59 
though it had been scraped with a knife); “ a black spot before the orbi¬ 
cular, a rhomboidal black spot between the stigmata, orbicular sometimes 
pale, reniform always so, especially its hind margin.” 
One cannot help feeling, in the face of such variations as these (and 
A. nigricans is by no means alone), that we are indeed still in the fog, 
if we longer content ourselves with speaking of a light 01 a dark, of a 
red or a black, of a streaked or a blotched, so-and-so. Possibly some of 
my correspondents would be glad of some of the forms before us to-night, 
but how on earth are they to acquaint me with their wants, unless the 
forms have a name. Can we not come to an agreement to name varieties ? 
It is done in some cases not nearly so necessary as this. “ A black 
Amphidasys betularia ” would convey a clear intimation of what was in 
question, as would “ a dark Miselia oxyacantJiae ,” but to speak of a red, a 
grey or a black A. nigricans, by no means meets the necessities of the case. 
Besides being here so often reminded of A. obscura, I also find myself 
in some doubt as to where to draw the line between some forms of A. 
nigricans and N. xanthographa. You will, perhaps, smile and say to 
yourselves, why ! the form and the structure forbid such a mistake. 
But N. xanthographa has sometimes narrower wings, and I have seen 
specimens (one of which, though a poor one, is in the case) which run 
. so very close, that I do not like to decide for myself to which species 
they belong. And this is especially the case, where the white hind 
wings of the male A. nigricans have only a faint lunule but still possess 
the well-developed marginal band which we associate with the male of 
N. xantlnograplia. 
I come now to a few other species taken this year, which seem to me 
to be somewhat out of the common. First, are four specimens of 
Xylophasia monoglypha; the pale one, bred; the three dark forms taken at 
sugar. The last specimen seems to me to be most interesting, for the 
reason that, although as dark, or nearly so, as the northern forms, it 
yet retains the pale spot on the inner margin, which occurs in the type. 
Then I will ask you to notice a short series of Anchocelis pistacina, rang¬ 
ing from yellowish-brown to a fine red, the former colour appearing to me 
to be most curious : another series of A. lunosa, their colour varying 
from yellowish, through a decided red, to grey and even black; 
two specimens of Noctaa baia, the first red, which I take to be the 
ordinary form, the second purple, which almost suggests N. stigmatica, 
but is without the rhomboidal dark mark between the stigmata charac¬ 
teristic of the latter species; one or two specimens of Caradrina cubicularis, 
which seem to be much darker than usual, a form which appears to have 
been rather common with me this year ; lastly, a row of N. xanthographa, 
some red, and three very curious silvery-grey specimens which I take 
to be unusual. 
Having gone through my exhibits, which I hope will at least interest 
some of the less experienced of your members, I may, perhaps, unless I 
have already taken up too much of your time, mention a few more species 
which I either have or have not taken at Rainham. First of all, the genus 
Centra ( vinula and her sisters), seems to be entirely absent, although 
poplars, willows and sallows, as is natural in such a marshy place, abound. 
Gonepteryx rhamni I have not caught sight of in three years, although a 
single Triphosa dubitata told me that there must be buckthorn within 
reach. Dasychira pudibwnda must be very rare; a single larva found 
last week, alone proving its occurrence. None of the “ sharks,” except 
C. umbratica, occur. 
