THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 97 



Entomological Notes, Captures, 8fc. 



Captures at Howth. — Whilst at Howth tbis week, in the 

 company of Mr. W. F. Kirby, he took a specimen of Dian- 

 tbogcia conspersa. The capture is interesting, as the claim of 

 this species to a place in the Irish list of Lepidoptera pre- 

 viously rested on a single specimen, of uncertain origin, in 

 the Belfast Museum. At page 349 of the 'Entomologist' it 

 was suggested that Dianthoecia Barrettii was possibly only a 

 melanic form of D. conspersa : a final decision of this point 

 must wait for the discovery of the larva of Barrettii, but the 

 occurrence of Conspersa of the usual colour, on| the same 

 ground as Barrettii, appears to me to strengthen the pro- 

 bability of the existence of a specific difference between the 

 two insects. I again had the pleasure of capturing D. Bar- 

 rettii and D. capsophila (the latter in all stages of growth), 

 also larvae of Lithosia complana and caniola. ChoBrocampa 

 Porcellus and Hepialus velleda were very common at the 

 flowers of the honeysuckle, and of Cucullia Chamomillae a 

 few specimens were taken, also the six following Eupitheciae : 

 — Venosata, constrictata, subumbrata, pumilata, nanata, vul- 

 gata. — Edtvin Birchall ; Airedale Cliff, Newlay, Leeds, June 

 19, 1868. 



Dianthoecia Barrettii. — Mr. Birchall's observation on this 

 species induces me to mention that Mr. Charles Fenn has 

 most obligingly brought me, to be figured in my * British 

 Moths,' a bred specimen of DianthcEcia conspersa, which 

 agrees perfectly with Mr. Doubleday's description of D. Bar- 

 rettii ; others, of the usual colouring, came from the same 

 batch of larvae : thus it would appear that the two types of 

 colouring, races, varieties or species, as the case may be, do 

 occur on the same ground. — E. Navman. 



Dianthoecia Barrettii at Howth. — A storm of wind, rain 

 and fog, confined me to the house to-day, and therefore to 

 pass the time I thought I would write a line to say how sadly 

 you are out of your usual correct reckoning, in your remarks 

 on Dianthoecia Barrettii, when you compare it with D. con- 

 spersa, on your melanism theory. Three weeks ago I saw this 

 species for the first time in the Dublin collection ; there are 

 five poor specimens : on that same night I had three speci- 

 mens on my setting-boards, one taken by Mr, Hodgkinson 



