VARIATION. 149 



of the pupa skin. Eemaining in this position for about a minute, it 

 exuded a liquid from a point on its head just above the trunk. This 

 gathered into a drop, and I aljsorbed it twice with an old cocoon of the 

 same sjjecies, which it seemed to render more loose in texture. May 

 not this liquid be used for the purpose of softening the very tough 

 cocoon ? I liave heard of similar cases with Dicranura vintila, but if I 

 recollect rightly, the liquid was exuded from glands opening at the 

 back of the head. Verbasci has a curious habit of resting with its two 

 hind legs raised, reminding one of a mosquito when it is sucking your 

 blood. — A. U. Battley, 28, Amhurst Park, London, N. March SOth, 

 1893. 



ARIATION. 



Melanism in DruRNiEA fagblla. — Last month I took a long series 

 of D. fageUa off the tree trunks in Highgate Woods, several of which 

 are remarkable for their extremely dark colour, though a few are as 

 conspicuously pale. On comparing them with two other series (1) 

 taken in the same woods a few years ago, and (2) ancient " crusted " 

 specimens of my younger days, I should say that the recent tendency 

 towards melanism is distinctly marked in this species. Great care, 

 however, is necessary in examining what appear to be "pale" speci- 

 mens, as the insect, I suspect, soon loses the dark colour of its scales 

 when exposed, without, in other respects, shewing signs of " wear." 

 It reminds me of the so-called " varieties " of Lasiommata megcera and 

 Pararge cegeria, &c., which, I believe, are mostly bleached by the sun. — 

 George Hollis, 47, Dartmouth Park Hill, N.W. April, 1893. 



Unique Varieties of Abraxas grossulariata. — The two very 

 beautiful varieties (vide Plate C.,figs. 13 and 14) of this very abundant 

 and well-known species, were captured in 1883 and 1884 in Barnsbury, 

 a northern suburb of London, and not very far from '* The Angel " at 

 Islington. As will be seen at once on reference to the figures, their 

 beauty and rarity consist in the excessive suffusion of the orange 

 jjigment, causing a very large and conspicuous orange blotch. The 

 more beautiful one (Jig. 14) was taken in 1883, and the other {Jig. 13) 

 the following season, both at rest upon the garden wall, and recently 

 emerged, and were close to some black-currant bushes, upon which the 

 larvge fed. The capture of both was effected by a non-entomological 

 acquaintance, who kindly gave them to my friend, Mr. Jas. A. Gee, 

 from whom they passed into my possession upon Mr. Gee's relinquishing 

 active collecting. The first was exhibited by him at the now defunct 

 West London Ent. Society Pocket-box Exhibition, November 16th, 

 1883, and recorded in The Entomologist, vol. xvi., p. 287, After these 

 specimens were captured the larvte were collected in subsequent seasons 

 and freely bred, without special success in aberration, but Mr. Gee 

 informs me that " all had the same golden strain." Mr. Southey, of 

 Hollo way, collected 750 larva3 in 1891 from the same garden, but found 

 that the imagines had almost lost, by that time, their distinctive 

 " orange strain," and only about six forms emerged worth keeping, and 

 these, strangely enough, had reverted to the other extreme type, and 

 were nearly black. — Albert J. Hodges. Fehruary, 1893. 



