80 THE entomologist's record. 



observation. The whole process lasted about twelve hours. The case 

 hardens gradually upon exposure, the portion still retained in the 

 oviduct being soft and putty coloured. It seemed to me that when 

 the whole capsule was ripe the ? could no longer retain it. Amongst 

 others, Blatchley says {TJie Blattidae of Indiana) that the $ B. oricntalis 

 carries its ootheea for a week or longer; Phyllodroinia i/ernianica,ioY sexeval 

 days with half or three-fourths of its length protruding, and mentions 

 that from one with protruding ootheea placed in a bottle at 11 p.m. 

 the young had emerged at 8 the following morning. B. urientalis 

 takes longer to hatch (here again authors differ — from any time up to a 

 year). My difficulties are these («) : Can the ? carry a fully ripe 

 capsule ? (b) If the portion retained in the body of the ? remains soft, 

 can the young be as fully developed there as in the part extruded a con- 

 siderable time before ? I have always understood that the young emerge 

 much about the same time as one another, but have had no opportunity 

 for testing it. — Harry Moore, F.E.S., 12, LoAver Koad, Eotherhithe, 

 February lS)th, 1900. 



^^ ARI ATION. 



Anthrocerid aberrations with dark instead op red spots.- — In 

 British Lepidnptera, vol. i., p. 423, 1 noticed those species of Anthrocera 

 of which aberrations with brown -coloured (instead of red) spots had 

 been recorded. To these M. C. Oberthiir adds A.achilleae, bringing the 

 total number up to six species. The specimen was captured at 

 Cauterets last summer. — J. W. Tutt. 



Parallel colour variation in larv^ and pup.e. — I observe that 

 Mr. Walker asks {ante, vol. xi., p. 269) whether the brown larvte of 

 Fnnomns fuscantaria always produce brown pupte, and green larvfe 

 green pupae. I can answer it in the affirmative as to both Zonosoma 

 anmdata and Z. porata. The larvae of Z. annulata are generally green, 

 but we occasionally meet with brown ones. These latter are most 

 common among autumnal broods, and when breeding the var. obsoleta 

 last autumn (a third brood) I found a third of the larvte were brown, 

 and their pupfe also are similarly coloured. Doubtless the change from 

 type is protective, assimilating the larvffi to the dying leaves of the 

 maple, but in this case, though the maples were already changing a 

 good deal, the larvae were supplied throughout with green leaves only. 

 A hereditary tendency to the seasonal change must, therefore, be well 

 estabhshed.— W. S. Riding, M.D., F.E.S., Buckerell, E. Devon. 



j^CIENTIFIC NOTES. 



Hypolimnas misippus, Linn., taken in the Atlantic Ocean. — Of the 

 five specimens of HjipoUmnas missipns, Linn., sent to me (and mentioned 

 ante, vol. xi., p. 322) as part of a swarm taken by Captain Ellis in the 

 Atlantic Ocean, two are males and three females. Of the latter one is 

 typical misippus, while two are the var. inaria, Cr. This preponder- 

 ance of the variety over the type, strongly indicates that the specimens 

 had flown from some part of the Ethiopian region, and probably either 

 from the tropical west coast or from the north-east or east coast. 

 Thus inaria is very common at Aden, and abundant at Dar-es- Salaam. 

 At Ashanti on the west, it seems to be the dominant form, as five 



