Notes on the variation of peronea cristana, fab. 267 



Fig. 10, ab. fuscaaa. Clark's description of this aberration 

 applies to a form as typical cristana, but with " a large self- 

 coloured button." The button in the figure is consicierably 

 lighter in colour than the surrounding areas of the wings. 

 Webb says (loc. cit., p. 2tj5) of Clark's type- specimen that it 

 '' does not agree with his named series ; the central tuft, instead 

 of being large, is almost wanting, whilst a red line from the 

 tuft to the costa near the apex is very noticeable ; not one of 

 his series of six shows this red line, and the disc of their wings 

 is in each case unicolorous light brown, vitta pure white, and 

 the central tuft large and rust coloured. This new name had 

 better be dropped." 



There is something to be said for not giving names to 

 aberrations of the type form of cristana, which both nigrocristana 

 and fuscana are, for the colour of the button only, for this 

 varies from pure white in the type, light cream to dark cream, 

 light brown to dark brown, and brownish-black. But there is no 

 difficulty with ordinary eyesight in locating examples of ab. 

 fmcana. There can be no doubt that Webb saw something in 

 Clark's type that does not exist, and did not see something that 

 does exist. I have this type before me, labelled as such ; it 

 most certainly has a large button, and there is not a vestige of 

 the red line that Webb refers to as being present. 



Turning to the series of abs. nigrocnstana and fuscana in 

 Webb's Collection, I find there are twenty-six examples in all, 

 six of which are labelled fascami and twenty nifirocri>ita;ia. 

 As tiie specimens \ahe\\ed fuscana agree in number with Webb's 

 description of the number of Clark's series, one would presume 

 they were all in the collection of the latter as fuscana, but on 

 examination they are found to be three of fuscana and an equal 

 number of nigrocvistana. 



Turning to the specimens labelled nigrocristana, one finds 

 seven of them to be this form, and ihivie&n fuscana, and amongst 

 these so-called nigrocristana I find also Clark's labelled type of 

 fuscana ! Amongst Webb's series of nigrocristana are five 

 examples of fuscana which are unlabelled, but which probably 

 came from Clark's Collection ; it looks as if these included the 

 three missing examples which Webb says were in Clark's series 

 of this aberration, for which the former had unwittingly substituted 

 examples of nigrocristana. But on referring to the catalogue of 

 Clark's sale one finds that there were eight examples o( fuscana 

 in addition to the type ; and therefore it may be that all these 

 five specimens were in the Clark Collection. 



I have dwelt upon W^ebb's connection with these two aberra- 

 tions in detail because it is very typical of his series as a whole, 

 and his paper. It does not, I think, take much discernment to 

 diagnose what has happened : evidently after the Clark specimens 

 left Stevens' Rooms, and before they were put m the places they 



