VARIATION. 257 



best points of differentiation. I have 13 specimens of A. tridens, all 

 bred from the larva, and, in all, this continuity of the central black line of 

 the "^ to the end of the fringe is very marked, whilst it very rarely 

 occurs in A. psi, indeed, amongst 17 specimens I only find one having 

 it, and that is a specimen taken at sugar, and about which I am 

 doubtful.— W. S. Riding, M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell Lodge, Honiton. 

 Fehrmnj, 1896. 



I have ten bred A. psi in my series, in six of which there is a 

 distinct gap between the dark /w/Mine and the fringe line, whilst in 

 four there is no such distinct gap. In my series of A. tridens, in- 

 cluding 26 bred specimens, there is no distinct gap in 22, whilst in 

 four it exists as in the majority of the psi. One of these four was bred 

 from the egg by Mr. Farren, one was bred by Major Robertson, and 

 the other two, in one of which there is a very large gap, were two of 

 three given to me by the late Mr. F. Bond, and stated by him to be 

 tridens. — N. M. Richardson, B.A., F.E.S., Monte Video, nr. 

 Weymouth. Febriiari/, 1896. 



Hypermecia angustana var. cruciana, — I bred this variety from 

 sallow leaves collected last spring in this neighbourhood. — W. S. 

 Riding, M.D., F.E.S. February, 1896. 



This variety without the ferruginous tint used to be (and I dare 

 say now is) exceedingly abundant on the dwarf sallow growing on the 

 Deal sand-hills. The larva^used to spin together the terminal leaves during 

 July, and the moth appeared in August, practically two months later 

 than the redder type form occurred in the sallow bushes in the woods 

 about Rochester. I believe this difference in the time of appearance 

 led to its being considered a distinct species. I have it from Deal and 

 St. Anne's-on-Sea, where it appears to be a distinct local race or 

 variety. At Chattenden and other localities it occurs as a scarce 

 aberration. — J. W. Tutt. Fehruanj, 1896. 



Black larv^ of Abraxas grossulariata. — During the last season I 

 bred a moderate number of Abraxas (/rnssulariata from larvae out of 

 my own garden at Croydon, but failed to get any aberrations worth 

 mentioning. For two or three years I have bred the species from 

 larvfe taken in a garden at St. John's, S.E., and feeding on Extoniimus, 

 where the few trees and shrubs are more or less stunted and covered 

 with soot. There, quite black larva? are not uncommon, and the 

 imagines generally are more prone to variation, tending towards 

 melanism. Although I kept the few black larvae quite separate from 

 the others, I did not find any appreciable difference in the imagines. 

 — T. W. Hall, F.E.S., Stanhope, The Crescent, Croydon. February, 

 1896. 



There can be no doubt the black larvae are produced as a result of 

 '• natural selection," owing to the caterpillars resting on the black 

 twigs. The habit of the imago will necessitate a totally different 

 explanation to account for its variation, from that which suifices to 

 explain the variation of the larva. — J. W. Tutt. Februanj, 1896. 



:i^OTES ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Habits of Eupithecia subciliata. — Whilst at Torquay in August 

 last (<7«ie., p. 185), I obtained E. subciliata in a restricted area (not 

 more than 30 yards) in a wood sloping down to the sea. They were 



