1892.] 



THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



specimens on the "Juniper field," one of which he kindly gave to me to 

 Liiake my pair, one he has presented to Mr. Doubleday and one went 

 to Mr. Burney. Since then he has taken one or two more specimens, 

 and these are all I know of. That tlie species is nearly allied to Pt. 

 loewii is self-evident; indeed none but a practised eye would detect 

 the differences ; but this may be also said of other species in this 

 very peculiar group; wherein larvae, without the most remote 

 apparent relationship in form, markings, or habits, produce entomolog- 

 ical puzzles" ("Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," Vol. IV., pp. 

 178-179). Mr. Barrett's opinion in the same Magazine, Vol. XVIII. , 

 p. 180, that he "thought hodgkiusoni merely a slight variety of zoplio- 

 dactyhis,'' brought forth the following reply from Mr. Hodgkinson: — 

 "I see my "plume" is threatened with extinction. Has anyone seen 

 the original hodgkinsoni that I took? I fancy Mr. Gregson could give 

 a good account of it, he has a good drawing of it and I rather think a 

 specimen ; the late Henry Doubleday also wrote to me that I had sent 

 him a new " plume '" and a new Tortrix, the " plume " was hodgkinsoni 

 — the Tortrix, Euchromia rufana. A little more mformation may not 

 be out of place. I never either saw or heard tell of a loewii being 

 taken nearer than Southport, quite 50 miles away, and a sea between; 

 another thing, the plant (centaury) does not occur within miles of where 

 I took the insect" ("Entomologist's Monthly Magazme," Vol. XVIII., 

 p. 212.) Mr. South differs from other writers on the position of this 

 variety, and says : — "Although not so stated, I apprehend that the 

 ashy-grey, lightest towards the cleft," &c., refers to the primaries; if 

 this is so, I have some specimens of M. bipunctidactyla from N. Devon 

 which agree very well with the description of hodgkinsoni. The 

 time of year fits my insect also, and it differs from the type in 

 precisely the same manner that hodgkinsoni is said to differ from M. 

 bipunctidactyla. As I have not yet seen a specimen of hodgkinsoni, I 

 cannot, of course, say that it is a form of hipnnctidacyln , but I think it 

 may turn out to be a form of that species, rather than a var. of 

 zophodactylus, Dup." ("Entomologist," XXII., p. 35). Needless to say 

 that no one who has seen the specimens agrees with Mr. Soutli. 



(To be continued). 



THE SECONDARY SEXUAL CHARACTERS OF 

 THE BRITISH COLEOPTERA. 



BY JOHN W. ELLIS, M.B. (VIc), F.E.S. 

 (Continued from page 94). 



Colour. — Colour does not play an important part in the distinction 

 between the sexes of British beetles, and in the comparatively few and 



