58 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



resulted in the reduction of the central area to an extreme 

 degree. I have seen a figure of a parallel form of Melanippe 

 fluctuata by Wiskott, in ' Iris,' x. 393, pi. xii. fig. 12, and 

 it occasionally exhibits itself in other species. Fig. 15 is the 

 darkest bred on that occasion, and one of the darkest I have 

 seen ; the transverse bands are, however, fairly well marked, and 

 are unusually broad, with the space between them narrow. The 

 specimen is intermediate between the aberrations ohscurata 

 (Plate I. fig. 13) and schneideri (Plate II. fig. 2), as described by 

 Lampa. Plate II., fig. 1, is also very interesting ; it seems to 

 be extremely rarely that autumnata produces specimens in which 

 the central area shows any definite approach to the single- 

 banded type of markings which I describe as " carpet " banded, 

 as it is normal in such genera as Melanijjpe, Coremia, &c. ; 

 filigrammaria, on the other hand, very frequently has well- 

 marked carpet band in the female (Plate II. fig. 6). 



Plate I. fig. 12 shows a darkened specimen in which the 

 transverse bands are but little more strongly expressed than the 

 numerous other waved transverse lines ; this form is the fili- 

 grammaria ab. typica of Clark (Ent. Bee. vii. p. 289). The speci- 

 men was taken at large in 1898. 



In 1899 Mr. Christy bred four broods from eggs, keeping 

 them carefully distinct, and the specimens obtained show rather 

 curious results in the matter of the influence of heredity ; the 

 parent females were taken wild in 1898. One parent was a 

 striking specimen with slightly darkened ground colour, and two 

 unusually narrow very dark bands, rather widely separated. 

 From this twenty-seven moths were bred, not one of which 

 followed the parent form very closely ; they varied greatly, 

 though all were of medium colour or dark, some having more or 

 less distinct bands (Plate I. figs. 9, 11, and 13), others quite 

 the reverse (Plate I. figs. 10 and 14). Plate I. fig. 13 is per- 

 haps the most striking ; it is unusual to find a melanic specimen 

 with the bands so very well pronounced. 



A second 1898 female was much like the example figured at 

 Plate I. fig. 7 — one of her progeny ; the whole brood of fifteen 

 specimens (seven males, eight females) follow the parent very 

 closely, and hardly vary at all — a great contrast in this respect 

 to the brood last noticed. 



A third female was paler, nearly but not quite as white as 

 the type form (Plate I. fig. 3). Thirteen specimens were bred 

 from her, and they again vary exceedingly, some being quite 

 light, others quite melanic ; while some have the bands much 

 better expressed than others. Plate I. fig. 8, and Plate II. 

 fig. 2, show two extremes of this brood ; the latter is practically 

 without markings, and were it not for the tone of colour and the 

 intensely glossy appearance it could hardly be distinguished 

 from an extreme melanic dilutata {e.g. Plate 11. fig. 14). 



