NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 19 



entomologists appointed for the purpose, and several bulletins dealing 

 with the matter have been issued by tbe U. S. Department of Agricul- 

 ture, Division of Entomology. — Richard South. 



Epione parallelaria in Scotland. — In a collection of Lepidoptera 

 made by Mr. W. Salvage in Sutherlandshire, in 1892, was a fairly 

 long series of Epione parallelaria (yespcrtaria) ; referring to which he 

 says, to use his own words, " I not only captured vespertaria, but bred 

 it from larvre found on aspen and sallow at Inversbin, Sutherland- 

 shire ; I also took the moth in North Eoss. The species is pretty well 

 distributed in Sutberlandshire, and occurs from sea-level to about a 

 thousand feet on the mountains. Aspen is, I believe, a new food- 

 plant." The specimens appear to be somewhat brighter in coloration 

 than the York examples ; this apparent difference may, however, 

 result rather from the particular individuals compared, than from any 

 general tendency to local variation. These records, taken in conjunc- 

 tion with the recent captures reported from Roxburghshire, suggest 

 the probability of a distribution over a very considerable portion 

 of Scotland. — Robert Adkin ; Lewisham, Dec. 11th, 1897. 



Venilia macularia in Scotland. — In the same collection tbere was 

 also a long series of Venilia macularia, sufficiently long indeed to 

 suggest that the species had been met with in some abundance. In 

 several of the individuals comprised in it, the black blotches are larger 

 than is usual in the South English examples. — Robert Adkin. 



Concerning Varieties of Epinephele ianira, L. — Hofmann in his 

 book, ' Gross-schmetterlinge Europas,' makes no mention of under- 

 side variation in E. ianira, although he describes corresponding 

 varieties of E. hyperanthes. The recognized named forms of ianira 

 given in Staudinger's list No. 40 are var. hispulla, \a,i\fortunata, var. 

 telmessia, and var. kurdistana. In considering specimens of ianira from 

 the same neighbourhood, it is found that they differ from one another 

 in the number and position of the spots on the uuder side of the hind 

 wings, some males having two, three, four, five, and even six spots, 

 while occasionally one finds an individual with these spots entirely 

 absent. The following table shows the proportion of each form in sixty - 

 four male specimens taken near Sofia during June and July, 1896 : — 



Number of spots on the Iq 123 45 6 



. under side of hind wings ) 



Number of specimens ... 1 36 19 6 1 1 



Thus it is seen that more than half of these male ianira from Sofia 

 have only two spots on the hind wings; one-third possess three spots, 

 and one-tenth four ; the other forms are rare, while none have yet 

 been taken with one spot only. The example without the white dots 

 on the hind wing had the ocellus of the fore wing reduced to a mere 

 point. In the case of the female the number of spots appears to range 

 from one to three, while a much larger proportion, viz. fifteen out of 

 twenty-six, have no white ocelli in the hind wings. The colouring of 

 the ninety specimens examined exhibited every gradation, from typical 

 E. ianira to var. hispulla. — Prof. P. Bachmetjew in « Societas Ento- 

 mologica,' xii. 8. — (W. M.) 



