N(/rES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 15 



satyrata. Mr. Gregson had one strong argument in his favour, and 

 that was that the larva of lurzoni, closely allied as it was to satyraia 

 van ca/lu.'i'iria, had nothing in common with nanata. In the year or 

 two tollowing the first discovery and distribution of curzoni, the profes- 

 sionals who collected in the Sheilands did not take so much care in 

 sorting their extreme forms, with the result that we were all soon 

 supplied with intermediate forms leading down to var. cal/ui/aria, and 

 there was no doubt that Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson had hie the right nail on 

 the head when he insisted that '' curzoni was only a northern form of 

 satyrata ;" in other words, that it was an extreme form of satyrata var. 

 L-alliinaria. As soon as I was satisfied of Mr. Hodgkinson's deter- 

 mination, I asked Mr. T. J. Henderson kindly to get me a fairly long 

 series of var. calluitaria, which he did from Garelochhead (some few miles 

 from Glasgow). Being requested by Herr Hoffmann to get him var. 

 lallunaria, I again applied successfully to Mr. Henderson, and Herr 

 Hoffman, on receiving them, wrote : — " They are of the greatest inte- 

 rest. I never thought it possible that such a difference in the size and 

 shape of the wings could take place as between our satyrata and the 

 Scotch caUnnaria ; and moreover, it is curious that the larvae of 

 satyrata should feed on Calluna vulgaris ! Staudinger, in his cata- 

 logue, gives another food-plant, but I suppose he is wrong. Certainly 

 curzoni has some characters of callunaria (but also a good many of 

 nanata). After all, I think the difference between nanata and curzofti 

 is not as great as that between our typical satyrata and curzoni. At all 

 events, this Shetland form is one of the most puzzling things I have 

 ever met with " (/// ////.). London lepidopterists seem to have gradually 

 made up their minds that curzoni is a variety of satyrata., but the Rev. 

 Joseph Greene, writing in the Entom., vol. xxi., pp. 60-62, suggested 

 that it was still considered a var. of nanata. As our provincial lepidop- 

 terists don't mix together as the metropolitan, and pick up less by word 

 of mouth, it appeared advisable to write this note. 



'• I may add that the typical continental satyrata, which feeds in 

 flowers of Scabiosa, Chrysanthemum, etc. (like our South of England 

 form) is much greyer and more distinctly marked than our own 

 southern specimens, which are generally brown, with rather ill-defined 

 markings.^ Staudinger writes that var. callunaria feeds in Eupatoriuin 

 ca7inabinuin flowers, but adds a (?), as well he might. — J. W. Tutt, 

 March, 1890. 



'^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Notes on Agrotis lunigera.- — Having observed the comparative 

 scarcity of this very interesting species of Agrotis in many otherwise 

 representative collections, I can but conclude that a {<t\v practical 

 remarks upon the habits and locality of the imago may be useful to 

 many, especially to those working in the south of England. 



As is well known, the Isle of Wight is the head quarters of this 

 insect, but it is far more widely distributed along our south-western 

 coast than is generally supposed ; the absence of records being in my 

 opinion due in great measure to the fact that, except where, as at 



^ This is nearly always the case. Our Southern British specimens are in almost all 

 species suffused compared with Central European specimens. — l.W.T. 



