﻿238 
  BRITISH 
  LEPIDOPTERA. 
  

  

  Variation. 
  — 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  considerable 
  amount 
  of 
  variation 
  in 
  this 
  

   species. 
  Hodgkinson 
  notes 
  (Ent. 
  Rec, 
  iii., 
  p. 
  186) 
  that 
  specimens 
  

   bred 
  by 
  Eales, 
  from 
  Witherslack, 
  from 
  Senecio 
  aquations 
  * 
  vary 
  exceed- 
  

   ingly, 
  and 
  that, 
  whilst 
  some 
  are 
  as 
  yellow 
  as 
  ochrodactyla, 
  others 
  are 
  

   nearly 
  white, 
  and 
  some 
  nearly 
  black. 
  Dalglish 
  also 
  writes 
  (in 
  litt.) 
  

   that 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  variable 
  plume 
  in 
  the 
  Clydesdale 
  district, 
  where 
  

   it 
  has 
  a 
  range 
  from 
  pale 
  ochreous-yellow 
  to 
  rich 
  ferruginous, 
  

   with 
  an 
  intermediate 
  greyish-ochreous 
  form 
  ; 
  he 
  adds 
  that 
  he 
  once 
  

   captured 
  a 
  very 
  fine 
  lot 
  at 
  Mauchline. 
  Barrett, 
  who 
  combines 
  palli- 
  

   dactyla 
  (bertrami) 
  and 
  ochrodactyla 
  (dichrodactylus) 
  as 
  one 
  species, 
  

   states 
  that 
  the 
  species 
  is 
  variable 
  in 
  the 
  shade 
  of 
  ground 
  colour 
  from 
  

   ochreous-white 
  to 
  rather 
  rich 
  full 
  ochreous, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  deeper 
  shades 
  of 
  

   clouding, 
  etc. 
  The 
  darker 
  are 
  apparently 
  the 
  more 
  northern 
  forms. 
  Our 
  

   own 
  limited 
  experience 
  certainly 
  leads 
  us 
  to 
  suppose 
  that 
  the 
  southern 
  

   pallidactyla 
  are 
  more 
  uniformly 
  of 
  one 
  type 
  — 
  yellow, 
  shaded 
  with 
  

   fawn 
  — 
  than 
  the 
  northern 
  ones. 
  We 
  have 
  seen 
  no 
  specimen 
  darker 
  than 
  an 
  

   almost 
  unicolorous 
  warm 
  reddish-brown 
  form, 
  of 
  almost 
  the 
  same 
  tint 
  

   as 
  that 
  of 
  Stenoptilia 
  pterodactyla 
  (fuscus) 
  ; 
  certainly 
  we 
  have 
  examined 
  

   nothing 
  that 
  could, 
  by 
  any 
  stretch 
  of 
  imagination, 
  be 
  termed 
  nearly 
  

   black, 
  as 
  noted 
  by 
  Hodgkinson 
  (supra). 
  Rebel 
  notes 
  the 
  capture 
  of 
  a 
  

   very 
  large 
  pale 
  coloured 
  $ 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  July, 
  1897, 
  at 
  Campiglio. 
  

   The 
  following 
  is 
  our 
  grouping 
  of 
  the 
  forms 
  that 
  have 
  come 
  under 
  our 
  

   notice 
  — 
  

  

  (1) 
  White, 
  with 
  very 
  faint 
  washes 
  of 
  fawn-grey; 
  hindwings 
  grey 
  = 
  ab. 
  albescens, 
  

   n. 
  ab. 
  

  

  (2) 
  Whitish, 
  with 
  very 
  faint 
  washes 
  of 
  ochreous-brown 
  ; 
  hindwings 
  brown- 
  

   grey 
  = 
  pallidactyla, 
  Haw. 
  

  

  (3) 
  The 
  whitish 
  ground 
  colour 
  very 
  reduced, 
  strongly 
  suffused 
  with 
  ochreous- 
  

   brown 
  ; 
  hindwings 
  red-brown 
  = 
  ab. 
  intermedia, 
  n. 
  ab. 
  

  

  (4) 
  Brown, 
  costal 
  line 
  dark 
  ; 
  inner 
  marginal 
  fringe 
  pale, 
  costal 
  point 
  (before 
  

   fissure) 
  pale; 
  slightest 
  trace 
  of 
  faint 
  lobal 
  line; 
  hindwings 
  deep 
  red-brown=ab. 
  

   (et 
  var.) 
  scotica, 
  n. 
  ab. 
  

  

  a. 
  var. 
  (an 
  ab.) 
  albescens, 
  n.var. 
  (an 
  n.ab.). 
  Ochrodactyla 
  var., 
  Tutt, 
  " 
  Ent. 
  Rec," 
  

   iii., 
  p. 
  22 
  (1892). 
  Pallidactyla 
  var.(?), 
  Tutt, 
  "Ent, 
  Rec," 
  iii., 
  pp. 
  33, 
  186 
  (1892); 
  

   Hdgkn., 
  " 
  Ent. 
  Rec," 
  iii., 
  p. 
  186 
  (1892) 
  ; 
  Tutt, 
  " 
  Ent. 
  Rec," 
  xiii., 
  p. 
  129 
  (1901). 
  

   Bertrami 
  var., 
  Reid, 
  " 
  Ent. 
  Rec," 
  iv., 
  p. 
  82 
  (1893). 
  — 
  Anterior 
  wings 
  of 
  a 
  whitish 
  

   colour, 
  the 
  upper 
  lobe 
  beyond 
  the 
  lunule 
  (reaching 
  from 
  fissure 
  to 
  outer 
  margin), 
  

   the 
  costal 
  area 
  (from 
  lunule 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  towards 
  base), 
  and 
  inner 
  marginal 
  

   line 
  towards 
  base, 
  washed 
  with 
  very 
  faint 
  brownish-grey 
  ; 
  the 
  costa 
  narrowly 
  

   darker 
  brownish, 
  the 
  discal 
  points 
  traceable 
  ; 
  the 
  outer 
  marginal 
  line 
  dark 
  brownish 
  ; 
  

   the 
  fringes 
  shiny-white. 
  The 
  hindwings 
  shiny-grey 
  (almost 
  of 
  same 
  tint 
  as 
  darker 
  

   wash 
  of 
  forewings), 
  tending 
  to 
  be 
  mottled 
  ; 
  the 
  marginal 
  lines 
  rather 
  darker; 
  the 
  

   outer 
  margin 
  of 
  1st 
  and 
  2nd 
  plumules 
  dotted 
  with 
  dark 
  ; 
  slight 
  traces 
  of 
  dark 
  scale- 
  

   patch 
  towards 
  centre 
  of 
  hindmargin 
  of 
  3rd 
  plumule 
  ; 
  fringes 
  grey, 
  rather 
  paler 
  than 
  

   tint 
  of 
  hindwings. 
  

  

  This 
  whitish 
  form, 
  so 
  far, 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  recorded 
  only 
  from 
  Carlisle, 
  

   Glasgow, 
  and 
  Aberdeen. 
  It 
  was 
  first 
  noted 
  as 
  being 
  bred 
  from 
  larvae 
  

   feeding 
  on 
  the 
  underside 
  of 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  Senecio 
  jacobaea 
  by 
  Reid 
  (Ent. 
  

   Record, 
  iii., 
  p. 
  22; 
  Proc. 
  8th. 
  Lond. 
  Ent. 
  Soc, 
  1891, 
  p. 
  148), 
  and 
  

   afterwards 
  (Ent. 
  Rec, 
  iv., 
  p. 
  82) 
  referred 
  by 
  Reid 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  species 
  

   as 
  that 
  found 
  feeding 
  on 
  Achillea 
  millefolium. 
  It 
  is 
  still 
  open 
  to 
  

   question 
  whether 
  we 
  have 
  here 
  a 
  distinct 
  species, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  unfortunate 
  

   that, 
  although 
  the 
  insect 
  was 
  bred 
  by 
  Reid 
  and 
  Eales, 
  the 
  details 
  of 
  

   its 
  life-history 
  were 
  not 
  published 
  in 
  due 
  course. 
  Hodgkinson's 
  remark 
  

   that 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  bred 
  from 
  Senecio 
  aquaticus 
  (Ent. 
  Rec, 
  iii., 
  p. 
  186) 
  

   needs 
  confirmation. 
  

  

  * 
  This 
  statement 
  as 
  to 
  so 
  unusual 
  a 
  foodplant 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  noticed. 
  

  

  