LEPIDOPTEROUS FAUNA OF PORTLAND. 61 



Gelecliia desertetta, has light and dark varieties. 



Gelecliia mundella, the ground colour varies from white to nearly 

 black. 



Gelecliia mai'morea, varies much in shade of colour and distinct- 

 ness of markings. It is sometimes almost black. 



Glypliipteryx thrasonella, var. cladiella occurs. 



Coriscium cuculipennellum, varies in the amount of marking. 



Laverna miscella, varies in shade of colour. 



All these species vary considerably, and, taking them all together, 

 I should say that Portland was not a place where dark or light 

 varieties predominated, but was decidedly a place where moths 

 were more given to general variation than usual. 



It may seem rather invidious to select one moth out of 37, and 

 that not the most variable one ; but as Heliophobus liispidus, though 

 not confined to Portland, is looked upon by Dorset entomologists 

 as one of the most beautiful and striking species found there, I 

 think that I may be excused for doing so. I have exhibited some 

 of the varieties of this moth, and Mrs. Richardson has figured the 

 three most striking ones one a very dark small variety, which is 

 very rare at Portland, the others the lightest and darkest that I 

 have ever seen of the ordinary form, between which two nearly all 

 the Portland specimens are intermediate. This moth used to be 

 considered very rare, and the Rev. 0. P. Cambridge and others 

 have spent hours in getting one or two specimens in searching by 

 day ; now with the aid of a big lamp at night one may take 80 in 

 an evening. 



There are only one or two other interesting and curious facts 

 amongst the moths at Portland to which I propose to allude. 



One of the most generally distributed insects which is, I believe, 

 common in all parts of England and of which Mr. Stainton says (in 

 Nat. Hist. Tineina, vol. i., p. 60) that "it probably occurs wherever 

 roses grow," is Nepticula anomalella. The larva of this species 

 makes a long serpentine mine in a rose leaf, and when full fed 

 quits its mine and spins a brown cocoon. The moth has greyish 

 violet wings without the least trace of any bar across them. 



