172 THE entomologist's record. 



male type of coloration, and is only somewhat more strongly coloured 

 than the extreme brown male type already referred to. This form we 

 would call ab. bnmvcata, n. ab. 



(2). The second form is a distinct advance on the colour of ab. 

 bninneata. The bright brown hue gives place, in the greater numl)er of 

 the dark specimens, to deep, sooty-fuscous, inclining to blackish, but 

 usually a trifle })aler in the median area of the fore-wmg. Otherwise 

 the general markings of the previous form are maintained, the basal 

 area is blacker, the wedge-shaped marking traceable, but continued as 

 a transverse band between the elbowed and .subterminal lines to the inner 

 margin, and more nearly blended with the ground-colour ; the basal, 

 elbowed and sub-terminal transverse lines traceable, but less distinct, 

 the pale costal portion of the sub-terminal line being less conspicuously 

 marked. The fringes marked alternately with light and dark. The 

 hind-wings are also sooty fuscous in colour, the upper median trans- 

 verse line being represented by a black line, the outer transverse line 

 by the curved shading directly exterior to it, but less marked than in 

 ab. brunneata. This form occurs in both sexes, the thoraces of the 

 males usually pale, but mixed with fuscous scales, those of the females 

 always pale. The abdomen, dark fuscous in both sexes. Many of the 

 specimens belonging to this group have the gi'ound-colour covered with 

 a delicate purple hue. This is traceable in some specimens lielonging to 

 Mr. Pearce, and in a whole row of 10 specimens belonging to Mr. 

 Southey. No doubt this tinge will go off in time, but it has already 

 lasted i 2 months in some of the specimens. This dark form (with or 

 v/ithout the purple gloss) I would call ab. fmcata, n. ab. 



(3). The most extreme form of the species is represented only l)y 

 a ic\7 males. These have lost all the pale markings except a small 

 apical point placed towards the costal termination of the sub-terminal 

 line. This form is practically unicolorous, the pale areas of ^h. fnscata 

 being al)sorbed by the dark gi-ound-colour. Only traces of the black 

 markings are visible, these being lost in the almost unicolorous sooty- 

 black colour that is spread over all the wings. The antenna? and 

 abdomen are equally dark ; the thorax paler, but not so pale as is usual 

 in the alis. hnmneata and fmcata. This appears to be the nearest 

 approach yet reached to an unicolorous type, and might well be called 

 ab. nnirolor, n. ab. 



There are several points that strike one in looking over the speci- 

 mens in detail. First, the specimens bred from hybernated larvje (a 

 most unusual method of hybernation in this species) in April, ]897. 

 These are four in number,'all much smaller (1" — 1-1") than usual, one 

 male only, this being the most extreme specimen in the collection of ab. 

 imicnlor. The other three are females with a distinct excess of transverse 

 lines, that give them a very mottled appearance. 



The second brood specimens emerged October and November, 1897, 

 from eggs laid the previous April, are somewhat remarkable. Mr. 

 Southey has 19 specimens set, but a greater number than this emerged 

 cripples. Of the specimens set, 10 are males and 9 females. Of these 

 8 males and 1 female approach the typical coloration, but these are all 

 suffused, and very dull in tint. The dark specimens are exceptionally 

 dark forms of ab. /».s(7/fr(, almost reaching the extreme ab. ^inicolor m 

 their uniformity of tint. Mr. Pearce has a few second brood specimens 

 almost equally dark, and also below normal size. On the other hand, 



