ON TWO VARIABLE BROODS OF TRIPH.KXA COMES. 221 



about ol ; ab. rlarki, iiiihi, iiifiii, about 87 ; ab. cKitisii, Newm. {rnfn- 

 ni'in-srciix. Tutt), about 87; ab. ni;nrs(rns, Tutt, about 19; total, 167. 



15rood J> : aX). pallida, 14; ab. ijrima, 2 ; ab. riifcHcnn^, Tutt, 22; 

 ab. clarki, 12 or 13 ; ab. ctirtisii, 4 or 5 ; ab. nii/rescens, 5 ; unclassed, 

 1; total. 61. 



Appendix. — Synonymy.— The oldest valid name which I know for 

 this species is melamizonia^i, Gniel. [Linn. S>/st. Xat., ed. 18, i., 

 p. 2544), dating from 1790'' ; the diagnosis is not first-rate, but I do 

 not think my determination is open to any possible doubt, especially 

 when taken in conjunction with the fact that Zschach, in the Mim. 

 Lexk., places it next to pronuba, and gives it as European. It is 

 necessary briefly to remark on still older names which have at some 

 time or other been considered applicable to this species. Orhnna, Hfn., 

 is now applied, and correctly so, to the species so long known as 

 Hiihsajna, Schif}'. ; Mr. Tutt, indeed (c/. JUit. Xoct., ii., p. 98), has con- 

 sidered this application to be incorrect, but evidently without having 

 read Zeller's arguments (his, 1844, p. 32), or, perhaps, even Rottem- 

 burg's commentary on Hufnagel, both of which are final, and cannot 

 be set aside. 1 Subsfqini, Esp., which is restored by Snellen, in place 

 of ronira, Hb., without doubt mainly represents that species, but the 

 nainr was erroneously adopted from Schiffermiiller, whose suhxeqna — 

 on the evidence of those who saw his collection, as well as on the 

 inference from the prevalence of the species at Vienna — was certainly 

 the one with the subapical black spots, the orbnna of Hufnagel. I'ru- 

 nuba ii'inor, Vill. {Linn. Ent., ii., p. 279), dating from 1789, is 

 rejected by Sherborn as not a genuine binomial, and although I do 

 not doubt its application to comes, Hb., I accept Sherborn's judgment 

 as to its invalidity. Interposita, Hb. {Htr., i., 4, " Verbesserungen," 

 p. 3, ? 1189) =cnnse,]i(o, Hb. (Samml., fig. 105, pnst 1800), is referred 

 by Tutt and Adkin {cf. Tutt's Brit. Xoct., ii., 96-97) to rmnr^, Hb., as 

 a dark var. ; but as those who have seen this (Austrian and Russian, 

 &c.) form in a state of nature, all'' ■• refer it to nrbana, Hfn. [subsc/jua, 

 auctt.), I cannot take the responsibility of transferring it to coinfs 

 until further evidence is to hand. l>ut it is on account of the 

 possibility that this name {interposita, Hb.) may have to take prece- 

 dence of iiielano::onias, Gmel., that I have not yet restored the latter 

 name to its rightful place, but have preferred to adhere to the 

 generally-known one of comes, Hb. In the London List {Trans. City 

 Lund. Knt. Soc, ix., p. 72) lAvas unfortunately betrayed into accepting 

 Snellen's unjustifiable application of the name subsequa. The true 



offers a very good example of the difficulties attending any attempt to supply 

 varietal narues to forms of a species known to be liable to great variation," and I 

 find that these merge so from one into another as to appear inextricable ; a few are 

 no doubt rirexcens, but none are of so pure an ochre colour as many southern 

 examples. 



* "Ph. (Noct.) alls griseis ex luteo brunneis ; posterioribus pallide flavis ; 

 disco macula transversa fasciaque submarginali nigra, Mux. Leak., p. 100, No. 297." 



t Rottemburg's description distinctly implies the characteristic spots, for he 

 says the forewings have the same markings as pronuba ; moreover, comes, Hb., is 

 very scarce about Berlin, and was long believed not to occur there, whereas 

 subseqiia, Schiff., is there "locally common" ((/. Bartel and Herz, Grofs-Schmett., 

 nerl., p. 2;^). Vieweg. in 1790 {Tab. Vcrz ., ii., p. 95), first united subseipia, 

 Schiff., with orliona, Hfn. 



** Treitschke, Guenee, Moschler, Staudinger and others have evidently had a 

 first-hand knowledge of it. 



