152 t'^P'"il' 1915. 



in Asia, none of which were represented (April, 1 914) in the National 

 Collection at South Kensington. Xant/iia oceUaris was first described 

 by Borkhausen, " Naturgeschichte der eiiropaischen Schmetterlinge," 

 1788 — 94, and Hiibner in " Sammlung enropaischer Schmetterlinge," 

 I- VI, 1793-1827, gives the first figures: 192, ab. palleago ; 193, 

 gilvago = ab. lineago ; 443, gilvago = ab. intermedia. This last figure 

 is usually attributed to gilvago Esp., but Herr Piingeler considers it 

 belongs here, and Treitschke, V. 2, 373-877, assumes that the three 

 form one species, for which he retains the name gilvago. 



It was not known to occur in Britain until 1893, when three 

 specimens were captured, and from this date to the present time 

 records are to be found in the Entomological journals, which afford 

 valuable data for a study of the distribution of the species in this 

 country. A life-history— the only one published— by Mr. H. 0. Mills, 

 may be found in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for 1908, pp. 267-9, and the same 

 Journal (Sept., 1911) figured three forms of the insect without any 

 attempt at fixing varietal names. 



Barrett, " Lepidoptera of the British Isles," V, pp. 377-8, 

 described and figured the first caught insect as ab. lineago Gn., and in 

 discussing the other forms of the insect known to him writes of typical 

 ocellaris as being similar to gilvago Esp. This is in accordance with 

 his identification of the gilvago-like form taken by Mr. Gruermonprez 

 at Bognor in 1894 (Ent. Mo. Mag., 1895, p. 94) as ocellaris Bkh., and 

 he here makes mention of another form - ab. palleago — to which the 

 Eev. J. H. Hocking refers his two Ipswich specimens recorded in the 

 same Journal on page 279. It is quite clear from Barrett's own 

 descriptions and from information received from Mr. Taylor, the 

 captor of the first ocellaris, who has recently compared his insect with 

 bred typical examples, that all the early ab. lineago must be regarded 

 as forms of ocellaris Bkh., an insect which varies a good deal in its 

 ground-colour. The Ipswich captures must also be referred here. 

 The Bognor specimen was an example of ab. intermedia Habich, and 

 this, and not Borkhausen's insect, is the gilvago-]ike form. 



The only other British author requiring consideration is Warren, 

 who deals with the species in Seitz's " Macro-Lepidoptera," vol. Ill, at 

 present only issued in parts to subscribers. He desci'ibes the better 

 known forms and names a new one, but dismisses ab. intermedia with 

 the statement that it "is said to be transitional between ocellaris and 

 gilvago," an opinion which may still prevail abroad and among literary 

 specialists here, but is one which certainly no British field-worker has 



