SPILOSOMA LUBRICIPEDA AND ITS VARIETIES. 7 



write you a few notes if I find anything that will be useful for you, 

 with I'egard to the variety radiala of ' Aictia ' (ubricipcda, but I am not 

 sure that I possess any other iDositive information of my own obser- 

 vation except that which I have given in my ' Excursion to the Isle of 

 Heligoland' in 1882. There I saw, at Mr. Giltke's, the ornithologist, 

 numerous examples which had been reared from eggs. There were 

 amongst them several varieties intermediate between radiata and the 

 type. As to Holland, I am convinced that the observation of the country 

 is positive, but I don't remember who was the Dutch entomologist who 

 told me ; it could be ascertained. As to the east coast of England, I 

 don't remember where I obtained the information. In Belgium and 

 Holland there have been found fur some months melanic examples of 

 Amphidasijs hctularia, but of a black less intense than in Scotland." 



Messrs. Porritt and Tugwell have reared two broods (or at 

 any rate a partial second brood) of radiata in one season, and 

 this fact is thought by some entomologists evidence sufficient to 

 warrant their refusing to believe in the genuineness of radiata as 

 a British form. Personally I do not attach much importance to 

 radiata being occasionally double-brooded, as it seems to me to 

 be merely a question of forcing. I am not aware that two 

 broods have been produced in one season under other than 

 artificial conditions. So far as I know, there is no record of 

 liihricipeda being double-brooded; and Mr. Jackson, of York, 

 informs me that he has never, in his long experience of the 

 species (extending over thirty years), known it to be so, even in a 

 single instance, under natural conditions. 



The Hull collectors, who also breed large numbers of liihri- 

 cipeda, have never been fortunate enough to obtain radiata, 

 neither have the collectors at Beverley, Bradford, Barnsley, 

 Darlington, Durham, Hartlepool, Huddersfield, Keighley, Eother- 

 ham, Selby, Sheffield, &c. 



With regard to the variation of luhricipcda in Durham, 

 Mr. T. Maddison, of Durham city, writes : — "I have never got 

 anything like a decent variety, nothing in the least approaching 

 the York or Barnsley varieties"; whilst Mr. J. E. Robson, of 

 Hartlepool, informs me " that although he has never bred 

 radiata at Hartlepool, or known it to occur there, he has in his 

 series of liihricipeda, bred from larvse obtained at Hartlepool, 

 several examples of va^v.fasciata and intermediate forms." 



Mr. William Newman, of Darlington, has six exceptionally 

 fine varieties of luhricipeda (three males and three females) in his 

 collection, all reared from larvae obtained at Darlington ; one of 

 the males being of the var. fasciata and two of the var. ehoraci; 

 whilst two of the females have the hind wings similar to the var. 

 radiata and the fore wings almost typical. He has also bred 

 other similar varieties from time to time. 



I quite agree with Mr. Tugwell in thinking that the explana- 

 tion of the occurrence of var. radiata in Lincolnshire and York- 

 shire is to be attributed to the " brought over" theory, and that 



