Ɛpsilon

From Albert Hugh Jones   17 November 1869

Shrublands, | Eltham, | S.E.

17 Nov 1869

Dear Sir,

On the other side I have much pleasure in sending you particulars as regards sexes of Lepidoptera, reared this season. I am sorry I have so few to record, but hope to do better for you next season.1

I am, Dear Sir | yours faithfully | Albert H Jones

Profr Darwin

Lepidoptera reared from Egg.
Eriogaster Lanestris 73 ♀ 68 ♂
Orgyia Pudibunda2 17 ♀ 14 ♂
90 ♀ 82 ♂
Lepidoptera reared from Larvæ collected
Bombyx Castrensis3 22 ♀ 32 ♂
112 ♀ 114 ♂4

CD annotations

End of letter:

♂ ♀
364 3115
114 112
478 423.
ink

1
No query to Jones has been found. In 1868, Jones enumerated the proportion of the sexes in nine species (DAR 85: B83); see Descent 1: 313. No later correspondence with Jones has been found.
2
The moth Eriogaster lanestris is known as the small eggar. Orgyia Pudibunda is now Calliteara pudibunda, the pale tussock.
3
Bombyx castrensis is now Malacosoma castrensis, the ground lackey.
4
In Descent 1: 313, CD reported that Jones ‘reared imagos from 4 species’ resulting in 112 females and 114 males.
5
CD calculated the ratio of 364 males to 311 females as equal to 117 males to 100 females on the back of DAR 85: B83, but it is not clear where these figures came from.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-6993,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-6993