LIST OF LEPlDOrTERA. 59 



to ine, saying, that he thought I erred in asserting that Mr. Stainton had 

 made a mistake in making the larva of Flavicornis occur in September; 

 (Manual, page 176,) adding, that he himself always took it in that month, or 

 in August. Now, adhering as I do, to my former statement, that, in England, 

 the larva is found in June, and never in the autumn, we can only explain 

 this difference by the difference of climate, and, in this instance the explana- 

 tion is sufficient. But clearly it does not apply to the case of Quercus and 

 Callunce. Were this latter (call it a variety, or whatever you please,) confined 

 to Scotland, the answer about climate, etc., might suffice. But it is not, having 

 been taken in Suffolk, and also, I understand, in Cornwall; and I think there 

 cannot be much in common between Scotland and Cornwall. I am afraid I 

 shall have appeared tedious to some, in writing at such length upon this sub- 

 ject, but I really think that the matter ought to be decided one way or the 

 other; and if it be settled that Callunce is a species, let us give the honour 

 to whom it is due — that indefatigable collector, Bichard Weaver. * 



N.B. — I strongly incline to the opinion that this insect is only a variety 

 of Quercus. Certainly the difference in shade of colour does not give it a 

 right to specific distinction, or we should at once, upon the same grounds, 

 give the same rank to the varieties of such species as Angerona prunaria, or 

 Hibernia defoliaria. I have one well-marked £ of this so-called species, but 

 I have seen a great many of both sexes in which the difference in markings 

 certainly was not sufficient to constitute a distinct species. Mr. Greene's 

 remarks about the difference in time of the metamorphosis are however inter- 

 esting, and I think deserve the attention of collectors. I quite join in Mr. 

 Greene's wish to give all honour to a well-known collector and indefatigable 

 naturalist like Mr. Weaver; but claims like these must never induce us to 

 commit ourselves to endorse the too common inclination of almost all naturalists 

 to establish specific distinction, without the strongest and most indisputable 

 proof. (B.) f 



I cannot yet convince myself that both the supposed larva and perfect insect 

 of this so-called distinct species are not varieties of L. quercus. I, like my friend 

 Mr. Bree, had an opportunity the other day of seeing a long series of both £ 

 and 5 which had been bred this season in Scotland; and had I not been pre. 

 viously told that they were L. callunce, I could never have supposed them to be 

 anything but L. quercus, as in many of them there was not the slightest 

 apparent difference. The larva of L. quercus not unfrequently goes on feeding 

 till July or August, and in this case the perfect insect does not appear till 

 the corresponding month of the following year. Those larvae akso which spin 

 up at the end of June, sometimes remain more than twelve months in the 

 pupa state. I can vouch for both these facts from my own experience. I 

 have now before me on the table, (Dec. 30th.,) a very lively pupa, the larva 

 of which spun up at the end of June. It appears to me, therefore, that the 



* The above communication from Mr. Greene reached me before the appearance of Mr. 

 Harding's paper in the "Zoologist." — Ed. 



t Since the above was written, intelligence has reached us of the death of Mr. "Weaver— 

 an event which all British Naturalists will deplore.— Ed. 



