26 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



It therefore appears to me that conspicua and baumanniana 

 are only varieties of subretracta. All the circumstances point to 

 this conclusion, unless one is to concede the possihility of two 

 eggs of conspicua and one of baumanniana having been laid 

 amongst a batch of subretracta. 



This note is not, however, written with the object of demolish- 

 ing baumanniana and conspicua, but rather to draw attention to 

 the facts which have come under my observation, and for the 

 guidance of others who may be able to rear the species. This 

 summer an endeavour will be made to clear the matter up, and 

 a perfectly satisfactory conclusion arrived at. 



Explanation to Plate. 



Plate I. — Figs. 1 and 2, Hypsa subretracta, Wlk. ; collection mihi. 

 Fig, 3, Hypsa near baumanniana ; collection mihi. The outer angle of the 

 hind wings shows already the black margin as in a true baumanniana, but 

 not so sharply defined, and more suffused. Fig. 4, Hypsa baumanniana, 

 Karsch, from Durban Museum, which was identified by Sir G. F. Hampson, 

 the outer margin of the hind wings being black, and sharply defined. 

 Figs. 5 and 6, Hypsa conspicua, Swinh. ; collection mihi. Fig. 7, Caterpillar 

 of Hypsa subretracta, a blown specimen from the Durban Museum. Figs. 1, 

 2, 3, 5, and 6 are all of moths reared from the same batcli of caterpillars. 



[The left wing of Fig. 2 is rather light, and the right wing of Fig. 5 

 slightly too dark, being due to the effect of the sun, when the photos were 

 taken. I 



LIFE-HISTOKY OF THECLA PBUNI. 



By F. W. Frohawk, M.B.O.U., F.E.S. 



On June 23rd, 1904, I received from the late Mr. F. G. 

 Cannon two females of Thecla pruni, taken by him the previous 

 day in Northamptonshire. I at once placed them on a small 

 plum-tree. In a week's time I found a few eggs were deposited 

 on the smaller branches at the base of the forks. These exactly 

 resembled little brown buds ; they are laid singly, and from one 

 to three on the same fork, but no doubt in a state of nature 



variety or baumanniana, and the females to the yellow one or conspicua. 

 It is noticeable that the females of the typical specimen or subretracta are 

 much paler and less sharply marked on the under side of the wings than the 

 typical males. In subretracta the black on the under side of the fore wings 

 is less developed than in baumanniana, but much more than in conspicua, 

 which has only a black transversal blotch at the end of the discoidal cell. 

 One of my conspicua has no black at all on the urmer side, but is entirely 

 yellow. On the upper side the small black dots near the base of the fore 

 wings are very indistinct in this specimen. I send at the same time photo- 

 graphs taken from two typical subretracta, one specimen near baumanniana 

 and two conspicua bred by myself; one baumanniana (named by Sir G. F. 

 Hampson), and a caterpillar borrowed from the Durban Museum to demon- 

 strate the variation. 



