219 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



The Sphingid.e of Birmingham and District. — The following is a 

 list of the SphingidfB which either do occur or have occurred within a 

 radius of twelve miles of the city of Birmingham. It will be noticed 

 that it includes every British species, with the exception of S. pinastri 

 and D. euphorhm, a distinction which few local faunas can boast of. 

 The species marked with an asterisk have been duly recorded in the 

 literature of the time, chiefly the ' Entomologist.' 



Adieronlia atropos : very intermittent in its appearance ; was fairly 

 abundant in the larval stage last year in many localities ; otherwise it 

 is only a casual visitor. 



^'Sphinx convolvuli: sometimes not uucommon ; a larva was once 

 found in a suburb of Birmingham ; the imago has been taken at 

 Solihull, Harborne, Kingswood, and elsewhere. S. Ugiistn : plenti- 

 fully and generally distributed. 



Chcerocampa porcellus : rare and local; the only locality that I am 

 aware of is Sutton Park (N. Warwickshire). C. elpenor: Marsham 

 Green and Northfield, rare ; larva has been found feeding on the bed- 

 straw on the canal side near Hockley Heath. ■•■C. celerio : an example 

 was taken in the centre of Birmingham in October, 1868 ; in 1880 

 another occurred about two miles distant. '■•'C. nerii: this grand 

 insect, the rarest of our Sphinges, was taken in a garden in 1869, not 

 two miles distant from the city. It went into the collection of Mr. 

 Fred. Enock. 



*Deilephila yalii : two examples have occurred; one in the centre 

 of Birmingham, and another hovering over honeysuckle at Halesowen, 

 some seven miles distant ; both in 1870. '•'D. livornica [Lineata) : one 

 near Birmingham and another in a garden at Bromsgrove in 1870. 



Smerinthus ocellatus : common. S. popuU : common. S. tilim : 

 rather scarce, chiefly as larvre. 



Macroijlossa stellatarum : common, but local ; occurs every year 

 around Knowle. M. bomb ilifor mis : very local ; occurs sparingly 

 between Knowle and Hockley Heath, together with M. fuci/onms. 

 — Augustus D. Imms ; "Linlhurst," Oxford Eoad, Moseley, Worcester- 

 shire, July 6th, 1897. 



Melanism and Climatic Conditions. — Since my criticism on Mr. 

 Harcourt-Bath's paper {cmte, p. 97) has been thought inadequate, I 

 consider it only fair to that gentleman to enter into a fuller explana- 

 tion of my meaning. To economise space I will merely recapitulate 

 the chief points of the subject. Mr. Bath argues that melanism was 

 originally adaptive, that is, that dark coloration was beneficial to 

 Lepidoptera procryptically. Melanic varieties, according to his view, 

 originated at low levels for this reason. Objections. — (1) There is no 

 reason to suppose that dark coloration, as a general principle, means 

 nonconspicuous coloration in all low-lying country ; procryptic colora- 

 tion, as far as we know, is more special. (2) Our indigenous Lepi- 

 doptera tend to darker coloration than continental specimens (see 

 Mr. Weir's remarks, quoted in my first paper) ; if melanism is 

 procryptically adaptive, continental species would be afi"ected to the 

 same degree as British, &c. (3) Certain insects, inhabiting environs 



