THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 163 



A few instances of the confusions and mixtures may be in- 

 teresting. Heath had two female co-types of Hadena miniota 

 Smith, described from Miniota and Cartwright. When I saw 

 Smith's types at Rutger's College, I recognised in them a form I 

 have been taking at Calgary for twenty years simultaneously 

 with, and apparently grading into, typical versuta, and thereafter 

 in my notes in the "Canadian Entomologist" referred miniota 

 as a colour- form of that species. (I have recently had good reason 

 to doubt the correctness of that reference, but that is beside the 

 point at present.) Heath wrote and remonstrated, saying that 

 the two were entirely different and could not be confused. I as- 

 sumed that he had misidentified miniota, and told him so. He 

 thereupon showed me a co-type, which I returned with the remark 

 that it merely confirmed my conviction. When I viewed the collec- 

 tion with Mr. W^allis, the mystery was solved. A short series of 

 miniota, including two co-types, stood under versuta, which label 

 had been surcharged upon a miniota label presumably, as per my 

 dictum. But the surprise stood next to it. A long series, two columns 

 or more, containing two or three miniota, and one or two other 

 species, but principally devastatrix, stood' also as versuta. That 

 such a series should have been pronounced to be "quite distinct 

 from miniota'' was of course intelligible. But the complication 

 did not end there, for in another box a series of d^evastatrix stood, 

 pure, under its correct name. 



Caradrina rufostriga stood in a series under its correct synonym 

 of punctivena. Elsewhere in the collection it did duty as Hadena 

 indirecta. Noctua clandestina stood correctly named, and also as 

 Amphipyra tragopoginis. Peridroma occulta ditto, and as Polia 

 pulverulenta. Four Agroperina lutosa and one Scopelosoma sidus 

 stood as lutosa, and another series of lutosa as Euxoa scandens. 

 One scandens stood as Porosagrotis vetusta. Scandens and lutosa 

 were two speceis found scattered abroad throughout the collection. 

 Another species badly mixed up with many others, particularly 

 with Orthosia diisca, was Parastichtis discivaria, and one badly 

 worn specimen of it stood as the sole representative of Hadena 

 semicana. Mamestra neoterica was arranged in two series, one as 

 goodellii, another as acutermina. Acutermina itself did duty for 

 neoterica, and two specimens of it stood apart under ''Noctua, 



