20 
although every district produces some specimens much less marked 
than others. On the other hand, occasional specimens with very 
strongly marked and clearly developed central bands are found, but 
these are rare, much rarer than obsoletely marked specimens, although 
this is strange, considering that four-fifths of the specimens one breeds 
or takes, have well-characterised markings, and one would naturally 
expect to find an increase of colour to be a more common form of 
variation, considering the development of the markings of a large per¬ 
centage of the normal form. There are absolutely obsolete specimens 
without any spot or markings whatever, but generally those which are 
most devoid of markings have a characteristic dark central spot (the 
lower half of the reniform). Strange to say, that at Reading, whence I 
have received a long series from Mr. Holland, although faintly marked 
specimens are not uncommon, specimens with only the central spot 
are rarely to be met with. The varieties of this species may be 
classified as :— 
1. —Pale yellow, with lower part of reniform forming a dark spot 
(flavescens, Esp.). 
la. —Pale yellow, with indistinct red markings ( cerago , Hb.). 
lb. —Pale yellow, with distinct red markings ( fulvago , Linn.). 
lc. —Pale yellow, with purplish band = cerago, Newman ( suffusa ). 
2. —Orange yellow, with central spot ( obsoleta ). 
2a. —Orange yellow, with indistinct red markings ( imperfecta ). 
2b.—O range yellow, with distinct red markings (aurantia). 
2c.—Orange yellow, with distinct red band ( virgata ). 
The eggs are laid in the autumn (in August and September) in neat 
rows of two to ten, along the sallow buds, but they do not hatch till the 
the spring (in March) with the swelling catkins, when the larvae can be 
collected in large numbers from the catkins and buds of the sallow, and 
one has only to collect a large number of catkins of sallow from various 
localities and tie them up in linen bags to make sure of a rich harvest 
of moths throughout the summer and autumn months, for large num¬ 
bers of species besides the two common Xanthice may be thus obtained. 
Later on, the larva leaves the catkins and lives on the ground. It is 
exactly like that of its congener flavago when full-fed, but, when 
young, the latter has the dark colour on the back of each segment 
formed into an irregular quadrilateral blotch. A very complete and 
well-drawn comparison between the larvae of fulvago and flavago is 
written by Mr. Buckler in the Ent. Mo. Mag., vi., pp. 263-264. The 
larva forms a cocoon, just under the surface of the ground, in May, but 
like so many of the species that feed up rapidly in the early part of 
the year, does not pupate for a considerable time. It is well distributed, 
being taken over the whole of England and Scotland, extending into 
the Tay, Dee and Moray districts, and probably reaching Sutherland 
on the east coast and Solway and Clyde (probably to West Ross) on the 
west coast. It is also well distributed in Ireland, Birchall giving 
County Wicklow, where he records it as common. It also occurs 
commonly in the neighbourhood of Derry. Staudinger gives as its 
range :—“ Central and Northern Europe (except Polar Region); Pied¬ 
mont; S. Russia ; Altai ; Amur.” 
Xanthia flavago. — This may be looked upon as probably the 
