﻿AMBLYPTILIA 
  COSMODACTYLA. 
  277 
  

  

  bred 
  from 
  a 
  pupa 
  found 
  on 
  Stachys 
  sylvatica, 
  in 
  Pelham 
  Woods, 
  Ventnor, 
  

   on 
  September 
  1st, 
  1883. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  few 
  specimens 
  in 
  the 
  Frey 
  collection 
  

   also 
  has 
  these 
  lines 
  fairly 
  well-marked 
  (see 
  also 
  our 
  notes 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  

   types 
  of 
  var. 
  calaminthae, 
  Frey). 
  The 
  following 
  are 
  the 
  described 
  forms 
  

   of 
  the 
  insect 
  : 
  — 
  

  

  a. 
  ab. 
  nivea, 
  Bankes, 
  " 
  Ent. 
  Rec," 
  xviii., 
  p. 
  39 
  (1906). 
  — 
  Head 
  and 
  thorax 
  

   whitish, 
  dusted 
  with 
  fuscous 
  ; 
  forewings 
  white, 
  dusted 
  with 
  brown 
  towards 
  the 
  

   costa 
  ; 
  the 
  clearly-defined 
  antemedian 
  costal 
  spot, 
  postmedian 
  costal 
  blotch, 
  and 
  

   subterminal 
  bar 
  crossing 
  the 
  lobes, 
  with 
  the 
  terminal 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  

   lobe, 
  are 
  brownish-black 
  ; 
  terminal 
  cilia 
  blackish, 
  chequered 
  with 
  white 
  ; 
  

   hindwings 
  brownish-black, 
  with 
  the 
  dorsal 
  margin 
  of 
  the 
  third 
  feather 
  whitish 
  ; 
  

   cilia 
  brownish, 
  partially 
  dark-spotted 
  ; 
  scale-teeth 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  cilia 
  blackish 
  ; 
  

   abdomen 
  dorsally 
  and 
  ventrally 
  white, 
  dusted 
  with 
  fuscous, 
  laterally 
  blackish 
  ; 
  

   legs 
  white, 
  broadly 
  barred 
  with 
  brownish-black. 
  The 
  above 
  description 
  of 
  this 
  

   most 
  striking 
  and 
  beautiful 
  aberration 
  was 
  recently 
  made 
  from 
  two 
  British 
  examples 
  

   ( 
  J 
  and 
  ? 
  ) 
  in 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  H. 
  B. 
  Fletcher's 
  collection. 
  They 
  were 
  taken, 
  either 
  as 
  

   imagines 
  or 
  larvae, 
  by 
  Mr. 
  W. 
  Salvage 
  several 
  years 
  ago, 
  probably 
  in 
  Sutherland- 
  

   shire, 
  though 
  this 
  is 
  uncertain. 
  If 
  other 
  lepidopterists 
  secured 
  examples 
  of 
  this 
  

   albinic 
  aberration 
  from 
  Mr. 
  Salvage, 
  perhaps 
  they 
  will 
  kindly 
  make 
  known 
  the 
  

   data 
  received 
  from 
  him, 
  for 
  there 
  seems 
  little 
  doubt 
  that 
  he 
  only 
  met 
  with 
  it 
  in 
  one 
  

   locality, 
  where 
  it 
  occurred 
  rarely 
  during 
  a 
  single 
  season. 
  These 
  two 
  specimens 
  are 
  

   the 
  only 
  ones 
  I 
  have 
  seen. 
  To 
  prevent 
  confusion, 
  it 
  seems 
  advisable 
  to 
  add 
  that 
  the 
  

   name 
  cosmodactyla 
  is 
  used 
  above 
  for 
  the 
  common 
  reddish-brown 
  species, 
  popularly 
  

   known 
  in 
  Britain 
  as 
  acanthodactyla, 
  and 
  not 
  for 
  the 
  rare 
  olive-brown 
  insect 
  gener- 
  

   ally 
  known 
  as 
  punctidactyla 
  or 
  cosmodactyla. 
  In 
  Ent. 
  Record, 
  xi., 
  238 
  (1899), 
  

   Mr. 
  Tutt 
  showed 
  that 
  the 
  former 
  is 
  the 
  true 
  cosmodactyla, 
  Hb., 
  while 
  the 
  latter 
  is 
  

   really 
  acanthadactyla, 
  Hb., 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  Catalog 
  by 
  Staudinger 
  and 
  Rebel 
  (1901), 
  

   although 
  the 
  reference 
  to 
  his 
  note 
  is 
  given, 
  the 
  erroneous 
  use 
  of 
  Hubner's 
  names 
  is 
  

   maintained 
  (Bankes). 
  

  

  /3. 
  var. 
  tetralicella, 
  Hofm., 
  " 
  Deutsch. 
  Pteroph.," 
  p. 
  62 
  (1895) 
  ; 
  Stand, 
  and 
  Rebel, 
  

   " 
  Cat.," 
  3rd 
  ed., 
  p. 
  73 
  (1901). 
  — 
  The 
  groundcolour 
  yellow-grey, 
  the 
  dark 
  markings 
  are 
  

   partly 
  dark 
  ferruginous-brown, 
  partly 
  more 
  blackish-brown 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  discal 
  area, 
  where 
  

   the 
  colouring 
  is 
  mixed, 
  sometimes 
  white 
  and 
  sometimes 
  black 
  predominates 
  ; 
  the 
  

   markings 
  differ 
  neither 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  nor 
  the 
  underside 
  from 
  the 
  typical 
  form, 
  but 
  

   the 
  underside 
  of 
  the 
  1st 
  and 
  3rd 
  plumules, 
  inmost 
  examples, 
  is 
  rather 
  blackish-grey 
  

   than 
  brown 
  ; 
  the 
  triangular 
  scale-tuft 
  of 
  the 
  3rd 
  plumule 
  is 
  longer, 
  and 
  generally 
  

   more 
  like 
  that 
  of 
  A. 
  punctidactyla 
  [cosmodactyla) 
  in 
  shape. 
  To 
  this 
  form 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  

   referred 
  several 
  specimens 
  received 
  from 
  Stettin, 
  and 
  bred 
  by 
  Hering 
  from 
  Erica 
  

   tetralix. 
  Examples 
  quite 
  similarly 
  coloured, 
  and 
  agreeing 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  the 
  scale- 
  

   tuft 
  of 
  the 
  3rd 
  plumule 
  also 
  occur 
  at 
  Regensburg, 
  where, 
  indeed, 
  this 
  form 
  appears 
  

   to 
  be 
  commoner 
  than 
  the 
  ferruginous-brown 
  form, 
  and 
  is 
  reared 
  from 
  larvae 
  found 
  

   on 
  Clinopodium 
  vulgare 
  (Hofmann). 
  

  

  Rebel 
  says 
  (Cat., 
  p. 
  73) 
  " 
  flavo-grisescens," 
  and 
  from 
  this 
  it 
  might 
  

   be 
  assumed 
  to 
  be 
  merely 
  this 
  colour 
  form, 
  not 
  particularly 
  confined 
  to 
  any 
  

   foodplant, 
  although 
  perhaps 
  more 
  frequent, 
  as 
  pointed 
  out 
  by 
  Hofmann, 
  

   in 
  connection 
  with 
  certain 
  environmental 
  conditions 
  of 
  which 
  a 
  special 
  

   food 
  may 
  be 
  an 
  important 
  factor. 
  This, 
  however, 
  is 
  not 
  so, 
  ami 
  it 
  is 
  

   clearly 
  the 
  darker 
  markings 
  that 
  give 
  character 
  to 
  the 
  form. 
  [In 
  the 
  

   "Frey 
  collection" 
  are 
  two 
  $ 
  s 
  and 
  one 
  ?, 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  label 
  is 
  

   unfortunately 
  missing, 
  but 
  which 
  we 
  suspect 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  received 
  

   from 
  Tiering. 
  They 
  are 
  placed 
  beneath 
  the 
  typical 
  examples 
  o( 
  calamin- 
  

   thae, 
  and 
  are 
  unnamed, 
  although 
  set 
  apart 
  as 
  something 
  quite 
  distinct. 
  

   They 
  appear 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  " 
  heath 
  " 
  form, 
  are 
  very 
  dark 
  in 
  colour, 
  almost 
  as 
  

   small 
  as 
  calaminthae, 
  and 
  tending 
  to 
  have 
  quite 
  a 
  melanie 
  general 
  

   appearance, 
  the 
  ground 
  colour 
  being 
  largely 
  suppressed 
  by 
  the 
  spread 
  

   of 
  the 
  dark 
  markings, 
  in 
  which 
  blackish 
  predominates. 
  The 
  nearest 
  

   approach 
  we 
  have 
  seen 
  to 
  this 
  small 
  race 
  among 
  British 
  examples, 
  are 
  

   the 
  specimens 
  taken 
  on 
  the 
  heaths 
  at 
  Selby 
  by 
  Ash 
  : 
  and 
  we 
  suspect 
  that 
  

   it 
  will 
  be 
  generally 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  " 
  heath 
  " 
  form, 
  although 
  from 
  some 
  

  

  