46 THE entomologist's record. 



in certain species of the genus Lithosia : — " The genus Lithosia consists 

 essentially of the following groups in their normal forms : (i) Spotted 

 species as fiiuscerda, (2) unicolorous golden species as aureola, (3) uni- 

 colorous yellow-ochreous species as deplana, (4) grey species with lighter 

 costa as griseola, and (5) grey species with distinct yellow costa as coni- 

 plana. If we simply study our well-known varieties, we notice that 

 wliat is the typical or general form in one species, becomes varietal in 

 another; thus griseola has an unicolorous yellow variety stramineola, 

 and a form in which the yellow costa is almost as distinct as in com- 

 platnda. Again deplana exhibits a bright yellow costa variety, and also 

 a dark ochreous form. But pygumola, generally considered a var. of 

 lutarella, exhibits this parallel variation — or rather an attempt to follow 

 the general forms of other species in its variation — in a most striking 

 manner." The first batch of these specimens exhibited showed an uni- 

 colorous pale yellow form of the same shade as griseola var. stramineola^ 

 the second batch of the golden colour oi aureola, a third set was of a 

 dark grey colour with a pale costa like typical gn'seola, whilst another 

 batch were leaden'grey with a distinct yellow costa like complanula and^c?/«- 

 plana. In addition, an almost melanic specimen was exhibited, and Mr 

 Tutt remarked that Mr. Bird had taken a specimen spotted somewhat 

 like muscerda. The named varieties of Dr. Staudinger's Catalog were 

 then noticed as also the fact that p)gmmola, though really subject to a 

 great range of variation in itself, was treated as a simple varietal form 

 by Staudinger. Mr. Tutt drew attention to other genera where the 

 tendency for varietal forms of a species, to follow other species is very 

 marked, and suggested that among those NocxUiE which he had worked 

 out, it was almost universally so. Mr. Heasler exhibited a series of 

 Agathidium nigrinum from Highgate Woods. 



Thursday, May ']th. — Exhibits : Mr. Tutt, a box of lepidoptera from 

 Dr. Chapman, including a hybrid between Aniphidasys hetularia and 

 A. prodroiiiaria, a very dark specimen of Tieniocanipa popiileti, almost 

 exactly resembhng T. instabilis, a fine banded T. iustabilis, series of 

 Cuspid ia tridens, Viminia rum ids, Cuspidia leporiua var. bradypcrina, 

 Botys terrealis, etc., from Hereford. Mr. Quail, very light cocoons of 

 Saturnia carpini, from Wicken, with the imagines bred therefrom, three 

 being very good vars. Mr. Prout, bred series of Corefnia ferrugata and 

 C. unidentata. With reference to the differentiation of these two 

 species, he pointed out that unidentata has a small V-shaped notch in 

 . the outer margin of the central band, near the costa, but this could not 

 be traced in his series oi ferri/gata. Messrs. Clark, Tutt, Huckett, 

 Hodges, and Milton exhibited series of the species of TripluenidcB, 

 Mr. Clark reading the following account of the life-history of Trip/uetia 

 subsequa : — 



"In the autumn of last year (1890) 1 obtained a few eggs of this 

 species from Forres. The first hatched on August 30th, and I reared 

 the larvoe through the late autumn on knotgrass {Polygonum aviculare). 

 and dock leaves {Rumex pratensis) in a warm room, to avoid the large 

 percentage of loss which usually occurs when one attempts to hybernate 

 larvae. 



" When first hatched, they are semi-loopers, of a yellowish drab colour, 

 with minute brown spots round each segment, from each of which pro- 

 trudes a tiny brown hair. Head dark brown. September 6th. — 1st 



