VARIATION. 23 



the u7i(h'rsi(U'. I have a specimen from Samaden which has on the 

 primaries an additional black spot surrounded with white above the anal 

 angle corresponding with the apical spot, but smaller ; this is not visible 

 on the upiwrsiclc. Tbe form appears to approximate closely to halearica, 

 Musch., Knt. liec, xvi., p. 222. Two others, one Wcesen Marsh, and 

 anotber taken this year (1909) at Digne, are unusual, in that the apical 

 spot in these specimens is duplicated, at least enlarged, by a second and 

 smaller spot beneath which touches it, but is not merged into it, and con- 

 tains a small white centre. In neither instance is the second spot visible 

 on tbe upperside, thus disagreeing with Riihl's description of hipiipillata, 

 Cosm. Trilling as this variation is, it must be tolerably rare, as these are 

 the only two I have come across among the many hundreds I have 

 examined. This summer I spent a couple of days at Orta Novarese, 

 hoping to renew acquaintance with a washed form of MeUtaea phocbe 

 which I found there in 1900, but incessant rain kept all insects under 

 shelter. I came across, however, one beautiful specimen of C. 

 Iiantjihiliis $ , of a strong tawny colour, and broad, well-defined, dark 

 border (var. h/lliis f), which had special claim to notice. In this 

 example the lower wings on the upperside each contain two small, but 

 strongly marked black spots, just beyond the border, as in some 

 specimens of C. tiphon, or more exactly in ('. darns, w'hen the normal 

 number of spots is reduced in size and number. These marks are not 

 visible on the underside. The chief interest in this aberration 

 was revealed to me after my return home. I have still six 

 specimens of C pamphilnn from Orta in my cabinet, taken in May, 

 1900, and of these I found that one male and one female had these 

 same spots, though not so strongly developed. It appears, then, to 

 be an aberration common in this district, and probably other warm 

 corners of the south side of the Alps. The form seems to be a transi- 

 tion to the var. tliyrsifles as reported by Graves [Ent. lice, xix., p. 67). 

 — (Rkv.) Frank E. Lowe, M.A., F.E.S., Guernsey. 



Note on Bkentuis selene var. castiliana, n. var. — In a list of 

 insects which I caught at La Granja in 1908, detailed in the Knt. 

 lu'coni of this year, p. 65, is included Breiit/ds hecate. A few weeks 

 ago I was preparing to remove these specimens from the store-box to 

 the cabinet, and was at once conscious that I had made a mistake, and 

 that they were not IJ. hecate, but JJ. selene. Nevertheless, they are 

 sufficiently remarkable to, in some degree, excuse the mistake, for they 

 have not a trace of silver or mother-of-pearl, these usually conspicuous 

 spots of the underside secondaries being replaced by dull yellow. I 

 had come to get /<. hecate, and as nearly as I could judge to. the very 

 spot, from which, the year before, Mr. Sheldon had recorded that he 

 " netted several examples of Btenthis hecate, which was evidently on 

 the wane." These unburnished examples of a JJrenthis found me, in 

 consequence, an easy victim to their disguise. They do not appear 

 to have a claim to be ranked as var. hcla, Stdgr., which is spoken of 

 as a variety from Lapland and the extreme north, and which Riihl 

 describes as smaller and darker than the type, and without, or nearly 

 without, the rust-brown spots on the underside of the bindwings. 

 In tile La Granja examples, these spots are very pronounced, and the 

 more conspicuous as they rest on a much lighter ground than in the 

 type. In size, too, the specimens are above the average. Therefore, 

 until 1 know what to call them, I sliall name them var. castiliana. - 

 (Rev.) FiuNii E. Lowe, M.A., F.E.JS., Guernsey, yuieiiiber dth, 1909. 



