28 THE entomologist's record. 



able time before clianging to a pupa. During this time, disturbance is 

 almost fatal to the successful change of the larva into a pupa. I have 

 known this period to last from the first week in June until the end of 

 August. The insect remains in the pupal stage about six or eight weeks 

 before emergence. 



The species is well distributed in our southern and western 

 counties, but does not appear to be taken anywhere commonly in the 

 autumn. Earely is it ever found at rest, but a few appear at the ivy 

 blossom under favourable conditions. Birchall records it from County 

 Wicklow, but I do not believe it has yet been recorded from any Scotch 

 localities. Most of the specimens in our cabinets are bred from ova, 

 which have been supplied by Dr. Chaj^man from Hereford, or by the 

 Lewes collectors. Staudinger gives as its range on the Continent : — • 

 " Central Europe (except the Urals) ; Southern Sweden (?) ; N. Italy ; 

 Spain ; N. Balkans." 



(To he continued). 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES, 



AciDALIA HUMILIATA, HuFN. (OSSEATA, Hb.). It is with plcaSUr© 



that I am able by means of specimens captured by myself and brother, 

 in the Isle of Wight, to confirm this species as British, and as distinct 

 from the Acidalla known usiially as dilutaria, Hb. or interjectaria, Gn. 

 The species has long been considered doubtfully as British, but it has 

 been the opinion of most of our leading lepidopterists, that the speci- 

 mens recorded as osseata, have simply been varieties of interjectaria with 

 an exceptionally red costa. A very complete article on the synonymy 

 of A. humiliata = osseata, was published by Mr. Tiitt, in The Entomo- 

 logist, vol. xxii., No. 312. My attention having been principally 

 directed to the Noctu^, I am afraid that the Geometkid^ have to a 

 certain extent been neglected in my collecting. Athough I have been 

 doubtful for some months as to the agreement of certain specimens of an 

 Acidalia in my cabinet with dilutaria, which was the only species to 

 which they could possibly be referred, and although these doubts were 

 confirmed by friends when looking through my collection, yet the 

 matter was not actively taken up iintil recently, when upon closer ex- 

 amination of the specimens at different times, with Messrs. C. G. Barrett, 

 W. G. Sheldon and J. W. Tutt, their identity with the osseata of 

 Hiibner was established, as well as their Avell-marked points of differ- 

 entiation from the common A. dilutaria of our lists. I have not found 

 them at all plentiful, and fear that it has not as yet established a very 

 firm foot-hold in our country, but it has occurred certainly during the 

 last two seasons in the Isle of Wight, and also, I believe, in 1890, 

 although very sparingly. — Albert J. Hodges. 



As Mr. Hodges mentions, some years ago I worked out the synonymy 

 of what has always proved a puzzle to British lepidopterists. I am not 

 now prepared to go fully into the matter, but trust to prepare an article 

 shortly, for our readers. Plate c, fig. 19, is a rejiresentation of one 

 of Mr. Hodges' specimens, and from this it Avill be seen, that the wings 

 are much narrower than in our commoner interjectaria ; the costa, too, 

 is, as Guenee remarks, of the colour of oiir postage stamp (that is, of 

 course, our old red penny postage stamp). There are interjectaria with 



