1890.) ■ 71 



Isle o£ Wight, among mixed herbage. Both figure and description 

 clearly indicate a very small form allied to Scopoliana, but destitute o£ 

 the dark brown markings, which in that species so frequently enclose 

 the pale dorsal blotch. This small form appeared to be unknown from 

 any other locality, and so very few specimens were available to me 

 when writing upon this group in 1873 (Ent. Mo. Mag., vol. x, p. 8), 

 that my remarks there made are really of no value, further than that, 

 I found among specimens sent as sup])Osed par vul ana, quite a different 

 species, which I then supposed to be cemulana, Schl., but which after- 

 wards proved to be distinct, and was described under the name of 

 tripoliana. This species, however, did not occur among the original 

 parvulana taken in the old locality by Mr. Bond and Mr. McLachlan, 

 and has no immediate connection with the present subject, though I 

 suspect that it may have had something to do with the introduction 

 of the name decolorana into some of our lists and cabinets. Decolorana 

 is a well-known and easily recognised species in the south of Europe, 

 but has not as yet been found in these islanrls. But to return to 

 parvulana: within the past two or three years, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. 

 Vine, and Mr. Bankes have worked over the original locality, and 

 similar spots near the south coast, with good results. I should, per- 

 haps, have remarked earlier that Wilkinson's description and figure 

 do not agree with all the small specimens taken by Messrs. Bond 

 and McLachlan. Some of these possess the dark dorsal markings, but 

 have been placed in collections with the rest a,^ parvulana. Mr. Bankes 

 has now been at the pains to get together and submit to me a very 

 large number of the specimens taken and reared by himself and 

 friends, and among them are many of the true parvulana form, as 

 described. With these are others, equally small, in which the dorsal 

 markings are very distinct and strong, others are larger, with and 

 without dorsal markings, and range in size up to ordinary Scopoliana, 

 from which they cannot be distinguished. Some of the small speci- 

 mens — exceedingly glossy and beautiful in colour and markings — were 

 reared from seed-heads of Serratula tinctoria by Mr. Fletcher ; others 

 were taken sitting on the flowers of the same plant ; others, many of 

 them larger, taken among mixed herbage, among which were found 

 both Serratula tinctoria and Centanrea nigra. On comparing with my 

 own series, I find that I have from Pembroke specimens taken among 

 Gentaurea quite as small as, and undistinguishable from, these small 

 Serratula specimens, though the great majority are of normal size. 

 It also appears that the form in which the dorsal markings are obsolete 

 is very much more frequent in the female, at all sizes, than in the 



