268 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



on the continent. New forms of Melit^ea aurinia. — Mr. P. J. 

 Barraud showed examples of two new forms of Melitaea aurinia from 

 Italy : (a) var. aurunca, Turati, from the Aurunci mountains, southern 

 central Italy, first discovered in May, 1909, by Signore Orazio Querci, 

 of Formia, and named by Count Turati of Milan. The most striking 

 feature is the wide black median band on the upperside, contrasting 

 with a rather pale ground colour. (6) var. comacina, Turati, from 

 above Como, north Italy — the examples given to the exhibitor by 

 Count Turati. Summer butterflies from Algeria. — Mr. A. E. Gibbs 

 exhibited a case of butterflies containing a representative collection of 

 the 28 species met with by him at Blidah and Hammam R'Irha, etc., 

 during an entomological excursion to Algeria made at the end of May 

 and the beginning of June this year. The weather was extremely 

 bad throughout, being cold, wet and windy ; the most interesting- 

 species taken in the first-mentioned locality were Euchloe eupheno and 

 Coenonympha arcanioides ; in the latter Drijas pandora, Melitaea 

 aetheria var. alt/erica ; and at Lalla Maglinia, on the Moroccan frontier, 

 Adopaea hamza. British Anthrocerids. — The Hon. N. C. Rothschild 

 exhibited a number of Anthrocerids captured in Great Britain, and 

 called attention to some remarkable specimens secured at Ashton 

 Wold, Oundle, which belonged to the form know^n as Anthrocera hippo- 

 crepidis, Stphs. The exhibitor also showed some enormous specimens 

 of A. tilipendidae from the same locality, and pointed out that this 

 large race had apparently exterminated A. hippocrepidis, Stphs., in a 

 locality where that species had only recently appeared. Commenting 

 on Mr. Rothschild's exhibits, Mr. J. W, Tutt said that Anthrocera 

 hippocrepidis, Stphs., was the most elusive and least known of the 

 British species of the group. It bore certain superficial resemblances 

 to Anthrocera trifoUi-uiinor and A. filipcndnlae, the ^ s particularly 

 being prone to smaller size and five-spottedness, by losing the sixth 

 (lower outer) spot on the upper side, the $ s larger and, in the most 

 developed specimens, strongly six-spotted, and scarcely, if at all, 

 different superficially from A. filipendulae. Like Mr. Rothschild, he 

 also found the insect confined to rough pastures, and also with a 

 tendency to die out in one spot and appear in a similar at no great 

 distance. It was usually on the wing in June, early or late, according 

 to season, but, in the same season well ahead of A. fHipendtdae. He 

 had already written up details of its life-history and habits in A Nat. 

 Hist. Brit. Lep., vol. i., pp. 532-538. The two other sets of Anthro- 

 cerids exhibited by Mr. Rothschild he thought were A. filipendulae. 

 Dr. Bateson had examined the S genitalia and pronounced A. hippo- 

 crepidis as being nearer A. Jilipendtdae than A. trifolii. Variation in 

 Mellinia ocellaris. — Mr. E. D. Nevinson showed bred series of 

 Mellinia ocellaris, developing three distinct aberrant . forms, and 

 examples of M. fnlvat/o and M. ijilvatji) for comparison, the exhibit 

 demonstrating the apparent transition from one species to the other 

 through the t3'pical and variant forms. The only other series bred 

 from British ova by Mr. Mills in 1908 displayed no variation of any 

 kind, and were all typical specimens. 



