PROGKESSIVE MELANISM IN LEPIDOPTERA. 22i3 



and the Continent (Barrett), only the pale form is recorded. At 

 Sheffield about 90% are now of the smoky type, at Doncaster about 

 50% (Brady). This form has only been observed in recent years; it 

 has also occurred at Burnley (Lancashire) (Clutten). Great Ayton 

 (North Yorkshire), the form with black suffusion is not rare, but less 

 common than the type (Lofthouse). 



AciDALiA AVERSATA. — The banded and plain varieties are constantly 

 found together throughout the range of the species, but their relative 

 frequency varies in different places. The form with a reddish ground 

 colour is found especially in the eastern counties (Barrett). In 

 London a form occurs which has the wings thickly dusted with 

 black scales (Barrett) ; this type seems to be found more frequently in 

 London than elsewhere, but is recorded fi'om the New Forest (Christy), 

 and Scotland (Gordon). From a plain ? were bred about equal 

 numbers of plain and banded (Adkin). From a ? thickly dusted with 

 dark scales were bred 3 very dark, 2 like parent, 2 banded and 

 sprinkled with dark scales, 2 plain, 1 buff (Christy). 



EupiTHECiA RECTANGULATA. — Only light (green and pale brown) 

 recorded from Eutland (Snowden), Colchester (Harwood), Suffolk 

 (Clutten), Lynn (Baker), Dalton, near Hartlepool (Robson), Wigtown- 

 shire (Gordon). At Norwich (Pitman), Cambridge (Farren), Farn- 

 borough (Hewitt), Stroud (Davis), Bude (Brady), the species varies 

 from green to very dark. At Newcastle (Robson), and in Cheshire 

 (Arkle, Tait), only dark forms, probably not extreme black. In the 

 London district — Lee (Fenn), Brixton (Adkin), Hammersmith, 

 Catford (Hewitt), etc., the black form is now prevalent, especially 

 in the south of London. Sixty years ago the light forms were 

 prevalent, but have now disappeared more or less completely, in some 

 districts (Fenn). 



Camptogramma BiLiNEATA (not included in the 1904 list). — The 

 typical form is prevalent over the whole of England. Accompanying 

 it are found forms in which there is a dark clouding of the central 

 band of varying intensity ; such forms are rare in the south and east, 

 commoner in the north and west, and more frequent near the coast 

 than inland (Barrett). In Scotland, both south and north, specimens 

 with the dark central band are common and prevalent, but the depth 

 of colour and arrangement of the clouding vary with locality. This 

 form is also found in Scilly (Adkin), and in Ireland, especially in the 

 west, and a sooty-black form occurs in islands off" the west coast (var. 

 hnlata) (Kane). 



Tephrosia consonaria. — Mr. E. Goodwin has discovered a melanic 

 variety near Maidstone, in a district some miles from any town or factory 

 smoke. It was first taken about 1892, and has occurred every year 

 since. The nl'ale is a deep brownish-black, the female black. The 

 dark form is less common than the type. Ova obtained from normal 

 females in the affected district yield about 10% of melanics ; ova from 

 black females yield from 80%-75% of melanics, averaging about 50%. 

 Black $ X black 3 gave 38 black, and 4 typical. No other records 

 have been received of melanism in this species, but it is well-known in 

 the allied T. biundularia, both in the north and in South Wales. 



T. consortaria. — In the same locality Mr. Goodwin has taken 

 melanic T. consortaria, with dark grey ground colour. This form is 

 scarce, but has occurred for several years. Ova from dark females 



k 



