200 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



central tuft was either very small or entirely wanting. These 

 were pointed out to friends years ago as deserving a varietal 

 name, but it was a great surprise, I suspect, to others as well 

 as myself when Mr. Clark gave it this one. Of course he was 

 in error when he said this plain coloured moth had been known 

 many years in our sale-rooms under this name, and Clark after- 

 wards ('Kecord,' vol. xvi. p. 145) corrects the impression his first 

 article may have made upon his readers by giving Mr. Johnson's 

 definition of gumpinana as originally described, but unfortu- 

 nately he does not withdraw his own erroneous name, so that 

 this well-marked and distinctive variety still awaits a befitting 

 title, and I would propose that it be known as ab. darkiana. 



The gumpinana, not gumpiana, of our older collectors has the 

 central tuft, vitta, and smaller five tufts white, the < angle 

 enclosed between the apex and anal angle, narrowing to the tuft, 

 of the palest violet slate colour, with a narrow red line from 

 the central tuft to near the apex, and an interrupted white dash 

 dividing into two lines below it. The basal part of the wing 

 tinged with reddish brown, and the first two-thirds of the upper 

 part of the wing towards the costa a dirty yellow ; this is divided 

 from the central tuft by an extremely pale inconspicuous yellow 

 fascia which seldom crosses the wing. All the colours are very 

 subdued, and the moths thin scaled generally. Head and thorax 

 white. Totally unlike any other form excepting the next, which 

 is somewhat like it. 



Two specimens, of which one was labelled "New Forest, 

 2.10.05," were in Mr. Clark's cabinet as tolana ; they constituted 

 lots 325, 326 in the catalogue at his sale. Smaller than gumpinana, 

 Johnson, they are very strongly coloured. The basal half of the 

 wings of a dirty yellow, with a few reddish markings at the base ; 

 the red line from the button terminates on the costa before the 

 apex, and is strongly pronounced ; it is continued towards the 

 base after having been interrupted by the central white tuft and 

 pale fascia, then along the top of the nether end of the white 

 vitta to the base of the wing. The white clouds in the hinder 

 third of the wings are distinct and well-defined, as they are in 

 suhcapucina, and the ends of the wings are red-brown ; hence 

 this handsome variety has a much more mottled appearance than 

 gumpinana. The button and vitta are pure white, as are the small 

 subsidiary dots towards the hind margin. Of course they have 

 no affinity with tolana. 



A similar variety to that named gumpiana by Clark, but with 

 darker scaling, thus making a slaty-grey or roan-coloured insect 

 of uniform coloration, but large white tuft and vitta, lots 337, 

 338 were sold as "gumpiana or new var." ; they were unlabelled, 

 but captured at Folkestone by Mr. William Purdey, who alone 

 has taken this form. As there are now seven specimens known, 

 all precisely similar, it is well they should possess a varietal 



