42 
The above result is interesting in so far as that it sets up another 
group in opposition to the Trygris group, and still leaves them together 
intact; but its value must not be over-estimated, for the anal spikes 
appear in several other Geometrid species, quite outside the present 
subject of consideration, e.g., in Loboplinra, excepting the (? dissonant) 
species L. viretata. They also appear in Thera and in “ Melanthia ” 
bicolorata, in both which directions, however, I think I see a real 
affinity with Cidaria, as is also partly recognised by Lederer in his 
arrangement of his great genus Cidaria. 
Considering how comparatively rare, in the Geometrides, is hiberna¬ 
tion in the egg stage, it is worthy of passing mention that this—and, 
indeed, generally a somewhat extreme prolongation of that stage—is 
rather characteristic of the group now before us, although, of course, 
no one would dream of putting it forward as of generic import. Out 
of the fourteen species, no less than seven— immanata, fulvata, prunata, 
testata, populata, pyraliata, and associata —pass the winter as ova, and 
yet they are none of them late autumnal species, the majority, indeed, 
being true summer insects. Not only so, but M. bicolorata also agrees 
with them in this particular, and perhaps also one or two species of 
Thera. It is very interesting to note, in passing, that C, truncata, 
whose eggs (second brood) are laid considerably later in the season 
than those of C. immanata, yet produces larvae the same season, these 
larvae hibernating. If an entomologist catches, in August, a female 
of either of these species and is doubtful as to its identity, he can solve 
the problem by allowing it to deposit ova and seeing whether they 
hatch the same autumn. 
I must mention, in this connection, a probably abnormal occur¬ 
rence with Lggris populata, which I attribute to the extremely mild 
weather of last December. On the 17th of that month (in 1900), 
when looking at my ova, after neglecting them for a week or two, I 
observed that two larvae of this species had hatched. One of the two 
had, no doubt, done so quite recently, as it was still vigorous, the 
other (though also living) was less so. The rest of the eggs went 
through the winter unchanged. 
Unfortunately, these long-period ova are, when deposited in chip- 
boxes, extremely liable to dry up during the winter; those of 
immanata are proverbial for this, and I have utterly failed to obviate 
this, on both occasions in which I have had them, although last 
winter I damped them very frequently and very freely. The other 
species have not been quite so disappointing in this respect, but I have 
generally had a heavy percentage of loss from this cause. 
In preparing the Geometrid portion of the City of London Fauna 
List, I felt compelled to adopt some provisional classification of the 
Cidaria group, and have, perhaps, to some slight extent forestalled the 
present paper. It will bo noticed that I used six generic names, one 
of them with a query (Trans, ('it;/ l.ond. Soc., x., pp. 72-78). In 
some respects, however, they must be taken as what Mr. Tutt would 
call “ the expression of our present ignorance.” Not knowing the 
earliest stages of miata and siterata, I was content to let them rest 
in the genus Chloroclgsta, which was provided for their reception by 
Hiibner; but it is quite possible that we shall be able to retain them 
in Cidaria —at any rate, the longer palpi and other slight distinguish¬ 
ing characters adduced by Guonee do not necessarily prove their 
