136 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
band is fuscous, and does not agree with the Yorkshire specimens 
of galiata referred to above. 
MELANIPPE FLUCTUATA. 
Specimens of this species, captured even in a London garden, 
exhibit considerable variation in colour and markings of fore 
wings. Tirst, as regards colour: this is most frequently whitish 
or greyish, but specimens are sometimes more or less tinged with 
ochreous, and one or two taken by myself in my garden are 
nearly as much suffused with fuligmous as examples of the 
species from Aberdeen, presently to be more particularly referred 
to. Then as to the markings: perhaps the largest number 
have simply the typical dark patches at base, middle of costa, 
and towards apex; but specimens with an entire and well-defined 
blackish central band are often obtained, together with inter- 
mediate forms, which show the gradual development, stage by 
stage, as it were, of the band. The banded form is figured by 
Wood and Newman, and is the var. 6, Haworth, and a, Guenée. 
Besides graduation towards the fully-developed band, the costal 
blotch becomes modified in the direction of complete effacement ; 
but so far 1 have not seen a specimen without at least a remnant 
of this mark. I have taken two specimens in St. John’s Wood, 
in both of which the costal blotch is reduced to very slender 
proportions. One of these has the usual blotch represented by a 
blackish transverse bar, which is slightly contracted above the 
middle, and extends from the subcostal to the median nervures ; 
this is the var. costovata, Haw. In the other specimen the costal 
mark is somewhat triangular in shape. The costal half of the 
central band usually contains some pale irregular-shaped marks, 
the upper one enclosing the black discoidal spot. The inner edge 
of the band is often indented, but is usually entire and forms a 
curve; the outer edge has a more or less distinct tooth-like pro- 
jection before the middle, and below this the band is often con- 
tracted to about half its original width. The twin black spots 
below apical blotch are generally present, although not in- 
variably so, but vary in size and definition. A very wavy black 
line starts from the inner edge of apical blotch, but does not 
always attain the inner margin. Hind wings fuscous grey, with 
a small black spot and darker transverse line before the middle, 
and some darker and paler lines and bands on the outer half of 
the wing. 
Aberdeen specimens of M. jluctuata are grey, tinged some- 
times with brownish, and generally suffused with fuliginous. 
The central band is continued from costa to inner margin, and 
bordered on each side by a narrower whitish band, which is 
intersected by a darker line; submarginal line whitish, edged 
internally with darker. ‘These whitish bands and lines are 
present in English specimens, but, owing to the paler ground 
