10 
THE entomologist’s RECORD. 
three forms sirigilis norma\, fasciuncu la normal, and var. cana” To 
my mind there is no difficulty with these, it is with these indescribable 
vars. where strigi/is- var. athiops runs into black forms of fasciuncula 
that the difficulty comes. I am rather surprised, too, to find that Mr. 
Tugwell does not know that there are distinct links between fasciuncula 
and var. cana, and I certainly think he is wise in not being prepared to 
argue that there may not be such links. Would it not have been wiser 
to have neglected mentioning these until certain, and then argue to the 
bitter end. I will finish by suggesting that if, as Mr. Tugwell says, 
“it is beyond dispute that the nine specimens sent by the Rev. W. F. 
Johnson from Armagh are all^ what might well be called a strong local 
for 77 if there is no need to separate the “all” which make up one 
“strong local form” into two species, “seven of which are fasciuriciila 
and two strigilisP — J. W. Tutt. 
Aberration of Arctia hebe.— I have in my collection of European 
Lepidoptera an aberration of A. hebe^ L., ? l<^^^ in excellent con- 
dition, which differs from the typical form in a highly interesting 
manner. The bands of the superior wings are ochreous instead of 
white, and not bordered with dark. The small round basal spot is 
wanting. The first band is small, unequal and in the upper part cut 
through by the ground colour. The second band begins at the upper 
margin with an oval spot, continues small and goes downwards, be- 
coming gradually broader, the exterior margin being somewhat convex 
in the middle. The base of this band is formed by an equally broad 
spot of yellowish white colour. Instead of the third band there is near 
the upper margin of the left wing an oblong and vertical little spot, 
which is wanting on the right wing. The 4th and 5th bands are small, 
the transverse line is broad, the inferior half of the 4th band is not 
directed convexly inward, but goes almost straight to the inner angle, 
whereby the inferior black spot appears small. The edge equally 
narrow and black ; the inferior wings black without any trace of red 
colour, the marginal spots and the middle band deep glossy black. 
The undersides of the superior wings black, last and upper half of the 
penultimate band and transverse line nearly as dark yellow as above ; 
the rest of the delineation of the bands scarcely visible. Inferior wings 
exactly as above. Abdomen brilliant bluish-black with velvet-like black 
dorsal and lateral stripes, the space between the first and latter, coloured 
with light red, the margin of the lateral stripes above as below and 
have from the 2nd to the 6th segment a very small very red point on 
each of them. The size of this specimen is that of the common ? . — 
E. Kautz, Coblentz-on-Rhine. March^ 1891. 
Varieties of Vanessa urtic^e and ZYGiENiD^E. — Some twenty 
years ago I called on a picture collector who bred large numbers of 
showy butterflies. He opened one box that had eleven pale yellow 
tortoiseshells, all perfect but one. This had three wings, one top wing 
being loose in the box. Before I could say a word, he took out this 
one and crushed it under his foot. I said something — low, no doubt 
— but he soothed me down, saying, take what is left. He did not value 
them, as he said they were not right ones. He never bred any more. 
Of the yellow burnets a friend of mine has four that he bred from 
the Sunderland district. He writes me the place is now destroyed. 
I had one bred by a boy near Thorley. I have a specimen more of an 
