VARIETIES OF NOCrU.i: IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 45 



proverbial "needle in the bundle of baj' " ; for if sucb a form 

 sbould liave been captured and noted, it would most probably be 

 without a distinctive name and described as " a pale form," "a 

 pretty form," or something equally vague. Naming varieties 

 can easily be carried to extremes, and a local form should be 

 compared, before a varietal name is given, with others of the 

 species from many different localities. 



I have spent a great deal of time studying the works of the 

 old British and Continental authors, and working out the named 

 varieties of those species that occur in Britain, and it is with 

 the hope of inducing other lepidopterists to pay special attention 

 to the local forms which occur in these islands, to chronicle 

 such, and to extend their study to European forms generally, 

 that I have determined to write a series of papers in the 

 ' Entomologist ' upon the principal varieties of those species of 

 NoctufB which occur in Britain, whether such varieties occur in 

 Britain or not. Many collectors get a form of a species, suffi- 

 ciently distinct in itself, but, having filled up their series with 

 their own captures, never compare it with others, especially if 

 it be a common species and not likely to be useful for exchange ; 

 hence they do not know that those of their own neighbourhood 

 are at all different from forms attainable elsewhere. A more 

 extended study of the subject may be the means of enlarging our 

 knowledge of local forms, and show that widely distributed 

 species have certain variations more widely distributed than is 

 generally supposed. 



In such a comprehensive article there must be necessarily a 

 great many sins of omission and commission. I appeal to the 

 readers of the ' Entomologist ' who can help me, either with 

 reference to named varieties in works or the loan of sj)ecimens 

 of local forms, to do so, as a means of making these notes as 

 clear as possible. Such help will always be most gratefully 

 acknowledged.* 



My friend Mr. Cockerell has written an article (Entom. xx. 

 150-152) embodying to a great extent my own views on the 

 subject of varietal nomenclature. As no one has objected to his 



* [We have much pleasure in eudorsing Mv. Tutl's request for assistance in 

 this most desirable work. It will be necessary that all communications on the 

 subject should be sent direct to Mr. Tutt, Rayleigh Villa, Westcombe Tark, 

 Blackheath, London, S.E. — Ed.] 



