54 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



somewhat prematurely through having lost its food-plant, hut is 

 otherwise perfect, though not unnaturally looking a trifle faded 

 when placed beside freshly-bred Surrey specimens. I believe 

 individual examples of the North Staffordshire form suhroseata 

 virtually match this form, and that the synonymy which I gave 

 in Seitz {decoraria, Newm. = suhroseata, Woodforde = iantki- 

 nariitm, Stichel) was by no means wide of the mark ; but as by far 

 the greater number are paler, more irrorated or more mottled 

 and the distinction appears geographical, I propose the following 

 synonymy for those who desire absolute precision : 



(1) ab. decoraria, Newm., ' Zool.,' xix, p. 7798 (1861) = 

 nigro-roseata, H. W. Wood, * Entom.,' xlix, p. 80 (1916). Kent, 

 Surrey. 



(2) ab. suhroseata, Woodforde, ' Entom.,' xxxv, p. 276 (1902) 

 = decoraria, Prout in Seitz, ' Macrolep.,' iv, p. 142, pi. 5 c (1913) 

 {nee Newm.). North Staffordshire. 



(3) ab. ianthinarium, Stichel, ' Berl. Ent. Zeit.,' 1901, S.B., 

 p. 20 (veins in distal area streaked with white). Arneburg. 



LEPIDOPTEEA IN NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE IN 1919. 

 By F. C. Woodforde, B.A. 



On April 24th I went to North Staffordshire, proposing to 

 myself a three months' stay in pursuit of entomology in that 

 part of the world. 



For the first few days very few insects were to be seen, but 

 during the first and second weeks of May Lohophora carpinata 

 was to be found sitting on tree-trunks fairly commonly, and 

 among them were some nice banded examples. Searching for 

 larv8e at night was very unprofitable, larvae of T. fimbria, N. haia, 

 N. hrunnea, A. tincte and B. repandata, common in most years, 

 being all extremely scarce. 



In the middle of the month Callophrys ruhi was flying in 

 abundance, Celastrina argiolus was not uncommon, and Breuthis 

 euphrosyne was to be seen, as also an occasional Gonepteryx 

 rhamni ; a fair number of Lohophora viretata sat on holly-trunks, 

 and a semi-melanic form of Tephrosia hiundularia was common. 

 About this time Nola confusalis appeared and was to be seen on 

 tree-trunks, but not nearly so commonly as in the previous 

 year. M. liastata, too, began to appear and was much more 

 common than usual, but Macaria tiotata and B. fontis, both 

 usually abundant, were scarce, and larvae of Chloroclystis 

 dehiliata were hardly to be found at all. 



Males of Macrothylacia ruhi and Saturnia carpini assembled 

 freely to bred females, but all were typical. 



On the 26th I picked up on a tuft of heather near a poplar 

 tree a freshly emerged female of Dicranura vinula. I put her 



