IN'. THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 6>9 



var. is in no way restricted to that county in Britain. I have it from 

 Rotherhain, Warrington, Sheffield, Reading etc. Esper's diagnosis of 

 the variety is : " Alis deflexis cinereis, crenatis, superioribus, stigma- 

 tibus albis, striga marginali dentata fusca, maculis duabus nigris " 

 (' Die Schmet in Abbildungen ' &c., p. 403). Esper's figures, I.e. 

 pi. 132, figs. 1-2, are very bad indeed. Mr. Holland writes: 

 " Specimens of A. nebulosa taken here (Reading) differ in colour 

 remarkably from those from the New Forest. The latter are white 

 with distinct markings and very large, but ours are generally smaller 

 and always much suffused with grey, approaching, in this respect, to 

 Yorkshire specimens " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxi., pp. 158-159). 

 Mr. Robson writes : " Mr. Gregson has some very dark examples of 

 this insect that he tells me were taken at Sheffield. I had not seen 

 the form before " (' Young Nat.,' vol. viii., p. 123). 



y. var. robsoni, Collins. Probably this is one of the finest melanic 

 forms that Britain produces. The fore wings of this variety are of an 

 entirely glossy black, with only the slightest possible traces (produced 

 by a more glossy appearance) of the reniform stigma and subterminal 

 line. The only trace of the original colour is presented by three 

 minute whitish costal dots near the apex. I have seen the five speci- 

 mens which are all at present known. One of these is now in my 

 cabinet, thanks to the kindness of Mr. Acton of Warrington, who, with 

 Mr. Collins of the same town, has bred the specimens. This form 

 appears to have been developed through var. bimaculosa, Esp., for a 

 specimen sent to me by Mr. Acton, bred with var. robsoni, was a very 

 dark one of that form. The first notice of var. robsoni is from the 

 pen of Mr. Collins, and is as follows : " I bred a black variety of A. 

 nebulosa from a solitary larva, picked up in the Delamere district, in 

 the spring. Mr. C. G. Barrett says that this form is quite new to 

 him " (' Ent. Record ' &c., i., p. 241) ; whilst we further read : " At 

 the meeting of the Lane, and Cheshire Ent. Soc., Oct. 12th, 1891, 

 Mr. Collins read a paper entitled ' A few remarks on Aplecta nebu- 

 losa^ stating that five melanic specimens had been bred from larvae 

 taken at Delamere, for which he proposed the varietal name of robsoni, 

 in honour of the well-known entomologist Mr. J. E. Robson of Hartle- 

 pool. Mr. Collins exhibited the five specimens, with others bred at 

 the same time " (< Ent. Record ' &c., ii., p. 264). 



Aplecta, Gn., tincta, Brahm. 



This beautiful species presents some slight difference in the 

 brightness of the ground colour, and also in the tint and extent of the 

 red costal shade. Occasionally, too, there is a tendency to form a 

 central fascia, but this is not generally very noticeable. The W-like 

 mark in the subterminal is generally ill-developed, although occasion- 

 ally distinct. Brahm's description of the type is as follows : " The 

 fore wings are silvery-grey and shining with paler transverse lines, 

 and a zigzag line near the hind margin. The first line stands near 

 the base and consists actually, like the others, of two reddish-grey 

 lines, between which the ground colour appears somewhat lighter. 

 The second stands not far from the orbicular, and the third just be- 

 yond the reniform. On the second, rests the claviform stigma, which 

 is bordered with grey-black and tinged with purple. The discoidals 



