l32 THE entomologist's RECORt). 



type. Judging from his figure in the Inmof/rajiliic, and from his own 

 remarks, the Neapolitan form does not very closely agree in tone with 

 the Aberdeen ; the former is much colder brown (almost i/rei/) than 

 the latter, and with some white markings remaining, and the hind- 

 wings also are not conspicuously darkened. It is, as Mr. South says 

 {Kiitniii., XXV., 187), a great pity that Milliere did not also figure his 

 female nrapolisata, from the same locality as the original male; the 

 female {Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (6), vii., pi. v., fig. 7) was from Aberdeen, and 

 the figure is precisely identical in tone with the Pitcaple specimen 

 which I am exhibiting this evening. It is not unlikely that we may 

 ultimately have to abandon this familiar name for our Northern dark 

 form. 



Ab. ciistdfata, Haw. {Lt'j}. Brit., ii., 334). — This name is generally 

 applied only to forms with a very small central costal blotch, but, 

 comprehensively, it may be used for all forms in which the central 

 fascia is reduced in width ; for Haworth himself mentions that it is 

 very variable, and includes those forms in which the remnant of the 

 central fascia is not costal, and even those in which it extends right 

 across the wing, though very narrow. I have in my own collection 

 one good example of this coxttivata-invaHata form. It is the compre- 

 hensiveness of Haworth 's diagnosis which has led Guen6e to conclude 

 that it does not deserve to be separated because it " differs only in 

 the form of the central blotch ;" while immediately below he has himself 

 differentiated the most common costorata forms (H.-S., 292-294) as his 

 var. c. This aberration, perhaps, shows some tendency to form a 

 local race in the Swiss Alps (see Frey's Lcp. dcr Srhivei:, p. 229), but 

 is generally of purely accidental occurrence, as, for example, round 

 London, and probably in most parts of Britain ; there are several 

 interesting specimens of it in the Zeller collection, merely labelled 

 " Europe." 



There are a few varietal names, in the genuine sense, which are 

 also unquestionably worth retaining. 



Var. aciitciniiidata (Christ.) Rom., Mem. snr Lcp., iii., p. 2, pi. 1, 

 lig. 1. — This, as I have already said, is the Caucasian form of the 

 species. Strictly speaking, putridaria, H.-S., 535 (nee. 536), from 

 Iillizabethpol, would have priority over this name ; but there seem to 

 be two reasons for retaining the later name : — 1. Herrich-Schaefi'er's 

 pntridaria is based on some confusion, as the good species figured as 

 53G (?) is no doubt the species which he intended to erect under 

 this name, and which is still known by it ; but by error he figured a 

 jhu-tuata var. as its $ . 2. Acuiaw/idata, Rom., is more compre- 

 hensive, designed for the entire local race, and including forms 

 slightly different from H.-S. 535. Romanoff's ^ figure (fig. la) has 

 a narrow central fascia, not white in the middle of its costal por- 

 tion ; his 2 figure (fig. lb) agrees fairly well with H.-S. 535, 

 though not quite so strongly marked, both having the middle of the 

 broader costal end of central fascia white. The most rational course 

 seems, therefore, to be to designate the variety comprehensively "var. 

 acutant/idata, Rom." ; but we may denote as ^' ah. putridaria, H.-S.," 

 the interesting aberrations with the said pale patch in the centre of 

 the median band. I have two or three European records for ab. 

 putridaria ; Arctic Norway and Malaga (Staudinger, S.F.X., xxii., 

 394), in the former of which localities I suspect that the var. 



