120 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 
the former there was much valuable material offered for inspection. 
Mr. Southey’s small box of Hemerophila abruptaria from Holloway, 
contained some very fine dark brown (inclining to black) aberrations 
and some intermediates. Until quite recently dark aberrations of this 
species were extremely rare, and the capture, practically in London 
itself, of these specimens, is particularly interesting. Mr. Prout 
exhibited some of his pet ‘‘ carpets.”” The Melanippe montanata, from 
Shetland, are very remarkable, the specimens having a very mottled 
appearance. The Melanthia bicolorata, from Forres, exhibit an 
extremely interesting phase of this species, being of unusually large 
size, and very strongly marked and without the bluish tint, some ab. 
plumbata were also fine. Dalston specimens of Melanippe jfluctwata 
again shows the action of natural selection, as a consequence of smoke 
and dirt. Melanthia ocellata,from Wimbledon, with a very slender 
band, was contained in the valuable collection. Mr. James showed 
the attention he had paid to the autumn Noctuids. Anchocelis lunosa 
was represented by a fine series mostly taken in North London. 
Curiously enough dark aberrations are rare even in London. The red 
form was well illustrated in the series. Of A. pistacina five rows were 
shown and practically all its forms exhibited. The dark olive-tinted 
specimens struck one as being the best. Mr. Mera had a fine drawer 
of Spilosoma lubricipeda, which contained, amongst others, some grand 
intermediates and fasciated examples bred from strongly marked forms, 
and some yar. radiata with a particularly broad pale margin. Mr. 
Bacot had some fine series of ‘ plumes,’ bred from the material 
obtained for the purpose of working out the life-histories for publica- 
tion in one of the future volumes of Mr. Tutt’s work on British 
Lepidoptera, and his long bred series of Spilosoma uwrticae, showing 
extensive variation, was a most interesting exhibit. In Mr. Pickett’s 
exhibit the bred specimens of Sphina convolvuli, with preserved larvee 
of same, attracted some attention. The larvae were, we understand, 
taken at Dover. One knows that S. convolvuli is invariably a migrant 
and does not often feed up within our shores. Of course one also under- 
stands that the migrants must oviposit, and one suspects that those larvee 
Mr. Pickett had found had been exceedingly well placed for food and 
warmth. Some fine Smerinthus tiliae, with bands of varying width, an 
asymmetrical specimen, and one with dark hindwings were amongst 
those exhibited. Mr. Turner had amongst his specimens a much- 
spotted ¢ of Spilosoma mendica, whilst, besides other nice things, 
Lymantria monacha var. eremita was noted. Mr. Clark exhibited some 
very fine specimens. A series of Laelia coenosa, bred by himself from 
Wicken larve, made one wonder if the species will ever be found again. 
It has now been lost for just twenty years, but other species have 
apparently disappeared for many years and have reappeared again, so 
perhaps we may be favoured once more with the sight of this once 
abundant insect. A full series of Drepana harpagula, from the Leigh 
woods near Bristol, was noted in one of the drawers. It has never 
yet been cleared up why this species is so local. Does it really not 
occur anywhere else in these islands? Mr. May had a very full 
drawer of Agrotids. The long series of Agrotis corticea, A. 
lunigera, A. exclamationis, and A. segetum, containing mostly picked 
specimens from Sandown, formed extremely interesting studies in 
variation. The series of 4. evclamationis might well have puzzled a 
