SPILOSOMA LUBBICIPEDA AND ITS VARIETIES. O 



male was of that form [fasciata], and would no doubt be one of the 

 Grimsby pupre, as I selected the strongest-marked specimen that 

 I had out at the time the female radiata came out to pair with. 

 I have kept the original parents." 



Mr. Young, of Eotherham, to whom as also to Mr. Harrison, 

 of Barnsley, many of us are indebted for our series of radiata, 

 re[)lying to a similar query of mine re variation of the species at 

 Eotherham, says : — " I have not bred any variety of S. lubriei- 

 pcda from larvfe collected in this district, in any way approach- 

 ing to var. fasciata or eboraci ; the form here is very plain, and 

 almost without markings." Mr. J. Bloor, also of Eotherham, 

 confirms Mr. Young's statement. Whilst at Eotherham, on the 

 27th ult., Mr. J. N. Young showed me some 120 specimens 

 of radiata which he had recently bred from "Harrison's 

 strain"; also the photographs of 108 specimens. Mr. Young 

 informed me that radiata pair more readily with typical wild 

 specimens of luhricipeda than inter se, and that the offspring from 

 this union were fertile. Much of the vitality in radiata seems to 

 be lost by inbreeding; especially is this the case with the males, 

 which are very sluggish. I have frequently heard it suggested 

 that radiata is a distmct species, but the fact of there being no 

 apparent difference in the ova, larvae, or pupae, and that when 

 pan-ed with typical wild specimens the offspring are fertile, 

 seems in my opinion to warrant our assuming that it is a fixed 

 variety only. There are some entomologists, I know, who take 

 exception to the larger size of the specimens of radiata, and urge 

 this as a reason for its not being of British origin ; but size, m 

 my opinion, is chiefly dependent upon the supply of food and 

 selection, as all entomologists who breed large numbers of Lepi- 

 doptera are perfectly well aware. I have specimens of luhricipeda 

 in my collection, and have seen others, which are to the full as 

 large as any radiata that I have yet examined. 



With regard to the occurrence of the var. radiata in Lincoln- 

 shire, several specimens appear to have been bred by Mr. Mossop 

 from larvae obtained at Saltfleet feeding on elder, August, 1836. 

 These emerged in June, 1837, and some of the specimens are 

 still in the possession of his nephew, Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher, of 

 Worthing; others were sent by Mr. Mossop to Mr. James C. 

 Dale, father of the Eev. C. W. Dale. Mr. Fletcher obligingly 

 furnishes me with the following particulars : — " My knowledge of 

 the occurrence of the varieties of S. luhricipeda is practically 

 confined to that which is stated in my letter to Mr. Tugwell, m 

 his article in the ' Entomologist ' for April, 1894, except that there 

 is a slight mistake : "Entom. xxvi. 257, var. deschaugi," should 

 read "Entom. xxv. 257, fig. 1." Now this fig. 1 comes very near 

 to var. eboraci as figured Entom. xxvii. 205. My specimen is not 

 exactly like either ; it has the central spot and interrogation-like 

 spots on the hind wings, but the fore wings have less of the fasciata 



