A PUZZLING GROUP OP EUPITHEGIIDS. 167 



no more. It must not be forgotten that a very large extent of the 

 heath land before mentioned still existed up to the end of the eighteenth 

 century, about the time when the meadows were becoming market- 

 gardens. From these heaths and commons, no doubt, the butterfly 

 fauna of the meadows and market-gardens was often replenished, and 

 but for this open land it would have vanished much sooner. Probably 

 Plebeius argus {aegon) was an early inhabitant of the heaths, and Melitaea 

 aurinia of the damper portions, both of these finding their last home, 

 near London, in Epping Forest (Newman, Brit. Butts., pp. 42 and 12i). 

 Urbicola comma also probably made its home here in the early days, but 

 there are no recent records for the district. Polygonia c-albiun, which 

 was abundant in many places round London (Stainton, Manual, p. 40, 

 and Newman, Brit. Butts., p. 51), seems to have finally vanished from 

 the district with unaccountable rapidity. 



I have left the mention of Pieris brassicae, Pyrameis cardiii, and 

 P. atalanta till the last, as these three species, and possibly Pieris rapae 

 as well, are not so much affected by the alterations of conditions as 

 those butterflies which have real British races. These three species 

 appear to be so continually replenished by flights from the continent 

 to our shores that they may be observed almost anywhere in the years 

 of their abundance. Eavanessa antiopa was probably never a real 

 British insect. The old Aurelians were just as pleased to see it as we 

 are now, but apparently a good deal more surprised when they did so. 



A puzzling group of Eupitheciids. 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



I have recently been interested in a group of Eupitheciids, which 

 are certainly very closely allied, very similar in their general appear- 

 ance in the imaginal state, and which comprise the insects known as 

 Eupitliecia fraxinata, E. innotata, and E. tamarisciata. So closely alike 

 are the imagines that, in Staudinger and Rebel's Catalog, 3rd ed., 

 they are treated as one species, and their synonymy is detailed as 

 follows : — 



Innotata, Hufn., "Berl. Mag.," iv., p. 616 (1769); Kn., Eur. c. et m. (exc. 

 "Btr.,"' i., p. 22, pi. i., figs. 7-9; Hb., 441-2 ; Tr., vi., 2, Cat. et It. c.) ; 

 124; Dup., viii., 204, 8; Gn., ii., 331; Crewe, "Ann.," Scand. m.; Fen.; 

 1863, p. 117; SnelL, "Tijds.," 1866, p. 129, pi. v., f. 6; Pont. ; Arm. ; 

 Bhtsch., "Wien. Ent. Z.," 1882, p. 163, 1884, p. 296; Hjrc. ; Alt.; Hi. 

 {■aria), H.-Sch., 274 ab?; ill., p. 119, 128. (v.?); Amur. 



a. var. tamarisciata, Frr., 192, la-e; ii., p. 153; Gn., Germ, m, (oc.) ; 

 ii., p. 332 ; Mill., " Ic," iii., p. 110 ; Dietze, " Stett. Ent. Ter.; Helv.; Fed.; 

 Zeit.," 1874, p. 209, 1875, p. 241. — Minor plerunique Gal.; Maur. ; 

 obscurior magis unicolor plumbeo-grisea. Tarb. ; Iss.-K. 



(3. var. fraxinata, Crewe, "Ann.," 1863, 116-7; Dietze, Angl. ; Germ. 

 "Stett. e. Zeit.," 1870, p. 337, 1872, 198, t. i., fig. 18, 1875, c. oc. ; Austro- 

 69,239; Mill.," Ic," iii., p. 111. Jnnotato, Crewe," Ann.," Hung.; etc. 

 1861, 136. Suspectata, " Stett. e. Zeit.," 1871, p. 210. -A 

 var. preec. tantum larvae alimento distinguenda sec. Stdgr. 



When E. fraxinata, the "ash" species, was first discovered in England, 

 it was referred to E. innotata, the " artemisia " species, but Crewe, 

 later, bred both insects, and differentiated them in the Ent. Ann., 

 1863, pp. 116-121. Here we find most careful descriptions of the 

 larvje and imagines of the two species, more or less comparative, the 

 latter by Professor Westwood, the former by himself. There appear 



