270 THE entomologist's record. 



VARIATION. 



Note on aform of Ptedisca profundana.— For some seasons I have 

 taken a very interesting insect, which I supposed to be only a local form 

 of Pardura prnfuiuJana. It is taken in an orchard here, and until this 

 year was invariably beaten from apple, or bred from larv;? beaten 

 from apple. The form is very constant in colour and markings, and a 

 similar form is taken by Dr. Eiding (with two or three other forms) 

 also in an orchard, but at sugar, Avhilst Dr. Wood is said to obtain it 

 in only two old orchards at Tarrington, where none of the ordinary form 

 of P. profundana has been yet met. Mr. Bankes reports having taken the 

 same form in the New Forest twenty years ago, and the general opinion up 

 to the present has been that it is a phytophagic (apple-feeding) form 

 of P. profundana. Eecent experience, however, throws considerable 

 doubt on this. On June 6th last, Mr. Bower and myself collected a 

 number of larvfe in laterally rolled (cigar-shaped) leaves of apple in 

 the particular orchard in which this form had previously occurred, 

 hoping to breed it. On .June 7th, we collected larvae in similarly 

 rolled oak-leaves, supposing them to be those of the ordinary 

 form of P. profundana, as I have commonly beaten the species 

 there, but have never taken the particular form from the orchard 

 there. The oaks are about half a mile from the orchard, and 

 no apple-trees are near. The larvfe were kept quite distinct, in sepa- 

 rate cylinders on pots, the one lot on apple the other on oak. On June 

 15th we described the larva on apple as follows : 



About § ins. in length, dark green in colour; on the 3rd and 4th segments two 

 black spots forming a colon, and beneath them two smaller ones, thus .:. ; on all 

 the other segments except the anal are two large spots like a colon, and beneath 

 them one small one. The head yellowish-green ; on the 2nd segment a plate, 

 of a tint between the head and body colours, slightly darkened at each side, 

 and a black spot (sometimes wanting in both the apple and oak larvae) on front of 

 plate. Legs black. Prolegs unicolorous with body ; on the last pair, in some 

 instances, a black spot on each. A few pale hairs emitted from each segment 

 except the head. 



Having made this description we proceeded to examine the larva on 

 oak (which we supposed to be those of ordinary P. profundana) with a 

 view to noting any differences, but we were unable to detect any. 

 When Mr. Bower left me, about June 18th, most of the larviP on apple 

 had pupated (those on oak were not examined), the pupaj being either 

 on the surface of the earth or in a turned-over leaf. Most of these he took 

 with him and has since bred several imagines, all of the peculiar form. 

 From the remaining pupi^ from apple I bred four of this form, r/:., on 

 July 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th, whilst from those on oak three of the 

 same form emerged, on July 11th (two) and 12th. These were the 

 only ones bred, as we only collected a few larvii? from oak to satisfy 

 ourselves that they were P. profundana. On July 16th I commenced 

 to take this form in the orchard, and have taken several since. Several 

 visits to the oaks, however, gave no example of the insect this year, 

 although this particular form was quite common in its usual orchard. 

 I should be glad to know if, elsewhere, the larvse of P. profundana are 

 to be found in similarly rolled leaves, or if anywhere the larvfe of 

 this species have different habits from the preceding. — E. F. Studd, 

 M.A., Oxton, near Exeter. Au;/ust 8th, 1902. 



GyNANDROMORPHIC and aberrational LaSIOCAMPA QUERCtS. L. 



tjuerciis. — On July 22nd I had a specimen of L. quercus emerge, with 

 male colouring on the wings and J antenna?, but the body was 



