200 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



no difficulty to distinguish the cursoria forms from tritici taken 

 on the same ground ; but there is great difficulty to distinguish 

 cursoria from Sligo from certain forms of tritici captured at Deal. 

 We have now to consider another species — obelisca. Until I 

 obtained continental specimens and studied continental authors, 

 I must own T did not know what the species was. I had, as most 

 lepidopterists I suppose have, specimens which had been obtained 

 by exchange, and which my correspondents undoubtedly believed 

 were the species they represented them to be. As those lepidop- 

 terists who believe they get the species must supply those that 

 know they do not, there must be, I am afraid, a strange lot of 

 obelisca in some cabinets. By some occult method of reasoning 

 on the part of my correspondents, nearly all the obelisca I got 

 were black (although the type is reddish brown), and with one 

 exception (two specimens which came from Paisley) were tritici 

 pure and simple, in a few cases worn until their specific rank was 

 a little dubious, in others exceptionally dark, but undoubtedly 

 tritici. With regard to obelisca, I feel dubious whether we get 

 any extreme forms of the redder or paler type. The Isle of 

 AViglit specimens do not seem to have occurred at all freely of late 

 years, and the only ones that are generally abundant are the dark 

 ones from Scotland. It does not seem to be generally known how 

 exceedingly pale the continental specimens of obelisca are, in 

 their palest forms leading up to the var. hastifera, Donz., of 

 mountainous districts, which is of a distinctly vinous-black 

 coloration. It is because tliis insect is, compared with its 

 congeners, rare in Britain, that one is unable to express the same 

 certainty with regard to it. My own series numbers less than 

 thirty undoubted British specimens, a number altogether inade- 

 quate to form any opinion of its extent of variation. The conti- 

 nental forms help one, however, to get a better idea of its affinities. 

 Mr. Percy Buss has captured in Sligo some fine forms of 

 cursoria bearing a great superficial resemblance to var. villiersii, 

 Hb., but undoubtedly distinct from that variety and to be referred 

 to cursoria. The specimens wliich we obtain from the South of 

 Scotland are undistinguishable from specimens of var. hastifera 

 which I have from various German localities, but some of these 

 are verj' close to dark vars. of tritici, although a well-trained eye 

 readily distinguishes between them. There is another variety, 

 var. ruris, about which there is a great deal of difficulty in my 



