76 THE entomologist's record. 



the experiments of 1894 — the details of which I have already recorded in 

 the article referred to — reminds us that he named the mongrel produce of 

 the cross of a typical S. mendica $ with a var, rustica $ — standfussi. 

 This year, from two successful pairings of the same crossing, a much 

 larger number of moths was obtained, and the result was surprising. 



The first batch yielded three different and well-characterised forms 

 of the male : — (1) The typical hybrid *•' — standfussi — described as that 

 " form in which the thorax, body and wings are alike mouse-grey 

 (sometimes yellowish-grey or almost olive-green), being exactly inter- 

 mediate between the dark smoky-grey of the males of -S. mendica, and the 

 milk-white of the males of var. rustica. The palpi, eyes and antennjie 

 are black, the fore-feet yellow, as in the original forms. This form has 

 only a few black dots, which in some specimens are reduced to a single 

 point, on the fore- wings." Twenty-four per cent, of the male specimens 

 fjred, we are told, belonged to this form. (2) A darker form, which 

 comes nearer in colour to male S. mendica. It is, however, constantly 

 of a distinctly lighter grey (often almost steel-grey) than the type, and is 

 also distinguished from it by the sparser black dotting. This form, to 

 which 88 per cent, of the males bred belonged, is called mus. (8) An 

 extremely interesting light form, which approaches var. rustica in its 

 peculiar light tint ; the thorax, body and wings are of an uniformly 

 pale dirty yellow colour. This form is called clara, and 28 per cent. 

 of the males bred fall into this group. The remaining 20 per cent, 

 form transitions between the three forms just described. These 

 transitions must be numerous, for Mons. Caradja adds that he could 

 select from his collection a series of 17 specimens, every one of which 

 would have a different tint. 



Quite another result was furnished by the second batch, which 

 Herr Otto Habich, of Vienna, bred for Mons. Caradja. This batch 

 yielded, almost exclusively, imagines, the males of which must be 

 considered as genuine standfussi ; they differ, however, considerably 

 from the original specimens of this form, in that all the wings 

 are strongly dotted, and also that the greater number have not 

 the thorax and abdomen similarly coloured. One set of (? 's has the 

 thorax, another the abdomen, lighter than the wings. The latter 

 show in many specimens a disposition to assume a lighter colour 

 along the nervures and the outer margin (including the fringes). In 

 three males the thorax, the discoidal cell of the fore-wings, as well as 

 the outer margin of the fringes of all the wings, are as light as in the 

 palest of the form clara; the remaining wing-area, however, is more or 

 less thickly sprinkled with black dots. This rare form may bear the 

 name of mixta. Both batches gave males and females in the proportion 

 of 4 : 5. More than half the 5 's of the form standfussi lack the yellow 

 colouring of the anus, and these specimens resemble the females of var. 

 rustica, whereas the examples with a yellow ring around the anus are 

 not to be distinguished from female mendica. 



The following points are then urged by Mons. Caradja : — (1) That 

 the mongrel form from one pairing shows in every instance, in a 

 general way, definitely and regularly similar markings. (2) That the 

 male parent determines far more essentially the external facies of 



• We use this term with great hesitation, as the product of a cross between the 

 typical form and a variety of the same species can scarcely be called a hybrid— the 

 Darwinian term for a cross of this kind is a " mongrel." 



