1877.] 17 



^Messrs. Birchall and White, tliese dark forms are most froquont in the North of 

 England, Scotland, Ireland, and, as I have stated, the Alps. Nor is this tendency 

 confined to Lepidoptera. L. de Tschudi, in his "Monde des Alpes" (2nd edit., 1870, 

 p. SO^'), says, "Les differences d'altitude prodiiisent encore sur les insectes des modi- 

 " fications d'une nature particuliere. Une des choses qui frappent le plus celui qui 

 "visitenos Alpes, c'est I'obscurissement des couleurs dans les coleopteres alpins, 

 " comme en general dans une gi'ande nombre d'insectes. Plus nous nous elevens, 

 " plus nous Toyons les scarabees qui vivent dans les trous, comme ceux qui habitent 

 " sur les plantes, dans les fumiers ou dans I'eau, devenir unicolores. Ceux qui sont 

 " les plus repandus dans les alpes sont en general noirs ou d'un brun fonce ; et ceui 

 " qui dans les zones inferieures sont ernes de couleurs a reflets metalliques deviennent 

 " dans les hauteurs d'un noir uniforme. Uue foule des coleopteres verts et cuivres 

 " sont sur les liautes Alpes d'un noir pur, un petit nombre seulement d'un bleu 

 " d'acier, et d'un bleu foncs : ceux qui sont bruns, olivatres, et d'un vert dore, passent 

 " egalement au noir pur ou au noir bleuatre : meme la Chrysomela alpina jaune, 

 "devient noir sur les Alpes." He then goes on to suggest as the probable cause of 

 this, the fact that Alpine species live and undergo their metamorphoses for a great part 

 of the year under a thick bed of snow, and consequently in profound darkness. A 

 similar darkening in the coloration of some of our English Coleoptera may be seen 

 as we go northwards, e.g. the Highland dark forms of Carabus catenulatus, and the 

 mountain Calathus nuhigena. It would be interesting to hear if similar cases occur 

 in other orders. The most probable conclusion seems that darkness of coloration is 

 in some mysterious way correlated with a constitution better fitted to encoiinter 

 unfavourable conditions of life, more especially meteorological. — W. A. Forbes, 

 Cambridge : April loth, 1877- 



Heliothis .srufoxa. — I was not a little astonished to read (vol. xiii, p. 280) the 

 statement of my esteemed friend (C. Gr. Barrett) that this species had been first 

 added to the British list in 1875. In reference to the Carlisle specimens of JI. sciitosa, 

 I should like to know what amount of evidence would be required to convince some 

 of the readers of the Magazine. 



I saw three at least of the Carlisle specimens a week or two after their capture 

 and possessed two of them. One is now in the collection of the Eev. H. Burney, 

 and the other in that of Mr. Sidebotham : they can surely testify if I have sent 

 them if. dipsacea instead of H. scutosa. 



Just fancy me not knowing II. scutosa ! Why I have known it for forty years 

 clearly and unmistakeably. It is figured in the additions in Wood's " Index 

 Entomologicus." My father is still living and can say, if asked about the specimens, 

 my eldest brother and James Cooper can speak to the'point. Mr. Armstrong, of 

 Carlisle, can testify that he sent me, after Mr. Heysham's death, the specimen he had 

 to name for my father, which is mentioned by Curtis as having been taken at Skin- 

 burness. Mr. Kothwell, the captor of them, still lives, and if he cannot remember 

 the species ho can no doubt remember what a prize he had taken. 



II. dipsacea never occurred in Cumberland, so that it could not be specimens of 

 that insect which were mistaken for II. scutosa. I do not want to occupy more 

 space than necessary, but, for the benefit of your readers, I will give Curtis' i-cmarks 

 about it and see whether he considered it dipsacea or not — hei'e it is : {scutosa, Hiib., 



