46 THK F.XTO.MOT.OOTSt's RECORD. 



group that occurs on certain parts of the south coast of Enghmd. It 

 overlaps //. iiirfitdiis at Deal, and overlaps IJ . lurmn at Warrington. 

 Although at present I have no doubt that H. jndmUs is distinct, as 

 species go, from Id. nirtitcois, my knowledge of H. luci'nx in nature is 

 not sufficient to lead me to hazard an opinion. It will be observed 

 that in the specimens which Mr. Finlay sends for your inspection 

 three forms occur, ri:., (1) with the reniform white; (2) with the 

 reniform orange ; (8) with the reniform red. It will further be 

 observed that two of the specimens which are grouped with those 

 having a white reniform have the latter slightly tinged with ochreous. 

 In ground colour it will be observed some specimens are darker than 

 others. It is remarkable in this respect, that whilst the ground colour 

 of the specimens with white reniforms are partly bright red, partly 

 dark (inclining to brown), with one pale (somewhat grey) specimen, 

 all those with red stigmata are of a bright red ground-colour, only one 

 specimen being somewhat darker. On the other hand, those with 

 orange stigmata are Avithout exception dark in ground colour. The 

 small orbicular, too, which, in many of the specimens having a white 

 reniform, is almost imperceptible, is most distinctly red or orange in 

 those specimens which respectively have red or orange reniforms. 

 The mottled character of all the specimens is, however, very 

 noticeable." 



" Aberrations of Agrotis tritici. — I exhibit also two specimens of 

 A. tntici, a species which is exceedingly rare at Morpeth. The first, 

 captured on x\ugust 10th, 1895, is of the normal dark greyish-fuscous 

 streaked form {tritici, L.). The second, captured on August 28rd, 

 1895, is a most uncertain-looking specimen, confusedly marked, and 

 not at all unlike some A. nigricans in general appearance. This is the 

 ab. hurtorum, St." 



Mr. Bate read the following : — Notes on Selenia tetralunaria 

 (illustkaria). The insects exhibited to-night were bred from ova 

 given me last year by ^Ir. Bacot, which were laid by union of two 

 of his summer brood. He told me that the batch of eggs which pro- 

 duced the ova given to me were largely infertile, and this infertility 

 was conspicuous in the present case ; certainly not more than one- 

 third of the batch given me hatching out. They fed up well on 

 birch, and pupated between two leaves, drawn together with a few 

 threads of silk. Although not so large as his spring brood, they are 

 distinctly larger than his summer brood, and it is noticeable that, 

 although not perhaps so widely different as in his insects, the females 

 are distinctly darker than the males. I spoiled the condition of the 

 bulk of my specimens in the endeavour to continue the breed, as 

 it was not until I fortunately obtained a pair of insects, which 

 emerged within twenty-four hours of each other, that I succeeded in 

 obtaining fertile eggs. It looks, therefore, as if this was a necessary 

 condition for copulation to take place. A brood of larvae is now 

 feeding up, and I trust to bring copious details of their life-history 

 before the Society at an early date." 



Mr. Bate then read the following: — -"Notes on Spilosoma men- 

 mcA." The insects exhibited consist of two males and six females, 

 bred from ova given me by Mr. ]\lay, of Tottenham, last year, and 

 there is nothing peculiar about them. Out of a batch of thirty eggs, 

 seventeen hatched, and after feeding rapidly on narrow-leaved plan- 



