286 THE entomologist's KECORI). 



almost l)riok-Tc(l form with yellow markings of the first, and the almost 

 totally black of the last, between the almost spotless reddish-grej^ and 

 the finely-marked greyish-black. 



The last four sjjecimens of all ajijieal to me most strongijs and I 

 think they " take the cake," both for coloration and for delicacy of 

 pattern. I do not possess even one specimen of A. agathina, but imagine 

 that these pretty little forms approach that species. 



With a series like this before me, one feels the (almost) absurdity of 

 Newman's solitary figure, and also of Stainton's six-line description : — 

 " F.-w., dull-dark brown, clouded with black, sometimes of a reddish 

 tinge ; the more conspicuous markings are, a short blackish streak from 

 near the middle of the l)ase " (which, l>y the way Newman says, looks as 

 though it had Ijceu scraped with a knife) ; " a black spot before the orbi- 

 cular, a rhomboidal black spot between the stigniata, orbicular sometimes 

 pale, reniform always so, especially its hind margin." 



One cannot help feeling, in the face of such variations as these (and 

 A. nigricans is by no means alone), tliat we are indeed still in the fog, 

 if we longer content ourselves with speaking of a light or a dark, of a 

 red or a black, of a streaked or a blotched, so-and-so. I'ossibly some of 

 my correspondents would be glad of some of the forms before us to-night, 

 but how on earth are they to acquaint me with their wants, unless the 

 forms have a name. Can we not come to an agreement to name varieties ? 

 It is done in some cases not nearly so necessary as this. " A black 

 Amphidaitys hetuJaria " would convey a clear intimation of what was in 

 (juestion. as would " a dark Miselia oxi/acaiithne,'' but to speak of a red- 

 grey or a black A. nigricans, by no means meets the necessities of the case. 



Besides Iteing here so often reminded of A. obscura, I also find myself 

 in some doubt as to where to draw the line between some forms of A. 

 nigricans and N. xanthographa. You will, perhaps, smile and say to 

 yourselves, why I the form and the structure forbid such a mistake. 

 But iV. xanihograjiha has sometimes narrower wings, and I have seen 

 specimens (one of which, though a poor one, is in the case) which run 

 so very close, that I do not like to decide for myself to which species 

 they belong. And this is especially the case, where the white hind 

 wings of the male A. nigricans have only a faint lunule but still possess 

 the well-developed marginal band which we associate with the male of 

 iV. xan tit ograp h a . 



I come now to a few other species taken this year, which seem to me 

 to be somewhat out of the common. First, are four specimens of 

 Xylophasia vwnoghjpha ; the pale one, bred ; the three dark forms taken at 

 sugar. The last specimen seems to me to be most interesting, for the 

 reason that, although as dark, or nearly so, as the northern forms, it 

 yet retains the pale spot on the inner margin, which occurs in the tj'pe. 



Then 1 will ask you to notice a short series of Anclwcelis pistacina, rang- 

 ing from yellowish-brown to a fine red, the former colour api)earing to me 

 to be most curious : another series of .1. lunosa, their colour varying 

 from yellowish, through a decided red, to gi'ey and even black (the 

 last specimen is a puzzle to me, because, through the general darkness 

 of the under wings, I fancy I can detect the lunule and broken band of 

 this species ; otherwise, it would be certainh- a specimen of A. pistacina) ; 

 two specimens of Noctna haia, the first red, which I take to be the 

 ordinary form, the second ])urple, which almost suggests A', stigmatica, 

 but is without the rhomboidal dark mark lictween the stiiimata charac- 



