SALE OF THE KAYNOR COLLECTION OF LEPIDOPTERA. 295 



The next sensation was a series of Angerona prunaria, 77 specimens 

 divided into 15 lots varying from 10 specimens to 1. £3 3s. was given 

 for faultless pairs of the beautifully speckled form, but the best price 

 of all, £3 15s., was earned by an almost perfectly dark male, while a 

 pale female was valued at £2 5s. The series brought in £24. 



Prices once again ranged from moderate to less. It was somewhat 

 sad to see three of the dark aberrations of Bormia consortaria included 

 in a lot of 56 insects, go for only 5s., and a little later on two fine 

 dark Tephrosia consonaria included with 27 other insects for 8s. This 

 last lot contained as an extra attraction " one curious variety of 

 Nemoria viridata," and Ave are still in doubt as to which insect 

 inspired the bids. As a matter of fact the writer encountered 

 nobody who understood in what the "curious variety" consisted. 

 A banded aberration of Zonosoma porata gave a lot of 41 insects 

 the value of 18s., and a similar form of Z. punctaria ran the price of 

 36 insects up to £1 2s. The next curious event was the competition 

 for three lots (of five specimens each) of Cabera rotund aria, for which 

 9s., 9s., and 8s. were given. Surely the buyers knew that a proportion 

 of all' bred C. pusaria are ab. rotundaria. Hearing the bidding, one 

 could not help concluding that the bidders do not trouble to rear 

 common species. 



Then came the greatest event — Abraxas grosmlariata. Surely never 

 was such a display offered for public competition before. There 

 were 87 lots, containing in all 96 specimens. To the disinterested 

 bystander, the scene became now almost animated. But it was 

 evident that the great buyers had their eyes fixed upon certain lots, 

 leaving the less attractive, though often equally rare, forms, to take 

 their chance. It struck the writer forcibly that the interests of the 

 seller would have been better served, had the principal aberrations 

 been distributed between the two days of sale. There were too many 

 ab. Intra, for instance ; specimens probably never placed before the 

 public before were overshadowed by better and more striking forms 

 (of the same class) to come. This happened again and again with 

 each notable aberration. Had half of each been transferred to the 

 second day, and been exchanged for half those reserved, there would 

 probably have been a still better record for this portion. The ab. Intra 

 ran from 2s. 6d., for a slightly luteous specimen, to £2 15s. for a 

 magnificent female. Tw'O female ab. nigrolutea fetched £4 15s. 

 and £6 10s. The ab. fulvapicata ranged from 7s. per specimen to £3. 

 A single specimen of ab. albomarginata realised £3 5s., although 

 the writer has seen three or four specimens exhibited during the 

 last few months. This w r as a magnificent insect, and rare enough 

 to justify the expenditure. Two ab. subviolaeea were bought for £2 15s. 

 and £2 10s. Ab. hazeleighensis £2, ab. nigrosparsata from 2s. 6d. per 

 specimen to £3 for a male, and £5 15s. for a female. Ab. lactea-sparsa 

 realised £5 10s. So these fine "magpies " were distributed, bringing 

 in £88 10s. Then followed a lot of irregular bidding. Two queer 

 Coremia quadrifasciaria raised the value of their companions to 

 £1 17s. 6d. The type specimen of Cidaria picata ab. lacteomarginata, 

 described and named in this Magazine last month, only earned £1. 

 Strenia clathrata then presented itself. Here again the specimens 

 were too numerous for the seller's interest — 28 lots, containing 143 

 specimens. The abei*rations ran dark and light. The best of the 



