19(3 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



fulvous and by the colour of the tibiae and the distinct elytral 

 depression. Von Harold has apparently described the female 

 only, and says nothing about the sexes in any of his descriptions, 

 which is one of the most important points in this genus. The 

 female of the present species is larger, but agrees in all essential 

 points, except in the colour of the elytra, which are of a dull 

 olivaceous tint (there is only one specimen of this sex before me, 

 I am therefore unable to say whether this colour is constant), 

 and are more finely punctured than in the male ; an indistinct 

 costa runs from the shoulder to about the middle of each elytron, 

 but another strongly raised costa is placed at the side below the 

 shoulder and is again followed by another more indistinct one 

 near the lateral margin. The apex of the elytra is not produced 

 in either sex. 



{To be continued.) 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Temperature Experiments on Lepidoptera. — Among the speci- 

 mens exhibited by Dr. Standfuss in the insect gallery at the Natural 

 History Museum, South Kensington, are some remarkable aberrations 

 of Vanessa pohjchloros, V. urtica;, V. cardui, V. atalanta, V. io, and 

 V. antiopa. One especially beautiful example of V. antiopa has all 

 the wings shot with blue ; another specimen of the same species has 

 abnormally large blue spots; in others there is considerable darkening 

 of the yellow borders, more particularly on the fore wings ; others 

 again show modification in the width of border, in some this is ex- 

 ceptionally wide, and more or less completely obscures the ordinary 

 blue spots ; these last would appear to be referable to var. Jn/iiuea (a 

 figure of a modification of this form will be found Entom. xxii. pi. viii. 

 fig. 4). In the aberration of V. atnlanta, the chief features are absence 

 of costal white spot and an increase in the size of two of the spots of 

 outer marginal series above red band ; there is also modification in 

 the width and shape of the red band." Of V. io there are, among other 

 curious forms, some interesting examples of the " blind-eyed" aberra- 

 tion ihjophtlialmica. In addition to the many highly instructive results 

 of the artificial temperature treatment exhibited by Dr. Standfuss, 

 there is a selection of results obtained by Mr. Morrifield, who, as is 

 well known, has devoted much time to this line of scientific investiga- 

 tion. If anyone is still sceptical as |J0 the effect of temperature in the 

 coloration of Lepidoptera he should make a point of studying the 

 series of I', iirtiac and V. levana. Of the first-named species there are 

 six examples which emerged from pup.e that had been iced and cooled, 

 and six from pupie that had been subjected to increased temperature. 

 Five of the former show a general darkening of the black spots and a 

 blackish suffusion of the secondaries, whilst the sixth has the ground 

 colour deeper than usual and the yellow spots are absent. Of the six 

 forced specimens, four have the three central black spots more or less 

 effaced, and in the other two the outer margins are paler. Winter 



