192 Transactions. — Zoology. 



single species, the numerous intermediate forms between the 

 most marked of them rendering any attempts at subdivision 

 completely futile. At the same time, I am led to believe that 

 the larvEe of two of the most distinct types of variation — 

 namely, nigrosparsa and junctilinea, exhibit considerable dif- 

 ferences, although I have not yet reared a sufficient number to 

 form any decided opinion on the subject. The larvae of figs. 

 1, 4, 7, and 8, including the type and two varieties, feed on the 

 New Zealand "currant" or " wineberry " (Aristotelia race- 

 mosa), and are of a dark reddish-brown colour, sometimes 

 marbled with gi'ey, closely resembling the twigs of the trees, 

 and thus affording the caterpillars the usual protection from 

 enemies. On the other hand, the larvas of the vars. figs. 

 2 and 5 are light yellowish -brown with irregular darker 

 luarkings, approximating closely to the stems of the manuka 

 {Lcptospcrmum) , on which I have always found them. To 

 any one interested in the development of species and inherit- 

 ance of parental peculiarities, I think that this insect would 

 be a most useful object for investigation. The fact that none 

 of the varieties I have mentioned are confined to any particular 

 sex w^ould be most advantageous, as the experimentor could 

 readily select a male and female of each conspicuous form 

 from which he could obtain ova, and thus ascertain whether 

 the well-marked peculiarities of the parents were inherited, or, 

 in other words, whether there was any tendency to establish 

 a permanent or specific character. Should it be found feasible 

 to carry the observations through several generations of moths, 

 I feel sure that the result obtained would have an important 

 bearing on that much-vexed question, the origin of species. 



Before concluding, I should like to point out how eminently 

 suitable insects are for investigations of this character. In 

 the first place their brief life enables the industrious observer 

 to watch the same family of insects for several generations, an 

 impossibility in the case of most other animals, while the con- 

 spicuous characters which distinguish the majority of the 

 species, especially of the Lcindoptera, render any departure 

 from the normal type at once perceptible. It is consequently 

 somewhat surprising that they have been so little made use of, 

 and it can only be attributed to that prejudice which unfortu- 

 nately exists against the study of entomology even in the 

 present day. Workers in most of the other branches of science 

 are allowed to push their investigations far bej^ond the limits 

 of direct usefulness, and are encouraged for their zeal and per- 

 severance in so doing, whereas, in the case of the entomolo- 

 gist, unless the insects he is investigating are connected with 

 agriculture or some other matter of equal importance, his 

 labours are regarded as a mere waste of time. With respect 

 to this idea, I can only say that, if the same utilitarian argu- 



