51 THK ENTC biologist's KEUORD. 



(1889), must be looked upon as G. amhiyua. I exceedingly regret this 

 blunder, as it is one that ought not to have occurred, and I can only 

 console myself with the reflection that " accidents will hajipen in the 

 best regulated families." 



Mr. Hodges sends us a notice of the capture by Mrs. Abbott, Mr. Abbott, 

 Mr.Tait, and himself of a fair number of specimens of C. ambigua in the 

 Isle of Wight tliis autumn, where Mr. Prout also obtained it ; I obtained 

 some nine specimens, spread over nearly as many years, at Deal, and 

 five in 1889, in the Isle of Wight. The original British specimens 

 came from Brighton. I have no doubt that the species occurs over a long 

 stretch of our southern coast. It appears to be at least partially double- 

 brooded, and to emerge earlier or later in different seasons, depending 

 largely on meteorological conditions. It is, probably, only single- 

 brooded in some cold years, but wet does not appear to have interfered 

 with it in the present year. 



In the Entomologist'' s Record, vol. iv., Plate c, fig. 4 (the ochreous 

 form) is what is believed to be C'<iradrina siqjerstes. I will confirm or 

 refute this as soon as I get the necessary time and material, as Mr. Prout 

 thinks it may prove to be only an ochreous form of amhiijua, but this, 

 until the necessary material is obtained, must be looked upon as a 

 matter of opinion ; fig. 5 (the greyer form) is Caradrina amhigua. In 

 vol. iv., pp. 98-99, the characters distinguishing snperstes and amhigua 

 are reversed. 



It is an unfortunate error, sjiread, too, over a considerable time, and 

 has done, I am afraid, a considerable amount of damage. With the ex- 

 ception of the Brighton, Deal, Sligo (?) and Isle of Wight specimens, 

 however, there are, I believe, no British specimens extant, so that the 

 amount of actual error is small. Those, however, to whom Mr. 

 Hodges refers as receiving Guernsey specimens from him last year, 

 must bear in mind that they are types of amhigua, not of superstes. 



I have more than once had the grey form of amhigua sent to me 

 from Continental collectors as superstes, so that there is a general mixing 

 elsewhere than in Britain. 



^URRENT NOTES. 



Probably the purest British collection of lepidojitera ever offered to 

 the pul)lic is that made l)}^ Mr. Machin, which is to be dispersed on 

 Pel). -6th at Stevens' Auction Kooms. The Micro-Lepidoptera are 

 probably unequalled in condition by those of any other collection in 

 the United Kingdom. 



Mr. F. J. Hanbury, F.L.S., F.E.S., contibutes to the E. M. M. for 

 January, a very interesting account of his trip last summer to West 

 Sutherland, the Orkneys and Shetlands, in search of rare sjiecies of the 

 genus nieracium, to which genus he is devoting considerable study. 

 Mr. Hanbury did not neglect entomology ; his paper is a model of 

 what such })apers should be. 



Honour to whom honour is due ! Evidently Dr. Knaggs is not a 

 "progressive" entomologist, and so does not read The Entomologist's 

 Record. Had he done so, he would have seen that the credit of intro- 

 ducing " rectified wood naphtha " for the purpose of relaxing insects is 

 due to Mr. J. P. Muteli of llornsoy Koad, and not to Mr. Clark, as Dr. 

 Knaggs {E. M. M., Jan.) makes out. 



