284 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



do not strike one as being altogether to the point ; and Aurivillius 

 rejects it, saying that those examples which he has seen appear to 

 belong to the preceduig species {nehulata). I have not seen any Con- 

 tinental examples resembling our small typical /ilii/nDnmaria : but I 

 have positive proof that one or more species differing essentially from 

 nebulata do occur on the Continent. 



I exhibit a specimen of Staudinger"s " <///»<rtia e Fennia sept.," 

 which I submitted to Mr. Pierce on account of its close resemblance 

 to Guenee's figure of his autunmata {Atlas, PI. 18, fig. 7), and which 

 he finds has " na trace of hook," therefore " nndonhtedly Jilif/ranDiiatia 

 or antioiiuaria." Superficially, it does not remind me at all of either, 

 but I see nothing serious against its turning out that our British 

 autuuinaria is a strongly differentiated local race of the same insect. 

 I also exhibit a large ^ from Schneeberg, sent me as " dilutata," but 

 which I viewed with some suspicion, on account of its tone of colour, 

 shape of wing, and angulation of second line ; this likewise is pro- 

 nounced by Mr. Pierce to be " of ihe Jiliirawmaria type," the anal 

 flap slightly wider, but nothing upon which one could definitely claim 

 specific distinction. In the national collection at Cromwell Road, 

 quite a number of the so-called (lilntata agree more or less with this 

 Schneeberg example, and I hope to get a quantity of Continental 

 material for examination. One specimen from St. Petersburg, and a 

 few others seem to me to be, without all doubt, examples of this 

 mysterious species. I shall be especially curious to investigate the 

 white form, which is sent us by the Germans as " var. autumnata, 

 Gn. ;" it agrees precisely with Mr. Cl&vk's Jilii/ra mm aria ab. vhyata 

 {Knt. I'u'c, vii., pi. iii., fig. 10), except in its much larger size ; unfortu- 

 nately at present I have only females. As there is no doubt this form 

 is the autiunnata of Borkhausen (to which really that cruelly-abused 

 name belongs), it will be very satisfactory if it proves to be the same 

 species as autumnaria, Weav. The lower dilutata figure in Newman's 

 British MotJis ( pallescens, Ckll.) seems likely also to belong here. 



_ In the British Islands O. jiVuirammaria is local, and appears to be 

 quite absent from the southern parts of England. Several localities in 

 Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cumberland, etc., produce it, as also Moel 

 Varna, North Wales {teste Gregson). I have two pretty examples from 

 Ireland (co. Derry), one the extreme ab. mdana, Clark, the other a 

 whitish specimen with dark fimbria. In Scotland, Dr. F. B. White 

 gives it as " not common," but has records for several of his mainland 

 districts. Mr. McArthiir informs me it is very common in the Isle of 

 Lewis (from which locality he has very kindly given me some speci- 

 mens), and in all parts of the West Coast of Scotland, where he has 

 collected ; he did not discover it in Orkney, whence it is reported. 



Leaving out of the question the forms which may or may not be 

 co-specific with this, we find there is remarkable unanimity as to its 

 being, in its typical forms, a moorland and mountain species. Mr. 

 McArthur considers the best localities to be open places in woods, 

 where there is a mixture of heath and rush. In a state of nature, 

 the larvie have been found on ling (R. Kay, in Entovi., ix., p. 159), 

 and apparently Varriniiun vn/rtillns (see Gregson in Ent. Weekhj 

 IntelL, v., p. 156). In captivity they have been frequently bred on 

 hawthorn, sallow, etc., etc., and seem by no means particular as to 

 their food. Mr, Moberly communicates to me the interesting fact 



