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15th of August; Stainton gives June; Merrin, May, June, and some¬ 
times, August; Newman, June. 
A friend took a single Zygaena filipendulae, at Southend, on the 4th 
of September; I myself took one at Penzance, on August 11th, 1890 ; 
Stainton gives June and July ; Merrin, June; Newman, June, begin- 
ing. I found a freshly-emerged 2 of Metrocampa mar gar it aria, sitting 
on a grass-stem at the foot of a tree, on the night of Sept. 5th ; Stainton, 
gives July; Merrin, June and July ; Newman, July. I find I took a 
specimen at light on the 30th August, 1893. 
A friend writes me that he was taking Agrotis tritici, on Sept. 14th, 
of this year; Stainton, gives August; Merrin, July and August; 
Newman, July. I took Leucania impura a week ago. 
Some of these are doubtless instances of partial second broods; some, 
perhaps, cases of the survival of the fittest, most vigorous, and latest 
developed. One can understand that, when an insect’s period of flight 
covers perhaps a month, some individuals may be delayed some little 
while beyond the rest, and some of these may live long beyond the time 
of those first developed. Or, a change of weather, when the larvae are 
feeding, may check the growth of some, kill others, and perhaps, not 
affect the remainder, who may have got beyond the stage where the 
check can be felt. In confinement, the larvae which lag behind the others 
generally seem to me to die, but in a wild state, they may possibly pick 
up again, and go through their changes successfully, and, possibly, in 
solitary grandeur. In the year 1886, I found on June 3rd, a magni¬ 
ficent 2 Saturnia carpini, evidently just emerged, a month late at least. 
One last word to those who, like myself, hope against hope, for a 
grand catch of rarities—people who have seen Vanessa antiopa, but 
have not caught it. May it not be that we, who call ourselves the un¬ 
lucky ones, are to have our luck amongst varieties, instead of amongst 
species ? I suggest, of course, that there must be varieties of common 
Lepidoptera which are as rare as V. antiopa, as rare, pernaps, as Valeria 
oleagina, and some varieties may prove to be unique. If luck does not 
favour us one way, it may another. The very commonest species may 
produce a prize. How many have been cheered and gratified by a 
grand var. of Arctia caia , or of Abraxas grossulariata (I once threw 
away a whole brood of semi-transparent specimens of the latter species, 
only troubling to set two, to show how wretched they were). A great 
friend and I once could get nothing by beating but larvse of Caber a 
pusaria. He bred from his lot a moth which was entirely grey. I sent 
the same friend, from Cornwall, a number of larvae of Spilosoma men- 
thastri. He bred from them some melanic forms, which, to say the 
least, are not to be picked up every day, and which fetched a good price 
when he sold them. I must conclude, by thanking you for your kind 
attention, and by another humble apology for the imperfections and 
commonplaces of my paper. 
Mr. Tutt proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Burrows for his 
paper. He stated that, strangely enough, the first specimen of Agrotis 
obscura he saw on sugar, almost deluded him into the belief that the 
insect was Noctua augur. The longitudinal streaking near the outer 
margin of the wing seemed to be quite a general (although rare) 
character among some Agrotids. Referring to the unusual variation 
that Mr. Burrows had found in Agrotis exclamationis this year, he re¬ 
marked that excessive variation in this species appeared to be 
