83 
VENUSIA CAMBRICA AND ITS ALLIES. 
(Read January 19th, by LOUIS B. PROUT, F.E.S.) 
My personal knowledge of the species which I have chosen for my 
subject this evening—or at any rate my knowledge of it in its native 
haunts—is of the very slenderest, it only having once been my pleasure 
to come across it, and on that occasion I found only one single specimen. 
When I was at Forres in August, 1902, not being generally overburdened 
with setting—-on account of the absolute failure of “sugar”—I not 
infrequently found myself with an hour to spare in the afternoon, a 
time of day usually reserved by me for setting, and would fill it up with 
an easy stroll in the vicinity of the town. It was when so occupied, 
on the afternoon of August 12th, that I had my first, and thus far my 
only interview, with the pretty little “ Welsh Wave.” It was sitting 
on a pinetrunk fa little to the south of Forres) with wings outspread 
and looked very conspicuous ; I need hardly add that there was plenty 
of the only known foodplant, Pyrns aucitparia, in the immediate vicinity. 
All I learned of its habits—if I may be said to have learned anything 
from a single specimen—was that it is no less shy than most of its 
trunk-resting congeners, and it darted off directly I approached with 
a view to boxing it—I had no net with me. However, it only flew 
quite a short distance and then seemed to tire and fluttered down into 
mixed herbage close to the ground, where I succeeded in securing it. 
It was a male, and decidedly worn, as might be expected at such a late 
date; and of course it was really of no use, though I was none the less 
interested to meet with it. 
But it is by no means because of this single encounter that I wish 
to discuss Venusia cambrica this evening. It is a species which has 
possessed unusual interest for me ever since I commenced my study 
of the genus Epirrita (Oporabia) some years ago. In spite of a great 
difference in size, there is really a good deal of resemblance between 
Venusia cambrica and Epirrita dilntata, and this does not seem to be 
entirely superficial. At any rate Packard, the pioneer worker amongst 
North American Geometrides, places cambrica in the genus Epirrita 
alongside dilntata (Monograph , pp. 83, seq.) He remarks, “ It is 
singular how constantly E. carnbricaria has been separated generically 
from E. dilntata ; though, according to Lederer*, it was regarded by 
Standfuss as a variety of E. dilntata. Why Curtis separated it from 
‘ Oporabia ’ does not seem to be plain, as he remarks that ‘ it is doubtful 
whether it may not be necessary to remove Oporabia f to the genus 
before us.’ He then compares E. (his Venusia) cambrica with E. dilntata 
and E. multistriyaria. E. cambrica is so close to E. dilntata that I had 
* It is Freyer, not Lederer, who publishes this statement. (Neuere Beitraye, 
vi., p. 106.)—L. B. P. 
+ Packard slightly misquotes (see infra) ; Curtis was not quite such a muddler 
as to propose removing an old genus bodily into a new one ; he only doubts whether 
his least typical member of Oporabia (multistriyaria, Haw.), may not have to be 
removed to Venusia. —L. B. P. 
