TFiK (;]<;nus xantuia. 71 



•effect of the red 1 )ecomes partially lost when the ground colour is of a rich 

 orange tint. Tliis is sometimes so far intensified that the Avhole Aving 

 area becomes unicolorous orange red, occasionally even unicolorous 

 purple red. The type is the form with the central area pale yellow, 

 and the basal and outer areas reddish-purple ; the corresponding form, 

 with the central area pale orange, is called virgata, whilst that with 

 the central area of a rich orange red is the rntilago of Fabricius. The 

 unicolorous pale yellow form is known as hitea, whilst the unicolorous 

 rich purplish red form is the fncata of Esper. One other l)eautiful form 

 has the orange central area A'ory much mottled. Mr. Holland says of 

 tliis species : — " An occasional imago falls to the beating-stick, but the 

 great majority' seem to lie hidden in the herl jage and leaves 1 lelow. At 

 dark they will Ije found to have come to the toj) of the grasses and 

 other plants, or feeding on the Idackberries, but, like fuloago and fla- 

 vago, they take wing at once on some evenings. Sugared twigs, how- 

 •ever, Avill generally stop them. Books say the larva3 hide in the chinks 

 of the bark ; I have never been al)le to find them, and I must say for 

 larvai having that habit they are most unfortunate in feeding on a tree 

 tlie bark of which is as smooth as a telegTaph pole."' 



I know nothing of the egg-laying of this species, but Xewman states 

 tliat the larva feeds on " birch (F(iga>i sj/lcatica) " an evident printer's 

 in-ror for " beech." The egg is, according to the Eev. J. Hellins (Ent. 

 Mo. Mag., vi., p. 222), laid in September, and hatches in March or 

 April. He further states that, unlike many that hyl)ernate in the ova 

 state, but in which the larva is fully developed in the autumn, the egg 

 of aurago has been examined from time to time up to the }niddle of 

 January, without anything but the faintest traces of the future larva? 

 having been detected l)y microscopic examination of their still fluid 

 contents, but that at the last examination — about January llth — the 

 larva of X. aurago was found partially developed, but not to such a 

 degree that it could be extracted from the shell in the larval form. 

 Mr. Machin records finding a larva on Spircua Jilipendnla, hxmi which 

 he bred a fine dark imago. (At the meeting, Mr. Bloomfield recorded 

 tlie capture of two larv^ on maple in Suffolk. These he bred). 



Aurago is very local in Britain, Kent (neighbourhood of Wye and 

 Ashford) and near Beading being its head quarters. It is also recorded 

 from Llangollen, and Mr. Birchall recorded it as taken in Ireland by 

 Mr. Haughton, although the locality was unknown. It has not Ijeen 

 recorded from Scotland or the northern counties of England, so that its 

 range is comparatively restricted. Staudinger gives as its range on the 

 Continent : — " Central Europe (except Livonia) ; S. Sweden ; Denmark ; 

 Piedmont ; Etruria ; Corsica." 



(To he continued.) 



"B)CIENTIFIC NOTES. 



Critical notes on certain Xoctuje (Plate C, figs. 1, 2 and 3. — 

 The large amount of reference to scientific works into which my 

 recently finished work on The British Noctuce and their Varieties has led 

 me, has brought to my notice some very strange facts connected with 

 certain species. The following notes, although embodied in that work, 

 are sure to prove of such general interest, that I have no hesitation 

 in brinji-ina' them under the notice of our readers. 



