IHE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Vol. XXIL] MAY, 1889. [No. 312. 



ON THE SYNONYMY OF ACIDALIA HUMILIATA, Hufn. 

 By Jas. W. Tutt, F.E.S. 



I HAVE been much puzzled about the synonymy of one of our 

 common Kent Acidaliae, viz., the one that goes in different lists 

 by the names of osseata, dilutaria, and interjectaria. 



Wishing to form some sort of satisfactory conclusion as to 

 which of these our species really was, I have worked up all the 

 continental literature I can find on the subject, and have come 

 to the conclusion that the name ossearia, Hb., had long been 

 used in England ; that owing to the absence in some of our 

 specimens of a dark costal streak, and the position of the black 

 central spot, this name was dropped and dilutaria, Hb., substi- 

 tuted ; that Newman, for no very apparent reason,* dropped both 

 these older names, and gave us Boisduval's comparatively new 

 synonym — interjectaria. 



The matter seems to resolve itself into the consideration of 

 the two older names, dilutaria and ossearia. Dilutaria is figured 

 by Hiibner (fig. 100), ossearia also by Hiibner (fig. 103), so that 

 on tlie score of age both were produced together, although I 

 suppose for our purpose fig. 100 must be considered older than 

 fig. 102. 



Turning to Hiibner's fig. 100 (dilutaria), we find an insect 

 about which, I must confess, I have considerable doubt. I have 

 a long series before me, of some 60 or 70 of the species under 

 question, and must own that among them I have not a specimen 

 which I believe to be represented by Hiibner's figure. My 

 opinion is that dilutaria is a distinct continental species which 

 we do not get. This opinion is borne out by the way that Dr. 

 Staudinger treats the two figures of Hiibner in the last edition of 

 his ' Catalogue.' He retains the species represented by fig. 100 as 



* The reason probably was that Boisduval treated the specimens with a brownish 

 costa as specifically distinct. 



ENTOM. — MAY, 1889. N 



