63 
Undatae,” described as having “ the larvfe thick and short, generally 
green with pale longitudinal lines or some reddish streaks ; the seg¬ 
mentation mostly distinct; the wings marked traversely with massed 
parallel wavy lines, without definite band,” and refers it and junigerata 
to a fourth section of this “ Family,” transitional towards the next 
one (the “ Mediofasciatae ”), being characterized by having :< a variable 
transverse band across the forewing.” As regards the species, the 
information given is: “Larvae on Pinus picea, etc. The moth is subject 
to very manifold variations in colour and in the transverse lines; it 
mostly shows in common with the following species ( junigerata ) a dark 
■transverse band, yet sometimes only sinuate lines of different colours ; 
and the larvae distinctly belong here.” If—as is extremely probable— 
Schififermiiller knew also the obeliscata forms, he must have included 
them in his single variable species. The separation of obeliscata is due 
to Hiibner, and it is quite legitimate, if not indeed inevitable, to 
follow him in restricting the name variata to the greyer species, as 
has since consistently been done. The “dark” transverse band, yet 
sometimes broken into lines, favours variata so far as it gives any 
definite clue, while Finns sylvestris (the normal foodplant of obeliscata) 
is not mentioned. A remark of Illiger’s (“May. fur Insektenlcunde,” ii., 
p. 166), that the Vienna entomologists of the period used to send out 
as variata “ a Geometer very similar to G. ruptata, Hiibn.” [corytata, 
'Thnb.J also favours variata more than obeliscata. In any case 
Hubner’s figure 293 (1796?) and Fabricius’description in the “ Supple- 
mentum,” p. 455 (1798) certainly refer to the variata of the moderns— 
“ cinereous with the band fuscous,” etc.; adumbrata, Vill., (“ Linn. 
Pent.’’ ii., p. 384) appears to be, as Werneburg has determined, an 
absolute synonym of variata ; pinetata, Bkh. (“ Ear. Schmett.” v., p. 
■373) must also be so treated because, although he quite certainly 
mixes the two, the name was intended as “ nov. noin.” for variata, 
which he considered not characteristic enough, “ as several Geometers 
are very variable, often still more than this one.” I know of no other 
legitimate synonyms for the type form ; Werneburg (“ Beit.” ii., 205) 
refers here to the coynata of Thunburg, but that is now known to 
belong really to simulata, Hb., and is, indeed, the oldest name for that 
species. Some names (mostly due to misidentifications of Continental 
figures or descriptions) which were given by our early British authors 
to native forms and which have sometimes been cited as synonyms of 
■variata, must be referred to obeliscata ; it is surprising what a muddle 
they made of the three species obeliscata, coynata and Jirmata, and of 
others even more distinct. 
A mountain form (near the tree-limit, 1800-1900m.) has recently 
(“ Verb. Zool.-bot. Ges. Wien,” lxii., S.B. p. 216, December, 1912), 
been named L. variata ceinbrae, Kitt, distinguished by being pure grey, 
without admixture of brownish, such as otherwise always occurs in 
variata, Schiff. The arrangement of the markings as in typical 
variata, the median area darkened ; suspected of feeding on Pinus 
■cembra. I have not seen anything entirely answering to it; curiously 
the greyest forms known to me are some of Major Robinson’s Hamp¬ 
shire specimens. An aberration with the ground colour nearly white, 
.and the band strongly fuscous (coloration rather near that of fluctuata), 
xxii.-xxiii. 
