left on
the others. The conspicuous white colour, with its longitudinal
median black band, suggests that the insect would be very easily
seen when at rest, but, in reality, the contrary is the case, and it was
only that I was really out moth-catching in the wet that led me to
discover it. Had I passed the trees with the cursory glance trees
usually get when one is in the Alps, I should have missed it. The
insect was less abundant on tree-trunks between the village and the
Combe. Ihjponomeuta coi/natcUus and JJ . cnnnjiiuiliis. — These species
were disturbed from the trees on which P. jnisidla was resting. They
also occurred high up the mountains within the tree limit. Depressaria
absintJnivra, Frey. — Taken among the Abai/nthluni by the roadside.
Geledda rwnicirunila, G. spundla, Acoiiipsia tripiuutella [N.B. —
Acoinpsia, Hb. {ncc Meyr.) = Brachi/crossata, Hein,] . Anacaiiipfiis^-'
anthi/llideUa, Mtyactaspedus tutti, n. sp., were all brought home in
order to make quite sure of identification. Had we known there was
a new species, we should have been more keen on the Gelechiads.
An/i/resthia sorbiella. — -One or two specimens only.

Pterophorides. — O.ri/jitilus piloscUac. — One very bright specimen
only. The fore-wings are much brighter, and the hind-wings darker,
than our Dover specimens. (K lantoscanm, Mill, — A single specimen
of this large <h-i/ptilus only was captured. < >. 'uoacii. — This species
was not uncommon, and was disturbed from the rough herbage
growing on the shady banks just below the village towards the Combe.
I doubt having ever seen a British specimen of this insect. The one
referred to in the Mono/jraph of BritUli Pteivphorina, as captured by
Coverdale, does not appear to agree with these, 0. maniinellm. — A
few of this somewhat delicate species were disturbed from the Abaijn-
t/iiiun when I was working for Leioptiliis scarudactijlus. O. tri.stis.
— A single individual of this interesting species only was captured.
StcHdjitilia coprodacti/la. — A rather large form of this species was pretty
abundant along the roadside just below the town, and could be taken
rather freely in the afternoon, .S, pla<iiodactijla. — Some very variable
specimens were captured. One form has a very dark costa, another is
not unlike ours, but a third form, of a delicate pale dove-grey, is a very
different looking insect. Ptcruphunis wonudactijla. — Common by the
roadsides, Aciptilia^ tctradactyla. — Fairly abundant on the pastures
leading up to the Meije. A.-\ xantliodactijla. — One specimen only
obtained, this occurred in the Combe de Malaval, Leiuptilus-\ ■]•
scarodactijlus. — This little species, very like L. iiticrodactijlm, was very
abundant among the Absijnthiiun. Its habits, too, were much like
those of the latter species, and by working for them as we used to
work for L. laicrudacti/lus at Deal, a very fine series resulted.
Oedematophorus rhododactylus. — We were much astonished to disturb

* Anacampsu is wrongly used in Staudinger and Wocke's Catalof), by Meyrick,
H.B. , andhy Auct. Curtis' genus = 7'(((7///^)^tZ(«, Hein., vide, WIsm., E.2I.M.,
xxxi., 43 (1895). The proper generic title of (iiitltijllidella has not yet been
determined. — H. J. D.

+ This genus is properly Alucita, L.— J.H.D.
tl This genus is properly Ftcruphoraa, Geoff.— J.H.D.

232 tHE ENtOMOLOGlST's RECOUii.

four specimens of this species from the yarrow growing beneath a rose
bush by the roadside. Five thousand feet appears to be a good
elevation for this species. Platyptilia iin't^neri. — This insect occurred
among the PctasiU's, as at Le Lautaret, but the specimens were
smaller at La Grave. Lord Walsingham tells me that, " although
this species was described by Zeller, he did not possess it." It loolvs
at first glance very much like a large dark 1'. (jnnotlactiila.

CoLEOPHORiDES. — Colenphora ornatiiicnnvHa. — This species, very
like a large C li.n'Ua, was not at all uncommon among the clumps of
Al)si/)ithiuiii, whence it had evidently gone for shelter. C. ribiccUa.
— Very fine and large specimens of this species were also disturbed
from the Absi/nthiuin.

TiNEWES. — Mi/Diu'cv^ela ochracella. — One specimen only obtained
in the pine wood on the slopes leading to the Meije. Buccidatn'.r
ahdntldi. — Although abundant on three or four plants of Absi/itthiuin,
this little species was not at all generally distributed among the
Alisi/nt/iiuiii in the locality.

Coleoptera near London in June.

By CLAUDE MORLEY, F.E.S.

Why is it that one likes so much better to write of the insect-fauna
of any one else's district than of one's own ? I have been collecting
assiduously in Suffolk all the year, and yet only one tiny note of my
doings is in print. Nevertheless, the moment I get away from home,
and poach on someone else's preserves, I needs must put pen to paper,
and show how superior are my takings to those of the habitue ; how
very much better than he I could work his own district ; and, in fact,
what an old sIoAV-coach he must be not to make very great discoveries
indeed in a district that appears to me — with only one day's experi-
ence —so rich in new species (simply because the geological formation,
and consequently the flora, is very different from my own !) Or am I
prompted by a better force — that of sympathy of man for man, and
do I simply record these facts in the hope that my brother of the net
and pin may read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them (metaphori-
cally), skip such species as he is full of (figuratively), and ramble in
the direction indicated, in the hope of picking up any I may have
chanced upon new to his locality ? Whatever the cause, here is the
effect.

Ealing was the first locality singled out for trial, and my friend
Mr. Ernest Elliott, F.I.L and I jogged along on the top of a 'bus, in
the most glorious weather, to the erstwhile " village," on the 18th.
But the moment we reached the country it poured with rain to such
an extent that one sweep, which showed up ^laltlKKlfs atoinus, Anobium
fulricornc and Lissudenia l-iimtulata, was all that was possible. On the
19th we entrained for Ewell, and, walking thence to Epsom Downs,
met with several unusual species, though nothing rare. Anthobium
(ijihiluihniciuii (in great numbers), Anthcnijiltcinus pallens, Anasinn flava
var. thoracica occurred on flowers of, for the mosD part, T^mhclUfcrae.
I'lii/Ilotirta no(lia>rnis was very common on Ileseda lutea, from which
we also took CdHttliorrhi/nchus niari/inatus and Baiis ahmtani. Miarus
cainpanidae and Orcheatcs fwji were swept from HcUantlumuin chainai''

COLKOPTKRA NKAR LONDON IN JUNE. 233

eistufi beneath beech, and a few Apinn j)iinrti(/erHi)i and lifi from other
plants. In a marshy spot not far from Wimbledon Common, on 21st,
Crcpidodcra /lel.viut'f; and chloris were found not uncommonly upon
poplar, Orchestes rusci upon birch, while, by sweeping meadow grass,
PlnjlhAreta ochripes and Ceiithorrhijnchus cijanipennis occurred ; of
course, cum multis aliis. I caught nothing from the crowd on 22nd !

We had better luck at Ealing on 23rd, Dasijtes phimhacuH occurring
not uncommonly on the dog-roses, ^«rts7j/.s mhteatacca Q,xi(\. jiava \diV.
thoracica in damp places, and Uhi/ncolm lii/narius and Ptilinus pectini-
coniis in a dead stump. I should like to here state my opinion that
the so-called "var." fcrrui/ineiis of Orchesti's aim is nothing more than
an immature form, since I have never found it at any time of the year
but this — when the insects have just emerged from the pupte, and
have not quite developed their normal coloration. In a long series,
taken from June 15th to July 15th, the elytra will be found made up
of almost every grade, from pure rufo-testaceous to the typical alni,
with black spots strongly developed. Fowler says it is " found in
company with the type." Of course it is, the latter being merely
more fully developed examples. The former were common at Ealing.
The best thing taken during the whole ten days was a single
specimen of LasioJerma serricorne, which fell to my net near Twyford
Abbey.

Betchworth, in Surrey, was our next locality, and the chalk proved
productive of Melii/ethes murimi.s and Ctmthorrlii/nc/nis aspcrifolianan on
Ecltiwii vuhiarc, Bruchua ctsti and CalamJria oryzac on Ileliantlumvm,
while Athoufi lounicullis, Batophila acrata, Mantura matt/wnw' and
Oedemera lurida disported themselves among the herbage. Antldais
jioralis would appear to be a cosmopolitan, since it occurred in both
brick-and-plaster Stoke Newington, and upon the breezy clifl's to the
east of ]}righton, where we found ourselves on the 28th, among such
nice things as -ili/rt;».s///Tn»/;»'.v, apparently on Hdianthcmum, Poda;irica
f'liscicnniis on Malva, Braclnjptcni^ [iravidua abundant on Linaria,
Hi/prra plantai/bm, Amalns scortillum and Blc^-Iirns ma2(n(.<i on the
chalk, Mdnli'llistcna piimila, Domjtes plumbaem and Malachim rirt'dis,
which simply swarmed upon every conceivable kind of plant, on
flowers, with a single specimen of Hnmaloplia niricola.

It is surprisingly refreshing (though the former arc in Lady Henry
Somerset's county!), after a long spell on 'the "heavy lands " of
Suffolk, to wander across the chalk of the North and South Downs,
and note, both in the flora and fauna, things abounding which are
simply unknown on the former soil, things that the " habitue " would
pass over as not worthy of notice, but which one boxes with avidity
and labels " sp. n. to my collection."

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Pairing of Smeeinthus tille ( $ ) with S. populi ( 3- ). — On June
16th, at 11 a.m., I took a freshly-emerged $ of S. tiJiae, with wings
not quite dry. It is just possible that she had already paired with "a
3 of her own species, but the chances are distinctly against it. I
kept her alive with the hope of attracting some males of the same
species, but without success. On June 18th, early in the afternoon,
a male of S. populi emerged from a pupa in one of my breeding-cages.

234 THE entomologist's record.

As soon as its wings were dry 1 placed it in the box with the J
tiliae. Although I had small hope of getting them to pair, I resolved
to try. Late the same evening I was very pleased to observe the 3
poyuli evidently endeavouring to pair. When I looked at them about an
hour afterwards they were, as far as could be seen, successfully paired.
This was about 10 p.m. The ova were deposited during the afternoon
and evening of June 19th, the $ dying the same night. On examining
the ova this morning (July 2nd), with the aid of an ordinary lens, I
could detect a larva in nearly all of them. If the egg which I am
sending you fails to hatch, and I am successful with any of the others,
I shall be very pleased to send some of the young larvae. It would be
interesting to know if the eg'^ shows any departure from the normal
type, but I can find no description of the QgQ of tiliae, beyond the
rather brief one by Mr. Bacot, in the Eni. Bee, vi., 17B, and
another, still more slight, in Hofmann's Die Iianjirn, p. 30. — W.
Grovek, Kent Villa, Harvey Road, Guildford. JiiJy lud, 1897.

On the wing expansion of Zyg-t:na trifolii-major. — On the
morning of July 14th, at 9.15 a.m., I found an imago of Z. ttifolii-
major attempting to escape from a pupa that I had taken from the
cocoon, for the purpose of description, the previous day. Dehiscence
had already commenced, but the pupa was rolling helplessly on the
smooth surface of a tin box in its endeavour to continue the operation.
I immediately took it in hand, and, gently helping the lines of
dehiscence with a pin, until the first pair of legs were free, I held the
pupa firmly by the abdominal segments whilst the imago made its
escape, which it did in about five minutes from the commencement of
my taking it in hand, after several vermiform movements, very
distinctly noticeable as they ran along the abdominal segments, not
only by the eye, but also by the fingers holding the pupa. Some
three minutes were occupied before the imago settled down for wing-
expansion. After about three minutes longer, it was observed that
the hind-wings were growing rapidly, each forming an arch concave
to the surface on which the insect was resting, and to which, roughly,
the wings were at first parallel. This continued till the hind-wings
had attained almost their full size, and extended far beyond the fore-
wings. At this point, the wings were thrown back to back, and the
two pairs formed two arching curves, the convexity towards each
other. The fore-wings now expanded rapidly from the base outwards,
until they had extended beyond the hind-wings, which were becoming
flatter. The outer margin of the fore-wings was still much wrinkled,
and it took five minutes more for the last creases to be removed.
The hind-wings had by this time quite lost their convexity, and the
fore-wings met at that point of the costa to which the hind-wings
extended ; the apices of the fore-Avings separating again. The
apices, however, gradually approached each other as the wings became
hardened. Ten minutes afterwai'ds, the wings were allowed to fall
roofwise over the body. The operation was complete, and from the
time of the escape of the moth had occupied rather more than 30
minutes. There is a rapid movement of the tongue, which is
repeatedly coiled and partially uncoiled during the early part of the
wing-expansion. The male exudes a quantity of a pale-yellowish
opaque fluid as soon as disturbed. [All the moths emerged between
9 a.m. and 10 a.m.] .—J. W. Tutt.

SCIKNTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 235

Attractiveness of LKmT.— The discussion on the attractiveness
of light brings forward a subject of great interest, and one which is
also very puzzling, as everyone who has paid the least attention to the
matter can testify. As far as this district is concerned, I have not
found light by any means a productive method of collecting, but this
may be in part caused by the number of street lamps, etc., causing
the attractive power to be too much difi'used. A moth trap was kept
going three or four nights a week during the summer of last year, but
the result was practically nil, although the lamp employed was a
fairly powerful one, and the ray of light had a clear range over about
half a mile of hillside covered with gardens. It is the exception to
see moths in any numbers settling upon, or even flying around, the
street lamps in the immediate neighbourhood. So far, two gas jets
in a room with an open wnndow have been found the most productive,
but even then, four nights out of five turn out blank, although the
conditions may be identical. A curious instance of the attractiveness
of light came under my notice only a short time ago. On the evening of
June 22nd, the house was illuminated by means of a number of
" fairy " (sometimes called "bucket") lamps. These were alight for
about four hours on that night only, and when they were removed, a
few days after, I was somewhat surprised to find a number of moths
in nearly all of them. The amount of light given by lamps of this
kind is very small, so the brightness could not have been the attrac-
tion, but it would seem to suggest that coloured light — green, blue, etc.,
more particularly blue — is more attractive than ordinary light. Has
the attractiveness of coloured light ever been investigated exhaus-
tively ? It certainly seems worthy of attention. Another question is.
Why is light attractive to the males only of so many species ? Mr.
Bowles' contention that white- or light-coloured flowers are more at-
tractive is distinctly contrary to my limited experience. To give only one
instance: In the garden there is a patch of Kiiilohiiu)} aniinstifdliiitn, the
flowers are scentless (to the human olfactory sense, at any rate), purple
in colour, and therefore invisible after dark. Near by there is plenty
of (Knothcra biennis, the flowers strongly scented, and pale enough in
colour to be distinguished with ease at any time during a summer
night, yet for every moth visiting (E. biennis, at least twenty come to
K. ani/ustifoliwn. Other instances of moths visiting flowers which
are not white- or even light-coloured enough to be conspicuous, might
be multiplied indefinitely, which proves that in a large majority of
instances, where flowers are concerned, moths are attracted, not by
colour, but by scent. — W. Groveb, Cxuildford. Juli/ dt/i, 1897.

:i5^0TES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARVAE, &c.

Description of Lepidopterous eggs. — Pygaern hucepliahi. — The
Bgit, forms about two-thirds of a sphere, and is attached by its
flattened end. The basal half green in colour, the upper portion
opaque white, the green and white areas being sharply separated
from each other. The micropylar area consists of a green circular
area placed at the apex of the egg. It is scarcely a depression, so
shallow is it. It is covered with large oval cells with shiny raised
edges, these cells forming three concentric rings around the central
stellate point forming the true micropyle. This consists of six fine

236 Tufe entomologist's record.

radiatiiiGj ribs, meeting centrally. The shell is almost smooth, hut,
under a high power, is seen to be covered with a fine polygonal
reticulation. The eggs are attached singly, but laid close together,
occasionally slightly imbricate. [The eggs were laid on July 6th by
a ? moth, captured in the garden at Westcombe Hill by Miss F. Clara
Tutt, and described on July 7th under a two-thirds lens.l

Zeazeni pyrlud. — The eggs are of a bright salmon colour, and are
usually laid in masses. The Qgg is elliptical in outline. Length :
breadth : height : : 4 : 2|^ : 2. Under a two-thirds lens, the egg has
somewhat the shape of a narrowed hen's e^g. The shell is shiny, but
covered with a fine polygonal reticulation. There are also certain
irregular depressions brought about by pressure. At one pole a
slightly transparent area is visible, over which the reticulation is
especially well marked. I find no other characteristic micropylar
structure. [Egg« received from Mr. Congdon on July 6th, described
under a two-thirds lens on July 7th.] By July 16th the eggs had
become strongly mottled with opaque whitish, the eggs as a whole
being considerably paler in colour than when first laid. The reticula-
tion is much more distinct and has a very regular appearance, being
arranged in circles transversely. There are also traces of longitudinal
striations, six in number, extending in some of the eggs from the
micropylar end to its nadir, and a shallow depression on the long side.
The eggs also look plumper, the irregular depressions noticed at first
seem to have disappeared in many cases. The micropylar area is now
seen more clearly at the free end of the Qi^s;^. It is composed of
concentric rings of moderately regular hexagonal cells, leading to a
minute depression centrally, the cells becoming smaller towards the
centre, and forming there a minute stellate point.

Abraxas grossulariuta. — The eggs are attached lengthwise
side by side to under-side of leaf of food-plant. Each qq^ is oval in
shape, with rounded ends, bright yellow in colour, the surface covered
with a distinct hexagonal reticulation, each hexagon forming a
somewhat hollow cell. There is an oval depression on the upper
surface of the Q.ii,Q, not quite central, the hexagons in the depression
rather smaller than on the other parts of the egg. The micropyle is
placed at one end, and consists of a minute star of radiating cells,
placed in a very shallow depression, formed of larger well-defined
pentagonal and hexagonal cells. [Eggs received July 8th from Mr.
Bacot, described on July 8th under a two-thirds lens.] By July 16th
the eggs had become pale straw-colour, under the lens, and the
micropylar area purplish-black in colour. At each angular point of
the reticulation a very distinct white shining point is now visible, as
in the eggs of Kurranthis plnmistraria and IhtiieropJnla ahruptaria.
These are quite invisible in the newly-laid egg. The surface is shiny,
and the dark micropylar end has quite a metallic lustre.

Notes on the eggs ov cektain Lepidoptera. — The following re-
marks must be looked upon as notes, and not as exact descriptions of
the eggs mentioned. I was able to examine them only with a two-
thirds lens, used as a hand lens, and could not mount the eggs for the
purpose of more accurate description.

raranje orhiiie. — The eggs are laid loosely. The egg is very little
short of being spherical, although the base is slightly flattened. It is
of a pale green colour when first laid, changing to a milky-white as

ifOTtS ON LlFE-tttSTORIES, LAKVi:, ETC. 237'

the embryo matures. The egg-shell is smooth, and appeared to be
without any trace of ribbing. The apical fourth is almost transparent,
and the micropyle, so far as it could be followed, consisted simply of a
few concentric cells placed around the apex. The egg suggests to me
an alliance rather with Miianarijia than with Paranie'.

Acidalia tlilntaria {luilosirhata). — The eggs were laid loosely. They
were pale yellow in colour when first laid, changing to orange. The
eggs form somewhat flattened discs, scarcely longer than wide ;
length : breadth : : 4 : 3^. The surface of the egg is covered with
raised points, the upper face with a central depression, the raised
points apparently arranged concentrically around the depression.
[The micropyle not to be detected by the cursory examination made. ]

Aciilalid humiliata. — The eggs were laid loosely, and consisted of
flattened discs with a deep depression placed centrally on the upper
surface. The eggs are somewhat variable in shape, some of them
being almost circular, others rather more elliptical in outline. The
surface is covered with minute knobs (points), scarcely so coarse as in the
eggs of A./tnloscn'cata. The central depression covered with rather finer
points. The raised points form rough circles passing round the de-
pression. Laterally these points are seen to run round the whole
circumference of the egg. [The micropyle could not be detected.]

CnimliHs trish'Uus.—A. long cylindrically shaped egg; length:
breadth : : 4 : 2^. Colour at first pale greenish, changing to dull
orange, then to purplish. The egg is very distinctly ribbed longi-
tudinally, from micropyle to its nadir, with about 12 white shiny
longitudinal ribs, whilst these and the intervening spaces are crossed
transversely with numerous fine, slightly raised, lines. The micropyle
is placed at the slightly narrower end of the egg, in a dark coloured
space, and is formed of concentric rings of very minute cells. After
hatching, the egg-shells are perfectly transparent, and the young larva
is more than twice the length of the egg which it has just left.

Choeriirampa dpeni>r. — -One egg attached to a piece of leno, the
other to a piece of moss. Of a pale green colour, almost circular in
outline, but still just a little longer than wide. The shell is apparently
smooth, with a distinct depression on the upper edge of the egg. The
micropyle is very indistinct, and consists of a finely pitted depression
at one end of the egg. When the embryo is fully formed, the egg-
shell is transparent, and has an iridescent gloss. [I am indebted to
Mr. Christy for the eggs of this species.]

The newly-hatched larva of Crambus tristellus. — The newly-
hatched larva of C. tristeUm has a black head, almost transparent
body with a slight pinkish tinge, the whole length of the alimentary
canal being tinged with blood red. It is covered with simple
tubercles and hairs, and the thoracic segments are larger than the
abdominal.

The newly-hatched larva of Chierocampa elpenor. — The newly-
hatched larva of C. lipcnor has the head and body yellow-green in
colour, the legs and prolegs paler and almost transparent. The
caudal horn is long proportionately to length of larva, black in colour,
and slightly bifid at the tip.

All the above notes were made on July 1st, from eggs obtained the
previous week at Fontainebleau, except those of (\ elpen&r, for which
I am indebted to Mr. Christy. — J. \V. Tutt.

238 THE ENToaiOLOGlST's RECOkb.

Egg of Grammesia trigramjiica ab. dilinea, Hb. — Ova laid June
12-18th, 1897, scattered. Pale straw-colour, much mottled with silvery-
white. Shape, f of a sphere; average vertical axis, 'oGl mm. ; average
diameter, -675 mm. There are 28 (in some 29) very prominent ribs, 14
primary ones radiating from the circumference of the micropylar area,
the secondary ones arising a little lower down. Between the two there
are regular series of transverse ridges, slightly elevated, about 5 in
each, "182 mm., which give a honey-combed appearance to the surface.
The micropylar area is a pale straw-coloured space, somewhat
depressed and irregular, -09 mm. in diameter, with a small rosette
in the centre, -06 mm. in diameter, made up of about 1-1 silvery-
white dissepiments radiating from the micropyle. On the third day
after deposition there was a conspicuous irregular straw-coloured band,
midway between the micropyle and the equator, which became darker
yellow on development. There was no further change in colour, and
the ova hatched on June 24th. — W. S. Riding, M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell.
Julu 'Sr,l, 1897.

:]^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Notes from Carlisle. — Since the middle of May, Lepidoptera have
been more abundant here than during the earlier part of the season.
Melitaca aiiruiia was, as usual, in great force. No matter how the
season affects other species, upon M. auriiiia it appears to have no
influence, and year after year it flits about its chosen haunts

in hundreds, in thousands, in . But enough, if I say

more I shall not be believed ; let it suffice if I say that, unless the
fields it frequents are drained and ploughed, ^[. auriitia will continue
to flourish. Lepidopterists are not numerous enough here to materially
reduce its numbers. Ciipido minima was also abundant ; one could
easily take half a dozen with one sweep of the net. I have had two
excursions for Cocnoni/mpha tip/ion [danis), but have had little success
with it. After waiting for over a week for a sunny day, I set out on
Jubilee day, in dull blustering weather, for Bowness Moss. But it Avas
blowing half a gale in this exposed locality, and, though I saw quite
a lot of ('. tiplioii, I only secured a dozen. One has to work up to the
ankles in water (sometimes up to the knees when one gets in a " peat
pot "), and running is quite out of the question. On June 26th I
visited the Bewcastle district, in the north end of Cumberland, and
again saw C. ttp/ion in numbers, but the conditions were much the
same as before, and I had hard work to get a short series. In the
bleak districts which this interesting species haunts, calm sunny days
are not frequent. I have " sugared " seven or eight times, and only
had one good night. Several times, when meteorological conditions
appeared to be perfect, not a wing was to be seen. The following are
among what I have taken, and nearly all on the one good night : —
Thjatira batis, CijiinUnjiIiora or, < '. duplart's, Leucania comma, Cuspidia
psi, C. Icporina, Vlminia ntiiiicis, I', mrnj/anthidis, Ar/rotis fn't/etuvi ,
Lycophotia stn't/ula (very common), Xoeturi fontira, Caradrinamnrplwm,
Xi/loijhasia rurm and var. combnsta, Apamca iicmina, A. baailiiwa,
Mamratra pisi, lladcna nana [dcntina), H. thalassina, II. adusta,
Marnrin lifnrata and ('rnmbiis dniiictdliis. On railway banks in the
sunshine, Kiulidia ulijpliica and E. mi were common among heath.

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 289

Anarta myrtiUi was captured freely, and Euthcmonia russ^da and Nenteo-
phila plantaijinu were readily disturbed in the rough places in which
they occur. One evening, just after sunset, I observed Prucris staticen
swarming in some meadows bordering a wood. Beating hedges and
bushes produced some useful Geometrids. Lobophom se.valisdta and
L. halterata were perhaps the best. Other species were Niwieria
pulveraria, Cidaria corylata, Emmelesia decolorata, Ast/una cnndidata,
A. luteatn, F/plujra pendularia, Cidaria silaceata, and Melanthia
alhiciUata. In meadows, Eupithecia phimheolata, E. pi/i/maeata, E.
sutijrata, E. cxhjuata were more or less common. E. cul(/ata and
E. ahsynthiata could be netted along hedges at dusk. E. indiijata was
very common in low fir trees. A few E. lariciata were taken among
larch, and I got some nice dark E. nanata on one of our high lying
" mosses." E. indir/ata &pTpea,vs to be fond of resting in holly bushes ;
perhaps it is attracted by the flowers. — F. H. Day, 6, Currock Terr.,
Carlisle. M/ ith, 1897.

Spring Hymenoptera from Southern France. — The names of
the Hymenoptera captured by Dr. Chapman at Cannes and Digne
last March and April are as follows : — Cannes, March, 1897. —
MiitiUa maura, $ ; Ammophila hirstita, $ ; Odynerus spinipes, S ',
0. parietum, J ; Folistes gallica, $ ; ColJetes cunicularia, ^ ;
Ceratina alhilahris, $ and g ; C. chalcites, g ; Osmia iricornis,
2 ; Chalicodoma pyrenaica, $ ; Authophora dispar, g ; MeJecta
luctnosa, $ ; Cimhex i-maculata var. humeralis, two g and one $ .
Digne, April, 1897. — Xylocopa violacea, J ; X. cyanescens, $ .
Aix-les-Bains, May 3rd, 1897. — Gorytes mystacetts, g . I am afraid
all the above species are ordinary ones, and there is nothing special
to remark about them. — E. Saunders, F.L.S., F.E.S., St. Ann's,
Woking.

Spring Odonata from Southern France. — The Odonata taken by
Dr. Chapman in Southern France, work out as follows : — Cannes,
March, 1897. — Ischnura elegans, Sympycua fusra. Grenoble, May
1st, 1897. — Agriou puella. Aix-les-Bains, May 3rd, 1897.^ — Agrion
pnlchellum, Ischnura elegans, Agrion piiella. — W. J. Lucas, B.A.,
Kingston-on-Thames.

Cheshunt in June. — The members of the North London Entomo-
logical Society held an outing on June 19th, and, arriving by the
train at 3.30 p.m., at once made their way to the marshes around the
river Lea. Few Lepidoptera were observed. Larvae of Cucullia
verbasci were found on Scrophularia aquatica, the species being
widely distributed in the neighbourhood. Larvae of Aglais urticae,
Liparis nurifliia and CAisiocampa nenstria were also taken. In the
evening, Miana fasciunctda, Hydrocampa nymphaeata, Cataclystn
lemnnta and other species were captured. — Lawrence J. Tremayne.

Oxshott in June. — The members of the City of London Entomo-
logical Society indulged in a field excursion on June 26th to Oxshott.
Messrs. Prout and Garland proceeded to Esher, where they arrived at
11 a.m., walking from thence to Oxshott. On the way they worked
the fences, which, however, produced only Triaena psi and Acidnlia
aversatu, until they reached the Oxshott district, when Hadena
genistae and other Noctuids turned up. Euholia phimbaria was
common on one part of the heath, and in a favoured spot among the
pines Pleheins aegon, Euthemonia rnssida, Ellopia prosapiaria.

240 THE entomologist's ijecord.

Macaria Uturata, Bnpalns piniaria (abundant), Aspilates strigil-
Inria and Dianthoecia carpophaga (one) were observed. The rest of
the party arrived at 3 p.m., after which the above-named species were
taken more or less commonly during the afternoon, the only notable
addition being Acidalia sfrnminata. After tea, dusking in Steer
Lane resulted in swarms of Gldarin falrafa, a few Angerona
prunariii, one Asthena liUeata, Cidnria svffnmnta (very worn) and
Hypsipetes sordidata. — L. J. Tremayne and L. H. Prout, F.E.S.

:p>ractical hints.

Field Work for September and October.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — On the second Saturday in September, we could, by seeking
after dark with a lantern, see the larvae of FAipithecia succenturiata in
twenties on the upper parts of the ragwort plants, whilst during the
•day time they are only to be found on the lower portion of the plants,
on or amongst the twisted dead leaves (Gregson).

2. — The larva of Plati/pti'n/.r Itarpagnla (sinda) is to be obtained
in Leigh Woods, near Bristol, by beating, in the middle of September.

3. — The larvfe of P/iorodi'sma sinaraiidaria are to be found on the
Essex salt-marshes, in September, by searching Artemisia niaritinia.
'They are strange little atoms, with scraps of the food-plant gummed
•over their bodies.

4. — The larvae of Demas corijli are to be beaten from beech, in the
middle of September.

5. — The larva of Platijpteri/.v falcataria is common in September
and October, on birch and alder. The larva is conspicuous on Alnus
fjhitinofta, owing to its bending the sides of the leaves upward with
a few silk strands. If not within this tent, it may usually be found
•on the upper side of some neighbouring leaf.

6. — The imagines of Thera finnata are to be taken, in September
and October, on the boles of fir and larch trees, just out of pupa.

7. — In September, search the flowering heads of grass growing in
•clearings in woods, for Citria flarago, C. fulvago and other a.nti\mn-al
Noctuid moths.

8. — The larvffi of PJto.ropterg.v derasana are easily detected on
buckthorn, in September, by the leaves being folded over and fastened
together the whole extent of the leaf. They remain in the larval
state till spring, and then, after wandering about for a day or two,
pupate in rough cork.

9. — The larva of Carpocapm Juliana feeds on acorns in September,
and is full-fed about the time that the acorns fall.

10. — During the autumn, collect the common beech mast for the
larvae of Carporapsa groxsana. The full-fed larvfe avail themselves of
•cork and rotten wood in which to bore. They remain during the winter
as larvte in the cocoons, and often go over two winters in this
condition.

11. — The larva of Catoptria neimdana feeds in the seed-heads of
Aster tripnliuiH, and is full-fed towards the end of September.

12. — The larva of Catoptria decolorana feeds iu the seed-heads of
golden-rod, in September and October.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 241

13. — Collect the seed-heads of wild carrot, in September, for larvae
of Seinasia rujillana.

14. — The larva of Scricoris euphorhiana is to be found in August
and September, feeding in the shoots of sea spurge (Euphorbia par alias),
which are drawn together.

15. — In September, the dirty white larva of Penthina jtostremana
is to be found within the stems of Impatiens noli-me-tanf/erc.

16. — The first week in October is the time to collect the full-
grown larvfe of Avf/i/rolepia maritimana. At that time they are to be
found mining in the roots of Eryngium maritimnm, sometimes to a
depth of six or eight inches below the surface of the sand. The long
pipe-like roots, for about three inches of sound root beyond the mine,
must be taken out very carefully, and the mined roots should not be
opened, but buried upright in sand.

17. — The larvffi of Spilodt's palealis feed in the umbels of wild
carrot in September, drawing the umbels together with a web.

18. — The larvfe of (iderliia animinatella are to be found in October,
mining the leaves of thistles.

19. — The larvae of fieleclda scriptella are to be found in September,
in maple leaves.

20. — The best time for collecting the larva> of Coleophora
fuscocuprella is in September and the beginning of October. It
feeds on nut, and may be found underneath the little leaves at the
termination of a bough.

21. — At the end of September, the mined leaves of dogwood
contain full-fed larvae of Antispila trciUchkieUa. The mined leaves
should be placed on fine earth in a flower pot, covered with a glass
cylinder. As the larvae cut out their cases, remove the leaves.

22. — The larvae of Caradrina morpJieus are to be found commonly
in October, on various low plants — wild hop, Chenopodiuin, etc., and in
the garden on horseradish, etc.

23.— In October, the imagines of Calamia lutosa are to be found
by searching the reeds after dusk with a lantern. The species has
often been found to be abundant when searched for in localities where its
presence was not before suspected.

Jg^EYIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Die Schmetterlings-fauna von Hildesheiji. — Erster Theil : Tag-
falter, by A. R. Grote, M. A. [Published by the Roemer Museum, Hildes-
heim. Price 6s.] — Prof. Grote has published in the Mittlwilimgen d.
Roemer-Muscums, Feb., 1897, the first part of a " Fauna of Hildesheim,"
in which the butterflies are enumerated, and the results of an original
study in the neuration is given. The author endeavours to show the
manner in which the evolution of the wings has progressed. He
claims a diphyletic origin for the butterflies, and gives, on p. 29, a
genealogical tree, in which the Prtr»<7^■.s■i-Prty)^^io^i<y/rt(' are classed together
under the rubric a : " Vein ix of the primaries present, viii want-
ing," whilst all the other butterflies are embraced under: " b. Vein
viii present as a true vein, or a scar, or finally disappears, vein ix
wanting." In distinguishing the features of the neuration, the author
asserts that " the diminution of the radial veins is a character of

242 THE entomologist's record.

specialisation, and that everywhere the extent of this diminution, as
well as the absorption of the veins, is the measure of the specialisa-
tion." Grote finds the generalised 5-branched radius to be present
in the Papilionulae, Nyniplialidae, lAiimadidae, Lihijtlieidae , Xeuwo-
biiikw and Hcsjieridae ; whilst he states that a diminution of the
radial branches has taken place in the Pania.ssidac, Pitridac, liindi-
nidae and Lijcaenidae, which he looks upon as specialised groups. He
considers the Xemeobiidae to be a distinct family from the Ltmoniidae
(called Ruhlinidai'), agrees with the position Chapman assigns to the
Li/caenidar, and considers that the aborted fore-feet of the J have
been independently acquired (a character of convergence). The
author claims, in contradiction of Reuter, that the Lyc^tnids have
probably emerged from the " Hesiierid " stem, that the plan of the
wing is identical, and that the difference in the neuration may be
summed up by saying that the Hesperids retain the median system
in a more primitive condition. In the Lycfenids, " nervure iv is
absorbed by the radius, and nervure iv^ i-^ left in an original central
position;" in the Hesperids, " both iv and iv^ retain an independent
position." The Hesperids are made out to belong to the same phylo-
genetic series as all other butterflies, except the Parnam-Papilionidae.
This diphyletic origin of the butterflies wants examining with great
care, and we should hesitate to adopt it, unless special studies of
ovum, larva, pupa, and imaginal characters (other than neuration)
supported the conclusions that the author draws from his study of the
neuration. Based on the characters pointed out, Grote considers the
use of the term, " Rhopalocera vera," in the sense of an exclusion of
the Hesperids, inaccurate, because " the Papilionids are more different
from the other butterflies than are the Hesperids." The view taken
results in re-casting the hitherto accepted classification of Bates in its
broadest sense, since the Nymphalids are stated to be more generalised
than the Pierids, by the retention of the 5-branched radius. The
work further contains a critique of the classification proposed by
Chapman upon the segmental condition of the pupa, and the author
points out what he considers to be the fundamental value of the posi-
tions of the larval tubercles, as investigated by Dyar. Comstock's
division of the Lepidoptera into Frenat^ and Jugat.^c is maintained,
a conclusion with which we disagree entirely. We are further inclined
to disagree with the author, that "the Hepialides are more isolated
than any other living group of Lepidoptera." The four plates, on
which 33 figures, showing the neuration of various butterflies, are given,
will prove very useful. The nomenclature is based upon that proposed
by Scudder. Avith some few corrections as determined by Kirby. Although
this book is a useful addition to our knowledge of the neuration of
the butterflies, yet the general conclusions must not be hastily adopted,
and although we have every sympathy with special studies of this
character, we think that they are only of use for generalisation, when
compared with results obtained from other studies of special organs,
and since the conclusions arrived at are here often in opposition to
those deduced by Chapman, Reuter, Packard and others, we must
wait with patience for some summarised conclusion which will show
why this particular study gives such markedly difl'erent results from
those of other students. It is a book though that all British lepidop-
terists should attempt to see at once.

4^^

AND

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 10. October Ioth, 1897.

A description of the ova and larvae of T. blstortata, T. biundularla

and Its var. delamerensls, and some further notes on their

interbreeding.

By W. S. EIDING, B.A., M.D., F.E.S.

I have to thank Mr. Mason for a batch of ova of a Clevedon
T. bistortata, laid on April 4th, 1896. The ova are oval, with slightly
broader base, pale yellowish-green and smooth. The average length
of the long axis is -782 mm. ; of the short axis -561 mm. These
hatched between May 2nd and 4th, and the larvae pupated between
June 14th and 17th, a period of 48 to 46 days. The egg-shell is not
eaten by the young larva, and is tenacious and semi-opaque. I have
arranged the description of the growth of the larva in four stages,
as I found it impossible to satisfy myself as to the different moults,
owing to the short periods of quiescence during changing, and to no
traces of the cast-oft" skin remaining (with very few exceptions).
Probably, however, these stages correspond with the moults.

The first, or black and white stai/e. — On hatching, the young larva
is intense black (in a few, the black is not pure, and there is a trace
of grey or brown), with pure white markings arranged in lines and
spots, chiefly about the segmental divisions and the spiracles. The con-
trast reminds one much of the imago of llelanippe hastata. The white
lines are most marked at the fore part of the pro-thorax, meso-thorax
and abdl. segt. 1. The most conspicuous spots are arranged in front and
behind each segmental division in transverse rows of 4, and on abdl.
segt. 6 they form a semicircle with concavity forwards, the outer
spots being the largest. The spiracular line is only indicated by
large pure white bosses, more or less triangular in shape, about the
spiracles. There are three on abdl. segt. 1 ; two on abdl. segts. 2, 3, 4,
5 ; three on abdl. segt. 6 ; none on abdl. segt. 7, and one on abdl.
segt. 8. There are also a few at the sides of the thorax. Each boss
has a darkish tubercle in the centre, with an erect hair. All the hairs
on the body are erect and glandular (degenerated), except those on
"abdl. segt. 9. These and the hairs on the head are longer, curved
and pointed. There is an additional tubercle, making four above
the spiracles, besides those described by Dyar in his summary for the
family Geometridse. It would appear to homologise with number
iii of the middle annulet of the Tenthridinidae, and represent iiia.
Those in the white bosses, on abdl. segts. 2, 3, 4, 5, will then represent
tubercles iv and v ; those on abdl. segt. 6, tubercles iiia, iv, v. The

244 TiiK knto.mologist's record.

head is black, with triangular clypeus wedged in between the lateral
lobes, towards the lower part of which are five ocelli, two large and
three small, arranged in a semicircle. There is a pale marking above
the labrum.

Tlie scnmil stat/e is characterised by change of colour and a
longitudinal arrangement of the markings. The larv« during this
stage vary in length between -5 and 1'3 cm. (2| to nearly 6 lines).
The ground colour is pale yellowish -brown, and often reddish towards
the hinder parts. There are five double longitudinal lines, brownish,
and mostly tinged with olive-green and waved -the dorsal, two
sub-dorsals, and two supra-spiracular. The white spots of the first
stage are still visible, but duller. There are traces of a spiracular line,
but it is chiefly indicated by the conspicuous white bosses about the
spiracles. A black or deep brown velvety mark, often edged in front
by orange or red spots, begins to be developed as a blotch on the sides of
abdl. segt. 2 ; this ultimately forms the inverted V, characteristic
of stage 8. The abdl. segt. 8 is slightly humped, a prominence
projecting on each side of the dorsal line, edged externally with dark
brown or black, which often extends above the spiracle on abdl. segt.
6. The head is obliquely truncated, pale brown, mottled with dark
reddish-brown spots and streaks. The suture between the clypeus and
the lateral lobes is deeply incised at its upper part, and reddish-brown,
and, with a similarly coloured mark on the latter, forms a characteristic
W on the face. Above the labrum is a transverse brown line,
separated from it by a pale area. Up to this stage the larvae seem
inclined to spin a good deal of web, especially when young. They
then remain in the web when not feeding, and always spin it towards
the light, in confinement.

Tlw tliird sta(/L' is characterised by a velvety intense black (or dark
brown in a few) inverted V on abdl. segt. 2. The length of the larvae
varies between 1-3 and 2-G cm. (about G to 12 lines). The colouring
is conspicuous for its three different shades ; the darkest, central on
abdl. segts. 2-5 (often black on 3, 4), and the palest on abdl. segts. 6-
9. It is pale yellowish or reddish-brown, with darker markings. The
dark velvety inverted V on segt. 2 is incomplete in front, passing
up only to the edge of the dorsal stripe, which is often darker at the
point. In a few the velvety mark is complete, and extends into the
dorsal stripe. It is often edged in front with orange or red spots.
Occasionally, but rarely, there is a similar inverted V on segt. 1,
but it is generally imperfect and fainter. On the abdl. segts. 3, 4, 5,
there are indications of similar shaped markings, but they are
inconspicuous, and never intense nor velvety. There is often a great
deal of black suftusion on segts. 4, 5. The sub-dorsal lines begin to
disappear, and the dorsal and supra-spiracular lines, hitherto only
faintly marked, to put on their black edgings, and in the case of the
latter, often black suffusion with frequent discontinuity on segt. 2.
The spiracular line is broad yellowish-white, mottled in some with
shades of brown, and is conspicuous on segts. 2 and G. On segt. G
the pale colour is prolonged in front of the base of the proleg. The
spiracles are placed about its centre, except that on the pro-thorax.
The underside is dark as far as abdl. segt. G, varying from black to
shades of brown, with some paler longitudinal lines, chiefly central.
It is pale on abdl. segts. 7, 8, 9,

T. BISTORTATA, T. BIUNDULARIA, AND ITS VAR. DELAMERENSIS. 245

The fourth utai/c is characterised by degradation of most of the
mai'kings, except the supra-spiracular lines, the commencement of the
dorsal line and the edging of the humps ; a general lowering of the
tints with accompanying definition of tubercles i and ii (anterior and
posterior trapezoidals), especially ii, and spiracles ; and a glossy
appearance assumed when full-fed on the eve of pupation.

The dfscrij)f,ion of thr fuJl-fed larra is as follows — Length, 3'65 to
4 cm. (1" 5'" tol"7"'). It is slightly swollen transversely on the
meso-thoracic segment, smooth and glossy. The ground colour
varies from that of putty to pale yellowish or reddish-brown, with
darker maculations. The dorsal stripe is edged with black or grey,
swollen in the centre of each segment, and suffused with grey, or
sometimes broken, but in all there is a linear longitudinal velvety
black mark at the edges on the front of the meso-thorax, extending
partly on to the pro-thorax. The supra-spiracular stripe is conspicuous
with black edgings, in many filled up with black or dark grey,
especially on the hind part of the thorax and abdl. segts. 1, 2. It has
a transverse velvety intense black marking on the front of the meso-
thorax. It is fainter posteriorly, often broken before abdl. segt. 2, and
continuous with the dark marks on the side of the hump on segt. 8.
There is a more or less distinct dull black V-shaped marking,
pointing forwards, often edged in front with orange or red spots, on
segt. 2 (sometimes very indistinct or absent). A similar marking is
frequently traceable on segts. 3, 4. Segts. 3,4,5 are more or less
sufiused with black, the amount varying much. The dorsum is
conspicuously paler on segts. 6-9. Tubercles ii (posterior trapezoidals)
are very distinct on abdl. segts. 2, 3, 4, 5, each with a degraded hair ; the
other tubercles can also be traced. The reddish pimples on the
humps of segt. 8 are seen to correspond with tubercles i (anterior
trapezoidals), moved a little further back. The spiracular line is
broad pale yellowish-white, more or less mottled with brown, very
conspicuous on segt. 6, where it passes down in front of the base of the
proleg, and somewhat less so on segts. 2, 3, 4, 5. It is darkest
towards the front. The spiracles are oval, edged with dark brown,
conspicuous, and those of the abdominal segments placed about the
centre of the line. The undersurface, as far as abdl. segt. 6, is coloured
like the upper, but darker, and often sufiused with a great deal of
black, either partially or entirely ; there are some paler central
lines. It is very pale on segts. 7, 8, 9, where colour is not required
for protective purposes. The legs are darker than the pro-legs, which
are of a reddish-brown colour. The head is a little smaller than the
next segment, and obliquely truncated. It is pale yellowish or reddish-
brown, mottled with darker spots or streaks, some forming a more or
less distinct W on the upper part of the face, the inner lines of which
are often very dark and conspicuous.

I'he second brood of T. bistortata. — I have to thank Mr. Bacot for
ova of a captive Clevedon 2 , laid about the end of June, They
hatched on July 7th, and the larvae pupated between July 30th and
Aug. 5th, a period of 23 to 29 days. The ova are similar to those of
the 1st brood, but smaller. The average length of the long axis is
•726 mm., of the short axis "5 mm. A description of the larva
corresponds in all its stages with that of the 1st brood ; but, taken as
8, whole, this brogd -vyas darker, the markings more defined and

246 THE kntomoloqist's record.

brighter, and the characteristic inverted V on segt. 2 remained more
distinct towards pupation. The full-fed larva is smaller, varying in
length from 3-25 to 3-5 cm. (1" 3'" to 1" 4'"). Thanks to Mr.
Mason, I had some other ova from a wild $ of the 2nd brood, taken
at Clevedon. These hatched on July 23rd, and the larvae pupated
between Aug. 18th and 22nd, a period of 26 to 30 days. The larvae
of this brood were even darker than those from the captive $ , there
being a large amount of black suffusion, and all the markings re-
maining more intense up to pupation. The imperfect inverted V on
segt. 1 was more noticeable in this brood than in any of the others,
and the V on segt. 2 was more defined and persistent.

[To he concluded).

Myrmecophilous Coleoptera in 1897.

By HORACE DOXIfeTHOEPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

I have, as usual, devoted a good deal of time to the searching of
ants' nests for beetles, during the first six months of this year. I
give the result in this short note, as also the months in which I found
the different species, which I thought might be useful to other col-
lectors.

Many old friends did not turn up this year, and I only added two
species new to me, namely, Notuthecta confusa with LaKim fiditjuumis,
and Heterothops quadriirunctida with Furmica rufa. It is worthy of
note that the latter insect has only been recorded with lAidm fxdvji-
nosns heretofore. The largest nest of Lasius ftdu/inosiis I found was at
Lymington, and though the situation — in the hollow of a large tree
— was in every way favourable for working, I never found a single
beetle, but a colony of La.siits f^aviis was living in the nest, both species
coming in and going out together. This is very interesting, as it is
not mentioned in Wasmann's Mi/niirknji/iih'u uiid TermiUiiiliilen Arthm-
pudvn.

The localities worked were Oxshott, Weybridge, Tilgate Forest,
Lymington and Buddou Wood. I noticed that Formica rufa was very
early at work this year, and I took seven species of Coleoptera with
this ant in January.

The following is a list of the species taken : — Microt/lossa (/entilis,
Maerk., with Lasius fulvjinosus, in February, March, April and May.
Microijlossa pnlla, Gyll., with L. fidif/iHDsus, in February, March and
April. Oxypuda rittata, Maerk., with L. fidii/inosiis, in May and June.
O./ormiceticola, Maerk., with Fnriiiira rufa, in January and March.
Oxijpoda haemorrhon, Mann., with F. rufa, in March. TlnaaophUa
aiKjxdata, Er., with F. rufa, in January, March and April. Diuarda
maerkeli, Kies., with F. rufa, in January and April. Mi/micdnnia
funesta, Grav., with L. fuliyinosuf;, in April, May and June. M.
Inme rails, Gy&\., with L. fulii/inosm, in April and May, and with 7^'.
rufa in April. Myniiedonia co(/nata, Maerk., with L. fulii/iiiosus, in
May. M. bir/ens, Grav., with L. fnlit/inoxus, in March, April and
May. M. laticollis, Maerk., with L. fulu/inimis, in March, April and
May. Notothecta Jlavipes, Grav., with F. rufa, in January and March.
N. confusa, Maerk., with L. fulv/inosus, in March and June. N.
anceps, Er., with F. rufa, in January and March. Heterothops tjuadru

MYRMECOPHILOUS COLKOPTBRA. 247

punctiila, Gyll., with F. rufa, in April. Qucdius brevis, Er., with F.
rufa, in January and April, and with Lashis fuliginosus in April.
Leptacinus formicetorum, Maerk., with F. rufa, in March, April and
May. Batrims immtiis, Reich., in the rotten wood of an old tree,
formerly inhabited by L. fulininoam, in May. Coccinella distincta,
Fald., with F. rufa, in March. Dendrophilus ptji/maem, L., with F.
rufa, in March and April. Mijnnetes piceiis, Payk., with /"'. rufa, in
March and April. Amphotis marf/inata, Er., with L. fulu/inosiis, in
May. Monntoma conicicollis, Aube, with F. rufa, in March and April.
M. formicetorum, Thorns., with F. rufa, in May.

The Genus Oporabia.**

By LOUIS B. PROUT, F.E.S.

In taking the above title for my paper this evening, I am, to a
great extent, taking iip an " unknown quantity; " not so much because
there is any great probability of the future discovery in remote parts
of the world of species which are congeneric with those at present
known, as because the whole of the known species of the group are so
closely allied that their number has been variously computed at from
one to six. I have employed the familiar generic title given by
Stephens, though, as soon as the much-disputed claims of Hiibner's
Tentamen have been settled one way or the other, this title will have
to give place to Fpirrita. Hb., Tentamen (type dilntata, Bkh.), or
Oporinia, Hb., Verz. (also with presumable type dilutata).

In the National Collection at South Kensington, there are a few
out-lying species which may possibly bear generic relationship with
(>. dilutata ; but they seem to me so very dubious that, until something
is known of their life-history, I think it far best to leave them entirely
out of consideration.

So far as I have investigated our two well-known British species,
I incline to think that they have a decidedly closer relationship with
the genus ChcimatoUa than with Staudinger's genus Cidaria, in which
he places them ; but, to some extent, they form a link between the
two. The imagines seem to me to have something in common with
Cidaria (Larentia) polata, which in its turn is closely associated with
the caesiata group ; but they have a far stronger resemblance, both
superficially and, I believe, in structure, with Cidaria (Venusia)
cambrica, and Packard unites them in one genus ; it is quite possible
there is a real affinity here — I do not know cambrica in its early stages.
The strong resemblance to Lobophora carpinata has also been noticed
by Borkhausen and Haworth.

The larvfe bear considerable superficial likeness to those of Cidaria
(Larentia) didijmata, and another possible relationship in this direction
is worth investigating, though I very much doubt if it would prove at
all close.

At any rate, it will be sufficient to confine attention for the present
to the species which we call dilutata, Bkh. (though our Scandinavian
neighbours more correctly call it 7iebulata, Thnb.), and those others

* Read before the City of London Entomological and Natural History Society,
May 4th, 1897.

248 THE entomologist's kecord.

which are so closely related to it as to have been considered, at one
time or another, probable varieties thereof.

1. — Nebulata, Thnb. — The common and widely-distributed, and
always variable, " dilutata " boasts a long array of synonyms ; dilntata,
W.V., is a mere catalogue name, and the first description is by
Borgstrom (Thunberg's Dissertatiuncs, i., p. 12), who, in 1784, gave
the name of nebulata to the ordinary cinereous form with the markings
fuscous.

Neijlectata (Steph. M.S.), Weaver, was erected in the Zoohxjist for
1852 as a distinct species, and the series in the British collection at
Cromwell Road is still labelled by this name. It is a huge form,
perhaps almost peculiar to Scotland as far as Great Britain is con-
cerned, but Weaver's supposed distinctive characteristics— its stouter
antennas and its separate habitats — have not been found to hold.
Mr. McArthur informs me that the forms occur together, and that it
is simply the largest which are picked out for lu'iilcctata. Several
correspondents have told me that the Scotch forms are, on the average,
larger and finer than the southern ones, and Doubleday I Zool., 1858,
p. 6103) especially mentions the Perthshire specimens as being
" nearly double the size of those taken in the South of England."

Pnriirsaria, Weaver, has also been the subject of some difhculty
and uncertainty — and no wonder, for he really does not describe it at
all, and the name has no standing ; Guenee and Staudinger refer it
to jili(jrcun)naria, and this may be right, as Weaver bred a specimen
from a larva found on heath. But Weaver himself cites Gregson
MSS., and though Mr. Gregson does not seem to have published his
precursaria uxiiil later ( ZooL, 1859, p. 6347), yet the name really
belongs to this. He says, " It is exactly like O. borcaria in the upper
wings, but has a band across the elongated under wings, as in O.
(ilipni.ruiiaria, not parallel with the cilia, as in (>. dilntaria." The
only specimen he records was bred in August, from a larva feeding in
sallow catkins, in the central ride in Wharnclift'e Wood, Yorkshire ;
and he admits that both Doubleday and Bond determined it as a
variety of dilutata. By the courtesy of Mr. Sydney Webb, I have had
the opportunity of inspecting three specimens labelled precursaria,
from Mr. Gregson's collection, and there can be no doubt they are
somewhat darkened, weakly-marked dilutata, tinged with brown,
perhaps partly through age. The comparison with C. borcata does not
seem to me particularly happy, but it gives a rough idea of the form,
and is not to be changed ; all nomenclators agree that the diagnoses
rest primarily on a basis of liti'iaturc, not of ti/pc upcriniejts. The
month in which the specimen was bred (August) is unusually early
for this country, but I find several Continental records for August.

I must next refer to the most important of the doubtful species
which have been associated with (K ndndata, namely, 0. autuiiniaria,
Bdv. MSS. = amumnata, Gn. I have had so little opportunity of
studying this form, that I will not commit myself to any opinion as
to its specific validity. Guenee, in erecting it, seems to me to be
very disappointing ; he relies solely on the following points, any of
w'hich could probably be matched in certain undoubted examples of
nebulata (dilutata), through, perhaps, they may have considerable
cumulative force : — (1st) The four wings concolorous, silky, of a dirty
white, never greenish. (2n(l) The hues all partially obliterated, only

THE GENUS OPORABIA. 249

distinct on costa. (3rd) The black mark at the bifurcation of 2nd and
3rd nervures prominent. (4th) Elbowed line (when distinct enough
to be traceable) much less dentated than in the common species, and
forming almost a right angle on the 1st nervure (sub-costal). (5th)
Female similar to male, not smaller and stronger marked, as in
nebulata. (6th) The larva confined to birch, and entirely green,
without the red markings of nebulata. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of the
above I dismiss as absolutely valueless for purposes of differentia-
tion. No 4 is interesting, because associating this form rather
with fdif/ramiiiaria than with normal nebulata ; yet I have seen
specimens of the latter (very occasionally) with the elbowed line
considerably angulated. The angulation of this line, the silky
aspect of the insect, the equahty in the size of the sexes, and
the specified food-plant (birch) are probably the principal causes
of the dire confusion that has arisen between this autwnnata and the
autumnaria of Weaver and Doubleday, etc. — a confusion of which
I shall speak further presently. Regarding Guenee's 6th distinction —
that of the larva — he himself admits that the two species are
extremely close ; it seems to me not only useless, but positively mis-
leading, to appeal to the absence of red markings ; even our Epping
Forest specimens, on oak, etc., are often devoid of these ; while
Schoyen states (Arch. Math. o</ Natiirvid., vol. iii.) that in Scandinavia
(where, be it remarked, the usual food-plant is birch) they have never
been found red- or brown-spotted, but always uniform green, with
yellowish lateral lines and lighter beneath. As I have not seen any
Scandinavian examples, of course I cannot say positively that the
species may not be one of the jili(/rainmaria group ; the mention of
yellowish lateral lines in the larva, together with Aurivillius' descrip-
tion of the (? genitalia, may perhaps point in that direction.

Whether this autwnnata of Guenee's be a variety or a species, it
will probably require re-naming ; its erection only dates from 1857,
and it is in collision both with autumnata, Bkh., and with autumnaria
(Dbld.), Weaver {Zool., 1852).

(To he continued).

On a collection of Spring Rhopalocera made in the Riviera, with
some considerations concerning the hybernating stage of certain

butterflies.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

The stage in which some of our butterflies hybernate has long
been a puzzle to me, and I have long suspected that a definite
knowledge of the habits of certain species which have been but little
observed in Britain, can only be cleared up by a close study of the
habits of the same species on the Mediterranean littoral, which appears
to be the region in which they exist under the most favourable
conditions. Unfortunately, the notes scattered throughout the
magazines do not as a rule afford much aid, and may often,
indeed, be positively misleading. When, therefore, I knew that Dr.
Chapman would spend the early spring in the Riviera, I felt quite
satisfied that some reliable information as to the habits of certain

250 THE entomologist's record.

species would be forthcoming. Since Dr. Chapman's return he has
kindly handed me the insects captured, and I have carefully compared
the results with Milliere's Catalmiue lUdsonnedes LejiidDptcresduDcparte-
ment des Alpes-Marititiics, published in 1872, to which I have made
many references in the following notes. I would ask my readers to
carefully study the remarks that follow in conjunction with the paper,
"The hybernating stages of British Butterflies" {Kiit. Her., viii.,
pp. 97-102).

In February, Dr. Chapman took or observed the following species : —
Lawpides boetica, Pieris rapue, Anthocaru belia, Pi/rameis cardui, P.
atalanta, Aglaisurticae, Eiivaucssa antiapa, Kwinnia polychloro!^, Paranir
e(jeria and P. metjaera.

Laiiipidt's boetica. — Chapman caught one worn specimen in February.
Warburg gets an odd one very early most years ; rarely, however,
more than one. Riihl mentions a capture at Cannes, in " December."
Milliere says, in his Cataloj/iw des Leji., th&t L. boetica " occurs only in
August and September." Newman, in his Brit. Bntts., p. 118, makes
the species hybernate as an egg, and in his circumstaiatial account
suggests that this information is derived from Milliere. Believing
that Milliere was really responsible for the statement, I have accepted
it in my paper, Ent. Pwc, viii., p. 99. I have a suspicion that this,
like so many others of Newman's accounts, may have been entirely
due to his imagination, and this suspicion is strengthened by
Newman's further statement: — "The last disclosed females of this
species lay their eggs on the twigs of the bladder senna [Colutea
arborescens), but, like those of several, and perhaps all, the British
species of this family, they do not hatch until the following summer."
This is, of course, utterly absurd, for Lycaena avion, Cupido minima,
Poli/onimatm astrairlte, P. hellanfus, P. con/don and P. ieani.'< hybernate
in the larval stage, whilst Ci/aniris aniiolns (and, according to Riihl,
Xoiiiiades senuanpis) hybernate in the pupal stage, Plebeins aei/on being
the only British "blue" positively known to hybernate in the egg
state. I am becoming distinctly inclined to believe that Lninpides
boetica hybernates, if it really exist in Europe in the winter in any
niraibers at all, in the imago state. Milliere's statements that " the
larva lives in June and July in the siliquas of Colutea arborescens,"
and "the imago occurs only in August and September," suggest very
strongly that the main brood is an autumnal one, and the further
records of this species, such as "August" for Rome and Nantes,
" September " for Pisa and Lombardy, " October " for the Campagna,
Nizza, etc., support this opinion, and the capture of the imago in a
worn condition, in December, January and February, at Cannes,
suggests strongly the imago as the hybernating stage. But there is
direct evidence, besides the fact that the species has been caught at
Cannes in the winter months, to show that Milliere is wrong in the state-
ment that the species " occurs only in August and September," for Riihl
(Die PalaearktiKchen CTrossselimetterUni/e, p. 225) gives the "middle of
June" for Spain and the Greek Island, Naxos, "end of June" for
Catania, the "middle of July" for the French Pyrenees, Algiers and
Gibraltar, all suggesting a summer emergence, whilst the statement of
the same author, that, " near Bilbao, in Asturias, the specimens of the
first brood are very large, whilst those of the second generation are
smaller and darker coloured," leaves no doubt upon this point. Whether

COLLECTION OF SPRING RflOPALOCKRA. 25l

there is not, even, another brood in favourable localities, is open to
question, for records occur in which " March " is given as the time
of its appearance in Cairo, Algiers and Bona, the " end of April " for
Port Said. It would appear that in North Africa, in suitable places,
this cosmopolitan and migrating butterfly has many of the habits of
Pi/raweifi cardui, emerging late in September and October (this brood
living in the imago state some time), imagines appearing again in
March and April, again in June and July, and so on. The habit
ingrained into the species in its tropical habitats it carries with it on
its migrations, and, presumably, attempts (with the result of some modi-
fication) to do elsewhere what it does there with safety, resulting in some
uncertainty in its appearance in all those parts of the area where it
only occurs sporadically, and, as a result, probably, of its migrating
tendency. Another statement made by Riihl may lend support to
this view. He says (p. 749) : " Bei Bordighera wurden Mitte
Oktober Eier auf Mcdicaf/n sativa (Luzerne) gefunden," which points
to an attempt to be continuously brooded.

Pit'fis rapae. — This species hybernates in the pupal stage, as with
us. Some pupte sent to me last winter from Florence, by Dr.
Chapman, did not emerge until the end of April in my room, some
six weeks later than the time they would probably have emerged in
Italy. This suggests that the southern pupte are delayed in emergence
in our climate.

Anthocharifi belia. — Milliere gives " March and April '' for the insect,
at Cannes. Norris gives " April 2nd, onwards," at Hyeres {Entoui.,
xxii., pp. 182-185). Not only did Chapman get imagines in February,
but, by the middle of April, he had obtained pupte from eggs laid by
these early captured imagines, and these produced the var. ausonia
some fortnight after, whilst in Mr. Merrifield's possession. It is
possible that the two broods overlap, but Norris' later specimens must
have been largely var. ausonia.

PyviDneis cardui. — I have previously {Ent. Bee, vii., pp. 110-111)
given an account of the hybernating habit of this species, so far as I
can unravel it. I find Milliere strongly supports my conclusion.
He writes of the insect, at Cannes, as follows : — " It is very common
all the year, even in December and January," Avhilst Chapman
informs me that it is " occasionally seen during the winter, but is
then certainly not common." Blackmore says that it was "very
abundant in Morocco," in 1869, throughout February, March and
April.

Piirawcis atalanta. — Mr. Wolfe has shown that ri/raDieis atalanta
sometimes attempts, in Britain, to pass the winter in the larval state,
and details {Ent. liec, viii., p. 4) such an attempt, when, in 1893, he
" obtained larviP up to the last day of October, but, although all pupjis
and larva? out-of-doors were afterwards killed by the severe frost,
indoors, imagines appeared in December, January and (one at least)
in February." It is well known that the imago of this species never
goes into hybernation in the autumn in Britain until obliged, feasting
first on the hop-catkins and later on ivy bloom. Milliere says that, at
Cannes, " the generations succeed each other all the year," and, in
Morocco, Blackmore records it as " very abundant " in February,
March and April. Chapman says that during last winter, at Cannes,
" P. atalanta was always in evidence, the same individuals at the

252 THE kntomot.ogist's rkcord.

same places (apparently, and probably really) all the winter, the imagines
not emerging or ovipositing as far as one could judge, but hybernating,
without hiding away, except on dull and cold days."

FAujonia pobjcldoios. — This species, Milliere says, "appears in
March, and a second generation occurs in June," thus suggesting a
March emergence, yet he says : — " Often, in winter, one sees specimens
of this species flying in the sunshine, but these have passed the bad
weather hidden in the hollow of a tree or in the fissure of a rock."
So, I think, have the March specimens. Certainly those I saw in
April, at Digne, had done so. Baker gives E. imh/cJiloios as
" abundant during the whole of February around Lambessa," in
Algeria, in 1885, whilst, in May, he found the newly emerged
specimens in the form of var. satnrata, at Guelma. The hybernators
are sometimes on the wing in England, in late March and early
April, but we get no freshly emerged specimens until July. A few
individuals of this emergence, however, instead of going into
hybernation, pair, and, I suspect, lay their eggs and die, the larvse
being killed off by frost. I know of no record of a brood occurring
in South Europe and North Africa, in August and September, but
the emergence of the imagines in June (Cannes) and May (Algeria)
suggests that a partial second brood might be successful in these
districts, and that the occasional attempt of some specimens to produce
one in Britain denotes the remnant of an old double-brooded habit in
the species.

Euvancssa antiopa. — Of this hybernating species Milliere writes :
" Parait au premier printemps, en juillet et en septembre. Les sujets
qu'on voit voler des le milieu de mars, ont passe I'hiver," I very
much doubt E. antiopa having two separate summer broods, although
it is quite possible. Frey remarks that it is, in Switzerland, a single
summer-brooded species " with partial hybernation." What does he
mean by "partial hybernation?" I have already (7v»L Rec.,\\\\.,
p. 202) discussed Scudder's remarks on the wintering of this species.

Paranje ci/eria. — The specimens, of course, are of the southern
form. Milliere says : " The larvae are common in April and
September," suggesting a summer and autumn brood. The April
larviB are evidently the progeny of the February and March imagines,
which Milliere seems to have missed. The first brood was even over at
Digne (2,000 feet elevation), before the middle of April (1897). The
species is possibly continuously brooded in the Riviera all the year,
Blackmore says that, in 1868, the southern form was " common in
Morocco (Tangier) " throughout his stay " in February, March and
April" (7'>'.3/.J/., v., p. 299). It certainly is abundant in February
and March, again in May and June, again in August, and yet again in
October, in southern France. It tries three broods in England
in very fine seasons (<-.//., 1893).

ParariH' meijaera. — We get only two broods of this species in
Britain, but they are exceedingly regular in their appearance, viz.,
May and August. Milliere gives three broods for the Alpes-Mari times —
April, June and October. Chapman's February specimens suggest a
fourth brood, but it is possible that the progeny of the October females
feed slowly up, and come to maturity irregularly through the winter
from December to March, for Chapman informs me that " P. )ne;/aira
was seen all the winter, in November and December, as well as

COLliffiCtfON OF SPRING RHOPALOCERA. 253

February." It has been shown by Merrifield, Williams, Carpenter
and others that P. i'(jcria can pass the winter in Britain, either as
" pupa " or " larva," and it is possible that, in the south of France,
this double hybernating stage may also be possible in this species.

The following species were taken by Dr. Chapman in March : —
SjdlotJujnin alceac, Si/richthm malvae, S. sao, S. alveus, Thanaos tages,
Cyaniris argioliis, Polyovimatus baton, P. icanis, P. bcllaiyus, Nomiades
cyllarus, N. Dichmopa, Everen an/iades, Clirysophanm jMaeas, Calluphrys
rubi, Papilio iwdalirius, P. vuichaon, TIicuh pnlyxena var. cassaudra,
T. medesicaste, Pieris rapae, P. napi, P. daplidice, Eiichloe eupJieuoides,
E. cardamines, Lcucnphasia sinapis, Goneptery.v rhavmi, (i. deopatra,
Colias edusa, C. Jiycdc, Polyyonia cyea, P. c-albnin, Aripjunis lat/ionia,
Brentlds dia, Mditaca cin.via, Coenonympha pampliihis, Ercbia rpistyitne.

Thanaos tayes. — The hybernating stage of this species is well known,
r/c, the larval. Riihl's records (pp. 681-682) suggest that it is pretty
generally double-brooded on the Continent. He notes of T. tayes :
" Haute-Garonne. 2-3 Generationen, Mai-September."

Spilothyrus alceae. — Milliere writes of this species as inalcac, Fab.
= alceae, Esp. — altheae, Hb., and gives it as appearing in May,
June and July. I have taken it at Bourg d'Oisans in August (1896),
and at Aosta also in August (1894), so that Chapman's capture,
combined with the fact that I also took it at Digne in the middle of April
this year, makes it undoubtedly double-brooded. Frey gives -S'. alceae
(malcarum) as being double-brooded in Switzerland, appearing in
May and August. Blackmore says that he took a few examples of
iS'. tiialvarwii, 111., var. austialis, Zell., early in February, 1868, in the
village of Marshen, near Tangier. Riihl (p. 654) writes :—" Die
Raupe der 2 Generation iiberwintert in einem gespinnst, welches in
dem umgeschlagenen Rande eines Blattes angelegt ist und verpuppt
sich, ohne wieder zu fressen, im April ; von anderer Seite wird
angegeben, dass die Raupe auch in hohlen Kletten- oder Distelstengeln
iiberwintere."

Syrichtkm sao. — This was only just coming out at Cannes during
the first week of April, and did not appear until the last week of April
at Digne. Milliere says : " Vole en nombre sur lespelouses les mieux
exposees, en mai, juin et septembre."

S. malvae.— I refer several of Dr. Chapman's specimens to this
species, although Milliere does not give it as occurring in the Alpes-
Maritimes. It is well known that S. nicdrae hybernates in the pupal
stage. Riihl's records suggest that it is pretty generally double-
brooded in southern and central Europe.

Cyaniris aryiolus, P. icanis, P. bellaryics. — ^The hybernating stages
of C. aryiolus (pupa) of P. icanis (larva) and P. bellaryus (larva) are
well known.

Nomiades welanops. — Milliere says that xY. melanops ^'Yxwqs in the
larval state in a lethargic condition for ten months." This is very
similar to the habit of ('»y'(Wo »(^7^^»/a. But he also says of it: "II
eclot en mai et vole dans les lieux o\x croit le Dorycnium decumbens.
C'est sur cette plante que vit la chenille en juin." Certainly, it was
well out around Cannes before the end of March, and by the middle
of April was quite worn at Digne. This species also occurs in Algeria
in March.

Of X. cyllanis, Milliere says : *' On le rencontre en mai et juin dans

254 THE entomologist's record.

les bois clair-semes." These months are much too late, as March
and April are evidently the months for this species, even at Digne,
at 2,000 ft. elevation.

Pohjomwatus hatou. — This species occurs very early in March, and
Milliere discusses it under the name of Jnjlas, Hb., a name, I observe,
that Oberthiir maintains. He says : " Le type nous manque, mais
la var. panoptes vole communement en avril sur les terrains rocheux
h, base calcaire ou croit le thym." Kane says that var. panoptes, Hb. ,
*' is darker than the type, and the rusty band of underside absent."
Some of the specimens taken at Cannes exhibit a very well-developed
orange marginal band, which appears to be Kane's " rusty band,"
and if this be really the only point of distinction, certainly the type
occurs at Cannes. Of its mode of life Riihl (p. 756) writes of the
larva : " Lebt von Ende April bis Ende Mai an Thymus serpyllum
und vHlfjaris und nahrt sich besonders von den Bliithen dieser
Pflanzen. In der Gefangenschaft fressen die Raupen einander und
die Puppen an. Verpuppung zwischen Pflanzeniiberresten am Boden.
Puppe kurz und rundlich, vorn und hinten verschnnilert, glatt,
lehmgelb, an den Flugelscheiden griinlich angehaucht. Entwicklung
theils noch Ende des Sommers, theils erst im Miirz oder April des
niichsten Jahres."

Everes a)yiadcs. —Chapman found both sexes of this species, quite
worn, at Cannes, in March ; he also took a very fine specimen at
Digne, towards the end of April. I have taken it at Aix-les-Bains,
very worn, in late August. Milliere does not mention it as occurring
in the Alpes-Maritimes. There seems to be a general consensus of
opinion that it winters as a larva, except that Riihl says that " bei
Permskoe-Miileki (Amurgebiet)," it occurs in April. " nach der Ueber-
winterung." The same author mentions the first brood, which is known
as ab. pohjsperchon, as occurring in Elsass, Zurich, etc., in April
and May.

Chrysophanm phlaeaa. — The hybernating stage of this is well
known. Even in England the larva feeds a little, except in the
hardest weather. In the Alpes-Maritimes, Milliere says: "Vole
presque toute I'annee et partout." Baker says it was common at
Lambessa in February, 1885, whilst the summer form, eleus, occurred
at Guelma in June.

CallophryH rubi. — It is well known that this species hybernates
as a pupa. It comes out very early in southern France. Milliere
says : " Cette espece se montre des la fin de fevrier dans les bois
taillis autour des haies." I have never heard of second-brood
specimens.

Papilio podalir'nia, P.macliami, Thais poh/xena \a,v. cassandra and T.
medesicaste. — These are all well-known to hybernate in the pupal
stage, and therefore it is more or less a matter of temperature, sufli-
cient for their development, which settles the earliness or lateness of
emergence.

P. podaUrim. — Milliere gives the commencement of April and the
end of August ; late dates for both broods, as I have taken the second
(? third) brood at Aix-les-Bains and Chambery, by July 25th, whilst
at Guelma, in 1885, Baker foiind the second brood out in June, the
specimens being between y&v. fcisthawiiii and var. lattcri.

P. machaon. - Of this species Milliere says, " flies in May and June

COLLECTION OF SPRING UHOPALOCERA. 255

and September, almost everywhere in the lower mountains, as well
as in the plain." These dates may mean anything. The first brood
is abundant all over southern France in late March (and in middle
April at 3,000 ft. (mountains round Digne). The second brood was
out at Digne, in 1890, in June {E.M.M., xxvi., 282), and is usually
going over in July in many localities, and abounds up to 5,000 feet
in early August. Probably there are three emergences in the Riviera
if the species were properly observed.

Thais iinh/xena var. rassamlra. — Of this, Milliere says, " is not rare
in March and April," agreeing with Chapman's observations.

Tluiis iih'dcsicostc. — Milliere does not give the date of appearance.
In Tangier, Blackmore says it was common during the month of
March, in 1868. At Hyeres, which should be at least as early as
Cannes, Norris records {Ent., xxii.. p. 182) it as "first seen April 13th,"
evidently a misleading statement as to the actual date of its first
appearance in the Riviera, in 1889, unless, indeed, 1889 was a very
baclvward season.

Pieris napi, Pii'ris brassicat', P. daplidice, FaicIiIo? cardaiiiines, E.
eiiphenoides, Lencojdiaxia sinapis. — These species all hybernate, as is
well known, in the pupal stage, and their appearance so early in the
year, therefore, causes no surprise.

Pieris daplidice. — Milliere says that this species " flies commonly
in the ' garigues ' and cultivated places, from the end of March almost
to the end of autumn." There can be no doubt, however, that the
broods are moderately distinct, although whether- there are two or
three is not clear. Norris says that, in 1889, P. daplidice was
" common at Bordighera from the beginning of February, and var.
hellidice was rare." I was under the impression that specimens of the
first brood were all called var. hellidice, that it was, in fact, a seasonal
form ; the apices of the tips of the fore-wings are distinctly pale
(greyer) in the spring specimens. Blackmore {E.M.M., v., p. 299) says
that he saw several specimens of a Pieris, which he thinks must have
been this species, early in February, in Tangier, in 1869, whilst
Baker records it as being " plentiful in February, 1885, around Lam-
bessa." It was getting quite passe at Digne, this year, by the middle
of April, and yet in June, 1890, Jones records it from the same
locality as occurring occasionally. This would suggest that the June
specimens (recorded for the Riviera, Tuscany, etc.) are a second
brood ; whilst the late August specimens comprise a third brood. We
found the latter brood exceedingly abundant about August 21st, at
Aosta, in 1894.

{To be concluded).

The Neuration of the Lepidoptera.

By PEOFESSOK A. R. GEOTE, M.A.

The object of this notice is to draw attention to the fact that the
methods employed hitherto in the published drawings of the wings of
the Lepidoptera are inefficient, and to recommend the employment of
photography as used in the Mittlieilun;/e)i ans d. Fioemer Museum.
Take, for instance, the publications of Mr. Meyrick. I have not found,
so far as I have yet checked the results, one instance where the

256 THK kxtomologist's rkcord.

neuration is correctly given, either in the Handbook or the Trans. Ent.
Soc. Liniihin, by this author. Not only is the shape of the wing
quite out of correspondence with the originals that I have compared,
but the distances, relative direction, and, at times, the point of
origin, are frequently all wrong. Worse than this, Mr. Meyrick
supplies nervures which have no existence, as in the primary of P.
iiiacularia, which has no nervure ix, and omits nervures, as in the
figure of the primary of Coluts eihiMi, Ihuidbook, p. 350, which has a
distinct viii in nature (compare my figure in the Bnttcrfiies of
llildi's/iciiii, Tiii. ii., fig. 7, oi Injale). The diagnosis of (ioneptenjx :
"Characters of CoUas { = Kuii/nms, Scudd.) but forewings Avith 10
separate," is incorrect as it stands, since the greatest point of dis-
tinction, the position of the radial veins on costa, is ignored. The
" prae-costal spur " of Tji'nr<)plia><ia sinapis I I.e., 852) should be compared
with my figure 10, to see the wide difference. But among the butterflies,
the figure of An/i/nnis adi/ijic, p. 328, exhibits Mr. Meyrick's work at its
worst. I am quite unable to recognise this figure as representing an
An/i/nnu. I am, myself, the victim of Mr. Meyrick's talent in the
direction of drawing the wings of the (iciDiu'tridae. Relying upon the
figures in the Trans. Ent. Soc. London, I have stated that viii and
ix are present in the Geometridae ; viii represented by Mr. Meyrick
as a dotted line, therefore as a fold or scar, and ix as a nervure,
represented by Mr. Meyrick as a continuous line. Now I find viii to
be no fold, but a '• tubular," sometimes broken, nervure, and ix to be
totally wanting. Mr. Meyrick reproaches Guenee with " pneudo-
scientific work," in the Preface to the llandliuok. The difference
between the two is, that JM. Guenee, in his Preface, awakes to the
fact that the execution of his work is much less perfect than he had
dreamed, while, in hin Preface, Mr. Meyrick dreams that the execution
of his work is quite perfect, which it is far from being. The nomen-
clature is often incorrect, the phylogeny wholly unsupported and
imaginary, the arrangement opposed to common sense, and from this
point of view, " unscientific." But all subjective criticism may be
here considered supertluous in the face of the fact that in the treat-
ment of the neuration, Mr. Meyrick himself offers the best illustration
of the " perhaps not very creditable work," which he condemns in the
Preface to his idiosyncratic publication.

List of Rhynchota=Heteroptera collected by Dr. Chapman at Cannes

in March.

By G. W. KIRKALDY, F.E.S.

Through the kindness of Mr. Tutt, I am enabled to add to my
collection the Rhynchota collected by Dr. Chapman at Cannes last
March, and to draw up a list for The Entomoloi/ist's Record, etc.

The forty specimens comprise twenty species, and are practically
those that one would expect from a visit during the early spring to
that locality. Six species have a more or less restricted meridional
range, the remainder being fairly widely distributed throughout the
Paliuarctic region (twelve occurring in the British Islands, these being
denoted by an "••*).

Pentatomid.b. — Pentatonui /usclKjnna/-^ Boh., three specimens;

UST OF RHYNCHOTA-HETEROPTERA. 257

Pentatoma prasina,*^ Linn. ; Nezara viridula, Linn. ; Pie^odorm litur-
atm,"'' Fab. \_ = incarnatus, Germ., Puton Catal., 3rd Edn.] ; PJiap-
hiijaster i/riseus, Fab., two specimens ; Strachia oleracea,*'-' Linn.
This is a variable species as regards colour, though the pattern is
generally fairly constant. There are two examples in the collection,
one a large crimson-marked aberration, the other small, and marked
with white. Strachia decorata, H-S., two specimens, apparently
restricted to meridional Europe ; Anna cnstos, Fab., distributed
through meridional Europe, but not common. Fam. : Coreid.e. —
Stenocejdialns ai/ilis,'^ Scop., two specimens. Fam.: Lyg.eid^. —
Lyi/aeus iiiilltaris, Fab. — -This is also another meridional species ;
Ischnurhynehus resedae,'''' Pang., var. (jeminatics, Fieb., an exceedingly
handsome and common little species, four examples ; Henestaris
laticeps,'''' Curt., four examples; Hetenxjaster urticae,^'-' Fab. Fam.:
HYDROMETRm.E. — H i/d niiiictra sta(/)wriii}>,^'-^ Linn. ; Gerris najas,^'
Geer, three specimens ; (-fiTris (jihbifera,^* Schml., four specimens.
Fam.: Reduviid.e. — ri/ijnliiiniiis hidentata,^^ Fourcr. [ = hifurcata,
Gmel.] , distributed all over Europe, but rare. Its place in the British
list depends upon a solitary record by Rev. T. A. Marshall \^cide,
Saunders, Hem.-Hi'tcr. Brit. Id,, 161, 1893]. Pirates hi/bridiis:, Scop.
[= stridulus, Fab.].; Xabis viridulus, Spin., two specimens. A
Mediterranean sp., occurring on Tamarix ; a great deal has been
written on the colour-meaning of this and the other tamarisk-bugs,
which are generally greenish, varyingly marked with rose. Fam. :
CAPSiDiE. — Psallus, sp. (?), three specimens. Mr. Saunders tells me
this is probably aurora, M.R., a species found in meridional France
and Spain, but that the condition of these individuals is not sufficiently
good for a positive determination ; there are more than 50 Palfearctic
species of this genus known, all closely related.

I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. Edward Saunders for
kindly looking over my determinations, and identifying some of the
critical species, and to Dr. Chapman for information regarding the
localities.

Some remarks on Dr. Lukis' account of the introduction of
Callimorpha hera into Britain.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

It has for many years been an open secret that the late Edward
Newman introduced Callimorpha hcra into Britain. By some over-
sight I quite neglected, in my article on this species {Knt. Bee, vii.,
97-101), all reference to the note on this subject which is to be found
in the E. M. M., vol. xxviii., pp. 21-22, dealing with the account
given by Dr. F. C. Lukis of the share he had in obtaining eggs, etc.,
for putting the insect down in various parts of England. Attention,
however, was drawn to the fact by my friend Mr. Luff {Rut. Flee, vii.,
pp. 173-174:). On looking over Dr. Lukis' original account {(lucrnsey
Liuide, 1863, p. 166) of the request to him for, and subsequent ob-
taining of, eggs and larvae, I have just been much struck with the fact
that Dr. Lukis makes the insect hybernate in the egg stage. He
says : — "The parent moths were carefully collected, and eggs obtained
in satisfactory abundance. Doubts and fears still bung over them until

258 THE kntomologist's record.

the following spring, to be removed suddenly one morning by the
welcome appearance of several dark little caterpillars creeping out of
their respective shells," etc. Now this is rather amazing, considering
that the larva hatches in the autumn, and the insect hybernates in the
larval stage. There is, however, another statement suggestive of a
fairy tale, for which Dr. Lukis' informant as to the success of the ex-
periment is possibly responsible. It reads : " They bore the long
journey admirably, and, safely arrived, were soon divided into several
groups, some of which were set at liberty. These throve wonderfully,
and established themselves completely, and have since spread through
large districts in Yorkshire, being recently found even on the borders
of Wales ; and probably also have spread in other directions, so as to
claim a place in the British list, which, indeed, the author referred to
has been complaisantly pleased to allot them in his work, with what
justice the reader may determine as he may." This was written in
186B, but the history of the insect's distribution will no doubt come as
news to most British lepidopterists in 1897.

[Note. — Mr. Hewett has kindly handed us the detailed notes which
he received from various correspondents whilst writing his paper on
the Tephrosias. He has suggested that some of these communica-
tions are worth publishing at length, and we have much pleasure
in complying with the recj^uest that we should do so. — Kd.J

Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) as a Scotch insect.

Tfi>/ir<isiu bisturtata [rrcjntsnilaria) occurs at Perth fairly commonly
every year. The earliest date on which I have taken the species is
April 28th, and the latest May 21st. The best time to get the species
in numbers in fine condition is from May 5th to May 10th ; after the
latter date they are not worth taking. 7'. bistortata {crepuscularia) does
not appear to be double-brooded at Perth ; in fact I never saw a
specimen after May 21st. T. crepuscularia {biiiudularia) does not
occur here. T. bistortata varies but little in the Perth district ; the
females, as a rule, are lighter than the males. The specimens are
obtained within two miles of Perth, in a locality the height of which
above the sea level is from 600 to 700 ft. The temperature (whilst
the species is on the wing) is from G0° to 65°. The larviB occur on
larch. I have taken one or two larvje from wild rose, near to which
plenty of larch grew, and also one from birch. — R. Lawson. Sejd.
28th, 1896.

2\ crepuscularia (biundularia) does not occur at Perth. Last year
(1895) T. bistortata (crepuscularia) was very abundant, both at Kinnoull
Hill and at Kinfaun, both of which places are at a considerable eleva-
tion. This year (1896) they were scarce. The Kinnoull specimens
are of the normal Perthshire type of this species, but the Kinfaun
specimens were dark in the males, whilst the females were very light,
and a few were found of normal colour. They were mostly found on
trunks of larch and Scotch fir. The earliest date I have taken them
here was upon April lOtli, the latest was the second week in June. I
sent Mr. Tutt a rather long series of the Kinfaun specimens last year,
one of which, a female, was nearly white, Mr. Tutt remarking thai

TEPHHOSIA BISTORTATA (CREPUSCULARIA) AS A SCOTCH INSECT. 259

the white form was very interesting. This year I paid a visit to
Birnham Hill, 151 miles north of Perth, during the second week of
May, and there took T. histortata. Birnham Hill rises to a height of
1324 ft., and at the top is a clump of larch and fir. T. bistnrtata oc-
curred principally upon the larch. Last year I obtained a small
batch of larvfe from Kinfaun insects, and sleeved them upon a gera-
nium, and on this they fed up remarkably quickly, pupated, and the
moths emerged during last February ; but, strange to say, they did
not produce the Kinfaun form, but the form which occurs near Perth.
The insect is not double-brooded here. — E. R. Bush. October Qth,
1896.

The earliest date on which I have taken the Perth form of T.
hixtnrtata is April 27th, and the latest the last week in May. The
insect is in its prime from May 4th to May 10th. I do not think
really melanic forms occur at Perth, but the males are generally
darker than the females, and vary much. — J. Wylie. October 28th,
1896.

I used to take a large form of Tephrosia, of a rich brown
colour in Scotland, on larch trunks, towards the end of May. It was
single-brooded. We used to call it T. laricaria. I took these speci-
mens of T. laricaria ( bistort ata ) for several years about 1860, at
Ardentinnie on Loch Long, in Argyleshire. T. crepuscularia [bixmchi-
laria) did not, I believe, occur there. I never saw it. — T. A. Chapman,
M.D., F.E.S. October 18th, 1896.

I have only once taken a single example of the Tephrosias, under
discussion, in Morayshire, and I copy the following extract from my
diary : — " Saturday, April 16th, 1892. Altyre Wood, Forres. — Found
one Tephrosia biumlularia (/), and one banded Lobophora lobidata,
resting on fir trunks. The ground was covered with snow." [The
specimen has since been determined as T. bistortata, vide, Ent. Rec,
ix., p. 93] . — A. HoRNE.

The only other facts relating to Scotch specimens of T. bistortata
are the references to Mr. Adkin's Altyre specimen (Ent. Bee, ix., p. 29),
Doubleday's and Smallwood's references to the species (Ibid., pp. 28-
29), my own experiences of breeding the species (Ibid., p. 29), and
Mr. Prout's references (Ibid., vol. viii., p. 78). As Dr. Chapman
regularly obtained T. bistortata at Ardentinnie, I consider it more
than probable that specimens taken by Mr. Douglas Walker, at Loch-
goilhead, were of the same species. There is as yet no shred of evidence
that T. crepuscularia fbitmdularia) has, up to the present, ever been
found in Scotland, though there appears to be no possible reason why
it should not be found there. — J. W. Tutt.

j^CIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Aphomia sociella in the nest of Vespa sylvestris. — In continua-
tion of a short paper I sent last year (vol. viii., pp. 182-183) with refer-
ence to the wax moth, Aphomia colonella {sociella), I found a small nest
of Vespa st/lrestris, the size of a cricket ball, suspended from the root of
a tree in a bank almost visible through the grass. The wasps had just
left it, and the whole was spun up into a hard mass. I kept it in my
vivarium all the winter, and in the spring I found it very damp and
mouldy, and was nearly inclined to throw it away. In the beginning

260 THE entomologist's record.

of July no less than 28 moths emerged, many of which had the beau-
tiful green tinge. It was wonderful how they could force their way
through the solid mass, and several were damaged about the head
in consequence. — W. H. Tuck, M.A., Tostock House, Bury St.
Edmunds.

Pupa of Trochilium apiforme DRi\rEN from its cocoon. — I took a
pupa of Twckilium apiforme freshly turned, being of a whitish colour.
This pupa was protruding from a hole in a poplar. After very care-
fully extracting it, there followed immediately two woodlice, which, no
doubt, having irritated the pupa from behind, had caused it to proceed
forward as far as it could go without actually falling out ; for I
imagine the habit of this pupa is not to protrude itself until ready to
emerge. — C. Bingham Newland, Killetra, Mallow.

Assembling of Saturnl\ pavonla. — On May 17th, a female of
Saturnia paronia emerged, and, though under cover, attracted males
for three days, the said males never appearing before 2 p.m., but
coming every day to a minute. .S'. pavunia is found on the moors
some two or three miles from my house, but to my knowledge nowhere
nearer. This female paired on May 20th, depositing ova before sun-
set. A small portion hatched on June 12th.— Ibid.

Cleora lichenaria two years in pupa. — A specimen of C. lirJicnaria
$ appeared in the breeding cage during June, which must have been
taken as a pupa in 1896. — Ibid.

Ptinus brunneus, Duft., captured in Surrey. — On May 23rd,
1892, I took, by sifting dead leaves on Purley Downs, a Ptinufi, which,
as I had some difficulty in identifying it, I submitted to several
coleopterists. The Rev. Canon Fowler told me he thought it was
P. bninnem, but eventually I put it into my cabinet as P. .mbpiloms,
Miill. The Rev. H. S. Gorham has now kindly named it for me,
and he tells me it is undoubtedly Ptimm brwinetifi, Duft. I therefore
take this opportunity to record it. Of this insect, Canon Fowler
says, in his Coleoptera of the Britiali Isles : " In old wood, etc.,
especially in warehouses ; probably imported." In the last fatalof/ue
of British Coleoptera, by D. Sharp, M.D., and W. W. Fowler, M.A.,
this insect is placed among the " Introduced species." I can only
say I took it on the Downs, far away from any houses. — Horace
DONISTHORPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

^^ ARI AT ION.

Pararge m.era ab. obscura, n. ab. — Among some insects taken
by Dr. Chapman at Aix-les-Bains during the first week in May, are
some specimens of P. maera, which differ considerably from those I
have captured in various localities. The males are rather below the
average size, all the wings blackish-fuscous in colour, with a narrow
fulvous ring round the ocellated apical spot of the fore-wings. There
are very slight traces of two fulvous patches below this. The ocel-
lated spots on the hind- wings with narrow fulvous margin. The two
minute ocellated spots, one above and the other l)olow the apical spot,
very small. — J. W. Tutt.

Black aberration of Nemeophila plantaginis. — I have read with
pleasure your very interesting and instructive paper on A\ plaufai/inis.
In doing so I observed that you had never seen a specimen with black

VARIATION. 261

hind- wings. I have one in my collection, bred from a larva found on
Scotston Moor, near Aberdeen, which has the hind-wings solid velvety
black — not smoky, a form that I have previously referred to. The
fore-wings have one or two yellow blotches, but otherwise they are
also black. It is a beauty ! So far as I know, it is unique as a British
specimen. — Arthur Horne, Ugie Bank, Beaconsfield Place, Aberdeen.
October 3/v/, 1897.

Aberrations of Zyg.ena trifolii-major. — The following are notes on
some of the forms of the July emergence of X. tnfoUi, as observed in
West Dorset. Eoughly they appear to be divisible into three groups :
(1) Those in which the red spots are small, well separated and well
defined. (2) Those in which the two central spots coalesce and
assume either a more or less rounded shape, or, after coalescence, become
elongated and elbowed. (3) Those in which all the spots coalesce —
ab. conflucns. This latter group may be sub-divided as follows : (1)
Those in which the basal and the outer spots are joined to the central
by a thin streak of colour running a little below the costa. (2)
Those in which the central area of the wing is occupied confluently
by a bold irregular mass of colour, equal to at least one-third of the
area of the wing. This sub-group is the most beautiful as regards
colour distribution, as well as the most rare. As regards the hind-
wings, a form more or less orange-tinted occurs. This I have taken
in perfectly fresh condition, and the colour is therefore not due to
prolonged exposure (worn specimens have a strong tendency to become
yellowish-red). The margin varies in depth, a few specimens have it
not exceeding in depth that of some Z. Jilipcndulae, while others possess
one deep and dark, forming a richer contrast to the main coloration
than that of any other of our native variety. The females are excellently
disposed to part with their ova ; most of them when boxed deposited
considerable batches, one of which I had great pleasure in forwarding
to our editor for his critical examination. — J. Clarke, Reading.

Grammesia trictRammica ab. obscura, Tutt. — I have taken this
season, in this neighbourhood, two very fine specimens of (J. trit/ram-
inica ab. obscura, Tutt. — W. E. Butler, Hayling House, Reading.

Nemeophila plantaginis ab. hospita in Westmoreland. — -Whilst
collecting Krebia cpiphron, on a mountain near Helvellyn, in June last,
I took, amongst a rather long series of A''. j)lanta(/inis, a few nice speci-
mens of the white form (ab. hospita). Both forms were taken together,
and at an elevation of about 2,000 feet. — B. H. Crabtree, F.E.S.,
The Acacias, Levenshulme, Manchester.

n^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c.

Descriptions of eggs of Lepidoptera. — Erebia neoridas. — The egg is
laid on end, is somewhat oval in outline vertically, with a flat base and
not very rounded apical area, the base being, however, broader than the
apex. It is, when fresh laid, of a very pale yellow colour, with 16
strongly defined longitudinal ribs, strikingly white and shiny, reaching
from the base to the shoulder of the Qgg, where they end in minute
white knobs, united transversely by fine white concave threads. The
apex of the egg is only slightly rounded, and is covered with a poly-
gonal (hexagonal) reticulation. At the centre of each hexagon is a
raised white knob, which gives off from its apex six concave radiating

262 THE ENTOMOLQGtST's RECORD.

threads, one to each of the angular points of its surrounding hexagon,
which are also somewhat raised. These divide the polygonal reticula-
tion into a secondary triangular reticulation. The white knobs (placed
centrally in the hexagons) are arranged in four concentric rings, and
extend, roughly, in lines, from the longitudinal ribs towards the apex
of the egg, becoming smaller as they approach the apex. This white
reticulation stops short at the micropylar area, which forms a clear
yellowish depression, exceedingly finely reticulated. There are 35
shiny white transverse ribs between the base and the shoulder of the
egg, well marked in the depressions, but almost obsolete on the sum-
mits of the longitudinal ribs. After three or four days the egg becomes
irregularly mottled with small purplish spots and blotches, and the
ribs (both longitudinal and transverse) are strikingly prominent and
very shiny : the micropylar area is still yellow, and looks like a tiny
star with three radii united by numerous fine concentric rings running
round the central point. [Eggs laid on August 18th, on sides of a
box, by a $ captured at Susa ; rough description of newly-laid egg
made same day, full description under a two-thirds lens on August
23rd.] On August loth, I observed of an egg laid by a 5 captured
some three or four days previously, at Susa, that it was " rather more
rounded at the apex than that of Erebia ttjmlani^, but otherwise of
almost exactly the same shape, and with a marked blunt cylindrical
peduncle forming the base of attachment." Although I examined
some six or eight difierent eggs of this species afterwards, I found no
other with this marked pedunculated base. The egg must therefore
have been aberrant in this particular.

Erebia act/iiops. — Of a pale yellow colour when laid, roughly
spherical in shape, the shell rather dull in appearance, with 22 fine
but very distinctly developed longitudinal ribs running from base to
the micropyle, which is not quite at the summit of the egg examined,
the latter being turned slightly to one side. The longitudinal ribs are
crossed by a large number of fine transverse ribs. The micropyle
forms a central stella, with fine radiating lines extending from the
central point of a shallow depression, which is bounded by the termini
of the longitudinal ribs. [Description made on August 13th, under a
two-thirds lens used as a hand lens, from an egg laid in a box by a $
captured at Susa the preceding day.] Buckler says the egg is
" glistening " in appearance, and has " about 30 longitudinal ribs."

Polyommatm ronjdon. — The egg forms a flattened disc with a quite
flattened base, and viewed laterally has the outline of a flattened
cheese with rounded edges. Viewed from above, there is nothing of
which I can think that the egg so closely resembles as the well-grown
blossom of a double dahlia. It is of a pale green colour. The micro-
pyle forms a depressed area in the centre (at the apex), and is
composed of rings of the very finest rounded cells, arranged con-
centrically. This area is of a rather darker green than the general
colour. Around this, and over the greater part of the upper (and still
somewhat depressed) area of the egg, the cells assume a rough quad-
rangular and polygonal (mostly pentagonal) form, arranged concentri-
cally, and increasing in size from the micropylar area outwards, the edges
of the cells being formed of fine raised silvery white lines. Outside
this area, i.e., covering the outer portion of the upper part of the egg
and the sides, there are (viewed from above) five rings of squat pyra-

NOTES ON LIFE-HlSTOKlBS, LABV^, ETC. 263

midal-shaped elevations of bright silvery-white colour, from the apex
of each of which six (or seven) curved silvery lines run down, until
they meet the similar curved lines coming from the adjacent elevations,
so that, under a moderately high power, each of these lateral cells has
separately the appearance of a central support with six concave radiat-
ing cables curving from the summit. There are three rings of these
cells on the sides. The appearance of these raised points and their
attachments is very remarkable and beautiful, and looks like the
whitest spun glass or filigree silver. [The egg described was laid by a
2 captured August 20th, at Aix-les-Bains, on the upper edge of her own
left hind-wing, whilst in collecting-box. The description was made
on August 22nd.] I believe this to be the first description ever made of
the egg of this species. I could find none when writing my recent
work, British Butterflies.

Limenitis sibj/lla. — Egg laid on the edge of the underside of a
honeysuckle leaf. It is almost spherical in shape, pale yellowish
towards the base and apex, and greenish towards the centre. The
surface of the egg is very remarkable, being covered with deeply set
hexagonal basins, with sharp prominent spiny points around their
edges, and fine gossamer-like hairs extending therefrom. These
basins and their appendages are transparent, sparkling like, and
closely resembling in appearance, spun glass. The micropyle is
situated qiiite at the apex, and consists of a minute black point
situated at the bottom of a round, basin-like depression, the upper
edge of which is composed of the sides of the hexagonal cells which
surround it. The egg is a most beautiful object under the microscope.
[Eggs received from the Eev. G. M. A. Hewett, July 10th, description
made under a two-thirds lens, July 12th.] It is worth while to compare
this description with the so-called descriptions of Newman and Eiihl,
which I fell back on in my British Butterflies. Entomologists might
correct their copies accordingly.

Enodia dryas. — The egg is small for the size of the butterfly, being
much less than the egg of Erebia nenridas or E. aethiops. The one
described was pressed from the ovipositor of a specimen captured at
Aix-les-Bains on August 20th. It is somewhat dome-shaped, rather
more than three parts of a sphere, the base depressed and hollowed
out (as in the egg of E. hyperantlius), and inclined to be a little pointed
towards apex. The egg is of a very pale yellow colour, with the apical
point tending to be transparent. The shell is very shiny and smooth,
with scarcely a trace of either pitting or ribbing. [The description
was made on August 24th under a two-thirds lens.]

Galliyenia miniata. — Laid on sides of box, several close together,
but not touching each other. Oval in outline. Height : width as about
5 : 3. Laid on end, and thus each one bears a somewhat superficial
resemblance to a ninepin. The egg is yellow in colour, with an orange
tint. The shell covered with roughly polygonal reticulation, the
polygonal depressions being somewhat iridescent. The micropyle is
placed at the apex of the egg, forming a central stellate structure, with
twelve radiating points placed at the bottom of a very slight apical
depression. Some of the eggs show considerable irregular depression
towards the apex at one side, but this seems to be due to some external
pressure. There is some variation in shape, some eggs being
stumpier than others, some also are placed less uprightly than others.

264 THK entomoujgist's record.

The apex of the egg is of a clearer and more transparent yellow than
the other part. [Eggs received from the Rev. G. H. Raynor
July 12th, description made the same day under a two-thirds lens.]

Leucania liUoralis. — Eggs laid in rows attached to each other in
folded edge of leaf of striped grass. The leaf is folded over just
enough to hide and protect the eggs, and seems to be kept in position
by a gummy silken secretion running along the outer edge of the row
of eggs. The eggs might be almost spherical, but are pressed into
different shapes by contact with each other and with the folded edge of
the leaf. The normal Noctuid ribbing is absent, but the shell is covered
with very marked polygonal reticulation, coarse towards the base,
but finer towards the micropylar depression, which is just free of the
point of attachment of the egg to its neighbour. The egg is at first pale
yellow, then it becomes orange, then pitted with reddish, and, at last,
slightly purplish, at which stage the shell itself is seen to be perfectly
transparent, and the embryo may be observed within the egg-shell.
The shell gives the most charming iridescent reflections. The
micropyle consists of a number of polygonal cells, gradually decreasing
in size until they reach the central point, which is slightly depressed.
The eggs of this species are laid on their sides, although theoretically,
no doubt, they may be considered as laid upon each other. [Eggs
received from Mr. Bacot on July 8th, description made under two-
thirds lens on July 12th.] —J. W. Tutt.

:]§>RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for October and November.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

1. — The pupae of Aiiihli/iitilia arantlKnlacti/ht are to be found in
October and November, attached by the tail to the flower spike of
Stacliys sijlvatira, between two of the whorls of seed-vessels, where
they look like dried up flowers.

2. — Kplii/ijiijiliora (/alii cola iia may bo reared from the galls of
( 'l/ni/is (eniiiiudis, collected in the autumn. It prefers those of the
preceding year's growth.

3. — The larviB of Lltlnma ruhricolUs are in some years abundant,
full-grown at the end of October, feeding on lichens and mosses grow-
ing on elm trees, and on walls near these trees.

4. — The larva of C'ucci/.r atrubiUila feeds in the cones of spruce fir,
which should be collected during the winter.

5. — The mines of Lithocnlletis aiidcridae, made in birch leaves,
should be collected in October.

6. — The larvae of Xdctua r/ioniboiilca make no objection to sliced
potato as food during the winter. Many Agrotids will feed during the
winter on carrots, buried in sand in a tub.

7. — The larvae of Coleophora virnaureaeUa should be collected in
November from the seedheads of golden rod. They are easy to rear if
kept exposed to the influence of the weather.

8. — In October and November the regular worker at ivy-bloom will
probably get among hosts of commoner species — Epiinda kitulenta,
Dasijcaiiipa nihininea and Cawphyiramnia jiuviata.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 265

9. — The larva of Eupithecia arceuthata feeds on wild juniper, from
the end of September to the middle of November. It is seldom full-
fed till the end of October (Crewe).

10.— The pupa of Kiijiit/wcia fra.rinata is to be found enclosed in a
cocoon under moss, on the trunks of ash trees, from September until
May.

:]^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Stauropus fagi at Rkadixg. — StanropK-s faj/i was rather scarce
here this year, the first, a 3' , occurred on May 3rd, two ? s on j\lay
11th. The latter commenced depositing ova the same evening (both
batches fertile) ; one I gave to my old friend, the Rev. Canon B. Smith.
The first larva hatched May 27th (I gave them special attention this
year, as I had not had much s\iccess other seasons). They commenced
pupating on July 7th ; the first imago, a black g (ab. ohseura),
emerged on July 27th, an ordinary 5 on the 28th. I spoilt both
trying to get them to pair, as I did several more, but without success
(they all emerged between 9 p.m. and 12 p.m.). I had quite given it
up with disgust, when, on August 4th, at 7.30 a.m., on looking into
my cage, I was delighted to find a pair of the black ab. ohscura, in '-up.
At 8.30 a.m. they were still paired, but by 9 a.m. had separated. The
$ did not commence depositing until the evening of the 5th. The
first larva emerged on the 13th ; they were not out at 9 a.m., but by
12.30, eight were out. I should think I have quite 100, feeding well.
The spring lot were si.ctccn dai/fi before they hatched, the second brood
I'ii/ht ilai/s. As I have got them out so early, I think I stand a very good
chance of rearing them (I see Barrett says in his book, " a second
generation has never been observed to feed up in this country," so, if
that be so, I hope to beat the record). I have just received a letter from
Rev. B. Smith, congratulating me on my success. He says he has
bred a nice lot of imagines (from the eggs I sent him), but all the eggs
from pairing these have proved infertile. — W. E. Butlek, Hayling
House, Oxford Road, Reading. September 22iid, 1897.

Notes on Sphinx convolvuli and Acherontia atropos. — ^Last
autumn was noted in East Anglia for the great abundance of two
Sphingids in diflerent stages — Sphinx cunrolndi and Acherontia
atropos. I saw as many as five of the former at one time, hovering
over a bed of petunias in the September twilight — I may here say
that the morning twilight, which lasts longer, is the better for
observation — and the larvae and pupae of the latter were very abundant
in West Suftblk and Cambridgeshire. But here the parallel ends :
during the 50 years I have been a collector, I have never come across
the larva of .S'. conrolruU, and I do not suppose that half-a-dozen
entomologists have seen it alive in this country, although it is said to
be not uncommon in parts of France and Germany, and no doubt the
perfect insects easily fly over to our East coast. The converse holds
good with A. atropos, as I have never seen the moth upon the wing, but
I am informed that it is a strong flier, and might easily be mistaken
for a bat. Last August I had many opportunities of seeing the larvae
and pupae. In my village, upwards of 20 were found, nearly all upon
patches of potato, and, in several cases, these patches were far away in
fields where no potato crop had previously been. In one case, the

266 THE entomologist's record.

larvae had left the potato patch and clmibed over a low wall and
pupated in a tuft of coarse grass in the next garden, but the majority
were found when lifting the crop. It would be of interest to know
the life-history of these two Sphingids, especially whether the females
which migrate from the Continent in the spring — having been found
at sea — only are fertile, and not the autumn brood. No doubt a !^in(/le
female produced all the larv;e and pupas found in this village alluded
to, an area of less than 1,000 acres. — W. H. Tuck, M.A., Tostock
House, Bury St. Edmunds. Oct., 1897.

Breeding Acherontia atropos. — I had a specimen of Acherontia
afriijios emerge on July 20th, 1897, from a pupa which had been kept,
without a cocoon, in dry moss under a bell glass in an earthen pan,
standing in another pan with water in it. The moth squeaked
vigorously. Nine or ten A. atrojio.s larvje, which pupated successfully
in earth in separate Hower-pots, which were sunk in the ground out-
of-doors, all died, though not taken out of their cocoons till after
death. — F. Norgate, 98, Queen's Road, Bury St, Edmunds.

Pupation of Cossus ligniperda in the ground. — A friend, living
in the New Forest, sends me the following interesting account, dated
1st July : — " I came across a ' Goat moth ' the other day on my lawn,
evidently newly emerged. About six inches oft' was the upper half of
the freshly-vacated chrysalis standing perpendicularly. We pulled it
out of the hole it was in. and, looking down, could see something at
the bottom of the hole. On removing the turf, we found the cocoon
lying in a horizontal position, and close to it a small piece of chrysalis."
Is the fact of (/. Ivjnipcnla pupating under ground known to
naturalists ? I have never heard of it myself, and always understood
that the rotten wood in trees was the usual site, the larva^ using up
the decayed wood to form the cocoon. This incident would account
for the full-fed larvae being occasionally seen wandering in the open.
— C. Bingham Newland, Killetra, Mallow. September 8th, 1897.
[Vide, Tutt, British Moths, p. 339.— Ed.]

Result of spring collecting and observations in go, Cork. —
The species taken at sugar during June, in this district, were as
follows: — Gonophora dcrasa, Thj/atira batis, Pharetra nunicis, Lexuania
coiiniia, A.njlia imtris, Xiilojiliasia litho.ri/lea, X pohjodon, X. subliistris,
Mduhstra pcrsicariae, M. stn'iplis, Grammesia trilinea, Caradrina cuhi-
nihiris, Pi'ridroma sujf'usa, A;/rotis corticea, Tn/phaena orhona, T.
pnniKba, Nnctrm plecta, N. c-nufnun, N. trianiiulum, N. brunnea,
PhlotiiipJiora iiieticulosa, Aplecta herhida, Hadena tdcracea, H. pisi, H.
thalassina. — Ibid.

Macroglossa bombyliformis in CO. Cork. — On May the 12th, I
noted M. homhiilifaiinis on low marshy ground, in which field scabious
was plentiful, and also Pcdindaris si/lratira, at the flowers of which
M. biiiiibi/liforinis was busily engaged, poising over them for a moment
to extract the honey, and then flying away to another patch, but con-
stantly returning. I could not observe more than one insect at a time,
so that possibly it was always the same. These visitations occurred
between 3 and 4 p.m., during the time the sun was out. When
overcast, M. bombi/liformis was conspicuous by its absence. — Ibid.

Plusia moneta near Rochester. — I have pleasure in recording the
capture of a specimen of this rave species here, at light, on June 27th
last. Phixio iota and P.pidchrina are both also moderately abundant.
— (Miss) Clara E, Pye, Knight's Place, Rochester. September, 1897.

NOTES ON COUiECTING. 267

AcHERONTiA ATROPos IN Central France. — We have recently had
a couple of imagines of A. atropos brought to us, neither perfect.
Both sang most melodiously before being killed. The appearance of
the imago in September suggests that, in this neighbourhood, at any
rate, an autumnal emergence of the species in nature is not uncom-
mon.— Edward S. Harrison, Josnes, Loir-et-Cher. Sept. 2dth, 1897.

Breeding Acherontia atropos. — Out of 13 pupse of Achrrontin
atropos, which I had in my possession, I only succeeded in rearing
three moths, and, rather singularly, the three emerged, and were in
the breeding-cage together, on the same day, viz., July 26th. I have
never had worse luck. At one time I was led to believe that the
squeaking, or clicking sound made by this insect, was of uncommon
occurrence. The reverse is my experience. I have from time to time
had a fair number of this Sphinx — larva, pupa and imago — and nearly
all the moths have, whilst being chloroformed, squeaked loudly, and
fancy has detected or suggested a melancholy note of protest in their
cries against their impending fate. I have also found the sound not
infrequent in the larval and pupal stages. — Joseph Anderson, Jun.,
Chichester.

Sphinx convolvuli at Chichester. — A specimen of Sj)hin,r concol-
vtdi (worn) was captured in a garden here on September 3rd. The
captor was a kitten. It is strange how frequently this moth falls into^
the clutches of the " harmless necessary," Felis domesticus. — Ibid.

Notes from Tuddenham. — I arrived at Mildenhall on Monday,
June 21 st, and went direct to the collecting grounds. There had
been sunshine in the morning, but it had clouded over. However, I
managed to kick up two Aiirojihihi trahealis, and a few Acidalia rubi-
fjinata. In the evening, by "dusking " over SUene otites, I secured four
2 Dianthoecia irrecjulaiis, all very fair, and one in bred condi-
tion. Tuesday was dull till past 11 o'clock, and there was nothing
doing; but when the sun broke through towards noon, zi, trahealis
was to be had in numbers, mostly in grand condition ; also one fresh
specimen of Heliothis dipmcea. I also kicked up a few Lithosteife
f/riseata among the poppies ; it appeared to be only just emerging, as
none had been seen in the same spot the previous day. Wednesday
added further specimens of the same species, but nothing new except a
couple of somewhat worn specimens of Spilodes .sticticalis. — L. B. Prout,.
F.E.S. [Extract from report of Nth. London Nat. Hist. Society.]

Leucania EXTRANEA. — As this iusect appears to be of rare occurrence,
perhaps it is worth recording that I captured a good specimen, in Car-
narvonshire on August 28th last. — Geo. 0. Day, Paris Bank House,
Knutsford. Ort. l.st, 1897.

Deilephila galii. — I took a full-fed larva of this species on the
Carnarvonshire coast on August 26th. — Geo. 0. Day, Knutsford.

Notes from Dover. — I took Aporia crataei/i again this year (on
Jubilee Day), but am sorry to say that they were much scarcer than
last year. They also appeared to be more widely distributed, and not
so extremely local as last year. I was, however, unsuccessful in my
search for larvae, the hawthorn hedge, where I expected to obtain
them, having been cut down, and my search of other hedges proved
fruitless. I may add that I have not seen Colias edma this year, but
a specimen of Acherontia atropos was captured a few days ago on a
stack of bricks. — H. Douglas Stockwell, 2, Albert Road, Dover.
October Ut, 1897.

'268 THE kntomologist's rkcord.

CoLiAs EDUSA AND Pyrameis cardui. — As the occurrence of these
uncertain species is always worth recording, I should like to state that
I saw a single specimen of each of these species at Sherringham, near
•Cromer, during the second week of August. — (Mrs.) Rosa E. Page,
B.A., 25, Casella Road, New Cross, S.E.

Notes from the York district. — The season at York has been
fairly good, considering the amount of collecting I have been able to
do. I made one or two visits to the sallows with Mr. G. C. Dennis,
in the hope of obtaining PacJinobia leiicof/rapha, but our anticipations
were not fulfilled, for we had not the pleasure of making its acquaint-
ance ; scarcely a moth of any description was to be seen. This was
somewhat disappointing, believing as we did that the moths were
there, but the uncertainty of flight is always a matter to be reckoned
with ; some nights moths are swarming at the sallows, the following
night, equally favourable in the eyes of the collector, although the
moths appear to have a different opinion, for they are absent, and I
am afraid the reason "why" will never be unravelled. At home,
however, I had the pleasure of breeding a long series of I'. lcur(i</raitha,
from ova obtained the previous season. I also bred a number of
TaeniocamiKi puimJeti, also obtained thus, and amongst them were
darker specimens than I had ever bred before, approaching the dark
forms of Taeniocampa in^tahilU. During the first week of June, T.
pnpnleti larvfB were fairly common and full fed, and with them were a
few larvjB of Tct/iea subtiisa. Larvee of Hi/ljernia dcfuliaria and Pliuialia
pilnmria were plentiful. On .June 10th, Mr. S. Walker and I made our
first visit to Askham Bog, where sugar was fairly productive, several
Acronicta leporina, Apauwa Hnanunis and Hadeiia suam occurring, the
two latter species more common than in previous years. One
('hoerocainpa elpenor^ a few Leucania biipuilens, and others, also ap-
peared, but Pldbiilapterii.v rittatn was not so plentiful as in 1896.
Two days after this we made a second visit, but there was little to be
seen, and nothing worth recording. We did not visit the Bog again
until the 26th of the same month, when we found sugar very attrac-
tive and moths absolutely swarming, and there was more variation
than we had ever noticed before. Ai/rotis e.rddmationis, of course,
took the prize in point of numbers, but certainly there were some nice
forms amongst them, and we obtained a few nice aberrations, some in
which the reniform and orbicular united together and formed a longi-
tudinal dark streak. Thirty-two species of Noctuids were observed,
and as many as 70 or 80 moths noticed on one patch of sugar, battling
and struggling in order to partake of the banquet prepared for
them, amongst them being A. Icporina, H. snasa, Caradrinn morpheus,
A. nnanimU, Xijlophasia suhliistris, Agrotis nviricans, Noctua riihi —
nice red forms — Ccriiio matura, and many others. It was certainly
gratifying to examine these patches of life, although the species were
common, with the anticipation always present of finding something
unique in the way of variety. Other nights proved equally attractive ;
I took a beautiful yellow form of N. ruhi. Day collecting in the early
months was not very productive. Tt'phrnna crepuscularia (biundularia)
was somewhat scarcer than usual, but I bred a very long and variable
series of this species ; the variation, extending from dark to light, was
very great, many fine mottled forms were amongst them, different from
any I have noticed before. Abrn.vas ulmata this season was, I think,

NOTES ON COLLECTING, 269

more common than usual, and the variation remarkable. I have
collected this insect for many years, and seen it in thousands, but I
have never taken what might be really called a good aberration ; but
this season it varied from dark blue or slate colour to almost white,
besides bone-coloured specimens (in varying shades) and several banded
forms. A great majority of the aberrations (especially the dai'k ones)
were cripples, many of tlaem with only two wings, and all the bodies
black, which evidently points to some tendency to disease, due pro-
bably to mal-nutrition, and possibly may not occur again to the same
extent, although odd specimens have, I believe, been previously taken
of the dark form. I made one morning visit to the habitat of Epione
parnllelaria in July, and found the males flying fairly commonly at the
usual time, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., the females, of course, absent. —
R. Button, Fishergate, York. October UJi, 1897.

Peronea permutana on Barnes Common. — In reply to Mr. Tutt's
enquiry, this insect was most abundant on Barnes Common, about
the year 1851. I took it myself, also Messrs. Shepherd, Grant, and
a number of other entomologists, working there about that time ; it
then disappeared. It frequented the wild rose, Bosa spinosissima,
I think it was. In a few years time I suppose entomologists will begin
to doubt the lepidoptera once captured in Hammersmith marshes,
now covered with houses. — Samuel Stevens, F.L.S., F.E.S., Loanda,
61, Beulah Hill, Upper Norwood. Sept. 2Srd, 1897. [Our query was
simply based on the fact that, comparatively recently, specimens of an
aberration of P. rarie(/atia from this locality, had been exhibited as
P. permutana. — Ed.]

PiERis DAPLiDicE AT DovER.— On the 27th of August last, while my
son was taking Poli/ummatiis bellari/iis, he came across a female
Bath White {Pieris dapUdice), at Diggles Tower Bank. I have shown
this specimen to Mr. Sydney Webb, Dover. — A. Stagey, 34, Clarendon
Street, Dover. — Sept. Uli, 1897. [We would suggest to our corre-
spondent that the specimen should be exhibited at one of the London
Entomological Societies. In our opinion the record of occasional
and rare visitors should always be supported by the exhibition of the
specimens. — Ed.]

Sphinx convolvuli at Carlisle. — A specimen of this moth was
brought to me to-day, which had been taken by a lady near the town.
My friend, Mr. Robert Leighton, found one at rest on a wall in the
yard of a large cotton mill, in Carlisle, on August 27th, and I heard
of a third specimen being captured by another entomologist. — F. H.
Day, 6, Currock Terrace, Carlisle. Aw/mt Slst, 1897.

Notes from Wyre Forest. — A run with the Woolhope Club, on
August 27th, in Wyre Forest, afforded mines of Lithocolletis disten-
tella, which appeared to be the most frequent species there on oak.
Galleries of NeplwptenjxlwtitiUs were also seen. About the same time,
cocoons of Cerura bicuspis were found in the Golden Valley, where
Cassida murroea was also taken. — T. A. Chapman, M.D., F.E.S.,
Redhill. September, 1897.

Notes from Shere, near Dorking. — A party of the members of the
North London Entomological Society visited this district on August 2nd,
1897, arriving at Gomshall about 1 p.m., and proceeding at once to
Shere. The first insect observed was a male Goneptery.e rhamni, but
after passing through the village of Shere, we turned towards the chalk

270 THE entomologist's record.

hills, and here observed Pohjommatus irarm, /'. rori/'lun, Kphu'pluic
tithonus and Paraiye megaera ; whilst on the lower slopes of the
Downs Pamphila coniiiia was taken in considerable numbers, together
with P. corydon, Clirysophanus plilaeas, Gonepteryx rhanmi and Tliecla
iv-alhwn. — Lawrence J. Tremayne.

JS^EVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Faune de France (Orthopteres, Neuropteres, Hymenopteres,
Lepidopteres, Hemipteres, Dipteres, Aphanipteres, Thysanopteres^
Ehipapteres), by A. Acloque. [Published by J. B. Bailliere et Fils,
Paris. Crown 8vo., 516pp. and 1235 figures. Price 10 francs.] —
We have no hesitation in asserting that this work contains the largest
amount of descriptive entomology ever published for the money. The
summarised tables are simply marvellous. The book is intended to
help entomologists to name their captures, and will no doubt fulfil
this intention.

JOHN FINLAY, Born August 24th, 1835, Died July 4th, 1897.
It is with the greatest regret that we have to inform our readers of
the death of Mr. John Finlay, at the age of 61 years. Commencing
life with the meagre education to be obtained at a village school at
the time of his boyhood, he took every means to supplement the know-
ledge there obtained in later life. For more than thirty years the
beautiful gardens at Meldon Park have been his care and delight, and,
for some years, botany was his special study. Later, however, he
turned his attention to entomology, and not only was he very successful
in adding information to the life-histories and habits of many of the
larger species of lepidoptera, notably Plusia hrartea, but many of the
smaller insects were successfully studied by him, and he obtained
large numbers of many hitherto-considered rare species, and distributed
them with a generosity rarely equalled. His modesty was such,
however, that he could not often be persuaded to publish his observa-
tions, but such information as he had gathered was at the disposal of any
one who asked for it. We ourselves owe much to him, and regret his
loss exceedingly, and so, we have no doubt, will many of our readers.
His collection is, we believe, an exceedingly good one, and we under-
stand that it was his wish that it should be disposed of privately.
Will not some large northern town purchase it for museum purposes ?
Its value is undoubtedly very great as exhibiting the distribution of
the local fauna of his own district, and it would be much more
valuable if it could be kept intact for local reference than if it were
broken up and distributed. We can only express again our regret at
the loss of one of our earliest entomological correspondents, and
treasure the memory of a man who, although an excellent lepidop-
terist, was first and foremost one of Nature's gentlemen.

Erratum.— p. 207, line 4, for "Mr. Butler" read " Mr. Clarke"; p. 196, in
title, for " structual "read "structural"; p. 240, line 11, for "ragwort" read
" mugwort " ; p. 105, lines 9 and 39. — Mr. Fletcher points out that the statements
in these quotations are wrong as to facts. He has not obtained hybrid trifolii-
fiUpendulae. A correct list of the hybrids that he has obtained is published ante^
'p. 88— .Ed.

Vol. IX.

Plate Vll.

)■/

X/'.

^^#

The scales of Eukoi-E/V^J Zyo-i^nides.

Kntimi. Record, etc., 1897.

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 11. November 15th, 1897.

On the scales of European Zygaenides {Illustrated by Plate).

By E. W. WAKE BOWELL.

By the kindness of Mr. Tutt, I have recently been enabled to
make microscopic preparations of a fairly representative series of
Em'opean Zj/r/aenidae. The subject has proved of greater interest
than I should have surmised, owing to the fact that this family
presents us with examples of a regularly ascending series of scale
forms, from the simple oval to the more complicated forms found
usually in highly developed species. The scales, further, seem to afford
a means of discriminating between closely allied species. It must be
understood that the remarks concerning descent which follow are
based solely upon the characters of the scales ; not that I propose to
found any classification upon what is probably only a secondary
character, but the conclusions arrived at from a study of the scales
may probably be confirmed by more general reasoning, and even if
not, the comparison may be interesting. The family includes the
genera Ino, Aijlanpe, and Zijgaena. In Ino, the scales are generally
small, scantily distributed and rarely bifid. As usual, the scales of
the lower wings are less highly specialised than those of the upper.
Ino cJdoros seems the simplest, both upper and lower wing scales
being plain, " strap-shaped." 1. tennicornu, I. prnni and /. chri/-
sorejihala form a middle group, with the scales of the lower wings,
simple, of the upper, bifid. /. budensia is a curious form, having the
lower scales exceedingly small, whilst the upper ones have their ends
decorated with a number of small points (r/c, the ends of the
columns separated by the striae). This is visible in the other species,
though to a much smaller extent. It appears to be a kind of
degeneration, for the divided ends of other Zygaenid scales are
composed of groups of columns, not of separate individuals.
/. ampelophaga is the most highly developed of the species which I
have observed (lower bifid, upper trifid, occasionally even quadrifid).
This would appear to be a case of parallel development to that which
obtains in Ziifiaena ; and on a smaller scale we note that /. tenuicornis
seems to bear the same relation to /. j^nini that Z. trifolii does to
Z, lonicerae.

In Aglaope all the scales are strap-shaped, very long, and with
parallel sides. Similar scales are to be found in some of the genus
Ino, and they may especially be compared with those of /. cldoros,
which, although unlike them in many respects, retain the character of

272 THE entomologist's kecord.

parallel sides. This is generally lost in Zi/i/aena. though the minns
group presents some similarity in general appearance.

Coming to Zijijaena, we note that Z. ephialtcs with its various forms,
and Z. larandidae, form a group quite distinct from the remainder.
Though scales of most of the primitive types are to be found on
their wings, the predominant forms are sufficiently distinct, and there
is no difference between t/ie scales of the upper and lower wukjs. Z. medusa
is a kind of connecting-link between these and the normal Zygaenas,
there being a slight diiterence in form between the two sets of scales.
It should be understood that in all cases the brilliant red scales are
rounded at the tips, and the amount of rotundity seems to determine
the brightness of the general appearance. The duller red or orange
scales are bifid or trifid, but not generally so markedly as the last
mentioned. The colouring matter of these scales has not, so far as
I know, been examined chemically, '••'' but it certainly is, to judge from
its optical properties, quite difterent from the ordinary reds (c//., the
red of l^!/rai)h'is atalanta). It also occurs in some Arctiid moths, and
in many tropical butterflies, especially those with wings for the most
part transparent, belonging to various genera. The Sesiids also, so
far as I have been able to judge from a few fragmentary specimens,
seem to have the same colour in their red scales. En passant, I may
remark that Zi/t/aena scales are very suggestive of Rhopalocera ; but
to illustrate this point properly would certainly require a greater area
of illustrations than Mr. Tutt can be expected to grant for the present.
The middle group of Zipiaenae, containing our species, Z. filipendnlae,
Z. trifolil and Z. lonicerae, together with a great number of Continental
species and aberrations, is (generally) characterised by having the
scales of the lower wing more attenuated than those of the upper ;
the former are generally bifid, the latter bifid or trifid. But there is
very great variation in these species ; in fact, the genius of change
seems to run riot amongst them. It is very possible, however, that
an examination of more material may reveal system even here, and
particularly it seems likely that there is a section containing five-
spotted, and another comprising six-spotted, species ; though it appears
probable that some of the five-spotted insects have been produced (by
reversion ?) from six-spotted forms. There are undoubted traces of
species in the process oiiw&nwidiQiwvQ^eji., Z . atliainantliae{pencedani ab.)
has extended its aberration to the form of its scales. Another
suggestion, which probably has more in it, is, that one section has
broad borders to the lower wings, and another, thin and distinct
borders. Our three English species are sufficiently distinct (see figs.),
fiUju'ndulae being perhaps the most fixed and typical of the whole
group, whilst the external resemblance of trifolil and lonicerae is not
maintained in the scales. Z. hilaris and sarpedon, with their very
peculiar triangular scales, may be an offshoot from this central
Zygfenid type ; or, as appears more likely, sarpedon maybe the parallel
to hilaris in our third group, to which laeta unmistakeably belongs.

Z. meliloti seems to form a connecting link between the " central
Zygaena " and the aforesaid third group; but its affinities seem
rather with the latter.

This same tliird group comprises Z. mlnos and its allies, and is far

* Vide, British Noctuae and their Varieties, Vol. ii., p. xi. — Ep,

ON THE SCALES OF EUROPEAN ZYfiyENIDES. 273

nearer to the original Zygaenid type than either of those previously
described, its scaling is not much unlike that of Iiio, but Inn itself
has in some instances advanced beyond it. The scales are long
ovals, more or less sparsely planted, and rarely bilid, though there is
a tendenoj that way in several species. It will be observed that
whenever tlioso scales suggest a triangular shape, the base of the
triangle is towards the base of the scale, whereas in the higher
Zjiiiaenae the reverse is the case (and generally, indeed, their scales
are oblong rather than triangular). This is an additional reason for
referring mdiloti to this group (c. f. figs. 7 and 12). There is a certain
amount of dilierence (perhaps due to long isolation in dilierent
localities) between Mr. Tutt's continental Z. minos (figs. 9, 10) and my
own Irish specimens (figs. 7, 8).

The method employed has been simply to mount portions of the
wings of dry specimens in Canada balsam, using a rather thin (but not
too thin) solution. The balsam will permeate well enough on pressing
the cover-glass, or it may be assisted by ijentle heating over a spirit
lamp. A few bubbles, however, are not deleterious, so long as they
do not obscure anything that one wants to see. Specimens possessing
at least one upper and one lower wing will do, though it is advisable
that they be not much worn. The chief thing to guard against,
however, is folded and curled scales — these occur in specimens which
have not emerged satisfactorily. I shall be glad of assistance in local
British forms, some of which may prove of interest ; also of any
Continental specimens with reliable data. Mr. Tutt will take charge
of any odds and ends for me.

Description of plate. — Fig. 1 — Scales of Zy^/aena hmiverae,
lower wing. Fig. 2 — Scales of Z. lonicerae, upper wing. Fig. 3 —
Scales of Z. trifolii, lower wing. Fig. 4 — Scales of Z. trifolii,
upper wing. Fig. 5 — Scales of Z. filipendulae , lower wing. Fig. 6 —
Scales of Z. filipendulae, upper wing. Fig. 7 — Scales of Z. vdnos
(Irish), lower wing. Fig. 8 — Scales of Z. vdnos (Irish), upper wing.
Fig 9 — Scales of Z. nmios (Continental), lower Aving. Fig. 10 —
Scales of Z. minos (Continental), upper wing. Fig. 11 — Scales of
Z. nieliloti, lower wing. Fig. 12 — -Scales of Z. meliloti, upper wing.

yote on the illustrations.- — These have been sketched with an Abbe
drawing camera. The striae are not works of the imagination,, but
the cross striations have been left out, except in one scale, in fig. 12,
because it was found impossible to get them in satisfactorily by this
method. These " cross striations " occur principally on the scales
which have a metallic aspect. All the figures are of the same
magnification, viz., x 480 diam. [They have been reduced ^ in
making the plate. — Ed.]

The fluctuation in numbers of Sedentary Species of Lepidoptera,

with some Criticisms suggested by the List recently issued by

the Protection Committee.

By JOHN BULL.

Apart from the periodic abundance in this country of certain
species of Lepidoptera of undoubted migrating tendency, such as Colias
liyale, C. edusa, Pijrameis cardiu, Sphinx convolvuli, Deilepliila (jalii,

274 THE kntojiologist's record.

Deiojieia jmlchdla, Plmia f/u)iniia, etc., there is sufficient evidence to show
that certain sedentary species have fluctuating periods of scarcity and
aliundance. Mr. Adkin {Kntoin., xxx., pp. 232-283) gives an example
of this in CLmocampa castrensis, which, in some seasons, is compara-
tively rare, and in others occurs in the greatest profusion, and yet, on
the whole, is probably as abundant now as it ever has been in this
country. He further gives another example in Porthesia chri/sorrlioca,
which, after appearing in the greatest abundance for some years,
1871-1875, in various parts of Kent, became so rare that for 20 years
a few single imagines comprise the sole records for the county. Now,
after such a long disappearance, Mr. J. J. Walker records the webs of
the gregarious larvfE as not uncommon in one of its old haunts near
Sheerness.

It is quite evident that such insects as these fluctuate in this way,
quite independently of any influence that tbe collector of Lepidoptera
exerts, and that such species have not suffered, and do not suffer,
from the depredations of collectors, as have T.ycaena avion, Mditaca
ciu.ria, M. athalia, Apatura iiix, Xala dlhulalis, etc., in certain localities.
It is well known that vast numbers of certain species— Dnjci)^ paplna,
lAhicnitis sibtjlla, Catocala iiroiiium, C. sjwusa, in the New Forest ;
Phoro<les)iia mnaragdaria, on the Essex coast ; Epione paralldaria
(^n'spertarui), at Askham Bog ; Scfiia virnjmliformu, at Folkestone —
are taken l)y a certain small bevy of professional and so-called
amateur collectors, and, however much one may deplore this fact, it
cannot be contended that these species show, taking one year witb
another, any very great diminution in number in these localities, nor
can it be urged that these species require protection "to save them
from extermination." It is different, however, in some of the restricted
haunts of certain of these species elsewhere, c.//., in our south-eastern
counties, where IK pajthia and L. sihi/lla have been practically exter-
minated. Scarcely any of the woods in I^iSsex, Kent, Surrey, ]\Iiddle-
sex and Sussex, that used to produce these insects in abundance, do so
now. Comment is superfluous.

Similarly, such species as Leucophana sinajiis, Pa/u'lio inachan)!,
Carterocephalus palacmnn, Thymelicxs (ictacon, T. lineola, 'I'/iccla pruni,
T. iv-albxmi, Zej)/iijrus betulae, etc., wliich are captured to a specimen,
so far as possible, for exchange and sale ]iurposes, show no very decided
falling off in numbers, that can be directly referred to as a result
of the persecution, except in certain localities. In these latter localities,
it appears necessary that the species should be protected, if they are
to be saved from extermination, ejj., Lcucopliaxia sinapis undoubtedly
wants protecting in south and south-eastern Britain, yet there is not
the sliglitest necessity for its protection in the western parts of the
British Islands.

Incidentally one may note that the almost total disappearance of
Pohpinnia c-allnim from Kent, in which county it was once very
abundant, is certainly not due to collectors, and is possibly due to
altered agricultural conditions. The disappearance of Kola centoiudis
from Deal was due to a philanthropist, who cleared the ground for
tents, in which London's waifs and strays were housed during the
summer months. The 'jround on which Ac'ulalia ochrata abounded at
Sandwicii was levelled ior golf, and the species practically extermi-
nated there.

FLUCTUATION IN NUMBERS OF LEPIDOPTERA. 275

It is beside the question, perhaps, but the fluctuation in abundance of
(Jh'siocaiiipa castrfU'^is appears to be on all fours with that of P. r-albuiii,
in the western counties of England, FAujonia polychlonn, LitJiosia
(h'lilana, (hntistis quadra, (jrunpliria nibricollis, Heterogenea cruciata
{asella), Lophopteri/xcannelita, Mniiia orion, Dicycla oo, Cidaria sagittata,
and numerous other undoubtedly sedentary species. These species
occasionally occur in large numbers for a season, and then, owing to
no reason that entomologists have yet been able to explain, have
become very rare for a number of years, only to reappear at some
future time in their old haunts in greater abundance than ever.

There is no doubt that many entomologists in this country would
consider that this uncertainty in the appearance of these species is a
bona fide reason for their protection, and they would urge that no
outside factor should be allowed to increase the precarious position
that such species hold in this country. Such a reason is, in my
opinion, a good one for protecting such species as Aporia crataciji,
Ladia caenosa, a,nd perhaps Porthesia chrgsorrhoiM, should the two former
still exist in this country, but I am not sure whether the abundance of
any one of the "fluctuating" species, just enumerated, would be
influenced the year following an exceptional abundance, even if no
collecting of the species took place when it was abundant.

Classifying the list published by the Protection Committee {ajite,
p. 214), it appears to me to divide up as follows'^ :^I. Species that

HAVE BECOME PRACTICALLY EXTINCT FROM UNKNOWN CAUSES ApOVia

cratae(/i, Porthesia cJiri/sorrhoea. II. Species that have become more

OR LESS rare owing TO OVER-COLLECTING IN MOST OF THEIR KNOWN

HABITATS — Melitaea cinxia, Lycaena arion, Xola albidalis, Cnaemido-
jdiorus rhododactylus. III. Species that have been much over-
collected IjOCALL.y — Melitaea athalia, Apatura iris, Papilio viaeliaon,
Carterocephalus palaemon, Scoria dealbata, Zygaena meliloti, Plusia
chrysnn. IV. Species that probably have been over-collected
locally — LeucopJiasia sinapis, Limenitis sibylia, Thecla pruni, Thy-
meliciis actaeon, Eulepia cribrum, Epione 'parallelaria, Fidonia limharia,
Cidaria reticxdata. V. Species concerning which there is no evidence
to prove that their abundance has been lessened by over-collecting
— TrocMlium scoliaeforme, Zygaena exulans, Kola centonalis, LitJiostege
griseata. VI. Species that are probably as abundant as ever, but
fluctuate in numbers from year to year — Nola strigula, Clisiocampa
castrensis, Mama orion, Acosmetia caliginosa, Dianthoecia irregularis.
VII. — Species that very few collectors know anything about, and
NOT LIKELY TO BE OVER-COLLECTED — Drepaua havpagida, Agrotera
netnoralis. It is quite possible that some of these species want pro-
tecting locally, especially those classified under III, and IV., but I
doubt whether all (or any) of these should be included in a list to be
applied to the whole of the British Islands.

To show that the fluctuation in the abundance of Lepidoptera is
not confined to the British Islands, I should like to quote a few notes
made by Niceville as to certain tropical insects. In tropical forests,
one would expect to find the outside disturbance set up by man at a

* I would apologise here for using up-to-date nomenclature. It appears
strange for such a go-ahead committee to be as far behind in its nomenclature, as
it appears to be in its knowledge of the distribution, etc., of some of the British
species. — J. B.

276 THE ENTOMuLOGISt's RKCORt).

minimum, yet we find many tropical butterflies subject to very similar
fluctuations to those exhibited by certain British species. We read
{Butts, of Sumatra, p. 390) that Kbjranias laimlis, a species whose
larva feeds on bamboo, and which is usually "very rare," was
" unusually abundant in Sumatra in 1892-1898, being seen almost
in swarms," whilst the author adds that, "in India, the allied
E. timandra has been noted in the Khasia Hills of Assam as occurring
in thousands, in some years, in a similar manner." Again, in 1890,
the normally "rare" CirrJiochroa fasciata Avas "unusually abundant
at the Saentis Estate near the sea, where a flowering tree was daily
covered, so long as the flowers lasted, with the species." We also
read that, in December, 1892, and .January, 1893, HijpuUwnas hvlina
occurred " in large numbers, whilst the following year, as was usually
the case, there was scarcely a single specimen to be seen." These
cases seem to be almost on all fours with the occasional abundance of
such species as Mama or ion, ]>i<i/(Ja oo, ( knistis quadra, and other
sedentary British species.

I do not wish to make more difficult the onerous task of the Pro-
tection Committee, which, I think, has been appointed none too soon.
But if it is to have the support of all right-thinking entomologists, its
conclusions must be logical, based on a wide knowledge, and be devoid
of serious objection. It is a good sign, and indicative of work done,
when Ljjcaena ariun is not advertised by its name, but as a " rare
southern insect." The moral influence exerted by the committee is
evidently making itself felt, but it must walk " rVirily ! airily ! oh, so
warily ! " as " comic opera " hath it.

Asemum striatum, L, a Southern Insect.

By HORACE DONI&THOUPE, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

I was interested to see, in the Kntoinoloi/ist's Record for August,
that Asewuiii striatum was again taken in the New Forest, this
time by Mr. C. Nicholson. Mr. Lawrence Tremayne then goes
on to mention other specimens taken, but as the facts he mentions are
not quite correct, I thought it would be as well to set the matter
right. I, therefore, give a list of all the southern specimens taken up to
date.

The first specimen was taken at Whitsuntide, in 1893, in the New
Forest. Mr. Englehart and Mr. W. C. Jackson, of Bournemouth, were
working together at a pine stump near Rhinefields, when a beetle was
dug out, which Mr. Englehart secured, and it turned out toheAseiDum
striatioii. Mr. Englehart, I believe, on his return to Denmark, gave
the specimen to Mr. Rye. The Rev. H. S. Gorham took a specimen
in Lord's Wood, Southampton, on May 10th, 1891, and recorded it in
the EntoDioloi/ist. Mr. F. Bouskell, of Leicester, took a specimen in
the NeAV Forest, at Whitsuntide, 1895. Mr. Bertram G. Rye captured
two specimens from old pine stumps at Bookham, Surrey, in j\Iay,
189G, which are recorded in the Knttnmddiiisfs Mtmtldn Maiiazinc
for May, 1897. Mr. C. Nicholson captured a specimen at Lyndhurst,
June 4th, 1897, which is recorded in the Entomuloijist's iiecurd for
August, 1897.

T. BISTORTATA, T. BIUNDULARIA, AND ITS VAR. DELAMERKNSIS. 277

A description of the ova and larvae of T. bistortata, T. biundularia

and its var. delainerensis, and some further notes on their

interbreeding.

{Concluded from p. 246).
By W. S. EIDING, B.A., M.D., F.E.S.

Mr. Hewett kindly sent me ova of T. biundularia and its var.
ddamert'iixia, from the York district. Those of T. biundularia were
laid on May 14th, and hatched on June 3rd and 4th. They, too,
are oval, with slightly broader base, smooth and pale yellowish-green.
The averge length of the long axis is -698 mm. ; of the short axis
•5 mm. I could find no constant difference in the structure and
markings of the larv^B from those of T. bistortata. There is a similar
great variation in intensity of colour and markings, but this brood
seemed darker, as a \\^hole, than the 1st brood of T, bistortata, and
corresponded in this respect with the 2nd broods, especially that from
captive parents. The average length of the larva is from 3 '25 to 3'5
cm. (1" 3'" to 1" 4'"), very rarely 3-65 cm. (1"5"'). The period
between hatching and pupation was 32 to 34 days (.June 3-4th to July
5-7th). The ova of var. delamerensis hatched on May 30th and 31st,
and the larvae pupated from July 5th to 8th, a period of 36 to 39
days. All the larvre previously described, as well as most of the
var. delamerensis, were kept indoors under similar conditions. I
sleeved a few dozen of the latter on oak, exposed to S.W., during
the first few days of June, and as the Aveather was continuously
fine and warm, there could not have been much difl'erence in the
conditions ; but by June 29th I found they had fed sparingly, and
were advanced only as far as stage 2. I removed them indoors and
fed them on sallow, as I did all the others. They fed up rapidly,
and pupated between July 18th and 20th, a period of feeding of about
50 days. I cannot but attribute the difference mainly to the influence
of the food. A description of the larv* of var. delamerensis corresponds
with that of T. biundularia— the brood as a whole was darker and
with more intense markings than the 1st brood of T. bistortata.
The length, when full grown, averaged 3-25 to 3-5 cm. (1" 3'" to 1"4"').
The result of my observations in 1897 corresponds generally with
that of 1896, except that, owing to the insects all emerging earlier,
ova were deposited and hatched a month sooner this year. In
response probably to this cause and a cooler summer, the period
during which the larvae fed was lengthened, and scarcely diflered
with any of the insects, extending from 45 to 60 days. Some ova of
a Perth T. bistortata, for which I am indebted to Mr. Hewett, hatched
on May 17th and 18th, 1897, and pupated June 16-23, a period of
only 30 to 36 days, influenced probably by season and temperature.
The hybrids fed up in 41 to 46 days. 1 found a similar difference
in the size of the ova to that noticed in 1896 — the larger size of those
of T. bistortata (1st brood) seems a constant character, Avhich has
been corroborated by other observers. The ova of the 2nd brood
are also somewhat larger than those of T. biundularia. The ova of
the hybrids of the 1st generation followed the size of those of the
2 parent, whilst the ova of the 2nd generation are smaller, showing
a long axis of -649 mm. and a short one of "465 mm. ; or approxi-
mately one may put the relative size in a proportion — ova of

278 THE entomologist's record.

T. histnrtata (1st brood) : ova of T. histnrtata (2nd brood) : ova of
T. hiundularia : ova of hybrids, 2nd generation : : 4-25 : 3-75 : 8'5 : 3.
The ova of the Perth T. histortata were of about the same
dimensions as the largest Clevedon ova, i.e., -785 mm. (long axis),
and -556 mm. (short axis). Some of the differences of colour I
described in the Ent. Record, vol. ix,, p. 150. The ova of the Perth
T. hiMortata were a brighter green than those from Clevedon, and
mottled in assuming the pale yellowish-green tint, a mottling I had
not seen in any of the other ova. The ova of the 2nd generation of
hybrids varied, some were deposited pale yellowish-green, others a
brighter green with faint bluish tinge. I noted no other differences
in the ova, either in shape or surface. The variation in colour and
intensity of the markings of the larvae was as great in all the broods
as I found in 1896, but I ascertained that the deeper coloration and
markings were not characteristic of the later broods as appeared last
year, as they were prevalent in the early brood of T. Jii-stortata, and
were less developed in the brood of T. binndularia, Avhich showed a
large proportion of pale putty-coloured larvi^. The Perth larvje ■were
full sized, and very strongly marked with dark brown, black and
reddish, and presented very few of the paler forms. I examined the
characteristic V marking of the Tephrosias in the 3rd stage, carefully,
but cannot agree as to any constant difference existing in this mark.
I find it varies from a complete V to almost obliteration at the apex,
in every degree, in all the broods indiscriminately. I think, it the
larvae are examined in sufficient numbers, it will be found that none
of the major markings show any constant difference. The size of
the larvae of the two Tephrosias did not appear to vary as much as
in 1896, though the early brood of T. histortata seemed somewhat
larger on the average, a result probably connected with the length
of the feeding period. The ova of the hybrids mentioned in the Knt.
Eecord, vol. ix., p. 150, hatched April 21-29th. and the larvfe pupated
between June 1st and 14th, except a few laggards. Some of the
imagines began to emerge on June 11th, and have continued doing so
to the present time (July 15th), but only sparingly the last few days.
Between June 13th and 16th I paired the following hybrids :- —
<y T. histortata -\- ^ T. ab. delamerensis, ^ T. histortata -\- J T.
hiundidaria, ^ {S T. histortata + J T. ab. delamerensis) with J
{$ T. ab. delamerensis + $ T. histortata), ^ (^ T. hiiindularia + 2
2\ histortata) with $ {3 T. histortata -\- $ 1\ hiundidaria), a.iad <?
((J T. histortata + ? T. biiindid aria) vfith $ (g T. biundularia -\-
$ T. histortata), 12 pairings in all. Each yielded ova, except one
pairing of 3" T. histortata + ? T. ab. delamerensis, which two I
found in eopnld, and as they remained so over two days, forcibly
separated them. The batches seemed to be a little smaller, for the
most part, than those of the 1st generation, numbering between 100
and 200 ova. The ova were similar in shape and superficies to those
already described, but smaller and variable in colour, as stated above.
They are now hatching, some larvfe having appeared on July 1st.
The characteristics of the hybrid imagines are — small size, 1" 2'" to
1" 5'" , only two or three reach 1" 6'" , and most are 1" 3'" or 1" 4'" ,
and a blending of the facies of the parents in variable degrees, which
renders definition impossible, except in those sprung on one side
from var. delamerensis, which show a large proportion similar • to,

T. BISTORTATA, T. BIUNDULARIA, AND ITS VAR. DELAMERENSIS. 279

though smaller than, that parent. The paler forms resemble mostly
T. biundularia and the 2nd brood of T. histortata (especially the
(? s). There is an approach only to the brown colour of T. histortata
(1st brood) in less than 8 %.

I think with Mr. Tutt, that little stress can be laid on the
fertility of hybrids produced artificially from parents as closely related
as these two, and we have no evidence of their pairing in a state
of nature, though the possibility exists in other counties besides
Yorkshire, where the times of emergence in the same district overlap.
I cannot agree with Mr. Hewett, that T. biundularia is the original
stock. It seems to me probable that T. biundularia branched off
from a 'Jnd brood of T. bifitortata at some comparatively recent period,
and the distribution of the two insects over Continental and other
areas tends to confirm this opinion.

On a collection of Spring Rhopalocera made in the Riviera, with
some considerations concerning the hybernating stage of certain

butterflies.

[Concluded from p. 255.)

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

J'Juchloe cnphenoides. — This species illustrates excellently the influ-
ence of an elevation of two to three thousand feet, on a species, even
in the sunny south ; for although Chapman found it abundant at
Cannes, in March, it did not appear at Digne until towards the end
of April. Milliere observes that the species is not found in the plain,
but only flies on the lower mountains, where Biscutclla laevi<iata
grows, and that the species is found commonly on the heights of Val-
lauris, the last fortnight of April.

Kucldoe cardaiiiiui's. — One might almost suspect that this species
is partly double-brooded in the south. It was in great abundance by
April 16th, at Digne, this year, and getting worn on the 21st. Yet
A. H. Jones took it rather commonly during the second and third weeks
of June, in 1890. Oberthiir records it from Cauterets, in July,
1882 (Lep. des Pi/renees, p. 14), but I do not know the elevation of
this place. The species lasts a long time in Britain, but there is only
one brood.

Leurojdiasia sinapis. — Milliere says this "flies commonly in May
and in June, and has a second eclosion in August, Avhich is less
abundant than the first." I am inclined to suspect that these May
and June specimens, on the Riviera, are a second brood, since
Chapman found the species quite abundant in March at Cannes. In
1893 there was only a period of six weeks between the first and second
broods of this species in Britain. At Digne, in the middle of April,
the first brood was already worn, and this was at an elevation of
2,000 feet.

Goneptery.r r/uuinii. — Of this species Milliere writes: — " Eclot
des le mois de mars et vole pendant ceux d'avril et mai." Now there
can be little doubt that this species hybernates as with us, and has a
summer (or autumn) brood, of which Milliere says nothing. It swarms
in the clover fields in southern France in July. Chapman says that the

280 THE entomologist's record.

species was " rare at Cannes in March, and all that were verified by
capture were worn." I can confirm this as to the species at Digne in
April. Blackmore, in 18G9, found it " connnon in February" at
Tangier, whilst Baker records lihoducfra farinuaa, L. [possibly the
summer brood of Or. rliamni, which is known as farinom, Zell. (not
Linn.)] , as being " rare at Guelma, in June." I suspect these would
be the first appearances of the summer imagines. A. H. Jones found it
out in June, 1890, at Digne. At any rate, Milliere must be wrong in
supposing that this species emerges in March. Chapman says that, on
May 3rd, 1897, at Grenoble, " Cr. rhamni was abundant, but no O.
cleopatra seen."

Guiuqjtenj.v cleopatra. — Although I have seen (i. cleopatra in its
native haunts, I would not like to say this species was distinct from
G. rhamni : I think it probably is. Milliere says : " This charming
Filiodorera llies abundantly in April and May, in all places where
Ehaiiinm aluternua, the only food-plant of the larva, grows." He
adds : " Cleopatra re-appears in July, but the second generation is less
abundant than the first." Is there a second generation ? Chapman
says : " Cleopatra is usually much fresher than rhaiinii.'' Those I
was able to capture at Digne certainly looked as if they might have
hybernated. Blackmore found it "common in February," with G.
rlauiinl, in Tangier, in 1869. From want of good breeding experi-
ments, the specific value and winter habits of this are as little known
as any species in Europe. A. H. Jones found it " not uncommon in
June," 1890, at Digne. Were these emergences of the summer brood?

CoZtrt.s- «/».srt. - The winter habits of this species were worked out
somewhat elaborately [Ent. Bee, vii., p. 250). The conclusion there
arrived at Avas known to Milliere in 1872, for he writes : " The cater-
pillar, which winters, pupates in April, etc." Baker found it already
emerged in February, 1885, at Lambessa ; Blackmore found it at the
end of February, 1869, 20 miles south-west of Tangier. Chapman
found freshly-emerged specimens in March at Cannes, and it Avas out
by the middle of April this year at Digne ; and during the first week
of May, 1894, Jones found it fairly common at the same place. The
next brood occurs in May and early June, at Guelma, in 1885 (Baker) ;
at Digne in 1890 (A. H. Jones). This is presumably the brood that
migrates. BromiloAV reports (^E.M.M., xxix., p. 17) having observed a
single example flying on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, on December
1st, 1892. Eaton (l. c, p. 43) records one on January 9th, 1893, at
Algiers, Avhich fleAv along as if it were laying eggs. BromiloAv records
another specimen at S. Maurice (north of Nice) on February 12th,
1893, whilst Bignell bred one in England on February 1st, 1893,
from an egg laid September 16th, 1892.

C. Ill/ale. —Milliere does not say this hybernates as a larva, although
there can be little doubt that this is so {n'lle, Ent. liec, viii., p. 12).
He says : " The caterpillar lives in June and September on the
Coronillas." Freshly-emerged specimens were out in Cannes in
March, and the species Avas quite abundant before the end of April at
Digne. A. H. Jones also found it "extremely plentiful " there during
the first AA'eek of May, 1894. The second brood is Avell out in the
loAV-lying countries of the Mediterranean littoral at the end of June,
but, at 3,000 to 5,000ft. ele\'ation, the end of July and commencement
of August is its average time of appearance.

COLLEdTIOlI OF SPRING RHOPALOCKKA. 28l

Polt/f/onia egea and P. c-alhum. — These two allies cover much the
same ground in southern Europe, but the former keeps a much better
colour during its hybernation than the latter. Milliere says that P. egea
" emerges in May, then in July, a third generation appearing in Sep-
tember." This, I take it, is correct. The females were busy laying
their eggs at Cannes in March, and at Digne in April, on the I'aru'taria,
growing on the rocks forming the walls by the roadside. Jones took a
larva of /*. t'nea during the first week of May, 1894, and this produced an
imago on June 4th. Riihl gives only two generations. May and June
and September, but it is probable that Milliere is right. Of P. c-alhum,
which sometimes has three broods in England, Milliere only allows
two at Cannes, for he says: "It flies in June and in September,"
but at Aix-les-Bains there is most distinctly an intermediate July
brood. Milliere gives as its food-plants, " I'orme et quelquefois sur
le saule et le peuplier." It would be interesting to know whether the
French broods are more distinct as to the hybernating habit, or
whether they folloAV the habit I have described in Brit. Butts., p. 349,
as occurring in each brood of oar British individuals of this species.

An/yanis lathoiiia. — The larva of this species must feed up very
rapidly after its hybernation in spring, in order to produce the first
emergence. It appeared at Digne by the middle of April this year.
Milliere's statement that "'Eile a deux eclosions ; mai et en sep-
tembre," wants considerable modification for southern France. The
first brood is well out in early April, and the second in middle July
(early x\ugust in the Dauphine mountains).

Breiithia dia. — Like the other Argynnids that winter as larvffi, this
species also feeds up very rapidly in the spring. The first brood is
very abundant in March and April, and the second brood in July and
August.

Melitaea cin.cia. — Like the last species, the larva of this insect must
feed up very rapidly after hybernation to become so abundant in
March and April. Milliere says, " Tres commune partout en avril,
mai et juin," but does not mention the very marked partial second
brood, which occurs so generally in south-east and southern France
in July and early August.

Coenuny 1)1 pita painphilus. — The wintering habits of this species are
well known. See Tutt, Brit. Butts., pp. 423-424.

Erebia epistijiine. — Milliere says of this species : — " Parait sur les
hauteurs de Grasse une premiere fois en mars et une seconde en
juillet." Kane also repeats this as a fact, giving the months of appear-
ance as " March and July," and adds what is my experience, viz.,
" flies but a very short time." A. H. Jones, however, took worn speci-
mens in the first week of May, 1894 (E.M.M., vol. xxx., p. 176). The
double-broodedness of an Hrebia is so remarkable, that I looked up
all available information. Riihl says: — • " Fluggebiet : Alpen der
Provence (Siidfrankreich, Miirz) ; Mittelspanien (Marz, April, Juli)."
Mrs. Nicholls makes a strange record. She says [Ent., xxiii., p. 78) :
" It was also too late for the local Erebia i-pisti/yne, which flies on the
high limestone ridge of Les Dourbes during March and April," but
this statement is followed up with a list of captures made (between
June 9th and July 2nd) in the neighbourhood of Digne, and here we
find: " Erebia euias a,nd E. epistyi/ne on the Dourbes." Presumably,
Mrs. Nicholls means to say that this species may be found there, not

282 THE entomologist's record.

that she took it there. Dr. Chapman and I were most anxious to get
information on this point, when at Digne, and we questioned
Monsieur Coulet, Senr., of Les Dourbes, most particularly as to this
reported second brood. He insisted most strongly that the species
only occurred once, and that there was not even an occasional odd
specimen to represent a second brood. It will be interesting to learn
how this species winters. From the information to be obtained, one
might suppose this insect first appeared in April. Nicholson I E.M.M.,
xxviii., p. 272) mentions the "middle of April," but although worn
specimens may be then found, the last fortnight of March is the
correct time, even at 2,000 or 3,000 feet elevation. Chapman tells me
that " E. cpiMiiiine appeared very little earlier at Cannes than at Digne,
and at about the same elevation, 1,800-2,500 feet, so that the strong
testimony against a second brood at Digne is probably also applicable
to Cannes. I captured a specimen close to St. Auban railway station
on April 30th."

N.B. — I observe that a note by Dr. Chapman states that CaUojihri/s
rubi, Pieris nnpi and P. braasicae were first captured in February, not
March.

The Genus Oporabia.

[Cdntimu'd from p. 249).
By LOUIS B. PEOUT, F.E.S.

2. — FiLiGRAMMARiA, H.S. — There is abundant proof that this
interesting insect is a perfectly valid species. Dr. Staudinger suggests
that it may be a " Darwinian species " — whatever that convenient but
mysterious term may really signify. The following notes on its
specific right may possess some interest. (1) The male genitalia, as
pointed out by Dr. F. Buchanan White in Scot. Nat., iv., pp. 113-114,
show an important structural difference, lacking a distinct hook on
the harpes, which is prominent in nclndata (dilntata) . This has been
verified for me by my kind friend Mr. Pierce, who has taken immense
pains with the genus, at great personal inconvenience, and to whom
my warmest thanks are due. (2) The shape of the wings in both
sexes (though not very reliable) generally shows considerable difference
from nebulata, being narrower in all the wings, fore- wings more
pointed, their hind margin more concave near anal angle, etc. (3)
The average size is smaller, the females often exceedingly small.
(4) Even the wing markings, though very similar, have some charac-
teristic peculiarities. On the fore-wings, the central area is narrower
on the average, the second line nearly always strongly angulated near
the costa, and the subterminal generally more broadly dark shaded in-
ternally. On the hind-wings, the dark margin is generally more sharply
defined, and its inner boundary cuts across the wing instead of runnmg
parallel with the cilia, as in nebulata. The under surface has a
tendency to be more strongly marked, the dark band near the margin
being generally prominent on both pairs of wings. Moreover, there is a
strong gloss (often quite purplish) on the wings, which gives them a
very different tone from nchnlata. (5) Speyer [Stett. Knt. Zeit., 1867,
p. 126) discovered in his single specimen of filif/ramviaria (a S
received from Doubleday) so strong a distinction in the antennae as to
be even visible to the naked eye, and wondered that it had remained
unnoticed by previous writers. This consisted in that they were much

THE GENUS OPORABIA. 283

thinner, especially near the tip, the incisions between the members
much less deep than in nebulata, the ciliation somewhat weaker, etc.
But Zeller {I'ijd. v. Ent., xiii., 247) says he does not find these dis-
tinctions substantiated in other specimens ; and Mr. Nicholson and I
coui])ared several examples of each species under the microscope,
without finding any considerable difference, though the incisions do
seem a little deeper in nebulata. There is, however, a mystery about
this question of the antennaB. Mr. Pierce has mounted several for me,
and wrote that here we had " a very important character," though it
is necessary to add that in a subsequent iettej: he wrote that "it does
not seem very reliable." I should perhaps hardly have mentioned
this note of Speyer's but for the coincidence that both Weaver and
Gregson lay some stress on the more slender antennae of their
antumnaria as distinguishing it from nebulata. (6) Thanks to the
kind help of Mr. J. E. E. Allen, of Bolton, I have been able to
examine the eggs side by side, and tonnd/Hiniaiinnaria slightly larger,
much more regularly shaped (true oval), less glossy, and ret/nUuiij
pitted tltrouijhout ; eggs of nebulata were smooth and shining, and only
pitted at the blunt end. (7) The newly-hatched larv* are extremely
similar, but ray JJli(/raniinaria were considerably larger — nearly in the
proportion of 4 : 8. (8) In the second, third and fourth skins, the
colour oi filii/raiiiinaria larvjB is more or less dark grey-green or blue-
green, quite distinct from the bright green of nebulata. The larvffi of
the latter also continued, until the final stage, very weakly marked,
practically unicolorous ; while filiyraiiDiiaria (as already pointed out
by Mr. Moberly in Ent. Rec, viii., p. 41) becomes by degrees quite a
striking larva, through the conspicuous yellow subdorsal lines, etc.
The shape and gait otjilii/raiiiiuaria IsiVvse also remind me rather more
of (J. bruiiiata than of (J. nebulata. The head, scutellum and anal
plate continue darker in /77////Y/H(;//.(/;7'rt than in nebulata at corresponding-
stages. The latter larva id stouter, with more pronounced segmental
incisions. (9) The different habits of the two species seem to be
sufficiently marked to add another distinguishing character of some
importance ; the matter of dates, localities, etc., however, remaining
somewhat obscure until the tree-feeding variety (or species) autuinnaria,
Weaver, has been more thoroughly worked out ; for if this is a variety
oi Jiligraminai'ia, it upsets our ideas by appearing (in Delamere Forest)
at the same period as nebulata, and in the same locality.

The principal forms of O. filif/raimnaria have been discussed in
Mr. Clark's article, already referred to {Ent. Rec., vii., p. 289), which
is readily accessible. I will only say for the clearing up of the
synonymy, that I fell into error in accepting Guenee's citation of
jinlata, Westw., to the autuinnaria form. Polata, Westw. (««•. Hb.),
is the small Manchester and Arran form, i.e. = typicsiljiliij ram ni aria.

As regards the distribution of filit/raiinnaria and its varieties (or
allies) outside the British Islands, much remains to be discovered, as
Continental authors do not appear capable of differentiating them from
nebulata. Staudinger adds "Northern Lapland, etc." with query.
Meves {Ent. Tidnkrift, v., p. 72) adds it to the Swedish list on the
authority of some specimens determined by Homeyer, and Lampa
retains it in his catalogue in the following volume of the same
Tidskrift ; but the determination seems dubious, as the distinctions
specified (" the reticulated markings on the almost transparent wings")

284

THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

do not strike one as being altogether to the point ; and Aurivillius
rejects it, saying that those examples which he has seen appear to
belong to the preceduig species {nehulata). I have not seen any Con-
tinental examples resembling our small typical /ilii/nDnmaria : but I
have positive proof that one or more species differing essentially from
nebulata do occur on the Continent.

I exhibit a specimen of Staudinger"s " <///»<rtia e Fennia sept.,"
which I submitted to Mr. Pierce on account of its close resemblance
to Guenee's figure of his autunmata {Atlas, PI. 18, fig. 7), and which
he finds has " na trace of hook," therefore " nndonhtedly Jilif/ranDiiatia
or antioiiuaria." Superficially, it does not remind me at all of either,
but I see nothing serious against its turning out that our British
autuuinaria is a strongly differentiated local race of the same insect.
I also exhibit a large ^ from Schneeberg, sent me as " dilutata," but
which I viewed with some suspicion, on account of its tone of colour,
shape of wing, and angulation of second line ; this likewise is pro-
nounced by Mr. Pierce to be " of ihe Jiliirawmaria type," the anal
flap slightly wider, but nothing upon which one could definitely claim
specific distinction. In the national collection at Cromwell Road,
quite a number of the so-called (lilntata agree more or less with this
Schneeberg example, and I hope to get a quantity of Continental
material for examination. One specimen from St. Petersburg, and a
few others seem to me to be, without all doubt, examples of this
mysterious species. I shall be especially curious to investigate the
white form, which is sent us by the Germans as " var. autumnata,
Gn. ;" it agrees precisely with Mr. Cl&vk's Jilii/ra mm aria ab. vhyata
{Knt. I'u'c, vii., pi. iii., fig. 10), except in its much larger size ; unfortu-
nately at present I have only females. As there is no doubt this form
is the autiunnata of Borkhausen (to which really that cruelly-abused
name belongs), it will be very satisfactory if it proves to be the same
species as autumnaria, Weav. The lower dilutata figure in Newman's
British MotJis ( pallescens, Ckll.) seems likely also to belong here.

_ In the British Islands O. jiVuirammaria is local, and appears to be
quite absent from the southern parts of England. Several localities in
Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumberland, etc., produce it, as also Moel
Varna, North Wales {teste Gregson). I have two pretty examples from
Ireland (co. Derry), one the extreme ab. mdana, Clark, the other a
whitish specimen with dark fimbria. In Scotland, Dr. F. B. White
gives it as " not common," but has records for several of his mainland
districts. Mr. McArthiir informs me it is very common in the Isle of
Lewis (from which locality he has very kindly given me some speci-
mens), and in all parts of the West Coast of Scotland, where he has
collected ; he did not discover it in Orkney, whence it is reported.

Leaving out of the question the forms which may or may not be
co-specific with this, we find there is remarkable unanimity as to its
being, in its typical forms, a moorland and mountain species. Mr.
McArthur considers the best localities to be open places in woods,
where there is a mixture of heath and rush. In a state of nature,
the larvie have been found on ling (R. Kay, in Entovi., ix., p. 159),
and apparently Varriniiun vn/rtillns (see Gregson in Ent. Weekhj
IntelL, v., p. 156). In captivity they have been frequently bred on
hawthorn, sallow, etc., etc., and seem by no means particular as to
their food. Mr, Moberly communicates to me the interesting fact

THE GENUS OPOKABIA. 285

that larvre which he had been breeding on hawthorn forsook it in
favour of sallow and birch when the opportunity offered. I mention
this as showing how little emphasis can safely be laid on the assumed
differentiation of <tntnimiaria or appnu-'Diiaria as birch feeders. The
appearance of Buckler's 7th volmne {Larvae of Biitifili Buttcrfiies and
^[<)th.^<), containing figures and descriptiolis of rilii/raiiniiaria larvse,
ought to assist in clearing the ground for further research amongst the
woodland forms, to which I have now to turn your attention. I am
sorry to say that I have as yet arrived at nothing very definite, but I
trust I shall be doing some useful service in bringing together the
more important of the scattered notes of from 20 to 50 years ago, in
order that the present generation of entomologists may see exactly
where matters stand. If I may judge from the amount of trouble
which my researches have cost, I shall at least be saving future
workers a great deal of time.

To begin with, then, let me offer a brief chronological history of
the discovery of the forms in this country.

1839-1841. — Edleston took one female jut annum (of true fdi-
lirainmaria) at Staleybridge, near Manchester. No name was
immediately found for these.

1841. — Weaver met with the same form in the Isle of Arran, and
after being told by two or three entomologists that it was only a
variety of diliitata, got it named polata (erroneously, of course), by
J. F. Stephens.

1842. — Edleston published these captures under the name pnlata
[Kntoni., i., p. 856).

cir. 1840. — Sir W. Jardine sent Doubleday a specimen of the large
form (or species). Doubleday felt convinced it was distinct from
.lilutata {ZooL, 1858, p. 6103).

1843. — When Doubleday was in Paris, he saw the insect which I
have already described as antninnata, Gn., standing under the MS.
name of autumnaria, Bdv. From memory, he identified his Scotch
insect with this — a conclusion which he and Guenee afterwards
decided was erroneous.

1843. — Westwood figured the Staleybridge and Arran species as
polata.

1845. — Weaver, in the Zonlo(iist (p. 847, under date Nov., 1844),
catalogued " Operahia {sic) Jily/raviniaiia," without comment among a
list of his Arran captures. Hence it had evidently been discovered that
it was not the palata of Hiibner ; but when, and from whom, it received
the nanie oi plijfraininaria, I have been unable to ascertain. Double-
day, in his first catalogue (Nov., 1849), ascribes it to Boisduval, and
it is likely enough it was one of his numerous manuscript names.
Many of these were utilised by Herrich-Schaeffer, to whom apparently
we owe the first publication of the name nli;/rain)nai-ia (figured 1846,
described May, 1848).

1849. — Doubleday, in his first " Synonymic List," introduced
three species of Ojxnahla, under the names diltitata,V\LY., autuinnaria,
Bdv., emd tilit/raiitmayia, Bdv.

1850. — Stephens {Br. Mus. List) accepted the same three species,
with (/) neglectata in addition.

1852. — Weaver published his notes on the genus {Zn<d., p. 3495),
making out six species, which I have noticed in their places. His

286 THE entomologist's record.

aiitiimnaria certainly agreed with Doubleday's, and as Doubleday had
not described it, the name stands as autumnaria, Weav.

1854. — Westwood figured autumnaria, Weav., as a good species,
in his supplement to Wood (fig. 1727).

1855. — Stainton questioned the distinctness of autumnaria, Wear.,
from dilutata [Ent. Ann., 1855, p. 41).

1857. — Guenee, with greater approach to accuracy, sunk autum-
naria, Weav., as var. to nligrammaria.

1858-9. — A controversy on the genus, carried on by Gregson,
Doubleday and Logan, appeared in the pages of the ZuolM/ist. Gregson
admitted five species, Doubleday (and probably Logan), two only.

After this, Doubleday's second catalogue (1859) held sway to a
large extent, and most entomologists were content to follow it in
reducing the species to two. But in the >>cottish Xaturalist, vol. iv.
(1877-8), Dr. F. Buchanan White re-opened the question, and wrote
a most important article (pp. 111-116, with plate), urging the claims
of autumnaria, Weav., to specific rank, and re-naming it addendaria
[tom. cit., p. 160), to avoid collision with autumnata, Gn., which he
recognised as distinct. It is much to be regretted that this correction
of name has been lost sight of, as constant confusion results. One of
my best-informed correspondents was tripped up in this way, writing
me, in the course of some notes on Buchanan White's autumnaria
(addendaria) that " Guenee says the larvae is velvety green without
markings,"' which really applies to autumnata, Gn.

I Avill now conclude with some further details of the claims of this
" addendaria,'' and of appro.vimaria, and would urge our northern
friends to obtain and freely distribute eggs of these forms, in order
that the early stages may be thoroughly worked out, side by side with
those of fditjrammaria. That addendaria is not a variety of nehulata
(dilutata), as once suggested by Stainton, and as Mr. Fenn seems now
to think, is conclusively proved by the J genitalia.

(To be concluded).

On the value of Larval Characters.

By PEOFESSOR A. EADCLIFFE GROTE, M.A.

The publication of Dr. Dyar's papers on the structural characters

of Lepidopterous larvae, in the Entomolo^/ist's Record, allows me the

opportunity of bringing the value of these characters in classification

to issue. Dr. Dyar divides the SaturniaiUs into two main groups : —

I. — A single dorsal tubercle on 9th abdominal segment.

II. — No single tubercle on 9th abdominal segment.

Under this arrangement J<ili<i becomes a member of the
Saturiiiadae, and the recognition of the fact that it really belongs to
the first series (I.) is lost sight of. The loss of the tubercle by Aijiia
is, in my opinion, secondary. It runs parallel to the loss of the
tubercles in the Saturniadae on various segments, and is not a
primary character by which a family can be naturally circumscribed,
in the same way, I believe that the presence of the dorsal tubercle in
certain North American Satur)iiadae (Hemileuca) points to the fact
that this tubercle was characteristic for the type from which the two
divisions I am inclined to recognise to-day have sprung. Hemileuca is

ON THE VALUE OK LARVAL CHAKACTERS. 287

a "low" Saturnian, not a " high " Citheronian ; smiilarly, A(jUa is a
" high " Citheronian, not a " low " Saturnian.

Ail the Emperor moths I have yet been able to examine, allow of
their being placed in two family groups, which correspond very nearly
to Hiibner's Ecliidnne (my A<iUa<lae), and Heraea (my Saturniadac).
Thus, from characters offered by the imago, I offer a classification
which allows of a test being made between it and a classification
dependent upon the larval tubercles offered by Dr. Dyar. Leaving
aside the fact that the morphological value of the larval characters
may not be always correctly appreciated by Dr. Dyar, there appears
the fact of a bold contradiction between neurational and larval
characters, as respectively interpreted. From my point of view, I go
as far as this : The acceptance of Dr. Dyar's classification or division
of the Emperor moths upon the presence or absence of larval tubercles,
as against mine upon the neuration of the perfect insect, involves the
rejection of the neuration as of any value whatever. More than this,
it involves the rejection of all other characters drawn from the imago,
since all other characters fall in with my grouping much more easily
and naturally. It is a distinct forcing on general characters to class
Hemileuca and Antoynerb (Hi/percliiria) in one "family." No ex-
planation is offered, or can be offered, how insects with such contra-
dictory types of neuration can be members of the same " family,"
while other " families " violently claim their interpolation, since they
offer precisely the two respective types which are here badly mixed by
Dr. Dyar, upon the comparatively unimportant character of the
existence or suppression of a larval tubercle. " Stinging spines " are
clearly a matter of adaptation, arising independently in different
groups. In pointing out elsewhere the value of Dr. Dyar's classifica-
tion, arising out of the relative position of the larval tubercles and
their arrangement, I have disputed their specialisations as of value to
determine the limits of family groups, and for this reason : the
specialisations of larvae (and of pup^e and cocoons) follow independent
lines, and cannot be brought into coincidence, for the purposes of an
artificial system, with the specialisations of the imago. I pointed out
this fact as to the larvae more than twenty years ago. The presence,
relative condition, or absence of the dorsal tubercle is a character of
specialisation.

Therefore, the issue lies in this : If we are to recognise such larval
characters in our system, we must abandon all study of the imago as
useless. The Emperor moths are a case in point, and I join issue
with Dr. Dyar in the classification of the Satuniiades : and I believe
that this matter must be cleared up before we can go any further.

On the development and probable origin of certain ocellated spots
in the larvae of Lasiocampa quercus and Odonestis potatoria.

By A. BACOT.

I wish to call attention to the white spots which are present in the
centre of the sub-dorsal area of the meso- and post-thoracic segments of
the larva of L. quercih. These spots are developed from the ends of
the last and largest of the orange transverse bands which cross the
dorsal area of these segments, and which, together with similar stripes

288 THE kntomologist's rkcoud.

on the abdominal segments, give the young larva its characteristic
appearance. After the first larval moult, the ends of these bands on
the meso- and post-thoracic segments become very much lighter, and
upon the larva attaining its adult stage, these cream-coloured ends are
left as disconnected spots, due to the loss of the orange transverse
bands, or their obliteration by the dorsal hairs. Young larvae of
Odonestis potaturia possess similar bright yellow spots in the same
position, but, in this species, they are clearly marked as spots in
the first skin, and, although clearly marked in the fourth skin, have
not undergone, and do not undergo, any further development, at least
before hybernation.

I was making some observations on the larva of L. tjucn-i'is in
August, 1896, and I was greatly puzzled as to the probable significance
of these spots, but, whilst examining larva? of French L. ijiwrciifi and
L. spartii, this autumn, I noticed that at or about the fourth stage,
the spots in question developed into a prominent white oval spot, with
rather pointed ends, and with a circular orange centre. This
combination of the two colours was too remarkable to be overlooked,
and they immediately called to my mind the manner in which the
ocellated spots on the larvae of Choerocampa elpenur are developed.
I at first thought that these spots on the larva of L. qiierciin might be
the remnants of identical ocellated spots transmitted from a common
ancestor, but on reference to my notes on the larva of ('. di/oior, I
found that the ocellated spots were situated on the first and second
abdominal segments from swellings in the sub-dorsal line, and not,
as in the larva of L. qiwrci'is, on the meso- and post-thoracic segments.

I think, however, that the spots in question are really the
remnants of ocellated spots, that probably had a protective value as
warning markings in the ancestral larval form of L, cjuercih and
O. )H)tatoria ; and I would point out that imperfect or rudimentary
ocellated spots are present on the post-thoracic segment of both
C. elpenor and C. porcellm ; also that a large black ocellated spot, with
two blue pupils, is present on the third thoracic segment of the larva
of C. nerii, while the larvjB of Dcilepliila t/alii and D. euphorhiac have a
series of large yelloAvish spots on the sub-dorsal area of all the seg-
ments, from the meso-thorax to the eighth abdominal.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Aphomia sociella in bees' and wasps" nests {r'uie, luitc, p. 259-
260). — On August 13th I took the nest of Vespa ritfa — a rare wasp with
me — from a hole in a bank, formerly used by a mole, about a foot deep.
The top of the nest, which is composed of a tough grey paper, similar
to that used by V. si/lrestris, Avas full of ApJiomia larvje of various
sizes, but they had not attacked the interior of the nest, except one
tier of empty cells.

Four days later, I took a large colony of Bomhux lapidarius out of a
rats' hole in a pig-stye. The bees lunl utilised the old rai's nest, com-
posed of hay, straw and bits of rags, stolen from the house, and had
deposited an immense quantity of honey in the empty cells. Here
the larvie swai-med in hundreds all over the nest, which had evidently
been selected foi- attack by more than one moth, and I found many
cells eaten through, and many dead bees spun up in the web, which
weighed just 18 ounces.

SCIENTIFIC NOTKS AND OBSERVATIONS. 289

On August 23rd I took a nest of Bambini latrnlldlns — a bee very
little known — deep in a mouse-hole, on pasture. The entrance was
nearly blocked by a web as large as a French walnut, spun up by the
Apliomia larvae, which had migrated from the nest, as they frequently
do. In the nest itself were some others of the larvje, and those of a
small moth unknown to me, possibly (JEcophnra pseudospretella.

As I have before remarked, the moth usually affects the nests of
the surface bees, viz., B. derhamdlm, B. agrorwn, B. vemistiis and
B. sijlvarum, and to find it underground is not of very frequent occur-
rence, and, I fancy, it is owing to the very dry season which has laid
open so many nests of the surface bees to their various enemies. —
W. H. Tuck, M.A., Tostock House, Bury St. Edmunds. October
Mth, 1897.

The Gkometrid family Amphidasyd.e. — The Awphidafii/dae are a
small and tolerably compact group of moths, placed, no doubt rightly,
somewhere near the Boarmiidae. Guenee has them after the Enno-
midae (last British species Hhnera pennaria) and before Biiarmiidae (first
British species Hcmerophila abruptaria). Staudinger has them between
Anisoptenjx and Hi/bevjiia, perhaps on account of their frequent winter
appearance and wingless ? s, but there is nothing scientific in this
arrangement, and I do not see the slightest relationship here. Packard,
however, says the venation of Hybernia agrees with Biston and Amphi-
dasijs. I do not know the earliest stages of Himera pennaria, but the
Ainphidasi/dae seem to have some connection with Selenia, and the
young larvae are something like Tephroda, etc. The British genera
comprise rhii/alia, Bistun, j\'//.w«a and Ampludasus. The Museum
collection shows very few, if any, links with the Boarmids ; hence the
group would appear tolerably specialised. They there form part of
the great sub-family Boarniiinae, which includes Ennoiindae, Fido-
niidae, etc., of Guenee, following some "thorn" genera, and pre-
ceding Hybernia. Meyrick also has these united in one family — his
Selidosemidae. Packard keeps Ennominae and Eidimiinae away from
the Boarmiinae, but includes the winter groups, Hyberniidae and
Ainphidasydae, of Guenee, with the latter. Mr. Tutt also leads on from
Hyberniidae to Boarmiidae, and thence to Ainphidasydae, though
giving each family rank. He also incidentally suggests that the
Fidoniidae may have strong affinities with certain of the Boarmids.
The British Museum collection contains nearly 30 species of Amphi-
dasyds, several being Asiatic and N. American. The Americans have
two or three representative species or local forms, thus, A. coynataria,
Gn., represents our A. betularia; B.ursaria, Walker, our B.hirtaria,a,nd
P. striyataria our P. pedaria. A few typical Amphidasy.s partake also of
some features of both our British species, A. strataria and A. betularia.
These two species are very closely allied, and Staudinger appears to me
to be wrong in removing A. strataria into the genus Biston. Experi-
ments have shown that the two can easily be hybridised, if they can
only be made to emerge at the same time. On the other hand, it is
just possible Nyssia has some right to be united with Biston ; B.
hirtaria and N. hispidaria seem pretty close in some ways, but per-
haps our British system of genera is the best. Phiyalia, with one
species, is fairly distinct ; yet the larva, and, to some slight extent, the
female imago, bring it rather close to N. hispidaria. Nyssia is an
interesting genus of rather small moths, stoutly built, with very hairy

290 THE KNToMOLOGISt's RECORl).

apterous 5 s, and containing some Alpine, boreal, and other local
species. Biston is restricted, since it contains apparently hirtaria
only, and its American representative nrsaria. Jlistun hirtaria is evi-
dently local, both on the Continent, and in Britain. Why should it be
so attached to London ? The $ is winged, but hardly seems to fly
much. A male moth being pinned to a tree, a $ has been found in
cup. with it in the morning. — L. B. Pkout, F.E.S. [Extract from
paper read before the North London Entomological and Natural
History Society.]

Erebia glacialis : with an incidental note on frozen insects. —
Under the Mattwald Glacier, descending from the Eossboden Pass,
between Simplon and Saas-un-Grund, I found Erebia (/lacialis in some
profusion, on the morning of August 7th. It is by no means an easy
insect to capture, as it haunts the steep, rocky, and treacherous
moraine debris, and with an ice-axe in one hand I found it extremely
diflicult to wield the net in the other efi'ectively. The morning was,
moreover, overcast, and it was only in the rare intervals of sunshine
that E. (/lacialis was on the move. I found an Erebia, not fjlacialis,
at the very summit (10,500 ft.), though it was blown away before I
could identify the species, for I was making the morning meal, at
8 a.m., after a climb of four hours from the village of Simplon. It
was also interesting to observe, in traversing the Griesscren Glacier on
the Simplon side, that several insects were frozen hard and fast in the
ice. They Avere Melitaea aurelia var. britoniartis, I'ieris callidice and
Colias pldcomonc — the latter strong Alpine flyers, and I think for that
reason more likely to have been dropped by birds than to have been
overcome by the cold. A Flusia, too, was lying stark upon the
glacier. A few days later Erebia r/lacialis turned up again on the
Langefluh, at Saas Fee, but in a very dilapidated state ; and I also saw,
but did not take, several ragged specimens near to the Mattmark Lake,
on the path to Monte Moro, where the var. pinto is also said to occur.
— H. Rowland Brown, M.A., F.E.S., Oxhey Grove, Harrow-Weald.

:^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARYvE, &c.

Descriptions of Lepidopterous eggs.- — Tri/pliaiiia fimbria. — The
eggs are laid closely side by side, each one touching (or almost
touching) six others. They form about two-thirds of a sphere, and
have a conspicuously regular circular outline. To the naked eye they
are delicate green in colour ; but under the microscope are rather
yellowish-green. The shell is delicate and shining. At the equator
there are 32 distinct longitudinal ribs, not particularly prominent,
and uniting in twos and threes as they near the apex of the egg. As
a result, only from 10-12 reach the micropylar area, around which the
united edges of these ribs form a shallow rim. Within this rim there
is a slight depression, in the centre of which is a delicate rounded
micropylar button, raised almost to the level of the outer rim. There
is no distinct transverse ribbing, although the wavy appearance of the
longitudinal ribs at their summits indicate a delicate attempt at
ribbing, not otherwise observable. [Described under two-thirds lens,
on September 26th, from eggs received fi'om Mv. J. Clarke, of Reading,
on September 2-lth,]

NOTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 291

Euclidia glyphica. — The eggs described were laid side by side on
cover of a box. Almost spherical in shape, except for the flattening at
the basal attachment, and a still slighter flattening at the apex. Of a
pale green colour when first laid, with opaque whitish patches running
round the egg transversely ; becoming darker green later. There are
about 30 faint, pale, longitudinal ribs running from base to apex,
ending just short of the apex on the ridge surrounding the micropylar
area. The micropylar area forms a shallow depression, at the bottom
of which the micropyle forms a tiny rosette. [Described August 1st,
from eggs laid by a $ captured at Aix-les-Bains. These eggs proved
infertile.]

Acontia luctuosa. — The eggs described were laid singly on the inside
of a box. The Qg^ forms rather more than half a sphere laid on its
flat end. The newly-laid egg is of a pale yellow colour to the naked
eye, but under a lens the basal area is whitish, and the upper half
more yellow in colour. It is very finely ribbed longitudinally from
base to apex, with about 26 fine (but conspicuous) white, shiny ribs,
some of which unite before reaching the micropylar area, which
consists of a small reddish-broAvn depression at the apex of the eg^.
Two or three days after deposition the egg becomes entirely whitish,
with a row of red-brown spots just above its equator. The ten or
twelve surviving ribs form a very distinctly marked corona round the
edge of the micropylar area. [Described August Gth, from eggs laid
by a $ captured at St. Michel de Maurienne.]

Phlltometra viridnria. — The eggs are laid closely side by side.
Each egg forms rather more than half a depressed sphere, but the
basal area is somewhat rounded. The newly laid egg is (August 20th)
of a clear pearly-white colour, covered with two sets of fine oblique
lines running from the micropylar area to the base, and dividing the
egg roughly into diamond-shaped spaces (with the long diagonal
extending in direction from apex to base), at each point of which
there is a distinct large, red-brown spine, standing perpendicularly to
the surface of the egg. The micropylar area is quite white, slightly
depressed, and very finely reticulated, with no spines. In a day or
two (August 22nd) the egg becomes very striking. It is now
surrounded with bright claret-red rings, one of which surrounds the
micropylar area, and another the shoulder of the egg, the remaining
parts of the egg remaining white'-'' in colour. The micropylar area
also remains white. The red bands are so far irregular, that cross
pieces occasionally unite the upper band with the lower. The lower
half of the egg is not coloured with red. By August 27th, the red
parts had much increased, although arranged distinctly as two separate
rings (with an occasional junction), and a red spot here and there now
occurs on the lower half of the egg. The spines are at this time very con-
spicuous, and each is seen to have a stumpy octagonal pyramid for
base, the eight sides of the pyramid being continued to form the sides of
the rhombi, previously described. There is a distinct secondary
ribbing ^ transverse) noticeable. This divides each rhombus into two
triangles by means of a slightly raised Avhitish thread, forming the
shorter diagonal. [The description was made under a two-thirds lens,
from observations made on August 20th, 22nd and 27th. Eggs laid by

* The white parts look quite cream-coloured under a lens of low power. Under
a high one they a^jpear to be quite white. — J.W.T.

292 THE ENtOMOLOGIST's RECORD.

a 2 captured at Aix-les-Bains, on August 18th.] I observe that
Hellins {E.M.M., ii., p. 163) says : "The eggs of P. aenca {riridaria)
are of the ordinary Noctua form, round, ribbed, and with flat under-
side." I simply remark this, as the description evidently wants
verifying by someone when eggs of this species are again available.
I know mistakes will happen, and that eggs have before now been
described as those of an insect which did not lay them, but which
happened to be in the box when the eggs were first observed.

Acidalia ochrata. — The eggs were laid loosely in a box by a confined
$ . There is considerable variation in the shape of the eggs, but they
are broadly oval in outline, rather flattened at the micropylar end, the
length : breadth : : 4 : 3^. There is a. deep depression on the
upper surface, placed chiefly towards the end, remote from the micro-
pyle, so that this end of the egg is much thinner than the micropylar.
The egg is of a dull greyish-yellow colour, covered over with a most
striking coarse dark grey polygonal (mainly hexagonal) reticulation,
arranged longitudinally. The micropyle is placed centrally at the
broad end of the egg. It consists of a minute clear central area,
surrounded by much liner polygonal reticulation than that character-
ising the remainder of the egg. [The eggs were laid on August 22nd
by a $ captured at Aix-les-Bains, and the description was made on
August 24th under a two-thirds lens.]

Thecla w-alhum. — The eggs are laid above or directly below an
aborted leaf-bud, and harmonise so exactly with the colour of the bark
of the elm twig on which they are placed, that only an entomologist
could possibly detect them. They appear to be placed on the old and
not on the growing twigs, and are laid either in couples or singly.
The egg is remarkable in appearance, owing to a prominent whitish
belt which runs around its equator. A side view gives a distinct idea,
even under a lens of moderate power, that it is minutely hairy.
Looked at from above, the egg presents the appearance of a whitish
rim, extending beyond a dark reddish central portion, which is heaped
up cone-like, but flattened on the top with a circular depression at
the apex [I can think of no better simile than a jam tart, with
a prominent crust, the jam heaped-up centrally and then flattened on
the top] . The white rim consists of the upper (and protruding)
layers of pointed cells of which the base is formed, the lower rings of
these cells decreasing in size until the point of attachment is reached,
the whole forming a sort of shallow basin, in which the central part
of the egg is placed. The central part of the egg forms a flat trun-
cated cone, dark reddish in colour, minutely pitted, and suggesting
towards the lower part of the cone a polygonal structure. A large
number of points also arise from the surface, and there is a suspicion
that these bear minute hairs. The micropylar area is very con-
spicuous and well-defined. It consists of a circular basin, in the
centre of the flattened apex, the sides of the hollow almost perpen-
dicular, the micropyle proper appearing as a minute depression in the
centre of its base, and surrounded by concentric rings of tiny cells.
[Eggs received July 17th, from the Rev. G. H. Raynor, described
under a two-thirds lens on July 19th.] Newman describes the egg as
being "shaped something like an orange, but more depressed on the
crown." I should like to know what egg Newman had. — J. W. Tutt.

On the cAUDAii HORN OF Agdistis. — I was much astonished at the

NOTKS ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARViE, ETC. 293

appearance of the caudal horn of Ai/distls when I first examined it,
and thought it must be something allied to the Notodonts. I found,
however, on examination, that the horn does not rise from the 8th
abdominal segment, and bear the anterior trapezoidals of that seg-
ment, as in the Sphingids, etc., but that it is situated on what is
either a small 9th abdominal segment, or a large and distinct sub-
segment, of the 8th abdominal, both the anterior and posterior trape-
zoidals of the 8th segment being in front of the horn, and in their
correct position relative to the spiracle. — A. Bacot.

Note ox the larva of Deilephila euphorble. — On .July 28th-
29th, we found one hundred and twenty larvte of Deilephila eupliorbiai'
feeding on sea-spurge [Euphorbia paralias), on the coast of Brittany,
at Le Pouldu. There were individuals in all the skins, and the larvje
Avere very abundant. The eggs appear to be laid on the tops of the
young shoots of the spurge, the latter forming the food of the newly-
hatched larv!^, which eat the tops of the shoots for some time (until in
third skin), but at the ord or 4th moult (when the red first appears)
they feed on the leaves at the base of the stalks, which are red. The
young larvae eat through the stalks, below the seeds, so that the sand
all round the eaten plants is covered with the seed-heads. We almost
always found the caterpillars in pairs, although the only batch of eggs
we found consisted of about a dozen. The larv», if handled roughly,
eject small jets of a fluid, very similar to the juice of the Eujihurbia,
and throw it from side to side by means of sudden jerks of the thorax.
This Huid causes a very violent irritation if it gets into scratches, or
into the eyes. On August 1st, the larvte were transferred to another
species of Euphorbia, which they ate readily. By August 4th, some
of the larvae ceased to feed, and commenced to pupate. The larvae
make a hole about half-an-inch deep, "roofing" and " walling " it
with silk, mixed with sand, bits of leaves, etc., but without making a
distinct floor. They remain in the cocoons about a week before
turning to pupae. In spite of the normal habit of the larva to make
its cocoon partially underground, many individuals made up their
cocoons on the surface, among leaves (when earth was not available),
the silk used being dark yellow in tint. The changes in colour that
many larvae undergo are as follows : — The red dorsal stripe turns
yellow, then black ; the sub-dorsal and supra-spiracular spots under-
going the same changes in turn. Then the caudal horn, head and
legs, become blackened (without, however, turning yellow). In the
very black forms, the supra-spiracular spots almost cease to exist, and
the sub-dorsal are only visible because of their brighter surface. About
seventy larvae underwent the above changes, and these must have been
quite normal, and not due to disease, for the larvfe continued to eat most
ravenously, and out of about eighty larvae, which did not go down at
once, we only lost five. If this species be subject to the attacks of
parasites, it is possible that they will appear in the pupal stage ; we
have not lost a smgle larva from this cause. Three imagines have
already appeared from these pupae. What are they doing to emerge at
this time of year? — Edward S. Harrison, Josnes, Loir-et-Cher,
France. Sept. 2dth, 1897.

On the cocoon of Sphinx ligustri. — I have just had larvae of
this species pupate successfully. The larva went down about two
inches, and there made a dome of beaten earth, about one inch high
by two and a half inches long. Like the larva of Deilephila eiiphorhiae,

294 THE entomologist's record.

it makes no special floor in constructing its cocoon. — E. S. Harrison,
Josnes, Loir-et-Cher, France.

^^ ARI ATI ON.

TiLIACEA (XaNTHIA) AURAOO AND ITS ABERRATIONS. AmOHg the T.

annujo that I have taken this year are some ahnost scarlet in colour,
and not of an orange tint at all. I have found that the ab. rirgata ap-
pears first, whilst the ab. fncata does not appear until quite a week later,
and the numbers of these aberrations are then respectively about
7 per cent, and 10 per cent, of the number caught. The ab. virgata
is more common by far than the typical form, as described in the
British Noctuae and their Varieties. — (Mrs.) E. C. Bazett, F.E.S.,
Springfield, Reading. October, 1897.

Plebeius ^gon var. CORSICA IN WESTMORELAND. — The beautiful var.
Corsica of P. aegon was again captured this year on our Westmoreland
Fen. There is no trefoil within a considerable distance of the locality in
which they occur, but they are found among a very low species of rush,
about three inches high. — H. Murray, Lowbank Villas, Carnforth.
[We are much indebted to Mr. Murray for a very fine series of this
insect ; the females are very beautiful indeed. The form only occurs
as a very rare aberration in the haunts of P. aegon, in our southern
counties. — Ed.]

PoLYOMMATUS (Plebeius) zephyrus VAR. LYCiDAS. — Trapp (Bepovt
Siviss Eat. Soc, I., 103) places this LycEenid as an intermediate form
between Plebeius aegon and P. argiis. Judging from the two speci-
mens I was fortunate enough to capture, I should be inclined to think
it much nearer to Poh/ommatns cori/don. However, I did not take
the male, though I know it to be a rather more important insect than
either the above. The locality for P. hjcidas on the Simplon is well
known to local collectors, but as it produces the species in great pro-
fusion, there is no immediate prospect of extermination. I found the
food-plant. Astragalus, growing freely at the spot indicated to me by
collectors at Berisal, but I was fully a fortnight late, and the two
females I took were in a wasted condition, one so much so that I did not
keep her. The little white eggs laid on the woolly leaves of the Astra-
galus were already (August 3rd) hatched out, and on one plant I dis-
covered tiny louse-shaped larvae, which I have no doubt were those of
this interesting species. They were pale green, with a yellowish
lateral stripe. I only know of one other locality in Switzerland
besides that on the Simplon, somewhere near Visp, at the entrance of
the valley leading to Zermatt and Saas Fee, where Mr. Standen,
writing in the Entomologist (vol. xxiii., p. 57), mentions that he took
a single specimen, in July, 1885. As, however, he records a capture
on the Gemmi, on the opposite side of the Rhone Valley, I am led to
think the species may be more widely distributed than the text-books
admit. — H. Rowland Brown, M.A., F.E.S., Oxhey Grove, Harrow-
Weald.

:]p>RACTICAL HINTS.

Field Work for November and December.

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
1. — The cocoon of Kotodonta trepida is to be found in November, at
the roots of oak, It prefers a sandy soil.

PRACTICAL HINTS. 295

2. — The dry friable turfs, collected in the corners at the roots of oak,
should be well searched, as well as the corners themselves, for cocoons
of Dnjmonia chaonia and dodonea. Run your hand along the trunk
carefully for adherent cocoons.

3. — Almost all the Cymatophora ocularis in collections are bred from
pupae which are found spun up at the roots of various kinds of poplars^
The pupae of Taeniocampa popideti are to be found deep down at the
roots of the same trees.

4. — The pupffi of all the Taeniocampids should be dug for in
November. A detached tree usually gives much better results than
those growing close together.

5. — In November, and on through the winter, the conspicuous
yellow cocoon of J^asi/cJn'ra pudibnnda is easily found among the loose
rubbish collected about the roots of various trees, or under loose bark.

6. — The cocoon of Lkinas con/li may be found, sometimes plenti-
fully, under moss, at the roots of beech trees, very rarely on the trunk,,
from October on through the winter.

7. — The black cocoon of Poecilocampa populi is to be found in
October and November, firmly glued to the inside of a piece of loose
bark, or spun ixp tightly among decayed leaves near the base of the tree.

8. — In October and November, work round the roots of willows,
on the banks of ditches and streams, on the side nearest the water ;
the sods there should be shaken, and the cocoons of Leiocampa
dictaea and of Ftilodontis palpina will be found done up among the dry
roots.

9. — The pupa of Ewj/mene dolobraria is to be found by loosening the
edge of patches of moss on beech and oak trees, in November.

10. — The pupa of EnpitJu'cia dodoncata may be found through
the winter months under loose bark on hawthorn trees.

11. — November is the month to find the weak cocoon of Loplio-
pteryx canielina, under moss, on oak, beech, elm, etc.

12. — Turn over stone-heaps, etc., in November, for Dasypolia
templi, a widely distributed insect in the north, but retiring in its
habits. Where stone walls are made from flat stones, the latter are
often allowed to lie about in heaps, and by turning them over, one or
two D. templi may be found in every heap (Robson).

::^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Notes from Beoxbouene. — The members of the North London
Natural History Society visited Broxbourne on July 3rd, 1897,
arriving there, via Liverpool Street, at about 2.45 p.m. The party
made its way, by a rather circuitous route, to " The Woodman,"
Wormley West End. Messrs. Fuller and Garland found the larvas of
Eupithecia renosata by the side of the path, in the pods of Silene
inflata. Soon afterwards Mr. Prout beat out a specimen of Acidnlia
interjectaria. As the party proceeded, it became evident that certain
Geometrids were to be had by beating, mostly Acidalia aversata,
Lareniia didymata, and Cidaria Julvata, but including some beautiful
little specimens of Melanthia bicolorata, just out. Three specimens of
Cucidlia umbratica were taken on fences ; and the larvae of Euchloe
cardaviines occurred not uncommonly on Cardamine pratensis, but
Zygaena trifolii was a total failure, not one being seen. The party
enjoyed a hearty tea at " The Woodman," at 6 p.m., and walked back

296

THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD.

by the direct route. Acidalia arers-ata and Larentia diih/ninta swarmed
at dusk, but practically nothing else was taken, though I'hcrudcsiiia
pUHtulata was seen. — Lawrence J. Tremayne, Hon. Sec.

The habitat of Crambus alpinellus. — This species is rare in
England. It was taken in some numbers by Moncreatt", at Southsea,
and I have taken it myself at Deal. When this species was added to
the British fauna, Knaggs wrote {E.M.M., viii., p. 110) : " AlpinMw^,
I presume, was named on the principle of ' lucus a non lucendo,' since

Zeller remarks, ' in Alpibus nunquam inventus est ' It

inhabits sandy grassy spots, especially in fir woods." I have myself
taken it in the Dauphine Alps, at about 4,500 feet, between Le
Dauphin and Le Freney, in the Romanche Valley, in a waste field
far from woods, and by the roadside, where also Acidalia nihricata
was abimdant. It would appear, therefore, that Zeller's observation
will not altogether hold good. ( '. aljiinellus, it appears, must be added
to those species which, like Lithosia lutardla var. pijiinKwola, Acidalia
oclirata, etc., love the waste fields in the lower Alpine districts, and in
England are strangely confined to the coast. L. lutardla in its typical
form, of course, goes much higher, but the variety rarely reaches an
altitude much above 4,000 feet. — J. W. Tutt.

Notes from New Forest and Wicken. — My collecting this year
has been confined to the New Forest and Wicken Fen, and I have
done but little in either locality. I began at the end of April beating
for larviTB of Apatura iris, but found that occupation scarcely more
remunerative than it was last year. At the same time the oaks pro-
duced larvfe of Boarmia roboraria< and Hylophila qnercuna, and a
few of I'horodesma bainlaria were taken. Earlier in the season
larvte of Cleorn glabrnria, C. Uchenaria and Boarmtn ahietaria were
taken at least as freely as usual. One larva of C. glahraria yielded
it, fine dark suffused specimen. Larv^ of Agrotis ngathina, after
having been very scarce for several years, were more plentiful this
year. It is worth a note that several of the insects, which until
recently were looked upon as common in the New Forest, have become
rather suddenly scarce, among which may be mentioned Lithosia
sororcula and Boarmia consortaria.

The season at Wicken appears to have been quite up to the average,
though there, as elsewhere, many of the species have occurred a good
deal later than usual. In the earlier part of the season Cymatophora
ocularis and Leucania obsoleta were taken sparingly, and two speci-
mens of Hydrilla palustris ; but, so far as I have been able to ascer-
tain, no Hadena atriplicis and but few Agrotis obscura. At the
beginning of August there were very few specimens of Pharetra
{Arsilonche) venosa. I took, however, one finely-marked specimen
of Celaena hnivorthii, a species which the local collectors appeared
not to recognise, although it had previously been recorded by Tugwell.
There was also a specimen of Acidalia rubricata taken at light in the
Fen itself, which is unusual ; and so late as August 3rd, I captured
Macrogaster arundinis, a date which gives a wider range of flight
to that insect than is generally assigned to it. — J. C. Moberly, M.A.,
F.E.S., 9, Rockstone Place, Southampton.

Lepidoptera at Sandown. — Soon after my arrival at Sandown,
this year, I obtained one or two nice aberrations of Bryophila perla, two
or three Agrotis exclamationis, with confluent stigmata, and a fine
melanic aberration of Miana literosa. I never remember to have seen

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 297

an example like the latter, though I suppose our Scottish friends
ought to get it. Melanic forms of Ayrotin nigricans, Xylophasia
mnnocjliiplia, ^Soctna xnnthogrnpha, etc., are, of course, well known in
the north, and northern M. liter osa are, on the whole, quite percep-
tibly darker than ours. As regards rarities, only the faithful Lencania
alhipuncta has yet favoured me ; it put in an appearance on August
9th, a date intermediate between my 1896 record (Aug. 3rd) and
those of 1894 and '95 (Aug. 18th and 19th respectively). Last night,
however, I took a specimen of what is a great rarity to me, as 1 have
not yet discovered its habitat, namely, Plusin festucae, of which a
specimen came to my sugared fence, my only previous record
being of a specimen on the same sugared fence, about six years
ago. As for the rest, I have taken most of the ordinary things which
are to be got here, and which I have recorded in previous years. A few
of the species, which are usually quite "over" when I arrive here,
were not quite over this year, though nearly so ; for instance, Agrotis
<;orticea, Xylophasia subltistris, Hadena dentina. — L. 1>. Pkout, F.E.S.
August nth, 1897.

Collecting in Switzerland. — The month of August, so far as my
own observations are concerned, was anything but satisfactory to the
collector. Day after day the weather at Berisal (first week), and later,
at Saas Fee, was overcast and wet, and, compared with the records of
1894, at the latter place my note book is extremely meagre. The best
time for Berisal and the Simplon is, I should think, at least a fort-
night or three weeks earlier ; indeed, by the middle of August, both
here and elsewhere, the majority of Alpine species have practically
gone over. Especially noticeable was the absence of ( 'alias plviconume,
as a rule, one of the commonest species at the higher elevations, and
Argynnidi were in many localities equally scarce. Indeed, with the
exception of a few "blues" — alcon, plwretes, donzeUi, orbitulus and
optilete {eros absent on the Mattmark road this year), I added but little
to my knowledge or my cabinet. Crossing over to the Friebourg
side at the end of the month, in the neighbourhood of Bulle, I
found only common lepidoptera on the wing, Zephyrus betulae in
the beech woods about Gruyeres, Pararge hiera and Polyommatus
bellargus, of which I saw one day when I had no net, a beautiful
specimen of the ab. cfronm. My advice to the collectors who can
choose their time for Switzerland, is, therefore, to go early, when
the hotels are less crowded, and mountain species more abundant. —
— H. Rowland Brown, M.A., F.E.S. , Oxhey Grove, Harrow- Weald.

Tanagra atrata and Phorodesma pustulata at Brondesbury. —
In June last I obtained a specimen of Tanagra atrata, at Brondes-
bury Station, and on the evening of June 30th, a fine, fresh
specimen of Plmrodeama pmtidata flew in to light at my bedroom
window. — L. J. Tremayne, 51, Buckley Road, Brondesbury.

Notes from Carlisle. — July was a poor month for lepidoptera. Of
butterflies, Enodia hyperanthus was abundant, Pampliila sylranus,
Polyommatus icanis, and Hipparchia semele moderately so, but though
I worked hard on two occasions in glorious butterfly weather for
Argynnis aglaia, I only captured four specimens. After sunset,
Hepialns relleda and H. sylranus occurred in fair numbers. In one
locality the ab. galliais of the former predominated. At light the
following occurred: — Agrotis nigricans, Charaeas graminis, Pelurga
comitata and Eupithecia oblongata, all in limited numbers. At

298 THE entosiologist's recokl*.

flowers of ragwort, Miana hicoloria was one of the few Noctuids which
was common this season. " Sugar" was useless. Night after night
there was nothing to box ; even Triphaena pronuba, Xylophasia
monoghipha and Apamea duly ma were rare. Dusking for Geometrids
also gave poor results ; Eiiholia {Ortholitha) limitata and Hypsipetes
sordidata were the only species which occurred at all freely. Eustroma
pyraliata, Acidalui fumata, A. arersata and Ellopia prompnaria were
represented by a specimen or two each, while Uropteryx sambiuaria
was more frequently seen than captured. Lithusia mesomella, as usual,
swarmed in its favourite damp haunts. It is the only " footman " I get
here. A slight improvement was noticeable in August, particularly in
the Geometrids ; Cidaria imnianata, Eustroma fulvata, Acidalia
bm'tata, Larentia didymata and MelantJiia bicolorata abounded. A few
fine Coremia unidentaria were also taken, and one very worn Eustroma
pnmata was netted. This is only the second specimen I have met
with. In woods, the beating stick dislodged Eustroma testata in plenty.
At light, Luperina testacea and Noctna.rantJwi/rapha were the 'preYailing
species, and occasionally Hi/droecia micacea turned up. Polia chi was in
tolerable plenty on walls, but I did not observe any aberrations. It is
a very constant species round Carlisle. " Sugar " was no more
attractive than in July, a single Triphaena fimbria being the only
thing worth mentioning. There are few butterflies here after July.^
Pararye meyaera was common in lanes, and a few Pyrameis cardiii
were observed. With September, " sugar " began to pay, and up to
the time of writing is yielding some useful Noctuids. Hadena protea
and Anchocelis litura have been common, especially so on two frosty
moonlight nights. On dull, close evenings, there were not nearly so
many, which is the reverse of usual experience. Other species I am
now taking are : Anchocelis helrola {rujina), A. lunosa, Noctua ylareosa,
N. castanea (worn), Miselia o.ryacanthae, Citria (Xanthia) fiarayoy
C. fulrayo, Epunda nigra, Amphipyra trayopoyonis, Gonoptera libatrix,
and one or two others. None of these are common, but still the result
of an evening's treacling, at the present time, is much better than
during any other part of the season, Tapinostola fulva is now flitting
about in damp meadows after sunset ; Phisia yamma is more in
evidence than I have noticed it for some years. It was a new
experience for me to see four specimens of this species at " sugar." I
have never seen a Plusia attracted by sweets before. Larvse have been
very abundant lately. On the osiers, which fringe our small streams,
iSmerinthus ocellatus, S.populi, and Cerzira rinula have been taken freely.
A few Notodonta ziczac and Gonoptera libatrix occurred on osier and
sallow, and I met with Centra furcula for the first time. Wherever
the white campion grew, larvae of THanthoecia capsincola swarmed in
the seed-pods. In one district almost every oak tree harboured a brood
or two of Phalera bucephala. Larvre of Pyrameis atalanta were more
numerous than they have been for some years. In gardens, Hadena
oleracea and Mamestra brassicae are now swarming, while Spilosoma
menthastri and S. lubricepeda are revelling on the leaves of rhubarb*
Wherever I go these last two larvae are to be seen, scurrying over road
and pavement, in quest of suitable places for pupation. My non-
entomological friends bring them to me daily as something novel.
From flowers of foxglove I took a few Eupithecia pulchellaia, but all
were ichneumoned. — F. H. Day, 6, Currock Terrace, Carlisle. Sep-
tember 15th, 1897.

^^^ AND ^^^^

JOURNAL OF VARIATION.

Vol. IX. No. 12. December Ioth, 1897.

Notes on hybrid Smerinthus popuIi=ocellatus.

By A. BACOT.

After many trials, in different seasons, I was at last, in June,
1896, fortunate in obtaining two pairings between Siuerinthus populi
and S. ocellatus.

Ovum. — Early in June I found, in one of my cages, a male Sme-
rinthm poindt, hi copula with a female S. ocellatus. One hundred and
seventy-eight eggs were laid by the 5 , and, although some slight
colour changes took place, none of them hatched. Many turned dark
before shrivelling up, and, since infertile eggs of Smerinth'KJi do not
change colour, but remain green even after drying up, whilst fertile
eggs become whitish before hatching, it is very probable that a cer-
tain amount of development took place within the eggs.

On June 13th, a male <S. ocellatus paired with a female S. populi.
As I was leaving London for a week on the 19th, I handed the eggs
over to my friend Mr. J. A. Simes, who kindly took charge of them
during my absence. He informs me that they commenced to hatch
on the 24th, and, upon my return on the 27th, there were twenty-
eight living larvae and a number of dead ones ; a few more hatched
after this date, but they were very weakly, and soon followed the
majority. A careful examination of the ova, on July 3rd, showed that
of 163 eggs laid, 59 had hatched, in 55 the young larvte appeared to
have fully developed, but from some unexplained cause had not
emerged ; 27 were still green (these afterwards dried up), and of the
remainder some were very discoloured (having probably died during
the development of the embryo), and others had shrivelled up without
change (probably unfertilised).

Larva. — June 29th, l.s^ skin : length between one-eighth and three-
sixteenths of an inch when newly hatched, growing to between three-
eighths and seven-sixteenths before the first moult. Hea<l : green, large,
rounded, but with a tendency to triangular shape ; a few scattered hairs
and a yellow inverted V on face. Body : pale green ; scutellum fairly
distinct ; a faint dark, medio-dorsal line ; two tubercles on the dorsal
area of the thoracic segments can be distinguished as rather larger,
and bearing longer hairs than the usual shagreen tubercles. The
trapezoidals on abdominal segments can also be observed standing
out among the shagreen tubercles, though not quite so clearly as the
two above-mentioned on the thoracic segments. (This last feature
is not distinctive of the hybrid larvag ; it can also be seen in the larva
of »S', ocellatus., and is probably present in that of N. popidi and -S'. tiliae.

300 THK kntomologist's record.

I merely call attention to it as an important point that I had not
previously noted.) Seven oblique stripes are present, the seventh
being rather stronger than the rest ; the sub-dorsal lines distinct. All
the stripes are more conspicuous after the larva has been feeding for a
few days. Caudal horn : long, pale pink ; some of the larvae have
only short horns, which appear withered (in one instance almost to the
stump), in another it is almost entirely absent, while a third has the
horn constricted just above the base, as though a piece of thread had
been tied round it. I have noticed a similar deformity to this last
in a larva of S. tiliae.

Unfortunately, I had no larvae of either S. ocellatm or .S'. pojmli in
the first stage with which to compare, but, judging from memory
and written descriptions, I noted as follows. The larva closely
resembles that of S. oceUatiis in shape and attitude, as well as in
markings.

July 8rd. Most of the larvae are now in 2nd skin, and are grow-
ing rapidly. July 4th. By this time I had larva? of both S. ocellatus
and S. pojiidi in the same stage as the hybrid larvte, so that the compari-
sons in this and subsequent stages are more exact. 2nd skin : length
three-eighths to five-eighths of an inch. Head : triangular, broader,
less tall and pointed than in larva of S. mrUatn.s, but not so bulged
at cheeks nor squat as in that of S. populi : yellow tubercles at apex
of head taller than in the latter species. Bodi/ : scutellum indistinct ;
the sub-dorsal stripes are continued faintly across the oblique lines to
the 5th (in one larva to the 7th) ; the medio-dorsal line is produced by
the absence of shagreen tubercles ; dark borders to oblique lines are
present. The stripes are stronger than in S. popnli, but not so marked
as in S. ocellatus. In addition to the other stripes there is a faint
lateral line below the sub-dorsal, on the thoracic segments. Caudal
horn : the base is pink for about one-third its height ; shorter and
lighter in colour than that of S. ocellatus, though more marked in both
respects than in larva of S. popxdi. Habits : The larva retracts the first
two pairs of fore-legs (in one larva the third pai^- also) ; I did not note
any marked preference for either the upright or hanging position in this
stage ; but one larva assumed a rather marked " sphinx " posture,
very like that of SpJiinx lit/ustri.

A careful examination of the larva proves it to be curiously mid-
way between the parent species as regards most of the important
dift'erentiating characters. In shape and coloration it is neither so
white a green nor graceful in form as the larva of »S'. ocellatm, nor is
it so yellow-green and heavy-looking as the larva of S. populi. Looked
at in a less critical manner, and without the aid of a glass, it reminds
one most of the yellow form of N. ocellatus. Its habits and position,
also, show rather more trace of the c? than $ parent. The fact of the
1st pair of oblique stripes being no stronger than the 2nd to 6th pairs,
and weaker than the 7th, still further adds to its resemblance to S.
ocellatus.

'dnl skin : July 8th. Head : As before, nearly midway between
the parent forms in shape, etc., but it now resembles S. populi more
nearly than N. ocellatus in size, colour and roughness, being covered
with yellowish tubercles, which are only very small in the larva of N.
ocellatus ; the large tubercles at apex are only slightly larger than in
the larva of S, populi, with which they agree as regards colour

NOTES ON HYBRID SMEKINTHU8 POPULI-OCELLATUS. 301

(yellow) ; they are, however, situated, as in S. ocellattis, close together,
and not a short distance apart with two smaller ones between, as is the
case in the larva of -S. populi. Body : becomes j)aler towards close
of this stage, though not so white as *S'. ocellatm. Stripes : oblique
stripes, as in S. tiliae and N. ocellatm, 1 to 5 equal, 6 narrow and
weak, 7 strong and broad. The sub-dorsal line is faint and narrow,
is continued backwards to the 7th oblique, but barely noticeable on
thoracic segments ; a double medio-dorsal stripe is faintly marked ;
the anus outlined with same colour as other stripes. Caudal horn :
long and very thick at base. Hairs : still bifid, but this character is
not quite so marked in the hybrid as in the larva of <S'. ocellatus. Habits:
the larvjB rest either with the head downwards («S'. populi habit)
or with it upright {S. ocellatus position), with the first two pairs of fore-
legs withdrawn, though not so completely as is the case in ;S'. ocellatm.

One larva is growing to a large size in this stage, it is already
over one inch long, and shows no sign of an approaching moult.
The larva of S. ocellatus, when about to moult in this stage, is of
about the same length as this larva now is, but it is not nearly
so bulky. By July 12th there were only 19 living larvae ; three were
well grown in the 4th skin, the remainder mostly in 3rd. They
varied in colour from a yellow-green to a pale whitish sage-green, and
were tolerably constant in shape, but very variable in size.

ith skin : July 12th. Head : as previously described. Body : the
7th oblique stripe is faintly continued forwards to the 3rd pair of pro-
legs ; the 1st oblique runs forward to the pro -thorax. The small
oblique stripes that are present in S. populi, just above base of pro-
legs 1, 2 and 3, can be faintly traced in the hybrid larva. The larvae
now mostly rest in the position taken by that of S. populi. Both
yellowish and whitish forms are present in this stage. Just after the
3rd moult the yellow forms are superficially very like N'. populi in
its 3rd skin, the only striking dift'erence being the absence of any
strengthening of the 1st oblique stripes. July nth. One is now
nearly full grown, in 4th skin, while the majority of the remainder
are about to undergo a 4th moult.

Full-fed larvae in 4th skin, July 17th. — Head : not so large or
tall as that of S. ocellatus in 5th skin, and the yellow bands down the
sides of the face are stronger and broader. The resemblance of the
tubercles, and their position on apex, is remarkably close to S.
ocellatus in everything except colour. This is, however, partly due
to the fact that with iS. ocellatus in the adult stage (5th skin) the
tubercles or processes have greatly dwindled in size. Body : in colour
it now almost exactly resembles a typical larva of .S'. ocellatus. The ob-
lique stripes are now much stronger than when it first changed into this
skin ; the sub-dorsal is very weak and faint ; the spiracles, bright red ;
in N. ocellatus they are deep crimson, and much larger. Anal flap
outlined with yellow, in -S'. ocellatus with white. In general shape and
habits it is still very similar to S. pojndi, and is restless under
examination, as in this species. The larva of S. ocellattis, on the other
hand, will usually retain its stiff and rigid resting position during the
process, unless greatly provoked.

The first larva went down on July 21st, having only undergone
three moults. By the 24th, the majority were full-fed, or nearly so,
and the remainder, with one or two exceptions, were in the final stage.

302 THE entomologist's record.

So far as I was able to follow them, the majority had four moults, a
few only attaining their full growth in the ith skin.

The following are the chief points of difference between adult
LARv^ of the hybrid AND THOSE OF S. ocELLATUs. — Head : smoother,
and not so pointed ; yellow lines down face much broader. Bodn :
not so long and graceful ; the sub-dorsal stripes much weaker ; the
oblique stripes not so strong ; slight traces of small oblique stripes just
above the bases of prolegs 1 , 2 and 8 (these are altogether absent in
S . ocellaUUi) . Caudal horn: yellowish at upper end. Sjiirarles : not
so large or dark ; 1st and 2ncl pairs of prolegs are retractile, but to a
less extent than in S. occUatus. Resting habits differ as a rule.

Differences between the larva of the hybrid and that of S.
popULi. — Head : taller and more pointed. Bndi/ : longer, and not so
dumpy. Oblique stripes : rather broader. As in the larva of S. ocellatus,
the stripes are due rather to colour than structure ; the 1st no stronger
than the following — 2nd to 5th ; the 7th runs forward to front of 4th
pair of prolegs (as in .S'. ocellatus). Small oblique lines above base
of prolegs present, but much fainter than in .S. pojndi. Caudal horu :
sky-blue in colour at base.

In its general appearance the larva, in the 1st and 2nd stages,
approaches S. ocellatus rather than S. populi ; in 3rd and early part of
4th stages it has a greater resemblance to -S'. pojmli ; when full-fed it
veers back again towards S. ocellatus.

A very similar change takes place in the larval life of >S. populi,
though perhaps this is not quite so marked as in the hybrid. It is in
the middle stages (2nd and 3rd) that this larva attains its greatest
distinctiveness ; in the first and last stages the difi'erence between it
and the larva of *S. ocellatus not being nearly so sharply contrasted, and
this departure and return is in no way due to the development of
S. ocellatus, which does not greatly differ in appearance throughout its
ontogeny.

In the shape and structure of head, and the markings on its body,
the hybrid larvie were remarkably constant. I looked with especial care
for any individual variation or difference in the oblique stripes ; which
it seemed not unlikely might vary in the direction of .S'. populi, by a
strengthening of the 1st, but in no case was there the slightest
tendency in this direction.

Throughout my notes I have made comparisons between the hybrid
larvas and those of the parent species, but with some characters the
agreement with S. tiliae is as close as, or closer than, that with
S. ocellatus and S. populi, and where this agreement is present, as, for
instance, in the colour of the processes at the apex of head, we have, I
think, conclusive evidence that this was their original appearance.

The larvfe were very delicate, more especially during the early
stages, the moulting periods being the most critical of all. The less
robust appeared to have great difficulty in getting rid of their old skin ;
I assisted them oft" with their old clothes in several instances, but, alas,
in no case did my help prove of any avail, for they died in spite of my
philanthropic eftbrts.

I suspect the difticulty really consists in drawing out the old
linings of the trachete, the rough assistance one is able to render
probably results in breaking them away from their attachment to the
old skin, and leaving them to clog the breathing apparatus.
(To he cuntinued).

SPRING LEPTDOPTKRA AT HYfeRES. 303

Spring Lepidoptera at Hyeres in 1897.

By (Rev.) C. J. BUCKMASTEK, M.A.

I arrived at Hyeres on April 28th last, left May 10th ; stayed at
the Gr. Hotel, Costabelle, On May 7th, there was a strong mistral,
the other days were mostly fine — some of them very hot, with a
maximum shade temperature of 80*^ F. The season appeared to be a
decidedly forward one. I collected chiefly in the neighbourhood of
Costabelle, on the wooded hills and among the quarries, but paid two
visits (April 29th and May 8th) to Le Paradis, and one visit (May
5th), to the cork woods north of Hyeres. The following species were
captured : —

HESPERIDES : Hesperid.e. — Spilothi/rus alceae: five (first on
May 1st) ; Quarries. S)jrichtltm sidae ; a pair in the Cork Wood
Valleys, May 5th. (The heat here was intense, and after enduring it
for about an hour, I had to regain the ridge for a breath of air).
S. .s-ao : pretty common throughout the district.

PAPILIONIDES : Lyc.enid^. — Callophrijs rubi: A few at Le
Paradis, April 29th, but very worn. (No sign of Thestor hallus).
ChrysopJianuH alciphron var. fiordiua : a lovely violet male, at Costabelle,
May 7th. The day following, at Le Paradis, I took males with
scarcely any violet suffusion, as well as females. C. jihlaeax : a few
noticed towards the end of my stay. Lampidea telicanua : one very
battered specimen, at Le Paradis, May 8th. I can find no record of so
early an appearance of this species. Could it be a survivor from the
late autumn brood ? Poh/onviiatus baton : two worn specimens, both
males, at Le Paradis, April 29th. None seen there at my second
visit. P. astrarche ; a few. P. Icarus : a few of both sexes, indis-
tinguishable from my Swiss examples ; no ab. icarimis observed.
P. cori/doii : a few of both sexes. Ci/aniris arcjiolus : one worn
female only (May 8th). Nomladcs cyllarua : the commonest blue
throughout the district. My series consists of twenty males and two
females. Size l-l'3in.; tone of colour varies from that of P. ei^cheri
to that of P. icanis. Underside is usually pearly grey, but in several
specimens it is darker, approaching the brown of N. melanops. The
powdering of the wing-bases is decidedly greenish-blue, but I can
detect little or no trace of it on the fore-wings. The distinctive spots
on the underside of the fore- wing are by no means constant ; in some
specimens they scarcely increase in size towards inner margin, and are
inconspicuous. The row of small spots on the underside of the hind-wing
is, in some specimens, completely effaced (the same specimens
showing a corresponding tendency with regard to the spots of the
fore-wing). In one example these hind-wing spots are complete on
the one side, and wholly effaced on the other. N. melanops : four
specimens, in poor condition, in company with P. baton, at Le Paradis,
April 29th, not seen again. Cupido minima : one, at Le Paradis,
May 8th.

Papilionid^. — Papilio podalirius and»mc/(fto» ; Neither very common,
and mostly in bad condition. I noticed their habit of flying round
hill-tops at Le Mont Paradis. Thais medesicaste : a few, in a hollow
in the Costabelle Woods, May lst-4th, in good condition.

PiERiD^. — Aporia crataeyi: Several taken in the Cork Woods, May
8rd and 5th. P. brassicae and rapae : the first butterflies I noticed on

304 THE entomologist's record.

April 29th, well out and common. P. daplidire : pretty common, but
could not find any of the var. heUidicf. Aut/iocharis belia : only five
set, but believe it was pretty common. I confused this species at the
time with E. cardavunes 5 . A. tar/is var. bcUezina : what looks like
a very diminutive A. belia is probably referable to this species. I
took it on May 7th, and thought at the time that I had got bcUidicc.
E. I'UpJienoidi's : a nice series, including two females. Found it
commonest in the Costabelle Woods, on May 1st, after which it
became scarcer. E. cardamine^ : not so common, nearly all females.
Lencnphosia sinapis : common, the shading of the underside of the hind-
wings does not appear any darker than in that of my British or Swiss
specimens, but the tone is decidedly ydloiirr. Colias i>dusa : seen
several times. (Tcnu'ptertix clenpatra : not very common, and all worn.
(This was a great disappointment to me on my first visit to the south).

NYMPHALiDyE : lAtnenitis camilJa : Fairly common throughout the
district, and in beautiful condition (fond of settling on foliage). Ewjonia
pjoli/Moriis : one or two seen. Euvanc^m antiopa'. only one specimen
seen, April 29th, and that a mere wreck. Melitaca didi/nm : rather
common, and not more " fiery " than my Swiss examples. M. cin.ria :
commoner than the last, getting rather over. (I have not met with
this species in Switzerland). M. phocbc: one taken on April 29th.
M. parthenie (/) : two specimens, large and fine. BrentJiis euphrost/nc :
Several. Melananjia syUiiia : first seen on May 2nd, afterwards
generally common. Pararf/e ine<iavra and ('(leria : both fairly common,
but Avorn. E. janira var. hispidla : males pretty frequent, but
difficult to catch on the steep wooded hill-sides — one female, May 8th.
E. jiasiji/iac : a fine series, first seen above Hyeres, on May 4th,
afterwards occurring generally. C. jiaiiiji/iilufi : one noticed on May 5th.

Among the very fewMACRO-HETERocERA noticed were the following: —
Zyiiaena larandulac : Pretty common on May 1st, booming about from
flower to flower, on the summit of one of the hills behind Costabelle,
and almost insensible to the efiects of the cyanide bottle. Acontia
lucida and liatuom, Erastria munerica : single specimens. Metoptria
muno(jraiiuna : rather common ; woods and quarries.

Melanic and intermediate aberrations of Abraxas sylvata (ulmata)

in Yorlishire.

By WILLIAM HEWETT.
During the present season melanic forms of A. sijlvata (ulmata)
have been by no means rare in one particular locality in Yorkshire,
and I have secured a number of these, as well as many intermediate
aberrations, as the result of four visits paid to the district this season.
Messrs. Maddison, Head, Walker and Dutton, have also obtained these
aberrations in some numbers. None of them have been obtained from
larvae collected in the neighbourhood of York, as stated by one of
your contemporaries, but all were secured in the imago state, occurring
amongst the typical form which, in this particular locality, is found
in profusion. I kept a number of melanic females (principally cripples)
for eggs, which several deposited. The majority of these were fertile.
Dr. Riding very kindly undertook to rear them, and, in a letter dated
August 24th, says : — " I am glad to be able to write that almost all
the Abraxas sylvata {ulmata) have gone down ; there have been three or

ABERRATIONS OF ABRAXAS SYLVATA (uLMATA) IN YORKSHIRE. 305

four pupae on the surface, so there is little doubt but that the others that
have disappeared into the cocoa fibre have pupated also. There are
about ten larvae still feeding, and I think altogether I have not found
half-a-dozen dead ones. Not one ' spun a web in the tree ' as stated
by Stainton to be the habit of the genus Abraxas." I may add that
Dr. Riding fed the larvre on wych-elm. We are now looking forward
to the rearing, for the first time, melanic forms of A. sijlvata {uliiiata)
from the egg.

The history of these forms in this locality may prove interesting :
Messrs. Head, Walker and myself have each collected in the locality
for years, more especially whilst A. si/lvata (ulinata) has been out, and
although we have each made special search for aberrations, not one of
us had ever observed a melanic specimen in this locality prior to the
present year. The simultaneous appearance of a considerable number of
this particular aberration in the same locality will, I firmly believe, save
this fine aberration from the danger of being swamped by intercrossing,
and completely refutes Professor G. J. Romanes' statement, dz.,
" That the same variation does not occur simultaneously in a number
of individuals inhabiting the same area, and that it is mere assumption
to say it does." He further adds : "If the assumption were granted
there would be an end of the present difficulty," viz., the swamping
effects of intercrossing, " for if a sufficient number of individuals were
thus simultaneously and similarly modified, there need be no longer
any danger of the variety becoming swamped by intercrossing." I do
not believe there is any danger of this variety being swamped, but
confidently look forward to its occurring in still greater numbers next
season, and that intermediate forms will also be much more numerous.

Melanic forms of this species have only previously been recorded
from Edlington Wood, Doncaster, where they are of extremely rare
occurrence ; I took one there some six years ago. I am also aware of
its occasional occurrence at Drewton Dale, Yorkshire, and have in my
collection a specimen of this aberration from that locality, obtained
in 1895. Unfortunately, a large proportion of the melanic forms were
cripples, or partially so, especially the left fore- and hind-wings.
[Recorded also from Bamford Wood, near Rochdale, by Bentley, June
22nd, 1880.— Ed.] .

Aberrations of Abraxas sylvata (ulmata).

By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

In the Kntom. Record., ix., pp. 268-269, Mr. Dutton records the
capture of some aberrations of A. sijlvata. These, I understand, were
captured in a well-known locality, for this species, in Yorkshire, some
twenty to thirty miles from the city of York. As he sent a picked
selection of his captures for me to exhibit at the meetings of the
various London Entomological Societies, I made the following notes
on the specimens.

The specimens may be described as follows : (1) Three of the
specimens are almost unicolorous, dark slaty-grey in colour, but with
typical brown markings ; the bodies are black. (2) Tivo of the speci-
mens are uniformly dark slaty-grey, with the brown patch at the anal
angle of the hind-wings, the patch on the inner margin of the fore-
wing, and the basal area of the fore- wing, replaced by a dull greyish
patch, tinged with ochreous ; the bodies are black. (3) One specimen,
similar to those first described (1), but with a series of pale longitu-

306 THE entomologist's record.

dinal streaks just within the normal elbowed line ; the body is black.
(4) One specimen of a pale slaty-grey ground colour, with normal
brown markings, parallel to those first described (1), but with paler
ground colour ; body almost black. (5) ()?ii' specimen of the same
form, with a clear, but narrow, white costal and inner margin to the
fore-wings, and a white inner margin and pure white fringe to the
hind-wings ; the body suffused. (6) One specimen of the same form
as those first described (1), but with whitish base to fore- and hind-
wings ; the body suffused. (7) One specimen with the outer margin of
the left fore- and hind-wings dark grey, the right side normal. (8) One
specimen with the hind-wings only, pale slaty-grey, and with the
centre of the brown anal spot of hind-wings, and the inner marginal
blotch of fore-wings, grey. (9) O^c specimen with the fore- and hind-
wings with a series of longitudinal grey markings running along the
sub-dorsal areas of both wings. (10) One specimen with the discoidal
blotch continued as a band across the fore-wings ; the outer (sub-
dorsal) band also very strongly marked. (11) One specimen with the
two transverse bands mentioned in the description of the last aberra-
tion (lOj united into a broad band across the fore-wings.

The above aberrations are all more or less suffused with slaty-
grey, or exhibit an extension of the normal slaty-grey or blue-grey
markings. The following individuals, sent by Mr. Dutton, were
suffused with dusky ochreous, or dirty crearn-colour.

(1) ())ie specimen with the ground colour of both fore-wings
suffused with smoky cream colour ; the hind-wings normal. (2) Tiro
specimens, one with the right, the other with the left, fore-wing simi-
larly suffused ; the other three wings, in each case, normal. (8) One
specimen with the fore-wings and the right hind-wing suffused at
base, the dark-brown spots ill-developed, and the normal brown hue
of these spots wanting. (4) One specimen with the left fore-wing
dull smoky, the other three wings normal.

A single specimen presented the normal coloration, but had the
dark brown spots and grey shades much reduced below the normal
limit.

Porritt {List of Yorkshire Lepiiloptera, p. 43) writes : " A peculiar
lead-coloured form sometimes occurs, and many other beautiful aber-
rations have been taken. Edlington Wood is noted for aberrations of
this species." At the meeting of the Entom. Soc. of London, on
October 6th last, when Mr. Button's specimens were exhibited, he
further remarked that melanic aberrations were not unusual, but that
it was very exceptional for a large number to occur in any one year,
as had been the case during the last summer.

Mr. Dutton [ante, p. 269) suggests that this unusual appearance of
what is usually a rare form of aberration, is probably due to the
malnutrition of the larva. This view is strongly supported by the
fact, mentioned both by Mr. Dutton and Mr. Hewett, that a more or
less large proportion of these forms were crippled, some having quite
stumpy wings, others with only two wings moderately developed, and
so on. Even the best of the specimens, so far as those exhibited
allowed one to judge, had more or less crumpled wings, that had been
flattened out by the setting brace.

One fact was very evident from the specimens examined, viz., that
the suffusion was not due to the spread of the normal slaty-grey

ABERRATIONS OF ABRAXAS SYLVATA (uLMATA). 307

shading on the wings, for, in the less deeply suffused specimens, these
markings stand out distinctly, although in the darkest they are very
inconspicuous or entirely lost in the ground colour. The intermediate
stages also show that the darkening of the ground colour does not develop
by the spread of the already existing slaty-grey blotches, but that it is a
general modification of the scale structure which results in suffusion,
the fact that the suffusion is of the same hue as the normal shading-
being quite fortuitous. It appears to be, in this respect, exactly
parallel with the suffused aberrations of Arctia rillica, Nemeop/iila
pla)ita(/inu; etc., in which the normal ground colour is changed to a
suffused black, through which the normal black spots show quite
distinctly.

The poor physique of these aberrations suggests that, whether the
crippling was the result of the larva being ill-supplied with food, or of
some unfavourable condition to which the pupa was subjected, the
prime factor in the production of these aberrations is one that spells
" death " to the race, and hence this particular form of aberration is
not likely to occur continuously in any great numbers. It may occur
from time to time, even in abundance, if it be a species so easily and
rapidly affected by external circumstances, as this extensive appearance
suggests. If so, it is certainly a species for Mr. Merrifield's special
attention.

On the other hand, in a district such as that where these specimens
were captured, in which melanism would probably be useful to such a
species as this, there might be sufficient cumulative force for heredity
to produce such a race, but as this could only be done by means of the
more vigorous specimens of the suffused form, the process would
necessarily be a slow one.

I only know of one fact that makes me hesitate to accept the mal-
nutrition of the larva as the direct cause for this sudden appearance
of suffusion in so many specimens of this species, and it is, that I
have on two or three occasions received larvae from this locality and
Edlington Wood, starved them most systematically, and never got a
suffused variety, although the specimens only emerged about two-
thirds the normal size. If it is not the food-supply that reduces the
energy, and results in producing cripples and suffusion, what is it ?
Experiment is needed.

To make these aberrations recognisable without a separate diagnosis
each time one is recorded, the following varietal nomenclature is
suggested : —

1. — With the whole of the wings and body suffused with paler or
darker slaty-grey = ab. siifusa, n. ab.

2. — With the wings, or some part of the wings, irregularly or
unequally suffused with slaty-grey patches = ab. intermedia, n. ab.

3. — With the wings, or part of the wings, suffused with dirty
ochreous or cream-colour = ab. obscura, n. ab.

4.— With the discoidal and central slaty-grey shades forming a
central transverse band across the fore-wings = ab. transversa, n. ab.

Coleoptera in the winter.

By CLAUDE MORLEY, F.E.S.
By the end of October, the ivy blossom is over, and we have taken
our Xanthias and our Thorns, and searched in vain (as usual) for our

308 THE entomologist's record.

Erythrocephalas and our Lambdas, and what are we going to do now ?
Are we going to sit down and arrange our cabinets for next season,
varying the programme with occasional rambles in search of the
twenty-odd species, many of them of the commonest, that alone are
obtainable by the Macro-lepidopterist ? Or shall we not rather expand
our knowledge of this wonderful science of ours, and look more closely
into those marvellous and, to us, perhaps somewhat contemptibly tiny
beings, which go to make up the order Coleoptera ? If we sufficiently
bestir ourselves to do this, we shall very soon find that our erstwhile
contempt was born, as is too often the case, not from the exquisite
little creatures themselves, but from our own ignorance of this, one of
the greatest and most varied of the British orders of the Insecta. The
great advantage of the study of this order is that there are as many speci-
mens, and perhaps even better species, to be obtained during the "closed
season " of winter, than in the bright and genial warmth of the most
glorious summer weather. This, in all probability, is not in reality
the case, but only appears to be so, since many things abounding in
May and June will be seen at no other time of the year, the majority,
on the other hand, carry on a very spirited existence from the end of
one August to the commencement of the next, thus living very much
longer in the imago state than do any of the Lepidoptera, not excepting
the hybernators.

A country ramble in November or December becomes a thing of
some monotony to the lepidopterist, at all events in England, since
his eye travels only from tree-trunk to paling and back — that is to
say, of course, when searching for imagines. In pursuit of beetles —
also imagines — however, there is not an object throughout a country
lane which may not harbour " good things." The very earth of the
hedge-bottoms teems with them, and the twigs of the hedge-tops
afford great security against the inclemencies of the weather to the
enclosed insects. The scattered leaves form a perfect hibernaculum,
and the very palings are sometimes riddled, much to their detriment,
by the borings of various Teredilia and Scolytidae. One of the very
best ways of collecting in the autumn is from fungi. Many exceed-
ingly rare things are to be obtained by visiting a Avood — I always
think fungi in woods the best kinds for this work — and shaking any
pieces of fungus, which you will find the recent rains have caused to
spring up abundantly on every side, over anything you happen to
have with you, such as an umbrella, newspaper, sweep-net, or even
one's pocket-handkerchief which answers the purpose very well and
will always wash ! The beetles principally taken by this means are
Braclielytra, among which will be large numbers of Homalota, the
largest genus of British Coleoptera, and one of the most difficult to
identify, but besides these will be found a fair percentage of Clavi-
cornia, with a sprinkling, perhaps, of Geodephaga and Teredilia.

Later, when the fungi have all disappeared, and the iron hand of
winter has descended in stern reality, we may still wend our way, chisel
in hand, to some lordly poplar or regal beech, and there spend a happy
afternoon beneath an overcoat. For many of our very rarest beetles
hybernate under the bark of trees, while others, being internal feeders
upon the actual wood itself, do not, like the larva of L'osms, hyber-
nate at all, but carry on their depredations, which thus become
doubly injurious, throughout the whole year. I well remember spend-

COLKOPTERA IN WINTKR. 309

ing three hours continuously cutting jffyZesi'wMs crenatus from the solid
wood of a very tough and apparently quite healthy oak tree, with the
temperature at 34*^, and a keen nor'easter driving the sleet into my
eyes with delightful persistency ; but I took my series, and returned
home rejoicing, under the shadow of a pipe, to a good hot tea ! Mr.
WooUey and many other coleopterists rave about beech as the best tree
for winter beetles, and I should like to do so too, but there are none in
these parts, saving such as stand in gardens or other too well cultivated
spots. Personally I have always found willow trees best, for, if there
is nothing especially choice, one at least gets a great number and
often a fair variety of things ; those trees which stand on the banks of
streams should be worked with greatest success, since the semi-aquatic
beetles, such as th° Prasocures, invariably walk up something tall in
order to avoid " February fill-dyke," and floods generally, and would
in this respect appear wiser in their generation than Chaerocamjja
elpenor, most of whose pupse must surely be drowned, as they lie
among the lady's-bed-straw, in our flooded water-meadows, for perhaps
six weeks or so.

Floods, by-the-bye, are the cause whose eft'ect is another pabulum
much afl'ected by beetles, but this is generally after the new year
has set in. The refuse, left upon the meadows by the sinking
again of the waters, has been washed from the river-banks, sur-
rounding ditches, and, in fact, whencesoever the flood was able to
sweep it. This will be found a most prolific beetle-trap, and one
that may be carried away in a sack or bag, and brought home for diligent
examination, which is quite impracticable in the field, owing to the
exceedingly minute species it invariably contains. Last February
I took over a hundred and fifty species from a single bag of this rejecta-
menta, amongst which were twenty-three specimens of the very rare
Trachys troglodytes, and, a day or two later, the fourth (I believe)
British specimen of Baijotis diglyptus, having taken the third at about
the same spot a year previously. Bags of moss may be brought home
in like manner from anywhere with good results, but preferably from
the open places and glades in woods, and will be found to contain
many rare things it is hardly possible to obtain, excepting by the
merest chance otherwise. Philonthus hicens, one of our rarest species
of the genus, is obtained almost exclusively by this means.

When in the transition stage between moths and beetles, I brought
home a bag full of dead leaves from a spinny at Epsom, and was
exceedingly elated to find curled up great numbers of Otiorrhjnchus
picipes, which I carefully carded and sought diligently to identify. I was
equally fortunate in the other order, Lepidoptera, which showed up some
half-dozen larvae of Noctua xanthographa I Mr. Ford reminds me
that about Christmas, or soon after, the water-net may be brought
into requisition with advantage, if the winter be an open one, as good
Hydradephaga and Palpicornia are beginning to emerge in our ponds
and ditches, and by the middle of February the majority of those
species which occur ubiquitously should be in full swing ; but it is
hard to specify a time for any particular species, for, though they
undoubtedly emerge from the pupa in rotation year by year, no sec-
tion of the Coleoptera is probably affected more by atmospheric influ-
ences. Altogether the coleopterist has a rather gay time in the winter,
never feels that he cannot obtain new species to add to his collection

310 THE entomologist's RECORD.

simply by going out into the highways and hedges and culling them
in by judicious working, and, moreover, the subject is so much wider
(I am speaking of British insects), and the scope for experiment so
very much greater, as to be extremely fascinating to those ambitious
enough to tread its varied pathway.

Notes on the Rhopalocera of the Guildford district during the

years 1896-7.

By W. GKOVEK.

The year 1896 was a somewhat abnormal one. In many localities
the season was (as had been anticipated from the mildness of the
winter) unusually forward ; but, in others, the reverse was the case,
the present district being numbered among the latter. Although the
winter here was one of almost unprecedented mildness — both frost
and snow being practically an unknown quantity — the spring species
were later than usual, and from three weeks to a month later than in
1898, although the conditions were of much the same character as
in that year. The long drought, which lasted practically from the
beginning of April to the beginning of August (when both it and the
sunnner came to a sudden termination), was, in many respects, very
similar to that of 1893, but in 1896 the weather broke up suddenly
in the first weeks of August, and after that, fine sunny days were very
rare indeed. This, no doubt, accounted for the failure of some of the
autumn species, more particularly the Vanessids, the almost total
absence of which was the more noticeable after the wonderful abund-
ance of so many other species during the long, dry summer.

On the other hand, 1897 must be considered in many ways a
typical year, the winter being rather severe, compared with the
previous one, but remarkable more for excessive rainfall than cold ;
and the summer showing to perfection that wonderful mixture of
heat and coolness, sunshine and storm, which no other country in the
world can show in the same degree as our own islands. The climatic
conditions being so different, it is only to be expected that the lepidop-
terous fauna Avould show equal points of divergence, and the present
year will chiefly be remembered for a late spring, and an unusually
fine and sunny autumn, and also for the general scarcity of individuals
of many species.

The district covered by this article is a strictly local one, being only
that portion included within a radius of four miles from the town.

The geological formations of the district are both numerous and
interesting, for so small an area, as will be seen from the following
list, taking them in order from north to south : I. Lower Bagshot,
sand, with patches of gravel and peaty bog. II. London clay, with
extensive patches of Pleistocene sand and drift gravel ; these, in some
places, cover the clay to a depth of nearly fifty feet. III. Woolwich
and Reading beds ; these are only developed to a small extent.
IV. Chalk, with a capping of clay and gravel (high-level drift) in
many places. This formation occupies the central portion of the
district, the town itself being situated upon it. V. Upper greensand.
VI. Gault. The extent of both these is here very small. VII. Lower
greensand (Folkestone and Hythe beds). These are both developed
to a large extent, more particularly the Hythe beds. There is also a

RHorALOCEHA OF THE GUILDFORD DISTRICT. 311

large inlier of Atherfield and Wealden clay in the latter ; it is
somewhat triangular in shape (the Wealden occupying the centre),
and is nearly five miles in length from east to west, and about two in
width at its widest part.

As may be gathered from the above, the physical geography is
equally diversified. The river Wey flowing towards the N.N.E., inter-
sects the district, dividing it into two nearly equal portions. The small
portion of Bagshot sand included within the northern boundary of the
district is low-lying land, being only a little over 100 feet above
sea level ; some portion is under cultivation, but the largest part is
boggy moor. The London clay, on the other hand, is almost wholly
under cultivation ; it is also slightly more elevated, rising in some
places to nearly 200 feet. The chalk is in parts cultivated < the cap-
ping of drift being chiefly occupied by woods of beech and oak), but
by far the larger portion is bare down. At the eastern boundary of
the district the chalk ridge attains an elevation of over 600 feet. The
portion west of the river is a part of the well-known " Hog's-back ;"
it is very narrow, the strata being tilted up at such a high angle,
that the northern slope is as steep as the southern escarpment ; its
highest point is just over 500 feet. The lower greensand is, to a very
large extent, occupied by pine-woods and extensive heaths. The Folke-
stone beds rise very steeply from beneath the chalk ; in one place they
attain the same elevation as the latter (500 feet), although the hori-
zontal distance between their respective summits is only about half a
mile. The Hythe beds are cultivated to a much larger extent than
the last ; they are also less elevated, their highest points, which are
capped by an outlier of the Folkestone strata, not rising much above
800 feet. South of our area, however, they rise above the Weald with
a fine ragged escarpment, which includes some of the highest points
in the S.E. of England. The Wealden inlier forms a tract of swampy
common only slightly elevated above the level of the river ; it is also
covered to a large extent by river gravel, etc., deposited by that stream
and its tributaries. There is little doubt but that it is the bed of an
ancient lake.

HESPERIDES— Hesperid^ — Nisoiiiades tages, L. — 1896 : Not
so common as usual, and late, not seen before May 11th. 1897 :
Rather scarce, and later. May 17th. Si/richthus malcac,lj. — -1896:
Rather scarce, first. May 11th. 1897 : Very scarce. May 17th. Pam-
phila ■■ii/lcanus, Esp. — 1896 : Much scarcer than usual ; 1897 : Fairly
common. In most years it is very abundant. F. comma, L. — 1896 :
Commoner than I have ever noticed it before, and out early, the first
being observed on July 23rd. 1897 : Not common and late, August
5th. TInjmclwm thauiiias, Hufn. — 1896 : Common. It had been rather
scarce for several years previous. 1897 : Not common.

FAFlhlONlDE^—LiYGJEkiDJE — Clin/soji/unius phlcu-as, L. — 1896 :
Fairly common, but in nothing like the abundance in which it occurred
in 1893. 1897 : Fairly common. I'irst and second broods very
late. Third brood just out in considerable numbers on Oct. 5th, most
of those observed being females. The first brood is always scarce
here, and the few specimens obtained of it all agree with the ab.
intermedia, Tutt, the fore-wings being brassy or golden instead of
coppery. Poh/onimatus conjdon, Poda. — 1896 : More abundant than I
have ever seen it. The disproportion between the sexes was very

312 THE entomologist's record.

great, the males being in a majority of at least thirty to one. 1897 :
Scarce and late. The typical greenish-blue male is scarce here ; ab.
iiKtn/inata, Tutt, one or two — most of the specimens have the mar-
ginal bands of fore-wings pale, and marked with more or less distinct
whitish rings ; these seem to agree with the var, hispana, H.S. ; others
with bands dark and unspotted — ab. caendea-marninata, Tutt — also
occurred. Most of the females are typical, but a few of the ab. aurantia,
Tutt, were met with. One very large specimen has the basal spots
on underside of fore-wings absent, being thus parallel with P. teams
ab. ican'nus. P.iearus, Rott. — 1896 : Very abundant. 1897 : Not nearly
so numerous. The males seem to be typical, the only variation being
a slightly darker, more violet, blue in some specimens, and one with
marginal dots on hind-wings— ab. ceUna, Oberth., taken June 17th.
1897 : Some of the females agree with the ab. ipliU, Baumh. ; others
have the base more or less lilac-blue, the amount of blue varies from
a few scales in some specimens, to others in which it covers half the
wing. Some fine examples occurred of the ab. caerulea, Fuchs, and
also a few of the ab. caendea-ctineata, Tutt. The typical lilac-blue
female is scarce here, and I have not seen any for several years.
Under-side males, one or two of the ab. iphis, Meig, occurred ; also
others intermediate between this and the type. Females, mostly
typical, but one or two have the lower basal spot on fore-wings double.
P. astntrclw, Bgstr. — 1896 : Scarce. 1897 : More numerous. Slight
variation in depth of ground colour, some being much paler than
others. The spots on the under-side vary considerably in size and
number ; the transverse row on fore-wings often consists of five, but
usually of six spots, and, in one or two instances, there is a small seventh
spot near the costa. A small female, taken on August 18th, 1897,
is only fin. in expanse, t'l/aiiiris art/ioliis, L. — 1896 : Abundant. As
a rule, this species is rather scarce. The first brood was out in large
numbers about May 9th — a late date ; in 1894 it was well out by
April 10th. Have never met with a second brood until 1896 — it was
out in far greater numbers than the first by July 15th; the females of
this brood were very scarce. 1897 : Rather scarce. First brood,
April 26th, being thus earlier than last year. Second, only a few met
with on August 5th. ('alloj)lirt/s rnhi, L. — 1896 : Scarce, not seen
before May 11th. 1897 : Scarce, first May 17th. This only occurs
in small numbers here.

PiERm/E. — Pieris hrasdcae,Jj. — 1896 : No specimens of the first brood
were observed, and the second only occurred in very small numbers in
July and August. As far as my own observations extend, this species
was totally abseAt during the years 1894-5, and very scarce in 1893.
Its reappearance is therefore interesting, as, previous to 1898, it was
one of our most abundant species, its larvic often doing a large amount
of damage. 1897 : First brood very scarce. Second fairly common.
P. rapae, L. — Very abundant. It was very late, no specimens being
seen until the middle of April. 1897 : Abundant— later than last year,
not observed before May 1st. P. napi, L. — 1896 : Very common, it
was also rather later than usual. 1897 : Much less common than
usual. pAichloe canhunines, L. — 1896 : Very common, but rather late.
1897 : Rather scarce and late, not observed until May 1st. Goneptfit/.r
rhavnii, L. — 1896 : Very common, as a rule it is rather scarce. Out
early, several fresh specimens being seen on July 15tb. 1897 : Hy-

RHOPALOCERA of the GUILDFORD DISTRICT. 313

bernated specimens very common in the spring, but it has been very
scarce this autumn. On May 4th I was fortunate enough to observe
a female depositing ova. She laid ten eggs while under observation
(during a period of about 15 minutes). Most authors say the eggs are
laid on the under side of the leaf, close to the midrib ; but, in the pre-
sent instance, the latter position was only chosen three times.
Four of the eggs were deposited on the twigs themselves, close to the
leaf, and quite three inches from a bud. When a bud is chosen, only
a single egg is laid, as a rule, on each, but, in this instance, the remain-
ing eggs were laid on a terminal bud, and all on the upper sides of the
leaves.

Nymphalid^. — Argi/nnia adippe, L. — 1896 : A few worn specimens
observed at the beginning of August. 1897 : Not observed. A. az/laia,
L. — 1896 : This species is very local here, but it occurred in fair
numbers in its chosen locality. 1897 : Only one (a worn female)
noticed on August 14th. I was, unfortunately, unable to make any
observations during July, so missed both these species. BrentJiist
fiiphrotij/iie, L. — 1896 : Very common, but rather late, not seen before
May lith. In 1893 it was out by April 19th. 1897: Very scarce,
and late, not being out before May 25th. Only about a score seen
altogether. ]^a)U'ssa to, L. — 1896 : Only three hybernated specimens
seen in April, and none in the autumn. 1897 : Three or four noticed
in August. It has been very scarce for several years. A;ilais urticae, L.
— 1896 : First brood abundant, well out by the first week in June.
Second, rather scarce. Larvae abundant. A large number bred from
these, nearly all typical, but a few are more brightly coloured, and
have the two central spots nearly absent, thus coming near the
var. ichnma, Bon. One taken on July 15th, is rather dark, and has the
inner marginal spot joined to the central costal spot by a dark cloud,
being thus intermediate between the type and the var. pnlaris, Stgr.
1897 : Rather scarce. Larvae of tirst brood not common, and about
50% of them infested with Dipterous parasites. Second brood not
nearly so common as usual in August. Larvae of third brood met
with in considerable numbers on September 10th. They were in all
stages, some nearly full-fed, the imagines from these are now (October
14th) emerging. The small ones, on the other hand, are not all full-fed
yet ; a few have pupated during the last day or two. Kw/onia poli/-
cltloroft, L. — 1896 : One on August 5th. 1897 : Only three seen, one
in March and two in August. It is always scarce here, although it
occurs in fair numbers a mile or two south of our area. Puramcin
atalanta, L. — 1896 : One on July 9th. In most years it is common
enough. 1897 : Scarce. About a dozen larvaa met with on September
10th ; some of them full-fed, but others very small. Two imagines
emerged from the former on October 14th ; some of the latter,
however, have only just pupated. The larvae were exceedingly variable,
the above small number including examples of all the four varieties
figured by Hofmann, Die llaupen, 3, 12, a. b. c. d.

Satyrid^. — Parari/e vwiaera, L. — 1896 : Very common ; the
first brood was rather late, not being seen before May 20th. The
second was more numerous than the first, and was out in large
numbers by July 15th. This species had been less common for several
years, but in 1896it quite recovered its lost ground. 1897 : First brood

314 THE entomologist's record,

rather scarce. A female, taken on June 17th, has three secondary spots
with white pupils on each fore-wing. They are in the position
described by Mr. Tutt, Brit. JJutts., p. 393. Second brood very
common, but little variation observed ; a partial third brood occurred
here in October, 1893, but nothing of the kind was observed in 1896, or
in the present year, 1897. P. et/cria, L. var. e;/erides, Stdgr. — 1896 :
Very common, much more so than usual. It is difficult to say, with
certainty, how many broods occur in a favourable year, but in 1896
four occurred here ; the dates (which are, as near as possible, absolute,
and refer to one locality only) being as follows : First brood, April
30th to June 2nd. Second brood, June 13th to July 6th. Third,
July 18th to August 5th. (Fairly common, but much worn on latter
date ; possibly on the wing for some time longer, but none seen on
August 20th). Fourth, September 14th. It was more numerous
on the 16th, but after that the weather set in very wet and cold, and
no more were observed. 1897 : First brood. May 1st to June 12th.
Second, June 17th to July 11th. (In fair numbers on the latter date,
but all much worn). Third, August 14th to September 20th. Up to
date no fourth brood has been observed. The males show considerable
variation in the extent of the pale spots ; some have them much
reduced and more fulvous in shade, ab. intermedia, Tutt, while in one
or two instances they are nearly obliterated altogether from the hind-
wings. I have noticed that the females emerge with great regularity,
about ten days later than the first males ; they also remain on the wing
for a much shorter period than the latter, disappearing after about
twelve or fifteen days. The males, on the other hand, occur over a
period of about five Aveeks in all the broods except the fourth.
(Newman — who gives April 10th to 20th only — seemed to know less
about this than some of the other species). Hipiiarchia semele, L. —

1896 : Occurred in fair numbers in several parts of the district — most
numerous on the chalk and lower greensand, but it also occurred on a
boggy moor on the Bagshot sand, where it seemed as much at home
as on the dry stony hills, with which usually it is associated. The
males show some variation in the extent of the pale markings, some
have traces of a pale band on both fore- and hind-wings, and the orange
spots on the latter large ; of ab. srilfma, Tutt. a few, and of ab. caeca,
Tutt, two or three. Some of the females are very large, and richly
coloured, several being over 2iin. in expanse. 1897 : Scarce, and
much later than last year. EjrinejJwle janira, L. — 1896 : Abundant

1897 : Not nearly so numerous. Most of those observed were typical,
but a number of males of the ab. sKjfma, Tutt, were taken. E. tithunm,
L. — 1896 : Very common, more so than for several years past. 1897 :
Much less numerous. Variation very slight. Knudia Iniperantlnis, L.
— 1896 : Common, but less so than in some years ; 1897 : Rather
scarce. It is always local here. The ocellated spots vary slightly in
size and number, but nothing remarkable was observed. ( 'oenoniiniphu
pamjdiilns, L. — 1896 : Not very common ; which is rather remarkable,
in most years it is, perhaps, the most abundant species found in the
district. 1897 : Very common. First brood late, not out until May
25th. Second, also very late, being only just emerging on August
30th. Variation slight, but one or two males of the ab. hjllun, Esp.,
occurred ; the ab. orcllata, Tutt, also occurred in fair numbers.

THE GENUS OPOKABIA. 815

The Genus Oporabia.

(Concluded from p. 286).
By LOUIS B. PEOUT, F.E.S.

2a. — Var. (?) (autumnaria, Weav. =) addendaria, B. -White. —
Weaver (Z()(di)iiist, 1852, p. 3495) says that this is readily distinguished
from nchnlata and his nef/lcctata [i.e., large nchulata) by the glossy
silver and fineness of the wings, and the slenderness of the antennae ;
that it varies in size and in shade, some specimens being rather
darker, but not M^ithout markings ; and that it rests on branches of
birch. He obtained a few in Perthshire in 1851, and very sparingly
in previous seasons. He indicates nothing but its larger size, and its
attachment to birch, to distinguish it from appro.vwiaria and fili(/ram-
iiiaria. As regards the feeding on birch, Mr. W. Salvage says he
meets Avith nebidata ( dilutata) onhj on birch, and that the larvae most
certainly feed on that tree. Mr. Logan [ZooL, 1858, p. 6285) bred
autumnaria (i.e., addendaria) from birch, " the larvte differing sufficiently
from that of the common dilutata, but not," he suspected, " equally
from that oi fili(irammaria, which had been reared the same season, by
a Mr. Wilson, from larvae on heath." Unfortunately, Mr. Logan
does not describe the larva ; nor does Mr. Gregson, who records that
Greening bred a series from oak ; and also that he himself bred a
series of apjiroxiiaaria from birch. Evidently nothing definite can be
gathered from the food-plants.

Mr. C. Fenn tells me that in June, 1875, he received, among a lot
of larvfB from Rannoch, a few of an Oporabia, feeding on sallow,
Vacciniuin, etc., which Mr. Carrington considered autiuiinaria. He
reared them, and the moths emerged at intervals from September 12th
to the end of October ; except that they were a little more silky in
appearance, they seemed to him, " true dilutata.''' In case, however,
they were veritable addendaria, I quote the larval description, which
he has kindly placed in my hands. " 15th .June, 1875. Elongate,
slightly attenuated anteriorly. Head rounded, body with a few
scattered short hairs. Colour green, with a greyish tinge on the
back. Dorsal and sub-dorsal lines, and a faint thread between them,
grey. A whitish spiracular band, only distinct on the posterior
segments, where it margins the blunt anal flap. This spiracular band
is shaded below with darker green than the belly, which is paler than
the ground colour. Head pale green, dotted with brown." This
description is, in some respects, intermediate between normal nebulata
a,nd filii/raiiDiiaria.

Dr. Buchanan White admits that addendaria is very closely allied
to jiliiiramniaria, but considers there is a slight difference in the
genitalia — a difference which unfortunately is not confirmed by Mr.
Pierce's investigations. Dr. White only examined two specimens of
each of these species, and the difference, as shown by his figures, was
very slight, and perhaps due to some accident in preparation ; at any
rate, Mr. Pierce's numerous examples come between Dr. White's two
extremes, and apparently yield nothing of importance for differentia-
tion. It may, however, be useful for reference if I quote Dr. White's
statements : "On the ventral hind margin of the last abdominal
segment of a male ( f/mrabia are two short spine-like processes. In
dilutata these are rather near each other, and form short spines iongi-

816

THE ENTOMOLOGIST'S KECOUD.

tudinally striate near the tip. In autumnaria they are rather further
apart and less distinctly spine-like, while in tili(jiaiiniiaiia they are
much Hatter, and little more than tooth-like projections of the hind
margin." I may add that the distinction of the first-named from the
other two is again evident enough.

Dr. White adds little that is new as to the diflerentiation by wing-
shape or markings, etc. His measurements, based on 21 specimens,
give the size range from 34-41mm. (say 16-19 lines), with an average
working out at just 37mm. For filvjrcumnaria, his measurements,
based on 15 specimens, give 28-36mm. (say 13-17 lines), the $ s
nearly always smaller than the 3 s ; the average size works out at
just 32mm. As regards form, etc., he considers that addendaria has
more ample wings, especially in the female (sexes nearly equal in
size), less concave outer margin, and, consequently, less produced apex.
As regards markings, he mentions that tilujrcuumaria has a greater
tendency to suffusion, and also has often a more distinct and darker
marginal band to the hind-wings.

Gregson apparently separates the two chiefly by the different
localities in which they occur, and the different seasons at which they
appear (jiliji raw nutria, August — beginning of September; addendaria,
October and November) ; but also appeals to the larger size of the
last-named, the more elongate under-wings of the ^ filiijrammaria,
and the great difierence in the females. Unfortunately, the dates are
very unreliable for different parts of the country, Dr. Buchanan
White and Sir T. Moncreifie giving August or the 1st of September
onwards for addendaria, and September to October for /ilit/rannnaria.
Buckler's notes {Larvae, vii., pp. 163-5), and Mr. Clark's {Ent. Her.,
viii., pp. 2b9-90) show how the dates for the larvae may vary. My
OAvn Bolton //7///^rtH?»/(u-/rt this spring did not hatch till March 17th,
though the Lancashire larvae usually hatch in February, or even the
end of January ; and, as regards the lack of agreement between the
imaginal dates and the imaginal characters, I would point out that
even Mr. Gregson had to admit a difficulty. In the report of a
meeting of the Northern Entomological Society {ZooL, 1859, p. 6354)
he announces that he exhibited " a number of Cheimatobia autum-
naria (! ), taken by Mr. Mawson, of Cockermouth, during the last week
in October. This year they are like Oporahia filiiirammaria, but as
that species would pass away in September, at the very latest, they
confirm what has been advanced at these meetings before, namely,
that there is a good species allied to O. fiUtjranimaria.'' I trust the
sound logic of this argument will commend itself. I may remind
my readers, by the way, that Mr. Clark's series, bred from a single
batch of eggs, which hatched within a period of five days, emerged
from August 5th to November 11th.

As regards the distribution of addendaria, little can at present be
stated definitely. If it be a valid species, I should refer my Schneeberg
specimen, and the other Continental examples refen^ed to already, to
this rather than to _/77?v/ra7»H/rtr/<7 ; this would give it a tolerably wide
range. In Great Britain, I can only definitely give Delamere, and
Dr. Buchanan White's Forth, Tay and Dee districts {Seot. Nat., iv.,
p. 122). Mr. Porritt introduced autumnaria in his Yorkshire list as a
variety of dilutata, but he informs mo that the specimens in question
proved to be merely " worn or dingy jilif/ranunaria," which he used to

THE GENUS OtOUABlA. 317

take at lamps near the town (Huddersfield), and at rest on birch, etc.,
and which he now regards as " stragglers from their more natural
habitat (the moors)."

Mr. Salvage is convinced that this is only a variety olfiluirammaria,
and Mr. McArthur also confesses that he cannot draw the line between
them, though out of deference to Dr. White, he admits that they may
be distinct. Actual intermediates do not seem to be very frequent,
though Mr. Clark's series may perhaps be so regarded. Mr. Salvage
writes me tliat the eggs he obtained, and from which Mr. Clark bred,
were from tvne filit/raiiimaria, taken among heather, at about 1,500ft.
elevation. Is this perhaps a slip of the memory ? Mr. Tutt is under
the impression that he heard at the time that the eggs were from a
lowland female.

2b. — Vak. (?) APPRoxiMARiA, Weav. — This must also be regarded as
an intermediate form between filigrammaria and addendaria, as
Weaver himself says {vide, Ent. Rcc, vii., 291). From the whole
tenour of his remarks, I feel no doubt that it was simply a large
variety of fili{irammaria, with a preponderance of dark specimens. I
do not know whether he suspected that they fed on the spruce fir ; if
not, there is really nothing but size to differentiate them from the
type. Messrs. Gregson and Salvage have both mentioned the frequent
ocGnrrence ot fill ff ram III aria in fir woods where heather (irows. It may
be of interest to remark that Herr E. Piingeler, in a recent number of
the Stett. Ent. Zeit. (n\ some " Mittheilungen aus der Schweiz ") re-
cords dilutata at considerable elevation, the larv« on Pinus. larix
tolerably different from the normal form, but producing imagines
hardly differing from the type. It is a reasonable conjecture that
these would belong to the filifjrammaria group, but no description is
given to aid the determination.

I doubt whether Mr. Gregson's present appro.vimaria is at all the
same as Weaver's. Mr. Gregson {ZooL, 1858, p. 6194) says that
Weaver saw his series, and Weaver cites Gregson's MSS. It is
therefore reasonable to assume that both writers were dealing with
the same form. But Mr. Gregson's series was bred from birch, and
his present idea of apprn,rimaria, as shown by two specimens named
by him, and kindly sent by Mr. Pierce, is of a dark narrow-winged
nebulata. Mr. Sydney Webb has the original series of Gregson's, and
inclines to call them vars. of the last-named species. I therefore ex-
press with some diffidence, what is nevertheless my own very decided
opinion (based on personal inspection), that they are a darker, less
glossy form of the antumnaria of the same locality (Delamere). The
only information that Mr. Gregson has published on his appm.rimaria
can be summed up as follows :— 1st, That it occurs in Delamere
Forest, about the same time of the year as nebulata. 2nd, That the
larva feeds on birch. 3rd, That the hind-wings are elongate, and have
the band running across them, not parallel with the cilia, as in nebu-
lata. This characteristic of the hind-wings, however, is also ad-
duced to fdi'jrammaria,axU%unnaria (addendaria), und precursaria. 4th,
That the form of the female is even more distinct homfilit/ranniiaria
and addendaria than they are the one from the other.

Mr. Pierce has obtained from Mr. Gregson a little further informa-
tion. I quote what Mr. Pierce has written me on the subject : " He
(Mr. Gregson) says dilutata feeds on oak, and is bright velvety green;

818 THE entomologist's record.

approximaria on birch, and is not so velvety. Apprnximaria, as far as
I can gather, is dihitata, fore-wings no object, but hind-wings are
very narrow, and margin runs across the wing, and not parallel with
the cilia. In diliitata this starts, in well set specimens, not from the
anal angle of the hind-wings, but above, and runs at the same dis-
tance from the cilia all the way along the wing. In approximaria it
starts from anal angle and runs across the wing, more like filiiiram-
maria.'' Mr. Pierce's bred specimen (unfortunately, without history)
seems to mo to be a stunted and narrowed form of nehulata, and I
should have thought, from the evidence of Mr. Webb's cabinet, that
Mr. Gregson, in the olden times, w^ould have referred it to his prenir-
mria. It certainly does not belong to the filir/rawmaria group, and I
have a bred $ from Epping Forest entirely agreeing with it. The
captured specimen, named approximaria by Mr. Gregson, is certainly
a normal nehulata, with Avhich the genitalia perfectly agree, and could
be matched by dozens of Loudon specimens.

I am afraid I have trespassed most unwarrantably on your
patience, and can only, in conclusion, reiterate the hope that I may
have succeeded in stimulating a fresh interest in this perplexing genus.

On the habits of Metoecus paradoxus and Velleius dilatatus.

By W. H. TUCK, M.A.

Every autumn I am asked by many correspondents for specimens
of the wasp-beetle {Metoecus paradoxus), w^hich is very common in my
district, in favourable seasons. I am of opinion that if the nests of its
host, Vi'spa ruh/arif:, the small "anchor-faced" wasp, were more
frequently examined in the proper season, the parasite would be often
obtained.

With me it occurs in about a fifth of the nests I open. I have
found 24, 12 and 8 in one nest, but 4 and 2 are the usual numbers,
and then generally in pairs. I have taken 17 of the beetles this
autumn, from seven nests, out of 24 examined — the first, August 2nd,
the last, October 1st, which gives a pretty wide margin for search.

The life-history of this interesting beetle is still involved in much
mystery, and although I have taken a large number at different times,
I can ofter no explanation upon the following points, r/c, why the
perfect insect is seldom, if ever, found outside ; how the female passes
the time until she finds and enters the nest ; and how the race survives
when two or more wet seasons prove fatal to its host.

As far as I can ascertain, the female beetle — which probably lives
underground — enters the nests from about the middle of July, and
remains in them until they are sufficiently advanced to lay her eggs ;
and no insect is more irregular than this wasp, as I have seen plenty
of nests from July to December.

The eggs are very soon hatched, and the grub grows rapidly, and
having consumed a certain number of the wasp grubs, spins itself up
in a cell side by side with the young wasp grubs — generally the males.
The perfect insect appears to Avait for some time in its cell, possibly in
order that the wasps may liberate it by eating away the silken cap,
and it is not difficult, by the aid of a good glass, to find the parasite,
but in some cases the cap must be removed. When this is done, the

HABITS OF MET(ECUS PARADOXUS AND VELLEIUS DILATATUS. 319

beetle often runs out and flies away at once to the window. I con-
sider that in about eight weeks from the date of finding the nest is the
best time to open it up, as, if done sooner, no good result will follow,
and if delayed too long the parasites all disappear, unlike the Crypto-
pJiaifi, and other iuquilines, which remain until the nest decays.

Another of our rarest beetles, Vellems dilatatus, breeds in the nest
of the hornet {I'espa crahro). The proper time to take a nest is about
the middle of October, as then all the sexes can be obtained, and the
full-grown larvae of the beetle. In 1896 I took a large nest from an
oak tree, and found 18 queens, 26 males, and 53 workers, and several
larvBB of Vc'Ueius, but I failed to rear any. Some years ago I found a
perfect beetle and a good many larv* in a nest of Vespa (jennanica, in
a tree stump, which the year before had been occupied by hornets.
The nest should be attacked in the day time, as the hornets work all
night, and the hornets killed or stupefied two hours previously. They
succumb very readily to any strong mixture, and the nest should be
secured before the young hornets in the cells have time to develop,
or the operation is attended with some danger. The nest, unlike any
of the wasps', seems to be made from the scrapings of rough bark. I
took a nest, this year, in a bank — a very unusual place, as the nests
are generally to be found in old trees, or thatched buildings. In one
nest, in a granary, I found a colony of Lepisma saccharina , the " fish "
insect (which is known to infest kiichens), besides a good many Cnjp-
tophagi and other small beetles.

Some further notes re the Tephrosia hybrids.

By W. S. EIDING, B.A., M.D.. F.E.S.

Following up my notes on this subject {ante, pp. 149-150 ; pp. 243-
246 ; pp. 277-278), I would add that the pupae of the hybrids have
been kept during the autumn, either in a lumber room facing N.W.,
with open window, or in an outside larder. The insects continued
emerging more or less during a period of over four months, and till
recently ; the last hybrid of (J T. hutortata + $ T. var. delamerensis
appearing on October 22nd, two pup^e remaining at the present time ;
the last of $ T. var. delamerensis -\- 5 T. bistortata about the middle of
September, no pupae left ; the last of <? T. bistortata + 5 2^. biundnlaria
on October 24th, two pupa? remaining'-' ; and the last of ^ T.
biundidaria -\- $ T. Mstoriato on October 21st, seven pupae left, f The
weather being now cold, and east winds prevailing, it is doubtful
whether these pupae will produce more imagines this year.

Of the pairings of the hybrids which yielded ova (June 13th-26th),
as mentioned in a previous note, only some of the batches from ^
( ^ T. var. delamerensis -f $ T. bistortata) -f $ {3' T. bistortata + $
T. var. delamerensis), proved fertile, and these only partially so, a
large proportion of ova shrivelling up. The larvfe fed during July, and
the first week of August, and on August 8th, I find a note in my diary :
"most of the hybrid larvae, 2nd generation («), reciprocal T. bis-
tortata and T. var. delamerensis, gone down." On August 21st, the first

* These two pupae emerged on Oct. 31st and Nov. 3rd, respectively.
t Two of these emerged Oct. 30th and Nov. 1st, leaving five pupse.

320

THE ENTOMOLOGIST ^^ RECORD.

imago appeared, whilst some of the larvae were still feeding, and the
insects have continued emerging occasionally till October 19th, when,
there being two days of much warmer weather (nearly 60*^), a ^ and ?
came out. These I paired, and ova were laid on October 21st and 22nd.
The batch is a fairly large one, made-up, probably, of about 150. The
ova are rather bright green, with slight bluish tinge. The average
size is •Qib'd mm. vertical axis, and -488 mm. transverse axis. Fifteen'-'-
pupae of these broods, 2nd generation {a), are going over. On August
80th, I had previously paired two hybrids of the 2nd generation (.7),
and ova were laid on September 3rd. On August 31st, I again paired
two more, which produced ova on September 4th. The ova from both
these batches were yellowish-green, and the average size was -693 mm.
vertical axis, and -471 mm. transverse axis. The first batch was in-
fertile, the second hatched on September 18th-19th, and the larvre are
feeding in a warm room at the present time (October 25th), a few
being in the 2nd stage, but most in the 3rd. Other hybrids were also
paired, with the following results : —

i PARENT.
PAIRING.

June 24 cT T. hiundiilaria
+ ? T. histortata

26 cT T. hiuitdularia
-f- ? T. histortata

Aug. 9 t? T. histortata +

9 T. hittmlularia

10 cf T. histortata +

? T. Iiiimdidaria

13 <? T. histortata +
? T. hiioidKlaria

20 cs- T. historldta +
? T. hi II lid Ilia ria

Sept. G c? T. var. ddamer-
eiisis -f 9 T. I)is
tortata

? PARENT.

c? T. histortata -f
? 2'. hiinidiilaria

3 T. histortata +
? T. hiundiilaria

S T. histortata +

9 T. hiinidiilaria

S T. histortata +

9 T. hiundiilaria

g T. histortata +
9 T. hiundularia

3 T. histortata +
V v. hiundiilaria

<? T. histortata +
9 7'. var. delamer-

Eathei" bright green,
with bluish tinge.
Average size —
647mm. vert, axis,
462mm. trans, axis.

Colour similar to last.
Average size —

■G50mm. vert, axis,

•469mm. trans, axis.
nil

n.lTE OF
H.\TCHING, ETC.

Infertile

Infertile

Ova laid on 12th.
yellowish green,
with partial bluish
tinge, in mass, large.
Average size —
726mm. vert, axis,
49ymm. trans, axis.

Ova laid on 15th,
colour similar to
last.

Average size —
■686mm. vert, axis,
•475mm. trans, axis.
Ova laid on 23rd,
colour yellowish-
green.

Average size —
•.594mm. vert, axis,
•444mm. trans, axis.
nil

4th week of
August, some
only fertile.

. On Oct. 22,
all except 13,
which were
nearly full-
fed, had pu-
pated — 2nd

generation {/3) f

Someonly, fer-
tile — mixed
with the larvae
of the last
pairing — 2nd

generatiim (ji) f
Infertile

Oct. 25tli, 1.S97.

* One of these emerged Nov. 4th, leaving 14 pupae to go over.
f Tea imagines emerged by Nov. 13tb,

LIFK-niSTORY OF MKTCT;CUS (RIIIPrPHORUS) PARADOXUS. 321

Sketch of the Life-history of Metoecus (Rhipiphorus) paradoxus.

By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D,, F.E.S.

The editor of the Entomologist's Record having asked me for a
sketch of the life-history of Metoecus {Bhipiphorus) paradoxus, I make
the following notes, perhaps not an undesirable thing, as my original
contributions to the matter, in the Annals and Magazine of Natural
Historg, are not very accessible to many entomologists.

So soon as it leaves the cell in which it is matured, the beetle
leaves the wasp nest ; no doubt this statement may require modifi-
cation in regard to detention by weather, the observations, on which it
depends, being that beetles are not to be found at large in the nest,
beyond what may be assumed to have escaped from the cells between
the times of taking and examining the nest, usually, in fact, none,
occasionally, one or two. At large, they have been taken on flowers ;
but their chief occupation is oviposition. The eggs appear to be laid,
and the beetles die within a few weeks of their escape. They pair
readily in confinement, if placed in the sun with some vegetation and
flowers.

As I failed to get them to lay in captivity, under a variety of
circumstances, till I provided them with some half-rotten wood, deeply
in the chinks of which the eggs wei'e laid in little groups, I have no
doubt that naturally the eggs are laid in the cracks and cavities of
posts and other dead timber, such wood, in fact, as the wasps fre-
quent to get their wood-pulp for paper-making, probably near the
ground to prevent desiccation.

As I failed to get any eggs to hatch, I do not know the further
history, until the following summer, that is, I do not know whether
the eggs remain undeveloped all winter ; whether the young larvae
develop in the autumn, but remain unhatched till spring; or whether
they hatch in autumn, and find suitable hibernacula for themselves.
These young larvae are about one-fiftieth of an inch in length, little
active black mites, very like the similar stage in Meloe or Sitaris, but
shorter and broader. They, no doubt, meet with a wasp and attach
themselves to it, when it is collecting paper material, but I have never
succeeded in finding a wasp so infested, and only once saw the little
mite at large in the nest. It must, therefore, very quickly transfer
itself from the wasp that brings it in, to the larva that is its host.
This larva is usually about half -grown when the M. paradoxus mite
makes its way into the interior of the wasp-grub. It lies bathed in
the larval fluids, and lives on these rather than eats anything. Here
it may be found, generally in the flanks of the 3rd or 4th abdominal
segments, until the time when the wasp-grub forms its cocoon, gradu-
ally increasing in size, until it reaches a length of 3-4 mm. The larva
has not yet moulted, though it has grown so much, and still pre-
serves the black dorsal and ventral plates, head, legs and anal suckers
of the small active larva. These are now, however, widely separated by
the extension of the intermediate membrane, and give the larva the
appearance of an ordinary maggot with series of black marks. It is
by aid of these series of marks that the larva may be seen through
the skin of the wasp grub.

When the wasp-larva has completed the silken cap of its cocoon,
the young M. paradoxus larva still possesses sufficient command of

322 THE entomologist's record.

its jaws and legs to make an opening in the thoracic front (usually)
of the wasp larva, and to come outside, where it may be found lying
like a collar round the neck of its host. In the process of emergence
it casts its skin for the first time, and the cast skin, with the hard
black parts of the Mdor-hke larva, may be found plugging the
aperture of exit, which it does so effectually that nothing but the
young M. paradoxus larva escapes thereby. For a time the M. para-
doxus merely sucks the juices of its host through an mdiscernible
opening, afterwards, however, completely devouring the whole larva.
During this period it moults once more, thus moulting twice altogether.
It now completes its transformation rapidly, and is ready to emerge
Avithin a day or two of the wasps in the same row of cells. It is thus
confined for pabulum to the one wasp-grub that it first penetrates.

A cell W\i\i Mrtoccm (Ilhijiiphonts) is usually easy to recognise; the
dome of silk is that spun by the wasp grub, the Mctaecus adding
nothing, and, so far, it is identical with its neighbours ; but when there
is a full-grown Mrtoirus larva, or freshly-changed pupa, the cell has
an ivory whiteness, contrasting with its neighbours ; when the beetle
(and wasps around) are nearly mature, it looks reddish, whilst those
of the wasps are comparatively green. To find the young beetle larva
still within its host, requires a careful search of wasp larvse newly
spun, and younger ones, down to half- grown : but the search is
always successful in a nest fairly colonised by the beetle.

That some nests have no M. paradoxus, and others even many,
is probably to be explained by the wasps of an afi'ected nest frequent-
ing a post for wood pulp that had been used by the beetle for oviposi-
tion ; whilst the wasps of an unaffected nest do not happen to have
come across such a post.

On the occurrence of Tephrosia crepuscularia (biundularia) in

Ireland.

April and May being my busiest months, I have never really worked
for these insects, except in 1895, when at Enniskillen. In that year I
took 18, some whitish, and some brownish, and some slightly ochreous.
Of these I have thirteen with me, which I have not labelled yet, one way
or the other, and these thirteen are the only material I have here for
reference. All the above 1 took at rest on trunks of fir, during
May, as under :— May 1st, 2 ; May 3rd, 2 ; May 4th, 4 ; May Gth, 2 ;
May 9th, 7 ; May 13th, 1 ; total, 18. I did not search for the insect
after May 13th.— (Capt.) E. W. Brown, F.E.S;, Dublin.

I have taken Tephrosia vrepuscidaria (biundularia) at Monaghan,
and once at the Wooden Bridge, in Wicklow, when working sallows.*
I do not appreciate the distinctions between the two insects ; so far as I
have observed, neither of the imagines occurs about here. — (Prof.)
Hart, L.L.D., F.E.S. , Woodside, Howth.

In 1895, I took T. cri'pnscidaria {biundularia). firston May 5th. but
heard of it being taken some days earlier ; in 189G, I took it on ]\lay
3rd, and it was getting over on May 13th, the first week in May seems
to be the time for it. It is found on the trunks of tall fir and larch
trees, in a small plantation in a private demesne near here ; a walk

* The exact date of capture of this specimen would be interesting. Has Mr,
Kane critically examined it ? — Ep.

TKPHUOSFA CRKPUSCULARIA (bIUNDULARIa) IN IRELAND, 323

through the plantation may give four or five specimens, so it cannot
be called common. I have seen no aberrations, and have not taken it
in any other locality. The ground is quite low, I should think not
many feet above the sea level. I do not think there is any other
brood ; I have never taken the ab. ddameroisi.'i. Of T. bistortata
{erejiHscularia) I know nothing. — J. E. R. Allen, Portora, Enniskillen.
The difficulty relating to the Tephrosias under discussion arises
from the various forms found in juxtaposition, and the extended limits
of emergence of the Tephrosias in question in the British Islands, a
comparatively narrow region. Now, in order to throw some light
upon the subject, we should look to the Continent on one hand, and
to Ireland on the other. On the Continent, it seems to me, the
question has hardly been fully worked out, especially as to the time
of emergence in different countries. I notice Berce gives Tephroda
crepim-ularia, Hb., which he describes correspondingly to our T. bia-
tnrtata, as having a doable emergence, March-April, June-August.
Guenee records a second species, T. biunduloria, Esp., from the
neighbourhood of Chateaudun, similar to the British. Guillemot
records the former from Auvergne, as having a double emergence, and
occurring in April and June. Hofmann likewise notes it as plentiful
in Germany, etc., in April-May, July-August. T. bmndnlaria, Esp.,
he sets down as a local English, very variable form, and gives
a fig. of the ab. delamerensu. So far. therefore, we have evidence
of a Continental species with double emergence, both in the
warmer portions of France and Central Europe, and in the cold
and ungenial climate of Auvergne, with its late spring and chilly
autumn. This insect is undoubtedly found in Great Britain, and
agrees both in pattern and emergences with our T. bistortata. Now,
let us look across the Irish Sea. I can speak with some assurance,
for I have met with it, often in abundance, in fourteen Irish counties,
i.e., Donegal, Derry, Down, Tyrone, Monaghan, Fermanagh, Sligo,
Galway, Westmeath, Dublin, Wicklow, Wexford, Kerry, and Cork,
and have examined collections from several other counties. All the
specimens belong to the form named T. hixindidaria, Esp. The
emergence is single This is important, as in the south of Ireland the
climate should produce a double emergence in any insect which
exhibits such a tendency. I have, therefore, come to the conclusion
that there are two species, and that the Irish one is distinct from
T. bistortata. The only at all important variety found in Ireland
comes from a locality in co. Down, where it was discovered by Mr.
Watts, and approaches ab. delamerensis, though not so deeply clouded.
As to the ancestral form of these species, one can only speculate ; but
as the females are generally ligliter than the males, and approximate
more nearly in the two species than the other sex, I should imagine
that the stirps was a pale form like a light T. hinndidaria ; and that the
more highly coloured and deeply marked forms are later developments.
I certainly agree with Mr. Porritt in naming all the Yorkshire
examples I have seen, T. binndidaria, and I hold that in the case of
that species there seems to be an inherent conservatism in regard to a
single brood, as shown in the south of Ireland. Undoubtedly it has
a scanty April emergence in Ireland, as elsewhere, but I know of no
earlier date than April 5th, although a collector worked in Sligo all
through March, in a locality where it occurs ; and, in Tyrone, I have

324 THE entomologist's rkcord.

collected by light all through that month for two seasons, nightly, but
without meeting it, in a locality where it abounds in May, and J may
add that these parts of Ireland are parallel as to climate with the
portion of Yorkshire about Sheffield and Rotherham, where I have
resided, except that we have somewhat more rain. — W. F. dk V. Kane,
M.A., F.E.S., Drumreaske House, Monaghan.

I have a fairly long series of a Tcphnma, from County Cork, that I
have no hesitation in referring to T. crepuscularin [biimdulana). — R.
Adkin, F.E.S., Welllield, Lingards Road, Lewisham.

The absence, up to the present, of Tephrosia bistortata {crepuficiilaria),
in Ireland, is, indeed, remarkable. The distribution of this, and the
closely allied species, T. crepiiscularia {biundularia), when the whole
of the Palasarctic region is considered, leads me to support Dr.
Riding's suggestion that T. bistnrtata is the older form. I have
seen specimens of this latter species from almost all parts of this area,
whilst T. crepusvvlaria appears to be exceedingly local and restricted.
The occurrence of the latter species in Ireland, north and midland
England generally, and south of England locally, and apparent
absence in Scotland and Scandinavia, is also very remarkable, and
were we in possession of some reliable detail of the distribution of the
two species in Europe and Asia, the results, I doubt not, would prove
interesting. I trust Mr. Hewett's appeal for material from abroad has
been, and will be, generously answered. — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S.

Jp>RACTICAL HINTS.

On keeping Pupae through the Winter.

During last winter and spring a discussion was carried on between
some of the members of the Exchange Club, on the subject of keep-
ing pupfe through the winter. The subject appears to us to be of such
general interest to those lepidopterists who rear insects, that we have
summarised the remarks made by some of those who discussed the
matter, and now offer them to a wider public — Ed.

To bring pupte through the winter successfully requires experience,
for what will suit one species may be the worst possible for others.
As a general rule, the best plan is to place the pup^e in a cage or box
with a leno covering. The floor of the cage should be covered with
stones for drainage, and, on the top of this layer, about six inches of
earth should be placed. Cover this with moss. Pupje in cocoons
should be laid on the moss. Above the moss, so as to cover the
cocoons, lay four inches of loosely laid fern fronds. This is sufficient,
also, to keep the extreme frost from naked pupae. Leave the cage
open (except for the leno) to the weather, and, as a rule, there will be
no reason to regret the result. Leaf -spinning species should have the
leaves kept moist. Moisture must never accumulate. Still, dilierent
pupa; often require different treatment. Some pupfe can hardly be
kept too wet, others can hardly be kept too dry — so long as dryness
and warmth do not go together. A few species, of which Pharctra
tnenijanthidiH is a good example, must be exposed to the weather if
they are to emerge at their normal time. Vermin prey upon pup^B —
mice, ants, Tineid lai-vte (those of EndroHia foicstrella and (Ecophora
pseudospretella), and beetle larvae are the worst, and a white fungus

PRACTICAL HINTS. 325

will often attack them. When this pest appears in an old cage the
cage should be burnt at once. — C. Fenn, F.E.S., Lee.

As to keeping dug pupe during the winter, I have found the
following method most successful : —Knock the bottom out of a box
some seven or eight inches deep, and replace with coarsely perforated
zinc, or, better still, with wire gauze Level the edges at the top, and
cut a piece of glass to fit accurately. Place, on the zinc or gauze, inside
the box, a layer of Sphagnum moss, pressed down till it is at least one
inch thick. On this, place a thin layer of cocoa-nut fibre, and on it
the pupje, and cover them with about half an inch of the fibre.
Between it and the glass lid place some sticks crosswise, from which
the insects can suspend themselves when drying their wings. The
box itself should be kept in position over a fiat pan of water. The
Spltanuuiii should be first plunged in boiling water, then dried, and
very shghtly damped before using. -W. S. Riding, M.D., F.E.S.,
Buckerell, Devon.

I leave all my pup^e (except those of Exipitheciae and other small
Geometrids) in the pots in which they have pupated, covering the sur-
face with a thin layer of moss. These pots I place outside in a
covered shed, open to and facing the north, covering each pot with a
sheet of glass. I leave the pots in this shed from the middle of
October to the end of February or early in March, then take them
inside the house, and occasionally damp the moss with tepid water.
Kupithcciac, and other small fry, I place on dry sand in tins, covering
them lightly with a layer of sand, and leave them in the shed all the
winter, taking them indoors in March, and still leaving them in the
tins, and not watering or damping at all. The very few butterfly
pupiB I have are left in the ordinary breeding-cages, and kept indoors,
but not too warm. — T. Maddisox, South Bailey, Durham.

My method of keeping pupfe has been as follows : — I have a box
(or, rather, several boxes) of wood, 18in. long by 12in. wide and 15in.
deep, with hinged cover of glass, sloped from back to front. In the
back and front a piece of wire gauze, 15in. by 5in., is fixed for venti-
lation. The bottom is of similar material (wire gauze). The box
stands over a zinc tray of water the size of the box. Li the bottom
of the box I place a layer of moss, about 2in. to Sin. deep, and on this
I lay the pup^e and cocoons. I keep the boxes in my study, where
there is always a fire. The water under seems to give sufficient damp.
I found, however, that pupse got down through the moss to the
zinc bottom, and I am now placing over the moss a thin layer of
cocoa fibre, placing the pupje on this, and over them putting a very
thin layer of the fibre. Of course, I cannot say how this will answer.
I tried keeping out of doors, but found it quite impossible to exclude
earwigs. — E. F. C. Studd, M.A., B.C.L., F.E.S., Oxton, Devon.

Last winter I did not dig up my pupse at all, but allowed the
moths to emerge where the larvae had gone down. I am inclined to
think that I shall keep to this plan. So many pupa? that are dug up
and interfered with, die, and I fancy that this is often because of their
having been removed from their cocoons and natural site. The objec-
tion to leaving them alone is that the pupse may be devoured, without
one's knowledge, by the larvie of Tineids, and different kinds of vermin.
Last winter I had a number of flower-pots containing pupse (perhaps
20 or 30). Only the pup;e in one of these pots suffered from the

326 THE entomologist's kecord.

attacks of Tineid larvfe (or some other pest), I do not bake the
earth into which the larvae go down, because I do not know how to
bake such quantities as I should want, but I sift the earth and mix
it with sand. I do boil the moss, however. — W. M. Christy, M.A.,
F.E.S., Watergate, Emsworth.

I never disturb my pup^e in the trays after going down, keeping
them in a large emerging cage, fixed on the north side of my house.
This cage is covered on three sides with garden-netting, and has a
substantial top to keep out rain. I never damp them until spring. —
J. Mason, Clevedon Court Lodge, Somerset.

I have tried many ways of wintering my pupae. Now I always
turn them out of their various pots, boxes, etc., lay the subterranean
ones on silver sand, and put chopped moss over them, very lightly laid
on. Those in cocoons I pin about on the sides of the cage. Those
that are very small I put into small boxes, and stand on the moss, or
pin on the side. I keep them in a bath-room that has no fireplace,
and on mild damp days I frequently stand them on the window sill to
get damped. — E. A. Bowles, M.A., F.E.S., Waltham Cross.

The question of keeping pup© is one which interests me greatly. I
have tried leaving the pupfe alone, and I have tried moving them, and
the conclusion which I have come to is, that in the cases of hybernating
pupse, the latter is better. I dig them up about Christmas, and lay
them on sand under boiled moss, which I damp two or three times a
week, except in frosty weather. This I have found quite successful.
Those insects which pupate and emerge in the warm weather I leave
quite alone, and rarely find them fail. All my breeding is done in
ordinary flower-pots, half filled with sand. I use no earth, except such
as is necessary for keeping potted food-plants in good condition. — J. C.
MoBERLY, M.A., F.E.S., Southampton.

I keep my pupae in a large meat safe with perforated zinc sides. It
is placed out of doors, and has about 2 " of peat and soil at the bottom.
— H. H. CoRBETT, M.R.C.S., Doncaster.

Hybernating larvae. — I always grow the food-plant for the larvfe
required in large flower-pots, leaving these in the open with a piece of
perforated zinc on top, which helps to exclude earwigs, and prevents the
larvae escaping — Caradrina tora.raci {lilanda), (J. ahines, and Cerujo
matura larvie fed all the winter of 1896, in this manner. For tree-feeding
larvae, I sleeve on growing trees, and fallen leaves help to protect
them from severe frost. I have reared a large brood of Pcricallia
syri7i(/aria in this manner, also of Acidalia innnuita, etc. — (Major)
R. B. Robertson, Cheltenham.

I find the greatest difficulty in hybernating larva, and have tried
many schemes, but always with partial success only ; the deaths being
usually far above the successes, except in the case of a few things
sleeved out on trees, such as Geowetra papilionaria, PJtorodi'sma baiularia,
etc., which have always done well, but I have never had more than a
very few larvie of each. — T. Maddison, South Bailey, Durham.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS.

Protective resting habit of Lithomia solidaginis, with some
incidental remarks on other species. — About the middle of August,
Lithomia solidaginis was very abundant near Wilsden (Yorks). My

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 327

brother and I have worked the district for the last 20 years, and never
met with it until last year, when it was common, although it had
occurred in the neighbouring valley, and one could hardly work a small
piece of ground almost daily for years, without meeting it, if it had
occurred. At rest it has a most remarkable resemblance to the excre-
ment of grouse— the male particularly so. It folds its wings round
the body, clasps a stone with its legs, and raises its body to an angle
of about SO'^. Its markings, colour, shape, and mode of attachment,
make the imitation almost perfect.

The particular piece of ground where this species occurred consists
of boggy heath, with dwarf fir, birch, oak, mountain-ash, etc., and is
remarkably rich in insect and bird life. -It has produced a large number
of melanic forms, among others of Larentia cacdata, L. multhtruiaria,
Amphi(la.v/s betularia, Phii/alta pedaria, etc. Among other species that
occur in greater or less abundance, are Hepiahts velleda, Leiocampa
dictaeoides, Pharetra men)jaiithidis, Agrotis af/athina, Celaena Jiaworthii,
OrtJiosia suspecta, Noctua ijlareosa, N. dahlii, Hadena glauca, Venusia
cambrica, Acidalia fumata, Scodiona belniaria, Macaria liturata,
Larentia olirata, L. salicata, Scoparia nhnella (conspicualis), S. truncl-
colella, Penthina sauciana, Peronea caledoniana, Amphisa gerningana,
Graplwlitha geminana, Paedixca occidtana, LXchrorhampha herbosana,
etc. — J. A. BuTTERFiELD, B.Sc, 35, Wrottesley Road, Plumstead, S.E.

Hybernation of Vanessa io. — On December 30th, 1896, 1 met with
Vanessa io, hybernating in a pile of wood. I took it indoors for the
night ; in the morning it was quite lively, and, when the window was
opened, it flew quite vigorously. The weather was mild. — Ibid.

Influence of temperature on the HATcmNG of eggs. — In March
last, I divided a batch of eggs of Trichiura crataegi into two parts ; one
batch I kept in my vest pocket in a small glass tube, and these
hatched in a few days (the first on March 29th). The rest, kept at the
temperature of the atmosphere, commenced to hatch on April 14th. In
April last, I similarly divided a batch of ova of Catocala sponsa into two
portions, and treated likewise, carrying one portion in a small glass
tube in my vest pocket, and exposing the other to the ordinary
temperature of the atmosphere. The first hatched in five days, the
other about three weeks later, on May 6th. The two lots of larvfe were
kept separately, and the latter fed up more rapidly, so that there was
little difference in the time they pupated. Ova of Biston hirtaria,
Ennomos erosaria, Orgijia antiqua, etc., subjected in the same way to
a higher and uniform temperature, hatched sooner than those exposed
to the changes in the temperature of the atmosphere. Temperature is
one factor in determining the time required for the development of the
young larvae, but not the only one. The ova of Catocala mipta,
Ennomos autumnaria, etc., lie over the winter, while ova of Tripliaena
fimbria, deposited at the same time, produce larvae in the autumn,
although subjected to precisely the same conditions of temperature.
We meet with similar periods of rest in the life of such a plant as the
crocus. The young bud is formed underground in May, but the shoot
will not develop till the next spring. An onion, or a potato tuber,
will not develop its shoots in November, December or January, even
under the most favourable conditions, but in March it will grow
vigorously under apparently unfavourable conditions. Again, the
sexually produced spores of some algae and fungi do not develop for

328 THE entomologist's kecokd.

two, three, fovu-, or six months. As in the case of ova, this must be
due to some internal change, a change either in the embryo, or a
change in the nutritive material. If it be the former, I do not see
how we are to find what that change is, but if it be the latter it will be
chemical. It may, for instance, be due to the fact that the embryo
can only use this reserve material for food after it has been acted on
by a ferment analogous to ptyalin, pepsin, etc., and that it requires a
longer time for this ferment to be formed in the ova of Catocala,
Ennomos, etc., than in those of Tripliacna fimbria. — Ibid.

Breeding notes relating to Tephrosia bistortata and T. crepus-
cuLARiA. — I am rearing three broods of Tephrosias. Batch I :—
(? and 5 , taken on larch trunks, at Leigh (Glos.), April 9th,
1897. April 10th : twenty-five ova laid, and moths paired again ; April
18th, batch of ova laid ; May 3rd, ova commenced to hatch ; -lune 7th,
larvae began to go into moss ; between .June 29th and .July 11th, 13 5 s
emerged ; between August 29th and November 10th, oG J s emerged
(one or two per day). Batclt II: — S and J, taken at Leigh
Woods, April 27th, 1897 : April 29th, ova laid ; April 30th,
paired again, and ova laid ; May 23rd, hatched ; .July 2nd, gone in
to earth and moss. Batch III, T. crejmscularia ab. (Iclanicrcnsi.s: — Ova
from 5 taken at Delamere Forest; laid May 3rd and 4th, 1897;
hatched. May 3rd ; July 1st, going into earth and moss.

The ova of Batches I. and II. were larger than those of Batch III.
The ova of Batch III. were not only smaller, but yellower, and more
shapeless than those of Batch II. The ova of Batches I. and II. were
covered with " fluff." No " fluff" was received with ova of Batch III.
The eggs of Batches II. and III. hatched same day, the larviB of No. III.
being distinctly smaller. — Chas. Bartlett, 58, Woodstock Road,
Redland, Bristol. Oct. 22nil, 1897.

Note on Phothedes captiuncula. — I believe this species to be a
true Miana, from my observations on its larva. It appears to me that
Phot/iedes, as a generic name, will have to be dropped. It was given,
of course, without knowledge of the larva of the insect. — J. Gardner,
F.E.S., 6, Friar Terrace, Hartlepool.

Habits of ZYG.t:NA exulans. — This species abounded in the Tosa
Falls Valley, from July 9th- 16th, this year. The date of emergence
turns largely on the melting of the snow. This year the snow was
exceptionally deep. Going up the hillside, one first passed the
imagines just emerging ; then cocoons, either on stones, generally
many together, or on twigs of rhododendrons — the food-plant ; then
smaller larvse higher up, and, in the snow itself, young larvae not yet
melted out. I dug several from the snow. — W. Bateson, j\I.A., F.R.S.,
F.E.S., Norwich House, Cambridge.

Hybernation of Eugonia polychloros. — In regard to the spring
appearances of E. polychloros, and the question of its being occasionally
double-brooded on the Continent, referred to in the E^it. liecord for
October (p. 252), I should like to direct attention to a communica-
tion I made to the Evtomolonist's Intcllii/cncer, so long ago as late in the
" fifties," in regard to a brood of eggs I had from a captured female
in Heptember. A friend who was out with a picnicing party, at May
Hill, ten miles from Gloucester, boxed a specimen of /'.'. poli/c/doros,
and gave it to me the next day. To my surprise, I found a regular
batcla of pinkish-brown eggs inside the lid of the box, as well as the

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND OBSKKVA TlONS. 329

living specimen. These eggs hatched in a week or two, and I fed the
little hairy caterpillars on the ground shoots of elm. I found similar
larvfe on the shoots of an elm in a neighbour's garden, but none of the
larvae survived the winter. — -J. Merkin, 2, Oakleigh Villas, Gloucester.

On THE DOUBLE BROODIiDNESS OF EuCHLOE CARDAMINES IN SOUTHERN

Europe. — On the subject of Euchlo'e cardamines, I notice that Mr.
Tutt says that he " almost suspects that this species is partly double-
brooded in the south " of Europe, some examples having been taken
near Digne, in June, 1890, The fact of a double brood is affirmed
positively in a note published by M. Brown, in Le Naturaliste, March
1st, 1880, p. 180. He records that, in the environs of Bordeaux,
there are two appearances : (1) In March-April. (2) In June. He
observes that there the two generations are very different : the first
consisting of small and poorly-coloured examples ; the second, large
and more brilliantly coloured. Perhaps the individuals from near
Cauterets, in July, are of the second generation, but this is uncertain,
as the altitude of the town is 932 metres. — L. Dupont, Le Havre,
France. November Itit/i, 1897.

On the specific distinction of Gonepteryx CLEOPATRA. — I am not
sufficiently familiar with Gonepteryx deopatra to speak of its specific
validity, but entomologists who have often observed this species
believe it to be quite distinct from Gi. rhamni. Their flight is said to
be not at all similar. The dates of appearance of G. deopatra are
April-May, and July-August, in Angouleme, according to my friend
Dr. Vollantin {Le Naturalute, 1880, p. 237). Angouleme is the most
northern locality of this species in the west of France. — Ibid.

On THE SUMMER EMERGENCE OF GoNEPTERYX CLEOPATRA. It may bc

of interest to record that a fresh brood of G. deojiatra was appearing
in the gorge of the Guadalaviar, about 3,000 feet high, during the last
week in July. The insects were very brilliant in colour. I had taken
the species before, at Montserrat, during the second week of June,
rather worn. On the Riviera, I used to get them at the end of March
or early April, and on into May, in quantities ; but I am not sure
whether the species has two broods or only one — with different dates
of emergence, according to height. — (Mrs.) M. Nicholl, The Cottage,
Merthyr Mawr, Bridgend.

Probable double-broodedness of Euchloe euphenoides. — I am
inclined to believe that E. euphenoidea is double-brooded. When I was
on the Col de Fangot, close to La Seyne, on July 4th, I saw
E. euphenoides quite fresh. This was at an elevation of 5,000 feet. I
also saw it on August 1st, on the diligence route from Briangon into
Italy, quite at the top. This is about the same elevation. I was also
informed by the well-known Swiss entomologist, Mr. Tasker, that he
had occasionally taken E. euphenoides in Switzerland, in August, and
he stated that these were of a second brood. — -Ibid.

Notes on Rhodoph^a rubrotibiella. — In the obituary notice of
the late Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson, the editor makes the statement {ante,
p. 126) that /?/(0(/oj:»/;«m rn6;'oi('6u'Z^rt is " at best but a doubtful species, '
so a few lines on the subject may be useful. R. rubrotibiella is, it" is
true, closely allied to B. twiiidella (the only species with which it could
ever be confused), but, besides minor distinctions, the former has one
very obvious characteristic, which, from its nature, makes it impossible
that the insect can be identical with the latter : I refer to the thick

330 THE entomologist's record.

transverse ridi/e of raised scales which stands on the dorsal half of the
first line, and of which there is never any trace in true B. tuniidelld ,
So obvious is this difference, that the two species have been rightly
treated as distinct by every author of note for the last half-century,
and no one who is acquainted with both can possibly question the
claims of either to specific rank. It is needless here to touch on the
less important distinctions, both in the imagines, as well as in the
larvae. Although I have used the above names for these species,
because the one name is used in the passage referred to, I would point
out that in the E}it. 2Io. Mat/., xxii., 27-28, the late M. Eagonot, in
his *' Revision of the British species of Phijcitidde and (Talleridnt',''
dealt fully with the puzzling synonymy, and clearly showed that
K. rubrotibieUa, F.R., should be called tumidana, S.V., and tiuniddla,
Zk., should be known as zelleri, Rag., both species belonging to the
genus Acrubasis, Z. — Eustace R. Bankes, M.A., F.E.S., The Rectory,
Corfe Castle. September, 1897.

Tinea ruricolella, Stn. — In the " Current Notes" {ante, p. 120^,
Mr. Tutt, referring to my remarks on Tinea cochylidella, Stn., in Ent.
Mo. Mag., Ser. 2, viii., 79-80, says that I am inclined to keep
T. ruricolella specifically distinct from T. doacella, " because " Mr.
Machin bred some specimens of the former, and there were none of
the latter among them. This statement, however, does not at all
represent the true sequence of my ideas. My reason for considering
them distinct is, as I there most clearly stated, that in the large
numbers of specimens, showing extensive ranges of variation, that
have been critically examined, I have always noticed certain differences
which seem constant and reliable. Mr. Machin's experience in
breeding T. ruricolella was merely mentioned by the way as affording
some slight additional support to my opinion, which had been
previously formed from other considerations. — Ibid.

"^^ARIATION.

Melanic Thera obeliscata (variata). — About the middle of Feb-
ruary I found a caterpillar of Tliera variata descending a Scotch fir in
Bostall Wood. The imago emerged with the ordinary spring brood,
but was nearly black, darker than any Scotch specimen that I have
seen. From the observations I have made on insects occurring in the
London district, there seem to be as many species subject to melanism
as in northern districts. — J. A. Butterfield, B.Sc, 35, Wrottesley
Road, Plumstead, S.E.

POLYOMMATUS ASTRARCHE AB. QUADRIPUNCTA, Tutt. 1 Capturcd a

few specimens of this interesting aberration, at Muchalls, Kincar-
dineshire, in July last. — A. Horne, F.E.S., Ugie Bank, Beaconsfield
Place, Aberdeen, N.B.

Nemeophila plantaginis ab. hospita and AB. RUFA. — I uoticcd that
Barrett {British Lepidoptera, vol. ii., PI. 74, fig. 2c) figures a female
Nemeophila plantaginis, with red hind-wings, as the female of the ab,
hospita $ . Is not this an error ? Females with red hind-wings (ab.
rufa) are not uncommon on the Kincardineshire coast, and in the
immediate vicinity of Aberdeen, where, however, ab. hospita has never
been known to occur. All the females that I have seen on the higher
moors, where ab. hospita is found, have the hind-wings pale yellow,
but not white, as in the males.— Ibid,

VAKIAtlON. 331

Melanic aberration of Eupithecia virgaureata. — E. vin/aureata,
in this country, has a melanic form very much like the ab. an;itiicata
of E. albipunctuta, and, I think, just as worthy of a distinct name.
Mr. Richardson, of Weymouth, first showed me this form in his
collection, and at the same time kindly told me where he got them.
I have bred them from his locality, and also from this district, but in
each case sparingly, not more than four or five per cent. I should be
interested to know if the aberration has been found elsewhere.— H. W.
Vivian, B.A., F.E.S., Glanafon, Port Talbot. [There are some
interesting notes on melanic Eupitheciae in Pmc. of the Sth. London Sac,
1890, pp. 59-60 ; 1891, pp. 20-21 and p. 52.— Ed.] .

Notes on the variation of British butterflies. — I have just
obtained Mr. Tutt's very interesting new work, British Butterjiies,
and, although it is a long while since I paid any particular attention
to the subject, I have jotted down the following notes : — Ghrjjso-
phanas phlaeas. — The very striking ab. fasciatus should surely have
been included. It occurs both in the European and American forms.
There is also a v. chinensis, Feld. Polyommatus corydon ab. minor
was named in Entom., July, 1889. P. bellargns, — Nothing is said
about the black c?', ab. niger, Entom., .Jan., 1889. Does Mr. Tutt
doubt the sex reference ? Pohjommatus icarus v. riifina (Oberthiir)
was described in 1894 (Etudes Ent., xix., p. 14, pL, vi., fig. 52). I have
not seen the description. Colias hyale ab. pallida. — This name was
used by Robson and Gardner, in their 1885 list, for a whitish-yellow
form of the female. Apparently Mr. Tutt must re-name his ab. pallida,
though I infer that he does not consider that of Robson and Gardner
to possess valid distinctive characters. Colias edusa ab. suffusa. —
This name was used previously for a form of C. edusa. {^ee Entom.,
March, 1889). C. edusa ab. ? ohsoleta. — This is a synonym of
pseudomas, Entom., 1889, p. 26. Pieris rapae. — I do not know who
was responsible for the extraordinary "explanation " (Brit. Butt., p.
235) about this insect and P. protodice, but it is, of course, absurd.
The two insects are so different, that Scudder now places them in
different genera. Pyrameis cardui. — The small form is ab. minor,
Can. Entom., 1890, p. 57. To the list of food-plants of P. cardui
add Sphaeralcea angustifolia , on which I found a larva at Las
Cruces, New Mexico, May 26th. Also hollyhock, to which the
larvse are sometimes quite injurious at Las Cruces, I once found
a single larva on a chrysanthemum, close to some hollyhocks. Py-
rameis cardui is one of the butterflies which visit the flowers of
the plum-trees during the first half of April, in the Mesilla Valley ;
last year it was particularly abundant, and with it numbers of Peri-
droma saucia, another British insect, as well as several Heliothis
armigera, and a few Anosia archippus. The plum-flowers, besides
attracting these lepidoptera, were visited by a remarkable series of
bees, mostly Andrena, including many new species. Goenonympha
typhon var. laidion. — Another synonym of this is v. orcadac, Robs,
and Gard. C. pamphilus ab. pallida appears to be a synonym of ab.
albescens, B.ohs. and Gard., 1885. — ^T. D. A. Cockerell,F.Z.S., F.E.S.,
Mesilla, New Mexico, U.S.A. [I am indebted to Professor Cockerell
for the synonyms which have been overlooked. There are some dozens
of named forms, possibly, occurring in various parts of the world, of
our British species, not included in the work mentioned. The MS.

332 The entojiologist's kkcoud.

would probably have run to 1,500 pages instead of nearly 500, and I
had to cut down. — J.W.T.]

Aberrations of Diurni. — The following aberrations have been
taken during the last few years in this neighbourhood : — (1) Li/caena
arion. — A very small specimen, 1^% inches in expanse, taken with the
ordinary forms on the Cotswold Hills, a few years since, towards the
middle of June, after a dry spring, which probably stunted its food-
plant. (2) Ai/lais nrticac. — I have a specimen remarkable in having a
silvery spot on the costa of the fore-wings beneath, and occupying the
centre of the third black costal blotch (the one nearest the base). It was
bred from a larva fed up with a large number of others, which produced
only the ordinary type. (3) Sj/rirltt/n(.s malvac ab. taraa. — A specimen
with the central area of the wing marked with a distinct band of
white blotches. The hind-wings with only a minute central white
spot, and faint traces of subterminal band, {i) Enudia /ii/peranthu-s
ab. caeca.— k specimen with only a series of white points on the
underside of the hind-wings, and three ill-defined ocellated spots on
the underside of the fore-wings. It, therefore, agrees with the ab.
caeca on the hind-wings, hut not on the fore-wings. — J. Merrin,
Gloucester.

Aberratkjns of noctuiu moths from Navestock, Essex. — I have
taken the following aberrations here this season : Xjilopltada hepatica
ab. characterea, one only ; A;ir<itis exclainatinnu ab. picea, rather
scarce, four or five only ; XactKa .rant/KJi/rapJia ab. cohaesa, very
abundant, far more so than the type ; Anchocelis putacina ab. seiina,
scarce, six only taken ; Miselia o.njacanthae ab. capucina, dark, and
very abundant, quite outnumbering the type; Cidaria russata ab.
j)erfuscata, one only. — (Rev.) W. Claxton, Navestock Vicarage,
Romford.

Aberrations of Abraxas sylvata (ulmata). — I have, I believe, a
form of this species rather different from any captured by Mr. Button.
It is a male of the light form, that has the fore-wings only splashed
with the leaden-blue colour, the suffusion occupying the centre of the
wing. I consider it a very striking form. — S. Walker, Edderclifle,
Queen Anne's Road, York.

:]^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc.

Note ©n Plastenis subtusa. — In the first week in August I took
Plastenis .subtw^a, somewhat freely, near Wisbech, both at sugar and
at rest, among the ivy on five large poplars. One always expects to
meet with this species (and P. retitsa) more readily in the larval stage
earlier in the year. Of course, one takes it occasionally at sugar, but
not freely. — J. A. Butterfield, B.Sc, 35, Wrottesley Road, Plum-
stead, S.E.

SiREx JuvENCus IN BosTALL WooDs. — Last autumn, I found a
female Sire.i- jurencm, in Bostall W^oods, with its ovipositor firmly
fixed in a larch tree, evidently in the act of ovipositing. — Ibid.

Chcerocampa celerio in Shropshire. — Mr. G. Potts, of Broseley,
Salop, caught a very fine $ C. celerio, while it was hovering over some
fuchsias in his garden, at dusk, last Monday (Oat. 18th). Mr. Potts,
who most generously gives away his entomological captures, was good
enough to present the insect to aie, and I had the pleasure of setting

MOTES ON COLLECTING. 333

it yesterday. The specimen is in such fine condition, that it seems
hard to believe that it was bred abroad. This species is double-
brooded in Southern Europe, appearing in early June, and again in
September ; it seems to me most probable that a few insects of the
first brood find their way to this country, and become the parents of
the specimens which appear, now and again, in various parts of
Britain. This may well be so, for the larva feeds not only on vine
(Vitis rijiifcra), but also on lady's bedstraw (GaUiun veriiDi). I
have repeatedly taken the insect abroad, but this is my only English
specimen. — F. B. Newnham, M.A., Church Stretton. Oct. 22n(l, 1897.

Collecting in the Brampton district (Cumberland), 1897. — The
season here has been a very bad one. The sallows produced Panolis
piniperila (two only), several red forms of Pachnohia rubricosa, while
Taenincampa (jotlika, .stabilis, and pulvendcnta were very common.
Taeniocampa incerta was not so common as usual, and they were all of
var. instabilis form. Among the Geometers during March, I only
noticed Hi/hernia marginalia and Larentia )nultistri(/aria. On April
6th, Mclaiiippe jiuctuata appeared, and sallows produced insects until
April 20th. The month of May was not very productive, as Cidaria
.sKff'uinata, Antidea badiata, ni(/rofasciana, and Cormnia unidentaria,
were the only species obtained. During the month of June, insects
were more plentiful. Dicramira vinida, Lomasjnlis manjinata, Cidaria
silai'eata, Cabera pmaria, iwantheinaria, Acidalia remutata, being
frequent. Insects were attracted by sugar from June 15th to July 7th,
during which time A(/roti.s e.irlaiiiatio)Hs, ser/etum, Xi/lophasia mono-
(jhipha, Miana stri(iilif>, and Noctua plecta, were very abundant, whilst
P/iarctra riuiiicis, Hadena thalassina, adiista, Apamea basili)iea, Noctua
c-nigruin, Maiiii'>itrabrassicae, Leucania camnia, and L. pallcim, were not
so abundant, and of Thi/ati/ra batis, Pharctra iiwi/accp/iala, Acrouicta
Icpurina, Xi/lojdiasia hcpatica, (jrranniii'nia trifiraniDiira, Xnctiia fcstira,
Hadena conti^/ua, only single specimens were taken. After July 7th,
insects were not nearly so plentiful at sugar, owing to the great heat.
Phibalapterijx liiinata turned up for the first time on July 1st, only
three specimens were taken, however ; these were flying at dusk. A
number of green Geometrid larvae were swept from bilberry, which
afterwards turned out to be Larentia didj/mata. Hypsipetes wrdidata
larvae were very common on the sallows, only a very few were found on
bilberry. On July 8th, Enudia hijperanthm appeared ; about 10 per
cent, were the ab. ohs<deta, Tutt ; another specimen had the ocellated
spots on a pale band. August was not very productive. Hepialus
si/lriniis, (jieumetra papilionaria (two), etc. Pi/rameis cardui appeared
on August 31st, in this locality, after an absence of some years.
September was a complete blank, and only Calocainpa e.roleta has been
taken, at sugar, in October. — G. B. Routledge, F.E.S., Tarn Lodge,
Head's Nook, Carlisle.

Notes from Farnborough. — I have seen living Pulia flavicincta,
captured at Bexley, this year. Here, my most welcome visitors have
been Mellinia fiilrago, Tiliacea (Xanthia) auraijn, and a specimen of
Plusia muneta, the first and last mentioned both being quite new to
this district. The 3/. ijilrayo was captured on September 17th,
sitting on a cherry tree close by, but not upon, a sugar patch. — Hope
Alderson, F.E.S., Hilda Vale Road, Farnborough, Kent.

Sphinx convolvuli at Barnsley, South Yorkshire. — On Sep-
tember 6th last, I had a specimen of N. cmnilrnH brought to me by

334 THE entomologist's record.

the owner of a foundry, situate in the centre of the town, who found
it at rest on the wall of a workshop. Electric light is used on the
premises, so no doubt that was the attraction. Unfortunately, when
it reached me it had gone through the inevitable match-box treatment,
and is not in the best of condition. This is the second Barnsley
specimen I have. — J. Harrison, F.E.S., 7, Gawber Road, Barnsley.

Collecting FiVpiiuecije. — About the middle of October, 1896,
after finding there were some Ivitpit/uria larvae on golden-rod, in this
district, I collected a good supply of the plant, without troubling to
look for individual larvte. The plant was put into a big breeding
cage, and kept in my room ; but, as 1 was away from November to
April, the temperature was probably not high most of the winter. At
the same time I collected Aiif/dica and yarrow from the same place.
In April, Fiipithecia albipnnctata began to emerge from the Anijelka
and E. rin/cmreata from the golden-rod, and they continued to do so
through the greater part of May. Towards the end of June and
during July, E. subfulrata emerged from the yarrow. In June, E.
e.cpallidata began to emerge, and has continued to do so steadily till
the present time. One emerged as late as October 5th. Altogether I
have bred a fair number of this species. From the E. viri/auirata that
emerged in April, I obtained ova, which fed up on hawthorn, and
emerged in August ; so that it looks as if this species were regularly
double-brooded. — H. W. Vivian, B.A., F.E.S., Glanafon, Port Talbot.

Notes from Reading. — Xylophasia scolopacina in Dorset. — In
April and May, pupae of Scsia spheijifoniiis were exceedingly scarce, but
pupje of .S. cipiijjifuDiiis were obtained more freely from oak. An
attempt, on June 8th, to get Abraxas sylcata and Astlwna blumeri
resulted in the capture of one of the former species. In the early part
of June, Eiipithccia phuiibculata and Diantlioecia carpophaga were plenti-
ful. On June 10th, Lithosia iiiesomeUa and Acidalia aubsericeata flew
freely at dusk. In the w-eek ended the 2Gth, Xoctua fcstira, X. briinnea,
Grainmeda trii/rammica, Hadcna i/enistac, Dipterijuia acabrimcula, Aplecta
tincta, A. nebulusa, Craniuphura lii/ustii, were amongst the visitors to
sugar. Five journeys during the first seven days of July, for Dici/da
uo, resulted in the capture of six imagines, one example being the
ab. reiuKju — a sad falling off from the total for 1896. Till the end of
the month nothing of note was taken, except three A'//Z«7>/(rts/a scolopacina^
one netted at dusk, one taken at sugar, and another beaten out.
These were captured near Bridport, Dorset. Famphila comma was
numerous on the Berkshire Downs during the first week of August.
Treacling this month was almost a failure. Four visits for Noctiia
sWjinatica were rewarded by three poor specimens. On the 30th,
N. castanea ab. )ie'jlecta turned up at sugar, after being an absentee for
years. Sweeping heath and sugaring trees near, the same evening,
did not secure A[irotisa<iatluna. This is a great rarity in the district.
Tlliacea aura(/u, Mellinia (jilvaiju, M. circellaris, Hadcna protca and
Aspkalia diluta were out on September 6th, and continued to come to
sugar till the end, or nearly the end, of the month. Epunda lutnlenta
was taken on the 7th, and on subsequent dates a few more were
obtained. The only Cirrliuedia xemmpelina I got was taken on the
11th. Orthosla macilenta and Miselia o.ri/acanthac were fairly numerous
the latter part of the month. The wind, at the beginning of October,
went to due east and north-east, frosty nights prevailed, and for the

NOTES ON COLLECTING. 385

time put an end to sugaring expeditions. — J. Clarke, Reading.
October, 1897.

Habit of Apatura ilia. — 1 find that Apatura ilia comes to sugar,
also that it flies low, and comes down in the early morning, from 8 to
10 a.m., and not towards 4 p.m., as Kane says. — E. S. Harrison.

Capture of Deilephila galiinear Honiton. — I captured a specimen
of this species during the first week of August, on either the 3rd, 4th
or 5th, at dusk, hovering over a flower of the tobacco plant (XicoUana
afjinis), in the garden of Stockland Vicarage, near Honiton, Devon. —
F. S. Dawe, B.Sc, 18, Walham Grove, Fulham, S.W. Oct. lOth, 1897.

Dasypolia templi at Bradford. — My brother sent me some fine
specimens of Do>i)/polia templi, captured on October 28th, on gas lamps.
The specimens were posted to me, when freshly killed, in a zinc box ; they
carry well in this way, and arrive in fine condition for setting. — J. A.
Butterfield, B.Sc, 85, Wrottesley Road, Plumstead, S.E.

Note on Drepana binaria. — The present season has afibrded a good
illustration of how some species appear at unexpected places, if
specially sought for. D. binaria has only been occasionally taken in
this district in two or three distant localities. The early days of
October yielding but little "sport" in winged captures, I decided
upon making a larval raid upon the oaks within easy reach. The
result has been a decided surprise. In each of five widely separated
localities on the south, east, and west side of Gloucester, which I
worked, the larvfe of D. binaria tumbled into the umbrella, not, it is
true, in any great numbers, but the total yield was quite satisfactory, not
so much on account of the insects themselves, as their afibrding a
demonstration of the wide distribution of the species in districts
hitherto not known to supply it. It seems likely that if the search for
the larvae had been commenced earlier, say in September, the number
of captures of desirable species would have been increased. We know
that larva-searching is constantly yielding species that are seldom or
never met with on the wing ; and doubtless this work would prove
much more productive if the upper branches of trees could be
conveniently got at. Could not collectors who have facilities for
working out this " higher branch " of our work, give us the result of
their experience regarding it, and add materially to our knoAvledge ?
Are there not many " high-flyers " besides that protean beauty,
Hi/psipetes sordidata, that love to feed as high as they fly, and might
not many discoveries be made by judicious tree-climbing by ladders,
etc., and the adoption of other new modes of capture? — J. Merrin, 2,
Oakleigh Villas, Gloucester.

Chortodes morrisii (bondii). — This species occurs not uncommonly
at CharmoKth. Half my series I took there. — A. B. Farn, F.E.S.,
Mt. Nod, Greenhithe. [This is an important note from the point of
view that the original specimens of C. morridi (bondii) were captured
at Charmouth, and there has recently been an attempt to show that
0. morrisii of Charmouth is not identical with C. bondii from Folke-
stone.— Ed.]

A NEW locality for Lyc.ena arion. — It will interest lepidopterists
to hear that, whilst on a wandering tour in Devonshire, at the end of
last July, I came across this species in a new locality. The specimens
were, as may be supposed from the date, very much worn, but had
evidently been fairly numerous. The locality is not likely to be
visited by entomologists, or even tourists, at the period of the year

336 THE entomologist's ItECORD.

during which the insect is tiying, and from iny Ivnowled^e of the habits
of the species, I should say it is lii\ely to remain there midetected for
many years. — W. G. Sheldon, Heimath, Friend's Road, Croydon.

Sale of insects. — The sale of part of the collection of Lepidoptera
formed by the late Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson took place at Stevens'
Auction Rooms, on Nov. 23rd, 1897. Some of the most striking lots
were the following : An aberration of Aglais uriicae, £7 10s.
Euvanessa antiopa, 12/-, 26/-, 21/- each. Chrysophanus disjyar, 35/-,
S5/-, 16/-, 47/6, 20/-, 47/6, 37/6 each, rohjommatus learns, gynan-
drous, 20/-. White ab. of Zygaena lonicerae, 22/-. One pink and
five yellow abs. of Z Jiiipevdtdae, 44/-. Sesta aUautiformls, 9/-, 6/-,
21/- each. Dcilephila livornira, and three D. galii, 16/-, 16/-, 12/-,
14/-, 18/- per lot. Choerocawpa celerio, 20/-, 20/-, 21/-, 10/-, 22/-,
and 22/- each (one of the two last vouched for by Esson, of Aberdeen).
D.euphorhiae, 21/-. Nola centonalis, 21 jG, 32/6 for eleven. Deiopeia
jnilcheUa, 22/-, 22/-, 8/-, 18/-, 12/- each. Euhpia grammica, the
historical Wharfedale specimen, 8/- only. Cerura hicuspis, 11/-, 18/-
for four. Arctia caia, £3 15s. for five aberrations. Laelia caenosa,
12/-, 14/-, 16/-, 17/-, 10/-, 32/-, 14/- per pair. Notodonta hicolor ^ ,
85/-, $ and pupa case, 105/-. Gastropacha ilicifolia, J 18/-, ? 45/-,
S 14/-, $ 18/-. Drepana harpagula, 16/- (two), 50/- (three), 30/-
(three), 21/- (three). Synia viuscuJosa, 7/-, H/-. Leucania albi-
puvcfn, five for 6/-, four for 6/-. There was a lot consisting of two
specimens of Leucania viteUina, one caught by Capt. (Mr.) A.
H. Jones, at Torquay. These two specimens went for only 7/--
Nonagria sparganii, 9/-, 26/-, 11/- per pair. Luperiua dunieriiii
(1) and L. gueiwei (1), 20/. Hydrilhi puhistris, 22/- for 3.
Agroth suhrosea, 50/- (2), 42/- (2), 35/- (2), 20/- (3). Luperiua
Inteago ab. harrettii, 55/- (for four). Xylina conformin, 18/- (3),
21/- (3), X. zincl-enii, 11'- and8/- each. CucuUia guaphnlii, 21/-, 21/-
per pair. HeJiothis scutosa, 55/- (the " Heysham " specimen).
C.atephia alchymistn, 27/6. Pinsiamoneta, hved specimens, 2/6 each.
Cleora viduaria, 32/6, 24/-, 14/-, 14/- per pair. Acidalia herhariata ,
22/-, 6/-. A. circeUata, 28/-, 30/- for four. A. peiochraria, 6/-.
Boieiohin fuUginaria, 6/-, 12/-, 8/- per pair ; 18/- for four. Ahraxas
grossuJariatd, one light ab., 22/-. Phihalapteryx polygrammota , 16/-,
21/-, 21/-, 21/-, four in each lot. Oidaria reticulata, 12/-, 14/-, 16/-,
35/-, 37/-, 42/- for threes. Ennychia octomaculalis, one rayed ab.,
30/-. Diasemia ramhurialis, 26/-. Gramhwi rerellun, 32/6. GiJerhia
ohs^curelJa, 20/- (two). G. obscureJla (1), and G. UttoreUa (1), 20/-.
(Ecophora formosella , 10/- (3), 8/- (3). Total for the two days' sale,
£340 18s. 6d.— J. W. Tutt, F.E.S.

:^OTES ON LIFE-HISTORIES, LARY^, &c.

Pupa of Nemeobius lucina. — Sliapc: approaching that of the
Tlwrlidi. Colour : its colour is of a delicate pale wainscot-brown.
Hairs : the whole dorsal surface is covered with brown hairs, about
/t^nd. of an inch in length. Marldni/s: all the markings are
black, and are arranged as follows : — (1) The head is marked
by an unbroken line running round it to the junction of the
1st thoracic segment on either side, and reaching below the level of

NOTES Oh LIFE-HISTORIES, LARV^, ETC. 837

the costal margins of the wing-cases. (2) The 1st thoracic segment
is marked with two slightly curved lines, parallel with each other,
extending to the level of the lateral scries. (3) The anal segment is
unmarked. (4) On the 2nd and 3rd thoracic, and first 9 abdominal
segments, there is a double dorsal series of dots. (5) The lateral
series are placed as follows : ~{a) The 3rd to 9th abdominal segments
have on either side three dots in line. The central very minute.
(6) The other two of the same size as the dorsal. The 5th to 8th
have a fourth minute dot, below the lower of these, (c) The 2nd
and 3rd thoracic segments have the three dots, but the central is out
of line, forming a triangle. In the 2nd the central dot points
towards the first thoracic, and in the 3rd in the direction of the 1st
abdominal segment, {d) The 1st abdominal has but two dots, the
2nd but one. {e) The costal margins of the wing-cases are marked
by a line along their entire length. Position and mspcnsion : Attached
to the underside of a leaf of the food-plant by the cremaster, and by a
silken thread passing over the body at the junction of the 3rd thoracic
and the 1st abdominal segments. — H. L. Wood, Old Grammar School
House, Ashford, Kent.

drURRENT NOTES.

Whilst we are doing our level best to protect Forthesia [FAiproctiK)
cltnjsorrhoea from extermination in this country, our friends in
Massachusetts, where the species was first noticed about five years ago,
have passed an Act requiring local authorities to take immediate steps
for its extinction, and to prevent its spread. France, as early as 1734,
passed a law requiring landowners to destroy the caterpillars of this
species, to which, Porthetria dispar and other species were afterwards
added. As a matter of fact, in spite of the general abundance of these
species in Europe, their numbers, except in occasional seasons, are
never sufficient to cause really serious harm, and serve largely, when
they are specially abundant, for exciting newspaper paragraphs. The
Bulletin can be obtained from Professor Fernald, of the Mass.
Agricultural College, Amherst, Mass., U.S.A.

Mr. T. P. Newman feels that the remark on p. 257 tends to throw
a slight on the memory of his father. We need hardly assure our
readers that no such slight was intended. The remark was
based on hearsay evidence, and the recollection of letters received
in the early " seventies." Mr. Newman thinks that our recollection
may have been at fault, and states that, in his opinion, his father
did not receive or distribute the eggs. This view is strongly supported
by the statements in Entoin., vi., p. 33, and ix., p. 210.

We have great pleasure in informing our readers that Mr. Horace St.
.John K. Donisthorpe, F.Z.S., F.E.S., will, commencing with Volume
X., edit a special section of the Entoinolof/ist's Piecord, devoted to
Coleoptera. Coleopterists may, therefore, if they prefer, send their
communications direct to Mr. Donisthorpe, at 73, West Cromwell
Road, Kensington, W.

Ekrata. — P. 261, line 28, for " variety " read " species " ; p. 240, line 47, for
" CatoptriaaemidaiHi^' rend " C. tripoUtnui" ; and line 49, for " C. decolonnui "
read " C. (leinuhnui " ; p. 281, line 2 from bottom, E. epiatytjne. This was a hipsii^
raliinii in the original note from which the quotation was taken for " E. sti/ipK' " ;
p. 09, line, 2.0, for " Catocala pacta" read " Catocala parta" ; p. 292, line 9,
for " Acidalia ochrata " read A. '' perochrarui."

CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX.

PAGK.

Collecting, Notes on 17, 39, Gl, 90, 121. 153, 181, 209, 238, 205, 295, 332

Current Notes 43. GH, 95, 119, 155, 184, 337

Field Work for February, 42 ; March and April, G7 ; April and May, 95 ;
May and early .Tune, 120 ; June and July, 152 ; July and August, 180 ;
August and September, 208 ; September and October, 240 ; October
and November, 2G4 ; November and December ... .. ... ... 294

Life Histories, Larv.e, etc. 37, 58, 89, IIG, 14G, 17G, 205, 235. 2(;i, 290, 33G
Practical Hints ... 42, G7, 95, 120, 130, 152, 180, 208, 240, 2()4, 294, 324
Scientific Notes and Observations 35, 58, 89, 118, 151, 178, 205. 233,

2.59, 288, 32G

24. 45, G8, 97. 127, 15G, 185, 212

.38, Gl, 117. 1.50, 181, 207. 2G0. 294, 330

(For these see Special Index)

Societies ...
Variation ...
Variations and Aberrations

Abdominal chambers in Cliri/siridia
maddtidiicerensis ...

Aberrations of Aljra.rax ><ijli-iit(i (iil-
intita) in Yorkshire, melanic and
intermediate 2G9, 304, 305, 332

Aberrations of Diurni,332; Noctuid
moths 40, 332

Aberrations of various species cap-
tured in Yorkshire

Alira.xaa ()ro.<.iiilariat(i emerging in
November...

Ahru.vdt^ firotisulnricita in tbe winter

Abundance of Arctia cuia larvee
in Scotland

Aclierontia atropos and its aberra-
tions

Acherontia atrojiott at Bury St. Ed-
munds, 23 ; Doncaster, 23 ;
Emsworth, 23 ; King's Lynn, 23 ;
Waltham Cross, 23; York, 23;
in Central France, 2G7 ; in the
Guildford district

Achcro)itia (itrojws, autumnal emer-
gences of, Gl ; breeding of, 2GG ;
in 189G, 23. 42, G4, 154 ; Notes on 205

Acidalia ochrata from Deal and
Dauphine compared

Ac'uhilia ruxticatd, Notes on

Additions to the British list; — yl)(-
iyoUibi.'i cnniiilipca, Lucas, 155 ;
Axpidiotui! ci/doniae, 119 ; A.
liederae, 44 ; Aleochara siicci-
cola, 155 ; Coccus toiiientosu.'<,
119 ; Diaspis cahjptroidex, 119 ;
Lema i^eptentrioiiis, 185 ; Lita
inter mediella, Hodg., 36, 71 ; Mi-
cropalpioi pudinis, 47 ; Platyp-
tilia tcsscradticti/la, 45; FlaUj^-
tethna (iliitacens, 155; Tri/pJdop-
sylld ddstjcneimts, 159 ; T. pen-
tdcdnthuti ...

Aflinitiesof Epinephele iithontta. On
the

Aijldii urtkde, Living specimen of

157

46

41
61

18

46

123

173
94

154

55

36
128

Affrotis crnered at Beading...
Agrotis ohelincd at Bournemouth,

Local form of
Ampliiddsijii hetularia ab. douJdc-

ddtjtnid
Aviphiddfij/x strdtarid, Heredity

notes on...
Ani.'<oldbi.'<d)iiiiiU])e!< fromKew Gar-
dens
Apamed upltmirnxnnn. Breeding of,

9; Practical Hints on ...
Aphomid socielld in bees' and wasps'

nests 288 ; in the nest of Vcxpa

si/lre-'<trii< ...
Apln/toreros vdfidns, Home of ...
Aplectd advend near Bath ...
Aplectd occultd bred in winter
Aplectd pfdsind from ovum to

imago in seven months ...
Aporid cvdtaegi in Kent ...
A ret id caid ab. fldrenre)!^ from

Hackney Marsh ...
.■1 /■</(/ h;//.s dijlaia, Hybernating stage

of ... '

Aaeinum stridtiiin as a British in-
sect
Asterosco})!!^ .^p]nnx numerous in

CO. Galway
A.'<t!/noimi.'! dedilU at Lea Bridge ...
Attractiveness of dogwood sap to

moths
Attractiveness of light. Discussion

on 178, 235

Autumn pairing of Eugomd pidij-

cJdoro.'f ... ... ... ... 252

Beetles of a mud-flat, 10 ; that des-
troy forests ... ... 32. 114

Bi.ftoii Jiirtdrid in March ... ... 157

Blood of Lepidopterous pupa .. 161
Bodrmid cotDiortdrid in the New

Forest 213

Books, Entomological, of 1896 ... 4

39

181

99

1.55

130

259

151

21

58
122

157

116

276

63
157

G4

CONTENTS.
PAGE

339

PAGE

Breeding Acherontia atropos, 267 ;
Agrotis agathiiia, 96; Peridroma

saiicia ... ... ... ... 129

BrepJios parthenias in Epping

Forest 129

British and Foreign specimens ... 40

Broods of P(nv7*7/e er/t'ii« ... ... 252

Bruchus lent is from Egyptian lentils 129

BnjophiUi pcrla, Living larvae of .. 72

Butterflies of Bourg d'Oisans, The 79

Callimorpha domintila, Note on ...

Captures at Brockenhurst and
Loughton in 1896

Captures in Epping Forest, Eecent

Captures in Orkney in 1896

Cajitures at Reading in 1896

Cataplectica farreni in (?) North
Lancashire

Catocalids, European and American

Caudal horn of Affdistit, On the ...

Characters of Lepidopterous larvae,
On the structural

CJuird.ve^^Jasiit-s, Notes ou ...

Chariclea umbra [Heliotliix mar-
g'mata) abundant in 1896

Cheshunt in June ...

Clioei'ocanipa celerio in Shropshire

Choerocaxipa nerii in Aberdeenshire
63; in 1890

Chortodes morrisii at Charmouth ...

Cidaria immanata from Raindene
Wood

Cidaria psittacata in the New Forest

Cirrhoedia xerainpclina at Watford

Classification of Butterflies, 241 ;
of Lepidoptera by their larvse,
136 ; Lepidoptera, On the

Cleora Urhenaria two years in pupa

Cochliopodid Moths, Habits of the,
58; Larvae of the...

Cocoons of Acherontia atropos,
35 ; Craniophora lifiustri, 148 ;
Gnophrin ndiricollia, 148 ; Sa-
turnia pipi, 144; Sjihiu.v ligitstri

Coenonymplia tiphoii var. inoruata

Coleoptera at Wallasey and Llan-
gollen, 49 ; Exotic, 185 ; in the
winter, 307 ; near London in
June, 232; Notes on, 10, 32,
114 ; of a London granary, 77 ;
Tyrolean and Portuguese

Colids edusa and Pyraiiieis cardui

Coliax edusa winters. How

Collecting in Cumberland, 333 ;
in Switzerland, 297 ; in 1 896
at

Collecting Notes, Early ... 94,

Collection of Spring Rhopalocera,
On a

Colours of insects, 159; of Lepi-
doptera from high p,ltitudes

Comparison of egg of T. histortata
with that of T. crepuscularia
(illus. by plate), 216; ,S'. jxijri
with S. paronia

153

48

129

93

40

65

69

292

196
217

63
239
322

41
335

156

157

194
260

59

293

99

71

268

36

90
124

279

16

145

Conversazione held at London

Institution 156

Cossus Uiiiriperda, Pupation of ... 266
Cnnuhua (ilpinellus, The habit of ... 296
Critical resume re Tephrosia his-
tortata (crepuscularia) undT. cre-
puscularia (l)iuiidularia) 6, 28, 55
Crossing of Tephrosia histortata and
T. crepuscularia ... ... ... 150

Dasi/campa ruhir/inea at Reading,

154, 18;^; at Slough 93

Dasijchira pudihunda emerging in
November ... ... 48

Dasypolia templi at Swansea ... 181
Deileplrila euphorhiae larvae, Lazy 228
Deilephila nalii in Carnarvonshire 267
Description of Plate III. ... ... 135

Development of Lasiocanipa quercus 287
Development of the wing and wing-
scales of Butterflies and Moths, 8,

131, 159
Dianthoecia C(7j;so^;/(iZ(/ inDauphine 140
Diantlioecia cons2}ersa ab. ochrea

from the Orkney Islands ... 72

Dimorphism in African Butterflies,
71; of Melauitis leda, 35; of
Polijonimatus ... ... ... 79

Distribution of Lampides boetica ... 250
Double-brooded Geometrides, 173 ;
Lepidoptera in 1896 ... ... 137

Double-broodedness of EuchloP car-

dainines in Southern Europe ... 32i)
Double-broodedness of Kucldoe eu-
jdieuoide.t, Probable ... ... 32SI

Double-broodedness of Euranessa

antiopa, 252 ; of Plusia festucae 40
Double broods of Lepidoptera, 22 ;

of Orgyia yoiwstigiua ... ... 100

Doubtful species. Notes on ; Bomhus
. pratorutn, B. Jonellus, B. htpponi-
cus, B. alticola and B. pyrenaeus
probably one species, 44 ; Boiahus
smitiiiaims and B. coyiiatus forms
of one species 44 ; Botys alpi)ailis
= B. uliginosalis (treated as dis-
tinct by Staudinger), 15 ; Pou-
pelia from Le Lautaret = ? P.
ornatella, 15 ; Procris heydenrei-
chii distinct fi'om P. statices, 13 ;
Tinea cociiylidella referred to T.
ruricolella, 120; 7'o;'(/7'.t: f rom Le
Lautaret = ? viburniana, 14;
Zygaena hippocrepidis, Steph.,
103; Zygaena trifolii-inajor ... 88
Brepana binaria, Note on collecting 335
Drinking habits of Butterflies 52, 71»
Dwarf Hi/bernia de folia ria from
Dulwich ... ..' 48

Early appearance of Lepidoptera,
154:; oi Melanippejiuctnata ... 186

Early stages of KpinepJiele iaiiira,
Notes on the ... ... ... 37

East coast of Scotland, Collecting
on 18

340

Egg of Abraras grossulnriiita, 236 ;
AridaUa dilnUirin {lioloKeiicdtd),

237 ; A. humilintd, 237 ; A. pero-
chraria (ochraUt by error), 292;
Acontia luctuusa, 291 ; Alencis
pictdiid, 17C ; Ciill'uienia min'uihi,
203; Cdtocdld frnxiiii, 147; C.
nupta, 146 ; Cenird furciild,
177 ; Choerocampd elpenur, 237 ;
(Hrrhoedid xerumpelina, 6 0 ;
Crdmhiis tristelliis, 237 ; Dasy-
(•(unpd rubi(ii)U'd, 147 ; Duin-
thoecid lutedfio var. hdrreUii, 146 ;
Dicycld 00, 89; Eiuioinos diitinn-
iidrid, 117; Enodin dri/tif!, 263;
Erehid dethiops, 262 ; Erchid
neoriddx, 261 ; Eudidid fili/iiliica,
291 ; EiirrdntJiispliDinstrdrid, 177
213; Eidonia conspiciiatd, 176;
Guoplioitfurvdta, 38 ; Gonoptenj.v
cleopdtrd, 205 ; Gonoptery.v rlidm-
ni, 20(j , Grdininesid trifirdiiimird,

238 ; Hemeropliila dhniptdtid,
177, 213 ; Hydriomeim fiircdtd,
110 ; Leucophdxid dupovcheli, 206 ;
L.sindpis, 206; Limenitis sihylht,
263 ; Leucanid littordlu 264 ;
Neitronid popiildris, 146 ; Nunierid
pull- e nil id, 176; Pdi-drye dchine,
236; Fliytoinetrd ririddria, 291 ;
Polid xdnthomixtd var. niyro-
ciucta, 59; Folycionid eyed, 147 ;
Polyommdtiis corydon, 262; Por-
thena dUpdr, 90 ; Fyyaerd J)i(-
cephdld, 235 ; Stilbid diioiiiala,
146; Tliecld ic-dlbu)u, 292; Tilid-
ccd (Xdiitliid) dui'dfio, 60 ; 7'.
bistortdtd, 127, 150, 215, 243,
277, 278; T. crepitscnldria (bimi-
duldiid), 127, 150, 216, 243, 277 ;
Tephiosld (hybrids), 278, 320,
Tryphaenn funbrid , 290 ; Zephyriis
querci'ix, 117 ; Zeuzerd pyriiui,
236 ; Tephrosia bistortdtd. On
the protective covering of

Empty eggshell and newly-hatched
larvae of Aryyiuiis ayhiia

E my did cdudidd co-specific with
A', cribnim? Is ...

EndiouiU re rsicolor bred ...

Erebid yldddlis under the Matter-
wald Glacier

Errata ... 24, 130, 186, 270,

Eiipitlieriiic, Collecting

Eiirdiie-'^'fd (iiitiopd in Aberdeen-
shire, 20 ; at Yarmouth

Experiments on pupal blood

Explanation of Plate I.

Fauna of Dauphine Alps, Contribu-
tion to the 13, 52, 79, 140, 173,
202,

Feeding larvas of Arctid arid on
lettuce ... ...

Few days' collecting at Liverpool,
49 ; in the Valley of the Dee ...

CONTENTS
PAGE

118

116

140
1.54

290
337
334

64

161

5

228
38
49

PAGE

Field observations... ... 129

Five-spotted Zygdenidae. Hrvc we
three British species ? ... ... 87

Fleas, New British {Tryphlojisylld
dd><yci)einits, Roths., and T.penta-
caii'tlius, Roths.) ... .55, 159

Flower pots as breeding cages ... 153
Fluctuation of sedentary species of
Lepidoptera ... .. ... 273

Food oiTire.'iids serrti. Paper as the 1(52
Food-plant of Ldniucdinpn idlUiiide,
89; of Fyraineis cardui, 331;
of Tephrosin bistortdtd, 171 ;
of Tilidced diirdyo, 154 ; of Zeu-
zerd aesciili ... ... ... 20

Gelechid mmdden.sis in the Alps ... 15

Gelechid mtppelielld, Distribution of 155

Gelechidd new to science. Descrip-
tion of 140

General records referring to either
Z. hippocrepidis or to an aberra-
tion of Z../(7t^>fHf?((/rtf 103

General remarks of the genus Zy-
yaend ... ... ... ... 87

Geographical distribution of Hy-
driomenti fitrcdtd, 84, 110; of
Tlidtnnotrizon cinerenx ... ... 41

Geometrid family Amphiddfiidde,
The... _ ■ ... 289

Grdmmesid triyrdiiniiicd ah. ob.iciird 261

Habits of Apdnien opJiioyrdmiud, 9 ;
of Apdtura ilia, 335 ; of Geleddd
puluftrelld, 181 ; of LiDupidea
boeticd, 250; of Mctoecus pani-
doxus, 318, 321 ; of Fudixin
luridwi, 64 ; of Sericorix doiible-
ddydiid, 181; of ^'elleil(s dild-
tdtiis, 318, 321 ; of Zygdeiid
e.i'iildn.'i ... ... ... 328

Hints as to breeding Fetdsid niibe-
ciilosd ... ... ... 182

History of Zyydcud hippocrepidis,
St., as a British species ... 103

Home of Apdmed ophioyrmnind,
Winter ... ... * ... 100

Homoeoehromatic groups of butter-
Hies ... ... ... 1.5C

Hybernating Larva; ... ... 326

Hybernating larvae of ( 'oenonympha
pdhipliilna, 207 ; of Hippdrdiia
seniele 207

Hybernating stage of certain butter-
flies 249, 279

Hybernation oi Euyoniapolyddoron 328

Hybernation of Vduexxa io 205, 327

Hyliernid defolidrid. Aberrations of 128

Hybrid Smeriiitliux populi-ocelldtHn,
Notes on, 299 ; Zyyaeuidde 69, 87

Hybridisation of T. bistortdtd and
T. crepiisciddrid 149, 243, 277. 319

Hybrids, Further notes on the
Tephrodd ... ... ... ... 319

Hydrilld pdlnstria Hi 'Sicken ... 214

Imago of Hydriomena furcota
Inbred Eiiphhecia conminiitd
Incidental note on frozen insects ...
Intiuence of temperature on the

hatching of eggs

Insects at Hampstead, 20; from
Cheshire (Bidston), 70 ; the

Island of Ceylon

Interbreeding of T. lii^tortata and

2'. hiiuididana, 149, 243, 277,

Introduction of Calliworjihd hera

into Britain, 2-57 ; Correction as to

Irish Lepidoptera

Ivy in Devonshire

Japanese Tephrosias

Jumping cocoons

CONTENTS.
PAGE

HI

4C.

290

327

48

319

337
4(j
19

47
24

Keeping pupae through the winter 324
Killing insects 121

Larva of Agrotia covdelariim, 9G ;
Agrotis sithrofiea. 120; Auiifaiiip-
ds vorticella. 121; Aitarta iiiyr-
tilli, 208; Anchocelh pistaciiia,
185 ; Antispila treitschkiella, 241 ;
Apamea ophiognniima, 68; Argg-
redhia aundentella, 96; Argyro-
lepia maritimana, 241 ; Bomhyx
(Lasiocampa) quercih, 68 ; />'.
xpartii, 68 ; Brep>)ios notha, 68 ; li.
parthenias, 68 ; BucculatrLv crista-
tella, 120 ; Btttalis senescens, 120 ;
Caradrina morpheus, 241 ; Carpo-
capsa groi^mna, 240 ; Carpocapsa
Juliana, 240 ; Catoptriaaemidana,
240; Catoptria tripoliava. 240;
Chara.re" jadiis, 185 ; Choero-
anupa elpenor, 2 37 ; Coccyx
hyrcinidiia, 67; Coccyx strohi-
lella, 264 ; Coleophora chalcogmm-
mella, 120 ; Coleophora fit.^cocii-
prella, 241 ; C. juncicolella, 67 ;
Coleophora laricella, 67; Coleo-
phora pyrrhuUpennella, 67 ; Coleo-
phorartrgaureaeUa, 264; Cosmia
paleacea, 95 ; Cramhua trixtellua,
237 ; Cucidlia giiaphalu, 180 ;
Demas coryU, 240; Depressaria
assimilella, 67 ; Dichrorhampa
jdiimhana, 67 ; D.plumbagana, 67 ;
Earias chlorana, 208 ; Ehulea
atarhiidalix, 2U8 ; Emmeleda de-
colorata, 208; Epichuopteryx
reticella, 183; Eupithecia arceu-
thata, 265 ; Eupithecia debiliata,
207; Eupithecia denotata, 209;
Eupithecia nanata, 208 ; Eupi-
thecia pulchellata, 121 ; Eujri-
thecia sohrinata, 121 ; Eupithecia
togata 208 ; Gelechia acuudna-
tella, 241; Gelechia moroAa, 152;
Gelechia naeviferella, 208 ; Gele-
chia notatella, 209 ; Gelechia
scriptella, 209, 241 ; Harpipteryx
scahrella, 120; Hydriomena fur-

Phoxopteryx
Platgpteryx
Platypteryx

341

PAGE

cata, 111 ; Hydroecia jjetadtis,
180; Lamproida prael'itclla, ()7 ;
Lampronia ruhiella, 67 ; lAtrcrnu
miacella, 96 ; Lacerna rascldxiella,
96 ; Leioptilus tephradartylus,
120; Leucania alhipuinta, UVS;
Leucauia »t raminea , 120 ; lAthoda
ruhricollis, 264 ; Nematoin xchi^tl'er-
milleriella, 96; Nepticula poterii,
120 ; Noctua rhomhoidea, 264 ;
Nonagria geminipuncta, 152 ;
Orgyia gonoxtigina, 100; Prtf/*-
/(0?n(( hyperhorea, 152 ; Paedisca
oppresmna, 67 ; PcmpeUa for-
moxa, 181; Pentldna poxtremana,
241 ; Peronea hastiana, 208 ;
Phorodesma xmaragdaria, 240 ;
deraxona, 240 ;
falcataria, 2 40 ;
Itarpagula, 240 ;
Polygouiu egea, 178 ; Porthexia
chri/xorrhoea, 152 ; Betinia turio-
nana, 67 ; Bhodophaea advenella,
96 ; SiUurnia pyri, 112 ; Sciaphila
xinuana 96 ; Seuiasia rufiUana, 241 ;
Sericorix euphorbiana, 241 ; Smrt
philanthifonnix, 152 ; Spilodes
palealix, 241 ; Siigmonota leplax-
triana, 6'i ; Taeniocampa populeti.
95 ; 'J', hixtortaia, 243, 277 ; V.
hiundularia, 243, 277 ; 2V^/;f*(
subtuxa, 95, 121; '77/edrt j;/'H»f,
73, 74 ; 'A/^ra firmata, 240 ;
r/m-tns .^'<;/•ra, 162 ; Trochihum

crahronifor)ne

Larva of Aplecta occulta, 47 ; of
Cochliopodid moths, 59 ; of I>(^ii<'-
^j//(7« euphorbiae, 293 ; of Hepialux
lupnliuux, T2 ; of Laxiocampa
rubi, 149 ; of Orgyia, 69 ; of
Saturnia carpini ...

Larvae in the New Forest

Laxiocampa querci'ix taking only
one year to complete its meta-
morphoses
Lepidoptera at Church Stretton, 65 ;
at Isle of Dogs, 156 ; at San-
down, 296; from Bourg d'Aru,
52 ; from Digne, 185 ; from

Romanche Valley

Lepidoptera, European and Ameri-
can

Lepidopterous larvae, Characters of 136
Leucania albipuncta, Attempt to

breed

Leucania extra iiea in Carnarvon-
shire

Life-history of Charaxex jasiux,
217 ; of Hydriomena furcata, 84,

110; oi Thecla pruni

Life-history of Metoecux (Ehipi-

phorus) jjaradoxux
Limeuitix xdijiUa, Dark aberration of
Lita intermediella, Notes on
LithocolUtix larvae in autumn of
1896, Abundance of

48

213
20

62

83

99

162

267

73

321

39
36

61

342

Litlioaia IntarelUi and its var.

pygmaeola ... ... ... 140

Living larvae of Fitiitoiiliis plumis-

traria and HemeyopJiila ainiiptaria 213
Llangollen (Vallev of the Dee),

Collecting at " 49

Local Coleoptera from Richmond

Park 129

Locusts as an article of food ... 71

Laphopteiiix carnielita at West

Wickham 154

Li/cacna arion in the Cotswokls,

'lOl; New locality for 335

Marroqlossd honihi/lifoiinig in co.

Cork ... ■,.;

Malformation of Pieris brasdcae ...
Melanic Duinthoecia cajixophila, 4(] ;

Kiipithecia vir(iaureata, 331 ;

Thevd olx'lixcata (randtd), 330 ;

Tripliaoia orhuiia from Slough,

118 ; aberrations in Yorkshire ...
^lehinippe tiiontaiKitii, Notes on
Melitiicd (lurinia in Ireland
MicuKi hicoloria and its form ;■»/»/*-

nila. Query as to...
Micro-lepidoptera from Lancashire
Mixtures for sugaring
Mode of progress of larva of Tliecla

priiiii

Moth traps ... ...

Moths attracted by electric light ...
Moths from Bourg d'Oisans, 140,

173 ; from La Grave, 228 ; from

Le Lautaret
Moulting of Charaxcs janius
Myrmecophilous Coleoptera in 1897

2G(J
213

327
213

39

71

121

74
93

47

13
217

246

Nature of pigments of Lepidoptera,
Probable physical and chemical IfiO

Nemeophild phtntdfiinh, Black aber-
ration of, 187, 2()0 ; ab. hoapiUt,
2(51 ; Varieties of, 187 ; ab. hox-
pitd and ab. nij'a '. A query ... 330

Nest of a gregarious Europterid
moth. On a larval ... ... 127

Neuration of Butterflies, 241 ; of
Lepidoptera, 255 ; of Ehopalocera 4

New British fleas [Tryphlopmlld
pentacdnthui^ and T. ddsyoieiiiiis) 55

New British species of Diptera
(Micropalpiis piulic}i.^), 47 ; of the
Gelechiidoe (Lita intermediella) 3()

New Forest in 1890 02

Noctiid (Iitriipe.:iiiiii in South York-
shire (?) (afterwards corrected. —
Ed.) 20

Notes from Broxbourne, 295 ; from
Carlisle, 238, 297, 333; from
Dover, 2()7 ; from Isle of Man,
209 ; from New Forest, 29(i ; from
Shere, 2()9 ; from Tuddenham,
207; from ^Vicken, 290; from
^Vyre Forest, 209 ; from Y'ork-
shire, 67 ; on the Zygtenides 87, 103

Number of broods of Erehia epi>i-
tj/fine, 281 ; of P. c-alhnm, 281 ;
oi Poli/finuid eged ... 281

Ny.-inui .roHrt/w, Notes on, 70 ; taken
near Liverpool 48

Obituary : — Albei't Houghton, 124 ;
James B. Hodgkinson, F.E.S.,
125; John Finlay 270

Observations made in Switzerland,
August, 1896, Some 25

Occurrence of Tephroitia crepnitcu-
laria (hiitiididaria) in Ireland,
On the 322

Ocellation of Erehia neoridax. On
the 79

Oecophora Mipella in the Alps ... 15

Oporahia filiyrdimnaria, Variation
of ... ' .' 61

Oporahia nehnlata and O. tiliyrdiii-
inaria, Exhibition of and notes on 185

Oporahia, The genus 247, 282, 315

Organs of Tepliroaia lii^tortata and
T. crepvxcularid, The genital ... 205

Orthoptera captured in the neigh-
bourhood of Cannes, in March... 226

Oxshott in June 213, 239

Papers, Entomological for 1896 ... 3
Pararye maerd. New aberration of 260
Pararye iiieyaera and P. waerd in-
habiting the same ground ... 79
Pararye meydcra. Habits of in

Britain ... ... 252

Peronea permutann on Barnes Com-
mon 209, 269

Pliiydlid pedaria, Black aberration

oif, 118 ; Variation of 117

Phorode>ima piistitlata at Brondes-

bury ... 297

Phothedett captninciila, Notes on ... 328
Photograph of Brachycerux apterit.t 129
Pliycia ohlitella Among some bought
lUiodopJiaea siiarella ... ... 64

Pieri't dap! idice &t Doxev 269

Pigment, Development of, within

scales 159, 198

Pigment of wing-scales in Lepidop-
tera 78

Pigments of Lepidoptera, Develop-
ment of 131, 159

Plasteiiis siibtusa, Notes on ... 332

Platyptilia texxeradaciyla in Ireland 71
Pleheiiix acyon var. coraica in West-
moreland ... ... ... ... 294

Plumes of an Alpine Valley, The... 228
Pluxia fextiicae double-brooded, 40 ;

Aberration of... 118

Plusiii moiieta near Rochester, 266 ;

at Watford 23

Podixnx Uiridu.i, Carnivorous habit

of 64

Pocrilorampa populi taken at Dorking 48
Polia xauthomixta var. niyrocincta
from the egg, Rearing 89

CONTENTS.
PAGE

343

PAGE

Polyrjon la c-album, Aberrations of . . . 38
Polijmnmatus astvarche ab. qtiadri-

puvctata in Kincardineshire 330

Polijommatua escheri, Abundance of 202

Polijoiiimtiis iolas in Switzerland ... 40

PoUjommatug {Plcheius) i^ephijrin^

var. Ujcidas ... ... ... 294

Porthcsia chriisorrhoea on oak ... 185
Porthctria dispar as a British insect 21
Portland, Collecting at ... ... 19

Probable origin of certain ocellated

spots in the larvae of Odoitestis

potatoria, 287; of Lasiocampa

querci'is

Proposed new grouping of Lepidop-

tera

Protection of insects in danger of

extermination, Committee for ...

Protection versus Extermination ...

Protective advantage of the colours

assumed by the melanic form of

Stauropus fagi

Protective resemblance of Cliaraxct:

jasins
Protective resting habit of Lithomia

soltdaiiini.'i...
Ptinu^ bntiinetts, Duft., captured in

Surrey
Pupa of Amblyptilia ncanthodactyhi,
264 ; of Charaxes jasiiis, 185 ; of
Dasychini pudibimda, 295; of
Demas coryli, 295 ; of Eiipithecia
dodoneata, 295 ; oiEupithecux frax-
inata, 265 ; of Euyyiiicnc dolobra-
ria, 295 ; of Hydriomena fiivcata,
111 ; of Lciocampa dictaea, 295 ;
of Lophopteryx camelina, 295 ; of
Neineobius lucina, 336 ; of Noto-
doiita ti'cpida, 294 ; of Poccilo-
campa popiili, 295 ; of Ptilodontis
palpina, 295 ; of Satuniia pyri,
144; of Taeniocampa pupuleti,
295; of Theclapnmi, 75; of Tro-
chilhtm api forme ...

Pupa-digging in Ireland

Pupation of Charaxes jasius, 217 ;
oi Tiresias serra ...

287

196

130
337

207
217
326
260

260
64

162

Kara species of Lepidoptera from
Merton 129

Rearing Polia xanthomista var.
nigrocinda ... ...

lletarded emergence of Peta.sia
mtbeculosa, 182 ; of Nijssia hhpi-
daria 182

Retrospect of a Lepidopterist for
1896 1

Reviews and Notices of Books : —
Das Studium der Bracoiiideii, von
Dr. 0. Schmeideknecht, 158 ;
Die Deutschen Pterophorinen, von
Dr. Ottmar Hofmann, 72 ; Die
SclimetterUnrjs-fanna von Hilde-
sheim, by A. R. Grote, M.A., 241 ;
Faunc de France, by A. Acloque,
270 ; Harrow Butterjlies and

39

Moths, Vol. ii., by J. L. Bonhote,
M.B.O.U., and Hon. N. C. Roths-
child, F.Z.S., F.E.S., 186 ; L«f
of Portland Lepidoptera, by Nelson
Richardson, B.A., F.E.S., 184 ;
Mechanical Selection a)id other
Problems, by Karl Jordan, Ph.D.,
130 ; Tlie developnunitofthe wiiiij-
scales and their piyment in Butter-
flies and Moths, by Alfred Golds-
borough Mayer ... ... ... 131

Rhodophaea rubrotibiella. Notes on 329
Rhopalocera found in the Basses-
Alps (Digne;, 221 ; of the Guild-
ford district, 310 ; from La Grave
Rhynchota-Heteroptera collected
at Cannes...

202

256

336

268
260

271

118
130
332

238

Sale of Mr. C. A. Briggs' collection,
41; of J. B. Hodgkinson's collec-
tion
Sallows in York district
Satiirnia pavoiiia. Assembling of ...
Scales of European Zygaenides, On

the

Scales of Lepidoptera, Development

of 131, 159

Second broods in 1896 ... ... 42

Senta maritima ab. bipunetata from

Southend ...
Silk Qf Tephrosia bistortata ...
Sirex juvcncus in Bostall Woods ...
Smerinthus tiliae (?) with S. populi

( (J ), Pairing of ...
Societies : — Cambridge Entomo-
logical and Natural History
Society, 24, 45, 100, 157 ; City of
London Entomological and
Natural History Society, 48, 68,
97. 127, 156, 185, 212 ; Committee
of Ent. Soc. of London for Pro-
tection of British Lepidoptera, 24,
130, 214; Congress of South
Eastern Union of Scientific
Societies, 184 ; Entomological
Society of London, 45, 71, 129;
Nonpareil Entomological Society,
129, 214 ; North London Society,
47, 129 ; Royal Society, 204 ;
South London Entom. a n d
Natural History Society ... 46

South African insects

Species, Varieties and Aberrations,
new to science : — Abraxas sylvata
(uhnata) ab. intermedia, Tutt, 307 ;
ab. obscura, Tutt, 307 ; ab. suffusa,
Tutt, 307 ; ab. transversa, Tutt,
307 ; Crambus culmellus ab. obscnra,
Tutt, 230 ; Hydriomena pureata
(sordidata) ab. cinereata, Prout,
86 ; ab. obliterata, Prout, 86 ; ab.
sordidata-albifaseiata, Prout, 87 ;
ab. testaceata, Prout, 86 ; Lita,
intermediella, Hodgk. ('? Lita fra-
ternella, Ed.), 36, 71 ; Lithosia
complana ab. pallida, Tutt, 141 ;

,71

24

344

Megacraspedus tutti, Walsni., 140,

'2'il ; Melanthia hicolonita ah.

fumosa, Prout, 201 ; Ncmeuphila

plantaginis ab. alha-matronalis,

Tutt, 191 ; ab. albu-obsoleta. Tutt,

191 ; ab. flava, Tutt, 191, ab.

flava-matyonalis, Tutt, 191 ; ab.

tlava-obsolcta, Tutt, 191 ; ab. liitea-

obsoleta, Tutt, 191; ab. rii/a, Tutt,

191 ; ab. rufa-matronalis, Tutt,

191 ; ab. yu/a-obsoleta, Tutt, 191 ;

Purarge maeva ab. obsciu-a, Tutt.

2(j0; Stauvopus fagi ab. obscura,

Tutt, 208 ; ab. virgata, Tutt, 208 ;

Tryphlopsylla dasyaiemns, Iloths.,

159; T. peiitacanthus, JXoths.
Specific distinction of Gonepteiyx

Cleopatra, On the ...
SiJecific distinctness of Mict'opteryx

sahpielUi and .1/. unimaculella ...
sphinx convohuU at Chichester, 2(i7 ;

at Clevedon, 23 ; at Barnsley,

333 ; Notes on, 265, 269 ; Besting

habit of ...
Spilothyrus alceae at Bourg d'Oisans
Spring collecting and observations

in CO. Cork, Eesult of

Spring Hymenoptera from Southern

France
Spring Lepidoptera at Carlisle, 182;

at Hyeres, 303 ; at Reading, 154,

183 ; at Swansea
Spring Moths
Spring Odonata from Southern

France
Spring Rhopalocera from the

Riviera, On a collection of
Statistician wanted, A
iS7a«ro/M5 /(7^/ at Reading ...
Streiiia immorata. Notes on
Stridulatory organ in the larva of

GeotiHpes
Sugaring in York district ...
Summer emergence of Gonepteryx

clcupatra, On the ...
Synonymy of Hydrioniena funata

(Hypsipetes soriiidata), 84 ; of T.

bistortata and T. crepusculaiia

Taeniocampa opima at Canvey
Taeniocampa populdi at Wimbledon
Taeniocampa stahilis. Donas coiyli,
and Ennomos qucicinaiia. Heredity
notes relating to ...
Tanagra atrata at Brondesbury ...
TepJirosia bistortata and T. crepuscii-
aria. Are they distinct species?
150,215, 243, 278; at Reading.
183 ; Bred series of, 185 ; Breeding
notes relating to, 328 ; Critical
resume of arguments as to their
being distinct species 6, 28, 55 ;
Crossing of, 1-50, 278 ; 310 ; Dis-
cussion on, 47 ; Eggs of, 127.
150, 215, 243. 278 ; From the
London district, 46 ; Further
notes on, 149 ; Larvse of

CONTENTS.
PAGE

PAde

00

329
151

228
253

266
239

183
157

239

249
89

265
16

100
268

329

56

188
156

97
297

243

Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscular ia) as
a Scotch insect, 258 ; at Reading,
124 ; Ovum and larva, 243 ;
Second brood of ... ... ... 245

Tephrosia crepusailaria (bitmdulayia)
in Ireland, 64 ; in Morayshire,
93 ; not in Morayshire, 127 ;
Ovum and larva 277

Thanaos taijes double-brooded on
Continent ... ... ... 253

Thyridoptervx cphemeraeformis at
Washington, U.S.A 24

Tiliacea (Xanthia) aitraf/o and its
aberrations, 294 ; near Bath ... 21

Time of appearance of some Butter-
flies at Hyeres, Notes on the ... 37

Tinea riiricolella. Notes on ... ... 330

Tiresias scrra bred ... ... ... 212

Tortm viburniand, 'Sotea on ... 14

Trapezoidal tubercles of Saturnia 148

Value of larval characters, On the 286
Varieties in the Larentiidae, Some
named ... ... ... ... 200

Variation of British Butterflies ... 331
Variation of E. neoridas, 82 ; of
Hydrioniena furcata, 84, 110; of
Oporabia filigrammaria, (il ; of
Oporabia nebulata, 315 ; of Spilosoma
lubricipeda, 47; of Stauropus fagi,
207; oi Zygaena exulans ... 13

Wallasey (Liverpool), A few days'
collecting at ... ... ... 49

West of Scotland, Notes from ... 17
Wing-expansion of Zygaena trifolii-
major. On the ... ... ... 234

Wing-scales of Lepidoptera ... 78
Wings of Lepidoptera, Develop-
ment of 130, 159

Winter habits of Colias ediisa, 280 ;
of C. hyale, 280 ; of Gonepteryx
Cleopatra 280

Xyleborus saxeseni from Richmond
Park 1.56

Yellow and white-coloured moths
on mountain pastures, Abund-
ance of ... . . .. ... 228

Zeiigophora flavicollis at Colchester 71

Zyuaena hippocrcpidis, St., probably
a hybrid form between Z. tri/olii
and Z. filipcndulae, 103 ; is it a
distinct British species, 87 ; Re-
marks on ... ... ... ... 169

Zygaena lonicerae as a constant spe-
cies, 87, 166 ; compared with Z.
medicaginis, 167 ; hybridises with
Z. trifolii 168

Zygaena medicuginix as a distinct
species, 168 ; Six-.spotted speci-
mens of 169

Zygaena ochsenheimeri compared
with Z. medicaginis ... ... 168

Zygaena trifoUi-major, Aberrations

of.. 261

I Zygaenides, Notes on the, 166 ; of
the Buttier Valley 170

CONTENTS.

LIST OF PLATES.

Plate I. — Neuration of the Ehopalocera : To be placed opposite

Plate II. — Larva and Pupa of T/(«'cJ«j>r»ni

Plate III. — Development of the wing and wings-scales in Butterflies and Moths

VUte lY.- Anew BritiahFleA (Triiphltipanlld d(i>'ijcnemi(>i)

Plate V. — Nemeophila plantaninu, its Aberrations and Varieties

Plate VI. — Ova of Tcphroaia crej)i(!^culari(i and T. bistortata

Plate VII.— Scales of European Zygsenides

345

PAGE

1

73

131
. 15!)
, 187
, 215
. 271

INDEX TO LOCALITIES.

PAGE

Aberdeenshire

... 20, 03

Ireland

AroUa ... ...

25

Isle of Dogs ...

Barnes Common

209. 269

Isle of Man ...

Bath

21

Kent

Berisal

... 297

King's Lynn...

Bourg d'Aru

52

La Grave

Bourg d'Oisans

79.

140. 173

Le Lautaret ...

Bournemouth

39

Les Avants ...

Brampton

... 333

Llangollen ...

Brockenhurst

48

Loughton

Bronde.sbury

... 297

Mallow

Broxbourne ...

... 295

Merton

Bury St. Edmunds

23

Morayshire ...

Buttier Valley

... 170

Navestock ...

Caithness

62

New Forest 20, 62

Cannes ... 226,

239,

256, 267

Orkney Islands

Canvey

90

Oxshott

Carlisle ... 182,

238,

269, 297

Perth

Ceylon

48

Portland

Cheshire

70

Queenborough

Cheshunt

... 239

Reading 40, 124,

Chichester ...

... 267

Richmond Park

Church Stretton

65

Riviera, The

Clevedon

23

Rochester

Colchester ...

71

Romanche Valley

Cork

... 266

Saas Fee

Cotswolds

101, 332

Sandown

Cumberland...

91

Shere

Dauphine Alps 13, 52

, 79.

140, 173

Slough

Devonshire ...

19

Southend

Digne (Basses-Alpes) 185

, 221

. 239, 267

Switzerland ...

Doncaster ...

23

Tuddenham ...

Dover

267. 269

Wallasey

East of Scotland

18

Waltham Cross

Emsworth ...

23

Watford

Epping Forest

... 129

Westmoreland

Evolena

25

West of Scotland

Farnborough

... 333

West Wickham

Folkestone ...

91

Wicken

Galway

63

Wisbech

Gloucester ...

... 335

Wimbledon ...

Guildford ...

123. 310

Wyre Forest

Hampstead ...

20

Yarmouth

Hyeres

... 303

York District 20, 23,

I'AGE

... 64 (twice), 71

156

... 209

122

23, 184

202, 228

13

25

50

48
... 183
... 129
93
... .332
, 93, 157, 210, 296
...72, 93

213, 239
258

19

... 184

154, 188, 265, 334

129

249, 279

... 266

83

... 297

... 296

... 269

93, 118

90, 118

40

267

50

23

23

261, 294

17

... 154

214, 296
... 332

156

... 269

64

, 46, 67, 268, 304, 332

LIST OF CONTEIBUTOBS, Etc.

\dkin, Robert, F.E.S. ...
Alderson, Hope, F.E.S.
Allen, .I.E. R.
Anderson, Joseph (Jun.)
Ash,(Rev.)C.D.,M.A. ...

PAGE

... 324
... 333
... 323

... 267
23. 62, 97

Atmore, E, A., F.E.S. ... 23, 184

Bacot, A., 38. 97. 144, 148, 178,

287. 293, 299
Bankes, Eustace, R., M.A., F.E.S.,

40, 330 (twice

346

CONTENTS.
PAGE

fAGE

Barnes. W 40, 183

Barrett, Chas. G., F.E.S. 41, 130, 214
Bartlett, Chas. ... ... 328

Bateson. W., M.A., F.K.S., F.E.S. 328
Bath, W. Harcourt ... ... 41

Baty, T. E. ... ... ... 178

Bayne, A. F. ... ... ... 1)3

Bazett, (Mrs.) E. C. ... ... 294

Beadle, H 91, 118, 121

Beare, (Professor) T. Hudson, B.Sc,

F.K.S.E., F.E.S. ... 49

Bird, C. A 35

Bird, J. F 20

Bouskell, F., F.E.S. ... ... 118

Bowell, E. W. Wake ... 94, 121, 271
Bower, Benjamin A., F.E.S. ... 89

Bowles, E. A., M.A., F.E.S., 23,

42, (31. 178, 180, 326

Bright, P.M.. F.E.S 39

Brown, E.W. (Capt.) 322

Brown, H. llowland, M.A., F.E.S.

2.5, 290, 294, 297
Buckell, F. J., MB., B.S. ... 99

Buckmastcr, (Rev.)C. J., M.A. ... 303

Bull, John ... ... ... 273

Burr, Malcolm, F.E.S. ... 226

Burrows, (Rev.) C. R. N. 36, 130

Bush, E. K 259

Butler, W. E. 124, 149, 154, 261. 265
Buttertield, J. A., B.Sc. 118, 327

(twice), 328, 330, 332 (twice), 335
Chapman, T.A., M.D., F.E.S. 78,

94, 192, 217. 2.59, 269, 321
Cheesman, E. M. ... 93, 94

Christy, W. M., M.A., F.E.S. 22,

23, 63, 326
Clarke, H. Shortrid^e, F.E.S. ... 209

Clarke, J. 124 (twice), 183, 261, 335
Claxton, (Rev.) W. ... ... 332

Cockerell, (Prof.) T. D. A., F.Z.S.,

F.E.S. ... ... 331

Corbett, H. H., M.R.C.S. 23, 95, 326
Cottam, Arthur ... ... 23

Cowie, Wm. ... ... ... 21

Crabtree,B.H., F.E.S. ... 261

Dalglish, A. Adie ... 18, 179

Dawe, F.S., B.Sc. ... ... 335

Day. F. H. ... 94, 183, 239, 269, 298

Day, Geo. 0. ... ... 267 (twice)

Dennis, George C, F.E.S. ... 67

Donisthorpe, Horace, F.Z.S., F.E.S.

49, 77, 162, 24t;, 260, 276
Dupont, L. ... ... 329 (twice)

Dutton, R. ... ... ... 269

Dyar, Harrison G., Ph.D. ... 136

Esam, W. W. ... 40, 64

Farn, A. B., F.E.S. ... ... 335

Fenn, Charles, F.E.S. ... 22, 179,

182, 325

Gardner, J., F.E.S 328

Greer, T. ... 22

Grote, (Professor) A. R., MA. 72

Harrison, Edward S.

Harrison, .J., F.E.S.
Hart, (Prof.) G. T
Heasler, H. .„
Hewett, William

83, 267,

293, 294, 335

... 334

L.L.D., F.E.S. 322

98

20, 107, 142,

171, 304
Hill, H. Ainslie, F.Z.S.. F.E.S. 20, 154
Hills, Stuart G. ... ... 39

Hodgkinson, J. B., F.E.S. 36, 40,

(14, 65
Home, A , F.E.S., 19, 63, 93, 2-59,

261, 330 (twice)
Howard, L. 0. ... ... 17

Kane, W. F. de V., M.A., F.E.S.

36, (i3, 64, 146, 324
Kaye, W. J , F.E.S. ... ... 207

Kirkaldy,G. W., F.E.S. ... 256

Lawson, R. ... ... ... 258

Lowe, (Rev.) Frank E., M.A., F.E.S. 59
Lucas, W. J., B.A.
Maddison, T. ...

Mason, .J.
Mera, A. W. ...

Merrifield, Frederic,
Merrin, J , F.E.S.

239

... 182, 325, 326

23 (twice). 326

... 22, 61, 181

F.E.S. ... 89

101, 154, 329.

332, 335
, FES. 20
62, 179, 296, 320

Moberly, J. C, M.A
61 (three'
Morley, Claude, F.E.S. 10, 32, 114,

232, 307
Murray, H.
Newland, C. Bingham

39, 294

183, 260,

266 (twice)

67. 333

329 (twice)

23, 266

92

J55,

2S()

Grover, W. ... 124, 234, 235, 310
Hamm. A. H., 42, 94, 122, 152. 155

Newnham, F. B.. M.A.

Nicholl, (Mrs.) M.

Norgate, Frank

Page, Herbert E., F.E.S.

Page, (Mrs.) Rosa E.. B.A. ... 268

Partridge, (Colonel) Chas. E. ... 40

Postans, R. D. ... ... 41

Prout, Louis B., F.E.S. 84, 110,

162, 200. 240, 247, 267,

282, 290, 297. 315
Pye, (Miss) Clara E. ... ... 266

Quail, Ambrose ... ... 4

Raynor, (Rev.) G. H., B.A. ... 21

Richardson, Nelson M., B. A., F.E.S.

19. 42. 179
Riding, W. S., B.A.. M.D., F.E.S.

20, 119, 149, 151, 238. 243,

277, 319, 325
Robertson, (Major) R. B.. 181

twice, 326
Robinson, Arthur, B.A., F.E.S. ... 89

Robson, J. E., F.E.S. ... ... 63

Rothschild, The Hon. N. C, F.Z.S.,

F.E.S.... ... 55, 159

Routledge, G.B., F.E.S. ... 333

Sampson, Albert ... ... 154

Saunders, E., F.L.S., F.E.S. ... 239

Sheldon. W. G. ... ... 336

Stockwell, H. Douglas ... 123, 267

Studd, E. F., M.A., B.C.L., F.E.S.

22, 137, 146, 325

CONTENTS.
PAGE

347

PAGE

Thornhill, W. B. 9, 39, 64 (twice)

Todcl, (Rev.) E. Hallett, M.A. ... 148
Tremayne, Lawrence J. 212, 239,

240. 270, 29(1, 297
Tuck, W. H., M.A. 260, 266, 289, 318
Tntt, J. W.,F.E.S. 1, 6, 13, 24,
28, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42 (twice),
52, 55, .3S, 59, 61, 67, 73,
79, 87, 90, 94, 9(), 103,
112, 117 (twice), 120, 131,
140, 148, 151 (twice), 152,
159, 166, 173, 177, 180,
187, 194, 198, 202, 205,
207, 208, 215, 221, 228,
234, 237, 240, 249, 257.
259, 2i;0, 264 (twice i, 279,

292, 294, 296, 305, 324, 336

Viviiui, H. W., B.A.. F.E.S. 331, 334

Wallcer. S. ... ... ... 332

Walker. J. J., F.L.S., F.E.S. ... 184

Walsingham, The Rt. Hon. Lord,

M.A., L.L.D., F.R.S. etc. 140

Warburg, J. C.
Waters, Albert H.
Webb, Sydney
Whittle, F. G. .
Williamson, J. B.
Winterbotham, L.
Wolfe. J. J.
Wood, H. L. ...
Wylie, J.

... 41

, B A. 38, 64 (twice)

... 23. 151, 153

89, 91, 118, 183

... 93, 118 (twice)

L. ... ... 154

184, 205, 207 (twice)
... 337
... 259.

Westcombe Hill.
My Dear Sir,

With the present number we commence a new volume (vol ix.)
of Tlie Eiitomnloffist's Record and Journal of Variation.

There can be no doubt that this Magazine has long taken a fore-
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Your obedient servant.

The Editor.

The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation.

VOL. VIII.

The VOLUME contains, among others, the following importan'T articles by well-known
entomologists: — "Mimicry." (i). " General observations. Selection, Protective colora-
tion. Utility." (2). "The origin of Protective wing-markings. Internal forces plus
selection and utility." (3). " Utility as the predominant factor in developing mimetic
patterns." (4). " Historical review of remarks made by various observers as to the
origin of leaf-markings displayed by certain butterflies for protective purposes on the
under surfaces of their wings." (5). " The origin of leaf-markings as a mimetic pattern."
(6). " Selection guided by utility at work." — ■/. W. Tiitt, F.E.S. " The resting habit of
insects as exhibited in the phenomena of Hybernation and /Estivation." — IF. F. de
V. Kane, M.A., F.E.S. " The Genus Dianthoecia.''—J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Eiqnthecia
stevensata." — Sydney Webb. "The Mallophaga or Biting Lice." — -/. IF. Tutt, F.E.S.
" 21 elanipiie 11 act uat a a.nd its Variation." — Louis B. Prout, F.E.S. "The History of
Chrysoplianus dispar as a British insect (an exhaustive essay)." — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S.
*' The early stages of some British Butterflies." — J. J. Wolfe. " The hybernating stages
of British Butterflies (A critical review of the subject)." — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Habits
of the larva and pupa of Tliecla prnni." — S. G. C. Russell, F.E.S. " The Relationship of the
Lower I^epidoptera with the Trichoptera." — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Entomology, Evolution
and Romance (a critical reply to Mr. Frost)." — H. H. Corbett, M.R.C.S. " An explana-
tion of the Melanochroism occurring in certain Scotch specimens of Tryphaena orbona,
Hufn. (comes, Hb.)." — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. "The Tephrosia Tangle : A critical revision of
the Synonymy of T. bistortata {crepuscular in) and T. crepuscularia {binndiilaria)." —
Louis B. Prout, F.E.S. "The over-collecting of British Butterflies." --/. W. Tutt,
F.E.S., W. J. Kin/f, F.E.S. etc. " On the ovum, oviposition, and food-plants of Callo-
phrys (Thcclii) ruhi." — Col. F. le Gricc. " Neuration in the Lepidoptera ; The study of
the wings — nervures, shapes, etc. (with plate) " — Ambrose Quail. '• On the Deviations in
the Life-histories of Bombyx quercus and B. callunae.^' — CajH. B. Blaydes Thompson.
" The pupa of Coenonympha pamphilus, with notes on its colour-changes just previous
to the emergence of the imago." — J. W. Tutt. F.E.S. "On the value of rare British
Lepidoptera." — [Re':) J. J. Greene, M.A., F.E.S. " The life-history of Enodia hyperan-
thus." — ./. IF. T'utt, F.E.S. "Hybernation of Pararge egeria." — F. Merrifield, F.E.S.,
H. Williams. " Notes on Apions and their larvae." — Claude Morley, F.E.S., S. Sterens,
F.L.S., F.E.S. " Pupal spines used for Cutting the Silk of Cocoons." — {Prof.) Henry
Skhuier, M.D., F.E.S. " Changes in the colour of the pupa of Epinephele ianira just
previous to emergence, with some incidental observations on the pupal structure." — J.
W. Tutt, F.E.S. ^' Aphomia sociella in the nests of Eo/w&ms and Vespa.'^ — W. H. Tuck,M.A.
*' On the hybernation of certain British Butterflies in the imago state." — J. W.
Tutt, F.E.S. " Habits of Portlietria di.'^jmr as observed in its natural haunts in
Southern France." — Ibid. " Nomina Nuda." —{Prof.) A. B. Grote, M.A. " Description
of the full-grown larva of Amphidasys strataria, with some notes on its protective
coloration." — 7. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Re-occurrence of Gastropacha ilicifolia on Cannock
Chuse." —R. Freer, M B. "On a supposed new species of Leucania." — -/. IF. Tutt,
F.E.S. " Habits of Prestwichia aquatica, an aquatic Hymenopteron."— i^. ^nocA.KL.S.,
F.E.S. " The gradual decadence of Lycaena arion as a British Insect." — / IF. Tutt,
F.E.S. " Descriptions of the eggs of Zephyrus betulae, Coenonymplia pamphilus, Pam-
phila comma, Hipparchia semele, Enodia hyperanthus, Epinephele ianira, Anyerona pru-
naria, Acidalia sulisericeata, Acidalia trigeminata. Acidalia marginepunctata, Epunda
lichenea, Epunda nigra." " The Antennas of Lepidoptera : their structure, functions
and evolution (with plate)." — J. IF. Tutt, F.E.S. " Notes on Coenonympha tiphon and
its allies."— H. •/. Elwes, F.Z.S., F.L.S., F.E.S., etc. " Notes on Coleoptera— A day
among the Deal SandhUls — The Beetles of old Coast-lines." — Claude Blorley, F.E.S "On
a collection of Lepidoptera made in the neighbourhood of Aix-les-Bains."— J. IF. Tutt,
F.E.S. " The life-history of Papilio machaon." — A. Bacot. "Notes from East Devon."
—IF. S. Riding. B.A., M.D.. F.E.S. " A new British Coccid (with plate)."— £. Ernest
Green, F.E.S. " Contributions to the fauna of theDauphine Alps."— J. IF. Tutt, F.E.S.
"The characters of the eggs of Lepidoptera as affording a basis for classification."
— T. A. Chapman, M.D., F.E.S. " A critical resume of the arguments for and against
Tephrosia bistortata (crepuscularia) and T. crepuscularia (biundularia) being considered
distinct species."— <7 IF. Tutt, F.E.S. "Collecting Coleoptera in the New Forest,
Whitsuntide." — Frank Bouskell, F.E.S. " A small collection of Lepidoptera from
Lapland." — J. IF. Tutt, F.E.S. " Hymenoptera from Lapland (with descriptions of
two new species)." — Edward Saunders, F.L.S., F.E.S., (Rev.) T. A. Marshall, M.A., F.E.S.
"Trichoptera from Finmark."— E. McLachlan, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.E.S. " Notes on a
few Norwegian Insects." — W. F. Kirby, F.L.S., F.E.S. " Critical notes on the Specific
identity of Bombyx quercus and B. callunae." — J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Generic types in
Plusia."— Pro/. A. R. Grote, M.A.

"The Butterflies of Sumatra." "Structure oi Coptsmerinthus." "Repapering Cabinet drawers."
" Painting Cabinet drawers." " The use ot the name Xanthia." " Variation ot Xanthiafulvago." " The
genera in the A patelidae." "New Entomological Lmtern." "On the number of British species of
Oporabia." "The Diptera of Guernsey." "The Blue Butterflies of a Kentish hill-side. " Synia
muscnlosa as a British insect. " " Reflections and queries on the value of rare British Lepidoptera."
" How to rear larvos oi Apamea ophiogramma." " Acidaliapcyochraria as a British insect.'' " The original
British specimens of Lampidcs boctica." "Pupation habit of Ai'gyrestliia goedartella." "Types of
genera." " The pupa oi Acipitalia migadactvla. Haw." "Aporia crataegi wintering 'n England."
" Insect Vision." " Egg parasites." " A new method of separating the ieiwaXe^oi Polyommatus corydon
and P, bellargns." "A new British species of Coleophora." "Abundance of Aphodius sordidus."
" Panchlora madeirae in Bermondsey." "Life-history of Lophopteryx carmelita." " Ecdysis."
"Histolysis." "TheVype oi Ledereria." " Plusia moncta: its larva, pupa and cocoon." " Re-establish-
ment of ^/jon'rt cra/ai;g-j in Kent." " The colouring of the cocoons oi Saturnia pini." " CatocaUi nupta
ab. caerulescens." " Nervures." "Affinities oi Epiiieplielc titlionus." "Notes on Apion iaevigatum."
" Boletobiafidiginaria at Hull." " Egg-layins and newly hatched larva oi Hipparcliia snnek." "Trans-
plantation : is it justifiable ? " " Gf/t'c7«rt s!i;)/it;/j(?//a added to the British list." " Scolytiis in Warwick-
shire." A very great number of short notes referring to Varieties, Aberrations, Life-histories, Food-plants
of larvae, Captures (from all parts of the British Islands).

VOL. VII.

The TITLES of some of the articles are as follows. — '• The Resting Habit of Insects as exhibited iu
the Phenomena of Hybernation and JDstivation." — It'. F. de V. Kane, M.A., F.E.S., IV. S. Riding,
B.A., M.D., F.E.S., J. W. Tiitt, F.E.S " Some Aspects of Hibernation." -D>-. F. A.Dixey, M.A.,F.E.S.
" The Lepidoptera of Tenerife." — Sidney E. Crompton, F.E.S. " On the Development of Sex in
Social Insects (a critique on Professor Weismann's views)." — J. IV. Tutt, F.E.S. "On the Larva of
Saturnia (vvitli special reference to the American forms,) "—Pro/essor A. K. Grott, M.A. "The
Lepidoptera of the Tyrol (Jlendel Pass, Pejo, Campiglio)." — F. C. Lemann, F.E.S., J. W . Tutt, F.E.S.
" On tile British Species of Smerinthus." — Professor A. R. Grotc, M.A. "On the Generic names in
" Apatela (Acronycta). "—Pro/tssoi- A. R. Grate, M.A., Dr. T. A. Chapman, F.E.S., L. B. Prout, F.E.S.,
J. W. Ciitt, F.E.S. "On Anthersea mylitta."—!)^. r. /I. C/ia/)»ia)», F.ii.S. " Hydroecia lucens and
H. paludis." — T. Acton. "On the Identification of Acidalia dilutaria, Hb." — L. B. Prout, F.E.S.
" Cerura bicuspis as a Herefordshire insect." — Dr. T. A. Chapman, F.E.S. "On the Interbreeding
of Spilo.ioma mendica and its var. rustica.' — J. IV. Tntt, F.E.S. " The Varieties of Leucophasia
sinapis.' — Or. W. S. Riding, B.A., F.E.S. "On the Pupal suspension of Thais."— /^r. T. A. Chapman,
F.E.S. "Differentiation of Eupithecia succenturiata and E. subfulvata.— A'. Freer, M.B., W. G.
Sheldon, L. B. Prout, F.E.S. " Habits of Callimorpha liera, on the Continent."— J. W. Tutt, F.E.S.
" (.^oenoiiympha typhon and its varieties (with a critical review of the synonymy)." — F.J . Buckell,
M.B., B.S. "The hybernating stage oi Pyvibmeia ca,Tdm."~J.W. Tutt, F.E.S. " The Coleoptera of
Ipswicli." — Claude Morley, F.E.S. "Sounds emitted by Lepidoptera."— Pco/. A. R. Grote, M.A.
" The early stages of the Satyrinae." — T. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " The larva of Epischnia bankesiella."—
N. M. Richardson, B.A., F.E.S. "The wiag-clothing of the Lepidoptera."— P/o/. A. R. Grote, M.A.
" On the Basket Caterpillar of Argentine, ami the fiagworm ( Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) of
the United States " iwith plate). — T. W. Tntt, F.E.S. " Lycfeua segon var. Corsica on the Westmore-
land Mosses." —Ht'('6t;)-< Massey, F.E.S. "Sphinx piuastri in Suffolk.' — Hon. F. Thcllusson. "On
Noctua festiva, Hb., and N. conflua, Tr." — Frederick J. Hanburv, F.L.S., F.E.S. " On the variation of
Melita3aanrinia."— H^.F.iie V. Kane, M. A., F.E.S.,J. W. Tutt F.E.S. " The Introduction of Callimorpha
hera into Britain." — W. A. Luff. "Life-history of Thecla roboris.'— PF. E. Nicholson, F.E.S.
"Acidalia dilutaria, Hb. (holosericata, Dup.) as a British insect." — G. C. Griffiiths, F.Z.S., F.E.S.
" Probable Specific Identity of SciaphilapenzianaandS. colquhomiana."— /. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " The
introduction of Sphinx pinastri into Suffolk. —/vfD O. Pickard-Cambridge, M..4., F.E.S. "The
Genera in the sub-family Lycaeninae applied to British species."— J. \V. Tutt, F.E.S. " The
relationsliip of Eudromis versicolor to the Sphiugides." — A. Bacot, F.E.S. " Some named varieties
of Larentiidae (with critical notes on the synonymy)."— i-. B. Prout, F.E.S. " How Colias edusa
winters."—/. W. Tutt, F.E.S. "The Coleoptera of Lymington Salterns."— Fn7«* Bouskell, F.E.S.
"On Alucita (Orneodes) hexadactyla, chiefly in relation to the structure of the Pupa." — Dr. T. A.
Chapman, F.E.S. "Calamia lutosa, its variation, habits, etc." —i?ey. C. i?. AT. BM;-raws. "Oporabia
filigrammaria, its variation, life-history, etc. (with \AoXe)."—J. A. Clark. F.E.S. " The Coleoptera
of Cromer and Horning."— £. G. Elliman. Mesogona acetosellse : a Noctuid newto the British List ;
The re-occurrence of Xylina lambda in Britain; Sphinx pinastri as a British insect ; On the dorsal
spines of the larva of Euvanessa antiopa; The hybernating stage of Dianthoecia capsophila;
Eudryas stas-johannis (Professor J. B. Smith, D.Sc.) ; Argyresthia illuminatella and A. atmorella
{E. R. Bankes, M. A., F.E.S., J. W. Tutt, F.E S.) ; On the larva (and rearing) of Polia xanthomista;
Aberrations of British Lepidoptera (with plate) ; The variation of certain Noctuids occurring
near Montrose; On the Affinities of Demas coryli; On the Variation of Xanthia fulvago; Habits
of the larva of Coccyx cosmophorana ; On the Variation in colour of the Cocoons of Satiu-nia
pavonia ; The type of Agronoma ; Description of the larva of Acidalia dilutaria (holosericata) (C.
Fenn, F.E.S.); On the Food-plant of Sciaphila colquhouuana (Colonel Partridge) ; Sirex juvencus
and S. gigas |C. IV. Williams); Coenonyrnpha tiphon at home (J.E.Robson,F.E.S.); The Lepidoptera
of Drdwich ; Entomology, Evolution and Romance (F. IF. Frost).

VOL. VI.

The TITLES of some of the articles are as follows :—" Notes on Butterfly Pupae, with some remarks
on the Phylogenesis of the Rhopalocera."—Z))-. T. .4. CA«/)OTr,H. F.F.S. "Phytophagic Species."—
Prof. A. Radcliffe Grote, M.A. "Varieties and aberrations of Noctuae from Doncaster."— /f . H.
Corbett, M.R.C.S. "The frenulum of the British species of Smerinthus."— G. C. Griffiths, F.Z.S.,
F.E.S. "Eudryas &tai-]6ha,ma.is."— A. Radcliffe Grote, M.A. " Parthenogenesis or Agamogenesis."—
/. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " Larvae." -Rev. G. M. A . Hewett, M.A . " Retrospect of a Lepidopterist for 1894."
/. W. Tutt, F.E.S. "Generic Names in the i>!octiud8e."— Prof. A. R. Grote, M.A. " Pupa hunting in
October."—/. W. Tutt, F.E.S. "Polygamy and Polyandry in Moths," "The nature of certain
insect colours "— VV. S. Riding, M.D., R. Freer, M.B., J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., Rev. C. R. N. Bu rrows,]. A nderson,
Jun. "The Lepidoptera of Swansea." -A/a;or7e. B. /?o6f)-/so». "Caradrina ambigua in the Isle of
Wight."— .4. J.Hodges. "The insects of Bourg St Maurice."—/. IK. Tutt, F.E.S. "Orrhodia
erythrocephala ab. glabra from Devonshire and comparison with O. vaccinii."— Dr. W. S. Riding,
F.'E.S. "Notes on Caradrina ambigua and C. superstes."— /. W. Tutt, F.E.S. "Entomology and
Entomologists, being the Annual address to the City of London Entom. Society." "Notes on
Apliomia sociella ' (with plate).— IK. P. Blackburne Maze, F.E.S. " Apterous females and Winter

Emergence."— S. F. Studd, M.A., B.C.L., F.E.S., L. B. Proiit, F.E.S.—" Collecting Noctuidse by Lake
Brie." — A. Radcliffe Grote, M.A. " Coleoptera at Ipswich." — Claude Morley, F.E.S. "Notes on
Bonibus visursiae." "Synonymic notes on Acidalia humiliata and A. dilutaria." — L. B. Prout, F.E.S.
"The Lepidoptera of Gresy-sur-Aix."— /. W. Tiitt, F.E.S. "Apatura iris." — Rev.lG. M. A. Hewett.
"Scheme of Classification of the Rhopalocera founded on the structure of the Pupae." — T. A.
Chapman, M.D., F.E.S. "Glimpses of American Entomology. "—/. VV.Tiitt, F.E.S. " The Genus
Smerinthus." — A. Bacot, "Variation considered biologically: Some notes suggested bv the
Eomanes Lecture of 1894.'— /. W. Tiitt, F.E.S. "Wing structure."—/. Alston Moffatt. "On the
development of sex in social insects."—/. W. Tutt, F.E.S. " The British representatives of the
Genus Caraflrina." — L. B. Prout. F.E.S. "Habits and Variation of Lithosia lutarella and its
variety pygmaeola."—/. W. Tiitf,F.E S. "On the gradual disappearance of Lepidoptera from South-
Eastern London and its neighbourhood." — C. Fenn, F.E.S. " A hunt for Neiiroterns aprilinus." —
T. A. Chapman, M.D., F.E.S. "On the development of pigment in Nemeobius lucina." — F. J.
Buckell, MB. "The Macro-Lepidoptera of Keswick."—//. A. Beadle. " Varieties of Argynnis
selene ■ (with plate). — S. G. C. Russell, F.E.S. " Hadenoid genera with hairy eyes." — Prof. A . R.
Grote, M..4. "Zygaena minos and its varieties."^, tl'. Tutt, F.E.S. "Notes on the pupae of
Castnia and Anthocaris." — T. A. Chapman. M.D., F.E.S. Besides these articles, a largenumlser of
short notes are issued in every number under the following titles : " Scientific Notes and
Observations," "Variation," "Notes on Larvae and Life-histories," "Notes on Collecting,"
"Current Notes." The reports of Societies are very carefully edited, and only scientific
paragraphs published. The " Practical Hints' ' and " Field work "for each month are quite unique .

The entomologist who will read carefully through the back numbers of The Entomologist's
Record will find himself better equipped for the futher study of his subject than by any other
means, -p,^^^ y/g pg^ volume, of Mr. H. E. Page, 25, Casella Road, New Cross, S.E.

Sir,

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Advertisemf.nts of Hooks and Insects for Sale will be inserted at a minimum charge of '2s. 6d.
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Road, New Cross, S.E., otherwise their magazines will probably be delayed.

:E]x:os:_A_isra-E.

HH

tExcHANGEs, which should consist only of the specific names of Duplicates and Desiderata, are
inserted for Subscbibers without charge so long as there is available space, but they MUST NOT
be written on Post or Letter Cards, the inconvenience arising from which is very great. No exact
limit is placed on the length of lists of Duplicates, Init lists of Desiderata should be as short as possible.
Entomological Books wanted may also be inserted in this column.]

[The Editor wishes to state that the publication of Exchanges, Advertisements, etc., in this
Magazine, is in no way to be taken as a guarantee of the authenticity, good condition, &c., of the
specimens. This Notice is not intended to throw doubt upon the bona fides of Advertisers, etc., but
to free the Editor from responsibility, should the privilege be abused.] Marked * are bred. N.B. — Ex-
change Lists addressed to J. W. Tutt, Westcombe Hill, S.E., must be received before the 5th
of each month for publication on the 15th.

NOTICE. — The Editor will be glad of eggs, larvae and pupae of Lepidoptera, for
description.

Thanks. — For Eggs of P. populi, T. crateegi, Pupee of P. populi, T. cratiEgi, Cocoons of
Z. meliloti, etc., etc. — Ed.

Exchange Baskets. — Oct. 10th, No. ] basket. — Messrs. Moberly, Studd, Maddison,
Mera, Richardson,* Christy, Home, Cheesman, Robinson, Robertson, Bowles, Ash, Fox,
Moberly, Studd. Oct. 10th, No. 2 basket.— Messrs. Studd, Whittle, Riding, Christy,*
Robertson, Atmore, Corbett, Mason, Hall, Walker, Richardson, Barnes, Ash. * In
possession at time of going to press.

Diiplirate><. — Cinxia, Edusa, C-album, T. rubi, Convolvuli (3) (fair),Statices, Chrysorrhoea
(fair), Fascelina,* Monacha,* Muralis(2), Puta, Lichenea,* Nigra,* Oxyacanthse,* Prasina,*
Dentina,* Nupta, Sponsa, Flavicincta,* Viridaria, Belgiaria, Ochrearia. Desiderata. —
Epiphron, W-album, Pruni, Lineola, Sinuata, Reticulata, Auricoma, Menyanthidis,
Lunigera, Ashworthii, Rubiginea, Oo, Pyralina, Lutulenta. Good setting ; black pins.
(Rev.) F. E. Lowe, S. Stephen'' s Vicarage, Guernsey.

Duplicates. — Minutata and pupae (from Scabious, N. Wales), Subnotata,* Rhamnata,*
Vetulata,* Citrago,* Obscuraria (Welsh), Alniaria. Desiderata. — -Ova: Ruficinctata,
Filigrammaria, Fuscantaria, Tiliaria. Pupae : Dolobraria, Porata, Omicronaria, Orbicu-
laria, Luteata, Blomeri, Cambricaria, Pictaria, Adustata, Succenturiata, Satyrata, Castigata,
Trisignata, Virgaureata, Albipunctata, Assimilata, Albicillata, Rivata. — Colonel Partridye,
20, Hornsey Rise Gardens, N.

Duplicates. — Menthastri vars. carbonica and ochracea,* Radiata and r«rs.,* Maura,*
Nupta,* Fimbria,* Russata (black),* Prunaria vars.,' Hastata,* Irregularis,* Prunata,*
Tortrices, &c., &c., only good specimens. Desiderata. — Bombyliformis (narrow
bordered), Bajularia, Irriguata, Indigata, Constrictata, Quadrifasciaria, Undulata, Picata,
Dodonea, Auricoma, Leucophaea, Alpina, Atriplicis, Semibi'unnea, Interrogationis,
Moneta, &c. — J. Harrison, 7, Gawber Road, Barnsley.

Duplicates. — Ericellus, Cassiope. Desiderata. — Iris, Pruni, Tabaniformis, Sphegi-
formis, Andreniformis, Bicolorana (Quercana), Deplana, Sericea, Caniola, S. urticae,
Ligniperda, Asella, T. cratsegi. Versicolor, Harpagula, Trimacula, Auricoma, Putrescens,
Maritima, Cannae, Sparganii, Brevilinea, Scolopacina, N. reticulata, Abjecta, Ophio-
gramma, Captiuncula, Aquilina, Obscura, Simulans, Ashworthii, Interjecta, Orbona
(Subsequa), Rubiginea, Subtusa, Retusa, Oo, Pyralina, Ochroleuca, and many others.
Well set on black pins. — H. A. Beadle, 6, Station Street, Keswick.

Duplicates. — A few fine Plantaginis ah. Hospita, Myellus. Desiderata. — Rare Macros
and varieties (especially Diurni). — T. Maddison, South Bailey, Durham.

Duplicates. — Cardamines, Solidaginis, Ochracea* (Flavago), Cerago,* Silago,* Excla-

mationis, Gemina, Oculea, Plecta, Strigilis, Arcuosa, Literosa, Fulva, Spadicea, Kumicis,*
Morpheus (6), Chi, Oleracea, Lubricepeda,* Tjpica, Inipura, Tiitici, Lithoxylea, Albulata,
Castigata, Pusaria, Cassiata, Liturata, Pectinitaria, Cambrica, Heparata, Populata, Russata.
Dedderata. — Hyale, W-album, Actaeon, Elpenor, Bombyliformis, Villica, Pyrina, Fascelina,
Quercifolia, Plumigera, Derasa, Muralis, Leporina, Megacephala, Albovenosa, Verbasci,
Citrago, Croceago, Prunaria, Vernaria, Lactearia, most of the Acidahids, and many
others. — T. Ashton Lufthouxe, The Croft, Linthorpe, Middlexhoroufih.

Duplicates. — Papilio Cresphontes, Philolaus, Mylota, Iphidamas, Macrosilaus, Poly-
damas, Montezuma, Aidoneus, Dasarada, Helenus, Adamastor ; Euplaea Rogenhofi, Hopei ;
Charaxes Lunawara ; Apatura Acca, Namouna, Euneis Minyas ; Callidryas Philea ;
Smyrna Bloemfeldii ; Euripus HaUtherses ; C. Lugei ; Heliconius Grato, Charitonius,
Telchinia, Petivorana ; Danais aglia, etc. CoHas philodoce, etc., etc. Some in papers,
others set. Also some European lihopalocera. Desiderata. — Exotic and European
butterflies. - (llev.) J. M. Hick, Trimdo)i Vicarage, Trimdun Graiu/e, R.S.O.

Diqdicates. — Bistortata* (1st and 2nd broods), Biundularia* (York), and car. delamer-
ensis,* Psi var. suffusa, Lubricipeda vars. by selection from Hull ova,* Autumnaria,*
Viminalis,* Silaceata,* Annulata,* Marginata,* Munda,* Festiva,* Hepatiea, Pistacina,
Macilenta and vars., Ligula, Mercurella, Crataegella, pupae of Lanestris. — W. S. Riding,
Buckerell Lod(je, )v. Honiton, E. Devon.

Duplicates. — Australis, Suffusa, Artemis," Citrago,* Piepandata* (Cornwall), Xanata,
Venosata, Leucophcearia, Edusa,* Hyperanthus, Pruni (old specimens), Cucubali,
Luctuosa, Lunosa, etc. Desiderata. — Very numerous to extend series. — W. G. Sheldon,
Heiniath, Friends^ Road, Croydon,

Duplicates. — Pupse of Prasinana, Unguicula and Piniaria. Imagines : Adonis, Potatoria,*
Quercus* and Alniaria (Autumnaria). Desiderata. — Vespei'taria, Apicaria, Advenaria,
Erosaria, Hispidaria, Hirtaria, and numerous " pugs," etc. — H. Douglas Stockwell, 2, Albert
Road, Dover.

Duplicates.— iiadia.t& and other extreme forms of Lubricipeda, Exulans, and other
species. Desiderata. — Palpina, Cucullina, Dictseoides, Trepida, Chaonia, Dodonea,
Leporina, Aceris, Auricoma, Obsoleta, Straminea, Flammea, UlvaB, Geminipuncta, Neurica,
Brevilinea, Concolor, Putris, Scolopacina, Saponariae, and many others. — Geo. T. Porritt,
Crosland, Hall, Hnddersjield.

Duplicates. — Cassiope, Menthastri {vars.), Gothicina, Aurinia, Flavicincta,* Tritici
(Scotch), Lutosa,* Cordigera, Carbonaria, Pinetaria, Melanopa, Trepidaria, Blandiata,
Furcatellus, Alpinalis. Desiderata. — Fine, to renew, on black pins. Pruni, Pudorina,
Putrescens, Flavago, Petasitis, Scolopacina, Cespitis $ s, Aquilina, Lutulenta, Citrago,
Diffinis, Affinis, Ochroleuca, Empyrea, Semibrunnea, Chamomillae, Myrtilli, Venustula,
Pastinum, Promissa, Glyphica, Trigeminata, Apiciaria, Conversaria, Anomala J s,
AtHnitata, Sinuata, Rubidata, Quadrifasciaria. — T. Maddison, South Bailey, Durham.

Duplicates. — Rhamni, Galatea,* Argiolus, MalvEe, Tages, Thaumas, Sylvanus,
Mendica* and pupae, Ligniperda, Pyrina, Hectus, Monaoha,* Ochracea,* Scabriuscula,
Arcuosa, Gothica, Pulverulenta,* Rufina, Lunosa, Flavago, Circellaris, Oxyacauthee I'ar*-.,
Capsincola,* Trifolii,* Oleracea,* Areola, Abruptaria, Gemmaria, Gilvaria, Didymata,
Bieolorata, Comitata,* Macularia, Crepuscularia, Aurantiaria $ , Sordidata, Marginata,
LeucophEearia. Desiderata. —Cordigera, Melanopa, Dipsaceus, Sublustris, Menyanthidis,
and others. Black pins. — Colin Murray, 47, Water Lane, Stratford, Essex.

Duplicates. — Ocellatus,* Elpenor,* T. cratsegi,* Flavicincta,* Oxyacanthae,* Umbratlca,
Pulverulenta,* Stabilis,* Aprilina,* Cosruleocephala,* lo, etc. Desiderata. — Aglaia,
Artemis, Athalia, C-album, Epiphron, .iEthiops, Lucina, Minima, Lineola, Miniosa,
Fasciaria, Pictaria, Nigra, Umbra, Hispidaria, Picata, Vitalbata, Fumata, etc. — William
Faddy, Wolverton Road, Stony Stratford.

Duplicates. — Vetusta, Exoleta, Solidaginis, Chi, Macilenta, Suspecta, Lueernea,
Eurea, Callunae and pupae. Desiderata. — Numerous. — A. E. Cannon, Mannojield, At.
Aberdeen, N.B.

Duplicates. — Prodromaria,* Nupta, Plagiata, Meticulosa and ova, also ova of Dispar,
pupae of Prodromaria, Jacobaese, and Bueephala. Desiderata. — Hehce, Epiphron, Hyale,
CratEegi, Aglaia, Iris, Pruni, Artaxerxes, Actaeon, Paniscus, Exulans and other Scotch
species, pupae of Versicolor, S. ligustri, Porcellus, Elpenor, P. populi, Callunae, etc. Only
fine and well-set insects sent or wanted, on black pins, with data and locality. Single
specimens welcome. — G. R. Garland, 94, Sedgwick Road, Leyton, Essex.

Duplicates — Verbasci, *Umbratica, P. populi, Oxyacanthee, Csruleocephala,* Potatoria,*
Sphinx (Cassinea), Orbona, Rumicis, Caia,* Nupta, Pudibunda, and pupae of S. ligustri,
Ocellatus and Pavonia. Desiderata. — Numerous: larvae and pup® preferred. — {Miss) E.
Miller, Spring Villa, Coval Road, Chelmsford.

Duplicates. — S. urticae, Palpina,* Phragmitidis, Cespitis,* Agathina,* Gracilis*
(New Forest form), Athnis, Dysodea,* Extersaria,* Abietaria* (dark), Sagittata,* Griseata.
Desiderata. — Aureola, Hamula, Cucullina, Obsoleta, Straminea, Sparganii, Abjecta,
Barrettii, Bractea, Pusillata, Reticulata. — J. C. Moberly, 9, Rockstone Place, Southampton.

Duplicates. — Several local Scotch species. Desiderata. — Fluctuosa, Ocularis, Strigosa,
Auricoma, Obsoleta, Brevilinea, Straminea, Ulvae, Helmanni, Cannae, Expolita, Cinerea,
Agathina, Ashworthii, Interjecta, Retusa, Oo, Pyralina, Ochroleuca, Nigrocincta, Lutu-

lenta, Empyrea, Atiiplicis, Semibiunnea, Chamomillffi, Peltigera, Armigera, Venustula, etc.
— Arthur Home, Uijie Bank, Beaconxjield Place, Aberdeen, N.B.

Duplicates. — ^gon (grand female vars.) from Westmoreland, Musciformis,* Complana,*
E. expallidata,* CiEsia, Tnrfosalis, Terrealis,* P. postremana.* Desiderata. — To extend
series : Acidalias and Eupithecia, also Obliquaria, Cueullina, Fluctuosa, Ocularis,
Saponarias, Cinerea, Eetusa, Ochroleuca, Irregularis, Albimacula, Venustula. — H.Murray,
Lowhank Villa, Cam forth.

Duplicates. — I will give rare diurnals from Central America, Northern South America,
and United States, for papered diurnals from India, the Indian Islands, and Africa. —
Levi W. Mengel, Reading, Pa., U.S.A.

Wanted. — A single specimen of each, Phalaena hallas, Nemotis ribesii. Carrot-fly,
■Celery-fly, Turnip-tiy and Flea-beetle. — W. G. Hooker, Glaremont, Alington Road,
Bournemouth.

Wantkd. — Locality, Year, Date of Capture, Habitat (Kind of Place). Food-plant, Natural
place for pupation of all or any one of the following : — L.^siocampids ; — Ciataegi, Populi,
Castrensis, Neustria, Lanestris, Quercus, Callunse, Quercifolia, Ilicifolia, Potatoria, Rubi.
Zyg-enids, Pkockids, Lijiacodids (all species). Will the Record subscribers please send on
information? — T. W.Tutt, Westcombe Hill, S.E.

Wanted. — Ova of any species of Catocala (foreign), other than Fraxini, Elocata,
Nupta, Sponsa, Electa, Promissa and Paranympha. Cash or exchange. — E. M. Dadd,
3, (Jolina Villas, Green Lanes, Wood Green, London, N.

Change ofAddkess. — If. G. Sheldon, to Heimath, Friends' Road, Croydon.

" MEETINGS OF SOCIETIES.

Entomological Society of London, H, Chandos Street, Cavendish Square,
W. — Wednesdays: — November 17th, " Some Notes on Hybridisation of Lepidoptera," by
J. W. Tutt, F.E.S. ; December 1st, 1897, and January 19th, 1898 (Annual).

The City of London Entomological and Natural History Society
London Institution, Finsbury Circus, E.C. — The first and third Tuesdays in the month!
at 7.30 p.m. Nov. IGth, Nomination of Council for 1898. '' PapiUn pulytes and its
varieties," by Stanley Edwards, F.Z.S., F.L.S. Dec. 7th, Election of Council for 1898.
The President (Mr. J. W. Tutt) will deliver the Annual Address. Dec. 21st, "Some
Cicadides," A. Quail, to be read by A. Bacot. Papers and Notes at every Meeting.
Members are particularly requested to bring varieties and aberrations for exhibition.
Non-members cordially invited.

The South London Entomological and Natural History Society,
Hibernia Chambers, London Bridge. — The second and fourth Thursdays in each month,
at 8 p.m. Nov. 25th, Mr. Harrison, F.C.S., •* Lantern Pictures of Birds and their Nests."

North London Natural History Society. Meetings on the 1st and 3rd
Thursdays in each month, in Room No. 4 of the North East London Institute, Dalston
Lane, N.E., from 7.45 (sharp) to 10 p.m. The following are amongst the fixtures for next
session : — Dec. 16th, General Business Meeting. Lawrence J. Trehayne, Hon. Sec.

Nonpareil Entomological Society, Mansfield Street, Kingsland.— The Fir.st
and Third Thursdays in the Month.

MONDAY & TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd & 23rd.

THE EXTENSIVE AND VALUABLE COLLECTION OF

BRITISH MACRO & MICRO LEPIDOPTERA,

Formed by the late J. B. HODGKINSON, Esq.. F.E.S., of Ashton-on-Ribble,

Containing long series of local species, many of them very rare or
extinct, and there are a few fine varieties,

together with the CABINETS in which it is contained.

MR. J. C. STEVENS

Will SELL the above by AUCTION,

At his Great Rooms, 38, King Street, Covent Garden,

On MONDAY S- TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd &= 23rd,

A t half -past 12 pvecisely each day.

On View the Saturday prior, 10 to 4, and Mornings of Sale, and Catalogues had.

WILLIAM FARREN, 5ilatitmlist, f

23, Regent Street, CAMBRIDGE.

Dealer in British Birds' Skins, Nests and Eggs.

Britisii and Foreign Lepidoptera. all Specimens supplied with

__^_______________^^__ Thoroughly Reliable Data.

RARE & LOCAL FEN & OTHER SPECIES OF LEPIDOPTERA

COLLECTED THIS SEASON, FOR SALE.

M. Castaneae, 216; Obsoleta.Sj- ; Pudon)ia,6d.; Ncurica,3j6; Hellmanni, Ij- ; Ulvae,6\-;.

Ophiogramma, Sj- ; Chryson, 3j6 ; Festucae, 8d. ; iliniosa, 6d. ; Trabealis, Ij- ; Argentula,

6d. ; Unca, 8d. ; Griseata, IjS each, etc.

Fine Iiealtlii/ i^upae of D. irregularis, lOj- ; C. gagittatn, oj- per dozen, etc.

LIBERAL REDUCTION ON LARGE ORDERS

TO NATURALISTS, ENTOMOLOGISTS, BOTANISTS, &c.
jMT BUY OF THE MAKER, -^j

STORE BOXES, 10 x 8, 2/2 ; 12x9, 2/10 ; 14 x 10, 3/6 ; 16 x 11, 4/4 ;

17*xl2, 5/3.
WOOD COLLECTING BOXES, 5d., 7d., lOd., and 1/3

(Usual Prices, 6d., 9d.. 1/-, and l/(i).
ZINC do. do. 8d., lOd., 1/3, 1/8, and 2/6

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LARViE BREEDING CAGES, 2/2, Double, 4/3.
With tanks, for keeping food fresh, 3/-, do., 5/9.

An Improved Shape, much better than ordinary make.
Nets, Setti7ig Boards, Drying Houses, F.rldhition Cases, and all other Goods at equally

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REVISED PRICE LIST free per post for ^d. stamp.

All Goods Warranted Perfect. Liberal Terms to the Trade. Postage should be remitted
with all Orders to be sent that way. 5 °/o discount oi¥ all orders of 20/- and upwards./^

G. A. TOPP, Taxidermist,
19, LONDON STREET, READING, BERKS.

VIENNA 1893. T^TTT"T^ XT' X^ XTT "V l^TT'T'Ci geneva 1896.
Medal I. Class. -^ %J A JL XliX^JT JL< X X^ JCj A ^ Honorable Diploma.

The G.K. Net is made of the best materials.

The G.K. Net can be mounted or dismounted in a momoit.

The G.K. Net suits any stick, and may be carried in any pocket.

The G.K. Net is every collector's delight.

The G.K. Net A. y SI^'^"^^*'^i' ^^ inches. The most elegant net.

EEADY I ^ Circumference 44 inches The most practical net.

FOE USE. I %,>::-- -.J \ Depth of the net 29 inches. The most durable net.

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WHEN NOT
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Send postal order 6/-, and you will get the O.K. Net free of all charge from—

GRAF-KRUSI, GAIS, SWITZERLAND.

No. 1.

ENTOMOLOGIST'S RECORD

AND

JOURNAL OF VARIATION

Edited by

J. W. TUTT. F.E.S.

JANUARY i5tK 1^97^
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VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

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Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
VOL. VI. VOL. VII. IftVOL. VIII.

By J. \V. TuTT, F.E.S. By G. B. Eoctledge, F.E.S. By^G. B. Routlkdge,'F.E.S.

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.^

iKi

ENTOMOLOGIST'S RECORD

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Edited by

J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

FEBRUARY 15th, 1897,

<0

k

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ESTB. 184-8

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The trade supphcd. ESTABLISHED since 1847.

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VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

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Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
VOL VI. VOL. VII. VOL. VIII.

By ,T. W. TUTT, F.E.S. By G. B. Koutledge, F.E.S. By;.G. B. Routledge, F.E.S.

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J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

MARCH 15th, 1897.

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VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

By (Miss) M. Kimber, f.e.s. Lepidoptera by H. E. Page, f.e.s. Lepidoptera by G. B. Routledge, f.e.s.
Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
VOL. VI. VOL. VII. VOL. VIII.

By J. ^V. TUTT, F.E.S. By G. B. Koutledge, FJE.S. By^G. B. Routledge,' F.E.S.

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:^2Vs>

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Edited by

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APRIL 15th, 1897,

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ESTB. 184 8

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The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation

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VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

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Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lkwcock.
VOL VI. VOL. VII. \ OL. Vill.

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ESTB. 1848

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Every Desirable Form of Policy Issued.

James H. Scott, General Manager and Secretary.

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r>. F. TAYLER & Co., lL.ta.,

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Small Heads and Perfect Points. White, Black, and Gilt,

BIRMINGHAM and LONDON.

Can be obtained from Dealers throughout the World.

J. T. CROCKETT & SON,

makers of every description of
ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINETS AND APPARATUS.

Store and Book Boxes fitted with Camphor Cells. Setting Boards, Oval or Flat, etc.

Cabinets of every description kept in Stock.

SPECIAL INSECT CABINETS,

With drawers fitted with Glass Tops and Bottoms, to show upper and under side without removing

insects.

Store Boxes Specially made for Continental Setting, highly recommended for Beetles.

All best work. Lowest possible terms for cash. Prices on application. Estimates given.

The trade supplied. ESTABLISHED since 1847.

Show Rooms— 7a, PRINCES STREET, CAVENDISH SQUARE, W.

(Seven doors from Oxford Circus).

Factories— 34, BIDING HOUSE STREET and OGLE STREET. W.

he Largest Stock of Cabinets and Boxes to select from Great advantage in dealing with the makers.

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SPECIAL INDEX

TO

The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation

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Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
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The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation

Contains every reference to every insect mentioned in the Volume.

VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

By (Miss) M. Kimbeb.f.e.s. Lepidoptera by H. E. Page, f.e.s. Lepidoptera by G. B. Koutledge, f.e.s.
Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
VOL VI. VOL. VII. VOL. VIII.

ByJ. W. TuTT, F.E.S. By G. B. Routledge, F.E.S. By^G. B. Koutledge,' F.E.S.

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SPECIAL INDEX

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The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation

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VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

By (Miss)M.KiMBEE,F.E.s. Lepidoptera by H.E.Page,f.e.s. Lepidopteraby G.B.Routledge, f.e.s.
Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
VOL. VI. VOL. VII. VOL. VIII.

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The Entomologist's Record & Journal of Variation

Contains every reference to every insect mentioned in the Volume.

VOL. III. VOL. IV. VOL. V.

By(Miss)M.KiMBER,F.E.s. LepidopterabyH.E.PAGE,F.E.s. Lepidopteraby G.B.Routledge, f.e.s.
Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock. Other Orders by G. A. Lewcock.
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SEPTEMBER 15th, 1S97.

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THE VALUABLE AND IMPORTANT

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J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.

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THE

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JOURNAL OF VARIATION

Edited by

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DECEMBER isth, iSgy.

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Contains between 700 and 800 closely-printed demy 8vo. pages. Every
British species is exhaustively dealt Avith. Several hundreds of newly-
described forms — varieties, aberrations, etc. There is a long introduction to
each volume ; " Secondary Sexual Characters in Xiepidoptera " ; " Causes of
Variation"; "The Genetic Sequence of Insect Colours." These are the
only essays published on these subjects.

BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Prices/-.

Containing 476 pages. 11 full-page plates, and many woodcuts. The
most complete and up-to-date work on the subject yet published. The most
recent discoveries in Entomological Science are included. Very full Chapters
on Practical Work, Collecting, Pinning, Setting, Storing, etc. Some
hundreds of descriptions of original forms, aberrations and varieties. The
illustrations drawn by Mr. W. Pearce.

MONOGRAPH OF THE PTEROPHORINA.

Price 5/-.
A full account of the Synonymy, Imago, Variation, Larva, Pupa, Time
of Appearance, Habitat and Distribution of every British Species. A very

FEW COPIES ONLY ARE LEFT.

Melanism & Melanochroism in British Lepidoptera.

Price 2/6.
This important series of papers on Variation should be read by all
Entomologists interested in the subject. The number of copies left on

HAND IS now very LIMITED.

RAMBLES IN ALPINE VALLEYS (Illustrated). Price 3/6.
This contains a series of Entomological studies as observed in the Alps.
The British Coliads, Zygsenids, Gnophids, etc., are fully discussed from the
standpoint of their habits and distribution.

Woodside, Burnside, Hillside and Marsh.

(Illustrated). Price 2/6.
A series of Nature studies (largely Entomological), based on the Fauna
of Kent and the Western Highlands.

Random Recollections of Woodland, Fen & Hill

(Profusely Illustrated). Price 2/6. 2nd Edition.
Probably the most successful book of its class ever issued. The main
Philosophical Aspects of Entomology discussed in a simple and concise
manner.

INSECTS AND SPIDERS (Illustrated). Price 1/-.
The Various Orders of Insects are dealt with at length. The book has
been especially written for the use of Teachers of Natural History Subjects
and of Biological Science.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

ROCKS AND MINERALS (Illustrated). Price 1/-.
Handbook for Teachers and Students of Natural Science.

Chats about British Birds (Profusely illustrated). Price 2/6.
A series of Chapters on the Habits of Birds as observed in our woods
and marshes and fens. ■•^' -i- JL *5

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