VARIATION. 285 



Staueopus fagi in Leigh Woods. — On September 18th I beat 

 'from the small-leaved lime in Leigh Woods a full-fed larva of Stau- 

 rojms fagi. It seems well to place this capture on record as occurrences 

 of this larva, in this locality, are very rare. Mr, E. Ficklin beat a 

 larva in 1877, and Mr. W. N. Grigg informs me that he once captured 

 some larvae, also feeding on lime. This tree does not seem to be 

 mentioned amongst the recorded foodplants, but the beech is one of 

 the most uncommon trees in Leigh Woods. — Geo. C. Griffiths, F.E.S., 

 Penshurst, 3, Leigh Road, Clifton, Bristol. October 5th, 1909. 



Foodplants of Stauropus fagi. — By far the best account of the 

 life-history of this species published so far, is, in our opinion, that by 

 Mr. A. F. Bayne, Ent. Record, iv., pp. 29-38, the facts from which, 

 although borrowed largely by more recent authors, not always with 

 •acknowledgment, appear to have been overlooked by many lepidopterists 

 specially interested in this species. Bayne writes (op. cit., pp. 31-32) 

 of the foodplants of the larva : 



Foodplants of Larva : From the number of foodplants given by various 

 authors, S. fagi would appear to be a general tree-feeder. Stephens gives {Illus. 

 Brit. Entomology) beech, oak, hazel, birch, lime, alder, and sloe. Bernard-Smith 

 ■(Notes on the Notodontidae), oak, beech, hazel, and birch, and adds that they 

 "have even occurred on wild rose and hawthorn,'' and " will thrive well on apple." 

 Holland mentions (Ent. Record) that he finds them " mostly on beech, but some 

 on birch and oak," and also records that some larvce he was keeping " fed up well, 

 sleeved on apple." Godart suggests (Hist. Nat. des L4pidopteres) that it may feed 

 •on elm, as he has twice found the larva at the foot of that tree. We have beaten 

 them from beech, oak, and sallow, and fed up our larvae on beech, which keeps 

 very well if the branches are put in bottles of water. 



It will be seen, therefore, that the foodplants are very varied, and 

 that " lime " was recorded by Stephens at least as far back as 1828. — 



J. W. TUTT. 



^^ ARI AT ION. 



RUMICIA PHLiEAS AB. ALBA, TuTT (sCHMIDTII, AUCT.). On AugUSt 28th, 



one of the few very fine days of the present autumn, in the course of 

 a long walk across the various " Charts " from Oxted towards Seven- 

 oaks, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing a perfect specimen of the 

 above rare form, sunning its wings in a rough field on the Brasted 

 Chart. Needless to say I annexed it. It is a 2 , and is a representa- 

 tive of the ab. alba, Tutt. For years, as Mr. Tutt has pointed out in 

 his Nat. Hist, of Brit. Butts., vol. i. (viii.), p. 355, all the light- 

 coloured aberrations have been lumped together as sclunidtii, whereas 

 this latter name refers properly only to the straw-coloured form. — H. 

 J. Turner, F.E.S., 98, Drakefell Eoad, New Cross, S.E. September 

 19f/t, 1909. 



Urapteryx sambucaria ab. cusPiDARiA, N. AB. — On July 26th, at 

 dusk, I netted, at Brockweir, a very handsome specimen of Urapteryx 

 sambucaria ^ . The colour and markings are perfectly normal, but 

 the outer margin of the forewings extends into a decided tooth at the 

 third median nervule, so that they are, in a way, similar in outline to 

 those of Macaria notata, but the "cusp " is a little more decided and 

 pointed, both forewings being perfectly symmetrical. On looking at 

 the specimens of this insect in our cabinet, I find that several show, in 

 varying degree, a slight indication of a cusp, but none so pronounced 



