SPILOSOMA LUBRICIPEDA AND ITS VARIETIES. 29 



this figure is drawn from a specimen formerly in the possession 

 of Mr. Jackson. This form is most certainly much rarer than 

 any other of the known varieties, excepting perhaps that extremely 

 rare aberration in which the spots are almost if not entirely wanting 

 from both front and hind wings, of which Mr. Jackson possesses 

 two examples. The only immaculate specimen I have seen or 

 heard of is that in the possession of Mr. Capper, of Liverpool, 

 which I had the pleasure of viewing when looking over that 

 gentleman's magnificent collection in August, 1893 ; probably 

 this specimen is unique ; it is a white female. Mr. Jackson has 

 reared luhricipeda from larvfe collected all round York, and not 

 merely from one particular locality, for the past thirty years, 

 and during the past twelve years especially, in great numbers ; 

 but he has never bred radiata, nor any form very nearly 

 approaching it. ]\[r. Kobert Dutton, of this city, has some 

 twelve examples — seven males and five females — of var. ehoraci, 

 and one or two of the Ya,r.fasciata, as well as numerous inter- 

 mediate forms ; these he had selected from a great number 

 of specimens reared from York larvae. In the collection of the 

 late Mr. Robert Cook, of this city (which, through the kindness 

 of his widow, I recently had the opportunity of inspecting), 

 there are three or four varieties corresponding to /asciato ,• one 

 of these had both fore and hind wings of a uniform dark ochreous 

 colour, the fore wings especially so. There is a very similar 

 specimen, only with not such pronounced markings, in the AUis 

 collection. 



I have this year bred some 500 luhricipeda from larvse and 

 pupae obtained from Hull, and from these some very nicely 

 marked forms resulted, including two examples of the var. 

 ehoraci, both females, and some half-dozen fasciata ; also an 

 example (a female) having the hind wings similar to radiata, 

 i. e., smoky black, the basal area, wing-rays, and fringe being 

 cream-coloured, the head and thorax cream-coloured, body yellow, 

 with six black spots down the middle and on each side, antennse 

 simple, fore wings rather thickly marked. This is the variety 

 for which I propose the name of semi-radiata. I have a very 

 similar specimen, also a female, taken at rest, near Driffield, but 

 this has the fore wings typical. Nearly all the forms I selected 

 from the Hull lot have this feature peculiar to them, viz., that 

 the hind wings are much more thickly marked in the female than 

 are the York forms. 



Mr. Fletcher, writing of the variation in specimens of luhri- 

 cipeda from Hull, says : — " From the Hull pupae of luhricipeda 

 I bred some strongly-marked specimens in 1893. Luckily I had 

 a pairing of two of them, and have bred this year several moths 

 of the fasciata type, and the rest of the batch with well- 

 pronounced tendencies towards it. From two of the best-marked 

 specimens I have again obtained pupae*" 



