1872.] 163 



good condition, and is more active on the wing than any other Acidalia with which 

 I am acquainted. Eupithecia succenturiata ; one specimen, flying in the evenmg 

 sunshine. E. siihiimbrata ; this pretty little "pvig" occurred very freely on rough, 

 broken groimd on the cliffs, flying actively in the afternoon and evening. E. deno- 

 tata, abb reviata, and coroiiaf a; one of each at rest, in April. Anticlea rubidata; 

 not rare, flying at dusk. Leiicania comma ; rare, at sugar. Nonagria crassicornis ; 

 a very hght-coloured S , bred from a piipa found in a stem of Ti/pha latifoUa. 

 Hydrvecia nictitans and micacea ; settled on flowers of Statice limonium after dark, 

 the former being very plentiful. Xylophasia polyodon ; one. black variety at sugar. 

 Mamestra abjecta ; a nice series at sugar, also rarely at rest. Agrotis corticea ; 

 common at sugar. A. ravida ; rather common, by beating thatch, as before ; also 

 occasionally at sugar. Xylina semibninnea ; in spring and autumn, but very scarce 

 this year. Aglossa cvprealis; rare, in outhouses. Endotricha Jlammealis ; not 

 uncommon in hedges. Spilodes palealis ; one ou the cliffs, in July, among Daucus 

 carota ; another very fine specimen in a lucerne field, at the end of August. Scopula 

 ferrugalis ; common, on ivy-bloom. Eudorea aiigustea ; rare, at rest. E. pallida ; 

 common among grass on the cliffs. Ephestia elntella ; freely, by beating a hay-stack. 

 Homacosoma senecioiiis ; a few on the cliffs : I saw traces of the larviB in the flower- 

 heads of the ragwort, but failed to rear any. S. siiiuella ; common in dry, grassy 

 places. Oncocera ahenella ; one on a lighted window. Mhodophaa fonno sella ; 

 rare, by beating, and at light. R. tumidella ; one specimen on the cliffs. Crambiis 

 inquinatellus and selasellus ; not rare in a salt-marsh. Xylopoda pariaim ; abun- 

 dant, by beating thatch. Agdides Bennettii ; this curious insect was pretty common 

 at the end of July, flying at dusk over Statice limonium. Pterophonis ochrodactylus 

 and acanthodactylus ; common among their respective food-plants, Achillea mille- 

 folium and Ononis arvensis : I was rather surprised to see a good many specimens 

 of acanthodactylus on ivy-bloom in October. 



I picked up a beautifully fresh and perfect fore-wing of Geometra smaragdaria 

 in the dockyard ; but, in spite of a long search, failed to find the remainder of the 

 insect, whose career had no doubt been cut short by some hungry bat. — James J. 

 Walker, 7, West Street, Blue Town, Sheerness : November 6th, 1872. 



A case of mimetic analogy among the British Geometrce. — With the exception of 

 the clear- winged moths of the genera Macroglossa and Sesia, the only case of mimicry 

 hitherto recorded among the British Lepidoptera, is that of Diaphora mendica, ^ , 

 wliich Mr. Wallace regards as a probable mimic of Spilosoma menthrastri. I am 

 convinced that another case of mimicry occurs among oiu* native Geometra, the 

 imitated form being Asthena candidata, and the mimic Acidalia snbsericeata. The 

 mimic will be found to fulfil all the necessary conditions. It is undistinguishable 

 from A. candidata when on the wing : it is rarer than tliis insect, and flies at the 

 same period of the year and in the same localities. That the two species are almost 

 co-extensive in range may be seen by referring to Mr. H. Jeuner-Fust's ' Tables of 

 the Distribution of the British Lepidoptera.' 



Finally, A. candidata has all the characteristics of a protected race, being of a 

 most conspicuous white colour, and so abundant in individuals as to quite enliven our 

 woods on evenings towards the end of May and beginning of June. — R. Meluola, 

 Brentford : October, 1872. 



