140 THE entomologist's record. 



I have named the species in hononr of my friend Dr. G. W. Nichol- 

 son. On March 19th last, we took several specimens at Wicken Fen 

 under sedge-stacks and sedge refuse. The week after, Mr. Hereward 

 Dollman took it independently in the same place in some numbers, and 

 Dr. Nicholson and I have been again, and took 15 specimens, some 50 

 having been taken in all. It is remarkable that so distinct a species 

 should not have been detected before. I must thank both Dr. Nicholson 

 and Mr. Dollman for help with the description of the species. 



Variation of Vanessa io, L. 



By T. REUSS. 



Usually the white spots in the ocellus on the forewing of Vanessa 

 io, are surrounded by violet scales of metallic lustre, blue metallic 

 spots appear in the black marginal band, and a slight greenish 

 suffusion may be found in the margin next the yellowish costal spot. 

 Sometimes (most frequently in the males) the black marginal band is 

 wholly suffused with blue scales, which leave only a narrow black 

 margin uncovered (see antea, pt. 4, 1909, pi. vii., fig. 12, and Entoni., 

 p. 311, fig. 3). 



Last August I reared numerous specimens of Vanessa io from 

 mostly wild-grown Herts' larva?, which exhibited the following colour- 

 aberrations : (1) With the normal violet and blue tints in the ocellus of 

 the forewing, but both colours change to a most brilliant whitish-green 

 = ab. viridi-ocellata ( 2 emerging after nineteen days' pupallife), when 

 the light falls on them at a suitable angle, (2) the normal colours 

 almost entirely replaced by metallic blue, or (3) reddish-violet, or (4) 

 bluish-green, or (5) silvery- white. 



The hindwing ocellus usually violet-blue with two black bars joined 

 transversely by a black projection (which occasionally reaches right 

 across the ocellus), also changed in different ways, showing (1) one 

 black bar (always the lower one, ab. lucid-ocelluta), (a) with the trans- 

 verse projection, {b) without the projection, (2) only vestiges of one 

 black bar (ab. splendens) J emerged after nineteen days' pupal life, 

 {Entom., 1909, p. 311, fig. 4). 



In several specimens, the ocellus of the hindwing showed one, two 

 or three white spots in the three blue interneural parts, Avhich latter 

 varied in colour, exhibiting — (1) Brilliant green-blue (in the hindwing 

 ocellus belonging to ab. viridi-ocellata), (2) white-blue, (3) light and 

 dark reddish-violet, (4) silver-grey. Specimens with faded grey 

 instead of yellow markings along the costa of the forew4ngs, and 

 partially disintegrated ocelli have been distinguished as ab. iocaste and 

 ab. antidone, but as forms which only result from the action of extreme 

 temperatures (either from the heat of direct sunshine in the field, 

 artificial heat or cold), and showing, therefore, chiefly symptomatic 

 characters in their facies, these specimens are also characterised as ab. 

 belisaria trans., for which aberration the excellent descriptive name ab. 

 exoculata is a synonym. 



About August 10th, and again on the 23rd and 26th, I bred a series 

 of specimens, which emerged after 10 to 13 days of pupal life, all of 

 which exhibited a very beautiful elongated forewing ocellus, suffused 

 with greenish or blue and an abnormally dark rich ground colour with 

 a black median fascia (ab. oiif/rifasciata, 3" ) in the forewings, formed 

 by a suffusion of black scales just over the position, where, on the 



