302 THE entomologist's record. 



BLACK LARV^. — With regard to Dr. Riding's query {antea p. 295) as to 

 the imagines bred from black larvae of Abraxas (jrossulariata, I may 

 say I have found a good many from time to time, but usually the 

 resulting moths have proved quite typical. Black larvae of this species 

 appear quite common in some of the gardens about Durham, and one 

 year I remember Mr. Maddison had a large number, haping to get 

 something equally dark in the imagines. He quite failed in this, 

 nothing unusual emerging. I have also reared from time to time 

 many of the very light form of the larvae of this species — I had a num- 

 ber of such this year — but they yielded ordinary moths. I have, how- 

 ever, bred about half-a-dozen aberrations of Abraxas f/rossnlariata this 

 year, suffused over all wings with rusty-red, as in an example figured 

 by Barrett, also one beautiful specimen with the markings much 

 reduced, on a creamy-yellow ground. — S. Walker, 15, Queen Anne's 

 Road, York. September 28th,^190i. 



Melanic lepidoptera taken in Yorkshire. — The season has been 

 a very poor one on the whole, but a few very interesting forms have 

 come my way for the first time. The best of these, perhaps, is the ab. 

 pliunbata of Melanthia rubi<jinata, of which Mr. Lofthouse and I beat 

 out eight specimens from alder, on the Cleveland hills (North Yorks) 

 on August 1st. I believe only one previous record for Yorkshire has 

 been made of this aberration, and this was taken on the same ground 

 as that we worked. I got ova from one $ , so shall have an oppor- 

 tunity of breeding it. On the same day we were successful in taking 

 the black aberration of Venmia cambricaria, which was, however, just 

 past its best, in fair numbers. From eggs obtained I have now got 

 pupae, and hope to have the aberration next season in perfect condi- 

 tion. — Ibid. 



Notes on variation of Coenonympha dorus. — (_'oenonyi)ipha dorus 

 was simply in swarms on the hillsides at Digne the first week in July 

 this year, perhaps more abundant than McUtaea parthenie was on the 

 Jura a few weeks later, and that is saying a good deal. I took a fairly 

 long series, and have now set the lot. They work out far better than 

 I dared to expect, as Mr. Wheeler in his excellent little book only 

 accords two lines to " Directions of Variety," viz.: — 



(«) Size of eye-spots. 



(h) Underside lighter in tlie mountains. 

 To these I venture to add — 



(c) Increase of dark suffusion upperside fore- and liindwings — a step in the 

 dii'ection of var. bieti. 



{il) Increase of spots upperside forewing. (1) Additional spot between iv^ and 

 iv2. (2) Additional spots between iii., and iv^, and between iv^ and iv.^, to which 

 I have given the name ab. ornata. (3) Apical spot large and distinctly double- 

 pupilled, which I have named ab. hipupillata. 



(e) Abseuce or presence of costal spot in hindwing upper side of if . 



if) Upper side forewing of i more or less suffused with yellow. 



hi) From five to one eye-spots (generally four) on lower wing upperside. 



(/() Breadth of tawny band round apical spot upperside forewing of cT . 



(i) Decrease of eye-spots on underside hindwing, the first and fifth of series 

 (not including apical spot), becoming vei-y small and occasionally, but very rarely, 

 failing altogether. 



( j) Great variety in breadth of bands underside. 



P. A. Muschamp, 20, Chemin des Asters, Geneve. September 21.s?, 

 904. 



Errata. — Page 208, line 17, for " oak " read " birch " ; page 273, line 4, for 

 Ibid " read "Eustace R. Bankes, M.A." 



