CURRENT NOTES. 



279 



OviPosiTioN OF CosMOTKicHE POTATORiA.^Oii Monday, July 22nd, 

 whilst fishing on Homerton Broad, Norfolk (from a bank), a moth Hew 

 past in the dusk (about 8.30 p.m.) and settled on the rushes close by 

 me. On going nearer I found it to be a large $ Coswotriche potato) ia, 

 which had already laid two eggs. It instantly Hew oft' to a more 

 distant rush, and as it seemed restless, I boxed it. On the way home 

 the moth laid 18G eggs. The manner of oviposition was peculiar and 

 rapid. The moth settled on the under surface of a rush blade, and 

 laid the ova on the upper surface, just at the junction of the stalk and 

 leaf blade. The ovipositor was curled right round the leaf. — Hubert 

 C. Phillips, M.R.C.S., F.E.S., 262, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park, 

 W. Jultj dOt/i, 1901. 



DiLiNA TiLLE AT Hampstead. — I found a f reshly-cmerged $ of 

 Dilina tUiiu on a birch trunk about a foot from the ground (on the 

 west side), on Hampstead Heath, on June 15th, at 5 p.m., it had 

 evidently emerged about half-an-hour, as the wings were not properly 

 set although developed. — Ibid. 



(CURRENT NOTES. 



All lepidopterists who are, in ever so small a measure, something 

 more than "mere collectors," should supply themselves with a copy 

 of Staudinger and Rebel's new Catalogue (published by Friedlilnder and 

 Son). References to it will figure largely in our magazines for some 

 time to come, and no one who wishes to be an fait with his subject 

 can aftbrd to be without it. 



British lepidopterists used sometimes to be accused of insularity, 

 but at the present time it is doubtful whether the work of German 

 lepidopterists does not show a greater want of knowledge of lepidopter- 

 ology in its broader aspects — especially of the literature of the subject 

 — than those of the lepidopterists of any other country. Recently it 

 appeared necessary to ofier a protest against the re-naming of various 

 well-known forms of certain Noctuidsin the Ztitschriftfiir Kutoiiioltii/ie, 

 and to point out instances where this had occurred. The Editor 

 printed our corrections but apparently consigned our protest to the 

 waste-paper basket, and so this unscientific procedure continues. In 

 the current number of the Soch'tas Entoinohx/iea (July 15th), Slevogt 

 re-describes three Noctuid aberrations, among these the well-known 

 and striking Dichonia aprilina ab. vinjata [JJiit. Noct., iii., p. 62, 1892) 

 which he calls ab. riromelas, and Calocainpa soluhi/ini.s ab. siilfiisa [Brit. 

 Noct., iii., p. 110, 1892) which he calls ab. ohscnra : the third is a 

 described form of Hadena aihtsta, for which, however, as the species is 

 rather more obscure than the others, there may be more excuse. 

 Staudinger's mode of dealing with the aberrations and varieties of this 

 group in the new edition of his Cataldj/iie leaves much to be desired. 

 Almost every important and unimportant aberration descril^ed in the 

 German magazines finds a place in the Cataloiiiie, whilst the British forms, 

 which alone have been systematically studied and described, are rarely 

 mentioned ; this cannot be because Staudinger considered them unim- 

 portant, for he has gone to the extent of re- describing many, and using 

 later published names for others, e.(i., Aiirotix siwnlans ab. snjfu.sa 

 {Drit. Xoct., ii., p. 80) is re-named ab. ohxcurata, Stand., Cat., p. 

 113, Aijrotis ri(r>i(>rin ab. sai/itfa [llrit. Xm-t.. ii., [). 11) is renamed ab. 



