SOCIETIES. S!) 



note, hoAve\'er, that out of a larj^'e ihuuIkt of .specinieus, ca})tuivd all 

 over Yorkshire, the darkest eanio from Leeds. ^Y. inonogh/j^ha -— poly- 

 odon, L. — This insect also, has a wide range of variation — in a locality 

 where a good selection can he made s}>ecimens of every shade, from the 

 type through Ijrown to deep black maj^ be taken. This deep black 

 form is far from common, only two or three each season lieing 

 taken by the York collectors. Apamea didijina = oculea, Gn. — The deep 

 glossy black of the extreme forms is esjiecially noticeal)le in Yorkshire 

 specimens. Minna sfrigilis. — The mottled form of this moth is seldom 

 taken in Yorkshire, the dark variety being most abundant. Some of 

 my specimens have a distinct gTcenish tint, which in certain lights is 

 quite conspicuous. M. arcuosa. — At Horsforth occasional sj)ecimens 

 showing a tendency to melanism are met with ; all the examples of 

 araiosa which I took at H(irstV>rth Avere slightly, but distinctly, darker 

 than those hxnw Askham Bog, York. Noctua hninnen. — My bred series 

 of this moth from the West Kiding, is much darker in ground colour 

 than southern examples. They are very beautifully suffused with 

 plum-colour. This plum-colour is not so noticealde in cajitured speci- 

 mens. Tripho'ita pronnba. — I was not fortunate enough to meet with 

 pronuha in any quantity, but the darkest Horsforth form is darker 

 than any I have seen from other localities. The species is taken in 

 almost infinite variety by the West Riding collectors. Ncenia 

 typica. — The ground colour of this common Noctuid is darker than is 

 the ease in southern s[)ecimens. Epmida riminalis. — My series 

 was bred from larvae obtained in Teesdale, Yorks., and includes 

 almost all the forms taken in Yorkshire, from ty^iical to deep black. 

 The black form is said to be peculiar to tlie nortliern counties.* A rosy 

 variety, sometimes bred from Bisliop's Wood, Selby, I was not fortunate 

 enough to obtain. Enplexia luclpara. — (Jne specimen Ijred from Hors- 

 forth has the straA\'-coloured l)and 0A'ers})read Avith purple : more than 

 100 examples captured at sugar failed to yield a similar variety. 

 Folia chi. — My series of dii has I)een selected from about 700 specimens 

 seen in the Horsforth district. The species was very common last sea- 

 son, and Avhile the percentage of dark varieties Avas rather higher than 

 the prcA'ious year, var. olivacea Avas much less common, only two speci- 

 mens being seen. There seems to be some confusion over the form of chi 

 named var. mffnsa, by Mr. Robson. From the description published by 

 Mr. Tutt in British Noctuce and their Varieties, most of my specimens might 

 be referred to var. snffusa. In order to settle my doubt on the suliject, I 

 showed the Avhole of the insects captured this season to Mr. Porritt, Avho 

 pronounced that there was not one mffusa among the lot, at the same 

 time shoAving me his series tif Huddersfield chi. A strong difference 

 was at once aj^parent, the true var. suffusa Ijeing a case of true 

 melanism — or perhaps better, melanchroism. I am not noAv referring 

 to the black form of eld, first exhibited l)y Mr. Porritt in 1890, from 

 Avhich the svffusa form is (piite distinct. I have seen boxes of Folia 

 chi from all parts of Scotland, and the North of England, but haA-e 

 only heard of one case of \'ar. svffusa having been taken outside the 

 Huddersfield district. At Huddersfield, in some years, about 50 °/o of 

 those bred are the melanochroic form, Avhich alone sliould be called 

 var. suffusa. Aplecta nehulosa. — I liaA-e tAvo dark suffused specimens 

 bred from Horsforth larva\ Mr. Carringion told me that a black 

 variety Avas taken in the district, but although I searched diligently, 



* Occurs freely at Derby. — Ed. 



