THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
DAVIS
GIFT OF
W. HARRY LANGE
LIBRARY OF
W. H. LAh8G£
'^
\
1
^
THE
^^ BRITISH NOCTU>€
AND
THEIR VARIETIES,
BY
J. V^. TUTT, F.E.S.
(Editor of The k'ntomologisVs Record and Journal nf Variation
and Vice-President of the City of London
Entomological Society).
VOL. IV.
London :
SWAN, SONNENSCHEIN & Co.,
Paternoster Square, London, E.C.
Berlin :
FRIEDLANDER & SOHN,
Carlstrasse 11, Berlin, N.W.
New York, U.S.A.
PH. HEINSBERGER,
International Bureau and Export,
9, First Avenue, New York,
U.S.A.
DECEMBER, 1892.
Printed by Messrs. Warnk & Sox, Y IPD'Cjlfc'roVi'H'nge Road, London, S.E.
RSITY OF CALIFORNIA
r»A VTQ
TO MY SUBSCRIBERS.
On the completion of the fourth and last volume of this work, I beg to sincerely thank the ladies and gentlemen who have so kindly subscribed to the work, and thus taken the whole of the monetary responsibility of production off my shoulders. To each and every of the following first list of subscribers, as also to those who have supported the production of the work through the publishers, I tender my heartiest thanks.
J. W. TUTT.
iu
FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
Abbott, Percy W.
Adams, Herbert J., F.E.S.
Adkin, Robert, F.E.S., Ex-President of the
Sth. London Ent. Society, Alderson, E. G. Alderson, Hope Ames, Mrs. Sarah, Ashby, H. Atmore, Edward A., F.E.S.
Bankes, Eustace R., M.A., F.E.S.
Barker, Henry W., F.E.S., Secretary of the
Sth. London Entomological Society, Barnard, Geo. Barren, Wm. E. Battley, A. U., Secretary of the City of Lon.
Entomological Society, Baxter, Thos.
Bazett, Mrs. Eleanor C, F.E.S. Beeching, R. A. Dallas, F.E.S. Bellamy, H. M. Birmingham Entomological Soc, per C. J.
Wainwright, Esq. Blathwayt, Lieut.-Col. Linley, F.L.S., F.E.S. Booth, Geo. A., F.E.S. Bowell, E. W. Bowles, E. A., M.A. Brady, L. S.
Briggs, Thos. Henry, M.A., F.E.S. Bright, Percy, Brown, Lieut. E. W. Buckell, Francis J. M.B., Vice-President of
the City of London Ent. Society, Buckmaster, The Rev. C. J., M.A. Butler, W. E.
Cammerer, Miss C.
Cansdale, W. D., F.E.S.
Capper, Samuel J., F.L.S., F.E.S., President
of the Lanes, and Cheshire Ent. Soc. earlier, E. W., M.D. Carrick, Wilfrid,
Chapman, T. Algernon, M.D., F.E.S. Chichester and West Sussex Nat. Hist. Soc.
(per A. Lloyd, Esq.), Christy, W. M., F.E.S. Clark, John A., F.E.S., President of the City
of London Entomological Society, Clarke, H. Shortridge, F.E.S. Cockerell, T. D. A., F.Z.S., F.E.S. Cooper, John A., F.E.S. ColUns, J. Crabtree, B. H.
Birmingham. Enfield, N.
Lewisham.
Worksop.
Farnboro'.
Strood.
Southampton.
King's Lynn.
Corfe Castle.
Peckham, S.E. Buaringa, Queensland. Peckham, S.E.
Amhurst Park, N. St. Anne's on Sea. Reading.
Tunbridge Wells. Wood Green, N.
Bath.
Grange over Sands.
Staplehurst.
Waltham Cross.
Sunderland.
Leatherhead.
Bournemouth.
Shorncliffe.
Canonbury Square, N.
Wigan.
Reading.
Greenwich, S.E. South Norwood, S.E.
Liverpool. Edinburgh. Forest Hill, S.E. Hereford.
Bognor. Ems worth.
London Fields, N.E.
Douglas.
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Warrington (two copies)
Levenshulme.
IV
FIRST LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
Craske, Mrs. M. Cutts, J. E. K. Cyriax, R. C.
Dalglish, A. Adie,
Daltry, The Kev. Thos. W., M.A., F.L.S.
Dennis, George C, F.E.S.
Dent, Hastings Chas., C.E., F.L.S., F.E.S.
Dingwall, Kenneth,
Dixey, Frederick A., M.A., M.D., F.E.S.
Dobson, H. T.
Dod, F. Wolley,
Doncaster, Arthur,
Dunning, Joseph W., M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S.,
F.E.S., Ex- President of the Eutom.
Society of London,
Eales, Christopher, Eastwood, John E., F.E.S. Edmonds, E.
Edwards, Stanley, F.Z.S., F.E.S. Elisha, George, F.E.S. Elliman, E. G. Ellison, S. T. Evans, W. A.
Farren, William, F.E.S., Secretary of the
Cambridge Nat. Hist. Society, Fenn, Charles, F.E.S. Finlay, J.
Fletcher, William H. B., M.A., F.E.S. Forsyth, A.
Fox, The Rev. E. C. Dobree, M.A. Freeman, Francis Ford, F.E.S. Freer, Richard, M.B. Friedlander and Sohn, Messrs.
Gardner, John, F.E.S.
Greene, The Rev. Joseph, M.A., F.E.S.
Griffiths, Geo. C, F.E.S.
Hanson, R. E. Vernon,
Harker, George,
Harris, John T., F.E.S.
Hart, G. V.
Hall, A. E., F.E.S.
Hall, Thomas William, F.E.S.
Headly, C. B., F.E.S.
Helps, John A.
Henderson, John,
Hepburn, A. Buchan,
Hewett, The Rev. G., M.A.
Heyne, Ernst,
Higgs, Martin Stanger, F.E.S.
Hill, Henry A., F.E.S.
HinchKff, Miss K.
Hols worthy. Southampton St., W.C. Douglas Road, N.
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Cambridge.
Lee, S.E.
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Worthing.
Weymouth.
Tewkesbury.
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Berlin (2 copies).
Hartlepool.
Clifton.
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Leicester.
Forest Hill, S.E.
Birchin Lane, E.C.
Turvey.
Winchester.
Leipzig (2 copies).
Gloucester.
Haverstock Hill, N.
Instow.
FTTIST LTST OF RUBSfRIBERS.
Hodges, Albert J. Highbury, N.
Holland, The Rev. W. J., D.D., Ph. D., F.E.S. Pittsburgh. Hollis, George, Dartmouth Park Hill, N. W.
Home, Arthur, Aberdeen.
Jackson, W. H. Founder's Court, E.G.
Jenkins, Thomas John, L.C.P. Westcombe Park, S.E.
Johnson, The Rev. W. F., M.A., F.E.S. Armagh.
Kane, W. F. de Vismes, M. A., M.R.I. A., F.E.S. Kingstown.
Kenrick, G. H., F.E.S. Kimber, Miss M., F.E.S. King, T. W. Knight, John, Kyrke, A. Venables,
Laudale, A.
Livingstone, Claremont, F.E.S.
Lloyd, Alfred, F.C.S., F.E.S., President of
the Chichester and West Sussex Nat.
Hist. Society,
Mackmurdo, W. J.
McLachlan, W. H.
Macmillan, W.
Mackonochie, The Rev. J. A., M.A., F.E.S.
Maddison, Thomas,
Majendie, W. R. Stuart,
Marindin, Miss H.
Marsden, H. W.
Mason, J.
Maze, W. P. Blackburne,
Mera, A. W.
Merrifield, Frederic, F.E.S.
Milburn, William,
Moberly, J. C.
Neave, B. W., F.E.S. Nesbitt, A. Newman, William, Newstead, R., F.E.S. Nicholson, C. Nussey, B. L.
Oberthur, Charles, F.E.S. Ovenden, Joseph,
Pierce, F. N., F.E.S., Secretary of the Lancashire and Cheshire Ent. Soc.
Porritt, George T., F.L.S., F.E.S., Editor of The Naturalist,
Prout, Louis B.
Ramsden, Hildebrand, M.A., F.L.S., F.E.S.
Raynor, The Rev. Gilbert H., M.A.
Reid, William, F.E.S.
Riding, W. S., M.D.
Robertson, Capt. R. B.
Robinson, Arthur, B.A., F.E.S.
Edgbaston (2 copies).
Newbury.
Dorking.
Plumstead.
Chard.
Leith.
Gt. S. Helen's.
Bognor.
Wanstead.
Clapham Park, S.W.
Castle Cary.
Glasgow.
Durham.
Sidmouth.
Liss.
Bath.
Clevedon Court Lodge.
Newbury.
Forest Gate, E.C.
Brighton.
Darlington.
Southampton.
Brownswood Park, N.
Llandogo.
Darlington.
Chester.
Upper Clayton, N.E.
Forest Gate.
Rennes, France. Strood.
Liverpool.
Huddersfield. Dalston, N.E.
Russell Sq., W.C.
Wragby.
Pitcaple.
Honiton.
Swansea.
Temple, E.C,
VI
rmST LIST OF SUBSORTBERS.
Eobinson, George,
Robson, John Emmerson, F.E.S., Editor of
The British Naturalist, Rochester Naturalists' Society, Routledge, G.B., F.E.S. Russ, Percy,
Salwey, Reginald E., F.E.S. Sellon, Reginald, Shelton, J. Sich, Alfred, F.E.S. Smetham, Henry, Smith, Charles Roach, F.S.A. Smith, Mrs. L. J. Snellen, P. C. T., Hon. Fellow Ent. Soc.
Lond. Stainton, Henry F., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.E.S.,
Ex-President of The Entom. Soc. of
London ; Editor of the Entom. Monthly
Magazine J Steuart, Douglas H. S., F.E.S. Still, Major John Nathaniel, F.E.S. Stott, J. Herbert, Studd, E. F.
Tay Society of Natural Science, Thornthwaite, William, Tunaley, Henry, Tunstall, T. Turner, Henry J. Tutt, Harry F.
Vaughan, J. Williams, Junr.
Vipan, Capt.
Vivian, H. W., F.E.S.
Wainwright, Colbran J., Secretary of the Birmingham Entom. Society,
Waldegrave, The Rt. Hon. Earl
Walsingham, The Rt. Hon. Lord, M.A., L.L.D., F.R.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S., Ex- President of the Entom. Soc. of London,
Warburg, J. C.
Warne, W.
Watkins, William,
Watts, C. W.
Weir, J. Jenner, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., Vice- President of the Sth. London Ent. Soc.
Wells, Miss Emmeline,
Whittle, F. G.
Wilson, J.
Wire, A. P.
Wood, J. B., M.B.
York Naturalists' Society,
Strood (2 copies).
Hartlepool. Rochester. Russell Sq., W.C. Sligo.
Folkestone.
Sydenham, S.E.
New Brompton.
Chiswick.
Strood.
Strood.
Topsham.
Rotterdam.
Lewisham, S.E.
Frestwich.
Horrabridge.
Bolton.
Queen's Gate, S.W.
Perth.
Highbury, N.
Birmingham (2 copies).
Warrington.
S. Catherine's Park, S.E.
New Brompton.
Brecon.
Wansford.
Taibach.
Birmingham. Bryan ston Sq., W.
Thetford.
Porchester Terrace, W. Bedford Sq., W. Croydon (3 copies). Belfast.
Beckenham. Lewisham, S.E. Lothbury, E.C. Woolwich. Leytonstone. Tarrington.
York.
INTRODUCTION TO VOL. IV.
In presenting the last volume of this work to my subscribers, it may be well to draw attention to a few further incidental facts to which the writing of the book has directed my attention.
In the Introduction to Vol. I. I dealt with some of the *' Probable causes of variation," in that to Vol. II. with some thoughts on the " Genetic Sequence in the Colours of Lepidoptera," and in Vol. III. with those phases of variation connected with the sexes of Lepidop- tera, generally known as " Secondary Sexual Characters." In the present volume I propose dealing with matters which need explana- tion, or have already had attention drawn to them, as well as a general idea of the classification of our NocTUiB and their relation to those of other countries.
Varieties and Aberrations. — Some entomologists lay great stress on the distinction between " aberrations " and " varieties " and I think very properly, although I have been unable to keep up so artificial a distinction in this work. According to the distinction as set up by Dr. Staudinger, " aberrations " are accidental forms, occurring occasionally with the typical form, whilst " varieties " are local races or modifications of the type, which they have supplanted in various localities. It is very evident, that in a work based on exact study rather than generalisations, the distinction to a great extent falls through, and almost all the " varieties " so-called, would be in reality "aberrations." But there is no real distinction in this direction. Even in our own country the " varieties " or local races of one district are " aberrations " in another and vice versa. Take for example Cmpidta psi. In London, the pale type of this species is very rare, and has been supplanted by a true variety or local race known as var. suffusa. A few miles from London, the pale type generally occurs, whilst a dark specimen of the variety svffma is very rare. In such a locality, suffusa becomes purely an aberration in the Staudingerian sense, and therefore within a few miles area, this form may be a variety (local race) or an aberration (occasional form). Every entomologist could give other examples — Cuspidia leporina and its var. bradyjjorina, Cymatophora or and its var. scotica, Thera juniperata and its var. scotica, Asphalia flavicornis and its vars. scotica and galbanus and endless other species give parallel instances. It becomes clear, there- fore, that such an arrangement is exceedingly artificial and indefinite, and altogether unworkable, when the variation of most of our species is closely and systematically worked out.
Perhaps in another sense, almost all our British specimens of a very large proportion of species are " varieties " in the Staudingerian sense, i.e., if we compare them with the generally brighter and better marked typical forms obtained in Central and Southern Europe, for there are very few of our British species that do not differ from the usual Continental forms of the same species, and that do not bear a strong impress of the insular character of our fauna. In this way, therefore, our most ordinary forms are often local races, and our own
Viii TNTRODUOTTON.
recognised local races are, in fact, forms very much intensified com- pared with the Continental race. Striking examples of this character are seen in British specimens of such species as Viminia eupTiorhice var. myricce, Dianthcecia Inteago var. barrettii, DiantJicecia ccesia var. manani and many others. These are, however, excellent illustrations of distinct local races or varieties, occurring quite independently of the type, and varying inter se as much as does the type in other localities.
Such absolute cases as these, however, are comparatively rare. Reference to the general remarks on such species as Agrotis hyperhorea, A, siihrosea, Tceniocampa instabilis and Pachiohia ruhricosa will show, however, that I have not neglected this part of the work. The first two of these species, although having intermediate forms, are strikingly developed as local races in Britain compared with the Continental form. The typical pale hyperhorea of Scandinavia etc., is replaced by red forms in Britain and the Alps, whilst the ordinary Continental form of suhrosea known as var. subccerulea, is also pallid, the British form being very strongly tinged with rosy. Pachiobia rubricosa gives us local races that cross in various localities, although strongly differentiated in others, so also does Tceniocampa instabilis. At any rate, the general notes on these and other species should be sufficient to direct the attention of future workers to the main facts as to whether, in certain localities, the forms should be considered principally as " varieties " or " aberrations," although I must own that I have not been able to see my way out of the mass of difficulty which must necessarily have occurred, had I attempted to adopt the Staudingerian arrangement, e.g., Tapinostola ful.va ab. fluxa of Staudinger's ' Catalog ' would become var. ftuxa in many parts of Scotland, just as the Cuspidia psi var. suffusa in London, would become .ab. suffusa a few miles out. Leucania lithargyria var. argyritis, as it is called in Staudinger's ' Catalog.' would become ab. argyritis in Britain, where this pale form, far from developing into a local race, is of the most rare occurrence, turning up as an aberration occasionally with the type. Again the Grammesia trigrammica var. bilinea of Staudinger would become ab. bilinea ; Cleoceris viminalis var. obscura, would become ab. obscura in most localities, and so on almost ad infinitum.
Many of the forms with which I have had to deal, can scarcely be classed either as " varieties " or " aberrations." They have neither developed into "distinct local races which have supplanted the type" since they occur with the type, nor can they exactly be looked upon as accidental forms which occur occasionally with the type, as they are, on the contrary, frequently equally common with the type. The various forms of the species in Leucania, Agrotis, Apamea etc., will immediately occur to lepidopterists as illustrations of this view.
At the same time I am quite aware of the fact that although a *' variety " and an " aberration " may be identical in the cabinet, yet in the hands of the field naturalist, the " variety " will probably breed true, a specimen of the type form only occurring occasionally as an "aberration," whilst the "aberration" may produce some " aberrations " but will in the main revert at once to the type. This appears to be the great difference between them, and the only reason for making any discrimination.
It becomes evident, therefore, that the division of forms which do
TNTRODFOTTON. IX
not agree with the type into " aberrations " and " varieties " is to a great extent artificial and arbitrary, and frequently incapable of application. At the same time, I do not wish to deny the comparative value of these terms when applied in a general way to local races or isolated accidental forms, as the case may be. But for the purpose of exact sub-division the terms are useless and cannot be scientifically applied.
Use of the Term Type. — In the preceding paragraphs concerning "varieties" and "aberrations" I have frequently used the term "type." In entomology this has two very distinct meanings and its application in each instance from a scientific point of view can be readily justified and proved to be correct.
In the first place, the term " type " is used to designate the prevalent form of any species occurring in a given district or area. Thus var. suffusa is often referred to as the London type of Cuspidia psi ; var. myricce is referred to as the Scotch type of Viminia eupkorhice ; var. meridionalis as the Huddersfield type of Folia flavicincta ; var. viridicincta as the Portland type of Epunda Uchenea and so on. Every locality, with anything specially peculiar in its environment, will produce its own particular type, and hence, in this way, there will be almost as many types as localities.
Now let us first examine the usage of the term " type " in a more extended manner, and let us consider what in this sense is the true type of the species. As in the above examples, we restrict the term " type " to the prevalent form in a certain fixed area, generally a com- paratively small one, so if we wish to obtain, in this sense, an idea of the true type or prevalent form of the species, we must find out what is the prevalent form throughout its whole area of distribution. But, as a matter of fact, we know very little of the different phases of the variation of most insects throughout their whole area of distribution, and hence it is, in the present state of our knowledge, almost impossible to fix on the prevalent form or type of even the best-known and commonest species. We know that every special locality, with any striking or marked peculiarity in its environment, will produce its own special form, and it would be necessary to compare all these different local types to get a general idea of the type of the species as a whole as used in this paragraph.
The use of the term " type," in this sense, can only be valuable, therefore, in a general way, and it contains no actual scientific value, since it does not convey a definite idea to the mind of the student.
But there is another use of the word " type " which is most valuable in scientific work. The term is applied to that particular form of a species which was first figured or described by an author under a particular name. For the purpose of comparison it is necessary to have a fixed form with which comparisons may be made, otherwise we should always be hopelessly muddled. It may be an arbitrary arrangement to refer to some particular form as the type, but it is certainly a most useful one. The type may, in this sense, be a very rare form, a very local form, or a common and well-distributed one, but for the purpose of comparison it matters little which of these it is. So long as we have something exact, fixed and unalterable, comparison is easy ; without such, comparison is impossible. If our knowledge was sufficiently advanced to enable us to refer with ease to the most
X INTRODUCTION.
widely-distributed form of each species as the type, it would be much preferable to the arbitrary arrangement we are obliged to adopt, but our knowledge in this direction is at present infinitesimal and our ignorance profound, and however satisfactory it would be to be able to use the term " type " as I have here pointed out, it is at present impossible.
I would only offer one gentle criticism concerning the use of descriptions and figures as types. Guenee and other authors have used as types the figures of authors not only without descriptions, but without names. The use of figures without descriptions but with names is perfectly legitimate and proper, and I consider a good figure with a name as valuable and useful (frequently more useful) for a reference, as the best description, but a figure without a name is useless, and it is ridiculous to refer a later author's name to the figure of an earlier author and look on the earlier author as the nomenclator of the species and delineator of the type. To illustrate my objection. Albin figured a moth without a name. Many years after it was figured by Hiibner under the name of impiiva and yet Guenee refers to the species as impura, Albin. Albin never dreamed of the insect as impnra, and it appears unscientific to attempt to tack his name on to the species as the nomenclator of the type. For myself, T have accepted the oldest recognisable named figure or description as the type.
Still another point relating to type descriptions. Hufnagel's, accepted by Staudinger, are wretched : and alone, should as a rule, and certainly would be rejected. But there is another side to the question. Contemporary (or almost so) with Hufnagel was Eottemburg, who knew Hufnagel's species (probably saw his types) and who re- described or extended Hufnagel's descriptions in an excellent manner, at the same time retaining Hufnagel's names. These latter, through Kottemburg's references, therefore, become quite intelligible, and I support Staudinger in retaining Hufnagel's names and utilising his descriptions for the types.
3. The Noctu^ in the British Museum Collection. — Relating to this special group which we are now considering, I would refer to the National Collection in the British Museum, and also to a series of papers published by Mr. Butler, in the * Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' entitled " Notes on the synonymy of the Noctuites," which are based on the material in that collection. In accepting some of the references made in these papers without verification, I am afraid I led my readers into error in one or two instances in the Agrotidce, but the errors have since been pointed out.
The necessity of seeing the type specimens of some species for the purpose of this work, led me to the British Museum to examine them, and at the same time to look over the collection. I was ex- tremely sorry to find that the way in which certain species have been wrongly named, is a most serious matter, and presents dangers to those who may have to consult the collection, so that I feel it necessary to point out some of these instances. A British collector will understand the seriousness of the errors, when I say that in the series of Hadena (Mamestra) thalassina, there are eight specimens of thalassina, two of H. adusta, and four of H. genistce ; the last specimen in the series of Noctua margaritacea, is a typical specimen of N. glareosa ; the two last
INTRODUCTION. XI
specimens under the name of N. pimicea are specimens of N. umhrosa. Four specimens of Agrotis nigricans var. carbonea are placed in the series of A. tritici; whilst one of the most marvellous errors is in connection with Agrotis hyperhorea. A very fin6 series of the typical grey form of this species (vide, ante, vol. ii., p. 85) is in the collection. Our British specimens are redder than the type, and, as is well kuown to most of our collectors, were called carnica for some years. There is an European species in Tachnohia, called carnea. Struck apparently by the similarity of the names carnica and carnea, the two red (type) specimens of hyperhorea labelled carnica, have been placed in the midst of a series of carnea, in another genus, and to which they do not bear the slightest likeness. These errors, at any rate, will be sufficient to give workers of the NocTU.^ some idea of the comparative worthlessness of the British Museum material of this group in its present condition, and the necessity of actual verification of everything published on the group ; and if such errors as these occur in our own well-known species, what are the possible errors in those less well known ? Nothing can show more, too, the danger attending the (to my mind, unnecessary) method of breaking up the collections on which our future work must be based. It is simply amazing to think that such collections as the Grote and Zeller collections, should be allowed to be broken up and distributed, especially when such errors as these already quoted, are made by those who make the distribution, and who thus criticise the work of ento- mologists,— work (which such errors lead us I think fairly to assume) is not understood.
With regard to hap-hazard criticism, the following is an example from the pen of Mr. Butler, who appears from his writings, to be somewhat if not entirely responsible for the present condition — both in naming and arrangement — of the national collection of Noctdje. Referring to Cerastis ligula and C. vaccinii, he writes : — " The describers of Exotic lepidoptera frequently have to suffer from the bitter onslaught of men whose experience is limited to a study of the European, and sometimes to the British fauna, these men complaining that the student of tropical forms makes too many species. As a matter of fact, no men are greater " hair- splitters " than purely European workers. The above is only one out of many instances in which one variable species has been laboriously sorted out into three. Formerly, N. ligula was believed to be in all probability, a variety of N. spadicea, Schiff. ; but N. vaccina was regarded as a very distinct species. In Walker's * Catalogue ' (part x., p. 450), N. ligula stands as a recognised variety Staudinger, on the other hand (' Cat.,' pp. 118-119), calls spadicea an aberration of vaccinii, but raises ligula to the rank of a species. Zeller, with his seventy specimens, showing every gradation between the three forms, was sadly bothered ; so that he left a typical N. ligula amongst his examples of G. vaccinii, and divided the remainder some- where in the middle, being evidently unable to find any constant character by which to distinguish them. Is it not a sense of their own short-comings which makes the describers of European lepidoptera so bitter against the students of Exotic species ? " {' Transactions of Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, pp. 682-683).
I think I can safely answer this query in the negative. European, and more especially British lepidopterists, are rather observers of lepi- doptera and students of their earlier stages, than " describers " of their
xii INTRODTTOTTON.
fauna, as Mr. Butler so rightly names many of those wno laboriously work at Exotic species. Of course, there are naturalists among those who interest themselves in Exotic species, but it is to the class " describers of Exotic lepidoptera " so graphically described by Mr. Butler, that I now refer.
The above-quoted remarks concerning Itgula and vaccinn, show that the writer is not conversant with the condition of our knowledge of the NocTU^: at the present time. No writers have ever attempted to make three species of these. It has been conclusively proved by Dr. Chapman (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxvi., p. 86), that in Britain there are certainly two species, and it follows that the lumping process adopted above, is wrong in fact, and unscientific in principle. We can ignore Mr. Butler's reference to Mr. Walker's ' Catalogue ' which might comfortably be burned, in fact, I am surprised at even Mr. Butler referring to it as an authority on such matters. Staudinger makes two species, as also does Gruenee, and so also do most entomolo- gists of the present day, but change in synonymy has altered the old order of things, and spadicea now equals lignla, vaccinii still remaining distinct {ante, vol. iii., pp. 1 — 6). I am not surprised that Mr. Butler cannot discriminate between ligula and vaccinii, when he makes such startling errors as I have previously pointed out.
It is surely strange of Mr. Butler to talk of purely European entomologists as " hair-splitters," when the British Museum collection contains a series of typical hyperhorea in one drawer, and the red type of the same species in another, mixed up with another species and labelled carnea ; when there is a typical series of nigricans, and then its var. carhonea is placed under the name of tritici. Truly such hap- hazard criticism as this i? not very valuable, when there is scarcely a young entomologist in our London Societies who could not name such species with ease. I hope Mr. Butler will not think I *' am not quite sensible of my own shortcomings," but I prefer to be an " European worker " to an Exotic muddler.
Mr. Butler is very unjust to Zeller, who was a naturalist, observant in the field, and a master in his generation. The statement that he divided " the remainder somewhere in the middle, being unable to find any constant character by which to distinguish them," follows out the general empirical style of Mr. Butler's criticisms. That Zeller " left a typical N. ligula amongst his examples of G. vaccinii" is well-nigh impossible. That Mr. Butler thought he had found one there does not surprise me.
One of the most remarkable instances of Mr. Butler's inability to see specific characters, or perhaps, I ought rather to say to distinguish allied species, occurs with regard to Lencania pallens and L. straminea. He says : — " L. paJlens of the United States, agrees absolutely with the European L. straminea. The two forms have practically the same characters, and if received from any extra European locality, would never have been considered distinct ; indeed, it is possible to find ex- amples which cannot with certainty be referred to one form rather than the other. L. straminea differs chiefly in the generally more prominent pale longitudinal streak above the median vein of the primaries, and the better-defined black or dark markings. Not having bred both from the egg, I keep them separate in the collection " (* Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, pp. 660-661). Reference to the
INTRODUCTION. Xlll
British Museum material on which the remark was based, show that of a whole row thus named, only seven specimens are slraminea and not one of these came from America. I cannot imagine straminea and pallens being considered identical, and still less do I follow that the only reason for making them separate is that they do not *' come from extra European localities " (What a condition the extra-European species must be in if they are named on these lines !), whilst we notice also that the only differences are stated to be " the generally more prominent pale longitudinal streak above the median vein of the primaries " and " the better-defined black markings," when, as a matter of fact, it is difficult to find a point of similarity, the thoracic crest in straminea, the differently shaped wings, the sexual variation in the hind wings, development of the pale nervures &g., all pointing to complete distinctness, and the final reason as given by Mr. Butler for keeping them distinct is the best of all : Mr. Butler " has not bred both from the egg.'' I wonder if he has bred either, or any other NocTUA. And all this muddle about two species which swarm on the Plumstead marshes in the S.E. district of London, only a few miles as the crow flies from the Museum, and which have different larvj© feed- ing at different times in different ways on different food plants. Truly this is a strange paragraph.
Mr. Butler further writes:— "I cannot see any reason for distin- guishing Hydrcecia * and HelotropJia from this genus (Celcena). Celcena is very close to Mamestra, so much so that I find M. stricta (= cinnabarina) and M. olivacea (which looks like a black form of the same thing) un- doubtedly belong to Celcmia and are closely allied to C. renigera " etc. ; and again " Celcena appears to be a fairly natural group, but the structural distinctions between it and Mamestra are not apparent on the surface " (' Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 676). I do not con- sider Mr. Butler's statement here as worth anything, as he owns to confounding Miana strigilis with the American M. stricta, but after allowing " Celcena to be a fairly natural group " and maintaining it as a distinct genus (I.e. p. 676) and referring a species of Helotropha — leucostigma — to Celcena {I.e. p. 677), it is rather strange to find that he refers his own Icevis (Butler, ' Trans. Ent. Soc. London,' 1881, p. 181), which is a typical male leucostigma, to Cerastis ; true (I.e. 1890, p. 677) he recognises his blunder, but like Professor Smith ( Entom.' xxv, p. 105) I should like to know on what characters Mr. Butler founds his genera, and why a species is Cerastis one time and Celcena another. It would also be interesting to know why the American Helotropha reniformis, Grote, a species either identical or so closely allied to our leucostigma that it is really indistinguishable, should be placed many drawers away from the typical series of the species in the cabinet in the British Museum, and labelled as a Mamestra. Truly such methods are quite beyond my comprehension.
The connection between Gortrjna, Celcena and Xanthia is very forcibly put by Mr. Butler. He writes : — " Judging from the perfect insects only, this genus seems chiefly to differ from Celcena in the greater tendency of the species to become greasy, although many
*l^ot Hydroeda 'AS we know it, but one of Mr. Butler's own imagination He refers our Hydrcrcice — rnicacei and petasitis to Goi'tyna {vide * Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1890, p. 678).
Xiv INTHODUOTION.
forms have a very distinct aspect, and are barely, if at all, sej)arable from Xanthia,; others, again (6r. illoha, necopina, micacea, strameniosa, petasitis and nitela) are extremely like C. leucostigma, and allies. It is difficult to know what to do with groups of this kind, based, perhaps correctly, upon the mere clothing of the thorax or some such apparently trivial character ; they appear to be natural genera, and therefore, I leave them as I find them " (^ Trans. Ent. Soc. of London/ 1890, p. 678). Can anything be more strikingly illogical ? Commencing with a statement " that the members of this genus seem chiefly to differ &c., by their greater tendency to become greasy," and that some of these same species have " a very distinct aspect, and are barely, if at all separable from Xanthia,'' Mr. Butler concludes by calling them "natural genera," and is satisfied " to leave them as he found them." That is, I suppose, they form a natural group, because they get " more greasy than one genus," and are "indistinguishable from another." Truly a scientific division, and one that perhaps illustrates Mr. Butler's characterisation of other genera.
Will Mr. Butler explain on what grounds he separates our Plastenis retusa from P. suhtusa, placing the latter under another unearthed generic name of Hubner's, called Ipimorpha ? We do not learn what Mr. Butler knows about suhtusa, but he tells us what he knows about retusa, a not uncommon species within a few miles of the British Museum. In the * Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1886, p. 131, the spe- cimens from Japan were named Cosmia curvata, i.e. when Mr. Butler thinks he has a new species, he finds its generic characters good enough for Cosmia. He then writes of them : — " These Japanese specimens are slightly larger and darker than most European examples : when I named Cosmia curvata, we had no European representative in the general collection " (* Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 681). In other words, Mr. Butler excuses his want of knowledge of a species fairly common just outside the London suburbs, because there was no " European representative in the general collection." This want was supplied, Mr. Butler states " by the acquisition of the Zeller collection," and then, I presume, the generic characters which led Mr. Butler to l)lace the specimens from Japan in the genus Cosmia, vanished, and the species returned to its natural resting place in Plastenis, where we find it in the * Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 681. But why has suhtusa gone over to Ipimorplia ? Perhaps Mr. Butler will tell us whether on such sterling characters as led retusa into Cosmia from 1886 to 1890, to be wafted back by a happy afterthought into Plastenis ?
These are some of the points which struck me on the examination of the papers called ' Notes on the Synonymy of the genera of Noctuites.' published in the ' Trans, of the Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, pp. 653-691.
I will only add with regard to this matter, that serious consider- ation should be given by the powers that be, that in future, any his- torical and valuable collections, like the Grote and Zeller collections, should be left in their entirety to illustrate what such masters at their work themselves intended, and not allow them to be distributed, and in the humble opinion of the writer, ruined by those who fail to understand them.
4. Identical and Kepkesentative Species in otuek Conti-
INTRODUCTION. XV
NENTS. — Among other subjects of interest to which my attention has been directed, is one which merits special attention. This refers to species found in other parts of the globe " representative " of our European species. I had a considerable correspondence with Mr. Grote, the great authority on American Nocxu^, relative to this question, and it must be owned that he showed a very comprehensive grasp of the subject, and taught me much. In dealing with the fauna of a new district, especially when there is anything strikingly peculiar in the environment etc., there are certain minor differences which lead us to surmise that we have new species. This has been the case with many of our own Nocture, of which the Continental (European) form of Cuspidia euphorbice, and our own peculiar dark form which was named by Guenee as a distinct species under the name of myricce, is a striking example. All over their area of distribution, some species are so fixed in character and so constant, that it is impossible to surmise that they can be other than the species we know under certain names elsewhere. But there are other species which exhibit differences of colour or size, or which present some other unimportant difference which leaves room for honest doubt, and from want of knowledge, the species gets a new name. Nowhere, perhaps, is this so much the case, nor has this naming been carried out to such an extent as in North America. When a really intelligent European collector looks through a collection of American lepidoptera, he thinks he recognises a large number of species as identical, so far as he can determine, with Euro- pean forms, but let that same collector look down an American list and he will be astonished how few names he recognises. The species he thought he recognised have different names, and he knows them no longer, they (the names) represent nothing to his intelligence. He loses touch altogether. Some American species are so positively iden- tical with ours, that there is no longer any question, but these few will not account for the large number of species which have the facies and general appearance of European species.
Identical North American and European Species. — The species which are allowed to be identical in the American List of NocTu^ii- Genuin^, and which are found in Britain, appear to be as follows : — Noctua (Agrotis) conflua, N. haia, N. c-nigrum, N. plecta, Agrotis fen- nicay ypsilon and var. idonea, saucia and var. margaritosa, Aplecta (Agrotis) occulta and prasina, Hadena trifolii, H. exidis, Dipierygia scabriuscula, Euplexia liicipara, Hydroecia nictitans with its vars. ery- throstigma and lucensj Leucania pollens, L. unipuncta, Amphipyra tragopoginis, Tceniocarnpa incerta, Cosmia paleacea, Xanthia flavago, Scoliopteryx libatrix, Plusia ni, Anarta cordigera, A. melanopa, Heliothts armigera, H. scutosa, H. dipsacea, with a yellow variety, probably identical with the European var. marttima, and Chariclea (Pyrrhia) umbra. On the identity of European and American forms of these, and a few other species, all lepidopterists are practically agreed, except an individual here and there, who will scarcely allow that anything European can be American also, and vice versa.
It is not, however, in respect of these acknowledged identical species that our surprise is so much aroused, as at other species, between which and our own we are unable to see any, beyond perhaps the slightest difference in colour and size. Viminia (Arsilonche) henrici in America, appears to be quite identical with V. albovenosa in Europe. Mr. Grote
XVi INTRODUCTION.
says " the moths he examined did not exactly correspond, and I keep provisionally the distinct name for the American form." I fail to find any distinction between Xylophasia rurea and X. (Hadena) vultuosa, Mamestra atlantica seems identical with our Hadena dissimilis and the Hadena finitima of the American list, appears to be most certainly a colour variety only of Apamea hasilinea ; whilst apart from size, Graphiphora augur appears to be identical with the American Agrotis haruspica, although Mr. Grote finds a difference in the genitalia, and is supported in his view by Professor Smith.
Kepresentativb North American and European Species. — Apart from these identical and probably identical species, there are a vast number of species certainly distinct, which have the facies of our European species and replace them, often in somewhat similar localities in America. Thus our Hyppa rectilinea, Brotolomia mettculosa, AmpJii- pyra pyramidea etc. have their representative species in H. xylinoides, B. iris and A. pyramidoides. Endless other examples are recognised in comparing the faunas of the two countries.
Which are really identical and which representative species can scarcely be assumed now, much less determined, in the present state of our ignorance. Some of our own British species, well known to be distinct by the difference in the earlier (larval, pupal) stages, are so very similar in the imago state even when we are conversant with them, that we can only with the utmost difficulty separate them. The diffi- culty is, of course, greatly increased, where we are not intimate with such similar and allied species found elsewhere, and when the early stages of one at least is practically unknown.
With regard to a comparison of the Noctuidte of Europe and North America, Mr. Grote writes : — *' The study of the North American Noctuid fauna has shown its close relationship to the European. There is first, a comparatively small percentage of identical species to be considered. Then we must take into account that all the leading genera of European Noctuidce are represented in North America, and show a larger number of species as a rule, and all with the European facies. The identical species are found almost without exception in the typical Noctuidse, or Noctuinse. So far as these are ascertained at present they are as follows : — Agrotis chardinyi, conflua, baja, c-nigrum, fennica, pleda, speciosa, rava, fiisca, ypsilon with its variety idonea, saucia with its variety margaritosay occulta and prasina. Except as to conflua, the identity of American examples with these species of Agrotis, in sensu Lederer, does not admit of real doubt. Two species, determined as conflua and per conflua, the former from Anticosti, the latter from New York, are contained in the Grote collection in the British Museum. There is no doubt that the species determined as perconflua is distinct from the European, but it is not clear whether the Anticosti specimens represent a distinct species equivalent to Waiiker's jucunda and differing from the European. Mamestra grandis, trifolii, Hadena lateritia, arctica, Dipterygia pinastri, Euplexia lucipara, Gortyna nictitans with its forms erythrostigma and lucens, Heliophila pallens, Pyrophila tragopoginis, Tceniocampa incerta, Pachnohia carnea, Cosmia paleacea, Xanthia flaimgo, Scoliopteryx libatrix, Plusia hochemvarthi and decergens, Anarta cordigera and several other species of this genus inhabiting northern or elevated Alpine regions, Melaporphyria ononis, Heliothis armiger, with an olive-coloured variety, umbrosus, apparently
INTRODUCTION. XVll
not found in Europe, H. scutosus and dipsaceus, the latter with a yellow- winged variety, apparently the equivalent of the European maritima, Pyrrhia umbra. Besides these, several species occur in North America, the identity of which with certain European forms is a matter of present uncertainty. We may enumerate the North American Hadena vultuosa, which may turn out to be identical with the European rurea, Caradrina miranda^ which may be lepigone; C. civica, which may be quadripuncta ; Lithophane pexata, which may be ingrica ; Calocampa nupera, which may be vetusta ; LitJiomia germana, which may be solida- ginis ; Calpe canadensis, which may be capucina ; Arsilonche henrieiy which may be albovenosa. From this it will be seen, that the percentage of identical forms may be considered small, since the North American fauna is sufficiently well known as to prevent the idea that any large additions will be made in the future to the above list. The identical species, when finally fully compared and ascertained, will form a distinct and limited class by themselves. A less distinctly defined class of North American species, are those grouped as "representative." These grade through different distinguishing features, into the large class of perfectly differing species, still retaining the European facies, and then again into the generically peculiar forms only known as yet from North America, but with probably Asiatic and even African allies. There remains then a residue of structural forms peculiar to North America, together with those which intrude into the North American fauna from tropical America, and which, in part, are yearly immigrants over a large portion of the United States and Canada.
The characters by which the North American representative species are separated from their European allies are unequal in value, taken from different stages of the insect, and are often so slight that, did the European and American form occur together, there would be no question of their specific identity. The fact that these forms do not interbreed, that they do not produce each other, must be taken as the warrant for the assumption of a different specific title. Among the butterflies we have an instance in Chrysophanus phlceas and the C. americana of D'Urban, or JiypopMceas of Boisduval. Instances of representative species occur also in the higher Heterocera, but we have to do here especially with their occurrence in the Owlet Moths. The least evident, but at the same time the best-marked character by which European and North American representative species may be distin- guished, is the structure of the male genitalia. We may take as instances of this, the European Agrotis augur and the American A. haruspica, the European Agrotis ruhi and the American A. rubifera. The peculiarities of size, form, external structure, colour, pattern of ornamentation of the European augur are reproduced in haruspica. The most that can be said of the moths is, that the American examples tend to an obsolescence of certain markings, and there may be a differ- ence in the exact shade of colour ; probably the latter, with the former character, will not hold good throughout extensive series. Yet the male genitalia show a difference in the details of their shape. The character may not be sufficiently founded, but what is published upon it may be accepted as evidence of the fact. Now there are, in North America, apparently co-existing genitalic species among the Skippers belonging to the genus Nisoniades. The question comes up : are modi- fications of the genitalia of specific value ? That they are not to be
Xviii INTRODUCTION.
used as the sole basis of genera seems clear, from the fact that they differ very widely in co-existing species, in all other respects closely allied and generically identical. As to the case of augur and haruspica, the main distinguishing peculiarities of augur are all retained, as we have seen, in haruspica, except the structure of the genitalia. Since there can be no question that augur and haruspica are related geneti- cally, that the differences, such as they are, are the result of a division of the original stock, of time and environment, we must come to the conclusion that a modification of the genitalic appendages is sooner effected than a change in color, pattern and form, and that therefore the character is morphologically of less importance, is less stable than other, apparently more superficial characters. The co- existing genitalic species of Nisoniades have been separated in the books, but no experiments have been made as to whether the insects produce always the genitalic type ; the immature stages are not known, and this latter is also the case as to haruspica and ruhifera, where, if known, they have not been properly compared with those of augur and ruhi. We may consider the whole series of genitalic studies as being incomplete, as lacking confirmation and the basis of experiment, while we may be willing to admit, on the face of the matter, that they would be important if true. There are two or three aspects of the case which might be mentioned here. The first relates to the want of precision in the forms of the male appendages, owing to which, it is difficult to state what amount of modification is specific, what generic. It is clear here, as elsewhere in the moths, that specific and generic characters differ only in quantity, not in quality, that our categories are essen- tially artificial, and do not exist in nature. The second stands still clearly within a scientific or objective point of view. Some writers on genitalia have endeavoured to classify the whole Lepidoptera by their tails, much as Herrich-Schiiffer took only cognizance of the wings and neuration. In one case, as in the other, the result must be failure. The last observation I would make leaves the theoretical domain of science. It refers to the overbearing language and assumption of cer- tain recent authors who, on the strength of their studies as to the genitalia of a few species, allow themselves to speak disparagingly of the work of those who have not done the same, taking the ground, apparently, that the species are alone to be determined by their geni- talia, whereas this is by no means the actual state of the case. In strongly differing species, the genitalia remain of the same pattern. While we may admit that the genitalia are a guide in difficult cases, the criterion for species remains, that the insects breed true to type ; that in some, if not all stages, they may be distinguishable by experts, a difference in the genitalia being only one link in the chain by which we determine that we may have to do with a distinct cycle of repro- ducing existences. The reality of this fact must be finally assured by breeding.
Leaving the genitalically founded representative species, inhabit- ing Europe and North America, we come to those which are separable chiefly by differences in the larval stage. Here we may cite the European Trioena psi and the American T. occidentalis, the moths of Avhich are much alike, while the caterpillars seem to be easily dis- tinguished. Here also belong a number of instances deduced by Guenee from Abbot's drawings of American larvae. The immature
INTRODUCTION. XIX
stages of the North American Noctu^ are so incompletely known, that we may expect interesting additions to this class of species. A case, conversely, of resemblance between the larvaa and difference in the moths, is offered in this same group, viz: that of the European Jocheoera alni and the American J. funeralis.
The mass of representative species are separable on more obvious, though it may be still slight characters. Among such may be enumer- ated the European Habrosyne derasa and the American H. scripta. A third representative species of Habrosyne occurs in Japan. The Eastern American Thyatira puclens with its aberration anticosttensis, is less clearly a representative form ; the differences, while the general pattern of ornamentation is retained, being somewhat great, while the Western American T. lorata departs still more, and shows a distinct approach to the species of Bombycia. The European Diphthera orion and the American D. fallax, show considerable resemblance, while Acronicta leporina and A, vidpina, may be held to represent each other. There are, however, a number of forms in America, belonging to Acronycta Ochs., which are as yet incompletely known. The North American Agrotis normaniana resembles the European triangulum ; the American A. obeliscoides, the European A. obelisca ; while the American A. clan- destina is separable from the European A. ravida, mainly by the peculiar structure of the female abdomen. There are not only here represent- ative species as between Eastern North America and Europe, but also as between Eastern and Western North America, where, west of the Rocky Mountains, the Californian A. havilce represents A. clandestina of the Atlantic district. The European Cabbage Owlet, Copimamestra brassicce, is represented in America by C. occidentis. In the Mamestra are a number of American species representing, through various grades of resemblance, European forms. We may here compare together nimbosa with the European nebulosa, purpurissata with tincta, atlantica with dissimilis ; while the American Dianthoecia bella and glaciata, much resemble the European magnolii.
The Russian Oncocnemis confusa is represented in California by 0. behrensi, while the genus in America grows to an extent hardly foreshadowed by the few European species. The genus Hadena shows a number of representative species, and perhaps some identical species, not yet sufficiently worked out ; among the latter, H. lateritia will probably be found. The European Hyppa rectiUnea is represented in America by H. xylinoides, Actinotia polyodon and A. ramosula resemble each other, and Trachea atriplicis seems to be represented in America by T. delicata. Brotolomia meticvlosa is represented in America by B. iris, while the European and American species of TrigonopJwra (Habryutis) differ strongly in colour. Certain European and American species retaining more or less a superficial resemblance, are found to differ structurally and therefore generically. As such may be cited Clrrhmdia xerampelina and Eucirroedia pampina. Instances of curious resemblances under this head remain to be noted (consult Grote, * Revised Check List,' 43). The European Pyrophila pyramidea is represented in America by P. pyramidoides, thus we have a representative and iden- tical species of the same genus, tragopoginis being found in both the Old and New World. In the genus Lithophane (Xylina), L. lambda is represented by the American L. thaxteri, while Scopelosoma sateUitia finds counterparts in America among no less than three species, sidus,
XX INTKODUCTION.
walkeri and tristigmata. This splitting up of the genus in America into several very nearly related species is a distinct phase of variation and merits particular attention. To separate the causes of variation, to eliminate the factors, and correlate them with the resultant effects, may bring us on the road to understand the reason for the diversity we find in the animal kingdom " {in litt. 1892).
Identical Japanese and European Species. — Many of the Japanese and East Asiatic species appear at first sight, to differ as much from our European specimens of the same species as do the American, but it is rarely now that they are known by any other name than that of their European types. Thus the normal condition of Viminia rumicis in Corea, Japan and China, is to be of a deep brown coloration closely approaching black, but the species is well recognised as rumicis. Keferring to the * Lepidoptera of Kiukiang,' we read Moma orion " agrees exactly with specimens from Europe " ; Clisiocampa neustria, ** identical with European examples " ; Agrotis ypsilon, " includes most of the forms occurring in Europe " ; Graphiphora (Noctua) dahlii, " several speci- mens showing considerable variation in tone of colour. Among them are examples identical with canescens, Butler ; " Dianthoecia compta, " one example exactly like some European forms of this species," and many similar entries are made of other species (Leach, "Lepi- doptera of Kiukiang " in the ' Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,' 1889, pp. 99-148).
Classification. — Another subject that has attracted my attention is that of classification. When I first commenced this work, in common I suppose with almost all field naturalists in Britain, I knew nothing of classification and cared to know less. A necessary alteration in synonomy appeared ir the light of an innovation, and as such, most probably something to be resisted, but the study of variation soon dispels such ideas, and shows that there is some relationship between the various groups, some affinities more or less remote and some superficial characters, which at first sight appear to bear relationships to other similar forms, but which in fact have no such deep-seated origin, the superficial resemblance being essentially due to similar habits, developed by a similar environment, or by a common need for protection and thus due to " protective resemblance."
The naming of species is a minor matter, and the only purpose served by a specific name is to make the particular species named intelligible at once to all naturalists.
Generic names serve to a limited extent the same purpose, but the genera themselves are not only for this purpose but also serve a much deeper one. Each genus usually now serves, not only as a means of distinction of a group of certain species, but some relationship with those genera around it. And not only " some relationship " but that of the closest relationship is generally shown by allied genera. Beyond these, we find that one group of genera exhibits certain characters in connexion with another group, and yet, at the same time disj)lay considerable differences. We then call each gioup of genera a Family, and similarly by uniting allied families we get a series of sub- classes.
The whole of the sub-classes in the Noctua were united by Guenee into two great classes or groups, the larger called the Noctu^- Tbifid^, the smaller the NocTU^-QuADRiFiDiE. These respectively
INTKODUCTION. XXI
represent in their general characters, the NocTUiE-NoNFAsciAT^ of Borkhausen and the Noctu^-Fasciat^ of the same author.
It has always been the aim of those who have attempted to classify our species to form a linear arrangement of the lepidoptera, in which each species should be closely allied to the one above and to the one below it. Such a method must be of necessity impracticable. As our knowledge of the development of species increases, so such an idea as linear arrangement sinks into impossibility. Certain variations leading to specific developments are thrown off from a parent stock ; they reach a certain limit which may be extensive or otherwise ; and as they are found, owing to altered conditions (geological, climatic, &c.) to be suitable or unsuitable, naturally extend considerably or otherwise die out. That is to say, suitable environment will carry on the development once begun, and for a time, whilst such suitable conditions exist, a linear arrangement may to a certain extent be followed, to be again, however, broken up by outside circumstances, whenever they become unsuitable. Besides, the very origin of specific forms, by means of which branches from an original stock may develop into distinct species in different directions, is against a linear arrangement at the outset, and hence all attempts to form a linear arrangement have proved futile.
I do not propose to enter into the wide subject of classification in detail, for which indeed I have no knowledge, but to consider a few points in the classification of the Noctu^, especially with regard to some aberrant species and genera. And here I may add that in my work I have adopted the system of Guenee generally, not because I believe in its infallibility, but because it was based on the study of the early stages as well as the imago, which, indeed, seems to be the only rational method of obtaining natural affinities, and it must be confessed partly also, because of my ignorance and inability at the time to suggest more natural lines and thus strike out a path for myself.
Guenee, as I have before remarked, divided the Noctu^ into the Noctu^-Trifid^ and Noctu^-Quadrifidje, including in the former term all the families represented in Britain and mentioned in * The British Noctuae and their Varieties,' down to vol iv., p. 14, whilst the following portion of the work to vol. iv., p. 60 consists of the Noctuje- QuADRiFiD^. The Deltoides, dealt with from p. 60 to the end of this work, are treated by Guenee as a division equal in classificatory value to the whole of the Noctu^.
Guenee places under the sub-class Bomhyciformes, Gn., the three families Cymatophoridce,I{ .S., which he himself calls Noctiio-Bombycidce, Bryophilidce, Gn. and Bombycoidce, Bdv. Staudinger, on the other hand, places the first family in the Bombyces, retaining the two last in the NocTU^. This would appear, in a measure, to be the better method, as the species in Nocttio-Bombycidce have no very close affinities with Bombycoidce. It must be borne in mind though, that Staudinger classifies rather peculiarly, for whilst he sub-divides the Bombyces into no less than fourteen families of equal value — to wit — 1. Nycteolidce, H.-S. ; 2. Lithosidce, H.-S. ; 3. ArctiidcBf Stephs. ; 4. Hepialidce, U.S. ; 5. Cossidce, H.-S. ; 6. Cochliopodce, Bdv. ; 7. Psychidce, Bdv. ; 8. Liparidce, Bdv. ; 9. Bombycidm, Bdv. ; 10. Endromidce, Bdv. ; 11. Saturnidce, Bdv. ; 12. DrepanuUdce, Bdv. ; 13. Notodontidce, Bdv. ; 14. Cyma-
Xxii INTBODUCTION.
topJioridce, H.-S. — be considers NooTUiE of equal value to Bomb¥ces, but witbout giving a single division of equal value to these just mentioned in the Bombyces with the one exception of Brephides, consisting of the single genus Brephos. Not even the Belto'ides which he includes in the Noctu^ have such a distinction. And there is some- thing to be said for his view of the matter, for the Noctu^ are a compact group and as a whole are in no wise made up of such a mass of heterogeneous material as are the Bombyces. I think, however, the Trifid^ and Quadrifid^ of Guenee are valuable, and at any rate show marked structural characters, which vary considerably in the two groups. The removal of the Cymatophoridce, H.-S., therefore, whilst only adding one more family or group to the already heterogeneous mass in the Bombyces, certainly leaves the NocTUic still more compact and clearly defined.
Grote re-names the Cymatophoridce of Herrich-Schaffer — Thyaiirince, treating it as a group of equal value with his Noctuince which agrees almost entirely with Guene'e's Noctu^-Trifid^, ex- clusive of course of Cymatophoridce. Of the Thyatirince he writes : — " It contains a few genera of varying appearance united by the neuration : vein 5 of the primaries being equidistant between 4 and 6, but so it seems in Nolaphana, and vein 7 of secondaries springing from the anterior margin of the median cell. The caterpillars are naked, 16-footed, and resemble somewhat the Notodontince. Of our Thyatira pudens, Mr. Dyar carefully describes the larva. The genus Thyatira (including Habrosyne) was formerly referred near Plusia and Hubner first associated it with Bombycia " (' Eevised Check-List of the North American Noctuidse,' p. 44). He further writes : — " The Bombyciform Noctuidce or Thyatirince differ in certain details of the neuration from the Noctuince (Noctuoe-nonfasciatce), and the question comes up as to the value of this character for classification. In all other respects, this small assemblage of moths must be considered as belonging to the NocTU^. The palpi, though short, have the Noctuid form. The eyes are sometimes naked, sometimes hairy. The legs, though somewhat short, are not unlike those of other owlet moths ; the fore pair have a tibial epiphysis so far as known to me. The fore wings are sub- triangular with pointed apices. The resemblance to the Notodontince is seen in the neuration of the primaries where vein 5 is intermediate. This character of vein 5 of the fore wings is, perhaps, of more value than the variations of the secondary costal veins. The difference in the position of vein 7 of the hind wings is, perhaps, not so important when we see that in Stilbia and Bivula, vein 8 springs from 7, the upper margin of the median cell " {' Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 105). Grote seems to have overlooked, or not to have observed that the ova do not conform to the * Noctuid type.' I would here also remark that Grote replaces the generic name Cymatophora, Tr., with that of Bombycia, Hiibn.
Guenee and Grote, therefore, consider that the Cymatophoridce are really Noctu^. Staudinger on the other hand considers them as a group of the Bombyces. For myself, I do not think it matters much in which division they are placed. They are essentially a connecting group between two divisions in no way very clearly defined at their extremes, and whether we call the Cymatophoridce a sub-class of Bombyces and place them at the end of this division, or a sub-class of
INTRODUCTION. XXIU
Nocture and place them at the head of that division matters but very little. The venation resembles that of the Notodontidce, the ova are somewhat Geometrid, whilst the general appearance of the moths is Noctuid.
Almost everybody appears satisfied in allowing the sub-classes BryopMlidce and Bomhycoidce to remain in the Nocture, and I think there can be no doubt that this is their true location. It has also occurred to most writers to place these near or classify them with the Cyma- tophoridce. This appears to have been done without satisfactory reason, both in the case of the Bomhycoidce and Bryophilidoi, the latter especially having other affinities, and being probably closely related to some of the genera in Orthosidce, and Dr. Chapman has shown that the Acronyctidce in the development of an extra nervure between the median and first sub-median veins have some structural affinities in this direction with the Orthosidce and the genus Xylina. At the same time, the Acronyctidce show certain distant affinities with the Liparidce and since the Cymatophoridce show similar distant affinities with the Notodontidce, the fact that both are in some way allied to the Bombyces has probably led to two very distinct and different families being placed next to each other. Mr. Butler seems to be the only writer who has ever suggested the genus Acronycta as an unnatural group in itself and that its members have no real affinity inter se, or proposed the location of its members elsewhere than with the Noctu^.
The Bryophilidce form a compact little group, certainly having no very strong affinities with either the Cymatophoridce or Bomhycoidce, although usually classed with them, but the latter is less homogeneous, since 8taudinger has added Demas coryli, Moma orion and Diloha cceruleocephala to this latter group. The early stages of the first and last are against their inclusion, whilst those of orion are in favour of its inclusion in the group, as it presents in its egg and larva many common characters with the genus Acronycta (taken as a whole), and there appears to be no doubt that D. coryli and D. cceruleocephala will both have to be transferred elsewhere. And here, too, it is necessary to refer to Mr. Butler's paper on the genus Acronycta in the ' Trans- actions of the Entomological Society of London,' 1879, pp. 313-317. This has been so repeatedly and adversely criticised that it would seem unnecessary to refer again to it, but it deals with the subject under consideration and is so sweeping in its erroneous conclusions that its fallacies cannot be too often pointed out. Shortly, Mr. Butler casually examined or looked at the blown larvae of some British members of the genus Acronycta, and then in the same casual manner examined the neuration of the imago, finally transferring A. (Viminia) rumicis and A. (F.) auricoma to the Arctiidce, A. (Cuspidia) leporina and A. (C.) aceris to the Liparidce, A. (C.) megacephala, psi, tridens and strigosa to the Notodontidce, whilst A. (C.) alni and A. {Bisulcia) ligustri were left among the Nocture. Dr. Chapman in his work ' The genus Acronycta and its allies ' has proved that these are all united in one generally well-defined whole, and capable of sub-division into three sections which he calls Viminia, Cuspidia and Bisulcia respectively, basing such divisions on the egg, larval and pupal peculiarities.
Grote unites under the title Apatelini, the Bryophilidce, Gn. and the Bomhycoidce, Bdv., whilst he separates the generia Arsilonche, Led. and Demas, Stphs. into a tribe called the Bomhycoidi. Dr. Chapman's
XXIV INTRODUCTION.
late researches have shown that Arsilonche albovenosa is congeneric with Acronijcta rumicis and its allies, and this being so, A. henrici, which is supposed by many to be identical with albovenosa, will have to be removed from its location as determined by Grote. Our genus Acronyda, Och. is supplanted in Grote's * Check List,' 189U, by Apatela, Hiibn., and (I am sure I do not know what those who object to Dr. Chapman's division into three sub-genera will say to it) Apatela is divided into no less than ten sub-genera — to wit — Tricena, Hiibn. (including species resembling psi) ; Acronicta, Ochs. ; Mega- cronycta, Grote ; Mer olonche, Gvote ; Apatela, 'H.uhn. ; JocJiecera, Hiibn. (including a species like alni) ; Lepitoreuma, Grote ; Arctomyscis, Hiibn. (for a species named sperata), Mr. Butler * must have overlooked the latter fact when he suggested that Dr. Chapman should use Arctomyscis in place of Bisulcia for Ugustri ; Mastiphanes, Grote and Eulonche, Grt.
Guenee's Genuine, with nine of its families represented in Britain, is a much more natural division, but his arrangement of the included families, and his distribution of the species in many of them is very seriously open to question. Staudinger takes them (without however using the terms) in the following order : — Noctuidce, Gn. ; Apamidce, Gn. and Hadenidce, Gn., combined ; Leucanidce, Gn. ; Caradrinidoe, Bdv. ; Ortliosidce, Gn. and Cosmidce, Gn., combined ; Xylinidce, Gn. ; Heliothidce, Bdv. with however, Amphipyridce, Gn. placed between the Caradnnidte and Orthosidce ; the Plusidce, Bdv. between the Xylinidce and Heliothidce, and the Gonopteridce, Gn. between the combined Orthosidce and Cosmidce on the one hand and the Xylinidce on the other. With most of these modifications I am inclined to agree. Apamidce and Hadenidce have no really differential characters, or at any rate none, such as would warrant us separating them into distinct families, and the Orthosidce and Cosmidce are much in the same condition. As I have before remarked, ante, vol. iv., p. 37, the position given to Amphipyra between Caradrinidce and Orthosidce is a not at all unnatural one, whilst Ncenia and Mania, placed as they are by Staudinger in the Hadenidce, would in my opinion find more natural afiinities in the Noctuidce, especially near Graphiphora augur. I disagree with the position of the Plusidce in Staudinger's arrangement, the Heliothidce being in my opinion more closely allied to the Xylinidce ; besides, the Heliothidce belong to Guenee's great division NocTUiE-TRiFiD^, whilst the Plusidce belong to the Noctu^- QuADEiFiD^. The Xylinidce comprise a strange assemblage, grouped apparently on a common facies due to their having adopted somewhat similar appearances for protection in the imago state. Some of them might possibly be referred to the Orthosidce, whilst, on the other hand, it has been suggested from the study of its early stages, that Scope- losoma satellitia belongs probably to the Xylinidce.
Grote divides Guenee's Genuine into the following : — Agrotini, agreeing generally with Noctuidoi, Gn. ; Dicopini f ; Hadenini, agree- ing generally with Apamidce, Gn. and Hadenidce, Gn. combined; Arzaminif; Nonagriiniy agreeing with Leucanidce, Gn. ; Scolecocampini ; Nolaphanini f ; Caradrini, agreeing with the Caradrinidce, Bdv. ; Orthosiini, agreeing with the Orthosidce, Gn. and Cosmidce, Gn. com- bined ; Calocampini, comprising only the genus Xylina (called Litho-
*Vide «Ent. Eec' &c. vol. ii., p. 82 and pp. 104-106; also 'Entom.' 1891, pp. 111-112.
t These have no European representatives.
INTRODUCTION. XXV
jjhane by Grote), Litliomiaf Calocampa and Xylomiges ; Cleophanini * ; Cuculliini, containing only the genus CuculUa; Eurhipiim; Ingurini* (Eutelnni) ; Anomiini * ; Litoprosopini * ; Calpini ; Stiriini ; Plusiini (thus following Staudinger in placing this group differently to Guenee), agreeing generally with Plusidce, Bdv. ; Heliothini, agreeing with Eeliothidce, Bdv. (' Revised Check List of North American Noctuidae,' J 890, pp. 6-39, and * Canadian Entomologist,' xxii., pp. 107-108). It is only right to add that Mr. Grote states in his preface that he published his ' Check List ' in order to bring the classification of the North American NooTUiE into some accord with that of the European forms as displayed in the * Catalog ' of Staudinger, based on the system of Lederer, and thus, on this ground I presume, he gives the Plusidce a place here. Of these families and their genera I would state my opinion that Xylina and Calocampa are not at all nearly related, and that Grote's sub-division of the Xylinidce above, although getting rid of one of the difficulties of this heterogeneous group does not clear the matter much. I also believe that the Nonagria species are essentially Apamid, i.e., they are closely allied to the genera Gortyna and Hydroecia, whilst Leucania on the other hand belongs to the Agrotidce. In both cases, there can be no doubt that the loss of colour and markings is due to a similarity of habit and habitat, the latter also producing a similar general facies, but this superficial similarity of the species does not imply a relationship of Leucania to Nonagria or vice versa.
There appears, therefore, to be only one essential point in which these authorities differ in their classification of the Genuince of Guenee, and that is in the position of the Plusidce. For myself, too, I must own that I prefer Grote's sub-division of the Xylinidce into the two groups Calocampini and CucuUini, although it is not carried out sufficiently to separate the distinct genera Xylina and Calocampa, but on the whole I think that such a sub- division is a more natural one, than leaving the whole grouped together, but the sub-division certainly has not been carried far enough.
With regard to matters of detail. Guenee follows the Bombycoidce with the Leucanidce. On the other hand, Staudinger places the latter after the Apamidce and Iladenidce and in turn follows it with the Caradrinidce.
Guenee's remaining sub-class of the Noctu^-Trifid^, which he terms Minor es, contains four families which have representatives in Britain, viz., Acontidce, Bdv., Erastridce, Gn., Anthophilidce, Bdv. and Phalenoidce, Gn. (BrepTiides, H.-S.). The three former follow each other in Staudinger's arrangement, being in turn followed by the families in Guenee's sub-class Serpentince, one of the groups of Nootu^e- QuADRiFiD^. Phalenoidce, Gn., Staudinger relegates to the end of the NocTu^, making it under this name, a distinct sub-class connecting the Deltoides and the Geometer, but whilst I think its anomalous characters certainly give it a title to be isolated as a separate sub- class, I have left it among the NocTU^-TRiFioiE. Mr. Meyrick places BrepJiides in the Geometry, although the larva certainly shows no characters in this direction {vide * Trans. Ent. Soc. London,' 1892, and 'Eiit. Record' etc., vol. iii., p. 110).
Grote finds the following four North American tribes in the Minores
* These have no European representatives.
xrvi INTRODUCTION.
of Guenee. viz., Tarachtui, agreeing generally with Acontidce, Bdv. ; Cerathosiini ; Eustrotiint, agreeing with Erastridce, Gn. and AntJiophilidce, Bdv., combined ; and Hyhlceini.
Of the Brephides, H.-S. (Phalenoidce, Gn.), Grote writes :— " The Brephince are a small group with a Northern distribution, looking like small Catocalce, but more hairy, differing from the Noctuince by the absence of simple eyes, and the accessory cell of the fore wings, while the costal vein of the secondaries springs free from the base of the wing " (' Check List of North American Noctuidas,' 1890, p. 44).
Guenee's large sub-division NocTU^-QuADRiFiDiE is divided into eight sub-classes, of which, in Britain we have no representatives in the Sericece, Extenscey Patulce and Pseiido-Delto'idce. Those in which we have representatives being Variegatce, Intrusce, Limhatce and Serpentince. Grote calls the Quadrifidje " the geometriform Noctnidce or the Catocalince." He then adds *' Primarily this family falls at two groups, the Catocalini (agreeing with Guenee's Limhatce) and the Pheocymini.
Of the sub-class Variegatce, we have only members of one family in Britain viz., Plusidce. Guene'e, however, included Gonopteridce as a doubtful family of this class, but it is well located elsewhere. Staudinger, as I have before pointed out, places Plusidce before the Heliothidce and is followed in this by Grote. The Gonopteridce with its anomalous genus Scoliopteryx (Gonoptera), is placed by Staudinger between the OrtJiosidce and Xylinidce where I also have placed it. Grote retains the group, but calls it Plusiini and writes of its characters as follows : — " The thorax is rather short and square but globose above, and with hairy, somewhat silky covering, which forms posteriorly, an abrupt tuft. The eyes are naked, lashed in Phisia unlashed in Telesilla. The wings are somewhat pointed with full external margins. The tibiae are unarmed. The ornamentation of Plusia is remarkable for the silvery or golden marks or sheeny patches. The American species are forty-two in number exceeding the European thirty-eight ; but
probably more remain to be described with us." '' Behrensia
is a Californian type, allied to Eahrostola ; and Beva, an eastern and western genus, as closely allied to Plusia " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., pp. 70-71).
We now come to Guenee's Limhatce, which should, in my opinion, have followed Variegatce, instead of the Intrusce doing so as arranged by Guenee. Of the five families into which it is divided by Guenee we have representatives of two in Britain, the Cateph'dce and Catocalidce, the whole group being placed by Staudinger between Guenee's Serpentince and the Toxocampidce.
Grote neglects the consideration of the Cateph'dce, but calls the Catocalidce of Guenee — Catocalini, and adds that: — "The Ophiderince and Toxocampince of my * Check List ' are probably not to be separated from this tribe " (' Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 145). I am not quite certain whether the connection w ith the Ophiderince is not rather one of superficial than structural characters, and I certainly think the Toxocampidce are nearer to the true Delto'ides than to the normal Catocalidce, in fact, there can be no doubt of the affinity of the larv^ ot the Toxocampidce with the Deltoides, which would also tend to make me give it a position very near the latter group. Grote's second division Pheocymini contains only two European genera, — Pericyma,
INTRODUCTION. XXVll
H.-S. and Zethes, Rbr., and as neither of these occur in Britain, being essentially Eastern genera, I do not know them except from the imagines. Staiidinger places them with other non-British genera between the Euclididoe and Ophimidce. Grote connects the whole group very closely with the Deltoides.
Grote says the " Noctu.s;-nonfasciat^ of Borkhausen pass almost insensibly into the Catocalincej Packard (= NocxuiE-FASCiAT^ of Bork- hausen) in which the wings widen, the body is more thinly scaled, the antennas more usually filiform, the ornamentation tends to become continuous over both wings and the resemblance to the Geometrid^ becomes obvious. In the concluding tribes of the Noctuinje the larvae are also half-loopers, and it may be said that there is an approach to the Geometrid^ in all stages " (' Revised Check List of North American Noctuidae,' pp. 44-45). And yet Grote would include the ToxocampidcB in the Catocalince, Pack., although there is no doubt that the larvae of the former are practically inseparable, structurally, from those of certain Deltoides. However, on the whole I quite agree with this author, and although it is impossible to join the Geometry to the NocTU^ in a linear arrangement, and in fact the total impossibility of such an arrangement may readily be proved, yet the ease with which the NocTU^ lead through the Deltoides to the Pyralides shows a much nearer connection than with the Geometrid moths which are frequently attached to or follow them in a supposed natural sequence.
The sub-class Intrusce, Gn. is divided into the three families Ampliipyridce, Gn., Toxocampidce, Gn. and Stilbidce, Gn., all of which have British representatives. It is in this group that there is most question about the natural affinities, and it is here we find great differ- ences of opinion. Staudinger does not even keep the genera placed by Guenee in the Aniphipyridce together, for he places Ncenia and Mania next Brotolomia meticulosa in the Hadenidce, Amphipyra between Busina and Tceniocampa, i.e., between the Caradrinidce and Orthosidce. I do not think that Ncenia and Mania belong to the typical Hadenidm so much as to the Noctuidce, although Amphipyra seems pretty well placed with the Caradrinidce. But the Toxocampidce is a family belonging essentially to this part of the Nocture (Fasciat2e), and its nearness to, if not actual inclusion in the great division Deltoides is without question, and I agree with Staudinger who places it just in front of Zanclognatha, Led., although he sandwiches the anomalous species — Aventia flexula (larva Catocalia ?) and Boletohia fuliginaria (an admitted Geometer) between them. But the family Stilbidce is another difficult one. Staudinger places it with Caradrina, but I consider that it requires special treatment like Brephides, being very closely allied to no particular genus. However, I am inclined to disagree with Grote who would transfer the Toxocampidce directly into his sub-class Catocalime.
Guenee's last sub-class Serpentince is divided into four families, of which we have representatives of three in Britain, viz. : — Ophiusidoe, Gn., Eticlididce, Gn. and Poaphilidce, Gn. These are divided by Staudinger, the Poaphilidce being placed between the Erastridce and Agrophila sulphuralis, which is separated from the rest of the Acontidoe. The EuclididcB follow this species (sulpharalis), to be followed again by several non-British genera, and these in turn by the Ophiusidce.
The Deltoides were kept essentially distinct as a group equal in value to the whole of the Nocture by Guenee, but I agree with those who classify them as a group of the Noctu^. Their relations in the
XXVIU INTRODUCTION.
larval stage are strongly evident, and in the imago stage also they show strong affinities with the Toxocampidce and other groups. Grote calls them " Pyralidiform Noctuidce" a rather happy term as relating to them. The same author names the group Deltoidince, and suggests Herrich- Schaffer as the first author who classed these with the Nocture. He writes : — " Herrich-Schaffer showed that in their essential characters they conform to the Noctuid type ; they are Pyralidiform Nocture " (* Canadian Entomologist/ vol. xxii., p. 146). However this may be, it is clear that Staudinger, adopting Lederer's method, put the idea into practical shape in his * Catalog' of 1871, leaving out, however, any reference to their deserving any special mention under their old name (Deltoides), which he dropped altogether. He however retained Guenee's main divisions Flatydidce, Herminidce and Hypenidce, in his arrangement of the species. The first is not British, but Grote uses the two latter divisions, calling them, however, Herminnni and Hypenini, and I must say the divisions seem very natural and hence very satis- factory.
Grote writes of these : — " The third sub-family Deltoidince, Latr. is remarkable for the resemblance to the Pyralid^ : in fact, Packard, in his excellent paper on the Noctuidce in the ' Proceedings of the Portland Soc. Nat. Hist.,' excluded them as did some older authors pre- ceding him, and considered them as Pyhalid^. But Herrich-Schaflfer showed that they were true Noctuid^, and that the three groups did not differ importantly in their structure. There can be no doubt of the correctness of this view " (* Eevised Check List of North American Noctuidse,' p. 45).
But although we can accept Herrich-Schaffer's general principle, he certainly did some unaccountable things in his detailed work, and the removal of Schranchia (Thohniges) turfosalis and Bivula sericealis into the Nycteolidw with SarrotJiripa undulanus, H alias cJdorana and H. prasinana, and that of Sophronia emortualis into the Leptosidce with Aventia flexula and Phytometra cenea (viridaria), are altogether inexpli- cable, and quite deserving of the criticism passed on them by Guenee. Herrich-Schaffer's work moreover, had another good effect, in so far as it caused Guenee to permanently differentiate and separate the Deltoides from the Pyralides.
Briefly summarising then, I would draw the special attention of future workers in this group to the following suggestions: — (1) That Demas and Diloha are not Noctu^. (2) That the Bryophilidce have no close affinities with the Bomhycoidce. (3) That the Leucanidce is an unnatural group, the genus Leucania belonging to the Noctuidce, and the Nonagrice to the Apamidce. (4) That the Hadenidce is essentially identical with the Apamidce. (5) That the Xylinidce must be so divided as to show the want of relationship between the genera Xylina and Calocampja. (6) That the Ampliipyridm should be sub- divided, that the genera Ncpiiia and Mania have affinities with the genera Triphoina and Graphiphora, whilst Amphypyra has affinities with the Caradrinidce. (7) That the Plusida; are less closely allied to the Xylinidce than are the Eeliothidce. (8) That the affinities of the Toxocampidoe are rather with the Deltoides than with the CatocaUdoe. (9) That the Deltoides are in all essential characters, NocTUiE.
These are, of course, only generalisations for consideration. To work the matter out fully would be beyond the scope of the present paper.
THE BRITISH NOCTU^ AND THEIR VARIETIES.
Class :—NOCTU^, Linn. III. Sub-class : — Minores, Gn. 1. Family : — Acontidce, Bdv.
This is the last Sub-class included in Guende's NooTUiB TRiFioiE and contains five families, of which one — Hcemerosidce — is unrepresented in Britain. Guenee writes : — " All the little species, which have at first sight the appearance of Geometers, Pyrales or Tortrices are comprised in this sub-class. This appearance is not otherwise contradicted by the earlier stages, which approach, in fact, these different divisions of Lepidoptera. A certain amount of practice is also necessary to re- cognise these Noctuelles " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 199), The species included in the Minores are generally, as Guenee remarks, very much like Pyrales and Tortrices with which indeed, many have been classed by various authors. The Acontidce, in part, resemble in the perfect state some of the Heliothidce, and have somewhat similar habits. Of this family Guenee writes : — " If one only examined European species, it would be difficult to understand why Agrophila and Acontia are placed in the same family. One finds, however, that they are closely connected, and that the succession of genera — Agrophila, Anthophila, Eugraphia and Xanthodes is natural. On this account, this last genus has hitherto been confounded with the true Acontice. Otherwise, the characters of the family are, as we see it, numerous and well- marked " C Noctuelles,' vol vi., p. 203).
Agrophila, Bdv., trahealis, Sc. {sulphuralis, Linn.).
As might be expected from the peculiar character of the markings of this species there is considerable variation. Normally, there is a subterminal row of black dots, a complete angulated line formed of united dots, a longitudinal line along the inner margin and another parallel to it ; three dots on the costa, and two dots between these and the second longitudinal line. We frequently find the subterminal dots united into a line, the costal dots uniting to form streaks (1) with each other, (2) with the dots below ; whilst these dots again fre- quently unite with the angulated or upper longitudinal line forming streaks in other directions ; sometimes the costal dot is continued so as to unite with the angulated line, etc. Guenee describes a var. A of which he writes : — " The black spreads over the superior wings, leaving only some yellow spots (Engr. o98e) " (* Noctuelles,* vol. vi., p. 206). Of this species Humphrey and Westwood write : — " This pretty species is rather less than 1 inch in the expanse of the fore
A
2 VARIETIES OF NOCTU-S!
wings, which are sulphur-coloured, with nine black spots and two thick bars of white, of which three spots are upon the costa, two on the disc, preceding the bar, the latter running from the base parallel to the hind margin, which is also black, extending nearly to the anal angle, when it is bent into an oblique bar, which runs nearly to the apex of the costa ; the apical margin has four black spots ; these are some- times confluent, forming an irregular subapical bar ; the strigae and the other spots are also sometimes more or less confluent together ; the oblique part of the black bar is silvery in fine specimens " (* British Moths,' p. 242). Newman in his ' British Moths,' p. 442, figures a specimen in which the black spots exhibit a tendency to unite. The type is thus described by Scopoli : — "Lon. lin. 41. Alse anticae paleaceas; fasciis binis, trabe longitudinali maculisque (5) nigris." " Margo alae super, niger, fascise in limbo positae subundulatse, trabs margini inferiori parallela, maculas tres superiori margini adnatee, palpi breves, alae anticse subtus fuscescentes : margine paleaceo ; posticae supra fuscescentes ; subtus pallidiores : litura transversa punctoque medio fuscis " (* Entom. Carniolica,' pp. 240-241).
Acontia, Och., luctuosa, Esp.
Some specimens of this species are slightly greyer in the ground colour than others. The large white spot which occupies the reniform area in this species is sometimes continued to the costa, and although normally white in colour, is occasionally distinctly ochreous. In the hind wings, the band is distinctly narrower in some specimens than in others. Guenee notices some variation in this species which I have not seen. He writes : — " The white band of the inferior wings is sometimes continuous and sometimes spotted, the spot on the superior wings is white or pale rosy, but these differences are not found united in the same specimens in such a manner as to form a constant variety " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 223). Esper's diagnosis of the type is as follows : — " Alis superioribus fuscis characteribus atris, macula trapeziformi, inferioribus fascia albis " (' Die Schmet in Abbild.' p. 71 ; PI. 88, fig. 4). Newman in his * British Moths,' figures a variety from Mr. Vaughan's collection with the characteristic spot in the fore wing reduced almost to a lunule, and the transverse band on the hind wings much reduced.
a. var. ochracea, mihi. — Like the type, but with the large characteristic pale spot in the fore wings ochreous instead of white.
Acontia, Och., lucida, Hufn. (solaris, Esp.).
There seems very little to lead us to suppose that this species now occurs in Britain. Of solans, Guenee writes : — " Superior wings having the white base marked with a black basal spot, an abbreviated basal line and some clouds, leaden-coloured, the remainder of the wing of a dull brown mixed with grey, with a large quadrilateral costal spot ; the lower half of the outer margin and that of the fringes white. A terminal series of irregular spots of a leaden-grey. Reniform very fine, whitish, formed like an 8. Inferior wings having the base white, with three or four blackish rays and an uniformly broad black border. Fringes white, with the first half spotted with black at the base " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 221). Esper's diagnosis is : — " Alis
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 3
superioribus fuscescentibus, basi maculaque ad apicem quadrata albis, charactere in medio numeri 8 referente ; inferioribus albis limbo fusco " (* Die Schmet. in Abbild.' etc., p. 69). Of this species Humphrey and Westwood write: — "This species measures about IJ inches in the expanse of the fore wings, which are white at the base with a black dot towards the costa, and terminated before the middle of the wing by a rather broad deeply angulated bar, followed on the costa by a large whitish patch, and a slender waved streak on the opposite side of the inner margin ; the anal angle white, with several ashy-grey clouds or spots ; the apex rather of a leaden-grey, with a row of minute black dots ; the reniform stigma somewhat like the figure 8 ; cilia brown, that portion next the anal angle white, hind wings white with a broad brown margin, cilia white. Several speci- mens taken near Dover and London, about 20 years ago, in June. The caterpillar feeds on trefoil, dandelion &c. The moth is common near Paris appearing in May and August. It flies in the hottest part of the day in the dry places where Eryngium campestre grows " (* British Moths,' p. 239) ; whilst Mr. Dale writes : — " Acontia Solaris var. lucida. This species was taken by Mr. Stone at Dover, in June, 1825 ; three others were likewise taken there, one of which I believe to be Mr. Burney's " (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxv., p. 247). I cannot quite understand Mr. Dale's synonomy above, as lucida, Hufn. = Solaris, Esp. The variety captured in Britain has always, so far, been var. alhicollis. Of the occurrence of Acontia Solaris var. albicoUis in Britain, Mr. Stainton writes : — " The capture of a specimen of this insect by Mr. Percy Andrews is recorded in the * Intelligencer,' vol. vi., p. 187. * I took it in a clover field at Brighton on August 25th, flying in the sunshine like others of the genus.' Mr. Andrews announced it under the name of albicoUis on the authority of Mr. Doubleday. A. Solaris is a variable insect, and pale specimens have been reported distinct under the name of albicoUis. Guende observes : — * This Acontia is, in my opinion, a perfectly distinct species from Solaris, of which all modem authors have considered it a variety, and I have no doubt the larva, which is at present unfortu- nately unknown, will confirm its distinctness. No doubt it occurs in the same localities as Solaris ; however, it becomes commoner as we advance southwards, whilst the contrary is the case with its congener.' In singular antithesis to the last sentence, the pale var. and that only has occurred in Britain. Stephens remarks : — * A single specimen of this insect was in the late Mr. Marsham's collection but of the locality I am not aware ; two examples were taken within the metropolitan range about ten years ago and four others near Dover about six years since ; all but the first were rescued from oblivion by the zeal of Mr. Stone.' Herrich-Schaffer observes of Solaris * less generally diffused than luctuosa but occurring further North ' " (* Ent. Ann.,' 1860).
a. var. albicoUis, Fab. — Of this Staudinger writes : — Al. ant. basi thoraceque totis albis " (* Catalog,' p. 131), whilst Guenee writes : — " This Acontia constitutes, in my opinion, a species perfectly distinct from Solaris, of which it has been considered a variety by all modern authors, and I do not doubt that its caterpillar, which is unhappily yet unknown, would help to confirm its validity. It inhabits, doubt-
Al
VARIETIES OF NOCTURE
less, the same localities as solans. It has been remarked, however, that this species becomes more common as one gets south, whilst the opposite is the case with its congener (solaris) " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 220). I have before mentioned Mr. Stainton's remark, that it is strange that all the specimens which have at present been taken in England, have been var. albicollis. Fabricius' diagnosis is : — " Noetua Isevis alis deflexis basi albis apice fuscis : litura duplici alba " (* Mantissa,' p. 144). It is figured in Newman's * British Moths,' p. 443.
p. var. insolatriXf Hb. — Guenee treats this as a variety of albicollis, Fab. and writes: — "The black spots have disappeared in a great measure from the disc in the upper wings and have left those areas which the black spots usually occupy of an ochreous colour: the black, however, remains at the apex where it forms a large spot which extends on the fringe and to the inner angle before the subterminal. The remainder consists only of more or less numerous small spots, of which two on the costa indicate the origin of the lines. The border of the inferior wings is narrower, although I have never seen it so reduced as in Hiibner's figure, and there is no trace whatever of black on the disc " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 220-221), to which Guenee adds :— " It is chiefly in southern countries that this variety is found, which pre- sents all the essential characters of the type, and which cannot form a separate species" (i. c, pp. 221). Staudinger's diagnosis is: — " Al. ant. fascia media subnulla flavescente " Q Catalog,' p. 131). Of Hiibner's figure I made the following description : — " Anterior wings white, with the space between the complete basal and elbowed lines yellow ; the complete basal and elbowed lines with fuscous streaks on the costa and inner margin. The orbicular indistinct, renif orm reddish with a white margin, the claviform reddish-fuscous ; the subterminal greyish, edged with fuscous ; a fuscous apical patch. Hind wings white, ochreous on margin with the outer edges of nervures fuscous " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' figs. 684-5).
2. Family: — Erastridce, Gn.
Of this family Guenee writes : — " The Erastrides, in the perfect state, are small moths which very much resemble Geometers, but which have no less the general faoies and all the characters of Noctuelles. The stigmata and the ordinary transverse lines are generally very well marked, the abdomen carries almost always well-developed crests. Lastly, the shape of the wings in repose, is that of all Noctuelles, ex- cept that the upper wings, in completely covering the lower wings, only form a very flattened roof. These small lepidoptera remain clinging to the trunks of trees, or they are found resting under the leaves, from whence they fly when the bushes are shaken. They are found in almost every part of the world, and the greater part of the European species is well known " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 224-225). We have only three British species in this family. It is very much restricted also on the Continent of Europe.
Erastria, Och., venustnla, Hb. In this beautiful species I fail to trace any noticeable variation beyond the fact that the blotch on the inner margin is larger, darker,
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 6
and apparently better developed in some specimens than others. Some specimens also appear to show a development of cuneiform streaks parallel to the hind margin ; three seem to be the greatest number of spots developed, but most specimens are without them. The description I made of Hiibner's type figure is : — " The anterior wings slaty-grey marbled with darker, with a distinct white apical mark, at the end of which a longitudinal red line runs to the base, the dark patch on the inner margin is distinct, the outer margin also darker with a pale subterminal running through it " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 294). The arrangement of the markings in Hiibner's figure is as in Newman's figure, p. 445, but the colour is not rosy as in our British specimens. Of the early occurrences of this species in Britain, Mr. Stainton writes : — " The following notices of the capture of this insect have appeared. * Though professedly a micro-lepidopterist, I do not hesitate to take any rarity that falls in my way ; therefore, being at Loughton on the 16th June, and falling in with a few specimens of Erastria venustula, I thought it no sin to box them. One of them, a male specimen, is a perfect gem, being clouded about the base of the wing with the most delicate pink imaginable. Like other NoctuidcBy it flies for a short time before dark, and has a habit of dropping when alarmed. One of my specimens served me thus, and, getting amongst the short herbage, defied all my attempts to discover it. However, I carefully noted the spot where it disappeared, and, lighting my pipe, * blew a cloud ' into the grass &c., and in a minute had the satisfaction of observing it issue from its retreat in the very place where I had been searching' (C. Miller, *Int.' viii., p. 99). 'Having visited Loughton in search of this insect, I was so fortunate as to capture a few ' (Thomas Eedle, * Int.' viii., p. 99). ' On the 14th June, I had the pleasure of capturing a female of this species ; it has fortunately laid me some eggs, which have since hatched. Since then I have taken several more ' (J. Bryant, ' Int.' viii., p. 107). * Then at half- past eight, venustula made its appearance, flying in pairs, one after the other ' (* Int.' viii., p. 143). * This beautiful little ToRTRix-like Noctua has again appeared in Epping Forest. At first, either damaged or retarded by excessive wet, it occurred only sparingly, but the numbers gradually increased until the 24th June, when they appear to have reached their zenith, one collector alone having taken about a hundred ' (Edward Newman, ' Zoologist,' 7108) " (* Ent. Ann.,' 1861, pp. 98-99).
Erastria, Och., fasciana, Linn.
I fail to trace anything in the way of actual variation in a long series of this species although some specimens look blacker than others. The characteristic white spot at the anal angle is much more restricted in some specimens, owing to a dark grey shade following the inner edge of the white subterminal to the anal angle, and thus suffusing the outer and lower portion. In some, this white spot absorbs tlie subterminal and ends well-up on the outer margin towards the apex. The Linnsean description of the type is : — "Tortrix fasciana alis fusco cinerascentibus : fascia alba. Media. Alae superiores obscure cineras- centes margine exteriore albo nigroque maculato ; fascia lata, albida, recurvata. Inferiores alee nigricantes ; margine ciliari albido " (* Fauna Suecicee,' p. 342).
,6 VARIBTIES OF NOOTUiB
a. var albilinea, Haw. — Humphrey and Westwood write of this variety under the name of albidilinea. This species measures 1 inch in expanse and is very closely allied to the preceding insect, of which it is regarded as a probable variety by Curtis and Stephens, with the markings suffused, the pale patch at the anal angle of the fore wings being obliterated, and the subapical pale flexuous striga very rudi- mental. It is captured in company with the preceding species, according to Mr. Stephens, but very rarely " (* British Moths,' p. 241). This is not the albidilinea of Haworth to which Humphrey and West- wood refer it, for the latter is a variety of Mamestra hrassiccB, but it is the Phytometra albilinea of that author which he describes as follows : — " Phytometra alis fusco nigro alboque varie cinereis, striga flexuosa alba pone stigmata, posticis fuscis." "Preecedenti (fvsca) simillima, et vix differt, nisi in absentia maculas albse anguli ani, et in striga flexuosa juxta marginem posticum fere omnino obliterata " C Lepidop. Brit.,' p. 261).
p. var. guenei, Fallou. — This variety illustrates one of those strange facts that are being repeatedly met with, viz., that when an odd variety of a species is captured alone and not with other specimens which give a clue to its actual identity, it is often located far away from the species to which it actually belongs. When this variety of fasciana was first described by Fallou, he placed it in Bryophila and compared it with B. algce. He wrote : — " This belongs to the algce group, although it differs from that species very much in colour, and it should be placed between receptricula and algce. It has the size and shape of the latter, but all its wings are proportionally larger, or, if one prefers it, shorter, and the inferior wings, in place of having the well-marked sinus which is seen opposite the cellule in all Bryophilce, are only a little less rounded in this part. The superior wings are of a clear wood-coloured brown, or of the tint of fresh nuts, mixed with darker brown, principally in the median space. In this darker area, the three ordinary stigmata, very pale and almost white in colour, stand out conspicuously. The reniform is of average size, regular, and with a well-marked outline ; the orbicular small and less clearly marked and almost touching the transverse line. The two median lines are placed somewhat similarly to those in algce, and the elbowed line is followed on the inner margin by a broad clear space, in which the subterminal line which is indistinct, is absorbed. The fringe, which is alternately light and dark, is preceded by a series of well-marked blackish dots, of which the fifth is the larger. The inferior wings are uniformly pale brown (which is remarkable in this genus* where the wings are always paler towards the base), with the fringe slightly speckled. Their undersides are of a very pale grey, tinted with reddish on the costa and inner angle, with the cellular lunule and a fine undulated line, darker. The thorax is varied with nut-brown and blackish, and the abdomen is grey-brown with the crests darker. I took two exactly similar examples of this Noctuelle, in the park of the Chateau de Pau (Basses- Pyrenees), on the 24th July, 1859. I regret not having sufficiently noticed the species when I found it, for it is probable that these two specimens were nbt the only ones in this locality " ('Ann. Soc. Ent. France,' 1864, p. 27). Some time after, M.
*It must be remembered that Fallou placed this in Bryophila.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 7
Fallou found out his error in considering this a distinct species and wrote : — " When, in December 1863, I communicated to the Society the description of a new Noctuelle which I could not refer to any known species and which I named Bryophila gueneiy I asked my col- leagues in the locality to continue the search, and attempt to obtain a better result than could be arrived at with my two specimens. My expectation was not of long duration, and I received, on the 9th November 1864, from our excellent colleague M. Lafaury, communica- tions which have convinced me that this species is only a southern variety of Erastria fuscula. Twelve specimens of the latter, taken at Dax by our colleague, connect the type with my guenei, both in the shape of the wings and in markings. I hasten, therefore, to correct the note published in our " Annales," and to no longer allow this error to exist. As this variety is curious and appears constant, I consider it should continue to figure in our catalogues as Erastria fusctda var. gueneV^ C Ann. Ent. Soc. Fr.,' 1864, p. 688).
Banhia, Gn., argentula, Hb.
In this species, the variation of some specimens is rather marked, and in these we get a distinct change of ground colour, the green in some specimens becoming red. The stigmata are strangely developed, the renif orm existing as a white blotch on the white line which passes from the centre of the wing to the anal angle, the orbicular and clavi- form as two spots, one towards the top, the other towards the bottom of the other oblique line which occupies the position of the ordinary basal line. The origin of these spots is obscured in many specimens, but a specimen now and then shows their structure beyond doubt. In some specimens there are no spots to show the position of one or more of the stigmata, and there is every possible gradation in the form and size. There is a great difference in the width of the white lines. In two of my specimens they are so narrow as to become partly obsolete, the reniform existing independently of the line as a white encircled stigma, the orbicular and reniform showing up their origin most dis- tinctly in these specimens. Hiibner's description of the type is as follows : — " This species is of the size of svlphurea and much like it in shape. The head is white and olive-green, the palpi are entirely olive, the antennse brown. The fore wings on the upper surface olive-green with silvery stripes. The latter consist of one short one near the base and two larger ones in the centre, the outer with two teeth, and the second with a round spot near the centre. The two lines run from the costa to the inner margin. Towards the apex is a short line and close to the outer margin is another line, between which and the margin the ground colour is quite pale. The fringes are grey. It is taken rarely near Augsburg " (* Beitrage zur Geschichte ' etc., vol. i., pt. 2, p. 9).
a. var. rufescens, mihi. — Under this name I would include all those specimens which have the normal green ground colour of the type changed into a reddish-brown. Such varieties are rare. They are marked in the same manner as the type.
jS. var. obsoleta, mihi. — The ground colour as in the type, but the two transverse white lines reduced in width, becoming very narrow and almost linear. My specimens were taken with the type at Chippenham Fen.
8 VAKIBTIES OF NOCTU^
3. Family : — AnthophiUdce, Bdv. Of this family Guene'e writes : — " The imagines of this family are all of the smallest size, and in this family a species of the average size of a NocTUA of our country would appear gigantic. Their bodies are generally slender in proportion to their wings, so that the old authors have mistaken them for Pyrales or for Geometers ; but the number and the form of their palpi, the thickness of their wings, their markings and appearance, the strength and shortness of their fore legs etc., quite prove them true Noctuelles. They fly in broad daylight, sometimes amongst the plants in marshy districts, but more often on dry hillsides exposed to the sun. Instead of extending their wings in the manner of other species which have, like them, a slender body, they carry them, on the contrary, inclined roofwise." " The old authors knew only a small number of the AnthophiUdce however, and some may still be found among their Phalenidas and Tortrices, where we have found many. The greater part has been recently discovered. They inhabit almost all the countries in the world, and their number must necessarily be augmented considerably, as their small size has caused them as yet to be neglected " (* Noctuelles,' vi., pp. 233-234:). In Britain, we know very little of the species in this family, only Hydrelia uncida being at all common. The remaining species are most rare in Britain.
Hydrelia f Gn., uncula, CI.
In the ground colour, some specimens of this species are rather redder than others, but it is in the hook or unca, which takes the place of the reniform, that the greatest variation exists. This varies in shape, size, and slightly in direction. In one specimen I have, it almost, but not quite, reaches the pale subterminal line. The orbicular exists as a longitudinal dilatation on the lower part of the pale costal mark, and a striking form of variation occurs when the central nervure becomes pale and joins this pale orbicular dilatation with the reniform unca-mark, thus cutting off, as it were, a triangular portion of the dark central area. The inner margin is generally clouded, the darker central area merging into it, but I have some specimens in which the pale area is continued broadly and distinctly all round the fore wing. The description I made of Clerck's type was : — " Anterior wings dark fuscous-brown, with a white longitudinal line parallel to the costa, continued from the base to the subterminal line, and containing a white prolongation in the place of the reniform ; the subterminal also white ; a white line along the median nervure almost joins the lower part of the costal longitudinal line with the white reniform mark. Posterior wings fuscous " (* Icones ' &c., PI. iii., fig. 7).
Thalpochares, Ld., ostrina, Hb.
I have two old specimens of this species taken very many years ago by Mr. Tyrer in Kent, and which he sent to me not long since as vars. of Mianafuruncula (bicoloria) with actual specimens of that species. One has the ground colour pale ochreous but is slightly darker between the subterminal and augulated lines which become visible owing to this darker tint ; the costal area between these lines is represented by a pale lunule ; the second specimen is much darker, has a distinct longi-
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. \f
tudinal basal line under the median nervure ; a pale subterminal line, a dark area bordering the subterminal line internally and a dark central shade with fineblack longitudinal lines (cuneiform spots ?) joining these shades. These specimens are very differently coloured to the figure in Humphrey and Westwood's * British Moths,' pi. hii., fig. 21, although the markings are identical in both. Of the occurrence of this species in Britain and its capture by Dr. Battersby {vide, Thalpochares parva) Mr. Stainton writes : — " That Micra ostrina, not taken here since 1826, should occur simultaneously in different parts of the country, is certainly startling, though from all accounts the habit of the insect is so retired that it seems but natural, even if the insect were about, that it should escape observation " (' Ent. Ann.,' 1859, p. 145). In Newman's ' British Moths,' we find : — " The moth appears on the wing in June, and has been taken in one English and one Welsh county only, Devonshire and Glamorganshire. Mr. Beading records the capture of a specimen at Torquay, by Miss Battersby, and Mr. Stainton says one specimen was taken at Bideford, in June, 1 825 " (' British Moths,' p. 447). The Welsh locality is thus recorded by Mr. Llewelyn : — " It was in the month of July, a few years since, that I captured, on the sand hills at Pembrey, South Wales, a pretty little insect whose identity I have, until lately, been utterly unable to establish. The spot at which I secured it was rather barren and sandy, in a sheltered situation ; an abundance of dwarf sallow grew in the vicinity, and also, as far as I remember, thistles, bed-straw, wild thyme, and a short kind of grass, from which latter I expect that I disturbed it ; at any rate, the insect was flying low over the barren sand when I caught it. The day was showery, with occasional gleams of sunshine, during which Hipparchia semele and other butterflies were on the wing, and during one of these gleams I took the insect, and, seeing that it was something I did not know, boxed and pinned it at once. The recollection of the capture is very fresh in my mind, owing to the pleasure of the expedition and the difficulty I have had in getting the insect named " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. i., p. 282). The most recent captures are recorded in the * Entomologist,' vol. xiii., p. 242 and ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xvii., p. 135, by Dr. Battershell Gill at Dover on September 8th, 1880 ; and from the Dorset coast ' Ent.,' xiii., 282, by Mr. Dale. The description I made of Hiibner's type is as follows : — *' Anterior wings of a beautiful rosy colour, with a central shade made of blackish dots ; reniform small and black ; subterminal pale grey, with a transverse series of black longitudinal, wedge-shaped spots (comparatively large) on inner edge of subterminal. Hind wings grey, base paler " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 399).
a. var. cestivalis, Gn. — Guenee's description of this variety is : — " A little smaller. The rosy colour has entirely disappeared and is replaced by a yellowish straw colour or reddish. All the markings are partly obliterated, and the black colour remains only at the apex and in the orbicular stigma. The inferior wings are white, with the border barely yellowish " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 247). Staudinger's diag- nosis is : — " Pallidior absque colore roseo " (' Catalog,' p. 133).
13. var. carthamiy H.-S. — Staudinger's diagnosis of this variety is : — " Al. ant. unicolor. stramineis, apice infuscato " (' Catalog,' p. 133).
10 VARIETIES OF NOOTU-M
Herrich-Schaffer himself writes: — "I take carthami for a var. of ostrina, in which the ground colour is pale sulphur and the markings absent. The brown spot near the tip as well as the adjoining black dot and the black dot in the centre, quite agree with those in ostrina. A smaller and still paler specimen was captured by Lederer near Ronda, and was sent to me as undalis " (' System. Bearbeitung ' etc., p. 438). This would appear to be the form which I have in my col- lection.
y. var. porphyrina, Frr. — Staudinger's diagnosis of this variety is : — " Al. ant. albican tibus [exterius roseis], fasciis media et postica obscuris " (' Catalog/ p. 133). Guenee writes of it : — " Larger. Basal space, concolorous with the rest of the wing, which is of a rosy- white or yellowish ; a straight median band, uniformly brown but passing gradually into the ground colour on its edges, interrupted at the median and sub-median nervures, and contiguous with the little cellular dot. Costal streaks and apical nervures not marked in rosy " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 247). He then adds : — " This large variety appears at first sight, wholly different from the type " (/. c). Freyer's own note on this variety is as follows : — " Mr. Kindermann sent me this pretty species as a var. of Hiibner's ostrina, with the remark that M. Rambur of Paris had determined it as a distinct species under the above name. I do not know Hiibner's ostrina, but judging from the figure, M. Rambur appears to be right. It is somewhat larger than the preceding. The thorax and fore wings are yellowish-white. The latter have a light brown band running through the middle, which divides into two branches on the costa under which is a black dot. At the base is also a faint trace of a brown band. The tip is coffee-brown in colour, and behind it, a zig-zag band runs to the inner margin, twice curved towards the outside, and edged with dark brown on its inner margin. The fringes are brownish, with the body and hind wings greyish-white, the latter with pure white fringes. It flies in the Ural " (' Neuere Beitrage ' etc., pp. 93-94).
Thalpochares, Ld., parva, Hb.
This is a very rare species in Britain, and probably much over- looked. Guenee writes : — " It is not rare (in France), but its very small size causes it to be overlooked " {' Noctuelles,' vi., p. 246). The description I made of Hiibner's type is as follows : — " Anterior wings reddish-grey, with a pale transverse line near the centre of the wing internally edged with darker ; a semilunar costal mark near the apex ; a small dark dot above the anal angle. The base of the wing and the apical mark much darker red than the rest of the wing. Posterior wings grey with a dark marginal and another dark median shade " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 356). It will be seen that this figure differs somewhat from the figure in Newman's * British Moths,' p. 447, which appears to agree rather with Guenee's var. A. Of Micra parva, Mr. Stainton writes : — " Of this insect, execrably figured by Hiibner, a passable likeness is given by Duponchel (under the name of minuta) ; his description, however, is far more satisfactory than his figure. Several years ago, Mr. Doubleday saw a specimen which had been taken at Teignmouth, by Mr. Jordan, but it was so mutilated as to be unrecognisable. In the past summer, Dr. Battersby of Torquay
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 11
has been fortunate in obtaining two specimens, of which he has, at my request, sent the following notice "(' Ent. Ann.' 1859, pp. 147-148). In the ' Entomologist's Annual ' for 1859, Dr. Battersby writes: — "My daughter having found a specimen of Micra ostrina in June, I was induced to go with my children the two following mornings and make a close search along the coast wherever the cliffs are accessible, and having a good many little eyes at work, we were fortunate enough to meet with five more ; they occurred at three places in an extent of about three miles, and were met with half way down the cliffs to the water's edge. We found Micra parva only in one place, and saw but two specimens, both of which, were captured; they, as well as ostrina, lay very close among the grass and brambles, and when disturbed did not fly more than a yard or two, ostrina settling on the ground, and parva on plants : this was the only difference I observed in their habits ; indeed, until I was able to examine both carefully at home, I considered that I had merely taken two sexes of ostrina. We searched the cliffs with great care for nearly a week afterwards, but without seeing a trace of more." Mr. Newman adds : — " From the figure which accompanies the notice of the * Annual,' I should have supposed this insect to be the female of ostrina. I observe that M. Guenee regards Micra parva as a distinct species, but whether Dr. Battersby's insect belongs to that species or not, we have no evidence " (' British Moths,' p. 448). Of parva Treitschke writes ; — " Erastria alis anticis ex flavo ferrugineis, fascia angusta alba ; posticis fuscescentibus." " Parva is the best known of the genus and is of the same size as the two preceding species (minuta and paula), varying chiefly from light to dark ground colour. The head, collar and thorax are white, mixed with reddish brown ; body yellow-grey, ringed with darker ; the pectinated antennas are rust- coloured, legs yellow- white ; the fore wings are of two colours, yellow- ish-white or light reddish-brown. The basal area is quite plain ; then follows a deep brown, edged with a white, zigzag line ; the central area is white, mottled sometimes with ferruginous-grey, in which the discoidals are more or less indicated by one or several small black dots ; the outer area is brown towards its inner part and whitish near the outer margin ; towards the tip there are some small black dots ; fringes reddish-grey." " Italy and still more Dalmatia which is rich in the smaller insects, are its home. It occurs in some parts of Southern Germany, but is rare. It flies in June in the daytime and resorts to thistles and fragrant flowers " (* Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 269-270).
a. var. pallida, mihi. — Guenee describes his var. A as having " The red median band quite straight instead of being wavy. The colours generally paler and the inferior wings whiter " (' Noctuelles,' vi., p. 246). This description was made from a specimen " in Guenee's collection taken in the lies d' Hyeres " (I.e.),
p. var. ruhefacta, Mab. — Staudinger simply says of this: — " Obscurior, rubescens " {' Catalog,' p. 133). Mabelle writes : — *' There is no trace of yellowish or of dirty white in the upper wings. The base and outer margin of the wing is of a deep brown some- times rosy ; the median line very well-marked throughout its length, with a blackish shade. Inferior wings very dark. For a long time 1 believed that this species was distinct from parva which did not vary
12 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiB
when reared on Centaurea calcitrapa and Phagnalon, and which is common in Corsica. But the larvae of my variety ruhefacta not appearing to diflFer I have reunited the two insects provisionally. Ruhefacta lives in flowers of Inula viscosa in October and November ; I have found it commonly but have neglected to rear it " (' Ann. Ent. Soc. France,' 1869, p. 56).
Thalpochares, Ld., paula, Hb. I am very doubtful as to the right of this to be considered a British species. Guenee writes of it : — " It is the commonest of the genus " (* Noctuelles,' vi., p, 245) ; whilst Treitschke writes : — " Paula, as already mentioned, has long been mistaken for minuta, Hiibn., although the colour and markings are very different. The head, collar and thorax are white with scarcely perceptible darker borders ; the body is ash-grey with the segments darker ; the antennae are pale rust-brown and slightly pectinated, the legs also brown. It is of the size of the preceding (minuta). The ground colour of the fore wings differs from that of minuta. The white is not pure but yellowish, dusted with ash-grey, sometimes the colour is yellowish-brown. The basal area is bordered by a brown band edged with a white line ; the middle area is dusted with brownish ; the angulated line is white bordered with brown, almost straight with a slight arch (bow) in the middle but not with a decided angle. All the markings are quite different in minuta. More similar are the subterminal line and the following row of brownish dashes or dots which extend to the white fringes. We have received the moth, the life history of which has not been discovered, from Dalmatia and Italy. It has often been taken there on thistles in June in company with parva and ostrina. It also occurs in Hungary but much more rarely " {' Die. Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 268-269).
IV. Sub-class: — Phalenoid^, Gn. (Brephides, H.-S.). Of this sub-class Guenee writes : — " Everything is abnormal in this family which is composed of a single genus, and if only the organs of the insects were studied, one would soon be entirely puzzled. The palpi are scarcely worthy of the name, all the joints being reduced to a minimum, disclosing only the tufts which are situated there ; the wing- roots and the collar, which are almost in the same condition ; the spines on the fore-legs which are aborted, and which are noticed with difficulty, all seem to suggest an insect very little understood. The antennas and the wings are perfectly developed, although bearing also, as one would expect from the other characters, some traces of an abnormal nature. One notices also the anal flaps of the ^ and the disposition of the terminal tufts which have, like the other characters, their trace of originality" (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 263-264). Meyrick considers the species in this family true Geometers and places them next to Anisopteryx cescularia, vide, * Ent. Record ' etc., vol. iii., p. 111. Knowledge of the larvas would have prevented such an erroneous suggestion.
Brephos, Och., notha, Hb. The chief characteristic of this species is the distinct pectination of the antennas of the males. Guene'e writes : — " This species is easily
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 13
distinguished from the preceding (parthenias), independently of its shape and other characters, by the antennas of the male, which are furnished with spathulate pubescent pectinations, whilst the joints are simply thick and velvety in parthenias " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 265). The British specimens of this species are generally greyer (more slaty) than in parthenias, and a conspicuous, broad oblique band runs transversely from the costa, between the basal line and the centre of the wing, to the inner margin. This is much more defined, narrower, and with straighter edges than in parthenias. The de- scription I made of Hubner's type is as follows : — *' Anterior wings brown (very slightly reddish), with the base dark brown, slaty basal line, externally edged with black, then a broad, oblique, brown, transverse band reaching almost to the centre of the wing ; the band shaded externally and broadly (throughout its length) with white scales, the orbicular absent, the reniform surrounded with black ; the elbowed line black with an external whitish costal mark ; the sub- terminal slaty with a dark apical patch. Hind wings reddish-orange ; the blackish-brown basal area solidly marked ; black outer margin " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' figs. 343-344:). Of this species Treitschke writes : — " Notha has for a long time been confounded with parthenias. The points of distinction, however, are very marked. It varies in the clearness of the markings and vivacity of colour, hardly less than parthenias, nor is the time of appearance different from that of parthenias. But it is smaller than puella, the fore wings are not so long, and there is generally less white on them, whilst the dark band in the central area, like the angulated line, is straighter and more uniform. The angulated line has, below the reniform and towards the inner margin, a dentate mark, otherwise it is almost straight, whilst in parthenias it is zigzag. The fringes are almost unicolorous brown-grey, with very little white. Hind wings pale orange colour especially in the $ . The black discoidal which joins the triangular basal spot is slenderly elongated, and, excepting an elevation on the outside, is of equal width. The underside is like that of parthenias, but there is no white to be seen with the exception of a spot adjoining the brown tip of the fore wings. In many collections, notha is found under the name of parthenioides, but there is no reason for altering Hiibner's name " (* Die Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. iii., pp. 383-384). I have before mentioned that the pectination of the antennae and the width and direction of the oblique band between the basal line and centre of the wing are very character- istic in this species, and there is some essential difference in colour. In the fore wings of parthenias there is generally a strong tinge of reddish-brown, and the paler mottlings, when present, generally have a tendency to ochreous. In notha, there is rarely even a suspicion of reddish-brown, the colour being blackish-grey, whilst the paler markings are decidedly paler grey, almost white or with a slight slaty tint. The females, at any rate so far as ray series is concerned, are more decidedly and strongly marked than the males, which have fewer paler marblings, sometimes none at all, the presence of these pale marblings in the female, in fact, giving the markings of the female their distinctness. In the hind wings, notha is of a more uniform orange-red, and rarely, if ever, of a bright reddish hue like some of the males of parthenias.
14 VARIETIES OF NOOTDJG
Brephos, Och., partheniaSf Linn.
The fore wings of this species exhibit some variation (to a great extent sexual) in the amount of mottling which they undergo, and the tint of the hind wing;? varies considerably, from orange with the very slightest red tint in it, to a shade almost entirely red. The Linn^ean description of the type is as follows : — " Phalcena Noctua parthenias spirilinguis, alis deflexis f usco alboque variis ; inferioribus luteis punctis duobus nigris." " Media. Alee superiores supra fuscae, albo nebulosaB. Inferiores luteas punctis nigris, duobus, magnis, quo- rum alter in centro cohaerens cum nigredine baseos ; alter ad angulum ani. Subtus omnes alse luteas : fascia in medio nigra " (* Fauna Suecicae,' pp. 308-309). It is noticeable that Linnaeus calls the hind wings " yellow." Generally they are red or at least orange-red, with a distinct yellow spot towards the anal angle. Some specimens, how- ever, are of a decidedly orange tint with a minimum of red, others are red with a minimum of orange. The central spot, agreeing with the lunule, is variable in size and shape and is sometimes double, the lines which join this to the black basal mark also varying in intensity. Mr. Dale's var. nigra, mentioned below, is the only melanic specimen of which I have ever heard. Guenee describes the sexes of this species separately, and says of the female : — " Female larger, 40 mm. ( S' > 35 mm.), more powdered with white, the median shade and lines more distinct, the fringes more netted ; the inferior wings* tinged here and there with clearer yellow" (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 264). Both sexes in this species are very liable to variation in the quantity of paler markings on the fore wings, the Scotch specimens being particularly variegated and beautiful.
a. var. nigra, Tutt. — The original notice of this variety, for which I proposed the name nigra, is from Mr. Dale, who writes : — " I have a specimen of B. parthenias, which was obtained from the late Mr. Ross, which is entirely black without any trace of white or yellow about it. It is one of the best melanic specimens I have ever seen " (* Ent. Record ' &c., vol. i., p. 34).
V. Sub-class: — Variegate, Gn.
1. Family : — Plusidce, Bdv.
So far we have been dealing with Guenee's great division Trifidjb, we now have to consider the sub-classes in his other great division QuADRiFiD^. The first of these is Variegatce. This large sub-class which Guenee divides into eight families, has no British representatives in any of the families except in Plusidce and Gonopteridce, the latter of which has been transferred elsewhere (ante, vol. iii., pp. 96-97). The Plusidce, however, considering our limited fauna, is well represented. Of the latter family Guenee writes : — " This family is one of the most natural, and a trained eye recognises immediately the insects which it comprises. I should observe that the last genera (Plusiadonta &c.) approach the family Calpidce insensibly, with which, indeed, they form a transition, more natural than is to be obtained by a rigorous method " (* Noctuelles,' vi., p. 319). To which he adds:— "The imagines are recognised as quickly as their larvae by their brilliant superior wings, sharp, and always provided in some place with satiny, brilliant, metallic
t
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 15
marks, or signs of gold or silver, often equalling the best polished metal. They have nothing particular in their manners, and fly in the evening with the greatest swiftness ; but I have noticed in my * Essai ' the singular hardness of their abdomen which is more sonorous and more hollow, so to speak, than that of other Noctd^. I do not know whether anatomists will one day be able to explain, by an actual difference in the tissue, this exceptional organisation, or whether it will be necessary to class it with unexplained illusions" (I.e. pp. 319-320). Guenee also adds : — " The Plusidce are found in all parts of the world, and their beauty has attracted the attention of authors, so that a certain number of these species is known even among the exotics " (I. c. p. 320). Our British species are included in the two genera Abrostola and Plusia, and are, in most instances, very beautiful, although not exhibiting any striking variation in any of the species, except in the peculiar forms taken by the metallic sign in Plusia interrogationis, which appears to vary endlessly, whilst minor forms of variation in the same markings occur in Plusia iota and pulchrina. Plusia aurifera and illustris find places as British in our old text-books. The widely- distributed bimaculata (verticillata as it was long called) is also con- sidered a British species. P. ni is supposed to have been accidentally imported, and moneta has recently been added to the British fauna, a considerable number of specimens having been taken during the last two or three years. Altogether this is a most interesting family, and a general favourite among lepidopterists. Of the Plusiini, Grote writes : — " The thorax is rather short and square, but globose above, with hairy, somewhat silky covering, which forms, posteriorly, an abrupt tuft. The eyes are naked, lashed in Plusia, unlashed in Telesilla. The wings are somewhat pointed with full external margins. The tibias are unarmed. The ornamentation of Plusia is remarkable for the silvery or golden middle marks, or sheeny patches. The American species are forty-two in number, exceeding the European thirty-eight ; but, probably, more remain to be described with us. We have repre- sentative species, e.g. putnami, allied to the European /esfwcce, while parilis is found in Lapland and Labrador. The question whether ni can be separated from our hrassicce, I have been inclined to answer negatively. The peculiar abdominal tufts speak for the identity of the forms. Among American forms are a greater number of grey and brown species, allied to gutta, interrogationis, chalcytes, &c., and are perhaps, on the whole, less showy. Nevertheless, a resemblance may be traced between many species, as between v-argenteum and mappa, zosimi and balluca, etc. The resemblance is further shown in the species of Habrostola, which have the caterpillar 16-footed and the moths without metallic marks, while the species of Plusia have 12-footed larvae. But the most remarkable among the American species of Plusia are the three mimetic forms : — thyatiroides which resembles a Thyatira, formosa which resembles a Leptina, and striatella which resembles a Heliophila (Leucania). Behrensia is a Californian type, allied to Habrostola ; and Deva, an eastern and western genus, is closely allied to Plusia^' (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., pp. 70-71).
Abrostola, {red. Habrostola), Gn. Structurally, the larvae of Abrostola connect the Plusidce with the
16 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiG
other NocTU^, the larvas having the number of feet normal in the other groups, although the imagines are decidedly Plusia in appear- ance etc. They (the imagines) are much less brilliantly marked than the true Phisice, although retaining all the characteristics of the family. There is a little variation in the amount of pale marbling in tripartita (urticce), otherwise there appears to be nothing particularly noticeable. Guenee writes : — " The perfect insects are exceptional in this family, in that their wings are altogether without metallic spots or lines ; as compensation^ the ordinary stigmata are well marked and surrounded by small upright scales which make them stand out still more clearly. They vary little or not at all, although the larva of each species has two well marked varieties, but this does not influence the colour of the imagines" (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 320). Our two British species are very different in general appearance, although it is almost impossible to find a good structural point of distinction between them.
Abrostola, Och., triplasia, Linn. This species is very closely allied to the next {tripartita) ^ and apart from colour, it is very difficult to get a distinct point of difference between them ; the basal line is, perhaps, more regularly curved, and the elbowed line also more curved near where it meets the inner margin in this species, but neither of these points is in- fallible ; the spot between the stigmata is generally darker in tripartita ; the small longitudinal marks near the apex ; the pale stigmal mark which looks like an extension of the orbicular (so characteristic in some of the Hadena) ; the raised scales on either side of this mark and those round the basal line appear to be identical in both species and show their very near relationship. I can find no points of variation in this species except the slight sexual differences in the antennse and abdomen. The type of this species is thus described by Linnaeus : — " Noctua spirilinguis, alis deflexis : superiori- bus arcu duplici contrario maculisque tribus glaucis intermediis. Crista thoracis reflexa, alta, pallida." " Ala? superiores griseo-cinereas arcu ferrugineo in ala antica et postica. Maculse tres interjectse glaucse, quarum dues versus marginem lateralem " (* Syst. NatursB,' xth., 617; * Fauna Suec.,' 318). Of triplasia Guenee writes : — " The description of Linn^ is not at all satisfactory, but the citation of Roesel's figure and the species which still exists in his (Linnaeus') collection remove all doubt" (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 323). The glaucous coloration mentioned in the Linnyean description is highly suggestive of tripartita.
Abrostola, Och., tripartita, Hufn., Rott. Distinct as is this species from the former in general appearance, and easily as they can be separated, I fail to find a single point of difference, apart from colour and general appearance, between them. Unlike the former, this species varies considerably in ground colour although it is always of some shade of purplish-red, sometimes very pale, at others almost black. But the pale parts of the fore wings are those which vary most. In Britain, these paler parts which are of a greyish-ochreous coloration, generally extend as a more or less distinct transverse band between the subterminal and angulated lines, and also form a somewhat oval patch in the lower part of the basal area. In
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 17
some specimens, however, these pale areas are practically absent, and Mr. Finlay of Morpeth has sent me a specimen with the pale markings entirely obsolete, exactly copying triplasia, although the specimen is certainly tripartita. Rottemburg thus describes the type : — " This moth very much resembles the ordinary Phalcena triplasia. The only differences between them are, that the ground colour at the base and on the margin of the fore wings is entirely white, and they are also dusted and powdered with white in other parts. In shape and mark- ings the species resemble each other. Although Hufnagel considers this a distinct species and seems to have observed a variation in the larvae, I shall still be inclined to consider it as a mere var. of triplasia until I shall have had an opportunity of breeding it from the larva. This may alter my opinion, as I do not know the larva, all those I have bred having produced the ordinary triplasia " (' Der Natur- forscher,' ix., pp. 139-140). Hiibner's triplasia fig. 269 is this species with the normally pale markings clearly shown. The same author's urticce fig. 625 is also this species but represents that form in which the whitish or ochreous markings are absent as in the Morpeth speci- men to which I have previously referred. There is, however, apart from entire absence, considerable variation in the quantity of pale markings ; those with the greater amount of pale markings were known to our old British authors as iirticce, those with a less quantity were known as asclepiadis. The latter is therefore a form inter- mediate between typical tripartita and the obsoletely-marked form urticce, Hb.
a. var. urticce, Hb. — This name is applied to that form of tripartita which has the normal pale markings obsolete and thus bears a super- ficial resemblance to triplasia, I have a specimen without a trace of pale markings from Morpeth, and other specimens in my collection tend in the same direction. Hiibner's figure may be described as : — " Anterior wings of a dark greyish colour, with black marblings at the base ; a reddish complete basal line, but neither so reddish nor curved as in triplasia ; the orbicular paler, joined with another oblique (turned from the base) stigmal marking, which united form a long 8- like mark ; the reniform surrounded with black ; the elbowed line straighter than in triplasia, reddish, edged externally with black ; the subterminal pale and wavy ; a black apical mark " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 625). Altogether this is a most unicolorous form.
Plusia, Och.
This genus contains some of the most beautiful of our British moths, the metallic patches and signs or letters which characterise them being very remarkable, and rendering them quite brilliant. Some of the species have the metallic markings on the fore wings in the form of patches, others in the form of transverse bands, whilst others again have them in the form of letters, the Greek y and i being the most frequent forms. This sign or letter has really no connection with the stigmata, being an entirely independent mark, although the upper portion is situated just below the orbicular. The markings of P. festucce are intermediate between those of the species with patches and those with letters, the two central metallic patches of this species corresponding with the v and . of jota, pulchrina etc. Another im-
18 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
portant character is the elongation of the anal angle into a sort of hook, the inner margin being rounded towards this point so as to give it this particular character and appearance. Guenee writes : — " The perfect insects are, without exception, extremely beautiful. Some are noticeable only for their satiny, bronzy, or reddish-brown decorations, of which the most noticeable precedes the outer margin and reaches, on becoming narrower, the median space behind the extra-basal (complete basal) line; but the greater part of the species, besides these decorations, which are found to exist in almost all of them, carry a particular or special ornament. This consists of one or two spots placed under the cellule, quite peculiar to this genus, and agreeing with neither of the three ordinary stigmata. These spots which I shall name in my descriptions "signes subcellulaires " are coloured with a substance resembling polished gold or silver in colour and bril- liancy. They are slightly raised on their edges, as if some drops of these rich colours had fallen on the wing and had sunk in the middle in drying. But they are not the less composed, like the remainder of the wing, of imbricated scales, of which the exterior ones form a kind of pleat or raised margin with a rounded contour, instead of being arranged transversely, as are the other scales of the wing, even those which form metallic spots, often as brilliant as these particular signs. But it is not only for their brilliancy that these signs are remarkable, but also for their form which is not less essential, and which enables us readily to distinguish the species. Sometimes they are simple rounded decorations, sometimes they are two contiguous points, generally the posterior sign only has the form of an oval dot, whilst the anterior is shaped more or less like a rounded hook re- sembling a Y or U or a note of interrogation, deprived always of its dot below; lastly, the two marks sometimes join, and then the posterior takes the form of a drop and the whole resembles roughly a a gamma or lambda reversed, of which the buckle would always be blocked (filled in). All these names of letters have been used to de- signate the species of Plusia, although the resemblance to these alpha- betical symbols is not always very striking. There is yet a character that should not be omitted when speaking of the genus Plusia. It is a tooth formed at the anal angle of the fore wings which varies in size according to the species. I call it the "anal tooth." Some Plusice have scarcely a trace of it, as the species egenda and illustrata ; in others it is very much developed, and the inner margin takes the form of a deep sinus, so as to meet this prolongation at the anal angle. This is seen in P. signata, cerea etc., but that in which it is most pronounced is the curious species which I have named thyatyroides. Lastly, another character which is presented in a certain number of the species of Plusia is two tufts or plumes of scales which are found on the sides of the abdomen, and which are pressed against the segments following, sometimes following the sides, some- times almost joining at their extremities over the back. I have not referred to the plumes on the thorax, which are, however, very re- markable in this beautiful genus, but all entomologists have noticed these on the specimens in our collections " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 325-326). This is a remarkably good account of the principal characters of the imagines of this most interesting genus.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 19
Plmia, Och., aurifera, Hb.
This species is mentioned as British by many of our old authors, although there appears no reason to suppose that it is at present a British species. Humphrey and Westwood write of it : — " This species measures IJ-inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a pale brown colour with the stigmata and two basal strigae slightly indi- cated ; a greenish-gold patch in the middle of the fore wings, somewhat lozenge-shaped, and dilated beyond the middle into a broad bar extending from the costa almost to the anal angl6 ; this is followed by a slender yellowish subapical striga. Very rare, if indeed the true P. aurifera be really indigenous ; as the specimen in the British Museum, taken near Dover by the Kev. G. Lyon, has been considered as a singular variety of P. ch-ysitis. P. aurifera has been described as a native of Spain, Portugal, the South of France, Teneriffe etc. Another specimen, supposed to have been taken near London, was formerly in Mr. Ingpen's collection " (* British Moths,' p. 233). Of what he supposed to be the specimen of Plusia aurifera just referred to as from Mr. Ingpen's collection, Mr. C. G. Barrett writes : — " I have recently had the opportunity of examining some insects which, from their great age and their associations, seem to me to be of almost antiquarian, and quite historic, interest. They are in the collection of the Kev. Henry Burney, and were obtained many years ago by his father, in some cases through Mr. Charles Dale, from older collections. Mr. Burney, sen. was contemporary with — and corresponded with — Haworth, Samouelle, Capt. Blomer, Leach, Curtis, Dr. Abbott and other entomologists of a former generation, and many of their insects ultimately fell into his hands. Although he, unfortunately, did not label them very carefully, he preserved the specimens so well that they are but little faded, and still quite presentable, although from sixty to one hundred years old. Some of them seem to me deserving of a special notice. One is a very beautiful Plusia, obtained sixty years ago from Mr. Charles Dale, who had it from the collection of Dr. Abbott, a rather noted collector at the end of the last century ; it is, therefore, from ninety to one hundred years old, and is set in the rather drooping manner which seems to have been favoured by our early predecessors — with the costal margin of the fore wings hardly so forward as the head. This specimen is Plusia aurifera, Hb. ; it is figured very accurately by Noel Humphreys, as a British species (Westwood and Humphrey's * Brit. Moths,* p. 233, plate 52, fig. 5) on the following grounds : — * Supposed to have been taken near London, in Mr. Ingpen's collection,' with the mention of * one in the British Museum, taken near Dover by Rev. G. Lyon, considered as a singular variety of PL chrysitis.' There is nothing to indicate whether the present specimen is the [same as was formerly in Mr. Ingpen's col- lection, or another ; its name even had not been preserved ; its main interest lies in the fact that it is an ancient representative of a species formerly supposed to be British, and which may actually have been so, and have become extinct. Some colour is given to this supposition by the statement of Westwood that it was, at the date of his work (1840), ' a native of Spain, Portugal, the South of France, and Teneriffe,' while Staudinger now only gives as a locality the * Canaries,' as though it were gradually retreating southwards " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. :^xv.,
20 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
p. 223). Keferring to Mr. Barrett's communication Mr. Dale writes : — " Mr. Barrett in the * Ent. Mo. Mag.,' xxv., p. 223, in recording some old insects in the collection of the Rev. Henry Burney, has apparently fallen into some mistakes, which I will try to rectify, and also furnish some additional information. " One is a very beautiful Vlusia, obtained sixty years ago from Mr. Charles Dale, who had it from the collection of Dr. Abbott a rather noted collector at the end of the last century." *< This specimen is Plusia aurifera, Hb." *' There is nothing to indicate whether the present specimen is the same as was formerly in Mr. Ingpen's collection, or another." My father, who is above referred to, purchased the collection of Dr. Abbott, after his death in 1817. The Doctor's diary commenced in 1798, and concluded in 1801 ; Abel Ingpen was born in 1796, and died in 1854. If the specimen came from Dr. Abbott's collection, it is therefore a foreign one, and con- sequently, was not valued by my father ; had it been a British one, he would not have parted with it, and it would have been recorded both in Dr. Abbott's manuscripts and also in my father's. Perhaps the following passage from Stephens' "Illustrations," Haustellata, vol. iii., p. 105, may throw some light on the subject : — * One was taken near Dover by the late Eev. J. Lyon, and is now in the British Museum ; the other was, I believe, found in the vicinity of the me- tropolis, and at present forms a prominent ornament of a collection at Manchester, having been rescued from oblivion by Mr. Ingpen.' The specimen is not in the sale catalogue of Mr. Ingpen's collection in 1855 " ('Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxv., p. 246). This little appears to be all that is known of aurifera as a British species, and this little is unsatisfactory enough. Hiibner's description of the type is as follows : — " Anterior wings bright red with three yellowish costal streaks near the base, the orbicular surrounded with white, the reniform with fuscous ; a large yellow patch from apex extends down the sub- terminal area almost to the anal angle, then turns at an obtuse angle parallel to the base under the reniform and orbicular, stopping where the complete basal line is usually situated. Hind wings dark grey, base paler " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 463). Guenee, after describing this species, writes : — " It is said that this species inhabits Southern Spain, and that it has also been taken in the neighbourhood of Rochefort. I cannot confirm this statement, but I suspect all the specimens I have seen have been exotic. Almost all come from different parts of Africa" (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 335). Guenee then describes a var. A of which he writes : — " Of a pale testaceous- grey. The gilded band as in the type but of a pale and greenish gold. Thorax almost unicolorous. The lower part of the inferior wings has a broad, darker, terminal band. Java, Bourbon " (Z.c, p. 336).
Phsia, Och., moneta, Fab.
This species, quite recently added to the British fauna, is cha- racterised by a strong central transverse fascia, and a golden ear-shaped mark, made up of the orbicular, and the pale mark under it which becomes conspicuous as a metallic blotch in P. hractea, and festucce, but which is, in this species, of a pale golden colour surrounded with an U-shaped mark of brighter tint. This compound mark is quiet
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 21
reniform in appearance and very conspicuous, although, of course, it has nothing to do with the reniform stigma. Moneta is very distinct from any other British species, and in a considerable number of foreign specimens I notice no variation. Mr. Dobree however writes : — " Of P. moneta there is a not uncommon variety of the imago in Amurland (Siberia), in which the fore wings are of a shining silvery-white, instead of the golden-grey colour of the type. I have specimens of both " (< Entom.,' xxiii., p. 344). Guene'e says of this species : — " It is the most common of this beautiful group," and adds that " M. Boisduval has bred it in numbers in Normandy " (* Noctu- elles,' vol. vi., p. 332).
Of the appearance of this species in Britain Mr. C. G. Barrett writes : — " It is a rather curious fact but one well established, that those seasons which are remarkable for unfavourable weather and consequent scarcity of insects, are noticeable for the occurrence of un- expected novelties or rarities. Possibly the wretched weather (which is not usually confined to these Islands), induces restlessness on the part of insects and a desire to *^ better their position " by migration, and so influx of strangers comes about. This season the interesting visitor appears to be Plusia moneta, Fab., of which a specimen has already been recorded this year in another magazine. The first speci- men noticed was taken hovering over a Delphinium blossom in a garden at Dover, by a schoolboy, on June 25th. It was brought to Mr. Sydney Webb, in whose collection it is now. Another was taken by Mr. W. Holland, flying about a gas lamp at a railway station near Beading, on the night of July 2nd, and is now before me. It is a beautiful specimen, but paler than Mr. Webb's and not quite so large, the latter being of the largest size usually obtained by species. This is a most lovely species, as large as P. orichalcea, almost the whole of the fore wings being of a pale yellowish-brown or yellowish-grey, suffused with pale golden, with a narrow, darker golden-brown central band or irregular fascia. The greater part of the hinder margin is broadly tinged with violet. The orbicular stigma is nearly round, bright golden, and beneath it is a similar spot of the same colour, the two forming a sort of 8-mark, or two tiny yellow coins, hence the name. The hind wings are pale grey with darker nervures ; the palpi are long and somewhat recurved. Plusia moneta is widely distributed in Europe, and is said by Kirby chiefly to frequent mountainous districts. It occurs in the East and South of France, and much interest would attach to any information attainable, as to whether it has this year been noticed in the northern and western portions of that country. It is a most welcome addition to our fauna, and as its food-plant, the monkshood (Aconitum), grows in every cottage garden, there seems no especial reason why it should not become a permanent resident'* {' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxvi., p. 255). The Editors of the ' Ent. Mo. Mag.' further write :—" At a meeting of the French Entomological Society on December 10th, 1890, the veteran lepidopterist, Mons. J. Fallou announced (* Bull. Soc. Ent. Fr.,' pp. ccxi.), that he had captured a specimen of this insect at Champrosay (Seine-et-Oise), not far from Paris, in June, 1890, for the first time during the twenty years he has resided there. He also gave some general notes on its occurrence in France,. commencing with Duponchel (vol. vii., 2, p. 63, 1829), who
22 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
stated that it had only then been found in Normandy. Subsequently it had been noticed at Mont Dore (Auvergne), in 1879 ; in Alsace, and, according to M. Jairdheuille, at Troyes (Aube), in 1887 and 1888. M. Fallou does not allude to the * France meridionale ' given by Guene'e in his * Noctuelites ' (ii., p. 332, 1852). We call attention to Duponchel's statement as to its occurrence in Normandy previous to 1829, as of especial interest at the present time. Duponchel says that a brother of M. Boisduval, found it regularly at Falaise every year, that it was double-brooded, and that the larvas fed on a variety of plants, including sunflower and Jerusalem artichoke, burdock and cucumber. Guende (Lc.) briefly alludes to the same subject. According to this statement, made by eminent lepidopterists, its first appearance in the North of France is by no means recent, and, in fact, its first recorded occurrence in the country was in the north. Does it still occur in Normandy ?" (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxvii., p. 74).
Herr A. Hoffmann then wrote a most interesting note on the geographical distribution of this species. He says : — " With great interest I have read the announcement of the occurrence of Plusta moneta in Great Britain (Barrett, ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' 1890, p. 255) ; this species being a very good example of the great changes which may take place in the geographical distribution of an insect. The tendency of moving in the direction from east to west, which we find, or sus- pect, in so many other European insects is expressed clearly in this species, and has been noticed for some years by Continental entomolo- gists. Plusia moneta was known to be a common insect in the South and South-East of Germany, but until the year, 1875, was not recorded from the North- West of our country, nor from the Netherlands. In the year 1875 began the invasion of the species into the above-named districts, and in the course of a few years it was recorded from differ- ent places. Rhoden, Aralson (Speyer), Hanover (Wacquand), Meck- lenburg, Stralsund (Schmidt), Hamburg (Grasser). In the year 1882, it was found near Amheim, and in 1887, near Breda, in Holland (Snellen). The tendency of the species to gain new ground was so intense, that even the rough climate of our Hartz Mountains was not able to keep it back, for I found moneta in the moorland districts of the Brocken, at a height of about 800 metres ; I noticed the larva there during three years from 1870 on the Aconitum plants, in a small garden belonging to a forester's house. The species was single-brooded there, whilst it is double-brooded in more favourable climates. Now, the species having crossed the Channel, it will probably spread rapidly over England as it has done over the North- West of Germany, and over Holland. The larva may be easily noticed, when young, in May, on the aconite, spinning the young shoots of the plant together, like the larvas of several Depressarice. Later, the large yellow cocoon is easily visible hanging on the underside of a leaf of aconite. The most interesting question is, whether Plusia moneta will keep the newly- gained ground, or whether it will lose it again in the course of years " (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxvii., pp. 21-22). The species was again recorded in 1891, so that moneta appears to have come to settle with us.
The type is thus described by Fabricius : — " Noctua cristata, alis deflexis aureis ; strigis undatis annuloque geminato argenteo." " Mag-
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. ' 23
nitudo N. festucce. Thorax cristatus griseus punctis nigris. Alae anticse aurese strigis atomisque fuscis, apice obscuriores. In medio annulus duplicatus argenteus quadro fusco notatus. Posticae cinereae " (* Mantissa,' p. 162). I have before referred to a form recorded by Mr. Dobree, very different from the European form and the above type description.
a. var. esmeralda^ Oberthiir. — The variety referred to by Mr. Dobree was described by Mons. Oberthiir as follows : — " Differs from the Swiss and Normandy form by the yellowish- white tint, which in esmeralda replaces the fauve tint on the upper side of the superior wings in moneta ; this difference of colour gives var. esmeralda a very distinct facies, and at first sight it does not appear to resemble typical moneta at all, of which, however, it has exactly the same markings, except so far as concerns the bent extrabasal line below the median nervure of the, superior wing. This line is double in moneta, simple in esmeralda " ( * Etudes d'entomologie,' v., pt. 1, p. 85). This is described in a work dealing with the * Lepidopterous Fauna of the Isle of Askold,' where the type specimens of the variety were obtained.
Plusia, Och., illmtris, Fab.
Of this species as an inhabitant of Britain Guene'e writes : — " Messrs. Stephens and Haworth maintain that this species has been taken in England, but it would appear that this is due to erroneous determinations " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 330). He also adds : — " It varies moderately, above all in the depth of the green and red " (I.e.). The type is thus described by Fabricius : — " Noctua cristata alis de- flexis integris viridi cinereoque nitidulis : maculis tribus ferrugineis distinctis." " Alas anticae cinereo, viridi carneoque variegatas, nitidae et ad marginem posticum maculae tres distinctaa ferrugine^e, strigis duabus pallidis inclusis. Posticae cinerese " (* Mantissa,' p. 164). Of this species Humphrey and Westwood write : — " Although figured by Mr. Curtis in illustration of the genus Plusia, the present insect is a very aberrant species from the true gold-spangled type of the genus. It measures rather more than 1^ inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a greenish-brown, and very glossy, with an oblique pale line, edged externally with black, extending from the inner margin near the-JDase to the anterior stigma, which is oblique and elliptic, divided by a slender pale line into two parts ; the outer stigma is succeeded by a rosy patch ; beyond the stigmata is a flexuous striga, rosy externally, and pale inwardly ; the subapical striga nearly straight and pale, as well as the margin itself ; the hind wings are brown, rather darker along the margin, and with a short fascia near the middle. The caterpillar is grc^.n, with a dark dorsal and pale lateral lines, and black setigerous iiibercles. It feeds on Aconitum lycoctonum and Thalictrum aqmlegifoUum in May and June, when it forms a delicate cocoon and the moth appears in June and July. Formerly taken in some numbers on Salisbu^^^ Plain, and since, in South Wales, by Mr. Donovan" (* British Moth^- pp. 230-231). Mr. C. G. Barrett writes : — " Another of the specimens in the Kev. Henry Burney's collection is Plusia illustris which also came from an old British collection, but without label or name. It is in fair preserva- tion, but ill-set, obviously very old, and entirely without a history.
24 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiB
Haworth described this species as British, although he had himself seen none but German specimens ; he says : — * Mr. Donovan informs me that he took it in Wales.' It was figured by Curtis, and also by Noel Humphreys ; Professor Westwood stating (* British Moths,' p. 23 1 ) that * it was formerly taken in some numbers on Salisbury Plain.' For the same reason it was described by Mr. Stainton in the
* Manual '; but it was placed by Mr. Doubleday in his last list among the reputed British species. Probably Mr. Burney's is one of the original specimens, wherever they were obtained from : we have no recent record of its occurrence in this country, except a statement in the
* Entomologist ' for February, 1889, that a specimen occurred in Ireland in 1887 " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxv., pp. 223-224). Re- ferring to Mr. Barrett's communication, Mr. Dale writes : — " Mr. Barrett goes on to say : — * Another of the specimens in question is a Flmia eMu^sfr/s, which also came from an old British collection.' I possess a couple which were given to my father by Dr. Leach, who informed him they were taken on Salisbury Plain by a Mr. Spratt in 1810. Mr. Burney's specimen probably also came from Dr. Leach " (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. XXV., p. 246).
Of the recent occurrence of Pliisia illustris in Ireland, Mr. G. H. Carpenter writes: — "Among a number of moths taken by Miss Alice Hull, near Castle Kevin, in County Wicklow, in August, 1887, and lately given by her to me for identification, I was greatly surprised to find a specimen of Flusia illustris. The moth is figured in Curtis's
* British Entomology,' vol. xvi., p. 731, published in 1839, and is there recorded as having been taken on Salisbury Plain and in South Wales. Mr. H. T. Stainton has most courteously informed me, that these cap- tures took place before 1810, and that the insect has never since been in Britain. Both he and Mr. de. V. Kane agree that it is quite new to Ireland. The insect is admitted by Humphreys and Westwood into the * British Moths ' (1843). It is to be found among the reputed British species in the * Doubleday list,' but in Mr. South's * List ' it is refused a place even among these. Its reappearance in our Islands, after so many years, is therefore a noteworthy fact. It seoms very strange that, if Miss Hull's specimen is a migrant from the Continent, no individuals have been taken in Great Britain. On the other hand, it is equally strange if the insect has been breeding among us unnoticed over seventy years. The ordinary food-plants of the caterpillar, Thalictrum aquilegifolium and Aconitum lycoctonum, are both confined to the Continent. T. minus, however, occurs sparingly on the Wicklow Coast, and species of both genera may ver^ possibly be cultivated in the locality " (* Entom.,' vol. xxii., p. 46).
Flusia, Och.f jchrysitis, Linn.
This species varies in the tint and arrangement of the metallic markings. In some the tint is yellow, in others green, and the paler colour does not appea^t^,? betoken any wearing or to be a result of ex- posure. The glossy /.2^earance also, is quite superficial and almost entirely independent of the pigment underlying it, for if the colour in this species become bleached, the gloss remains. In arrangement, the " burnished brass " colour forms two bands, usually united at their centres, but occasionally the bands are distinct owing to the develop-
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 25
ment and subsequent union of the brown patches on the costa and inner margin in the centre of the wing. The stigmata in this species are in the brown central costal patch but are very indistinct. Guence writes : — " It varies very much in size, and also in the colour of the golden band, which is sometimes greenish and pale, and more rarely of a rich golden yellow. It often happens that the two metallic bands are more or less united, but this last variety hardly constitutes a distinct race, as it is allied to those in which the bands are isolated by a crowd of intermediate forms " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 335). The type is thus described by Linnasus : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alls deflexis : superioribus orichalceis fascia grisea " (* Systema Naturae,' xth., 513), to which he adds : — " Alas superiores nebulosas, versus marginem posticum cinereo-obsoletae ; dein fascia pallido-aurata ; turn nebulosaj sunt ala3 cum tinctura aurea, quee quasi alteram fasciam auream con- stituit ; demum nebuloso cinerascentes ad basin alas. Alae inferiores supra fuscescentes " (' Fauna Suecic^e,' p. 311). The form with two distinct metallic bands is, therefore, the type ; that in which they are united being the variety.
a. var. juncta, mihi. — The two metallic bands on the fore wing joined in their centres by a transverse band, instead of being separated throughout their length. This form appears to be much commoner in England than the type.
Plusla, Och., chrysoUj Esp. The tint of the metallic portion of the wing in this species varies somewhat similarly to that in chrysitis, some specimens having this part quite golden, others tending to green. There appears to be, however, no other point of variation except that the size of this blotch varies slightly. The elbowed line is very distinct and sometimes forms a small metallic lunule at its termination on the inner margin. The stigmata are traceable but are very inconspicuous. The type of this species is thus described by Esper : — " The ground colour of the fore wings is a mixture of dark or rather brownish-violet, which merges into red-brown. Through the middle area of the wing run black interrupted lines, but fresh specimens have a reddish-yellow uninterrupted line near the outer margin. Over the upper half of the outer margin spreads a golden yellow spot, through which passes a brownish line. The inner margin is broadly bordered with red- brown. On the costa stands a dark spot which is absent in some specimens. The hind wings have an uniform ground colour with a broad brownish border, in which is a somewhat paler transverse line " (^ Die Schmet. in Abbildungen,' p. 447). In sinking Fabricius' name oricJialcea, Staudinger says : — " It appears certain to me, that the orichalcea of Fabricius is another species, not only from the description but from the locality "* (' Catalog,' p. 126) ; I do not quite agree with this latter remark. This species was, until a few years ago, very rare in England. A few specimens were recorded some forty or fifty years ago from that part of the Kent coast near St. Margaret's Bay, be- tween Deal and Dover, but now washed away by the sea, and odd specimens had occasionally occurred in one or two other localities. The ** Fen " workers at last turned up the species and found the larvas in great numbers at Chippenham. Since then Mr. Farren and others
* Mons. Oberthiir records it from the Isle of Askold.
26 VABIETIES OP NOOTU-a:
have supplied our cabinets with long series of this species. The latest addition to our British localities has been the neighbourhood of Swansea, where it was discovered by Captain Robertson.
Plusia, Och., bractea, Fab.
This species and the following show in their metallic blotches all the characters of the y moths — jota, pulchrina, gamma and interro- gationiSf although the marks are developed as solid blotches in this species and feslmoe and have not merely the outlines of a golden colour as in jota and the allied species. Consequently, we find very considerable variation in the size and shape of the spot, sometimes it is lengthened out with every appearance of a letter y but with the upper part quite solid ; generally, however, this y appearance is lost in a blotch of irregular form which is scarcely identical in any two specimens in my rather long series. The stigmata are only traceable in two or three of my specimens. The type is thus described by Fabricius : — " Noctua cristata alis deflexis variegatis ; macula magna media aurea nitida.*' " Caput et thorax obscure ferruginea. Alae anticae cinereo, fusco, ferrugineoque varise. In medio macula magna, angulata, nitida aurea. Posticas cinerese "(' Mantissa,' p. 161). This is the rarest of those species ordinarily obtainable in Britain (/.e. ex- cluding aurifera, moneta, illustris, bimaculata and ni) and appears to be confined more especially to the North of England, the South of Scotland and various parts of Ireland. I am particularly indebted to Messrs. Russ of Sligo and Finlay of Morpeth for some very fine specimens.
Plusia, OGh.,festuc€e,ljmn.
This species, to my mind the most beautiful in the genus, has the arrangement of the metallic blotches somewhat in the manner of bractea and moneta combined. In the metallic blotches in the centre of the wing it shows the intermediate stage between the solid Y-like blotch in bractea and the distinct y mark in iota, pulchrina &c. On the other hand, the basal and apical marks on the costa are almost exact reproductions of the similar marks in moneta and the tendency to inner marginal patches also occurs in both species. I have no speci- men in which the two central patches are actually united, although in some specimens they approach one another very nearly indeed. There is but little variation in the ground colour, although some specimens are rather paler than others. The golden blotches at the base of the costa, at the apex, and two in the centre of the wing are always present, although the apical spot is sometimes more or less restricted owing to the spread of the ground colour. There are some oblique patches on the inner margin, passing towards the central spots, also an anal patch running up the subterminal area and parallel to the outer margin. Both the inner marginal and anal patches vary, sometimes, forming conspicuous metallic blotches of considerable size, sometimes being altogether absent and replaced by the ground colour. I fail to find the stigmata in this species. Guenee writes : — " I have seen a specimen from North America which in no way differs from ours " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 337). The Linnaean description of the type is as follows : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis : superior!-
I
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 27
bus flavo ferrugineoque variis : maculis tribus argenteis " (* Sy sterna Nature,' xth., p. 513).
Plusia, Och., jota, Linn.
There is, in different specimens of this species, some little differ- ence in the tint of the dark central shade directly under the almost obsolete stigmata, in which the y or i mark is situated. In some specimens, this patch is strikingly dark compared with the costal area ; in others, the two approach somewhat towards uniformity, owing to the redder character of the patch, and hence give such specimens a less marbled appearance. The characteristic golden letter or mark is usually composed of two separate parts, a v-shaped part nearer the base, and a dot near the point of the v. Sometimes this dot is linear, and it then occasionally become united to the v, thus forming a com- plete y-like mark = var. percontationis. I have a specimen in which both parts of this mark are very small indeed, although the character- istic shape and appearance of both parts are preserved. For this, I am indebted to Mr. Finlay of Morpeth. Of this species, which was con- founded with pulchrina by Continental entomologists, long after it had been bred from a distinct larva in England, Guenee writes : — '* We appear really to have two distinct species in our collection under the name of jota. Mr. Doubleday and one of his friends have assured themselves on several occasions that they (the species) were not bred from the same larv88 and that they appeared at different times of the year. I give, therefore, the description of typical jota as it exists in the Linn^an collection, and will then describe the other species under the name of v-aureum, by comparing it with the former " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 338). The Linnsean description of the type is as follows: — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis : superioribus ferrugineo griseis i resupinato aureo inscriptis." " Alee superiores griseo fuscoque variae ; in medio versus marginem tenuiorem magis lutege ; in centre al<e jota graecum s. signum interrogationis aureum, a prsecedentis (interrogationis) speciei diversissimum " (* Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 513). The two species {jota and pulchrina) are now well understood on the Continent, and thoroughly differentiated. The variation in the y or i mark is parallel in both species. The essential differences between jota and pulchrina would appear to be, that in the former, there is a distinct rosy tinge, whilst the latter is distinctly rich purplish in colour ; in pulchrina the stigmata are more distinct, and both these and the transverse lines are edged with metallic scales. The more rosy colour of jota, however, frequently finds a parallel variation in the brighter and more rosy tint in pulchrina and vice versa, and the brighter outlines to the transverse lines and the stigmata more generally cha- racteristic oi pulchrina are also occasionally reproduced, as a parallel form of variation of course, in jota. Certainly the two species are very closely allied.
a. var. percontationis, Tr. — Of this Staudinger writes : — " Signo argenteo confluente in litteram y " (* Catalog,' p. 126). This is Haworth's var. 13 of which he writes : — " Alis brunneo griseo ferrugineoque variis, gamma aurea perfecta in medio " (* Lep. Britannica,' p. 256). Treitschke's original description of the type is as follows : — " After long and careful observation, I cannot agree with my late friend Ochsen-
28 VARIETIES OP NOCTUiE
heimer, who divided the specimens oi jola he had into two species, and called the rarer yellow-brown form percontationis. An examination of many specimens does not furnish any fixed mark of distinction. There appears to be no difference between the larvae of jota and percontationis, and Esper, as well as Borkhausen, only separated the darker from the lighter specimens, because, in them they considered they had discovered Linna3us' interrogationis, which, however, is now generally known to be another species. My collection contains a pair of Ochsenheimer's per- contationis, which resemble exactly the figures in the * Naturforscher ' and * Pap. d'Europe,' and which I consider to be jota. Esper's figs. 3-4, which Ochsenheimer also classed among his percontationis are too badly done to have any weight." Treitschke then further adds: — " As already mentioned, the colour of the var. percontationis is paler yellow or flesh-coloured brown. The moth is stated to be larger than iota, but I have several iota before me, which are larger than percon- tationis. The mark of interrogation, should in the latter join below with the spot, but I find in my collection, males of this variety with the mark suffused on the left wing, whilst I possess several iota with similar markings. The hind wings are more yellow than those oiiota. The discoidals are sometimes absent as in the allied species interroga- tionis and gamma " ( *Die Schmet.' &c., vol. v., 3rd pt., p. 184). I have British specimens of this variety, with a complete y from Warrington, Clevedon, Grantham, Morpeth, Mansfield and Aberdeen.
13. var. inscripta, Esp. — Of this Guenife writes : — " The golden marks altogether absent " (* Noctuelles,' vi., p. 339), whilst Staudinger says: — " Signo argent, nullo" (* Catalog,' p. 126). Esper's diagnosis of this variety is : — " Fh. Noctua spirilinguis cristata alis deflexis, superioribus ferrugineo-griseis, disco nigricante-fusco, nullo charactere [ut in prioribus (iota)'] notato " (' Die Schmet. in Abbil.' &c., p. 229). The figure (PI. 113, fig. 5) to which this description refers, has no gamma mark. I have seen no British specimen with this mark obso- lete, although it is quite probable that such exist.
y. var. ancora, Frr. — Staudinger writes of this : — •" Ab. pallidior " (* Catalog,' p. 126), whilst Guenee writes: — "I have not seen it in nature. Its colour should be generally paler ; the elbowed line should have no sinus in its lower part ; the metallic markings should be of a dull silver colour ; the hind wings with a less distinct border" etc. (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 339). Freyer's figure (* Neure Beitrage,' PI. 47, fig. 1) has the anterior wings of a very pale tint, with a dark patch just below the stigmal area in which the almost obsolete y-mark is placed. It is not a very striking form, except for its more than usually pale ground colour.
Plusia, Och., pnlchrina. Haw.
This is a very beautiful species and closely allied to jota ; although they appear very different when series of each species are examined side by side. The rich purplish tint which makes this species so beautiful, is almost entirely wanting in that species, and the darker colour in this shows up conspicuously the paler transverse lines, making it look more variegated than its congener. The ground colour of some specimens is redder (approaching jota), and in others, the markings in the central area and following the subterminal are conspicuously darker
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 2^
and inclining to black. I have one or two specimens so devoid of variegation, that they resemble jota very closely. The two parts of the characteristic y mark are as in jota, but I believe more rarely united, although they undergo the same minor variations in size and position as in the latter species. There appears to be rather more sexual difference in the hind wings in this species than in jota, although the character of a pale central transverse band is maintained in both. Ha worth's description of the type is as follows : — " Alis brunneo griseo ferrugineoque variis, gamma aurea fracta, stigmatibus divaricatim remotis aureo cinctis." Haworth then adds : — " Very similar to the last var. (= percontationis, Tr.), but much more beautiful. It may be known at first sight by the wings being more variegated, and by the more strongly marked and distinct stigmata, which are beautifully surrounded with golden colour. The cilia are reddish with fuscous spots " C Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 256). Humphrey and Westwood describe pulchrina under the name of iota, whilst iota is described as percontationis, in their * British Moths,' p. 231. Of this species Newman writes : — " Contrasted with the preceding species, pulchrina is more decidedly variegated than iota ; the boundaries of the shades being more sharply defined " (' British Moths,' p. 454). Guenee writes : — " This species is extremely near to iota. It appears, however, to be distinct. Its larva resembles, I understand, that of gamma. It is of a pale green, without any longitudinal line ; the head is green with a black line on each side. I have before me a very good drawing of it ; but I dare hardly say that it has not been taken from an example ready to undergo pupation, and that it may have lost its markings, as then happens to all Noctu^, especially the species in Plusia. However, I am assured that the larva differs constantly from that of iota, and as the latter is common in England, I must concur v/ith the observations of English entomologists. The following are the slight differences which separate the perfect insects : — Pulchrina is only 38 mm. in expanse. The superior wings of a less intense rosy red, which approaches carnation colour more than does iota, with the brown areas more numerous, thus making it appear more variegated. The elbowed line always strongly angulated, the subterminal more pronounced and more de- cidedly resembling an M in the middle. The reniform more visible, greatly constricted in the middle, encircled with golden colour at the bottom, and with very distinct black interior shading. The golden marks are thicker; the first resembling an U rather than a Y, the second forming an oval point generally larger, Eringe always broken up with black. Inferior wings having the lines and border more distinct above. The female the same as the male, although a trifle darker. Pulchrina is found in the same countries as iota, but is always rarer. English en- tomologists maintain that Hit bner's figure 282 refers to this and not to iota ; this is a difficult matter to decide with this figure which is far from being one of the best in Hubner's work " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 339-340).
a. var. juncta, mihi. — This is a parallel variety to iota var. per- contationis, and has the two parts of the metallic mark united to form a gamma as in that variety. Mr. Einlay writes : — " I have captured and bred some hundreds of this species, but specimens having the gold marks united are very rare indeed " {in Hit.). I have specimens from
30 VARIETIES OF NOOTTiK
Morpeth, Wicken, Dundee and Clevedon. This may be var. mono- gramma, Alph. (1887).
Fliisia, Och., himaculata, Stphs. (verticiUata, Grn.).
Guen^e describes this species under the name of verticiUata as follows : — " Extremely near to cJialcites, Esp., and rogationis, Gn., but it is a little smaller, generally i3aler, of a grey colour barely shaded with reddish, with the metallic parts of a greenish-grey colour in- stead of being golden ; the complete basal line distinctly formed of three lunules ; the silvery markings clearer ; the subterminal more strongly marked and twining round as a black streak at the first inferior nervule. Inferior wings unicolorous, even on their under- sides, or, at least, without appreciable markings etc." (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 344). The species is said by Guenee to inhabit " Java, the East Indies, Pondicherry etc." Stephens' original description of the type is as follows : — ** Alls anticis fusco-brunneo ferrugineoque variis maculis duabus aureis (Exp. alar. 1 unc. 8 lin.)" " Head, thorax and abdomen as in the last described (jpercontationis) : anterior wings varied with fuscous-brown and ferruginous, with a biundulated golden striga at the base, enclosing a black spot ; then another, similarly coloured, before the stigmata, much angulated at its origin on the costa, and waved interiorly, followed, behind the stigmata, by an obscure crenu- lated bent one, without metallic ornament ; stigmata very obsolete, without golden edges : on the disc are two large bright golden spots, the anterior emarginated towards the base and rounded posteriorly ; the hinder triangular-ovate ; between the anterior and the costa is a faint golden lunule as in Plusia iota ; cilia rufescent, immaculate ; posterior wings reddish-ash, with a central lunule, an oblique striga, the hinder margin and the nervures dusky. A single example of this beautiful and remarkably distinct species — which is not the inscripta of Esper — was obtained by me from the Marshamian collection where it was placed as the opposite sex of PL iota. Of its locality I am ignorant" (^Illustrations,' iii., p. 102). Humphrey and Westwood after quoting this original description of Stephens write : — " A single specimen of this species is in the unrivalled collection of J. F. Stephens, Esq. (whose description we have quoted above) but its locality is un- known. Mr. Curtis regarded it as a probable variety of Plusia iota, whilst Mr. H. Doubleday has omitted it from the list of British NocTu^, considering it, as he informs me, as an apparently North American species " (< British Moths,' p. 232).
Of the correct nomenclature of this species Dr. Mason writes : — " In the collection of the late Mr. Edwin Brown I found an insect with the printed label, " himaculata," and a reference to its reception from Carter of Manchester. This had been placed under P. iota, and I have never closely examined it until the other day, when I received a specimen of P. verticiUata, Gn. from Dr. Staudinger. This reminded me of the old specimen, and on comparing them, I found them to be examples of the same species. On reading Stephens' description of P. himaculata, there is no doubt that it is a good and suflScient description of the species named verticiUata by Guenee. To make sure of the correctness of the identification, Messrs. Kirby and Warren kindly examined the Stephensian collection, and
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 31
discovered that the type specimen was not there, and Mr. Kirby told me that they did not possess a great many of the reputed British specimens of this collection, and suggested that my specimen might possibly be the type. Can any one put on record the fate of these reputed British specimens ? The box or drawer containing them did not go to the British Museum with Stephen's British collection. Stephens' type specimen came from the Marsham collection, and was without locality. Now, there is one record of the capture of P. verti- cillata, Gn. {acuta, Walker) in England, viz., that by Mr. H. P. Eobinson, of Tunbridge Wells, in May, 1870. The synonomy of the species must, therefore, be corrected as follows: — Plusia bimaculata, Steph. ' 111. Brit. Ent.,' vol. iii., p. 102., P. vertidllata, Guenee, " Sp. Gen. Noctuel.,' vol. vi., p. 34:4, No. 1168, 1852; Knaggs, * Ent. Annual,' 1871, p. 79. P. acuta, Walker, *B. M. Cat. of Noctuse,' p. 992, 1857 ; Robinson, ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vii., p. 138. This species seems, like others of the genus, to have a very wide distribution, and there are specimens in the British Museum from many parts of Asia, from Africa, and from Australia" (*Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxvii., p. 163). The whereabouts of the type was soon detected for we read on p. 207 of the same volume of this magazine, the following from the pen of Mr. H. T. Stainton : — " The Stephensian specimen of this insect is now in the British Museum. When the Stephensian library was removed here in 1853, along with the books came one solitary book- box, containing a number of Continental specimens of reputed British insects — such as Aglia tau, Gluphisia crenata, &c. I had never looked on the box as containing anything of value, till I read Mr. Mason's note on Plusia bimaculata at p. 163 of this volume. I then referred to this box, and there, sure enough, was the missing specimen, along with several other apparently British specimens of curious Plusice. I lost no time in communicating my discovery to Dr. Giinther, F.R.S., and hearing from him that the Museum would be glad to receive this box of insects, I took it there and handed it to him on the 22nd June. It had been an inmate of this house for 38 years " (* Ent. Mo. Mag,,' vol. xxvii., pp. 207-208).
Plusia, Och., gamma, Linn.
In this species, the y mark is almost always (as far as my long series is concerned, always) in one piece, and the red coloration is usually confined to a ferruginous patch, sometimes strongly marked, in contact with the lower part of the angulated line, and extending under the y mark. Some specimens also have the extreme outer margin outside the subterminal, very pale, and also the costal patch just outside the reniform. The stigmata are as distinctly marked as in pulchrina. The hind wings of some of the males have the basal area pale, the darker outer margin having then quite the appearance of a marginal band ; the pale central transverse band (conspicuous in the hind wings of jota and pulchrina), becomes merged or extended into a broad paler basal area. Guenee says : — " The imago figured by Sepp, is a veritable masterpiece. It is impossible to find a figure which unites to the same extent so many excellent points " {' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 349). He also adds : — " In the second edition of Schaffer, this species is coloured in rose, so that it might be mistaken for Plusia iota " (I.e.) ; and again : —
32 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiG
" Engramelle figures another variety (594, c.d.), which is of a reddish tint. I have never seen it " (I.e.). The type is thus described by Linnaeus : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis : superioribus fuscis A aureo inscriptis " (*Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 513). A variety with very dark ground colour was exhibited at the meeting of the South London Entomological Society, held Aug. 23rd, 1888, where we read : — " Mr. E. South exhibited a melanic example of Plmia gamma, and called attention to a curiously serrated line on the hind margin of the primaries, which formed a distinct metallic W " (' Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc.,' 1888, p. 61).
a. var. pallida, mihi. — This is Guenee's var. A, which he describes as follows: — "Of a very pale whitish-grey colour. This form is sometimes bred from the larva, but only rarely " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 349).
/3. var. rufescens, mihi. — Mr. Freer was good enough to send me a series of this species captured on Cannock Chase, in which the red was much more pronounced and occupied more space than usual, at any rate much more so than in the other specimens in my series. This form appears to be Haworth's gamma var.^ of which he writes: — "Alis satura- tioribus, minus argenteis, rubedine magis mixtis, gamma grsecorum absolute aurea, nee argentea. Stigmatibus ordinariis exacte ut in iota var. y, atque similiter tenuissime aureo circumcinctis " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 257).
Plusia, Och., ni, Hb.
Guenee writes of this : — " The North American specimens are a little darker, and the designs more mixed up with the ground colour, but they do not appear sufficiently different to make a distinct species. I have also seen the remains of a specimen from Senegal, which does not appear to differ from the others. It is to be observed that in this species the abdomina of the males is terminated by a tuft of fawn- coloured scales, with which are united two lateral fascicles of the same colour, which originate on the fifth segment " (' Noctuelles,' vol., vi., p. 349-350). I should not be at all surprised if Guenee's remarks on the North American specimens, referred actually to what is now considered Plusia brassicce, Kiley. The following is the description I made of Hiibner's type : — " Smaller than any other of our British Plusice, approaching more nearlj'^ to interrogationis. Anterior wings of a glaucous tint with the abbreviated and complete basal line ochreous ; the orbicular and reniform slightly brownish ; the y mark complete, placed under the orbicular ; a small dark patch under the reniform ; the elbowed line pale : the subterminal consisting of a single black wavy line; outer area beyond subterminal brownish. Hind wings dark grey, base pale, distinct lunule " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 284 {non 286). Mr. Newman writes : — " The palpi are porrected, but scarcely ascending, the second joint is scaly, but not densely so ; the terminal joint slender and pointed ; the antennse are simple ; the costal margin of the fore wings is straight nearly to the tip, when it is slightly bent and somewhat pointed ; their colour is grey, mottled and marbled with sepia- brown ; this darker colour occupying the median area of the wing, and containing a dull silvery mark supposed to bear a resemblance to the Greek y or English y : the hind wings
IN THE BRITISn ISLANDS. 33
are grey-brown, rather paler at the base, where they have darker wing-rays : the head, thorax and body are grey-brown, the latter with long reddish scales at the sides near the tip. The moth is an inhabitant of North America, Italy, Sicily and the South of France ; it appears on the wing in June and August. A single specimen is said to have been taken at Alphington, near Exeter, by Mr. D'Orville, on the 13th of August, 1868, flying over the flowers of red valerian. I made use of the qualified term * is said,' because the details given by Dr. Knaggs, in the * Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. v., p. 127, and in the * Annual ' for 1868, p. 125, do not agree with the authentic examples of this species from the Continent of Europe kindly given me by Mr. Doubleday and described above " (' British Moths,' pp. 455-456).
The moth was first recorded as British in the ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. v., p. 107 where we read that the Rev. J. Hellins sent a specimen captured by Mr. D'Orville to the editors of that magazine. The note by Mr. Knaggs (just previously referred to) and which was written on receipt of this specimen is as follows : — " Plusia ni, Hb. (first noticed by Engramelle under the name of L'ajoutSe) is closely allied to our common P. gamma, for a variety of which it might easily at first sight be passed over. It also presents some slight points of resemblance to P. interrogationis, and between these two species it will have to be placed in our lists and cabinets. As it can only be confounded with gamma — and then, mind, only at first sight — I have thought it ad- visable to lay before our readers some of the more striking points wherein it differs from that species, which I hope may call attention to its peculiarities, and perhaps lead to the detection of other examples in our collections. The alar expanse is less than that of gamma, the forewings are less acute at their apices, and lack the smooth, burnished, bronzy lustre of gamma ; or, to put it the other way, the contrast be- tween the ground colour, which is blackish, and the markings, which are, say, rosy-ferruginous, give ni a duller and more mottled appear- ance ; the letter-mark in the specimen before me is shaped somewhat as in v-aureum — thus \ . or .V, but I find, on examining a series that though this character is usually pretty constant, it is by no means invariably so. The hind wings are much as in gamma, but blacker in hue : the palpi are smaller, the antennas finer, and in the abdomen of the ^ we find still better characters ; here the dorsal tuft is of a yellow ochreous colour, the tufts of ochreous scales fringe the sides of the last segments, terminating underneath the anal segments in an och- reous patch " {' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. v., p. 127).
The most important contribution to our knowledge ot the species, however, came from Prof. Zeller translated from the * Isis,' 1847, p. 449, where he writes : — " As Treitschke correctly observes, Fliisia ni, when on the wing, has a great resemblance to P. gamma, and it re- quires very sharp powers of observation to recognise the buzzing NocTUA, by its grey colour, as Flusia ni. Near Syracuse, on the 30th May, I took a wasted male in a fallow field, where, when started up, it settled again to sleep on a vine leaf, instead of buzzing at flowers, as is usual. Gamma sometimes settles again in the same way, and, indeed, I had almost passed this specimen for gamma. In the neigh- bourhood of Catania I found specimens of the second brood, on the
0
34 VATIIETTES OF NOOTU^
3rd July, in a moist meadow overgrown with rushes ; they flew in the forenoon, and when I revisited the meadow a second time, I found them flying readily towards evening, and settling deep in the tufts of nishes, with the head downwards. At Messina I again observed this species, in the second half of August, where they were flying in the grass, and amongst Nepeta calamintha, on the heights of Castellaccio. One beautiful specimen I took from a small Asilus which had already killed it. Flusia ni was, however, most plentiful on the border of a road near Naples, on the 20th of August ; they were on this day par- ticularly shy, more like gamma, and whenever I approached them they went over a wall into a vineyard. I also noticed this species in the Campagna to the South of Rome, on the 28th August. This species, at any rate, seems no rarity in the southern part of Italy. Its most characteristic markings are furnished by the subterminal line of the anterior wings and the central markings ; the former shows between the second and third branches of the median vein, and between the last branches of the sub-dorsal vein two acute angles, which are open to- wards the base, and filled with black-brown, and it always bears on its anterior edge, in the interval between the branches of the sub-costal vein and between the first and second branches of the median vein, short black-brown longitudinal streaks. The central marking is not silvery, but simply white with a faint gloss, and at the part which hangs on to the median nervure it is filled up with pale grey ; the free part is oval, and more or less distinctly separated. It is very remarkable, but, in three male specimens, this part is quite distinctly separated on the left wing, but not on the right, on the other hand, in one female the contrary takes place, and in no one specimen is there this separation on both wings. The male is distinguished from every other species of Flusia, except circumscripta, by the abdomen. On each side of the fifth segment is a long, almost straight, pale reddish tuft of hairs, which projects but little from the abdomen, but strikes the eye very readily, so that one cannot help wondering how it was not mentioned by Treitschke : below this tuft on the 6th segment is a longer and thinner tuft, of which the tij)s of the hairs are black ; usually these black tufts are concealed in the anal tuft, but may be easily fished out with the setting-needle. As I had not observed these appendages, the object of which I am at a loss to conceive, in the fresh specimens, I am not confident that they are really attached to the above named segments. Probably other species possess this character in the male sex, and it might furnish a clue to a more natural grouping of the species. Flusia dauhei, with which I am not personally acquainted, comes very near to P. ni according to Freyer's figure (* N. Beit.,' iii., p. 90 ; Tab. 256, fig. 1) ; on the anterior wings it shews the same markings of the subterminal line, but it wants the lower oval part of the Fhsia-m&rk, and, on the other hand, has the peculiar reniform stigma as in P. gamma. Boisduval says of P. dauhei (* Index,' p. 159), that it is smaller than ni ; but according to Freyer, it is almost larger than gamma" (*Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. vi., pp. 12-13).
Of the recent capture of Flusia ni in Britain, Mr. C. G. Barrett writes : — " I have recently had the pleasure of examining a very rare British moth, a genuine specimen of Flusia ni, Hb. I found it among some NocTUiB sent for examination by Major Partridge, of The Castle,
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 35
Portland. He says : — ' One night in September I had been sugaring, and while passing down the terrace in my garden, which is within a few yards of the sea, an insect flew down to my light and fell to the ground. On examining it, I at once saw that I had got something out of the common way. It looked uncommonly like P. niy but I feared it was too good to be true.' The specimen is a very perfect Flusia ni, and a most satisfactory confirmation of the title of the species to be included in the British list. As Vhisia ni must now be fully admitted to rank as a British species, a few words upon the characters which distinguish it from the closely allied species may be useful. It is most nearly related to P. gamma, but smaller, hardly so large as P. interrogation^. It is a somewhat paler, greyer insect than either ; the y-mark is entire* and straighter than in gamma, that is, not so curved upwards, and the subterminal line is much indented and rather indistinct, but has several blach wedge-shaped streaks springing from it, and pointing towards the base of the wing. The small tufts of scales at the sides of the ab- domen are yellowish " (*Ent. Mo. Mag.', vol. xxv., p. 160). Whilst Mr. Nevinson writes : — " With reference to the capture of Phisia ni recorded in your last number, it may interest Mr. Barrett and others of your readers to hear that my brother netted an excellent specimen of the above-mentioned insect in the vicinity of Swanage, Dorset, in August, 1885. Unfortunately, the net being damp, the thorax is somewhat rubbed, otherwise the insect is in first-rate condition. Although the species is readily to be distinguished from its allies, to make assurance doubly sure, I showed the specimen to Messrs. Butler, Waterhouse and other entomologists, who all unhesitatingly pronounced it to be an indubitable P. ni (< Ent. Mo. Mag.*, vol. xxv., p. 184). At the Entom. Soc. of London meeting on July 2nd, 1890, Mr. Stevens said that when at Exeter he visited the Museum, and was pleased to see the original specimen of Plmia ni in the late Mr. H. D'Orville's collection, taken at Alphington, near Exeter, in August, 1868.
Of Phsia ni, Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell writes : — " The recent records of Phisia ni in the South of England, suggest an enquiry as to what is exactly meant by our (British) Plusia ni. P. ni, a South European species, is represented in America by a form called P. hrassicce, Riley, which is abundant and injurious to cabbages in the United States. Now, as is not unusual in Plusia, we have in hrassicce a species so near to ni as to be very frequently confounded with it, and constant enough in its characters to be regarded as distinct. For this reason, a specimen now believed to be hrassicce, found in England years ago, was recorded as ni, and is still supposed to be such by many British entomologists. The question therefore naturally arises, are these recent captures really ni, Hb., or hrassicce, Riley ? If they are hrassicce, the natural inference is that they are somehow imported from America, in the same way as H. alhifusa-f must certainly have been. I need not go any further into this matter, but hope that a re-examination will be made of the English examples of " w/ " to see what they really are "
* I hardly understand why Mr. Barrett emphasises the fact that the ;/.mark in P.ni is entire. I never knew it otherwise in P. gamma, so that in this respect they would appear to be similar, except that Professor Zeller records the mark as broken in P. ni (vide extract ante p. 34).
■\Vide remarks re Hadena trifolii var. alhifusa, ante vol. iii., pp. 84-85.
36 VARIETIES OF NOOTFiK
(* Entom.,' xxii., p. 74). Mr. Cockerell also notes that Phma hrasstcce, Riley, is by some regarded as a form of P. ni, Hb. (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. XXV., p. 324).
Plmia, Ocb., interrogattonis, Linn.
The great character in this species is the endless variation which the central silvery mark or character undergoes. Truly no two are alike, and to look down a long series of interrogattonis at this mark, is something like looking at a series of Chinese characters. Some are like the normal mark in iota and pulchrina, composed of a v and dot ; others have them united as in gamma ; others, again, are like the Greek c ; one forms a tiny solid blotch as in hractea, and so on. As is so frequently the case in species having the peculiar glaucous tint possessed by this, and which seems so characteristic of moorland species, especially in northern latitudes, some of the specimens have a delicate rosy tint, otherwise there appears to be but little variation in the method and arrangement of the markings. The pale band in the centre of the hind wings is rather like those of jota and pulchrina, and does not spread to the base as in gamma. Guenee says : — " I dare not cite Haworth's reference, as he says that the colour is very much mixed with rosy " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 354). Our British specimens are, as I have previously mentioned, often strongly tinted with rose-colour, so that Guenee was evidently unacquainted with British specimens. The type is thus described by Linnaeus : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis superioribus cinereis signo ? albo inscriptis " {* Sy stoma Naturae,' xth., p. 513). The variation in the characteristic mark of interrogationis, was remarked by Zetterstedt who wrote : — " Variat saepe signo argenteo inscripto, punctisque ejusdem coloris subscriptis 2 aut parvis discretis, aut majoribus in unum confluentibus " (* Insecta Lapponica,' p. 948). Mons. Oberthiir records this species from Cau- terets (Pyrenees) as follows : — " An obscure form, conforming to the general rule of the coloration of the Nocture in the Hautes-Pyrenees " (* Etudes d'entomologie,' viii., p. 51).
a. var. rosea, mihi. — Some of our British specimens are beautifully tinted with rose-colour. This is the form described by Haworth who writes : — "Phytometra alis cinereo f usco roseoque variis, in medio littera V punctoque contiguo arge^jteis." " Pr^ecedentibus (gamma) differt statura minore, alis anticis roseo cinereo fuscoque perpulchre variegatis, et potissimum charactere argenteo. Cilia rosea fusco maculata " (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 257), to which he adds : — " This species was known to Harris as above cited, where he remarks it * is a dif- ferent species from the Phalcena interrogationis of Linnaeus.' In this, however, he was probably mistaken, as there are hardly any doubts about this being the N. interrogationis of the ' Fauna Suecicfe,' although Linnseus makes no kind of mention of its beautiful purple tints. It is not the interrogationis of Hiibner, nor does it exactly accord with his Noctua ni : although very closely allied to both " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,* p. 257). It will be seen, therefore, that whilst Guenee was undecided as to our British specimens being interrogationis because of their rosy tints, Haworth specially notices that Linnaeus makes no mention of them.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 37
VI. Sub-class : — ^iNTRUSic, Gn. 1. Family: — Amphij)yr{dcBf Gn,
This group has been variously placed by different authors. Guenee places it with the Toxocampidije and Stilbidce, whilst Staudinger sub-divides it, putting Ncenia and Mania next Brotolomia meticulosaj and Amphipyra pyramklea and tragopoginis between Busina and Tmnio- carnpa, at the end of the Caradrinidcey a not at all unnatural position it appears to me, for this latter genus. I consider that Ncenia and Mania belong essentially to the Noctuidce and have no relationship whatever with Amphipyra as united by Guenee, nor with the Toxocampidoi following. Typica and maura should not be too far from Graphiphora augur or Triphcena pronuba, whilst it has been suggested to me that the larva of pyramidea suggests Petasia as a possible relationship. Guene'e writes of the family : — " The insects are recognised easily by their flattened form. When at rest, they carry their wings parallel to the plane in which they rest, and crossed over the back in such a way that they partly cover themselves. This depressed form allows them to glide into the narrowest crevices. It is in such places that A. tragopoginis is often found, in the frames of doors and of shutters where it appears at first as if they must be inevitably crushed. The imago of pyramidea often hides in the empty galleries made by the larva3 of Cossus ligniperda in the trunks of trees. I have often seen them in these retreats with their heads turned tx)wards the entry, and plunged into complete darkness with which the reddish phosphores- cent light of their eyes strongly contrasts" (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 412). The two British species in Amiphipyra appear to be rather closely allied.
Amphipyra, Och., pyramidea, Linn.
This species in Britain is not what may be termed a variable one, but occasionally very beautiful varieties of this species are met with here, in which the whole of the central area between the basal and elbowed lines (which are very pale) is formed into a distinct dark transverse band. The outer half of this area is frequently banded in this species, in fact, it is rarely that it is not so, but it is very unusual for the whole area to become dark. The reniform is generally indis- tinct, and in many specimens there is a longitudinal line passing from the elbowed line through the reniform and often extending be- yond the orbicular to the basal line. This generally absorbs the reniform, leaving the orbicular distinct, although occasionally this also becomes absorbed and obsolete. The outer area beyond the sub- terminal line varies considerably in depth of colour and there is some variation in the number of cuneiform spots developed. A second longitudinal black mark often reaches from the claviform to the angulated line.
The Linnaean description of the type is as follows : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alls f uscis : superioribus strigis tribus flavescenti- bus repandis " (* Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 518). In the xiith edition " fuscis " becomes " cmerascentibus," whilst " undatis " precedes " flavescentibus " and " maculaque fusca " comes after <* repandis." The exhibition of " a slate coloured specimen of Amphipyra pyramidea
38 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiB
by Mr. J. H. Carpenter " is recorded without comment in the ' Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc.,' 1888, p. 67.
a. var. virgata, mihi. — The anterior wings with the central area (between the basal and angulated lines) filled in with darker colour, thus making a dark band, bounded by the paler transverse lines ; the outer area on each side of the subterminal line strongly shaded with black. The finest specimen of this form that I have seen was in the collection of the Eev. G. H. Raynor, and I have a specimen, given to me by the same gentleman, and captured at Brentwood, somewhat similar ; whilst another approaching it, came from Mr. Alderson of Famboro' (Kent). This variety seems to approach very nearly to, if not to be identical with the North American A. pyramidoides of Guenee, described in the * Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 413.
p. var. ohscura, Oberthiir. — The type of this variety was first described in a paper on the * Lepidopterous Fauna of the Isle of Askold ' by Mons. Oberthiir, who writes : — " Differs from the type by its constantly darker colour, which even extends to the inferior wings, in ,which the reddish is sometimes entirely brown. 10 ^ , 4 ? " (* Etudes d'entomologie,' v., pt. 1, p. 85).
(?) y. monolitha, Gn. — The monolitha of Guenee is by some con- sidered only a form of pyramidea, whilst by others it is considered as a " representative species " replacing pyramidea in the East Indies and on the East Coast of Asia and not being identical with it. Mr. Leach combines the two, together with magna, Walk, and var. ohscura, Oberth., and writes : — " In a long and variable series of this species (pyramidea), taken by myself in Japan, there are specimens which agree with monolitha, Guen., others with magna, and one or two examples with Oberthiir's variety. These forms are connected one with the other and with pyramidea by intermediates"; whilst he adds : — " From the neighbourhood of Kiukiang, I received two speci- mens only, one of which is the var. ohsmra and the other magna. Walk. " (* Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1889, p. 135). When we consider how closely allied some of our undoubtedly distinct British species are, e.g., Ompidia tridens and C. p)si, Agrotis tritici and A. ciirsoria etc., we must take such general lumping as this with a certain amount of reservation. Not, that monolitha might not be specifically identical with jyyramidea, probably it is, but the capture or receipt of a long series of specimens of a species which we do not know intimately, and which appear to run without break into the normal form of a species which we do know, should hardly be held conclusive proof of the specific identity of the two forms, as the keenest entomologists often fail to distinguish the allied British species mentioned above, and, until the earlier stages are known, " representative species " should not be too generously lumped, as they are certainly far better separated than united when there is any doubt about them. Guenee writes of monolitha : — " This is also very near to pyramidea but much more distinct than the preceding (pyramidoides, Gn. from North America). The superior wings little indented, of a deep violet-brown, velvety, unicolorous and not clouded as in our pyramidea, with the same lines marked in shiny grey, and also shaded interiorly. The orbicular stigma forming a very distinct grey dot, but not ocellated. The subterminal line barely distinct, with the dark streaks which pre-
IN TUE BRITISH ISLANDS. 39
cede it, partly lost in the ground colour. Fringe concolorous, uniform. Inferior wings of a coppery-red, paler and duller, with the fringe of an uniform grey like the costa. The four wings are equally more uniform below. The thorax of an uniform brown. The con- spicuous palpi very slightly grey, their third joint still sharper and longer than in pijramidoides.'' " One S" from Silhet." " This appears to replace our pyramidea in the East Indies " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 414).
Amphipyra, Och., tragopoginis, Linn.
There is practically no variation in this species, although some have a little more brown in the ground colour than others. The reni- form, which is usually composed of two distinct dots, sometimes, but very rarely, has them joined, whilst at other times one is obsolete. The orbicular sometimes forms a small linear mark, and there is occasionally a trace of the sub terminal line. The slightly darker forms were called tetra by Ha worth and Stephens, who probably believed them to be the Continental species of that name. The Linnaean description of the type is : — " Phalcena Noctua tragopoginis spirilinguis subcristata, alls superioribus f uscis : punctis nigris tribus approximatis ; inferioribus lividis." " Kustica media, inelegans, f usca. Alas superiores supra in medio punctis tribus minimis remotis, quorum 1 anterius, 2 posteriora. Inferiores alee lividse " (* Fauna Suecica^,* p. 316).
a. var. tetrUf Haw. — Humphrey and Westwood write of this variety : — *' This species is described as larger than the preceding (17 lines broad) ; the fore wings dark brown, with three dark spots placed as in tragopoginis, and with several small white dots on the costa near the apex, and the hind wings darker livid brown with the margin brown. Mr. H. Doubleday (' Entomologist,' i., p. 262) considers this and the preceding species identical. As, however, the two species are given distinct by all the Continental authors, I have retained it, con- sidering it probable, however, that as tetra is described as a more southern species, it is doubtful whether the insects so called in England may not be dark varieties of tragopoginis. The moth appears in July and August " (* British Moths,' p. 151), whilst Haworth's diagnosis is : — " Noctua (* The Mahogany ') alis perfuscis, medio punctis tribus obsoletis nigris quatuorque costalibus albis." " Caput, thorax et ala3 perfusca, fere nigra, atque quasi oleosa. In medio alarum puncta tria contigua obsoletissima nigra, triangulatim posita. Costa fere ad apicem punctis quatuor albis etiam obsoletissimis. Alse posticaa livido- fuscescentes fimbria fusca " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' j). 164; and Guenee very truly observes : — " The tetra of Haworth and Stephens is only an insignificant variety, in which the inferior wings have a very light coppery appearance " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 416). As mentioned by Humphrey and Westwood, Doubleday long ago con- sidered the British specimens called tetra and tragopoginis to be the same species for he wrote : — " I think that there is but one species in this genus, at any rate, I can perceive nothing in the specimens called tetra and tragopoginis, to induce me to consider them distinct species " (* Entomologist,' vol. i., p. 262).
40 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiK
ManiUf Tr., maura, Linn.
The strangest character in the markings of this si^ecies is the peculiar shape of the angulated line, which, although somewhat of the shape of that of Amphipyra pyramidea, is very different to that of most other Noctu^. The space under the stigmata is sometimes uni- colorous with the rest of the ground colour ; sometimes it is crossed transversely with two dark fascisB, one, a part of the central shade, the other, parallel with the basal line ; at other times this area is much darker than the rest of the wing, when it gets a banded character. The central band is never complete transversely to the costa, although the lower area just mentioned as sometimes being much darker, is occasionally continued up to the costa, (1) between the orbicular and basal line, (2) between the stigmata and (3) between the reniform and angulated line, thus almost completing it in some specimens. On the outer margin of the hind wings some specimens are paler, but others are almost uniform with the ground colour. The Linneean description of the type is as follows : — " Noctiia spirilinguis cristata, alis depressis dentatis fasciis duobus nigris ; inferioribus nigris fascia alba " (* Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 512). The form with the median space darker is described by Guenee. The more unicolorous Linn^ean type is figured in Newman's * British Moths,' p. 459 as a variety. The striated variety is figured by Newman on the next page (I.e.) as the type.
The forms we get appear to be as follows : — 1. — Almost unicolorous =z mcmra, Linn. 2. — "With central area banded = var. virgata. 3. — With pale (whitish) transverse and longitudinal lines = var.
striata. 4. — Tinted with rosy or violet = var. rosea.
a. var. virgata^ mihi. — This form with a more or less complete dark central band is described by Guenee as the type. Kare as the two following varieties appear to be in Britain, specimens with the central area forming a more or less complete band, especially in the lower part towards the central area, are not at all uncommon.
p. var. roseaj mihi. — This is Guenee's var. A of which he writes : — " A rosy or violet tint on all the pale parts." He also adds : — " Some examples of this variety are always obtained in rearing a number from larv^ " (* Noctuelles,' vol vi., p. 418). I have noticed no specimens with this peculiar tint.
y. var. striata, mihi. — ^The anterior wings with a distinct whitish central nervure, which bifurcates under the reniform, a pale inner margin and angulated line, pale nervures between the angulated and subterminal lines, which are also pale, the nervures pale also on the outer margin. It is figured in Newman's * British Moths,' p. 460.
Na^nia, St., typica, Linn.
A long series of bred specimens of this species sent to me by Capt. Kobertson from Swansea disclosed to me the fact that there were two distinct forms of it. I was quite conversant with the dark fuscous- grey form, and knew that there was more or less indistinctness about the longitudinal markings in some of the specimens. It was quite a revelation to me, however, to find among bred specimens a form with
IN TUE BUITISU ISLANDS. 41
the ground colour strongly ochreous-brown, the markings being paler ochreous rather than white, thus giving such a more unicolorous appearance. I found, however, odd specimens of this form afterwards, which had come from Strood and other localities. The Linnsean description of the type is : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis fuscescentibus : macula reniformi strigis pallidis reticulatis " (* Systema Naturaa,' xth., p. 518). To this he adds : — " Ala3 superiores cinerea3 maculis ordinariis margine albo, et strigis tribus albidis, postice in strias excurrentibus, unde ala quasi reticulata " (* Fauna Suecicas,' J). 317). The fuscous-grey specimens with distinct whitish reticula- tions would, therefore, appear to represent the tyije.
a. var. hrunnea, mihi. — The ground colour of a deep ochreous- brown, with rather paler ochreous longitudinal nervures, thus making the specimens of a more generally unicolorous appearance owing to the near approach of the ground colour to that of the longitudinal lines. I have some very line examples from Capt. Kobertson, which were bred from larvae taken at Swansea. The form probably occurs in other localities with the type.
2. Family : — Toxocampidw, Gn.
This family comprises a distinct and closely allied group of species which certainly very much resemble Deltoides and strongly help the idea that the latter should be entirely united to the Noctua. We have only two British species, one of which, craccw, is almost restricted to North Devon, whilst the other, pastinurrij is fairly-well distributed in our South-eastern counties of England, extending as far North as Cambridgeshire. Comparing the famil^"^ Toxocam^ndce with the heterogenous material that makes up the Ampliipyridce, Guenee says : — ** There is certainly a great relationship between the preceding family {AmpTiipyridai) and the jDresent one, which is divisible into two sections " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 419). Of the genus Toxocampa he writes: — "The imagines are to be recognised at first sight, by their collar and the upper part of the frontal tuft, which show up conspicuously in brown or black against the grey of the thorax, and by the reniform spot of the same coloration, and which is partly obliterated, but of which there are always some remnants. The orbicular is reduced to a single dot, often even, entirely absent. The ordinary transverse lines are usually indistinct and reduced to the faintest traces of them. All the surface of the wing, of which the ground colour is grey and silky, is seamed with small vertical striations, which at first sight appear to be formed of darker atoms, but which, in reality, are only little furrows resulting from the break in the continuity of the scales in certain directions. There is nothing similar on the hind wings, which are generally unicolorous grey, or with the outer margin blacker." " The males are distinguished from the females by the form of the antennae and of the abdomen. Amongst many of the latter (females) the abdomen bears on the penultimate and antepenultimate segments, two small lateral prominences formed by reclining tufts, of a more yellow colour, and the presence of which is not more explicable in the present state of our knowledge than many other anomalies " (i.e. p. 424).
42 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
Toxocampa, Gn., crdccce, Fab.
This species is comparatively rare in Britain, although taken and bred in some numbers in North Devon by Mr. South when collecting professionally some eight to ten years ago. It is very distinct from 2)astinum, its pale longitudinal nervures at once distinguishing it. There appears to be some slight sexual variation, the males I have are rather browner than the females, and the abdomina of the latter are very large. The type is thus described by Fabricius : — " Noctua cristata, alis striatis cinereis : puncto albido, lunula punctata thoraceque antice atris." " Statura prgecedentis (lusoria) at pauUo minor. Thorax cinereus antice ater. Ala? anticse venis striatie cinerese puncto parvo albo ante medium. In medio lunula e punctis aliquot atris. Postice fascia obsoleta obscurior. Costa punctis quatuor fuscis " (* Mantissa,' p. 154).
Toxocampa, Gn., pastinum, Tr.
This is the commonest of the British species in the genus and offers a slight amount of variation in the ground colour, which, in some specimens, is certainly whiter than in others. The area beyond the elbowed line to the outer margin is frequently much tinged with brown, sometimes the brown is restricted to a narrow band between the elbowed and subterminal lines, whilst at other times, it is still more restricted forming only a small costal patch, and very rarely it is quite absent. The reniform stigma is sometimes L-shaped with a dot, sometimes lunular, sometimes it forms an irregular blotch. The orbicular is usually represented by a dot, but is occasionally absent.
The species was first described by Treitschke as follows ; — " Ophima alis anticis glaucescentibus, obsolete fusco fasciatis, macula reniformi punctisque nigris ; " to which he adds : — " Fastinum was first discovered in 1819 by M. Dahl in two different places near Vienna. In shape and general markings it is like the last two species (craccce and ludicra), but in size and certain particular markings, it differs from them considerably. The head is whitish, the collar black- brown. The thorax, which has a small crest, is whitish-grey sj^rinkled with brown dots. The body and feet are ashy-grey, the antenna? light rust colour with whitish scales, those of the male slightly pecti- nated. The forewings, up to the mottled band, are bluish-gi*ey, with many brown dots and dashes. The first transverse line sometimes takes the appearance of an indistinctly shaded band. The reniform is black-brown, whilst behind it stand one or two black dots, through which runs a faint transverse line. The mottled band (outer margin) is brownish up to the fringes, darker on the costa and inner margin, sprinkled throughout with minute dark brown dots. Before the light brown fringes stands a row of small dark brown dots. Hind wings and fringes brownish-grey, near the middle there are faint traces of a paler band" ('Die Schmet. von Eurojja' &c., vol. v., pt. 3, p. 297). The lusoria of Haworth is the type whilst his ludicra would appear to be a rather dark variety. Humphrey and Westwood describe pastinum under the name of lusoria, and say : — " There is much difference in the tint of different specimens " {' British Moths,' p. 246).
a. var. ludicra, Haw. — Haworth's diagnosis is : — " Fkytometra alis fuscis puncto lituraque medio nigris, strigisque duabus obsoletis apicem
IN TUB BBITIisII ISLANDS. 43
versus." " Valde affinis JV. lusorice (= pastinum), ab distincta. AlaB anticai fusca? strigis duabus apicem versus vix conspicuis. Posticaj itidem fusca3 " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 259). Guenee writes : — " The ludicra of Messrs. Haworth and Stephens appears to me to be only a variety of pastinum. At any rate, the true ludicra is not found in England " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 427). This certainly was only a rather darker form of pastinum which our older British authors probably considered to be the ludicra of the Continent. It seems hardly worth distinguishing, but would appear to refer to those speci- mens which have the outer margin strongly brown.
p. var. pallida, mihi. — Anterior wings of a whiter-grey than the type ; the transverse bands or fasciae obsolete, especially the brown area between the subterminal and angulated lines ; the dark scales which give the type a more mottled appearance, very few in number. Altogether this is a much paler form. I have occasionally taken a few specimens with the type in Kent.
3. Family : — StiWidtn, Gn.
This is another aberrant family and has been variously placed by different authors. Staudinger, following Treitschke, has placed it with the Caradrinidtf, with which its larva is altogether wanting in affini- ties, the latter tending to point to a position close to its jiresent location as assigned by Guenee. The only species in the family is confined more particularly to Western Europe (Great Britain, France and Western Germany), and shows strong sexual dimorphism, the female being smaller, darker, shorter winged, and with an altogether different facies to the male. Guenee writes : — " This is certainly a most abnormal genus, on which a knowledge of the earlier stages, now well known, thanks to Mr. Graslin, has not thrown the light that had been expected." " The imago is very curious : its palpi and its thorax short ; its feet long and slender ; its inferior wings, which fold up and are covered by the superior and pressed close to the body, large ; the neuration of the inferior wings justifies what I have said above, that it has, in reality, no affinity whatever with any family, and that every- body who has attempted to locate it, has found a difficulty in doing so. It appears to have, at first, some marked resemblance to the Leucantdte, to the Caradrinidce, to the OrtJiosidce, and to the Erastridce, but one is obliged to separate it from each of these when all its characters are taken into account. It is, perhaps, not better placed here, and con- stitutes, I repeat, like Brephos, one of those absolutely isolated types, which can be introduced nowhere in the series of species in a manner satisfactoi-y to one's mind " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., pp. 433-4:34).
Stilbia, St., anoiiiala, Haw.
This species exhibits a considerable amount of sexual variation, the female being much smaller and almost uniformly blackish-brown in colour, with the markings obsolete. The male is a very distinct- looking insect and rather strikingly marked. Until quite recently this species was not at all common in Britain, but during the last few years it has been taken abundantly on Cannock Chase by Mr. Freer, at Sligo by Mr. Euss, and in Aberdeenshire. The Sligo specimens appear to be larger, brighter and better marked, than the Cannock
44 VARIETIES OF NOUTU^
Chase examples, and to agree with Treitschke's stagnicola. This species is the hyhridata of Hiibner and Guene'e, the stagnicola of Treitschke etc., and the anomalata of Stephens. Guence writes of the female : — " Smaller, with the superior wings narrower, darker, almost black, partly absorbing the transverse lines and even the reniform ; the orbicular narrower and linear " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 434). Of a dark variety of Stilhta anomala taken at Kannoch Mr. Wheeler writes : — " One fine var., smoky black without markings " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xiii., p. 141). Probably this was a female. Haworth's description of the type, which appears to agree more particularly with the form captured in the Midland Counties of England, is as follows : — " Phytometra anomala. Alls pallidissime fuscescentibus nigro sub- nebulosis, stigmatibus ordinariis pallidis divaricatis obsolete pupillatis " C Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1812, p. 336).
a. var. stagnicola f Tr. — This is the brighter form of the sj)ecies, with a distinct slaty tinge. I have previously referred to the Sligo specimens as being very strongly coloured, and Treitschke in his diagnosis refers to the tint as of a " leaden blue." He writes : — " Cara- drina alis anticis ca3ruleo plumbeis, maculis duabus dilutioribus, orbiculari solito majors obliqua ; posticis albidis fusco adspersis " (* Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 2, p. 258).
13. var. pMlopalis, Grasl. — This is a small pale variety of the male which is described by Graslin as follows : — ** Similis forma Stilhia stagnicol(je, sed minor. Alis anticis cineraceis, ad basim rufulis ; ad extremum tribus lineis nigris ; duabus lineis, transversis nigris, in medio extrinsecus denticulatis ; maculis solitis magnis, similibus stagnicolm. Posticis subcineraceis " (* Ann. Ent. Soc. France,' 1852, p. 413). Of the figure illustrating this description I wrote : — " Very pale and small ; the reniform whitish ; the elbowed and subterminal lines whitish ; the basal line edged with darker ; the claviform pale almost whitish " (I.e. PI. 8, fig. 3). The type of this variety came from Marseilles. Staudinger's diagnosis of the variety is as follows : — " Minor, pallidior, distinctius signata " (* Catalog,' p. 110).
VII. Sub-class : — LiMUATis, Gn. 1. Family : — Catephidce, Gn.
This sub-class is divided by Guenee into five families, of which we have representatives in Britain of only two, viz., the Catephidoi and Catocalidce, and of these, the number of species amounts to only one in the former and four in the latter. The species are very character- istic and the underwings of some of the Catocalidce very beautiful, their bright colours, however, are hidden in repose, by the grey and brown tints of the upper wings, which respond sometimes most per- fectly to the environment of the particular species. Of the Catephidce, Guenee writes : — " The imagines have all a rather pronounced family appearance, but still the species are very variable inter se. The abdomen is sometimes simply smooth as in the genus Cocytodes and certain species in Catephia, sometimes strongly crested as in other species of the latter genus and in Anophia, and lastly, some are pro- vided with a single very small and very inconspicuous crest as in Stictophera. Their inferior wings are not less variable. They never
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 45
take the designs of the upper wings, but ordinarily have the base white or glossy, at other times, they are marked with blue or white bands ; lastly, some are entirely unicolorous. The females differ very little from the males in this family, in which the antenna? are never decidedly ciliated, and the abdomen is either crested or smooth in both sexes " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., pp. 40-41).
Catephia, Och., alchymistay Scbiff.
This species is referred to Schiffermiiller and Denis, as the noraenclators by Staudinger. In the ' Sys. Verz. Wien.' (fee, pp. 150-151, we read : — * Here we must observe, in order to escape the suspicion of an error, that this species which differs from the leuGomelas of Linnseus, was named alchymista by Geoffroi, although these authors refer to each other. The former, as he found his NocTUA chiefly white and black, thought perhaps that the want of white spots on the fore wings might be a freak of nature, or an ab- normal form, as he left out, on reference to the Linnnean description, the following words : — * Macula alba.' Linna3us, however, must have referred Geoffroi's alchymista to PA. leucomelas without reading an exhaustive description, or he would then have observed, not only that the insect was twice as large, but also the absence of the white spot, and the lighter brown transverse lines spreading towards the inner margin, which are never seen in leucomelas, but are always seen in our species, and in the figures of the specimens from Saxony, where the larva is said to feed on oak." On p. 89 we read further: — " Alchy- mista. Schwarze-braunlichtgerandete Eule." In a way, this quotation from the * Sys. Verz.' etc., may be, perhaps, sufficient to define the species as alchymista, but for completeness the description of Fabricius is appended. He writes : — " Noctua cristata alis deflexis dentatis nigris atro undatis apice cinerascentibus, posticis basi maculisque duabus marginalibus albis." " Affinis N. leucomelas at paullo major. Corpus atrum dorso cristate. Alae nigrre strigis quatuor undatis atris apice striga cinerascente, qua3 versus angulam ani maculam format. Posticse nigrfe macula magna baseos duabusque minor ibus marginali- bus albis. Subtus omnes nigrte posticis basi albis puncto nigro " C Mantissa,' p. 171).
Treitschke writes : — " From leucomelas, alchymista is now generally differentiated by the characters of the fore wings, which are likewise blackish-brown, but have not the large semicircular whitish or rust-coloured disc. Several black lines, which are partly united by longitudinal lines, run transversely across the fore wings. The orbicular is traceable as a darker area, bat the reniform is more distinct. The latter often appears like two rings lying side by side. The elbowed line is zigzag in shape with a large curve under the reniform. The pale outer area shades off into rust- yellow before the fringes" ('Die Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 3, p. 325) ; whilst Guene'e, writing of the true Anophia leucomelas, says of this matter : — " Whatever Treitschke and Laspeyres may say of it, this Noctuelle (the French Anophia leucomelas, which is not a British species) is certainly the leucomelas of Linnaeus, his description leaves no doubt, and besides the actual specimen still exists in his collection as I am informed by Mr. Doubleday. It is certainly surprising that
4f? VARIETIES OF NOCTURE
he cites the figures of Clerck, which represents ramhurii, and Geoffroy, who has really described (although badly enough) alchymista ; but these two contradictions only show how little importance should be attached to these references. Linnaeus has only seen specimens with the base of the inferior wings white, and as NooTUiR, of this pattern were but little known in his time, he concluded that all those which showed this character in other authors, referred to the same species " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 47).
Of the first appearance of Catephia alchymista in Britain, Mr. Stainton writes : — " Of this most conspicuous and striking species, of which we hope to give a figure next year, a single specimen was taken in September this year at sugar, by Dr. Wallace in the Isle of Wight. The larva feeds on oak in July and August, the perfect insect appear- ing naturally in June of the following year ; hence its capture in September must be considered exceptional. This is not the lencomelas of Haworth of which he says : — * Mr. Francillon possesses an English specimen ; ' the Francillonian specimen may still be seen amongst the doubtful British species in the possession of Mr. Shepherd " (< Ent. Ann.,' 1859, p. 148). The more recent records are one at Sussex (^ Entom.,' viii., p. 164), one at Colchester (*Entom.,' viii., p. 185), one at Dover (* Entom.,' xv., p. 162). Other references in our British magazines to this species are ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,* vol. xxv., pp. 65 and 91 ; * Entom. vol. xx., p. 239 (this record is very doubtful) ; ' Entom.,' vol. XX., p. 325 ; * Ent Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxv., p. 65.
2. Family: — Catocalidcef Bdv.
There is a great break between the Catephidce and Catoealidce^ there being no representative species in Britain of the ioxmliQ^ Bolinidcp. and Ilypocalidce. This family is a very characteristic one ; the imagines usually having richly-coloured underwings, which are covered when at rest by the fore wings, the latter being ornamented with greys of different shades and responding very distinctly to their environment. In Britain, we have no species like epione etc. with the hind wings black, and only fraxini in which the coloration is other than red. Besides the genus Varthenos (which contains only one species, nuhilis, Hb.), the family consists entirely of the genus Catocala. Guenee writes: — "The facies of the insects in their three states is so positive, that it forms without doubt a very distinct group, but, on account of this very fact, it is without very decided affinities with the neighbouring families. Further, it has more resemblance in colour and markings, than in common characters, with the Opheridm which follows it. It is in much the same position with regard to the Hypto- calidce which precedes it. However, the genus Parthenos (which otherwise has a slightly ambiguous appearance) has some very marked aflinities with the Catocah'dce and Bolinidce " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 79).
Of the Catocalince as a sub-class Grote writes : — " The earliest recognition of this group which I find in literature is that of Borkhausen, who calls this Noctuce fasciatce, in contradistinction to the Noctuince, or Noctuce nonfasciatce. These terms are clumsy and had better give way to those of Packard (< Proc. P.S.N.H.,' vol. i., p. 153, et seq.). The wings are broad ; primaries triangulate ; secondaries full, tending
IN THE BRTTTSTI TSLANPS. 47
to be marked by continuous bands. The eyes are naked ; antenna? generally simple ; body usually untufted ; abdomen smooth and taper- ing; the dorsal surface rarely crested ; the tibiae not unfrequently armed. Packard says that the epicranium is longer than in the Noctuinre. The basis of this sub-family is comparative form. No single structural feature holds the genera together, and Lederer does not recognize its existence. Nevertheless, the moths and larvae seem to me more or less readily distinguishable, and that we may retain the sub-family term. Dr. Packard says (I.e.) that these two sub-families ' agree in the main with the Trifidoe and Quadrifidce of Guenee, though the use which he makes of the venation seems to us to lead to artificial distinctions. The very constant venation of this family does not admit of any variation in the grouping of these veins and their branches, and hence they offer characters of secondary importance.' With this statement my experience fully agrees. I do not think that the venation alone should decide family position. There are already too many exceptions known to the system of Her rich- Schaffer, which is, in some cases, con- sidered the test of family character by Lederer. Primarily this sub-family falls into two groups : — First, the tribe Catocalinif in which the secondaries, though often gaily coloured, are covered by and sub- ordinated to the primaries. The European genera belong chiefly to this tribe. Secondly, the Fheocymini (Fheocymay Homoptera, Erehus^ etc.) in which the secondaries are partially exposed and marked like the fore wings, decidedly geometriform moths. The larva thus first becomes geometriform as we recede from the higher Noctuid/v, and then the perfect insect follows suit " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 109). He further writes : — " Some idea of the preponderance of Catocalince in North America may be given by the statement that in Europe there are about fifty-six species belonging to about sixteen genera, while in North America there are about two hundred and fifty species belonging to about fifty-six genera. These latter figures may be changed by new observations with us, but hardly diminished. In the Deltoidince the proportions are more in conformity with the nume- rical relations in the typical group, the Noctuinw, The reason I have given for this preponderance of the Catocalince, lies in the physical geography of the Continent, the prevailing atmospheric and ocean currents, all of which favour the introduction of southern or tropical lepidopterous forms ; and we must consider the Catocalince as tropical in general character in the same way as we consider the other groups of the Noctuidce as belonging to temperate regions of the earth's sur- face " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 148).
Gf the Catocalini as a tribe of the Catocalince Grote further writes : — " In this tribe the secondaries are oftenest gaily coloured (mostly yellow) and banded, still subordinated to the primaries which show, more or less adequately, the usual Noctuidous ornamentation. The abdomen is rarely tufted. On account of the shape of the primaries, the form of the abdomen, the abdominal tuftings, the pattern of the wings beneath, the approach to Ophideres, I regard the genus and species, Euparthenos mihilis, *Ann. N. Y. Lye. Nat. Hist.,' as entirely distinct from Catocala sp. The most important genus is Catocala, in Europe with 22, in North America with upwards of 100 species. A division of this genus on the peculiarities of tibial armature (as I have suggested in Ac/rotifi)
48 VARIETIES OF NOCTURE
was stated to me as possible several years ago by Mr. Smith, and has more recently been attempted by Mr. Hulst. I must add that his ob- servations need verifying, judging from his published opinions on the value of the forms of Catocalay which I have shown to be in a number of instances incorrect. The OpMderince and Toxocampince of my ' Check List ' are probably not to be separated from this tribe, in which the anterior ventral feet of the larvae are more or less incomplete. The genera become gradually broader winged and concolorous as we approach the next tribe " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 145).
Catocalaf Och.
The characters of this genus are very marked, and the upper wings, the colour and markings of which are such as to respond most distinctly to their environment, are, as might be expected, subject to considerable variation. One of the most remarkable points in the markings of this genus, is the absence of the orbicular and the develop- ment of another stigmal marking directly below the reniform, known as the " sub-reniform." The sj)ace between the reniform and the position which would be occupied by the orbicular if it were present, is filled in by a pale blotch in contact with the reniform, giving it a double appearance. There is no claviform, although the pale " subreni- form " has a superficial appearance to a claviform, and is likely to be mistaken for one on superficial examination, especially in C. sponsa, where it sometimes reaches well back to the complete basal line, but its complete isolation in fraxini, nupta and promissa makes an error almost impossible. Attention must be drawn to the black basal area in the hind wings oi fraxini. If a specimen of this species be looked at in the cabinet it will appear that the hind wings consist of a black outer margin, a bluish band, and a black basal area. If, however, a specimen be held up to the light, the black basal area subdivides, the part nearest the blue band absorbing the light and forming an intensely black band as in nupta, promisna^ etc., the extreme basal part allowing the light to be freely trans- mitted, so that the difference between the hind wings of fraxini and nupta is apparent only, each having really 4 distinct areas. Guenee writes of this genus : — " The superior wings of the species in Catocala are invariably grey, powdered with paler and darker scales, and clouded here and there with black and white. A series of pale brown spots edged with white, immediately precedes the outer edge in the smallest species, but at a certain distance in the large, these are followed by the subterminal line, rarely well marked, always indented and paler than the groimd colour. The two following lines, on the contrary, are always distinct, and sufficiently separated from each other ; the com- plete basal line being made up of lunules or irregular arcs ; the elbowed line, of more or less pointed teeth, of which the upper ones are almost always more prominent. Of the two stigmata, the reniform is the only visible one. It is, however, often very dusky or inconspicuous, but we here find a third placed directly underneath, generally paler than the ground colour, surrounded with black, and to which I apply the name subreniforme. The inferior wings are generally dentate, with a border always black, but rather broken in continuity at about three-quarters of its course, reappearing only at the anal angle, where
IN TUB BRITISH ISLANDS. 49
it then forms a black spot. The fringe, which is always clear, generally abuts on this band at the external angle, and leaves there a more or less extended clear spot. Independently of this border, another dark band is seen, narrower, commencing in the middle of the wing and undergoing inflexions which vary according to the species. Sometimes the band is absolutely wanting ; at other times, it is united with the colour of the base and leaves in the middle of the wing only a small yellow or blue band ; lastly, it sometimes happens that the entire wing is of a unicolorous black velvety colour. In the remain- ing cases the ground colour is blue, red, fawn-yellow or orange. Our European Catocalce have been divided into groups according as they exhibit these three colours, and, as this division is convenient, I have adhered to it as much as possible. I confess, however, that it is not very natural and that there is no actual difference in shape, size, appear- ance and food between our Catocala sponsa and promissa, whose inferior wings are of a beautiful red, and neogama, palceogama etc., of North America, which are of the same yellow colour as our conversa, nor epione, vidua etc., in which they are entirely black. The underside of all the wings of Catocala are always of a pale colour, with black bands, even in those which are quite black above. But, at times, the pale colour is the same as that on the upper part of the inferior wings ; at others, its place is taken by white, which is then more or less tinted with red or with yellow in the third part or the internal half of the inferior wing. The Catocalce vary but little even in the intensity or the shade of the grey. The females are generally a little more clouded than the males, and the brown or red band which follows the elbowed line is more distinct in the former. But there is another organ which varies in this species in regard to colour. This is the abdomen, which, in some species, is accidentally covered with a beautiful delicate red tint. It is often so in the case of C. optata, and I have seen a C. promissa which had the same peculiarity. I am con- vinced that electa, and generally all the species of that section called Larnpronia, are sometimes similarly affected, without mentioning /^ac/o, in which this tint is normal " (' NoctueUes,' vol. vii., pp. 82-83).
Catocala, Schrk., fraxini, Linn. This species is generally rare in Britain, occasional specimens being captured. The double black band characteristic of most of the Catocake would appear to be absent in this species, but by holding a specimen up to a strong light it can be seen that the dark basal area is divisible into two parts, one, representing the normal band and very opaque, the second allowing the light to be readily transmitted. There appears to be but little variation in tint in the specimens I have seen and Guenee writes : — " I have received specimens from North America, where the species does not differ from our European examples " (* NoctueUes,' vol. vii., p. 83). Treitschke, however, wi'ites : — " There are to be found varieties in which the fore wings are strongly tinged with yellow, and others, where the band of the hind wings is suffused with violet." " It is the largest moth of this genus, in fact, one of the most imposing of the European species, but now well known everywhere. The head, collar and thorax are white- grey mixed with grey and yellowish hairs, the collar bordered by two
50 VARIETIEB OF NOCTU-S
darker lines. The body is dark ash-grey with white rings, and has, on the foremost joints, raised crests. The chest and underside of the body are snowy white, also the legs, which are ringed with grey on the lowest joint, and covered strongly with down above. The antennae are brown-grey with white projections, which are long in the male and sharply pectinated. The fore wings are of a whitish- grey ground colour which is more or less dusted with minute brown and yellow dots. Through the surface run white transverse lines bordered with brown ; close to the base is an interrupted line ; a little further on a complete one, consisting of many scallops. Then follows the middle area in which only the reniform is visible as a confused darker mark, whilst below, towards the inner margin, stands a kind of flame-shaped quadrangular mark which is sometimes light yellow, but the colour nearer the base is lighter. Borne distance from the reniform is seen an elbowed, dentate, white line, but bordered with yellow-brown ; then follows a whitish band, after which, behind a faint scalloped brown-grey subterminal line, the ground colour becomes bluish-grey. The fringes are long and scalloped, spotted with white and grey and often mixed with yellow and surrounded by interrupted lunular marks towards the inside " (* Die Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 330-331). The Linnaean description of the type is as follows : — " Noctua spirilinguis cristata alis deliexis cinereo nebu- losis, inferioribus supra nigris fascia cierulescente " (' Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 612).
Catocala, Schrk., nupta, Linn.
There is a very considerable difference in the shade of the ground colour of the fore wings of this species. Some are pure grey without a tinge of ochreous (the type), but these appear to be very rare, whilst in others the grey is so strongly suffused with ochreous [var. ohscurata, (?)] that it appears to lose its grey character altogether. In some specimens, the transverse lines and outlines to the stigmata are strikingly pale, and are, in turn, edged with very dark brownish lines which throw up the markings and lines most distinctly. The centre of the reniform and a dark lunule in contact with the inner edge of the reniform are usually the darkest parts of the wing. In a few of my specimens, both the pale lines and dark margins are merged into the ground colour, such specimens being j)articularly unicolorous. The hind wings have two distinct shades of red, one being much brighter than the other. I have also a specimen which came out of Mr. Coverdale's collection, the fore wings of a clear pale grey, and the hind wings of a pale yellowish almost white, a most perfectly pigmentless example, although perfectly scaled. The shape and direction of the central black band on the hind wings vary a little, and there is a tendency for the long red scales at the base to cover the lower portion of this band. The type is described by Linnaeus as follows : — " Phalmia Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis cinerascentibus ; inferioribus rubris : f asciis nigris, abdomine cano subtus albo." " Simillima si^onsoe, sed abdomen dilutius subtus album. Alae superiores supra cano fuscoque undulato- nebulosae. Subtus nigrse fasciis 2 albis ; cilia marginalia cana : stria nigra in medio cujusvis dentis. Inferiores supra dilute rubra3 : fasciae 2 nigrae flexuosae ; margo ciliaris niveus. Subtus concolores ; fasciae
IN TUE BKITISU ISLANDS. 51
arcuata3, sed anterius albidae. Margo ciliaris niveus " (' Sy sterna Naturai,' xiitli., p. 841). Humphrey and Westwood figure the form with bright red hind wings as nupta (PI. Iv., fig. 5), whilst a figure with duller red hind wings is called elocata (fig. 6), but they state that their figure is made from a Continental specimen of the real elocata. There is no doubt, however, apart from this figure that the so-called elocata taken in Britain were only forms of niq^ta with the hind wings of a duller red colour, a not unfrequent variety in most British localities, and representing the type according to Guenee.
Treitschke writes of nupta : — " As already remarked under ehcata, that, and the present species {nupta) were in former years treated as the same species, with which the authors of the * Vienna Verz.' etc. agreed. It is difficult to tell which of the older entomolo- gists were of that opinion : but Borkhausen and Esper's good de- scriptions may be considered the best guide. It has also been proved by breeding, that Hiibner's concubina, fig. 329, is nothing more than a var. of nupta. Nupta is smaller than elocata : the head, collar, and the thinly tufted thorax are light grey, dusted with yellowish and brown scales, the collar has several darker cross lines ; the body is ash-grey, likewise the anal tuft of the male, which, however, has white hairs on both sides and on the point. The chest and body below are light whitish ; the fore wings have a light grey ground colour with distinct but variable markings. The surface, with the exception of a light band in the central area of the wing, is dusted with brown, and minute yellowish dots, which are, however, more separated than in elocata, and, therefore, do not give it so coarse an appearance. The incomplete and complete transverse basal lines are the same as in elocata, broad and whitish, bordered with yellowish- brown. Then comes the already mentioned light band, in which a special white dot indicates the orbicular. Then comes the reniform, which is distinctly half-moon shaped and zigzag towards the outer margin. It is of a brown colour mixed with yellowish. This (the reniform) is joined as in fraxini towards the inside by a yellowish fiame-shaped mark. The angulated line is very clear and passes in a wide circuit round the reniform forming a kind of M, and then con- tinues very irregularly dentate towards the inner margin ; this line is yellowish but edged with brown. Lastly, the ground colour of the fringes is pale ash-grey, much scalloped and edged by two dark lines, and a row of isolated dots " (' Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 338-339).
a. var. ccerulescens, Ckll. — Mr. Cockerell (' Entom.' xxii., p. 127) writes : — " A noteworthy form of dichroism, which must surely belong to the first division*, is a change from blue to red or crimson, and vice versa. This occurs in Catocala, e.g. in C. nupta var. ccerulescens with blue secondaries, as recorded in the * Entomologist,' p. 51. Keference to p. 51, shows us that at the meeting of the Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc, Jan. 10th, 1889, " Mr. White exhibited a coloured drawing of a variety of Catocala nupta having the red of the inferior wings replaced by blue, the specimen having been taken by Dr. Laver at
* This « division " refers to Mr. Cockerell's divisions of the probable changes which pigments undergo.
62 VARIETIBS OF NOCTU-S
Colchester," — Mr. Weir remarking at the same time " that the colour was the same as that which was normal in C. fraxini."
p. var. concuhina, Bork. — The form of niqyta with the less bright red hind wings is considered as the type, and that with the brighter red hind wings as var. concuhina. Sepp first figured this bright form and it was afterwards copied by Esper in his * Die Schmet. in Abbil- dungen' etc., PI. 97, figs. 1-2, who placed it by the side of the figure of a typical nupta with less bright red hind wings, and then wrote that the second (brighter coloured) figure was copied from the works of Sepp. Borkhausen also referred to Sepp's figure, but he considered it distinct from nupta and called it concuhina, writing of it as follows : — " Sepp (* Nederland. Ins.,' vol. iv., p. 33, fig. 7). Should this moth which Sepp has figured and Esper copied be considered a species distinct from nupta ? I will give my opinions respecting this, but will first of all describe the insect more minutely and leave the final decision to more experienced entomologists ; meanwhile I call it concuhina^ He then describes it as : — " Phalcena Noctua concuhina. It is of the same size as nupta, whilst at the same time it is very near elocata and often of the same size as the latter. The fore wings are of an ashy-grey ground colour, much suffused and darkened by numerous black dots. Towards the base, the wings are somewhat brownish, with a bluish tint which is only seen in perfect specimens. The transverse lines have very irregular teeth, strongly turned towards the outside ; the reniform and a round spot below are suffused with a shiny bluish tint, whilst a similar tint is noticeable towards the hind margin. The hind wings are of a brighter red than that of nupta, and the middle band is especially different, losing itself entirely in the hind margin. In other respects it is like nupta " (* Naturgeschichte ' etc., vol. iv., p. 21). Borkhausen then supports the probability of their distinctness as species. Of concuhina, Bork., Guene'e writes : — " Superior wings of a pure ashy colour not yellowish, the inferior wings of a brighter red, with the median band more marked towards the abdominal margin." Guenee also says : — " It is found almost as often as the type, particu- larly in the female sex. However, Borkhausen says that he had found both sexes and even described the larva, but he owned that he had obtained both species from intermediate larvge " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., pp. 85-86).
y. var. ohscurata, Oberthtir. — This is described by Oberthiir in his * Lepidopterous Fauna of the Isle of Askold ' as follows : — " Very much darker in the superior wings than the nupta of France. M. I'abbe David has taken in the North of China a similar example to that from Askold " C Etudes d'entomologie,' v., p. 86).
Catocala, Schrk., sponsa, Linn.
In the ground colour of the fore wings of this grand species there is a tendency in some specimens to ashy, in others to ochreous, in others to rich brown and occasionally to blackish-grey. The central area varies very much in tint. In some specimens there is a tendency to a pale band, whilst in others, this area is uniform with the outer and basal areas of the wing, the area around the orbicular persisting pale the longest. There is a pale spot, variable in size and shape, directly under the reniform and orbicular, which at first sight
IN THE BRTTlSn ISLANDS. 63
looks like the ciaviform but which is the " subreniform " of Guenee. In fact, the whole arrangement of the stigmata in this species and its allies is very remarkable, the reniform being situated in contact with an almost obsolete orbicular; the "subreniform," peculiar to this group, situated well forward and directly under the reniform, the ciaviform being practically obsolete. There is also in some specimens a tendency to the formation of a transverse series of yellow-ochreous spots, between the angulated and subterminal lines. Very little difference is to be observed in the tint of the hind wings in the various specimens, and but slight variation in the width of the central black band in these wings. Guenee writes : — " The imago is easily dis- tinguished by its larger size, its superior grey-brown wings being mixed with yellow and not with white, the inferior wings of a brighter red, the band which precedes the border narrower, with rounded angles " etc. (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 91). Of the stigmata of sjyonsa, Humphrey and Westwood write : — " The anterior stigma is represented by a J- like mark, and the outer one by a G, very plainly delineated, behind which is a distinct spot, varying in colour, and edged with black " (* British Moths,' p. 250).
Treitschke writes : — " In sponsa the fore wings have a dull appearance, yet the following markings are clearly perceptible. At the base stands an incomplete, further on a complete, transverse line. The broken one is brown and yellow, the complete one forms irregular arches and is yellow with a blackish border on both sides. The 'middle area of the wing is the lightest, and is chiefly of a whitish- grey colour mixed with yellowish. In it is found the ochreous reni- form, which, on the outside, is surrounded with whitish teeth but bordered with black; below it stands a flame-shaped spot, thinly scaled and which appears transparent when held against the light ; the second line and the zigzag line are special characters in sponsa and distinguish it from dilecta. The elbowed line turns towards the inner margin in many small black arches. At the end towards the inside, is an arrow-shaped whitish streak. It is black, and a second line which runs parallel is dusky and indistinct. In dilecta the second line consists of two strongly-marked dark streaks, which, after having formed a comparatively larger M, runs with a gentle arched curve towards the white arrow. The watered band (outer margin) is more striking in sponsa, likewise the zigzag subterminal line, and this latter takes a different course, as it turns from the costa in a more slanting direction, and has a clearer border. The nervures are marked through- out by longitudinal lines and they terminate in a row of dark dots which is situated directly before the dentate, white-spotted fringes " (* Die Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 344-345).
The Linn^an description of the type is as follows : — " Phalcmia. Nodua spirilinguis cristata, alis griseis ; inf erioribus sanguineis ; fasciis duabus nigris, abdomine undique cinereo." " Facies Ph. pactce. Abdomen undique cinereum. AIsb superiores supra fusco griseo undulato-nebulosfe. Punctum pallens juxta maculam lunarem. Subtus nigricantes ciliis marginalibus fuscis inter dentes albos. Inferiores supra saturatissime nibras ; fasciae 2 atras undulatas. Margo ciliaris cinereus. Subtus sanguineae fasciis 2 nigris, quorum anterior arcuata in orbem. Margo ciliaris albo punctatus " (* Systema Naturae/
64 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
xiith., p. 841). From this it will be seen that Linnaeus had a suffused brown form before him when he described the species.
a. var. rejecta, Fischer. — Fischer de Waldheim in the 'Eato- mographie de la Russie ' etc., i., p. 197, describes and figures a specimen with black hind wings, which Staudinger refers, as a probable aberration, to this species, simply noting : — " Alis posterioribus nigricantibus " (* Catalog,' p. 137). Guenee also treats this as a variety of sponsa and writes : — " It differs according to Fischer de Waldheim (for I have not seen it in nature) by the inferior wings being entirely black, with a clear rosy line situated behind the place of the median band. The anus is rosy. The superior wings have a more bluish and more unicolorous appearance, and the white spot which precedes the ordinary stigma is paler and larger. I look on this as an accidental variety " {' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 91).
Catocala, Schrk., promissa, Esp.
This species loses to a great extent the ochreous tint characteristic of the fore wings in sponsa, and the ground colour is essentially either lighter or darker grey, whilst the central band is in this species, much more persistent and marked, it being the rule for it to be fairly com- plete, especially where it is in contact with the basal line. The angulated line is very much curved under the stigmata and meets the inner margin quite close to the basal line, in fact, in some specimens, they appear to meet. Guenee writes : — " Engramelle represents (fig. 569 g) an accidental pale variety, and in 569 i k, on the contrary, a variety with the inferior wings of a red colour almost black, obtained from the collection of Gerning. Care must be taken not to confound with this species, fig. 3 of Roesel, and 569 h of Engramelle which represent sponsa " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 90). Esper's diagnosis of the type is as follows : — *' Noctua spirilinguis cristata alis cinereis nigro alboque nebulosis : inferioribus sanguineis fasciis duobus nigris, prima tenuissima, angulata ; abdomine cinereo " (* Die Schmet. in Abbild.,' p. 116). Treitschke writes : — " Promissa is, in size, much like sponsa, but often smaller. The ground colour is whitish-grey mixed with yellow- brown and having black hairs and coarse scales. The thorax and collar of the same colour, the latter darkly bordered and tinged with yellow ; the shoulder blades have a blackish border ; the body above yellowish ash-grey, below whitish-grey ; chest yellowish-white ; the antennse brown-grey ; legs black with white rings. The whitish-gi-ey fore wings are clouded with yellowish and black shades. The basal area has two very distinct transverse lines, both black, which form a band filled out with yellow or grey. In the middle of the wing stands on a light streak, the reniform, and below, an irregular round spot .surrounded with black, peculiar to the species of this genus. The elbowed and subterminal lines are bordered by rust-coloured bands ; the former is shaped like an M at the reniform, and is more indistinct than the light (white), brown-bordered subterminal line, which runs quite straight, the fringes are brown and black, spotted with white and black streaks (dashes) towards the inside and are crossed by dark lines." Of its variation he further writes : — " Pro- missa, like its congeners, is subject to considerable variation in colour and size. Like sponsa, its colour varies from black-brown to yellow ;
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 55
in size, it is almost as large as that species ; but we have specimens of scarcely half its size — like hymencea. No doubt Hiibner's var. mneste, to which he has added, also, a rarer, but well-known brown var. of the larva, belongs to this species. This is already mentioned in * Pap. d' Europe,' vol. viii., p. 86 " (* Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 3, pp. 349-351). There is, as remarked by Treitschke, very considerable variation in the size, in the amount of mottling on the anterior wings, and in other minor characters. On the hind wings, the central black band is generally more or less complete to the anal angle, but occasion- ally does not quite reach it, thus forming what is known as the var. mneste of Hiibner, a form so insignificant, that it is scarcely worthy of special notice.
a. var. mneste, Hb. — Guenee writes of this as follows : — " This supposed species appears to me entirely imaginary. It is founded particularly on the fact that the median band of the inferior wings does not quite reach the anal angle, for if one attempts to apply the other differences, Hiibner and Esper do not agree. It is simply on an exaggeration of the band in his promissa (fig. 657) and the white parts of the superior wings, that he has been led to make two species " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 90). Hiibner's fig. 569 which he names mneste is not of quite so deep a red, and the pale parts of the fore wings rather incline to reddish-ochreous. Compared with Hiibner's own promissa (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 334) there is no distinction, as Guenee would suggest in the quotation above, that in promissa the black band on the hind wing reaches the inner margin whilst in mneste it does not do so, as in neither fig. 334 (promissa) nor in fig. 569 (mneste) does the black band reach this margin. However, as some specimens vary in this way it may be convenient to retain Hiibner's name for the form. This variety in which the black band on the hind wings does not reach the anal angle is figured by Humphrey and Westwood, PI. Ivi., fig. 4, as conjuncta. Of this they write : — " This species is very closely allied to the two preceding, (sponsa and promissa) measuring about 2J inches, or somewhat less, in the expanse of the fore wings, which are ashy-brown, varied with darker clouds and dentate strigge, and a rather pale patch in the whitish central fascia; the hind wings coccineous, with a nearly straight, black, central fascia abbreviated towards the anal angle, and a broad black margin, of which the inner edge is rather more sinuated than the preceding striga, and having a whitish patch on the margin, near the tip of the wing ; abdomen ashy-brown. Mr. Stephens states that a specimen has been taken near Dulwich ; two other specimens were in ancient British collections of which the localities are unknown " {' British Moths,' p. 250).
13. var. rosea, mihi. — Guenee describes a variety (var. A) of which he says : — ** Abdomen entirely of a rose colour " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 90). I do not know whether such occur among our British specimens.
VIII. Sub-class: — Sehpentinje, Gn. 1. Family: — Ophiusidoe, Gn.
Guenee divides the Serpentines into four families, of three of which we have representatives in Britain, but only four species are distributed
66 VARIETIES OP HOCTtJJE
among the three families, and one of these, Ophwdes Innaris, is very rare. Guenee writes of the first of these families, the Ophmsldce, as follows : — " This family is the most numerous of all the Noctu^^- QuADRiFin^. One meets here and there some European species, all classified together formerly by Ochsenheimer in his genus Opliiusaf but of which each has now become so to speak the type of a separate genus." " The imagines rarely quit the woods or places where the larvas have fed. They hide during the day in the brushwood, and sometimes come out in the middle of the day to take a violent flight, which is, however, of short duration. They are usually abundant in collections, probably because of their diurnal habits, which allow collectors to capture them at the only time when their excursions would make it practicable " Q Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 220).
Ophiodes, Gn., lunaris, Schiff.
This species is common in the greater part of Europe during May, but very little is known of it as a British species, very few specimens having been captured. Schiffermiiller's description is little beyond a catalogue reference. He writes : — " With a blackish imperfect lunar- shaped spot on the fore wings " (' Sys. Verz.' etc., p. 94).
Of the first occurrence of this species in Britain Mr. Stainton writes : — " Ophiodes lunaris ; first enumerated as British in Doubleday's ' Catalogue,' p. ii ; a single specimen was taken by Captain Chawner in Hampshire. Of this species Guenee says, * common in dry woods throughout Europe in May.' ' The larvse feed in July on oak ' " ('Ent. Ann.,' 1855, p. 16). Of the capture of the second British specimen of this species Mr. Stainton writes : — " A fine specimen of Ophiodes lunaris was taken at sugar at West Wickham Wood, May 27th, by Mr. Smith of Walworth (' Int.,' viii., p. 91 ; ' Zoologist,' 7108). This is only the second specimen that has occurred in Britain ; the insect is not rare in oak woods in Belgium, and will probably soon be turned up in greater numbers in some parts of the South of England ; a figure of the insect will be seen on our frontispiece (fig. 4) " (* Ent. Ann.,' 1861, p. 99, fig. 4). Besides these Newman gives "two specimens captured at Killamey, in Ireland, by the late Peter Bouchard " (* British Moths,' p. 468). The most recent records are the capture of one specimen at Brighton by Mr. Trangmar in 1874, «;/6Ze*Entom.,' vii., p. 164 ; and a specimen in Sussex recorded by Mr. Tugwell, ' Entom.,' viii., p. 164. The last recorded British specimen was captured by Mr. Austin, at Folkestone, in May of the present year, and was reported in the ' Entomologist's Record ' etc.. vol. iii., p. 132.
2. Family : — Euclididce, Gn.
This family is much less extensive than the Ophiimdce, and in Britain we have only two species, both of which are in the genus Euclidia. These two species are very common and fly in the sun, and, although so different in colour and markings, their habits are very similar. Guenee writes of the Euclididce : — " They are easily recognised in all their states. The imagines are recognised by their appearance which is slightly Phala^niform or Pyraliform, by their slender and almost smooth abdomina, by their very long feet, very slender and scarcely furnished with scales, by their short and closely grouped palpi.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 57
of which the first joint is short and much less distinct from the second than in the preceding family (Ophiusidce) " etc. (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 280). Of the genus Euclidia the same author writes : — " The imagines inhabit northern countries by preference. They are very lively and fly in the bright sunlight, but this flight is not of long duration, and they soon settle on the neighbouring flowers to those they have just left, until a new caprice or the steps of pedestrians disturbing the grass at some distance, compel them to repeat such manoeuvres. Nearly all the EucUdidce have been known to authors, but as those of Southern Kussia are very rare they have sometimes been twice described. The most common of all is ghjphica which is found here in great abundance " (I.e. p. 291).
Euclidia, Ooh., mi, Clerck.
The markings on the fore wings of this species almost defy description, but, looked at sideways, the most striking of them bear a rough resemblance to a Punch's face, the orbicular being the eye, the linear reniform the mouth. The wings are usually fuscous with ochreous markings which show up distinctly. Sometimes, however, the markings are not distinctly paler, but blend with the ground colour, the specimens then becoming decidedly more unicolorous. Scotch specimens from Perth in my collection, have the pale parts of the wing whitish-grey, and the dark parts greyer than is usual in our South of England examples. They are also much smaller. In the hind wings, the base sometimes contains three clearly distinct ochreous or whitish spots, at other times there is only one spot. The central transverse line sometimes forms a complete ochreous or whitish band, at other times it is in the form of spots, the divisions of the spots being formed by the dark nervures.
Clerck's type of this species may be thus described : — •" Anterior wings greyish-brown with two white transverse basal lines, followed by another just below the orbicular. Through the reniform area another white much curved line reaches the one before the orbicular, and is followed by another bent one which joins the last about half-way down its length. The subterminal is also white. The orbicular is white en- closing a black dot. There is no reniform. Hind wings with a central white band, also two white dots near the base and a row of marginal dots " {' Icones,' pi. 9, fig. 5). This type figure has a very different character in the markings to most of our specimens. Instead of the bent line through the reniform area, we get a white mark resembling the letter I— (placed sideways), and then the next (which equals the elbowed line) is continued under the stigmatal areas to join the basal line nearest the orbicular. In the hind wings, too, the centre of the wing generally has a transverse row of dots and not a complete white line. The markings on the fore wings, as may be gathered from the above, are subject to a considerable amount of variation, and run into each other almost indefinitely in a long series. Those on the hind wings vary in the same way both in number and size. The ground colour varies considerably from a blackish-grey to black and some- times brownish. The pale markings of the wing are either white or ochreous, the white form being Clerck's type, although Staudinger appears to have considered the form with yellow markings the type.
58 VARIETIES OF NOCTITj«
for his diagnosis of Cyrilli's litterdta is : — ** Alis albo non flavo pictis " ('Catalog,' p. 135) ; the form with the wings with white markings is, how- ever, really the type, and not that with yellow markings as apparently assumed by Staudinger. Hiibner's figure 34G, has the pale markings of the fore wings of a faint slaty tinge, those on the hind wings being ochreous ; the markings are however, normal, with the T well developed. Treitschke also, as well as Staudinger, refers to Cyrilli's litterata as the variety. As I have just previously mentioned, the white form is Clerck's type, the ochreous, and by far the more common form, being the variety. Of Cyrilli's litterata, Treitschke writes : — " There are varieties which are very white on the upper surface and in which the normal yellow on the hind wings is almost white. These are the Vh. litterata of Cyrilli. There are, on the other hand, other specimens very dark, almost reddish-brown, dusted strongly with black on the hind wings; the former (pale specimens) are mostly males, the latter females " (* Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., p. 397), Comparison with the description of Clerck's figure, will at once show that it and litterata are identical.
a. var. oehrea, mihi. — Both the anterior and posterior wings with the ordinary pale markings ochreous instead of white. This is by far the commoner form in Britain and probably on the Continent, and is erroneously treated as the type by Treitschke and Staudinger. The yellow form is the var. A of Guenee who writes: — "The spots on the inferior wings of a yellow-ochreous tint. Southern France and Catalonia " (* Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 292).
Enrlidia, Och., glyphicay Linn.
The Linnaean description of glyphica always suggests to me the markings of its congener w/, which certainly resemble " hieroglyphics " more than do those of this species. Jn some specimens, the ground colour is darker than in others, whilst a few have a decidedly greyish tint. There is also considerable difference in the intensity of the transverse lines, and in the darker specimens the basal line is merged in the ground colour. A dark transverse fascia is frequently formed by the darkening of the ground colour between the elbowed line and the central shade ; sometimes this dark band has conspicuously paler edges, at others, only the central fascia and angulated line are darker, the space between being paler. The dark costal spot near the apex also varies in size, sometimes being quadrangular in shape, at others triangular, and occasionally it forms only a simple lunule. In the hind wings the yellow is paler in some specimens than others, and this is generally so with those that have paler fore wings. The dark transverse line parallel to the outer margin is sometimes complete. The dark basal patch is sometimes continued on its upper and outer edge so as to form a solid block, whilst it is frequently continued to the transverse line just mentioned. The nei-vures black, sometimes much shaded and encroaching on the ground colour, giving such specimens a very dark appearance and reducing the yellow to a minimum.
The Linnaean description of the type is as follows: — " Noctna seticornis Irevis, alis patulis fuscescentibus maculis hieroglyphicis nigris ; subtus fascia nigra." " Geometra similis ; ala? characteribus
TN THE BRTTISn ISLANDS. 5d
anomalis fuscis, luteo marginatis cum puncto nigro " (* Systema Naturas,' xth., p. 510). Treitschke writes: — *'The female is usually larger than the male and generally has the fore wings browner and the hind wings dusted more with black " (* Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., p. 392).
a. var. dentata, Led. — Lederer's dentata is described by Staudinger simply as : — " Multo pallidior major " (' Catalog,' p. 135).
3. Family : — Foaphilidce, Gn.
This family is particularly abundant in North America, but with very few European species and only one of these British — Phytometra (Prothymia) virtdaria. Guenee writes: — "In the perfect state the Poaphilidce have the same habits as the Euclididce, to which they are otherwise related in their organisation, that is to say they fiy by day amongst low plants, on which they frequently rest. The species appear to be very numerous and near to each other, and judging from the number which are sent to us from North America, they are not rare in the clearings of the forests. It is only most astonishing that almost all are undescribed, and that authors, who have figured so great a number of species from Guiana (America), a country where they should probably be found, have not given us a single species " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 295).
Prothymia, Hb., mridnria, CI.
This species exhibits a considerable amount of variation, some of the specimens being of an uniform dull olive-grey, others of a bright green banded with purple. This variation is not sexual, although the males are more frequently of the former, and the females of the latter coloration. Other specimens again have the normally green parts, brown. There are other minor variations, but the forms just mentioned are those principally taken by the species in Britain.
The following is the description I made of Clerck's type : — " The anterior wings with the basal area green ; two parallel red bands in the reniform area pass from the costa to the inner margin ; the ex- treme outer marginal area beyond the subterminal, blackish. Hind wings green with three red lines " (* Icones,' pi. 9, fig. 12).
Hiibner's miea (fig. 350) has the fore wings olive-grey, rather than green, otherwise the red bands Scg. are quite typical. Treitschke writes of this species : — " j^Jnea is of the size of latnmcnla. The ground colour of the whole body and the fore wings is generally a bright metallic green, but in some specimens the colour is brownish- grey with no metallic lustre, like Hiibner's fig. 634. Without reason this var. has for some time been called N. cincta. The latter coloured specimens are most frequently females, which are also larger than the males. The antennae are thread-like and rust-brown, legs grey with black dots on the joints. The palpi are, in comparison with the head, large, and turned upwards. The fore wings have a purple line alongside the costa on an olive-greenish ground merging into brown- grey. In the middle stands a pale spot, and immediately behind it a purple transverse band which is lost towards the outer margin in the ground colour. On the costa, behind the fringes, is seen behind the light green zigzag line a second red band, broader than the first, iu
60 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
which stand seven small grey dots, which, however, are rarely dis- tinct. The fringes are red but white towards the tip (apex). In many specimens the greater half of the wings is red and only two fine transverse lines are seen. The half of the wings nearest the body is green dusted with red scales. The first red band is sometimes divided by a thin green line. In the grey var., either all the mark- ings are absent or the bands are darker with paler borders. The hind wings are generally metallic green in the middle with a dull red band, then a line, and a second red band against the fringes, which have white tips. In other varieties these markings are suffused, or the whole surface is brown -grey " (* Die Schmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 8, p. 274).
The following appear to be the forms already described : — 1. — Green, with 2 parallel red bands = viridaria, CI. 2. — Fuscous, with 2 purple bands = var. cenea, Haw. 3. — Blackish-fuscous, with darker outer margin = var. suffusa. 4. — Unicolorous brownish or fuscous = var. fusca.
a.var. cenea. Haw. — Of Ha worth's cenea, that author writes : — *^Phy- iometra tota fusca, alis anticis fascia obliqua pone medium margineque postice late purpureis." "Al^e omnes subfuscae seu fusco-picea3, vel sub- inde cinerascentes, fascia anticarum pone medium subundulata satura- tiore, et subinde obsolete purpurascente, utraque marginata colore palli- diore. Palpi recurvi mediocres " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 266). The form in which the ground colour is fuscous rather than green, but in which the red or purplish bands are well developed appears to be in Kent commoner than the type.
p. var. suffusa, mihi. — This is Haworth's cenea var. /? of which he writes : — " Alis fusco-piceis fascia postica subundulata saturatiore " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 266). It is very rarely that blackish- fuscous specimens occur in Britain.
y. var. fusca, mihi. — This is Haworth's cenea var. y of which he writes : — ** Tota fusca absque fascia, vel purpureo " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 266). It is a most common form, the wings being of a dull brownish or dull olive-brown without any fascia3 or purple bands. It occurs frequently in all our South British localities for the species. Newman writes : — " All the wings in some specimens are dingy olive-brown " (* British Moths,' p. 469). This form is the var. A of Guenee who writes : — " The purple colour has disappeared and is replaced by a brown shade differing slightly from the ground colour " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vii., p. 298).
IX. Sub-class : — Beltoides, Lat.
The Beltoides are so closely allied to the NocTUiG that it is not surprising that Dr. Staudinger included them in the latter class, and there is no doubt that they are more closely allied to the Noctu^e- Genuin^ than are some of the latter Sub-classes and families dealt with. Their ova are of the usual Nootua shape, and their larvae resemble those of the same family. The sub-class Deltoides consists of three families, the Flatydidce, the Hypenidiv and Herminidce, of which the first has no repre- sentative in Britain, the second contains eight British species, whilst the last contains only seven, and of these some are very rare. The most remarkable character is the presence of a " fan-foot " in most of the
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 61
species of Hermmidw. Grote writes of this sub-class : — " This sub- family was formerly regarded as belonging to the Pybalid;e. lu the vernacular the Delto'ides are called " Snout Moths," from their long labial palpi. But Herrich-Schaffer showed that in their essential characters they conform to the Noctuid type, I.e., they are Fyralidi- form-Noctuidce. The wings are usually pointed at the tips, the colours are grey and dusky, and the usual Noctuid ornamentation is hardly to be discerned. The eyes are naked. They fall into two principal tribes. The character of this sub-family becomes again largely European. As the name " Snout Moths " refers to this sub- family, I have called the Pyraltd^ by the name of * Sparkler Moths ' " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 146).
Guenee divides the Deltoides into the three families just men- tioned, viz., the Flatydidoi, Hypenidce and Herminidoi. He, however, maintains their distinction as a family separate from the Noctu^ and criticises at length Herrich-Schaffer's arrangement. This latter author certainly makes some unaccountable changes, and, although one understands his reasons for removing Herminia and Hypena into the NocTU^ ; the removal of Schranckia (Thohmges) turfosalls and Ekida sericealis into the Nycteolidcn with Sarrothripa undtdanus (revayana), Halias chlorana and H. prasinana ; and that of Sophronia emortiialis into the Leptosido', with Aventia flexida, Fhytometra tenea (viridaria) etc., are quite inexplicable. At the same time, Guenee saw that the group had nothing in common with the true Pyraltd2b, for he wrote : — " It is impossible, certainly to leave the species included in the Deltoides with the true Pyralites, of which the larvae, habits, neuration and other characters are so different ; and, without uniting them altogether with the Noctu^ from which they are isolated by their early stages, by their palpi, by their slender bodies, by their habits etc., one is able to make, like Latreille did, a separate division which will connect the true Nocture with the Pyrales properly so called " (* Histoire naturelle des Lep.,' vol. viii., p. 4). He then adds : — " The organs of the perfect insects are much more curious than their early stages. In this respect, this division is perhaps the most in- teresting of the nocturnal Lepidoptera. It is that in which Nature has more frequently broken the general rules which she has laid down and made exceptions, the reason for which almost always escape us, and which on that account, we dogmatically call caprice, accustomed as we are to measure its inexhaustible fecundity from our own standpoint and knowledge, resigning ourselves to admire only, that which we cannot understand. Perhaps if we could see further, these apparent chances would appear to us as full of motive and as necessary as those organs, the ingenious simplicity of which we so much admire" {I.e. p. 5). Guenee then describes the various organs at length. Of the feet he writes ; — " The feet yield in no way to the antennae for the exceptional appendages which have their origin on the first pair. It frequently happens that the latter is swollen, as we have already noticed in some Noctu^, into a kind of sheath which contains the joint itself, and further into a brush of silky hairs which the insect expands at will. At other times, instead of a sheath, the leg carries a sort of broad tuft of reclining hairs, whilst lastly, a second tuft is sometimes found at the upper extremity. There are some species in which
62 VARIETIES OF HUCTVM
these two or three appendages are united; others carry simple, genicular fascia? which spread out like a fan. In some cases, the first joint of the tarsus is itself covered with hairs, and we experience great difficulty in distinguishing the following joints beneath this hairy covering. Lastly, a great number have simply the tibiae furnished with a thick covering of scales which widen towards the extremity as in many Noctu^. The leg and the thigh of the same fore feet vary also in length " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides) pp. 4-7).
1. Family : — Hypenidce, H.-S.
This family consists of eight British species, of which Madopa saUcalts and Hypena ohsitalis are rare with us, and Hypenodes albiatrigatis exceedingly local, the other species being, however, fairly common. Only one si^ecies Ilypena rostralis shows any tendency to vary largely, but this exhibits a fairly wide range of variation. The raised tufts of scales on the fore wings of the latter species are verj'^ marked.
Of the Hyjjenklcv, Guenee writes: — "Intermediate between the two other families of this division, the Hypenidce are almost, so to speak, the type of the Deltoides, for whilst the Flatydidm in- cline more to the Nocture, the Herrmnidce incline more to the Pyrales. The Hypenidiii have, on the contrary, a distinct facies, and if one could find a distant resemblance to another group of the lepidoptera, one would be inclined to turn to the Geometry as was done by the old authors. The points which give some show of reason for this are — the large and slender wings, the similar Phalseniform flight, the larvas also slender and somewhat pointed at the extremities. But we must be careful not to cany out the parallel too far, and return to the exact characters of this family." He further adds: — "The larvae have only fourteen feet, and this character alone if it subsequently confirmed itself would isolate them strikingly from llerminidm. The imagines have the inferior wings generally more developed and pleated; their colour is almost always unicolorous and without markings. The species which have an areole are still in the majority here. The palpi are always similar in the two sexes, nearly always straight and broad, at times slightly arched, but rarely so much bent as a scythe and never turned backwards. The antennae are always without knots or tufts of scales, and the fore legs have not pre- sented hitherto tufts of hairs" (* Histoire naturelle' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 17).
Madopa, Stphs., salicalis, Sohiff.
This is a rare species in Britain, although occasionally captured in our southern British counties, especially Kent and Surrey. The specimens I have seen have exhibited no marked variation. The species is described and figured by SchiifermuUer and Denis who write : — " Alis cinereis : anticis strigis tribus obliquis f ulvis, antennis pubescentibus," which are exactly the words of the description of Fabricius in the * Mantissa,' p. 219, to which, however, Fabricius afterwards added : — " Statura obtusa fere Pyralidis. Striga3 alarum e flavo fulvoque composita3 " (* Entom. System.' etc., p. 227). This rare species is readily recognised by its slaty (bluish) tint, and three distinct red transverse lines margined internally with yellow. It is
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 63
remarkable that it is not more frequently found among sallows in our southern counties.
Ilypena, Tr.
This genus contains the two most common species of the Uy- jjenidce, viz., prohoscidalis and rostralk. The rare ohsitalis is probably overlooked, owing to its similarity to the common rostralis which varies considerably. It is in this latter species, too, that the tufts of raised scales on the disc are best developed. These occupy the stigmatal areas, and often the median line. Guenee writes of the genus : — " The ima- gines have a Phalainiform aspect and may be easily recognised by their straight, extended palpi, sometimes three or four times as long as the head. These palpi are ornamented with very coarse scales on all their joints ; the second, generally, only varies in length, but in the third, the form is very different in the various species. In the majority of cases it is securiforme, elbowed with the preceding and ending in a fine little point. But this form, w;hich is usual in many of our European species, is far from being general. Thus in H. scubralia and H. erectalis the point is entirely suppressed and the joint has an almost rectangular form ; in namaqualisj it equals the second in breadth and its form is almost oval ; in secularis it is the second itself which broadens more than usual etc." (* Histoire naturelle ' etc., (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 26).
Grote writes : — " The type of this tribe (Hypenini) is the European Ilypena prohoscidalis. The hind wings are unicolorous and subordinate to the primaries, which show the usual Noctuid markings more or less distinctly. The body is sometimes tufted, the brush-like antennae are simple. In Bomolocha the eyes are lashed, but this character has nothing to do with the hairiness or nakedness of the eye itself, which, in the Deltoidince, so far as I know, is always naked. This nakedness is a general characteristic of the lower moths. I know of only one Geometrid with hairy eyes. The genera in my * Check List,' down to Hypenulaf referred to this tribe, should probably be included in the preceding " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., p. 147).
Hypenay Tr., prohosciduliSf Linn.
This is a very common species, but unlike rostralis does not appear to vary to any appreciable extent. The Linnaean description of the type is as follows : — " Pyralis palpis porrectis approximatis thorace longioribus, alis cinereo-griseis : strigis ferrugineis " (* Systema Naturae,' xth., p. 533), which he afterwards altered to : — " Pyralis palpis porrectis approximatis thorace longioribus, antennis pectinatis, alis grisescentibus strigis ferrugineis " (^Systema Naturae,' xiith., 881)., This is hardly a description which commends itself as applying to our British specimens, which are hardly "greyish with ferruginous strig?e." Guenee says : — " It varies very much, above all in the colour and the distinctness of the lines. Linne appears to have made his description from very well marked specimens " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 31). Unless the Scandinavian specimens are very much greyer than ours, I am scarcely able to apply the description to the species, as we know it in Britain, at all. Our British specimens are almost entirely brown, but of two distinct shades. One of a dark fuscous
64 VAKIUTIES OF NOCTUiE
hue, which is certainly sometimes slightly dusted with grey, the other of a much brighter tint. Fabricius in the ' Mantissa,' p. 217, also de- scribes the colour as "griseis," whilst Guenee says they are "of a grey, more or less yellowish, finely marked with darker, with three trans- verse lines well-marked in reddish-brown " etc. (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Delto ides), vol. viii., pp. 30-31). I am inclined to think the type is a very extreme condition of our darker form and that the brighter tinted specimens are confined rather to the more southern localities for the species. Guenee evidently refers to our more ochreous form in the extract quoted above, where he says, " more or less yellowish," and hence appears to assume that our darker specimens are the grey type which he also terms grey. This being so, the brighter form is described as the variety.
a. var. hruunea, mihi. — As I have just explained, I have treated the darker as the typical form, and would refer the brighter and more ochreous-tinted specimens to this variety. Both the darker and brighter specimens occur in both sexes, the dimorphism in our British speci- mens being in no way sexual.
Hypena, Tr., rostrcdis, Linn.
This is the most variable and probably most common member of the family. The ground colour varies from a bright ochreous to a dingy blackish, and the markings, in some specimens very clear and distinct, are in others almost obsolete. The Linnaean description of the type is as follows : — " Pyralis palpis porrectis thorace longioribus, alis subgriseis punotis duobus muricatis striga interjecta nigra." " Alse posteriores pallidiores ; in area anteriore linea nigra utraque extremitate terminata puncto eminente. Palpi approximati " (* Systema Natura?,' xth., p. 533). Guenee writes : — " This species varies very much. 1 consider as the type those specimens of a testaceous-grey colour with clear markings, but with the band concolorous which follows the median line " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 32). The characteristic markings consist of a distinct central transverse line (agreeing almost with the ordinary elbowed line) situated just outside the reniform ; a blackish line from the reniform to the orbi- cular, both stigmata being indicated by raised tufts of scales; the orbicular by a pale round tuft, the reniform (and claviform also) by a dark round tuft. This is in the well-marked specimens. In those less well marked the wings become unicolorous. The following is an attempt to classify the various forms : — 1. — Ochreous or greyish- ochreous, with distinct markings (as described
above) = var. ochrea-variegata. la. — Ochreous or greyish-ochreous, unicolorous = var. ochrea. 2. — Dark gi*ey-brown, with distinct markings = var. variegata. 2a. — Dark-grey or grey-brown, with ochreous costa = var. radiatalis,
Hb. 2b. — Dark- grey or grey-brown, unicolorous = var. palpalis, Fab. 3. — Pale greyish, with distinct markings -.^ rostralisy Linn. 3a. — Pale greyish, with pale costa = var. vittatus, Haw. 3b. — Pale greyish, unicolorous = var. unicolor.
a. var. ochrea-variegata, mihi. — Anterior wings of a pale ochreous or greyish-ochreous colour, with the normal dark markings in the
I
IN THE BBITISH ISLANDS. 66
centre of the wing and also the central transverse line. Taken, but not very commonly, with the darker forms in the South of England.
/?. var. ochrea, mihi. — Of the same ground colour as the former, but with the characteristic darker markings quite or almost obsolete. This pale unicolorous form is comparatively rare.
y. var. variegata, mihi. — This is Guenee's var. A of which he writes : — " The ground colour of the fore wings more marbled ; the band which follows the median, white, divided by a brown line. This is found principally in southern countries. It has also its sub- variety with a pale costa " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 32). The ground colour is of a dark grey tint, marbled with rich brown transversely, and with distinct and characteristic mark- ings. It is not at all an uncommon form in the South of England. This is a parallel variety to the type which is also a well-marked form, this being darker, however, and more richly variegated with brown transverse fasciaB which are frequently intersected by paler lines.
8. var. radiatalis, Hb. — Of Hiibner's type I made the following description : — " Anterior wings brownish-grey, with a somewhat reddish-ochreous patch running longitudinally along the costa from the base to the apex, narrow at both extremities and somewhat broader in the centre ; a central black spot surrounded with whitish ; the nervures dark and showing very distinctly. Hind wings grey, with the base paler, and a small dark lunular spot " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 134). Of this variety Staudinger writes : — " Alis anteri- oribus nigricantibus, regione costali lutescente " {' Catalog/ p. 142). This does not agree with the type of the variety, as Hiibner's figure certainly cannot be said to be " alis anterioribus nigricantibus." Guenee writes : — " All modern authors refer radiatalis, Hb. here, which Hiibner himself would have subsequently recognised as a simple variety, and of which Treitschke afiirms having seen the original in the Radda collection. The latter author even affirms that this form has been bred from the larva of rostralis. The variety should be reddish, with the costa clearer and with no other markings than those of the nervures which are black. But that which naturally causes much doubt is the fact that the four wings are completely rounded. It can only be considered at all events an accidental variety" (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 32). This form with the pale costa is not uncommon in the Southern counties of England. It is a parallel variety to the var. vittatus of Haworth.
€. var. palpalis, Fab. — Guenee describes a variety which he refers to the palpalis of Fabricius as: — "Entirely of a very dark brown, sometimes absolutely without markings, often with the trace of the ordinary lines, but not distinct. The apical streak and the cellular points remain in all specimens." He then adds : — " This variety ap- pears to me to refer to the palpalis of Fabricius, which is not, at any rate, the species known by that name by modern authors. The description of his Geometra hispiddta appears to me to belong also to the same variety. As to the palpalis of English authors, it would appear to be the American species, H. scabralis " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 32). Fabricius describes palpalis as : — " Pyralis palpis porrectis thorace longioribus, alis griseis ; posticis margine crassiori albo " (* Mantissa,' p. 217). This is one of the com-
66 VARIETIES OF NOOTUiB
monest varieties of the species in England, a very large percentage of our specimens being of a dark fuscous colour with the characteristic markings almost, and sometimes perfectly, obsolete.
^. var. vittatus, Haw. — Of this variety Guenee writes : — *' The costa, paler throughout its length. This is the only difference which Haworth himself suggests, who recognised, otherwise, that it might be only a simple variety " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 32). This is a parallel variety to var. radiatalis, Hb., but has the ground colour somewhat paler. It is not at all an uncommon form in various localities in the South of England. Haworth's description of cittatus is as follows ; — " C. (The cream-edged Snout) alis acutis sub- retusis griseo-pallidis, fusco subnebulosis, stria lata seu vitta recta costali flavicante." " Expansio alarum 1 unc. 2 lin. Costss anticarum vitta flavicante priore (rostralis) solat discrepat. Forte mera ejus varietas " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 367).
rj. var. unicolor, mihi. — This is one of the commonest forms of the species in Britain, a large percentage of our specimens being of a pale greyish-fuscous colour without distinct markings. It is a parallel form to var. palpalis, Fab., but is paler in colour, both being almost equally common.
Hypena^ Tr., ohsitalis, Hb.
This rare species was first recorded as British by the Eev. O. Pickard Cambridge, who wrote : — " On the 21st of September last, I captured a moth unknown to me, at rest on a door jamb in my flower garden. It was evidently a Hypena, but quite distinct from either of our known British species. My old friend, Mr. F. Bond, has kindly compared it with specimens in the British Museum collections, and determined it to be Hypena ohsitalis, Hiib., not before recorded as British" (^Entomologist,' xvii., p.265). This notice was accompanied by a woodcut of the species, and a footnote from Mr. Carrington, the Editor of the * Entomologist,' who wrote : — " From Hypena rostralis, which is our nearest allied species, H. ohsitalis differs considerably in having some- what longer anterior wings, which are pointed and more mottled with black than in H. rostralis. The best character for identification is the angular or elbowed line across each anterior wing. In H. ohsitalis these wings are brown, and, in addition to the black markings already mentioned, are some of an obscure pale yellow colour. In our collec- tions this addition to our fauna will follow H. rostralis. The figure above is taken from a Continental example of Hypena ohsitalis, formerly in the possession of the late Mr. Henry Doubleday, and closely resembles the specimen recently captured by the Rev. 0. Pickard Cambridge " (' Entomologist,' vol. xvii., pp. 265-266).
Of Hiibner's types I made the following description : — " Fig. 164, 2 (?). Anterior wings pale grey, very slightly ochreous, much mottled with fine black longitudinal markings, with a broken black basal line; the elbowed line slightly marked, with a faint costal patch towards the apex. The hind wings dark grey." "Fig. 165, ^ . Anterior wings brownish with greyish inner margin, two round black dots in the centre of the position of the basal line. The orbicular black, with another dot below it near the inner margin. A series of short blackish-brown longitudinal dots takes the place of the
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 67
elbowed line, and three longer longitudinal blackish streaks run from the outer margin just below the apex. Hind wings dark grey " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' figs. 164-165).
Mr. South describes the type as " brown, with numerous fine transverse darker lines ; beyond the middle, a thick dark angulated line edged externally with pale brown etc. ; the stigmata black, but hardly well defined," whilst he describes a variety from Mogador as : — " Var. a. Expanse, 1 in. o lines. Fore wings pale reddish- brown, without fine transverse lines ; the angulated line is preceded by a broad triangular blackish patch enclosing the stigmata ; a smaller blackish patch on the outer margin below apex " (* Entom.,' xxiii., p. 270). I am totally unable to understand Mr. South's description above of what he calls the type, as Hiibner's type certainly shows no fine transverse darker lines, these finer lines being longitudinal, nor does it show a thick dark angulated line, which is, in Hubner's figure, restricted to a series of dots. Possibly, Mr. South, simply described the commonest form in the collection under his care, and called it the type without knowing what the real type form was like. Guenee writes : — " The species varies as much as rostralis, but it is not very easy to classify its varieties as races, as they pass insensibly the one into the other " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc., vol. viii., p. 29). Probably with a sufficiently long series it would be found that this species really passes through as many gradations of colour and markings as its congener, rostralis.
The following appear to be the principal forms : — 1. — Pale grey almost whitish, with transverse lines broken or indicated
by dots = ohsitalis, Hb. 2. — Greyish-fuscous or brownish, with transverse lines obsolete or indi- cated by dots= var. unkolor. 3. — Greyish-fuscous or brownish with distinct transverse lines =^ var.
transversa. 4. — Greyish-fuscous or brownish with dark patch on centre of the costa = var. costipuncta. a. var. unicolor, mihi. — This is Guenee's var. A of which he writes : — "The superior wings almost entirely brown, and the mark- ings obliterated except the ochreous apical spot " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 29). This more unicolorous form is, I believe, not at all uncommon on the Continent.
p. var. transversa, mihi. — This would apply to those specimens which have the transverse lines distinctly marked, especially the angulated line. It would appear to be also equally common with the preceding and succeeding varieties. It would also appear to be the form previously referred to and described by Mr. South as the type.
y. var. costipuncta, mihi. — This is a very distinctly marked and variegated form, and has, in addition to the normal apical patch and well-developed transverse lines of var. transversa, a dark costal patch, situated in the centre of the costal margin, and extending below and enclosing the stigmata. This would appear to refer to the Mogador specimen previously mentioned, and described by Mr. South under the name of var. a.
68 VAlilKTIES OF NOCTD-fi
Bomolocha, Hb., fontiSf Thnb.
There are two very distinct forms of this species, one, with the outer and inner marginal areas of the wing, distinctly whitish ; the other with these same parts ashy, and sometimes much shaded with fuscous, specimens of the latter form looking very dark when placed side by side with the former. Besides these, some specimens have the dark costal patch outlined with bright ochreous or brownish, whilst occasional specimens have the dark costal patch extended to the inner margin, absorbing the normally pale area found there and also the somewhat extended pale inner marginal basal blotch. There is also a second line of variation, viz., in the colour of the dark costal patch. In some specimens, this is of a dark chocolate-brown, almost black, in others, it inclines strongly to red. Altogether, therefore, this species offers considerable variation, and it is not surprising that the old authors with their slender material found different names for the various forms.
The darkest form is the type for Thunburg writes : — " Alis deflexis nigris, anticis margine postico cinereis punctis lineaque apicis nigris. Habitat in Hallandia D. Osbeck, in Wermelandia Med. Cand. Holmer " (* Museum Naturalium ' etc., p. 72). Guenee's var. A would appear to be the type for he writes : — " All the pale parts of the wing of a dark ash-colour, in which the white subterminal dots are con- spicuous. The base is powdered with brown and hardly distinguishable from the dark costal blotch which is followed by a very distinct, parallel brown line. The inferior wings very dark. The thorax almost black " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 34). One readily understands that Guenee would treat this as a variety, the majority of French specimens being of the paler coloration ; in fact, Guenee refers Hiibner's achatalis, fig. 12 (a pale form), to the type. Hiibner's fig. 172 is a very extreme form of the darker variety, the whole of the inner marginal and basal areas, and the space between the position of the elbowed and subterminal lines being encroached on and filled up by the dark costal patch. Hiibner's terricvlaris is a still more extreme form, with the wings almost entirely blackish-brown. The following is an attempt to classify the principal forms of this species : —
1. — Outer and inner marginal areas whitish, costal patch dark brown
= var. achatalis, Hb. (fig. 12). la. — Outer and inner marginal areas whitish, costal patch reddish
= var. Q-ufescens. 2. — Outer and inner marginal areas ashy -grey, costal patch dark brown
= fontis, Thnb. 2a. — Outer and inner marginal areas ashy-grey, costal patch reddish
= var. crassalis, Fab. 2b. — ^The dark costal patch extending completely to the inner margin
= achatalis (fig. 172), Hb. = var. suffusa. 2c. — Almost entirely blackish-brown = var. terricularisy Hb.
a. var. achatalis, Hb. — This is the palest form of the species, with the basal part of the inner margin and the outer margin beyond the angulated line white, the dark costal area extending from the base to the angulated line, of a dark chocolate -brown colour. The description I made of Hiibner's achatalis is as follows : — " Fore wings with a dark
IN THE BHITISH ISLANDS. 69
chocolate-brown costal patch, and with a whitish-ochreous basal patch on the inner margin ; the inner margin itself, leading from this basal patch to a whitish-ochreons elbowed line, narrowly whitish ; the elbowed line edged on each side with white ; the subterminal line wavy and slaty in colour, with a brownish apical streak. Hind wings grey with a darker transverse band and lunule " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.' (Pyrales), fig. 12). This pale form is not at all uncommon in the South of England.
/?. var. rufescens, mihi. — The outer margin to the elbowed line, also the inner margin and basal patch whitish, with the dark costal patch extending from the base to the elbowed line, of a brighter reddish colour than in the former variety. This is also a moderately abundant form in the South of England.
y. var. crassalis, Fab. — This is the red-brown form of the species with darker grey or ashy outer and marginal areas, which Fabricius thus describes : — " Pyralis alis anticis fuscescentibus apice cinereis : punctis ocellaribus nigris." ** Alae anticae fuscae margine tenuiore albo maculate. Margo posticus imprimis interne cinerascens punctis aliquot obsoletis, ocellaribus, fuscis. Posticje fuscse " (' Entomologia systematica ' etc., p. 222).
S. var. snffma, mihi. — I take the achatalis (fig. 172) of Hiibner as my type of this variety as I have never seen one in nature. As he calls another form also achatalis, I name this sufftisa. It has the dark costal patch extending to the inner margin, and filling up completely the normally pale inner marginal and basal areas with dark, whilst at the same time, the dark colour absorbs the elbowed line and reaches the subterminal area, being limited by the pale dots there. The description I made of Hiibner's figure is as follows : — " Anterior wings entirely chocolate brown to beyond the elbowed line which is white ; the dark apical streak also with a white edging ; the outer margin paler. There is no pale basal patch nor any pale mottling as in Hiibner's fig. 12. This is Guenee's var. C of which he writes :— " Hb. fig. 172. It is a sub- variety of A* " (which appears to be the same as Thunberg's fontis) ** from which it differs by the extension of the brown part which completely absorbs the paler part of the inner margin and even the elbowed line also, the dark area being limited only by the series of white dots, which form in this, a continuous dentate line. Besides this, the two apical spots are united into one large blotch, semilunar in shape and edged with white " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 34). Guenee then adds : — " 1 have not seen this beautiful variety in nature " (I.e.). This form is intermediate between the type and Hiibner's extreme variety, terricularis.
e. var. terricularis, Hb. — Of this variety Staudinger writes : — " Al. ant. fere totis nigris, exterius albo lineolatis" (* Catalog,' p. 141), whilst Guende writes : — " I have not seen in nature this Hypena which Treitschke refers here as a variety. After the figure of Hiibner the shape should be different, the superior wings should be entirely of a dark blackish-brown, with a line on the inner margin, and another median one yellow-ochreous, the latter followed by a
* Vide description of this variety in the general notes on this species, ante p. 68.
70 VARIETIES OF NOCTTJ-S!
series of large black spots exteriorly edged with white lunules " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 34). The description I made of Hiibner's figure is as follows : — " Anterior wings dark chocolate-brown, almost blackish-brown, with a black basal longitudinal streak and a transverse black basal costal streak (part of the basal line) ; reniform black ; a black patch in the centre of the wing below the reniform ; the elbowed line paler, brownish at the costa, the lower part lost in the ground colour ; the subterminal made of white lunules. The hind wings dark grey with a blackish lunule " (' Samm- lung europ. Schmet.' etc. (Pyrales), fig. 163). This is a most extreme form, of which I have seen no representative.
HypenodeSf Gn.
This genus contains only two species — alhistrigatis and cosice^ strigalis — both of which are British. Stephens included these in his Cledeohia, but as he had previously used the latter name in a much more extended form in his ^ Catalogue,' the present genus was formed by Guenee and the name Cledeohia retained for the principal genus of the family Cledeobidce. Guenee writes of this genus : — " The Hy pen- odes are very delicate little species which fly in the damp and shady parts of woods and which are very rarely met with fresh, the markings of the second species (costcestrigalis) especially, being almost always partly effaced. As to its characters, they are very distinct from the other Hypenidce on account of the absence of the stemmates and by the neuration " {' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 41).
Our two British species are of much the same size and general appearance, but costcestrigalis is to be distinguished by the dark costal blotch before the elbowed line, whilst alhistrigatis has no dark costal blotch before the elbowed line, the latter being very conspicuously edged with white.
Hypenodes, Gn., costcestrigalis, St.
This species appears to be much commoner than its congener in Britain and also on the Continent of Europe. It frequents marshy places and damp woods, in which localities I have occasionally captured it. The type was described by Stephens as follows : — " Alis fusco-cinereis anticis macula subtriangulari versus apicem costse fusca, lineolaque obliqua apicis alba, posticis albidis. (Exp. alar. 10 lin.)." " Wings ashy-brown ; the anterior, with a somewhat triangular fuscous patch towards the apex of the costa, bounded by an oblique white streak, which terminates in a pale whitish-ash blotch ; the hinder margin is brownish, with a faint waved whitish streak ; and on the external edge is a row of detached black lunular dots ; posterior wings whitish, with the apex fuscescent : cilia of all the wings, fuscous. A rare insect ; the only locality I am aware of being in the vicinity of Whittlesea Mere, and near Swaffham in Norfolk, where it was taken by the late Mr. Haworth" (* Illustrations ' etc., vol. iv., p. 21). Guenee describes this species and then writes : — " Herrich-Schaffer has confounded this species with alhistrigalis, in fact his figure represents neither species very exactly. Altogether the elbow of the median line and the pale colour of the inferior wings make me think he had this species before him " (' Histoire naturelle' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 43).
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 71
Hypenodes, Gn., alhistrigatis, Haw. {alhistrigatm, St.).
The type of this species is thus described by Haworth : — " C. alis subfuscis, fascia lata saturatiore nigro, albo obsolete terminata." " Palpi prsecedentium. Alae antica9 puncto obsoleto ordinario post medium fasciae anticarum " (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 368). Guenee writes : — "The superior wings of a shiny, wainscot-brown, with two fine, black, dentate, parallel lines, not reaching the costa ; the second edged with whitish-yellow behind, with the ground colour paler beyond it. Very near to this line, in the cellule, is a small black X. A series of large dots before the fringe, which is alternately marked with yellowish. The inferior wings of a dark ashy-grey, unicolorous, with the fringe faintly marked transversely. The female similar and only slightly darker " (^ Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 42).
Stephens writes of this species : — ^^Alhistrigatus, Haw. ; CI. alhistrU gatus, Stphs. 'Catalogue', ii., 159, No. 6769. Wings pale fuscous; the anterior with a broad central darker band, terminated near the base by a slender zigzag black streak and beyond the middle by a broader slightly flexuous one ; adjoining to which on the inner margin is a whitish space, gradually changing into a dark fuscous. On the hinder margin itself is a row of black dots ; a spot of the same colour is in the middle of the disc ; posterior wings immaculate. A scarce insect found occasionally within the Metropolitan district, in the vicinity of Darenth village, and also in Norfolk and Devonshire " (' Illustrations of British Entomology,' p. 20).
Tholmiges, Ld. {Schranckia, H.-S.), turfosalis, Wk., H.-S.
This species was described and figured almost simultaneously by Doubleday, Wocke and Herricli-Schaffer. The description of the latter is as follows : — " Smaller than Cledeohia acummcdis. The palpi turned up, sickle-shaped and bare. The middle nervure, towards the base and apex, finer. The colour of the fore wings somewhat reddish and uniform. The first transverse line very indistinct, the next rises exactly at the centre of the inner margin, runs obliquely under the central spot where it turns towards the fringes, and then turns again, continuing as a straight line towards the costa. The curved line runs from the apex to the inner margin (anal angle) turning gradually from the outer margin but meeting it again at the anal angle. The hind wings more reddish-grey than in acuminalis, the base paler " (' Syste- matische Bearbeitung ' etc., vol. ii., p. 448).
This species was first recorded as British by Mr. Doubleday, and described by him as Hypenodes humidalis in the * Zoologist ' for 1850, App. cv., where he reports it to have been " captured in the bogs of Ireland, in 1848, by Mr. Weaver, and discovered in abundance in 1850, by Messrs. N. Cooke and Greening of Warrington." I have specimens captured in the latter locality by Mr. Collins last summer (1891). Since then it has been taken plentifully by many collectors in various parts of the country. About the same time as the species was described by Doubleday, Wocke described it as turfosalis. Con- cerning this, Guenee writes : — " Very similar in appearance to the preceding {Hypenodes), this genus cannot be united with the latter owing
72 VARIETIES OF NOCTU-iE
to considerable differences found in the palpi and antennas. The unique species in the genus was discovered almost simultaneously in Germany and in England some years ago, and published by Doubleday under the name of himidalis, and by Wocke under that of tiirfosalh. Of these names it is difficult to choose, but the last having been pub- lished in the body of (Herrich-Schaffer's) work, appears to be preferable " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 43).
This is the smallest and most delicate species in the family, and likely to be passed over at first sight as belonging to a different group. It has a somewhat superficial appearance to Scoparia pallida. In neuration it appears to be closely allied to Hypenodes. Altogether it may be looked upon as forming a link between the Hypenidce and Hermmidce.
2. Family: — Hermmidce, Dup. The strangest structural character of this family is the presence on the fore legs of the males, of a large tuft or brush of hair which has obtained for the members of the genus Herminia the popular name of " fan-feet." With the exception of the rare Sophronia emortnalis, all the other members of this family are fairly common, indeed, frequentl}^ abundant.
Guende writes of the Herminidce : — " We now reach the most varied and most interesting family of the Deltoides, that in which anomalies abound, and in which the organs differ infinitely. As I have already spoken of them in detail in the general notes I have written on the Deltoides, I will only here indicate some differences ^nd the manners of the insects." " The imagines compared with the Hypenidce have the palpi more arched or hooked, like a beak, (some females alone being exceptions to this rule), they offer generally much more variety and difference ; such often following the sexes. The antennae are 'subject to a crowd of modifications not seen in the Hypenidce. The frontal crest is absent or almost so, instead of forming a sharp prominence between the eyes. The wings are thicker, the inferior wings less developed and always partaking, at any rate towards the anal angle, of the designs of the superior wings. The Herminidce have not altogether the same habits as the Hypenidce. They prefer the shady and even humid parts of woods, although some are found in dry localities. Their flight is short but rapid, and during the day they never leave one hiding place but to seek another. The species of Herminia rest under leaves like Geometry, those of Helia settle on tree- trunks like Noctujg, whilst Rivula frequents marshy fields " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 45). One recognises the anomalous character of many of the structures in this family,^but,» besides a certain degree of sexual dimorphism, the British species do not exhibit that great amount of general variation which, as Guenee suggests, characterizes the family as a whole. Of this family which he calls Herminiini, Grote writes : — " The type of this tribe is the European Herminia tentacularis, to which our North American Philometra is related. The wings are concolorous, marked with con- tinuous lines, reminding us of the Pheocymini and the Geometridce. The antennae are often furnished with sexual nodosities. The species fly in grass upon which the larvae generally feed. One of the most variable Noctuidce known to me belongs to this tribe, Zanclognatha
IN "PHE BRITISH ISLANDS. 7*6
Icevigata. Our species resemble generally the European, but are much more numerous " (* Canadian Entomologist,' vol. xxii., pp. 146-147).
liivula, Gn., sericealis, Sc.
This species, abundantly distinguished from the remaining Herminidce by its bright straw-coloured fore wings, was placed in a separate genus by Guenee, who wrote concerning it : — " This genus, created by me, and adopted bj'- all entomologists, offers numerous striking characters. One sees some connection between its neuration and that of the genera Hypenodes and Schranckia, to which it also bears some resemblance in shape : but it is, above all, on the early stages that I would insist here ; for, so common as are the larvae in damp fields, it had not been observed before I noticed it, and what is more, has not been observed since " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Delto'ides), vol. viii., p. 48). Guenee then describes the larva in detail, remarking on a slight similarity to those of Pterophorus and in another direction to those of certain Tenthredmce, — and also notes that the pupa forms a transition between the chrysalides attached by a simple thread like the Diurni and the species of the Geometrid genus Ephjra, and those which are placed in a complete cocoon. There has been considerable difficulty connected with the specific nomenclature of serteealis, Haworth and Herrich-Schaffer both considering this species the PJialcena Umhata of LinnfBus, described in the ' Systema Naturfe,' but it is now pretty well agreed that Linnaeus' Umhata refers to Ebulea prmtextalis.
There is some slight variation in the colour and shading of our British specimens. Some are much yellower than others, and whilst some specimens are very considerably shaded with dark fuscous on the outer margin, others show little, or no trace of such shading. The reniform is always dark ; in some specimens I have, there is a shade running from it obliquely towards the base. This shade is very faintly marked in other specimens. The hind wings of some are entirely pale, in others entirely fuscous, whilst some have the basal area pale with the outer margin fuscous. This would appear to con- tradict Guenee's idea that this species could not be the P. Umhata of Linnaeus because the latter writes positively of his species " postica3 luteae, limbo postico fusco," Guenee remarking that this description " applies in no way to this species, this character and the description as a whole being more applicable to Ebidea prmtextalis.'' It will be seen, however, that the character emphasised, viz., that the outer margin is shaded with dark fuscous, and which Guenee says does not apply, does really occasionally occur in this species.
The type of this species is thus described by Scopoli : — " Long, lin. 4. Tota subossea sed serici in modum nitens ; alis anticis macula obsoleta^fuscescente " (* Entomologia Carniolica ' etc., p. 242).
Sophronia, Gn., emortuaUs, Schiff.
This exceedingly rare British species, is of an ochreous or ochreous-grey colour, and sometimes has a slight olive tint, with three yellow transverse lines, which do not appear to be always equally distinct or well developed. Guenee very truly observes:^ " I agree with Treitschke that the Geom. oUvaria of Borkhausen
74 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
represents this species, however, the latter mentions a subterminal shade which I have not found in any example " (' Histoire naturelle ' .etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 51). This appears to be unimportant in the group, one of the lines of variation peculiar to this family being the development of transverse shades following the transverse lines. The same author aLso observes : — " The emortualis of the early English authors is only a variety of derivaUs " (I.e.). In Guenee's time the species was not supposed to be British, but since then specimens have been observed which leads one to suppose that probably Stephens' references really belong to the species, and there is but slight proba- bility that Haworth's are erroneous.
The species was considered British by Stephens in his *Illus. Brit. Ent.,' who refers to " a specimen in the cabinet of Mr. W. Swainson," and one in his own possession captured in Devonshire. Two other specimens were recorded, one in 1858, and another in 1859.
It must be confessed, however, that it would hardly be reasonable to suppose that Haworth's species was wrongly named as he referred it to Hiibner's fig. 1, which represents emortualis, and at the same time compares it with derkalis to which species some writers (among others Guenee) have referred Haworth's description. He certainly puts to his reference to Hiibner's figure a mark of doubt, but Haworth knew derivalh. Hiibner also figures it, so that an actual error was not very probable. Haworth's description is : — " C. (the olive crescent) alis fusco-flavescentibus, strigis duabus lunulaque medio flavescentibus." " Expansio alarum 1 unc." " Statura et magnitude atque colore C. derkatr' (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 369). He also adds: — "The above description was taken several years since from Mr. Swainson's collection of English insects " {I.e.).
Stephens writes as follows : — " Emortualis, Hb. ; Pohjpogon emortualis, Stphs. * Catalogue', ii., 158, No. 6766. Brown or olive, with a yellowish tinge ; the anterior wings with an incurved paler streak towards the middle, a short lunate one in the middle, and a waved one behind ; posterior wings with a single pale streak nearly on the hinder margin ; cilia yellowish, immaculate " {' Illustrations of British Entomology,' p. 18). He also adds : — " This appears to be a very rare species ; a specimen is in the cabinet of W. Swainson, Esq., and I possess one captured in Devonshire " (I.e.)
Two later records of this species as British occur. One was made by Mr. H. Cooke of Brighton, who wrote as follows : — " A specimen of this insect (new *to Britain) was captured in this town, on the 18th June, 1858, by Mr. Pocock. Unfortunately the specimen is not in good condition, and it would therefore be difficult to describe it, but a few characters may be given, by which it may be readily distinguished from any other of our Deltoides. In size it approaches tarsijyennalis, and when perfect, the colour may perhaps agree with that species, but in the specimen recently captured there is a distinct yellowish tinge ; the first line arises on the costa, and descends almost perpendicularly to the inner margin, in this nearly approaching grisealis ; this line is but
* Stephens' records appear to have been altogether overlooked, unless, as is just possible, these were considered vars. of derivaUs as mentioned by Guenee. This is probable, as the species is not mentioned in the < Manual,' by Stainton.
IN THE RRITISH ISLANDS. 75
slight and indistinctly represented on the underwing ; the second line rises on the costa beyond the middle, and by a slight but uniform curve passes across the wing to the inner margin, and is continued quite through to the inner margin of the under wing : this line does not arise on the costa and then extend towards the outer margin, as in derivalis, but the point which actually crosses the costal nerve, is the most distant from the base of the wing ; both these lines are well- defined, and appear of a pale yellowish or cream colour, margined with darker on the inner side ; the character of the second line would be best understood by a reference to Ephyra pimctaria, but it is much more boldly defined than in that species. The posterior margin of the reniform stigma is faintly outlined with pale yellow or cream colour. The state of the specimen precludes further remarks " (* Intelligencer,' vol. v., p. 123).
The second capture is recorded as follows : — " About the 12th of July last, I took a fine female specimen of this insect. It has a pre- dilection for sweets, for I took it in company with other sugar-loving Deltoides and Pyraltdes. Mr. H. Cooke's description (' Intel.,' vol. v., p. 123) of this new Deltoid, though for the most part correct, was evidently made from a very indifferent specimen, and consequently is imperfect in some particulars. Its colour is a light yellowish olive, dusted with numerous small black spots. A figure of this insect in Wood's ' Index Entomologicus ' (first edition, pi. 27, fig. 168) will give a tolerable idea of its colour, though of little else.* The first line seems not to be continued on the under wing. There is a crescent- shaped yellowish marking on the underwing about half way between the base and the tip of the wing, but it does not appear to rise on the costa, and it distinctly ceases before it reaches the middle of the wing ; and, if continued to the inner margin, it would strike the second line. I have examined, by the aid of a common magnify ing-glass, what seems to be * the posterior margin of the marking of the reniform stigma,' of which Mr. Cooke speaks, but I cannot trace the rest of the marking of the stigma ; and there only appears a yellowish crescent shaped marking, which corresponds exactly with that on the under wing " (' Ent. Weekly Intelligencer,' vol. ix., p. 28). Since then very few examples appear to have been captured, or if captured re- corded. I have two specimens which came into my possession with Mr. Coverdale's collection having a ** Surrey " label on one of them, otherwise I know nothing of their caj^ture or precise locality.
The ' Systematisches Verzeichniss ' reference is Kttle more than a catalogue name, for it only states : — " Griinlichgrauer Zunsler mit zwei gelben Querstrichen." The first really good figure bearing this name is that of Hiibner. The description I made of it is as follows : — *' Anterior wings dark olive-green with a yellow basal line ; yellow inner edge to the reniform ; a yellow line nearly straight, replacing the elbowed line ; yellow subterminal line. The hind wings of the same colour as the fore wings, with a yellow margin, yellow central transverse line and yellow lunule " {' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' etc., (Pyrales), fig. 1).
* Wood's figure is now generally supposed to represent a variety of derivalis.
6 VARIETIES OF NOCTU-S
Herminiay Latr.
This genus is used in its most comprehensive form by Guenee, and includes no less than eighteen species of which the British ones are: — Derwalh, harhalh, idrsipennaUs, griseaUsy and crihrumah's (crihralis). The genus is subdivided by Staudinger, and he places the British species in the subdivisions as follows: — In Herminia — cribrumalis and (Wivalis ; in Zanclognatha — grisealis, tarsipennalts and emortualis ; in Pechipogon — harhalis. Guenee himself recognised the great differ- ence in some of the species, but as other species showed transitional forms, he preferred to keep them united. He writes : — " Since this genus was created by Latreille, it has appeared a natural one to all entomologists, and has been adopted by all authors ; however, it is very far from presenting very homogeneous characters, and almost every organ which appears, if one or two species only be consulted, to carry some striking characters, is modified by degrees as we advance. Thus the antennae, furnished in all with reclining ciliations, are some- times simply pubescent, sometimes strongly ciliated, sometimes altogether pectinated, and, lastly, are sometimes laden towards the lower part, about a third of the way up, with a fascicle of scales, which forms a swelling or knot on the upper part of the face. The palpi, of which the second joint is regularly arcuated and turned towards the head, and which are simply flattened scales in most species, have souietimes this same joint absolutely straight and ascending obliquely as in harhalis, crinalk etc., and sometimes furnished above with long upright hairs, as in crihralis and harhalis. The third joint of the palpi is often similarly constituted as in crinalis, and often it varies both in form and direction, since it is sometimes simply elbowed at 45 degrees to the preceding point, sometimes regularly arcuated, and sometimes returning as far as the collar (as in fractalis). The feet, which in many species present no peculiarity, have, in other species, the anterior tibiae enlarged, very velvety, and enclosing some tufts of silky hairs, which under certain conditions are spread out like a fan. Lastly, the wings themselves, and this has escaped every entomologist, offer very important differences, since the areole, of variable form without doubt, but usually well marked and well closed, is completely absent in harhalis, in which species the second superior vein gives rise at once to the third and to the last two costal branches. In crinalis where the areole exists, the same arrangement of the nervures is to be observed. In the hind wings there is another anomaly, the independent nervure, well isolated in almost all the species, and grafted on tlie disco- cellular nervure very far from the two following, approaches to them, notably in the case of derivaUs " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., pp. 53-54). Guende then criticises their separation into distinct genera as carried out by the English authors and Duponchel, and, on the other hand, the method of Herrich-Schaffer, who includes too many species. He then goes on to say : — " The genus Herminia, reduced to the limits I have indicated, are Phalaeniform insects of a testaceous or yellowish-grey coloration, which fly in the shady parts of woods and rest under the leaves like Geometry, but their flight is generally quicker and more irregular than that of the latter. Their larvae are only imperfectly known. Barhalis, which I know
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 77
best, has a very characteristic form, and at first sight, one might not look on it as belonging to a species of the lepidoptera. Its flattened form, its drawn-in narrow neck, and its distinctly marked (square-cut) segments, give it a very strange appearance " (I.e.). The characters indicated by Guene'e as existing in the imago state, have been found to be coupled with similar differences in the early stages, so that the species are now generally subdivided and distributed over the three genera — Uerminia, Zanclognatha and PecMjwgon.
Ilerminia, Latr., cribrumalis (crihralis), Hb.
This white marsh-frequenting species cannot jjossibly be mistaken for any other. Hiibner figured and described it under two names — crihrumaUs and cribratis. His fig. 2 in the * Sammlung europ. Schmet.'' (Py rales) is remarkably well done. The description I made of it is as follows : — " Anterior wings whitish-grey, with a slight pinkish tinge ; a dot in the i)lace of the reniform ; a row of tiny black dots in the place of the^elbowed line ; and another row of similar dots in place of the subterminal. The hind wings whitish-grey, with the outer margin slightly darker and a small dark lunular spot." In my speci- mens of this species the variation is very slight, and chiefly in the direction of the quantity of the black markings and dots. In some specimens, the elbowed line is formed of black dashes, in others of dots, and occasionally it is almost obsolete. The orbicular stigma is also somewhat variable and differs considerably both in intensity and size. Guenee writes of this species : — " This species and the gi*oup {Macrobilay St.) which it comprises, is characterised by (1) the palpi, which are almost like those of harhalis ; (2) the antennae, which have only a slight swelling scarcely noticeable as far as the eighth joint, but which closely resemble in construction those of crinalk, but are still more slender; (3) the anterior feet, which are ex- tremely long, although very slender, and furnished with fan -like tufts of scales, but without lateral brushes ; (4) and lastly, by the wings which are more slender than the other Herminice, without a distinct elbowed line, and with the markings only faintly expressed " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 62).
Hermtnia, Latr., derivalisy Hb.
This species shows very considerable variation in the shading of the ground colour and in the intensity of the markings, and also striking differences in the shape of the angulated line which is some- times sharply angulated, at others, regularly and slightly curved, whilst it is frequently elbowed with a distinct curve. The basal line varies also, sometimes it is sharply angulated, at others, straight, whilst it is often regularly curved. These lines, too, are frequently, as mentioned by Guenee and figured by Hiibner, shaded interiorly with fuscous, this form being the type. The central line on the hind wings also varies much, and is in my own series, in different speci- mens, either curved, angulated or straight, whilst it is frequently considerably shaded interiorly with fuscous. Guenee writes of this species : — " It varies much in the shade of the ground colour which passes from yellowish-red to an almost testaceous-grey, but it is always of a shade more or less ochreous. I have seen specimens entirely
78 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
unicolorous and without transverse lines, and another taken at Domo- d'Ossola, in which the subterminal is very strongly marked, even on the lower wings with contiguous and denticulate lunules " (' Histoire naturelle' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii,, p. 55), whilst he afterwards adds : — " The figures and descriptions of emortualis made by English authors must be referred to this species. The description of Stephens would, however, leave us in doubt, if the figure of Wood which was made from his collection did not remove such doubt " (I.e. p. 56). If Wood's figure was really made from one of the specimens described by Stephens it would tend to show that the true emortualis was really not a British species until 1858 (vide, ante p. 74).
The descrijjtion I made of Hiibner's type figure is as follows : — " Anterior wings deep yellow-ochreous, almost brown, with the basal transverse line blackish-brown, the inner edges of the reniform and elbowed line, fuscous, the latter broken towards the centre. The hind wings of the same colour as the fore wings with two transverse fuscous lines and a dark lunule " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' etc. (Pyrales), fig. 19).
a. var. obsoleta, mihi. — The anterior wings with the transverse lines more or less obsolete and with no dark shading to these lines.
Zanclognathay Ld., grisealis, Hb.
This dull coloured greyish-ochreous species is very common in the woods in the South of England. It varies considerably in size, the females being usually larger than the males, but not always so. The ground colour of the various specimens is of two shades, some being more ochreous and inclining to brown, others, more grey and looking much paler than their more ochreous brethren. The sub- terminal line is sometimes very strongly developed. On the other hand, the elbowed line is almost obsolete and lost in the ground colour in one or two specimens in my collection, although, like the subterminal, this is usually well-developed. A lunular mark shows the reniform, through which, in some specimens, run traces of the central shade which is especially strongly developed in one specimen I have. The elbowed line varies in obliquity and sometimes shows traces of being curved. The hind wings vary much in the shade of the ground colour in both sexes. In some specimens, these wings have a distinct central fascia ; in others, this fascia is obsolete, whilst on the outer margin, a pale line, edged with darker internally, becomes reduced in some specimens, to a lunular mark near the anal angle.
Hiibner gives a very good figure of this species. The description I made of it is as follows : — " Anterior wings brown with a straight dark basal line, a dark inner edge to the reniform, a dark elbowed line and a dark somewhat curved line from the apex to the anal angle. The hind wings grey, with a blackish median transverse line and another near the hind margin " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' etc. (Pyrales), fig. 4). Guenee writes of the species : — " This pretty species, the smallest of the European, has the greatest affinities with tarsicrinalis and tarsipennalis, although it has neither knots to the antennae nor brushes to the anterior legs. It only varies in size " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 59). It is the nemoralis of Fabricius and also of Stainton (* Manual,' vol. ii., p. 131).
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 7^
Zanclognatha, Ld., tarsipennalis, Tr.
There is very little difference in the tint of the various specimens, but some have the ground colour slightly darker than others. The subterminal line is generally distinct, but the basal and elbowed lines are rather obsolete in some of them. The reniform is only distinct in the better marked specimens. The hind wings also show a central shade in such better marked ones. The pale line parallel to the hind margin of these wings is distinctly marked by a dark inner juarginal band in some specimens, although indistinct in others.
This species was well known to the older entomologists, but was confounded with tarsicrinalis. Thus Hiibner's fig. 5 in the * Sammlung europ. Schmet.' (Pyralides) is tarsipennalis but he calls it tarsicrinalis. It was also known to the British authors, Ha worth, Stephens and Wood by the same name. Treitschke first detected and differentiated this species from tarsicrinalis, Knoch. He writes : — " I invite our entomo- logical friends in Brandenburg to make a closer observation, and should this really prove to be a newly discovered species, I propose to call it tarsipennalis. M. v. Ruhlwein has remarked that the last transverse line varied in different specimens, as it sometimes turned downwards, sometimes it bent more towards the apex and inner margin like Hiibner's figure. Can the formerly described differences in the larva3 of tarsicrinalis be explained by there being two distinct species ?" Guenee writes of tarsipennalis : — "This species, generally confounded with the true tarsicrinalis, is easily distinguished by the very slightly knotted antennas of the male, the more rounded wings, the less clearly marked and less angulated lines, the straighter subterminal, the more unicolorous ground colour of the wings, and the absence of the reddish median shade, the anal brush not divided into divergent tufts," etc. (* Histoire naturelle,' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 58).
The only British species that it resembles is harhalis, froui which it is abundantly distinct in its browner gi'ound colour and in the direction of the transverse lines, which are, however, almost identical in direction with those of grisealis.
recliipogon, Hb. (rect. Pechypoyon, Stdgr.), harhalis, CI.
Although Clerck is really the nomenclator of the species it is impossible to look on his figure as representing any particular form of it. The note I made of his figure is as follows : — " The figure is very bad, the palpi, shape of the wings and the direction of the transverse lines all indicate that the species is really harhalis as we know it. But the paint has changed colour and is now almost black in all those copies to which I have access. The Linnasan description is also unsatisfactory. Guenee writes : — " A description of this species would be useless when it (the species) can be recognised by the characters of which I have spoken in the general notes, viz. — the second joint of- the palpi straight and velvety above, the antennae strongly ciliated, and the absence of the areole " (^ Histoire naturelle,' etc, (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 56). The Fabrician description from the * Mantissa,' p. 2\Q is useless, for he only writes : — " Pyralis palpis an- tennis pectinatis brevioribus, femoribus anticis barba porrecta."
This comparatively large, grey species, which is rather common in most of the woods in the South of England, is readily recognised by
80 I ♦ VARIETIES OF NOCTURE
the * fanfeet ' in the males, and the difference in colour from any of its allies. Our British specimens, or at least those from the South of England offer a slight variation in the ground colour, some being of a dark shade compared with others. The markings are variable in intensity and distinctness, and they also vary somewhat in shape. The hind wings of some specimens are very much shaded with darker on the outer margin, especially towards the centre. There is a distinct sexual difference in the form of the abdomen, but the sexes vary much in size, some specimens of either sex being above, and others below the average size.
a. var. pectitalis, Hb. — The darker form of this species is known as peditaUs, Hb. The descrij^tion I made of Hubner's figure is as follows : — " Anterior wings grey with a slight slaty tinge ; the basal line very much bent ; the reniform (a linear spot only) and the elbowed line brownish, the subterminal yellowish with a yellowish marginal line just inside the fringe. The hind wings paler grey, whitish along the upper edge where it is in contact with the fore wing with two whitish transverse lines edged with dark grey " (* Sammlung europ. Schmet.' (Pyrales), fig. 122).
Table showing tue chief Characters of the Species jn the Sub-class Deltoides.
To enable British collectors to distinguish readily the species in the Deltoides, the following table is appended : —
I. H\rENIUJE —
a. Madopa salicalis — Slaty-grey ground colour — trans-
verse lines reddish edged with yellow.
b. Hf/penaprohosctdalis — Large size — brown colour — inner
line not indented on the fold.
c. Hypena rostralis — Raised tufts of scales on disc of
wing — inner line sharply indented on the fold — almost straight elbowed line.
d. Uypcna obsitalis — Eaised tufts of scales on disc of wing
— basal (inner) line not so sharply angulated on the fold — distinctly angulated elbowed line — sub- terminal line composed of pale dots.
c. Bomolocha fontis — Large reddish-brown or chocolate- brown costal patch at base and centre of wing — inner margin whitish.
/. Hypenodes costcestrigalis — With a dark costal patch before the elbowed line.
<j. Hypenodes alhktrigatis — No dark costal blotch before the elbowed line — the elbowed line conspicuously edged with white.
//. Tholmiges turfosalis — Of exceedingly small size for this sub-class.
m th£ fiRitlsM istAi^DSi 8l
II. Herminid^e —
a. Rivula sericealis — Bright straw colour — dark and
conspicuous reniform. h. Herminia cnbrumaUs —White colour — purely a '* marsh "
or " fen " species.
c. Herminia derivalis — Bright yellowish-brown or ochreous
brown — subterminal line absent — dark central line crossing both fore and hind wings.
d. Zanclognatha grisealis — Subterminal line runs from the
apex of the costa — small size — greyish-brown in colour.
e. Zanclognatha tarsipennalis — Subterminal line runs from
before the apex — larger size — deep brownish- ochreous in colour. /. Zanclognatha emortualts — Yellower ground colour — pale yellow line crosses centre of fore and hind wings continuously — yellow lunular mark replaces reni- form.
g. Pechtpogon harhalis — Distinctly grey ground colour — size of derivalis or tarsipennalis.
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62 tABlETllJS OP NOOTU-*!
APPENDIX.
During the progress of this work, I have been able to get the original descriptions of some species which were not forthcoming at the time those particular species were described. Certain articles based on the variation of other species dealt with, have also been dis- covered or recently written. It has been considered advisable to add the references to such in the form of an Appendix. Notes also on such a species as Catocala electa, only once captured in Britain, etc., and not regularly included in the list of British species, are also appended to this part of the work.
Additions etc., to Vol. i.
Gonophora, Brd., derasa, L.
Vol. i., p. 2. — Gonophora derasa var. intermedia, Brem. — The original description of this variety is as follows : — " It is of the pattern of derasa, but the dentated line of the fore wings and all the other markings better defined and more distinct. The ground colour of the fore wmgs is very different and as grey as abrasa, Guen. from North America, thus being without the golden yellow colour of the central area found in derasa " (' Lepidop. Ost-Sibiriens, in4)e8ondere des Amur Landes,' p. 46).
Cymatophora, Tr., or. Fab.
Vol. i., p. 3. — Cymatophora or. — Sven Lampa in the ' Entomolo- gisk Tidskrift ' for 1885, p. 47, changes the name of this species to ypsilon-grcecum, Goze, *Btr.' iii., 3, p. 253 (1781).
Asphalia, Hb., flavicornis, Linn.
Vol. i., p. 6. — Asphalia flavicornis var. finmarchica, Schoyen. — Sven. Lampa refers to Schoyen's variety as " morkare." It is described and figured in the ' Entomoiogisk Tidskrift,' 1881, p. 121, PI. 1, figs. 3-4. This does not appear to be identical with my var. scotica, although very near it, and it is another illustration of the similarity in development between our Scotch and Scandinavian examples of certain species, influenced as the fauna of both countries are by similar meteorological conditions.
Schoyen's original notice of the variety is as follows : — " In my review of * The Arctic moths of Norway ' (p. 187), I have already mentioned this form, from a very worn species received from Sudvaranger, Ostfinmark, as Asphalia (n. sp. ?). Kecently, I have re- ceived from M. Sandberg, several specimens, quite fresh, which were captured in June, 1880, at Kebbervick, near Klostervand in Sudvar- anger, almost 70° North latitude, which have proved to be an excellent dark Polar form of A. flavicornis. The figures are those of the darkest specimens in my collection, and represent the extreme colour of the Polar form. The others are less dark, although the lightest is darker than the normal form. The markings of the fore wings are less distinct ; in one specimen, the transverse lines are entirely absent, and in three others, the greenish-yellow spot has also become invisible ; otherwise, the colouring is like that of the normal form. That this species oc- curred in the Polar region was mentioned by Dr. Tengstrom, who states * Oatal. Lepid. Faun. Eenn. prac.', No. 200) that it also occurs in Finnish Lapland, but does not mention its variation. In Scandi-
F
tut THK ilRlTtSfi IStAi^D^. 6S
navia, the species, according to Wallengren, was found as far north as Dalarne and Helsingland, in Sweden " (* Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1881, p. 121).
I have mentioned above that var. scotica is not identical with var. finmarchiay although both agree in being darker than the type. Our Scotch var. scotica has the markings specially clear and distinct, whilst, according to Schoyen's description and remarks above, var. finmarchia has the markings less distinct and tending to obsolescence.
Bryophila, Tr., perla, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 8. — Bryophila perla wsir. pyrencea, Oberthiir. — This local
race was described by Oberthiir, and the specimens comprised under
this name appear to vary considerably inter se. The great character
of one form appears to be its suffusion with a reddish tint ; of the
other, the white ground colour of the wings. The former would
appear to be therefore an accentuated development of my var. flavescens,
the latter is a distinctly interesting type witb its darker markings of
greenish-grey, such coloured markings not being, I believe, met with
in Britain, where the markings tend when intensified to bluish-black.
Mons. Oberthiir's original notice is as follows : — " Common at Mont-
louis, but appears to be rarer at Cauterets. This variety offers two
types : — The one, with the ground colour of the wings of a yellow
which is more or less rosy or reddish, the other, has the ground colour
of the wings whitish. The latter is very close to our (French) type of
the plains ; it is distinguished, however, by its larger size, and more
pronounced development of the markings and of the greenish-grey tint.
The hind wings are very much shaded with brown above. In the Alps,
the type of perla approaches very much the Pyrenean type with white
ground colour, but I believe that the type with yellow ground colour
and that with salmon-red ground colour, are restricted to the Pyrenees.
I have figured the type with the yellow ground colour from
Cauterets " (' Etudes d' entomologie,' viii., p. 48). The latter part of
the description appears to suggest that Mons. Oberthiir would
separate the yellow form from the salmon-red form. It is the former,
agreeing with my var. flavescens, that he figures {I.e. PI. i., fig. 13).
His idea that the yellow and red forms are peculiar to the Pyrenees,
receives no confirmation with regard to the former, as we get it in
England pretty freely, but with regard to the latter, I have not heard
of its occurrence elsewhere.
Bryophila, Tr., impar, Warren (sub-species).
Vol. i., p. 10. — Bryophila impar. — Since my note on impdr was written, I have had the pleasure and satisfaction of looking through Mr. Farren's series of some 60 or 60 specimens, and also of seeing the insect at large in Cambridge. There is a strong tendency in one's mind at first to assume the complete distinctness of impar as a species, because we are so accustomed to consider muralis as a coast species, that its occurrence in an inland town is rather startling ; but, I believe it (muralis) used to be not uncommon on the walls of the Canal Bridge, Old Kent Koad, S.E., now quite in London. After having thoroughly considered the matter, I cannot help coming to the conclusion that impar is specifically identical with muralis, and yet at the same time, the species has undergone by its isolation and peculiarity of environ-
^4: VARlftTlES Of IJOCTU-*
ment sufficient modification to stamp it as a very distinct race, and to give it very marked characters of its own. It varies almost as much as muralis in its coast localities, but the green forms are exceedingly rare at Cambridge, thus presenting a marked contrast to muralis in its usual localities, where the green is the prevalent form. Occasionally, distinctly green specimens are found, closely resembling the type of muralis, and a form closely allied to, and in fact almost identical with var. par is also found. But a most striking form of impar which I have not noticed in any coast specimens, is a form with the markings and ground colour essentially black and white, the former being, in fact, almost blue-black, and thus forming a parallel variety to Bryo- phila perla var. suffusa. I would particularly keep the name impar for this form, the y of Mr. Farren [vide below), which appears to be peculiar to Cambridge, and, so far as we at present know, does not occur elsewhere.
Mr. Warren who first described this species, did so under the name of par, assuming incorrectly that Hiibner's par was a species distinct from muralis. His original notes on and description of impar, (under the name of par) are as follows : — " More than twenty years ago, I took a pair of a Bryophila at Cambridge, which at the time seemed to me to present decided points of difference from glandifera, but both Mr. F. Bond and the late G. R. Crotch, who saw them, re- ferred them to that species as a variety, and I submitted to their decision. I have taken one or two at intervals since ; but last year, having captured ten, quite fresh, and observing new points of differ- ence, I sent a pair to Mr. Barrett, who forwarded them to Professor Zeller. The latter, at first, returned them as glandifera var. par, but has since, Mr. Barrett informs me, agreed with him that they constitute a distinct species. I will, therefore, now proceed to give, as far as mere description can do it, the main points by which I think the two species may be differentiated.
1st. The lines and markings of B. glandifera are much more sharply and distinctly marked than in B. par, which has, so to speak, a more mealy look.
2nd. Though the lines and markings of the two insects are exactly alike, B. par has all the lines starting as dark spots on the costa, and a decided dark line at the base of the cilia of both wings, but especially the hinde." ones.
3rd. B. glandifera etains its green tinge after death, which con- tinues for years if exch\ ed from light. B. par, which, when fresh and alive, is of a much paler green, oft^n with a beautiful pink tinge, fades directly it is killed, or when worn, to a dirty brick colour.
4th. While B. par has only, so far as I know, been taken in this country, on old walls at Cambridge, B. glandifera is, I believe, a coast species.
Lastly. B. glandifera runs slightly larger than the nearly allied species. I may add that a form of B. glandifera occurs, which has the mealy appearance of B. par, but without the dark costal markings and dark line at the base of the cilia, which are always observable in the latter. These differences may appear but slight, but to anyone who sees a row of the two insects, they will, I feel sure, appear sufficient to convince him of their real distinctness " (' Entomologist,' vol. xiii., pp. 225-226, and *Ent. Mo. Mag.' vol. xvii., p. 115).
tN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. ^
Having discovered that par, Hb. was actually a variety of muralis (glandifera), Mr. Warren then further wrote : — " In consequence of the confusion which appears to be made between the mealy-looking variety of B. glandifera (muralis), which occurs with the typical form on the coast, and which is sold by the dealers as var. par, and the Bryophila which we take at Cambridge, it will be as well to give the latter, which already has a local habitation, a distinctive name as well. Mr. Stainton, who has seen my series of the Cambridge insect, and considers it certainly distinct from Hiibner's var. par, said, in his joking way, * call it impar ' : and by this name I propose to distinguish it for the future. I should add that, besides Cambridge, we must now include Cork as a locality. I have seen specimens, belonging to Mr. W. F. de V. Kane, which he informs me were caught in that neighbourhood " (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxi., pp. 22-23).
Mr. Farren writes of the variation of the Cambridge specimens : — " Very little seems to be known about Bryophila impar ; comparatively speaking, so few have ever been taken, that entomologists have not had a chance of comparing it with glandifera (muralis). I have made a careful comparison between a long series of each, the result of which may be interesting to many. There is a very great difference in the general appearance, caused chiefly by impar being thickly covered with black scales, and the blotch near the base, referred to in the table below as No. 2 marking, being so conspicu' isly black. This makes the markings very obscure, and causes impar to be a much darker- looking moth than glandifera.
A long series of glandifera shows a greater variety of colour than impar. The most frequent form of the latter is grey with a very slight tinge of dull green in it ; and I have specimens varying from this to a very dark bluish-grey, which, with the thick covering of black scales, makes it much blacker than any form of glandifera. A much scarcer form is dark yellowish-green ; and I have one specimen of a very pretty grass-green. The greenish-blue and sandy-coloured forms, as well as two or three shades of green, which are frequent in glandifera, I have never seen represented at all in impar.
I have been asked several times by correspondents whether I considered impar a distinct species, or a variety of glandifera. There are several points in favour of and against its being considered a species. It will be noticed in the above comparison of the markings, that although there are several features by which it can be readily distinguished from glandifera, yet, with the exception of the basal line, the dis- tinctions lie in the markings of impar being less distinct, and in the case of the subterminal line almost entirely so, rather than in any real difference of shape.
The only Cambridge specimen anything approaching glandifera that I have seen, was taken by Mr. Alfred Jones, and it forms rather a strong point against its being a distinct species ; it has the basal line broken and the distinct subterminal line, as in glandifera, but it has the blotch near the base very dark, as in impar, and is covered, although not so thickly as is usual, with dark scales. Typical glandifera, or anything more nearly approaching it than this one specimen, I do not think has ever been taken in or near Cambridge ; if it did occur here, I think I should have taken it, as I look very sharply after impar when it is out.
86 VARIETIES OF NOOTUiB
Many entomologists confound impar with var. par of glandifera (muralis) ; this is the greatest mistake that can be made, for, as Guenee describes it, var. par is the form having all the markings as distinct as in the type, but of an iron-grey colour instead of black, and is peppered with scales of the same colour, and affords a very great contrast with impar. The var. par seems to be as common as the type where it occurs ; most of my specimens of glandifera are from Folkestone, and quite half are var. par. In the ' Entomologist Synonymic List,' impar is left out altogether, and par inserted as a distinct species. Why this is, I cannot imagine, unless the compilers made the mistake of confounding impar with par ; but, if so, why put it as a distinct species ?
The earliest date on which I have taken impar, was July 27th of this year, and the latest, August 23rd, 1886 ; but this year I have seen none since August 14th. I have taken it in most parts of the town, but chiefly in one quarter, although even there it is scarce.
Whether it be a species or a variety, it is, I consider, the most interesting insect we take in this district, and will always hold an important place in collections, if not as a distinct species, at least as a very interesting Darwinian one " (' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxvi., pp. 302-303).
I quite agree with Mr. Farren's notes and remarks on this form, and there can be no doubt that its peculiarities, developed most probably by its isolation and inland surroundings, will always be of the greatest interest to the philosophical lepidopterist. At my request, Mr. Farren has been good enough to write out the following tabulated comparison of muralis and impar. He writes : — " Bryophila impar, Warren, (sub-species of B. muralis). — In the absence of any knowledge of the earlier stages, I should not feel entirely justified in describing impar as a distinct species, nor can it be considered a mere variety — in the common acceptance of the term, — of muralis ; a local race of this species it may be, probably is, but so decided a local race has it become, through long isolation from muralis, that it has acquired quite a distinct facies, and may well be treated as a sub-species.
To compare the two and enumerate as well as possible the differ- ences between them, I have prepared the following tables : —
1. General or prevailing colour as shown by a long series. B. muralis. B. impar.
Ground colour — clear bright green, Ground colour varying from blue- — dull green, — ochreous brown, — grey, to greyish- white, yellow-
yellow, — or white faintly tinged ish-brown, or grass-green, always
with green ; with clear black thickly covered with black
and white markings. scales, and having black and
white markings, but much less white than muralis. 2. Markings. 1. — The first line from the base, 1. — This line is nearly always which, without reaching the unbroken.
inner margin, curls outward and returns towards the costa, forming the inner marginal line of the dark shade which sur- rounds the orbicular stigma, is disconnected at its base.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
87
2. — The dark shade (having in its upper part the orbicular stigma), is clearly outlined with black, and on the side next the base with white ; the orbicular stigma (the same colour as the rest of the shade) is indicated by its marginal black line.
3. — The reniform stigma and the wavy line beyond it, are both distinct markings.
4. — The subterminal line is a clearly dotted black one, with two dark dashes on the inside, one not quite half way from the costa, and the other quite near the inner margin.
2. — This shade is so dark as to form a distinct black blotch — so much so, that the margin of, as well as the orbicular stigma itself, is obscured.
5. — There are 9 or 10 black spots along the costa.
3. — These markings are very in- distinct.
4. — Is generally quite obsolete, and only indicated by a light shade. Some distinctly marked specimens, have a portion of it, from the inner margin, just showing the first dash. I know of two specimens having the line almost entire.
5. — These spots form almost a complete line which is densest near the base, and again about the centre of the costa.
6. — Posterior wings marked with 6. — These lines entirely wanting, two wavy lines.
To summarise from the above, and looking at a long series each of muralis and impar, the specimens of impar will look much darker and not so decidedly varied in colour, blue-grey, rather than green, as in muralis, the latter looking smooth and neat by the side of impar, the thick, loose look of which is caused by the scattering of black scales (not ferruginous as is the case with muralis var. par, Hb.).
It is not at all necessary to describe either of the sub- varieties of impar as the type, nor is it found quite practicable to give the right of precedence to the most frequent form. In the following table I have adopted the method of commencing with the form which most nearly resembles a form of muralis, though by no means the type form of muralis. At the same time, it happens to be the rarest form of impar I have taken.
a. — A sub- var. nearly resembling muralis var. par. Hb., as described in * British Noctuae and their Varieties,' vol. i., pp. 9-10 ; but the grey ground colour is not so strongly tinged with green, and the markings are not so red. This sub- var. is that in which impar approaches most nearly to muralis.
p. — A sub-var. in which the ground colour is greyish-white, covered with black scales, and with the usual black markings ; the subterminal line however, obsolete, or indicated only by a light shade. This var. corresponds with muralis var. pallida, Tutt (' British Noctu89 and their Varieties,' vol. i., p. 10), but the]scattered black scales render it distinct.
y. — This sub-var., in which the ground colour is dark blue-grey, very thickly covered with black scales, and having the shade surrounding
88 VABIKTIBS OF NOOTUiE
the orbicular stigma conspicuously black, is the most striking of all the varieties, and finds no parallel in coast muralis*
8. — A sub-var. with the ground colour grassy-green, with the usual black scattered scales and mirkings, but the subterminal line only represented by a pale shade.
e. — This sub-var. has the ground colour of a dull brownish -green, and the markings etc., the same as in the preceding.
As is the case with muralis vars., there are intermediate or modified forms of most of the above. So far as I can ascertain, impar is taken nowhere but at Cambridge, where it is anything but common" {in. litt.^ 29, 8, '92). Respecting this, I would only add that Mr. Farren seems to have overlooked the Cork locality.
Moma, Hb., orion, Esp.
Vol. i., p. 11. — Moma orion. — This species has its name, orion, changed by Sven Lam pa to alpium, Osbeck, * Gotheb. Vet. o. Vitt. Samb. Handl.', p. 52; pi. i., fig. 2, a (larv.), b. (f jaril.) 1778. This change illustrates well the futility of agitating at present for a fixed specific nomenclature. In the present condition of our knowledge, and whilst the " order of priority " is to be maintained, the works of authors which are practically unknown outside their own country, must be, and will have in future to be taken into account, and this will necessitate con- stant change, which will be gradually lessened as years go on, until a fixed specific nomenclature can be successfully dealt with. Personally, I fail to see the use of changing a well-known name like orion to alpium, and should like to see a rule agreed to by the leading ento- mologists of all countries, not to alter a well-known name without some very special reason ; but whilst our Museum authorities and many other writers on entomological subjects, fight for the hard and fast lines of " priority," little can be hoped for in this direction. With generic nomenclature, there can never be stability. A " stable " system in genera would mean a '* stagnant " condition of entomology in general ; and whilst genera show relationships and affinities, as they should do, every advance and new discovery in this direction will mean re-creation of new genera, and the re-arrangement of old ones.
Vol. i., p. 12. — Moma orion. — Oberthiir records this species in his * Lepidopterous Fauna of the Isle of Askold,' and states that it is of "• a similar type but a little smaller than specimens from the West of France " (' Etudes d' entomologie,' v., p. 68).
Vol. i., p. 12. — Moma orion var. runica, Haw. — Ha worth's original description of var. runica is as follows : — " Noctua alis Igete perviridibus lituris numerosis nigris albo adnatis, striga marginali ex punctis trigonis extrorsum cuspidatis, abdomine graciliori." " Expansio alarum 1 unc. 5 lin. Prsecedenti similis at valde distincta. Minor, abdomine fusco graciliori magisque cristato. LituraB nigrse alarum longe grossiores, atque diversse, striga tantum unica in ipso margine postico, expunctis magis trigonis quam sagittatis, extrort^ura, nee introrsum cuspidatis. Alae posticEe fere nigrfse punctis parvis albis ad angulum ani ; ciliis itidem albis ordine notarum fuscarum " (' Lepidoptera Britannica,).'
* This corresponds to a certain extent to var. suffusa of perla (ante. Vol. i., p. 8), and is, in my opinion, the form most distinct from muralis that impar reaches.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 89
Bisulcia, Chpmn., ligustri, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 12. — Blsulcia ligustri ab. sundevaUi, Lampa. — This variety is described by Lampa as : — " Framvingarne sakna hvita flackar " (' Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1883, p. 50). This variety will therefore fall before Haworth's var. coronula which is a very much older name.
Cuspidia, Chpmn., megacephala, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 15, line 3 from bottom. — For megacephalo read megacephala.
Cuspidia, Chpmn., strigosa, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 16. — Cuspidia strigosa var. hryophiloides, Hormuzaki. — This small dark variety was first described by Mons. C. v. Hormuzaki of Czernowitz, and a comparison made with the type, as follows : — " On the 20th of June, 1884:, I found here in Czernowitz, on a garden plank, a freshly emerged specimen of Acronyda strigosa, which differed so remarkably from the ordinary type, that it appeared to be worth while to give this variety special consideration. The type is not par- ticularly common with us. I frequently meet with them here in gardens in June and the beginning of July, and in the mountains until the end of July, settled on trunks of trees, planks, and similar objects. In the evening they also fly to the lamplight. All my examples generally agree pretty well with each other and with specimens from Germany ; indeed, strigosa is one of those species which rarely vary in size, wing- form, colour or markings, on which account I have made the following description.
Var. bryophiloides differs from the type, in the first place by its small size. Those of my typical specimeuvs before referred to, give an average measurement of 2y mm., vory few examples reaching below this (my smallest specimen measures 28'5 mm., the largest being 31 mm.), whilst var. bryophiloides scarcely reaches a wing measurement of 25 mm. The fore wing is also strikingly narrower, measuring only 5 mm. in var. bryophiloidts. The inner edge of the hind wing is darker, and this makes them appear longer. The head, antennae, thorax etc. are of a dark brownish and ashy-grey coloration, the same coloration in strigosa, which is only noticeable on the inner edge of the front wing, around the arrow-like mark. These dark ground colours spread out in the var. bryophiloides over the front wings, the inner half of which is not at all a clear white mixture as one sees in stri- gosa, also on the inner borders of the two transverse lines, and more especially in that part of the wing between the elbowed line and the reniform ^tigma as well as towards the outer margin. The orbicular is also dark grey, whilst in strigosa it is pale, often with a dark centre. There is also a darkening on the inner margin, at the base of the fore wings, and also between the reniform and orbicular stigma. The reniform and orbicular are much obliterated, one having only the con- vex side of the reniform and represented by a fine black semi-circle, with a slight yellow projection as in strigosa, but much darker and less distinct. The elbowed line is represented by three small indistinct black points, one of which is on the costal edge, the second in the centre, the third in the second cell. These points are the only rem- nants of the conspicuous, black, zigzag elbowed line, bordered internally
90 VARIETIES OF NOOTUiE
with white found in strigosa. The black arrow-mark near the root of the wing is only represented by two small black spots. The second and third arrow-marks between the outside transverse lines and the mar- gin are as in the type. The outside transverse line is of the same shape as in strigosa, but is very fine, black, edged interiorly and indis- tinctly with light grey (not white), and approaches the margin very much. On the margin a row of black points as in the type, and at the inner edge of the base of the fore wing is an indistinct longitudinal yellowish -brown spot. The hind wings agree in their markings with strigosa, but they are darker, and the transverse line and lunule are very indistinct.
As a whole then, the variety will be remembered by its smaller size, by the slender body, by the long narrow wings, by its dark coloration, the partial obliteration of the markings of the fore wings, the reduction of the two outer arrow-like marks and of the one near the base of the wing to dots. These points resemble very much the well-known Bryophilid species (raptricula or receptricula). It appears to be at any rate the smallest Acronycta known " (' Entomologische Nachrichten,' vol. xvii., pp. 145-147).
Viminia, Chpmn., euphorhice, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 25. — Viminia euphorhice var. montivaga. — Dr. Chapman has bred this year a very fine specimen of this variety from a larva picked up in the Pyrenees last August. This he has kindly given to me. It is not at all unlike some of our paler specimens of myricce from Scotland, especially some of the males from Aberdeen, the males there usually showing more distinct white markings than the females. Mons. Oberthiir also records " var. montivaga from Cauterets, taken in July, 1883" ('Etudes d' entomologie,' viii., p. 47).
Vol. i., p. 25. — Viminia evphorhice vars. montivaga, Gn. and myricce, Gn. — Dr. Staudinger unexpectedly reports this variety from Central Asia, for as a rule the specimens from that district are paler
in colour than is general on the Continent of Europe. He writes :
"Three specimens from the Saisan district (probably Tarbogatai) which I can only conclude to be a much smaller, darker, variety with montivaga, Gn. or myricce, Gn. etc. One of the Saisan specimens has the ground colour of the fore wings greyish-black with entirely obsolete markings, whilst in the other specimens, pale grey transverse lines and the stigmata are observable" ('Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlii., p. 409).
Viminia euphorhice var. ohscura, Strom. — In the * Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1885, p. 50, we find: — ^^ Euphorhice var. ohscura, Strom, * Dansk. Vid. Selsk. Skr.,' 1783, p. 79 ( ? montivaga, Gn. i., 57). Morkare." I have not seen Scandinavian specimens of euphorhice, but I should assume that they would closely resemble, if not, be actually identical with our Scotch and Irish race, myricce. The var. montivaga is characteristic of the South and Central European mountains, but the Scandinavian specimens would, I should consider, conform more to our British type. This is the case in the local vars. of Agrotis candelarum, and other species. However this may be, Strom's old name ohscura will replace one of Guenee's more modern names — montivaga or myricce, dependent, of course, with which form ohscura is really identical.
IK THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 91
Vol. i., p. 25. — Viminia euphorbice var. myricce, Gn. — In vol. i., p. 25, I said : — " It is useless to redescribe a species which is in all our collections," &c. I have since then been most careful to give in every possible instance the earliest recognised description of each species and described form and, therefore, now add Guenee's original description. He writes : — " This has the shape and is of the size of euphrasice. The superior wings are distinctly more prolonged at the apex, or, if one prefers it, the outer margin is cut more obliquely, of a deep, dark, and uniform greyish tint strongly powdered, and with the mark- ings black. The median lines very distinct, that of the lunules of the elbowed line, which is placed below the 4th inferior, tending to form a small annular spot. The ordinary stigmata well marked, the orbicular always smaller in the male. The fringe strongly intersected, and having the lower half concolorous with the wing. The inferior wings of a white, which is slightly tinged with violet ; the nervures and the small terminal dots blackish. Their undersides have a cellular dot and the commencement of a transverse line near the edge. The $ is altogether similar in the superior wings, but the inferior wings are of a dark, uniform greyish-black, with white fringes " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 59). Guenee then further adds: — "This pretty Acronycta appears to me very distinct from its neighbours. I do not think that it is referable to the ahscondita of certain authors, although it appears at first sight to have many characters common with it. It is found in marshy places, principally in the county of Perth. Its larva feeds on Myrica gale and Salix caprcea " (I.e.).
Viminia, Chpmn., rumieis, L.
Vol. i., p. 25. — Viminia rumieis var. turanica, Stdgr. — Of this form from Central Asia, Dr. Staudinger writes : — " Aeronyeta rumieis var. turanica, Stdgr. I have received this species in quantity from almost all Central Asiatic localities from which I have received insects, particularly, however, from Margelan, Samarkand and Osch. A specimen was captured on the 15th March and another on the 10th of August, so that there appears to be two generations. I believe it to agree with rumieis although larger (83-40 mm.), and directly pointing out turanica simply as a pale local form of the first degree. Par- ticularly striking about turaniea are the almost entirely white hind wings only having a faint, almost obsoletely marked blackish-grey band, generally just before the outer margin. In a female from Margelan it is tolerably grey even in the inner part of the wing, and specimens from Saisan form, with regard to the hind wings, good intermediates between rumieis and turaniea. The latter (turaniea) has also considerably lighter grey fore wings mixed with blackish, although I received a single female in which an almost entirely greyish-black tone, similar to that which occurs now and again in rumieis, prevailed, only in this specimen, not of so dark a black and being at the same time, powdered with paler scales. The markings (transverse lines and stigmata) are almost similar although certainly rather modified from those of rumieis. The outer transverse line is in turaniea generally not so sharply or distinctly toothed, although specimens exhibit precisely the same sharp dentate character of rumieis. That the white spot at the lower end of this transverse line is not so strongly developed and marked in the pale turaniea compared with
92 VARIETIICS OF NOCTUiE
that in the dark rumicis, follows as a matter of course. In the same way also the undersides of all the wings of turamca are paler, whilst the dark central spot of the hind wings stands out distinctly. Acronycta rumicis is one of the species, which, like so many others, tends to become paler in Central Asia than in Europe " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung, vol. xlix., p. 65). If this, therefore, be the turanica mentioned in vol. i., p. 15 which was there referred on Mr. Dobree's determination as a pale var. of menyanthidis, it would appear that Dr. Staudinger and Mr. Dobree differ in opinion as to which species turanica really belongs. I have never seen Central Asiatic specimens, so cannot judge. That rumicis, however, is occasionally of an almost pure white ground colour even in England is certain, for I have long had a specimen in my cabinet which I was unable to refer to either of our British species, but which I have now practically determined to be rumicis.
Viminia, Chpmn., albovenosa, Goze.
Vol. i., p. 28. — Viminia albovenosa. — The original description of this species is as follows : — " Phalcena with filiform antenna?, with robust, grey, tent-like wings, of which the nervures are of a whitish- grey " (' Entomologische Beitrage,' iii., 8, p. 251). AVerneburg also refers the figure in De Geer's ' Memoires des Insectes,' ii., which reference Goze quotes, to Borkhausen's venosa.
Vol. i., p. 28. — Viminia albovenosa. — The American species known as Arsilonche henrici, Grote, is probably identical with our species albovenosa. This is also credited in Grote's * Check List,' with two varieties fumosum and evanidum. Of these Mr. Grote writes : — " I saw the type of ab. fumosum. It seemed to me to be a small, entirely smoky, dark (almost black) accidental aberration. Whether our American species is really identical or not with albovenosa, I do not positively know. Evanidum. is the form in which the interspacal lines and dashes are almost obliterated in the fore wings. Morrison says ' the most common form.' Henrici has the streaky lines and dashes very plain. Probably the two species are the same. Probably also henrici = degener, and evanidum — type form, vide, Tutt, * British Noctase ' &c., vol. i., p. 28" (in lilt., July, 1892).
Vol. i., p. 28. — V. albovenosa var. ochracea. — I find that this dark reddish-ochreous form belongs essentially to the brood which emerges in the early spring, the great mass of this brood consisting, however, of the typical form. Such a specimen would scarcely ever appear to occur among the autumnal emergences. On the other hand var. albida (var. argentea, Tutt), occurs only in the second brood, the great mass of this latter emergence being of the form known as degener, Hb. The species, therefore, shows decided seasonal variation, the spring brood being more ochreous, the autumn brood, whiter in tint.
Vol. i., p. 28. — Viminia albovenosa var. murina, Auriv. — In the
* Entomologisk Tidskrift,' for 1880, Professor Aurivillius described the varieties of this species. His paper, at the time I wrote vol. i., of this work, was quite unknown to me, and I find that I had been forestalled in my var. argentea. The type he describes as var. jS, flavida (I.e. p. 3h), the latter name being sunk (as representing the type) in the
* Entomologisk Tidskrift ' for 1885, p. 48). His var. murina, however,
tii Tiift BRitlSfl ISLAi^DS. 93
the ground colour of whicli is described as ^^grabrun" (I.e.) comes near my var. ochracea, whilst his var. alhida, described as " hvitgra " replaces my var. argentea. Working independently, it is rather suggestive that Professor Aurivillius and myself should select almost the same three forms for description.
Synia, Dup., musculosa, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 29. — Synia musculosa var. myodea, Rbr. — I noted in vol. i., p. 29, that I had been informed that "the data for considering this a variety of muscidosa rested upon a single imperfect specimen captured in Andalusia." I have seen since Eambur's work, and find no such data given. On the contrary, Eambur's figure is evidently drawn from a specimen in good condition and not particularly unlike the type, except that the grey shade above the median nervure is much inten- sified and extended. Unfortunately in the figure the paint has, as is so usual in figures of lepidoptera, changed, and the dark grey parts of the wing have become a dull leaden black colour.
With Rambur's figure before me, I made the following notes : — " The colour of all four wings is of a sulphur-yellow, with brownish nervures. A white longitudinal streak from the base to bej'ond the centre of the wing, runs directl}^ under the median nervure. A blackish* (? dark grey) longitudinal shade, running along the upper side of this white streak, starts also from the base, and extends almost to the apex. Another longitudinal dark streak, much shorter and narrower, is below the white streak. The inner margin is also narrowly blackish. The hind wings have a blackish streak running from the base to the centre of the wing, occupying the central cell, and sending off a branch towards the anal angle. The undersides of the anterior wings show three longitudinal black streaks, whilst the hind wings have the basal area also black ; this black area giving off four forks or branches pointing towards the outer margin, one, running parallel with the upper edge of the wing, two, pointing towards the central part of the hind margin, the fourth, more towards the anal angle " (' Catalogue Systematique des Lepidopteres de 1' Andalousie,' plate vi., fig. 3).
Lettcama, Och., litJiargyria, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 31. — Leucania litJiargyria var. argyritis, Rbr. — This variety was first figured by Rambur, and the notes in vol. i., p. 31, which I have quoted from other sources are essentially correct, although I find by comparison with the original figure, that the specimen men- tioned as having been taken by Mr. Young of Rotherham, is really this variety. The notes I made of Rambur's figure are as follows : — " This variety has the anterior wings of a pale wainscot, almost of a pale fawn colour, without a trace, however, of red. The abbreviated and complete basal lines are faintly marked, although the latter is edged externally with darker, and this becomes more conspicuous than it otherwise would be ; the reniform is pale and lunular in shape, the elbowed line also pale, whilst the nervures are rather darker on the outer margin.
* Whenever « blackish " or " black " is used in this description, probably « dark grey " should be substituted, as the black is evidently due to a change in the original shade, which is now much darker than the artist intended or desired. Otherwise the plates in this work are generally excellent.
&4 VARlUTlfiS Of ttOGHtM
The hind wings are whitish, slightly tinged with ochreous at the base, and a little darker on the outer margin. The nervures are also slightly darker, and there are four distinct small black spots on the nervures " (* Catalogue Systematique des Lepidopteres de V Andalousie,' PI. viii., fig. 2).
Leucania, Och., turca, L.
Vol. i., p. 33. — Leucania turca var. grandis, Btl. — If all the Japanese forms of grandis are to be included under one varietal name, the term will necessarily be a very comprehensive one. Thanks to the courtesy of Mr. Doncaster, I saw a very large consignment of the species from Japan, and must express my doubt as to the wisdom of uniting it specifically with turca as we know it. The great mass of the speci- mens were more or less distinctly yellow-ochreous ; a few were very deeply and richly ferruginous, whilst scarcely a specimen was of the shade of our British specimens. There appears to be no distinct character by means of which the two forms may be differentiated, but the two forms are so distinct in superficial general appearance, that one may reasonably express doubt as to their identity.
Leucania, Och., unipuncta, Haw.
Vol. i., p. 33. — Of the nomenclature of this species I wrote some time ago : — " Leucania unipuncta, Haw. r= extranea, Gn. — There seems to be no doubt that the latter name, which is in use in all our books and lists, will have to give way to Haworth's earlier name, Haworth's description (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p, 174, No. 37), is very distinct. He writes: — *Alis rufescentibus seu griseo atomosis lineola obliqua fusca apicis, punctoque minutissimo albo basi stigmatis postici. Stigmata ordinaria fero omnino obliterata.' In Guenee's original description of extranea, which is much longer, the only point of difference is that he lays more stress on the species being more strongly powdered with black scales {vide Guenee's * Noctuelites,' vol. v., pp. 77-78). Anyone who will compare Haworth's description with that of Guenee, or with that in the *' Entomologist,' vol. xxi., p. 138, will, I believe, be at once convinced of their identity. The synonomy should therefore be : —
Leucania unipuncta, Haw., 1803.
extranea, Gn., Newm., Stdgr. (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxv., p. 56).
Leucania, Och., loreyi, Dup.
Vol. i., p. 35. — The original description of this species is as follows : — " This Noctua resembles pallens in shape and size. Its superior wings above are also of the same colour and striated very finely between the nervures ; but they differ in that this species has a white triangular dot placed in the middle of a brown longitudinal dash which starts from the base, and, gradually rising, crosses the wing almost to the apex, losing itself in the reddish tint of the outer edge. A small black dot is also to be noticed, placed between the white dot just spoken of and the corselet of the thorax, as well as a row of in- distinctly marked red dots parallel with the hind margin. Lastly, the fringe is grey. The inferior wings are as white above as below, with a mother of pearl reflection. The undersides of the fore wings are of a reddish- white and finely dotted on the borders. The head is
IN Hum MRitisn istANDS. 95
red, and the corselet (thoracic crest) of the same colour, with the anterior part cut by two lines and a bluish -grey band. The anteuDse are yellowish and filiform " (' Histoire naturelle ' etc., vol. vii., pp. 81-82).
Mons. Duponchel then goes on to say : — " I believe this species is unknown. It has been sent to me from Provence, by M. le Comte de Saporta, with the following notice : — * It is double-brooded, that is to say, it appears in the spring and in the autumn. The larva is grey, with many broad longitudinal lines of a darker tint. It lives on grass, pupates in the earth, and emerges 15 days after, at least this is so in the case of the autumn emergence. I have named the species after Dr. Lorey of Dijon ' " (I.e.).
Of the fact that loreyi was identical with caricis, Staudinger writes : — " Leucania caricis of Treitschke = L. loreyi of Duponchel. I can scarcely understand how the true Leucania caricis has been so long misunderstood. To begin with, Herrich-Schaffer has figured quite another species, namely, L. scirpi of Duponchel, sub.-fig. 324, 325, as caricis of Treitschke, and described it at p. 231 ; but this error he has subsequently corrected. Guenee also does not know what to do with L. caricis of Treitschke, and refers it (i., p. 80), with a query, to L. putrescens of Hubner, 730-731. In most collections, as well as in my own, a small paler coloured punctosa of Treitschke has hitherto been standing as the caricis of that author, because they were sent to us with this name, especially from Montpellier. I have never been able to find a difference between this and punctosa, which, indeed, does not exist. In Herr Lederer's collection I found as caricis the Leucania zece of Duponchel, and indeed there everywhere appeared the greatest confusion concerning the Leucania caricis of Treitschke. Now, in Treitschke's collection there are four splendid specimens of L. loreyi of Duponchel, as Treitschke's caricis, and everybody possessing the true loreyi of Duponchel will find, when reading the Treitschkian description (vol x., pt. 2, p. 91), that it applies to it extremely well, and that therefore it must now be loreyi, Dup., vii., 1, p. 81, pi. 1,057, (1827), caricis, Tr., x., 2, p. 91 (1835). This species occurs every- where in the most southern part of Europe; I possess it from Montpellier, Sardinia, Granada, Malaga and the Canaries. Dahl found it in iSicily, and E. v. Frivaldszky has obtained it from Crete as the caricis of Treitschke " (Muller, from ' The Stettiner Ent. Zeitung,' 1869, vide, * Entomologist,' vol. v., p. 46).
Leucania, Och., brevilinea, Eenn.
Vol. i., p. 37. — Leucania brevilinea. — The original description and notes made by Mr. Fenn of this almost entirely British species is as follows : — " Nonagria brevilinea. Alis anticis brunneo-ochraceis, basi medio linea longitudinali brevi nigra, punctis pone medium in serie transversa nigris, margine apicali immaculata ; posticis griseis, punctis transversis vix obsoletis nigris. — Exp. alar. 1" 4'"."
" Fore wings rather sharply angulated at the junction of the costal and hind (apical) margins ; brownish ochreous, witb numerous scat- tered black scales ; a sharply defined short black dash Irom the middle of the base ; a curved row of small black dots reaches from the costa to the inner margin beyond the middle ; apical veins conspicuously paler than the ground colour ; apical margin unspotted.
06 VARlKTlilS OF NOCTij^
Hind wings grey, paler towards the base, a very indistinct transverse row of black dots rather beyond the middle, uniform with those in the fore wings. This insect belongs to the same group as N. neurica, to which it is closely allied. It differs, however, in the following par- ticulars : — the size is somewhat larger, the short black basal dash in the fore wing (which does not reach one-fourth the length of the wing) is represented in N. neurica, by an ill-defined, dark, greyish streak, ex- tending to the middle of the wing, and in the latter species there are several conspicuous black dots near the base, towards the costa, of which there is no trace in N. hrevilinea. In N. neurica the apical margin in all the wings is plainly spotted with black ; in the species under consideration, this margin is perfectly immaculate, and as an im- portant character, I may mention that the apical margin in JV. neurica is more rounded. In the hind wings an indistinct lunule, present in N. neurica, is not found in N. hrevilinea. The antennas are darker, and the apex of the abdomen in the male is provided with larger curved appendages " ( * Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. i., p. 107).
Tapinostola, Ld., elymiy Tr. Vol. i., p. 43. — For Tapinostola, Och. read Tapinostola, Ld.
Vol. i., p. 43. — Tapinostola elymi, var. — Mons. Oberthiir de- scribes and figures a form of this species from the Isle d' Askold, which has a row of black spots in the nervures of the superior wings. He writes of it : — "I have figured, PI. ix., fig. 2, of this vol. of the * Etudes d'entomologie,' an example of T. elymi, taken at Askold on the 22nd July, 1878, distinguished from the ordinary type from the shores of the Baltic Sea, by having a row of small black spots on the nervures of the inferior wings. The type from Askold seems also more slender and of a less robust appearance than those from Prussia" ('Etudes d'en- tomologie,' v., p. 71). The figure shows a row of dots not only on the inferior, but also on the superior wings.
Tapinostola, Ld., concolor, Gn. Vol. i., p. 46. — For Tapinostola, Och., read Tapinostola, Ld.
Chortodes, St., extrema, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 47. — Chortodes extrema = C. bondii(?) — It appears that the question of the identity of Hiibner's extrema, that is of the actual speci- men apart from fig. 412, with 6o?i J// was suggested many years ago by Dr. Knaggs. Mr. Doubleday then sent specimens of hondii to Professor Zeller, who wrote concerning them : — " After an examination of the figures and descriptions, I cannot suppose hondii to be the extrema of Hiibner. Treitschke (* Die k^chmet.' etc., vol. v., pt. 2, p. 316), who saw the originals, says that the cilia, though too darkly coloured, are really dark, as if singed, and adds, that in the least marked specimens there is always a dark dot in the outer (posterior or anterior) margin, which is visible on the outside. Moreover, the whole underside is white, sparingly dusted in the intervals of the prominent veins. I hope that when I am at Vienna I shall see the specimens in the Museum, and be able to inform you of the real difference of these two species."
Mr. Doubleday then added : — " I am rather surprised that these remarks of Treitschke were not quoted by Dr. Knaggs, as, if the
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 97
specimens examined were the true extrema of Hiibner, it is quite cer- tain that hondii is a distinct species. Lederer refers Herrich-SchafPer's figure 336 to hellmanni without any mark of doubt, and 337 to extrema, Hiib. ; but if the above-quoted remarks of Treitschke be correct, it cannot possibly represent this species. I believe it was taken from a female concolor, but I do not think this species has occurred on the Continent, unless the specimens which Lederer captured some years since in a marsh near Vienna were concolor. In July 1843, I took several concolor to Paris, and the late M. Pierret, to whom I gave them, said it was a species unknown to him, but was probably the extrema of Hiibner. In 1844, the late M. Becker had specimens from me, and as he sent many species which he procured in England to Herrich-Schaffer, I think it very probable that his figure 337 was taken from one of my specimens " (' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. iii., p. 257).
What a pleasure it would be to relegate such a name as extrema to oblivion. The figure looks like hondii. Treitschke who saw the original specimens, says that Hiibner's figure agrees with them. Zeller says that he does not consider that extrema represents hondii. Doubleday says that Herrich-Schaffer's extrema was probably figured from one of our British concolor. Ochsenheimer made extrema the female oifulva, and had, Staudinger avers, a ^ fulva and a concolor above the label in his collection. Staudinger referred extrema to concolor in the * Stettiner entom. Zeitung ' for 1869, but after he had seen what is supposed to be the specimen actually figured by Hiibner, with its dark cilia, he wrote, not that it was identical with concolor, but that " it came nearest to a whitish female concolor, Gn., but certainly with blackish cilia," so that he, himself, was evidently not then quite satisfied even with the actual specimen under his eye, although from his * Catalog,' 1871, he became certain after. It appears certain that when exact nomen- clature is to be satisfied, the name extrema, with all its uncertainties and differences of opinion, will have to disappear altogether from our lists, as synonymous neither with hondii nor concolor, so much uncertainty is connected with it, whilst the undoubted identity of morrisii, Dale with hondii, Knaggs, will throw the latter name also out of the lists, the two species standing respectively as : —
Tapinostola concolor, Gn. extrema, Hb. ? Chortodes morrisii. Dale. hondii, Knaggs, extrema, Hb. ?
It will be well, perhaps, for the use of future readers, to quote in full Mr. Stainton's translation of Dr. Staudinger's article on the subject, as references are not always easily made in magazines as years pass by. Dr. Staudinger writes : — " Tapinostola extrema, Hb., fig. 412. — That we have had this somewhat puzzling species standing in our collections under another name, has long been tolerably evident to me. Hiibner's figure 412 must, at any rate, have been made from an abnormal specimen, since a perfectly white Noctua with black cilia to the anterior wings has probably never been found. It was just possible that the English Noctua — hondii, might be the true extrema of Hiibner, since that species in the coloration and spots of the anterior
G
98 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
wings agrees very fairly with HUbner's figure, and sometimes shows even a dark shade before the cilia which the colourer might by mistake have transferred to the pale cilia themselves.* But since according to Treitschke, vol. v., pt. 2, p. 315, Hiibner's extremaf has lately been added to nearly all the larger collections from the neighbourhood of the Rhine and the Main, and hondii has hitherto only been taken in the South of England and on Mount Parnassus, it became highly im- probable, independently of its slighter form, that it could be the extrema of Hiibner. According to this statement made by Treitschke, it was evident that this extrema must be a species occurring with us in Germany, and probably existing in our larger collections. Now Guenee has in the 1st volume of his * Noctuse ' at p. 103 (* Noctuelites ' &c., vol. v., p. 103), described a new species from England, which in my • Catalogue ' of 1861, at p. 46, I referred to extrema^ Hb., but without assigning any reason for this step, nor at that time indeed could I have done so, so that the union of the two, especially considering Hiibner's fig. 412, must have appeared very venturesome. Guenee, in good truth, looking at Hiibner's figure could not suspect % in it his English species, and therefore described it as new under the name * concolor.' This English species, which, since the draining of the fens, where it formerly occurred, has not been met with in England for many years || has now been found, as I learn on good authority, near Berlin, in Silesia, near Vienna and in Hungary. There seems, therefore, no doubt that it frequents all similar marshy localities, consequently would be found at the Khine and the Main, whence Treitschke obtained it, unless there also the marshy ground has been drained. Now what did I find in Treitschke's collection with the name extrema ? Two indubitable specimens of concolor. In Ochsenheiiiier's collection were two old, bad specimens, the upper one being a ^ fulva, Hb., the lower one, in very bad condition, seemed tolerably surely to be Guenee's concolor ; the label written by Ochsenheimer himself, stands thus : —
' Fulva, Hb., ^. Extrema, Hb., $ .'
" This agrees precisely with what Ochsenheimer says in his vol. iv., p. 82, and which Treitschke, vol. v., p. 313, takes for an error. Treitschke hardly appears to have known the red form of Tap. Jiuxa, the fuUa of Hiibner, and it is quite a matter of indifference whether in Hiibner's fig. 413, he sees a ^ or a $ , since to my fancy this figure is incorrect, and does not suit either for flyxa or fuloa, of which last name Hiibner has given -an excellent representation at fig. 496. Since amongst hundreds of fliixa and fulva, I never saw a specimen with per-
* This was exactly my view formed independently and without having seen this article.
tThat is, a species called by collectors extrema, and which Staudinger further on says were concolor, Gn.
J Just so! If Staudinger agrees that "Guenee, in good truth, looking at Hiibner's figure could not suspect in it his concolor," and if the real specimen is as Dr. Staudinger avers " almost precisely like Hiibner's figure, why does he combine the two, except that the German collectors were then obtaining concolor and calling it, collector-fashion, extrema ?
II It has, of course, been taken in comparative plenty the last few years by Capt. Vipan, and an odd specimen was captured in Essex, by Mr. Mera, in 1891.
IN THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 99
ceptible reniform stigmata, such as Hiibner's figure 413 decidedly shews, I would rather consider it as a variety of a red hellmanni, which always shows the reniform stigma, and which species is now found not uncommonly near Berlin, Brunswick, in Silesia, &c. Yet Hiibner's figure is too bad to allow of our imposing his name /ttxa on our present hellmanni. But at all events, we may now without hesitation under- sttind by the extrema of Hubner, the concolor of Guende, a species which appears to vary very much, and probably only when worn or faded occurs as white as Hiibner's figure or Herrich-SchafFer's fig. 337, of which colour I have a wasted ^ . On the other hand, my ? which is quite fine, is yellowish (bone-coloured), somewhat powdered with grey, just as Guen^e describes it. As, through the kindness of Mr. Henry Doubleday, I have also had typical specimens of concolor here for comparison, there can be no doubt about the identities of my species. After I had written the above, my friend A. Kogenhofer, Gustos of the Imperial Museum at Vienna, on the occasion of the Naturforscher Versammlung here, brought me the extrema from the Museum collection. This specimen came out of Mazzola's collection, and there seems no reason to doubt that it is the original specimen figured by Hiibner (fig. 412). It is nearest to a whitish female concolor, Gn., but certainly with blackish cilia, almost precisely like Hiibner's figure. My friend Rogenhofer had the notion that the creature whilst drying its wings &c., came against some sooty object, and if I am not mistaken, Professor Zeller, who had previously examined the insect at Vienna, was of the same opinion. But, under the microscope, I could find no dark extraneous atoms (only dust) on the scales ; indeed it rather appeared to me that a great many of the scales in the cilia and near the hind margin had naturally a dark edging. Quite recently I obtained a ^ Notodonta hicolora, of which the white of the anterior wings was almost unclouded, but the posterior wings had the cilia and hind margin coloured blackish, which shows indubitably that this, though very rarely, may sometimes occur naturally in pale coloured insects. At any rate, this Hiibnerian extrema should induce all young lepidopterists to write in their copy books — In closely allied species don't describe or figure from a solitary specimen " (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. vii., pp. 34-36).
It will be here noticed that after Dr. Staudinger had seen the specimen which was probably the one figured, he does, not use such positive terms as before, and without stating that the specimen in question was Guenee's cowcoZor, says that "it is nearest to a whitish female concolor." Just previously he has written that " concolor, Gn., only when worn or faded occurs as white as Hiibner's figure," but it can hardly be supposed that Hiibner's specimen was wasted, as the per- fection of the blackish cilia have been the cause of so much trouble. However, I would still suggest that the name extrema is so uncertain and unsatisfactory that it should be thrown out altogether.
Chortodes, St., morrisii, Dale.
Vol. i., p. 47. — Chortodes morrisii. — This certainly is not a pale variety of arcuosa as previously suggested to me by Mr. Dale. The original description and notes relating to morrisii, copied from Humphrey and Westwood are as follows : — " Acosmetia morrisii. Dale (* Naturalist,' vol. ii., p. 88 and Errata). * This species measures about
100 VARIETIES OP NOCTUJE
an inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which, as well as the hind wings and body, are entirely of a pale whitish straw-colour ; the costa of the fore wings slightly brownish.' Named by Mr. Dale after the Kev. F. T. Morris, who discovered it. It has been taken several times on the East Sea Cliff, Charmouth, Dorset, at the beginning of July. We are indebted to Beverley K. Morris, Esq., for the loan of two specimens, differing somewhat in size " (* British Moths,' p. 243 ; PI. liv., fig. 12). There is no doubt whatever, that the figurein Humphrey and Westwood just quoted, is that of Chortodes hondii, and that morrisii is not a variety of C. arcuosa as suggested to me by Mr. Dale, and so stated in vol. i., p. 47. The probability of this being identical with hondii, on an examination of Humphrey and Westwood's figure, the hind wings of which are strikingly those of hondii, was immediately strengthened by the knowledge that Mr. Tugwell had previously re- corded hondii from Lyme Kegis, a few miles from Charmouth, where the typical specimens of morrisii were captured by Mr. Morris. I wrote to Mr. Tugwell, asking him about the probability of hondii occurring at Charmouth, and he wrote : — " The locality for hondii at Lyme Regis is, I believe, about 10 miles as the crow flies from Charmouth, but from what I saw of the coast line, I should judge that hondii might occur in many places between the two towns. I only worked the Devonshire side of Lyme Regis, but found it in plenty there " {in. litt.f 18-7-92). This, therefore, helps to support my determination of Humphrey and Westwood's figure, and morrisii will have to be struck out as a variety of arcuosa and added as a synonym of hondii, which name it will re- place * if extrema be not generally accepted for this species, as morrisii is much anterior to hondii. There can be no doubt that Humphrey and Westwood's figure is made from indubitable morrim, for the specimens figured were sent by Mr. Beverley Morris from tlie collection of the Rev. F. T. Morris, the original captor. It has always appeared strange to me, that so common a species as hondii has since proved itself to be in its favoured localities, should have been quite unknown to our older collectors who met with many of our much rarer species.
With regard to the occurrence of hondii in the neighbourhood from whence the original morrisii came, Mr. Gross writes : — " Although probably most lepidopterists are aware that T. hondii is to be found in the neighbourhood of Lyme Kegis, I do not think the occurrence of this species in Devonshire has been noticed in this magazine. As the species is so extremely local, not only in this country but on the Con- tinent of Europe, it may be as well to recordthefactof my finding it in abundance, in the beginning of July last, on the rough broken ground forming the slopes of the cliffs immediately to the west of the cement works at Lyme Regis, well into Devonshire. It may be worth noting, that of the only two localities in this country from which this species has yet been obtained, one is in the South-east of Devon, and the other in the South-east of Kent " (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xvii., p. 134) ; whilst the Editors of the ' Ent. Mo. Mag.' note at the same time that the species was first discovered at Lyme Regis by Mr. Wormald, and noticed in the * Zoologist,' vol. xxi., p. 8861.
Gcenohia, Stphs., rufa, Haw. Vol. i., p. 48. — Of the nomenclature of this species I wrote some
♦Independently of Mr. Dale's description, the figure and description in Humphrey and Westwood is much anterior to Knaggs' name.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 101
time ago: — " Ccenohia ni/ajHaw. = cZesjoeda, Treit., Hb.-Geyer. — Tn Stainton's * Manual ' and the * Doubleday List ', this species is known as despecta. In Newman's * British Moths,' and Staudinger's * Catalog ' it is called rufa. Mr. South in ' The Entomologist List,' has followed the latter ; whilst Guenee in his * Noctuelites,' uses despecta, giving Haworth's rufa as a synonym with doubt. Mr. Kobson, in the list he has published in the * Young Naturalist,' appears to have followed Guen^e's synonymy. The description of Haworth's rufa (* Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 260) is as follows : — < Alls oblongis ciliisque rufis uni- coloribus ; posticis ciliisque pallidis striga medio macularum obscurarum.' I consider this a good description of the insect we get. Haworth then goes on : — * caput inter antennas album.' I have a very long series, and this statement can readily be verified if one turns the drawer round with the heads of the insects towards one, and looks down the series from top to bottom. The head is * between the antennas ' decidedly ' white.' Haworth then continues : — * Lingua et palpi Noctuarum, potius quam Bombycum,' of which I suppose its position in our classification is a sufficient proof. Comparing it with lutescensj a variety of Acosmetia caliginosa, Haworth goes on to say : —' Corpus paulo gracilius quam in ultimo (lutescens) etalas magis oblongae.' Both lutescens and rufa are slender-bodied Nocture, and were formerly by our older British authors, classified together in the genus Acosmetia.
There is no doubt, I think, that the synonymy should stand as : — rufa, Haw. 1803, Newm., Stdgr. despecta, Tr., Hb.-Gey., Sta., Guenee." (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxv., pp. 55-56).
Senta, St., maritima, Tausch.
Vol. i., p. 48. — Senta maritima. — The original description of this species is as follows : — " Noctua laevis alis incumbentibus, anticis cinerascentibus, postice serie strigularum, obsolete in quarum lunulis- que marginalibus, albo in quoque variis " (* Memoires de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou,' 1806, p. 178).
Vol. i., p. 49. — Senta maritima var. hipunctata, Haw. — Haworth's original description of this variety, which he classified as a Tortrix, is as follows : — " Tortrix hipunctata ? (The Wainscot Tortrix) alis canes- centibus punctis duobus, strigaque humerali atris. Statura fere T. heracleana, Linn." (' Trans. Ent. Soc. London,' 1812, p. 337).
Nonagria, Och., neurica, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 50. — Nonagria neurica var. dissoliita, Tr.-— Treitschke was one of the first to unite typical neurica with the dark var. dissoluta as Hiibner had originally done. Hiibner called the pale form neurica in his fig. 381, he also considered the dark form the same species, as he named his figures of that form (figs. 659-660) also neurica. Consider- able discussion appears to have occurred as to their identity or other- wise, and Treitschke then wrote : — " Ochsenheimer has mentioned and referred to Hiibner's neurica, and understood by it, the var. of a rushy colour without markings on the underside, of which there are a few examples under this name in Mazzola's collection, and which came from the Ehine district. Later, we received from the same place a much darker moth, marked on the underside, under the name of N. dissoluta.
102 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
It tallied exactly with Hiibner's figs. 659-661. I was assured that Hiibner had only repeated the name neurica in error, as dissoluta should have been placed under the figures. Several consignments received since have proved that Hiibner was undoubtedly right to designate all the specimens dark or light on the upper side and black on the under- side as neurica, as they all belong together, and are united by inter- mediate and closely alike forms, and thus confirm what has already been said about them " (* Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 2, pp. 319-321).
With regard to the synonomy of this species (neurica) I wrote some time ago : — " Nonagria neurica, Hb. = arundineta, Schmidt. — In Stainton's * Manual,' vol. i., p. 193, we find the Norfolk and Cambridge Nonagria in question, described under the name of neurica. In Newman's * British Moths,' it is described under the name of arundineta. Dr. Staudinger in his ^Catalog,' 1871, separates neurica, Hb. specifi- cally from arundineta, Schmidt, and refers our British specimens to arundineta, which he treats as a variety of Treitschke's dark form dissoluta. 1 have been lately working at Hiibner, and there is not the remotest doubt that our paler British specimens are identical with Hiibner's figure 381, neurica. Some of the specimens sent to me by Mr. Warren are exactly like his figure, except in colour, which is dull brown and not reddish as in our forms, but there can be no doubt about its being our insect in its palest forms. Schmidt discriminates between his arundineta and Hiibner's neurica as being * more robust ' (a vague difference it seems to me), and ' the underside spotted in iieurica ' (i.e., with a central spot on each wing). As Hiibner only figures the upper- side, I do not see that this distinction would hold ; and I find that our palest specimens have practically no central spots on the undersides, but that these spots, which are absent in the pale forms, gradually in- crease in intensity with the depth of colour on the upper surface. He also gives different dates for the appearance of his arundineta ; but Mr. Warren (* Ent. Mo. Mag.,' vol. xxii., p. 256) shows that neurica in Norfolk, is a fortnight earlier than the same species in Cambridge. I believe the dark form (dissoluta) used to occur in the Norfolk and Cambridge Fens, but Dr. Staudinger himself groups arundineta, Schmidt with dissoluta, Treitschke, and our species now gives us both neurica, Hb. and arundineta, Schmidt. There can be no doubt, there- fore, that the synonymy should stand : —
Nonagria neurica, Hb., Sta. var. dissoluta, Treitschke. var. arundineta, Schmidt." ('Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxv., pp. 56-57). I have since been informed by Mr. Warren that the dark specimens were not taken in " the Norfolk and Cambridge Fens " but in Yaxley Fen.
It is well to follow out the reasoning that led to Staudinger keeping neurica diatinct as a species from dissoluta and var. arundineta which he united. Muller translated Stau dinger's critical note on this subject in ' The Entomologist,' vol. v., pp. 45-46). He writes : — " Nonagria neurica of Hiibner, N. dissoluta of Treitschke, arundineta of Schmidt. — In Ochsenheimer's collection there is a true neurica (Hiibner, fig. 381) named as such, with a label in his own handwriting.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS, 103
Below it, there is a typical anindineta of Schmidt, with a label whereon is written in Ochsenheimer's handwriting, * An eadem cum praecedente? sub nomine Noctua dissoluta.* In Treitschke's collection there are five specimens, under the label * neurica,* of which the first is neurica of Hubner, 381 ; the second, third and fourth are arundineta, Schmidt, and the fifth is the dark form of neurica * (Hiibner, figs. 659- 661), subsequently hessii of Boisduval, and from this, as well as from what Treitschke says about neurica (vol. v., pt. 2, p. 319), it is strikingly shown that Treitschke threw together the three forms, although Ochsenheimer had previously rightly conjectured the latter to be another species, arundineta (so well distinguished by my friend Schmidt of Wismar, in the ' Stett. ent. Zeit.,' 1858, p. 369, etc.). The name dissoluta must therefore only be retained from the dark form of arundineta (for that only it certainly is), for Hiibner's 659-661, and for hessii, Boisd., as Treitschke, when mentioning this name, means only the dark form. But to act with strict propriety the name dissoluta of Treitschke must be retained as the typical name for the sake of priority ; the name arundineta of Schmidt must be added to it as a variety, although this black dissoluta of Treitschke is now extremely scarce, and has not been found since the death of old Hess. Whether at all, and in what proportion, also the light form of arundineta occurs near Darmstadt, is unknown to me. Near Wismar, Schmidt never found the dark form " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' 1869).
Criticising this note of Staudinger, I wrote as follows : — " In the * Stettiner Zeitung ' for 1869, Dr. Staudinger wrote some notes on this species which were translated by Mr. Albt. MUller, and published, April 1870, in the * Entomologist.' I gather from that note that the synonomy given there was adopted in Dr. Staudinger's * Catalog,' published directly afterwards. This being so, I find that Dr. Staudinger, in his * Catalog,' treats our British specimens as dissoluta, Tr. var. arundineta, Schmidt, as he gives fCngland as a locality for that species, but not for neurica, Hb. In the two English counties, Norfolk and Cambridge, we get a species which has been variously known as neurica, Hb., arundineta, Schmidt and dissoluta, Tr. Dr. Staudinger has, apparently, come to the conclusion that neurica, Hb. is unknown in England, and that it is a species distinct from arundineta, Schmidt. There is no doubt that neurica, Hb., tig. 381, represents a form which occurs in England ; the distinct ocellus so characteristic of Hiibner's fig. 381 is well developed. Our specimens of this form are simply a little redder than Hiibner's figure. Another variety of the same species, taken in England with the form described above {neurica, Hb.), is undoubtedly arundineta, Schmidt. According to Dr. Staudinger's own list we, in England, get arundineta, Schmidt. If so, our arundineta is certainly only a variety of Hiibner's neurica. We
* A footnote is added by Miiller to this name which reads as follows : — " Mr. Doubleday suggests that this name {neuricxn) should be printed arundineti, and that the name neurica has been written by Dr. Staudinger in mistake. In his * Catalog,' dissoluta stands as a variety of arundineti. There is probably a dark form of the true arundineti, but Mr. Doubleday does not know that anyone has found it." To be consistent, it would appear that Staudinger should here replace " neurica " by " arundineta," but Dr. Staudinger's use of neui-ica is quite correct, as the dark specimens, afterwards referred by Staudinger to arundineta, were really called neurica by Hubner.
104 VABIETIBS OF NOOTU^
do not now get dissoluta, Tr., but if this and arundineta are, as Dr. Staudinger and others agree, only varieties of the same species, then arundineta and diswluta are both varieties of Hiibner's neurica, fig. 381. I have no doubt that Dr. Staudinger is wrong in separating these varieties. Certainly Hiibner's neurica and Schmidt's arundineta must be grouped together, and since he himself groups dissoluta with arundineta, it follows that Treitschke was perfectly correct in treating all three forms in his collection as one species, neurica, Hb.
" I should like to offer a few remarks on the principal points of difference relied on by Schmidt, * Stettiner Zeitung,' 1858, p. 367. He writes : — * The difference . . . . is less in the markings than the different structure of the body and the wings. Neurica, Hb. is the more slender, arundineta the more robust form.' Our British specimens of neurica and its var. arundineta vary very much in the shape of the wings. Some specimens have the wings quite pointed, some very much rounded, and this, of course, makes a great deal of difference in general appearance, and also makes the extreme forms in the one direction appear more robust than the extreme forms in the opposite direction. Schmidt then writes : — ' The colour of both, forms varies in the same manner, but arundineta has a dark spot on the underside of each wing, which neurica never has.' This is quite correct ; I find the paler specimens (neurica) of our species have no dots, whilst the darker var. arundineta have them very distinctly. But I find that these spots are directly proportional to the depth of colouring on the upper surface, and that a complete gradation occurs. Schmidt also writes : — * Neurica is on the wing 3 to 4 weeks earlier than arundineta.' This is no proof of distinctness. Mr. W. Warren, F.E.S. writes in the ' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. xxii., p. 256 : — * At the beginning of August, Nonagria neurica was abundant ; near Cambridge I have never taken it before August, but in the Norfolk fens, I am told it is out during the second half of July.' This shows that in two adjacent English counties, in localities only a few miles apart, there is a difference of 2 to 3 weeks in the time of appearance. With regard to the statement of Schmidt as to his failure in pairing a neurica with arundineta, it proves nothing, as the ^ may have partly lost its vitality. Such a thing often occurs when one breeds lepidoptera on a large scale. The natural history of the species in England entirely upsets Schmidt's theory of distinction, and disposes effectually of all his chief arguments " {' Stett. entomol. Zeit.,' 1888).
In the ' Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 664, Mr. Butler treats dissoluta and neurica as distinct species. He at the same time attempts to sub-divide the genus Nonagria, as we now know it, giving as his reason that " the antennae of cannce, lutosa, sparganii SLud arundinis, are thicker and more densely ciliated than those in the little dull- coloured species which remain in Nonagria, viz. : — N. dissoluta, Tr., punctifinis, Walk, and neurica, Hb." I presume it is to be expected that the antennae of the former (and larger) species would be thicker. Even then, what a character for generic sub-division I
Calamia, Hb., lutosa, Hb.
Vol. i., p. DO. — Calamia lutosa var. pilicornis, Haw. — Haworth's original description of this variety is as follows: — ^' Noctua. Ali^
IN THK BRITISH ISLAKDS. l05
cinereo, vix atomosis, striga postica curvata ex punctis obsoletis fuscis 6 : posticis albis." " Affinis N. crassicornis " (* Trans. Ent. Soc. London ' (Old Series), 1812, p. 336).
Helotropha, Ld., leucosttgma, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 67. — Helotropha leucostigma var. Icevis, Btl. — Butler in the * Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.' 1890, p. 679, refers his Cerastis Icevts (* Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1881, p. 181) to this species, and writes: — " The type of C. Icevis is an unusually large dark male, the markings upon which are ill-defined ; there is, however, no question of its identity with this species." Cerastis is a very strange genus to which to refer a species like leucostigma. At the same time a true Helotropha, the American reniformis, is placed by Butler in Mamestra. I wonder why !
Vol. i., p. 67. — There is an American species called Helotropha reniformis in Grote's * Check List,' and this appears to be identical with our leucostigma. The type is, in the British Museum, placed by Mr, Butler among the species in Mamestra. It has a var. atra. Mr. Grote in answer to a query of mine wrote : — " Helotropha reniformis is probably a representative species differing specifically from fibrosa (leucostigma), but this is yet uncertain. The var. atra I described as follows : — * H. reniformis var. atra. — The fore wings are entirely of a dead black, so that the markings become inconspicuous, and can only be made out with difficulty. The reniform is, however, entirely white and becomes very prominent by contrast. The hind wings are more blackish than brownish-fuscous, as is also the under surface and the body ' (* Proc. Acad. N. S. Phil.,' 200, 1874) " (in. litt.). Regarding reniformis, I can only express an opinion for what it is worth, that rent" formis appears to equal our leucostigma in every particular.
Xylophasia, St., rurea. Fab.
Vol. i., p. 76. — Xylophasia rurea var. exstincta, Stdgr. — In the * Zoological Record' for 1890 (Insecta), p. 56, is a reference to Staudinger's description of this variety in the * Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. 1., p. 42. Staudinger describes the variety as follows : — " Hadena rurea var. exstincta, Stdgr. — This is an analogous variety to H. hasilinea var. grisescens, being an obsoletely marked, grey local form of rurea, of which Herr Tancre sent to me a 2 with the three specimens of var. grisescens. Although there is again the same failure of the black markings in the basal streaks of the fore wings, yet the undersides immediately separate rurea var. exstincta from hasilinea var. grisescens. The female specimens lying before me are somewhat smaller than typical rurea, of a light grey colour slightly shaded with light brown and almost obsolete markings. Of the three stigmata, the claviform and orbicular are faintly distinguishable by means of the light brown edging to them, whilst the reniform stands out conspicuously owing to its white edging and dark centre. In one female the wing is divided into two parts (the one above the stigmata and also beyond it) darker, with the inner margin and upper- half of the anal angle paler. The light brown transverse lines are perceived to be quite rudimentary, and the black and white spots on the nervures at the outer edge are in
106 VARIlDTIftS OF NOOTtJ^
the best marked $ clearly existent. On the undersides, particularly of the lighter hind wings, is a dark central spot, and beyond this is a distinct transverse line " (* Stettiner ent. Zeitung,' vol. 1., p. 43).
Apdmea, Och., hasilineaf Fab.
Vol. i., p: 84. — Apamea hasilmea var. grisescens, Stdgr. — In the
* Zoological Eecord ' for 1890 (Insecta), p. 56, I find a reference to the
* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. 1., p. 42, where this variety is described. Staudinger writes of the variety : — " Hadena hasilinea var. grisescens, Stdgr. — Of this interesting local form Herr Tancre sent to me 1 (iT and 2 $ , captured south of Issyk-Kul, and I also possess a larger female which came from Alara (or Margelan?). This var. grisescens is a pale ashy-grey local form of the common basiUnea, with only a light brown tinge, and with the transverse lines also obsolete. Only the short black basal streak, with two indistinct blackish spots in the place of the stigmata beyond, and a faintly marked dark lunular line appear on the fore wings. The $ from Alai, forms a good con- necting link with typical hasilinea, as here the transverse lines appear on the fore wings faintly marked in light brown. In this specimen also one notices on the underside of the hind wings behind the dark central lunule, a dark transverse line found in hasilinea, but of which there is no trace in the specimens from Issyk-Kul " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. 1., pp. 42-43). This would appear to be almost identical with my var. pallida, except that the latter appears to be ochreous-grey rather than ashy-grey.
Miana, St., bicoloria, Vill.
Vol. i., p. 103. — Miana hicoloria var. pallidior, Stdgr. — Dr. Staudinger thus writes of this form : — " Eight specimens of this species from Lepsa (a good one being captured on the 11th of August) together with specimens from Margelan with which they agree exactly, form a curious local form which I name pallidior. The basal half of the fore wings is red-brown, sometimes with its outer part somewhat blackish. This is followed by the outer half being of a dirty yellowish- white, of course, with the exception in some specimens, of the almost obliterated dark outer margin. The hind wings are much paler, of a dirty white. Similar specimens are found in Europe, where they form distinct, but occasional, aberrations ; but in Central Asia, pallidior becomes decidedly a constant local form " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 42).
Mamestra, Och., ahjecta, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 111. — Mamestra ahjecta var. fribolus, Bdv. — The original description which I made of Boisduval's figure of this variety is as follows : — " The fore wings blackish, with the abbreviated and complete basal lines as well as the outlines of the reniform, orbicular and claviform, of a deeper black. The elbowed line double ; the inner line much shaded with black ; the subterminal a little paler than the ground colour, but internally edged with black. The hind wings dark grey at the base, the outer margin blackish " (' Icones ' &c., pi. 84, fig. 4).
IN THfi feRlTlStt IStANDS. 107
Mamestra, Och., hrassicce, L.
Vol. i., p. 115. — Mamestra brassicce var. straminea, Failla-Tedaldi. — A variety under this name is referred to in the * Zoological Kecord ' for 1890 (Insecta), p. 244, as described in the * Nat. Sicil.,' x., p. 30.
This may be the same as Staudinger's var. decoloraia, which latter is certainly the same as my var. ochraceay described from the Amur specimens, and since the description of ochracea was published in ' The Entomologist,' in Sept. 1889, and that of decolor ata in March 1889, the latter will take precedence.
Dr. Staudinger's note and description of this variety is as follows : — " Mamestra hrassicce var. decolor ata^ Stdgr. — A quantity of specimens of this common species, collected in the district south of Issyk-Kul, are very much paler and more obsoletely marked than typical hrassicoBy and I designate them therefore var. decolorata. It comes near to my brassicce var. andalusica, but the latter is of a peculiar whitish-grey, in no way yellow or light-brown grey. The black transverse lines are more or less rudimentary, and other markings almost lost in var. decolorata, so that the transverse line with the M just before the outer margin disappears completely in the case of a $ , and almost so in two other specimens. The hind wings also, as well as the undersides, are lighter in the latter and the dark transverse line is completely absent. A single specimen approaches very nearly to, and is very like, typical brassicce, so that var. decolorata is only the pre- dominant form from the South of Issyk-Kul. The brassicce which I have received from Margelan are all darker and much resemble European specimens " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. 1., p. 34).
Mamestra, Och., farva, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 114. — Mamestra fur V a var. infernalis, Ev. — The original description by Eversmann is as follows : — " Mamestra. Alae anticee thoraci concolores, fusco-nigrae, atro-nebulos86, strigis transversis ordi- nariis crenulatis pallidioribus, stigmate reniformi pallide circumscripto : posticEe nigricantes, externe obscuriores." " Eadem magnitudine, qua Mam. persicaricE eique maxime affinis ; differt praecipue stigmate reni- formi obscuro, non albo, et alis posticis obscurioribus, quam in ilia, prsecipue ad earum basin ceterum picturse dispositio fere eadem est ac in M. persicarice ; item maris antennae brevissime et raro ciliatae sunt." " Volat in provincia Casanensi et Orenburgensi, circa Casanum et in promontoriis Uralensibus, Junio et Julio " (* Bulletin de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou,' 1842, pt. iii., p. 547).
(?) Vol. i., p. 114. — Mamestra furva var. sylvicola, Ev. — This is treated by Staudinger in his " Catalog ' as a probably distinct species, but he adds : — " Prsec. var. nigra (?"). This refers it not to furva, but rubrirena, and as he appears to have had specimens his determination is possibly correct.
Eversmann's original description of sylvicola is as follows : — " Ma- mestra. Alee antic86 nigrae, obsolete cinereo-nebulosas, strigis ordinariis cinereo-albidis ; postic^ fuscescentes lunula media strigaque externa f uscis." " Eadem magnitudine et omnino eadem statura qua M. brassicce ; pariter ac maculae et strigae ordinariae directione et proportione non differunt, cognoscitur autem sylvicola alis anticis nigris, non fuscis, et maculis strigisque albis. Volat in promontorium Uralensium aus-
108 VARIKTIES OF NOOTU-S
tralium sylvis, Julio " (' Bulletin de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou,' 184:3, pt. iii., p. 54:7). Certainly this description applies very well to our very dark Irish forms of this species (Jurvd), but it is impossible to give a critical determination without specimens.
Mamestra, Och., persicarice, Linn.
Vol. i., p. 117. — Mamestra persicarice var. unicolor, Stdgr. — This variety, which is so rare in England, although fairly common in many parts of Europe, is recorded by Mons. Oberthur from the Isle of Askold. He writes : — " From Askold I obtained one ^ of the type (of M. per- sicarice) ordinarily found in Europe, and two others in which the ordinary white spot of the superior wing is merged in the ground colour " C Etudes d' Entomologie,' v., p. 72).
Fachetra, Gn., leucophced, View.
Vol. i., p. 121. — Pachetra leucophcea var. pyrenaica, Oberthiir. — The local race which has been thus named is described by Oberthiir : — " This is a very remarkable and very constant race, distinct from the ordinary French type by the darker colour of the wings. It appears that the leucophcea from Cauterets, are entirely covered with a blackish slaty-grey tint, on which only the black stigmata and the white circles which surround the orbicular and reniform stand out conspicuously " (*f]tudes d' Entomologie, 'viii., p. 50). Oberthiir then adds:— "The imagines at Cauterets appear to incline to the same rules of melanic variation as in England " (/. c).
Vol. i., p. 122. — Pachetra leucophcea var. hombycina, Ev. — The original description of Eversmann's variety is as follows : — " Hadena, antennis peotinatis ; alis anticis fuscis griseo-nebulosis macularum ordinariarum marginibus, nervis dentibusque duobus externis albis ; maculae reni- formis basi lata. Minor quam H. leucophcea, qua cum aliquando conf udi, sed ei simillima. Antennae eodem modo, ac in ilia, late pectinatse ; alae anticae eodem colore eodemque modo dentibus duobus albis aut albidis, in marginem externum excurrentibus, signatas sunt; sed macula sic dicta media seu reniformis, est alia : ejus basis sat lata et recta nervo mediano per totam extensionem insidet et angulus maculae internus, acutus protensusque, in nervum ilium excurrit. Ceterum maculae ordinariae (rotunda et reniformis) sunt fuscae, albo-circum- script^ ; nervi praecipue medianus et posticus, albi aut albidi. Alae posticae fuscescentes, lunula media lineaque externa fuscis. — Subtus alae pariter non differunt ab alis leucophcece. Habitat in promontoriis Uralensibus" (* Bulletin de la Societe Imp. des Nat. de Moscou' &c., 184:7, pt. iii., p. 78).
Eversmann gave another description in 1856, and then notes : — " Measures 16-17 lines. It offers some affinities with leucophcea. An- tennae of the male pectinated. Superior wings of a dark brown, shaded with paler brown, with the cubital and median space followed entirely by a whitish band ; the subterminal line white and a little crenulate, and containing two white and very sharp teeth, which originate in the band, the teeth being prolonged into the fringe. The two median transverse lines black, and edged with whitish on the opposite sides ; the inner one wavy, the outer bent inferiorly and toothed in its upper part. The stigmata brown with white edging, surrounded with black. The reniform with its base large and joined to the median nervure.
m THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 109
The claviform brown-black, encircled with intense black. The cunei- form spots in the subterminal space are also noticeable. The inferior wings grey, paler at base, with the discoidal lunule and transverse line darker " (I. c. 1856, pt. ii., p. 35).
Of this variety Staudinger writes : — " Keceived in small numbers from Saisan, and a pair of specimens also from Lepsa, taken on the 21st of May. Bomhycina is on the average, considerably smaller than German leucophcea, and the markings of the fore wings are always particularly lighter and more distinct. This ordinarily comes about owing to the nervures being white and the markings black, the latter standing out clearly and distinctly. The cuneiform spots are ex- ceptionally black and conspicuous. A couple of males are very dark " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 35).
Charceas, St., graminis, L.
Vol. i., p. 131. — Charceas graminis var. alhineura, Bdv. — I have been able to refer to Boisduval's figures and find that his figure of graminis represents the form of gramineus of Haworth, whilst his figure called albineura closely resembles my var. rufa = the tricuspis of Hiibner. " The anterior wings are brownish-grey with a reddish tint towards the inner margin, the costa ochreous, the nervures pale (whitish), the reniform and orbicular white, the transverse subterminal band ochreous, whilst there is a row of dark spots between the nervures, between the subterminal space, and the outer margin " (* Icones,' pi. 74, fig. 4).
Aporophyla, Gn., australis, Bdv.
Vol. i., p. 131. — Aporophyla australis. — Duponchel gives the following very interesting account of this species : — " M. Boisduval, after having placed this species among the Xylinidce in the first edition of his * Index,' placed it among the Hadenidce in the second, but we consider it belongs to neither of these families, and that it ought to form, with other allied species, a special genus which we propose establishing.
" This species varies very much in the depth of the ground colour, but the persistence of the same design in all specimens makes it easily recognised. The upper wings are of a grey, more or less white above, often shaded with red ; sometimes they are entirely red or even black- ish, and in this case, the two inner transverse lines are ordinarily more or less bordered with whitish-grey. Of the three transverse lines, the innermost is the most apparent. It is lightly sinuous, and composed of a series of small black or brown or cuneiform spots ; the space be- tween this and the fringe is more or less pale, and bordered entirely by a row of small black lunules, which separate it from the fringe. The latter is brown, toothed, and intersected with reddish-grey. The median line is very much angulated like a saw ; the inner is equally angulated and forms posteriorly two very elongated angles. These two lines finely marked in black, are absent in many specimens. The space which separates them is often traversed by an irregular brownish hand. In the superior part of this band one notices the two ordinary stigmata, of which the orbicular is oblong and placed obliquely ; the renifoi-m is almost triangular, a little reddish towards its outer border, and marked with two or three brown streaks. Between the median and sub-median nervures, one sees a third stigma of elliptical shape.
110 VARIETIES OP NOCTU-«
and consisting sometimes only of a simple brown streak. Indepen- dently of this, there is a basal ray, and most of the nervures form black lines. In the whitish specimens, a brownish ashy tint occurs at the base of the wing, which extends broadly on the costa to the anterior edge, enveloping more or less the two ordinary stigmata.
" In the specimens with dark superior wings, the undersides of the upper and both sides of the lower wings are more or less bistre with the nervures brown ; in those with whitish superior wings, the under- sides of the upper and both sides of the under wings are of an almost pure white with the nervures slightly reddish. In both varieties the fringes of the inferior wings always remain white.
" Xylina australis has been discovered in Provence, by Messieurs Saporta and Solier. M. Rambur has found it in Corsica. It appears in November " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc., vol. iii. (supplement), pp. 391-394).
In * The Entomologist,' vol. v., pp. 46-47, there is a translation by Miiller, of Staudiuger's remarks in the ' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung.* He writes : — " Aporophyla ingenua, Fr., scriptura, Fr., orientalis, H.-S. = australis jBdv. — The type of m^ewwa,Tr. (Plate 508, fig. 1) is in my collection through the purchase of Von Weissenborn's collection. The originals (types) of orientalis, H.-S., 502-503, I saw in Frivaldszky's collection, where there is also scriptura, Fr. (Plate 255, fig. 2). There is not the slightest doubt that all of them are only varieties or aberrations of the australis of Boisduval, which is the ingenua of Treitschke, and the orientalis of Herrich-Schaffer (the almost uniformly dark Variety), and scriptura, the transition to it. The originals (typesj are all from Crete, or at all events from the East. Such specimens occur near Montpellier, where I had formerly the opportunity of selecting from hundreds of australis. The English specimens of australis, which have very sharp markings (black and white), are very peculiar, and the dark variety seems never to occur. This form quite merits to be mentioned in our * Catalogues ' as var. britannica " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' 1869). This clearly does away with the ? which I placed after orientalis, ante vol. i., p. 133, and establishes that form as a variety of australis. The idea of naming our form britannica as suggested by Staudinger, was impossible, as it had been previously named pascuea by Curtis.
Luperina, Bdv., luteago, Hb.
Vol. i., pp. 134-135. — Luperina luteago. — This species is now generally considered to belong to the genus Dianthcecia. A large number of entomologists, practically acquainted with the English form of the species, var. barrettii, are of unanimous opinion that it should be referred to the latter genus. A long discussion took place relative to this subject, and the details of this discussion will be found in the general notes on the genus Dianthcecia in vol. iii., pp. 24-26.
Luperina^ Bdv., dumerilii, Dup. Vol. i., p. 136. — Luperina dumerilii. — The original notes and de- scription of this species by Duponchel are as follows : — " This is a species taken in the environs of Paris, which I believe to be unknown, and which, by its facies, comes near N. hirta. I have dedicated it to one of our first naturalists. Professor Dumeril, whose friendship I have had the honour to possess for many years.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. Ill
" The superior wings of this Noctua are of a yellowish-grey above, with their central area occupied by a large trapezoidal band, of a dark brown colour, bordered laterally with two brown lines, and in which the two ordinary stigmata which are of a yellowish- white colour are placed. The terminal edge is shaded with brown and edged by a sinuous line of a paler hue. The head and the lower border of the wing from the central band to the corselet, are equally shaded with brown. Lastly, the fringe is yellowish. The inferior wings are entirely whitish above, and all four wings equally whitish below, with a small and obscure crescent in the middle of the inferior wings. The head and corselet (crest) are grey-brown, and the abdomen of the same shade as the inferior wings. The antennse, of a reddish-grey colour, are pectinated in the male and filiform in the female, this difference being the only one that exists between the sexes, although the female is perhaps a little paler.
" This species, of which the larva has not yet been found, appears at the commencement of September. It is usually found on the ormes which border the roads " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc., vol. vi., p. 277).
Vol. i., p. 138. — Luperina dumeriluva.r.desylle8i,Bdy. — Boisduval's original description of this form, which he considered a species distinct from dumerilii, is as follows : — " Statura dumerilii : alas anticse f uscse, strigis ordinariis obscurioribus, striga fulgurali albido-cinerea, macula reniformi albo nitide scripta, macula orbiculari ovata, pallida, intus infuscata, extus fusco circumdata, oblique posita. Alse posticae albidae. Feminam tantum novi inde de antennis nil dicendum. Nominata in honorem D. Bottin-Desylles, Entomolog. oculatissimi, qui banc speciem circa St. Sauveur-le-Vicomte invenit" (* Genera et Index methodicus ' etc., p. 113).
Lapiiygma, Gn., exigua, Hb.
Vol. i., p. 144. — LapJiygma exigua var. pygmcetty Ebr. — Eambur's original diagnosis and description of this species is as follows : — " Alis fusco-griseis macula subcentrali rufa." " This species is smaller than C. exigua, which it resembles slightly. Its superior wings are very narrow, and are square-cut at their outer edge. They are of a reddish- grey, varied with shades running in indistinct brown lines, although, however, the four transverse lines which usually cross the (anterior) wing are indicated by brown shades, above all the two external ones, which anteriorly, appear to form a sharp angle. The costa, marked with brown points, is in the greater part reddish, above all near the apex. That which distinguishes the species, however, more than all is a red spot, very wide, occupying the place of the ordinary stigmata, of which the reniform is slightly traceable in its external half ; in the other portion a brown dot appears to replace the orbicular. The fringes are of the colour of the wing, traversed by many brown lines, of which one is darker. The inferior wings are very wide, white, edged near the fringe with a reddish-brown line, which tint extends slightly on the wing. The nervures are of the same colour, the fringes are white, with a brownish line on their inner edge. Below, the superior wings and the anterior margin of the inferiors are of a red- dish-ash, the fringes are almost the same as on the upper side.
" The species was discovered by M. Solier, in the environs of Marseille " (' Annales de la Soc. Ent. de France,' 1834, pp. 384-385).
112 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiB
The figure accompanying this description has almost the shape of a ToRTRix, and there is a strong suggestion of crippling or malforma- tion about the specimen, the costa of the fore wing on the left side being concave (vidCf I.e., PI. viii., fig. 2).
Caradrina, Och., alsines, Brahm.
Vol. i., p. 147. — Caradrina alsines var. levis, Stdgr. — This variety is described by Staudinger from specimens obtained in Central Asia, as follows : — " Caradrina alsines var. levis. I received this species in numbers, captured at Margelan in the beginning of August, also a female from Namangan. I can only look upon it as a strikingly light form of our local alsines. Levis is as large (31-35 mm.) but has a much lighter brownish or yellow-grey (difficult to define) ground colour of the fore wings, which contrasts much with the dark brown-grey of the German alsines. The two upper dark-centred stigmata, contrast particularly in this light levis ; the round orbicular is sometimes nearly obliterated ; and the dark line which runs before the reniform appears distinctly, sometimes very clear, almost black. Besides this, the dark inner border appears very distinctly before the scarcely visible outer zigzag line. The usual three transverse lines are entirely wanting or are only indistinctly marked, especially the third, by means of black dots on the nervures. The hind wings are whitish with somewhat darker nervures. In the female, they have a darker shade towards the outer margin. On the underside of all the wings in alsines are clearly marked dark spots, and the outer line missing or only faintly seen on the fore wings of some specimens. The female from Namangan is a transitional form, as it has almost as dark hind wings as alsines, also dark transverse lines on the light fore wings. A male from Achalzich in Caucasus is also a transitional form ; whilst a male from Brussa, tallies almost exactly with the Central Asiatic levis. Perhaps this pale levis is the second generation in those*parts " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' 1888, vol. xlix., pp. 29.30).
Caradrina, Och., quadripunctata, Fab.
Vol. i., p. 153. — Caradrina quadripunctata var. grisea, Ev. — The original diagnosis of this form under the name of grisea by Eversmann is as follows : — " Caradrina. Alae anticas thorace concolores, e fusco grisese, strigis ordinariis per puncta nigra signatis, macula rotunda punctiformi nigra maculaque media reniformi, nigro interrupte circumscripta: posticae albidse, externe fuscescentes, puncto medio fusco " (* Bulletin de la Soc. Imp. des Nat. de Moscou,' 1848, pt. iii., p. 215).
Vol. i., p. 153. — Caradrina quadripunctata var. menetriesii, Kret. — This has since been deteimined as a distinct species by the Scandina- vian entomologists who obtain this particular form, and should therefore be in the best position to judge of its specific identity with quadripunctata or vice versa. Sven Lampa writes a full account of it in the * Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1885, pp. 69-70.
Vol. i., p. 153. — Caradrina quadripunctata var. (?) alhina, Ev. — Staudinger appears to be inclined now to treat albina as a distinct species, and congesta, which is given as a var. of quadripunctata in his ♦ Catalog,' p. Ill, without a mark of doubt, as a variety of albina^ He writes : — " Caradrina albina, Ev. and var. (ab.) congesta, Ld. — Eight
I
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 113
specimens were taken in September near Saisan and one on August 24th near Lepsa, belong chiefly to alhina, which I should take as a different species from the variable quadripunctata. To this I add the dark form congesta, Ld., with which one specimen, captured on the 24:th of May near Saisan, tallies exactly, while another specimen forms a transition between them. Possibly congesta is the first and albina the second brood " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., pp. 43-44). This note of its habits, appears to ally it very strongly to our hybemating quadripunctata.
ADDITIONS, etc., to Vol. II. Introduction. Vol. ii., p. vii. — Pieris napi var. flava is yellow on upperside, vide 'Entom.,' 1889, p. 126.
p. viii., line 39.— For " 1887," read " 1877."
„ line 22. — The white form pf Eumia cratcegata = var. albescens, Ckll.
Agrotis, Och., saucia, Hb.
Vol. ii., p. 7. — Agrotis saucia var. unica, Smith. — Mr. Cockerell writes : — " Described by J. B. Smith (^ Revis. Agrotis,' p. 70) as follows: — 'Very distinctly marked, without any confusing shades.' It must be almost the same as your var. brunnea " (in litt.).
Vol. ii., p. 7. — Delete var. texana, Grote. — My doubt as to this being a variety appears to have been well founded. Mr. Cockerell writes : — " A. texana, Grote, is a good species, formerly confounded with segetum, vide Smith * Revision Agrotis,' p. 155 " (in litt.). Grote writes : — " Texana is a perfectly distinct species " (in litt.).
Agrotis, Och., segetum, Schiff. Vol. ii., p. 9. — Agrotis segetum var. (ab.) pallida, Stdgr. — Of this variety Staudinger writes : — " Agrotis segetum var. (ab.) pallida, Stdgr. — Of four specimens taken during the first half of August at Lepsa, two females are somewhat ordinary pale forms of segetum. One pair, however, looks quite different. The fore wings of the male are quite light yellowish -grey, with only the three stigmata developed. Those of the female are uniform ashy-grey without markings. As very many that I received last year from Margelan were almost as pale, some even almost white, they deserve a special name, appearing in parts of Central Asia as a constant local form, whilst the European form occurs as an aberration there " Q Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlii., p. 423). What Staudinger means by " the European form " in such a variable species is rather dubious.
Agrotis, Och., obelisca, Hb. Vol. ii., p. 28. — Agrotis obelisca. — Of the Central Asiatic specimens of this species, Staudinger writes : — " Specimens from Lepsa (taken on the 11th of August) are somewhat smaller and less brown ; in other respects, about as dark as the ordinary Hungarian and Austrian form " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlii., p. 421).
Agrotis, Och., nigricans, Linn. Vol. ii.,p. 41. — Agrotis nigricans yslt. armewa, Evers. — The original description of armena is as follows : — " Agrotis armena. Alis anticis
H
114 VARIETIES OF NOCTU-S
testaceo-albidis fuscescenti pulveratis : stigmatibus medianis concolor- ibus, interrupte fusco-cinctis ; lineis medianis crenulatis fuscis, interruptis ; linea subterminali pallida ; posticis griseo albidis ; subtus omnibus lutescenti-albidis ; anticis levissime nigricante pulveratis " (* Bulletin de la Soc. des Nat. de Moscou,' 1856, pt. i., p. 222). To this Eversmann adds : — " This offers the greatest affinity with valesaica, from which it differs in the following characters, — the superior wings more prolonged at the apex ; the ground colour of a clear testaceous, finely powdered with brown, and having the outer margin no darker. The inferior wings are whitish " {I.e.). Staudinger treats this as a probably distinct species in his ' Catalog,' but he marks it as not being in his collection. The British Museum specimens bearing this name are not very different from some of the palest British examples of this insect.
Agrotis, Och., tritici, Linn.
Vol. ii., p. 43. — Agrotis. tritici. — The first volume of * The Ento- mologist,' in which Mr. Bentley published his notes on the genera Agrotis and Caradrina, is so rare, that I have quoted at length his remarks on the various species he dealt with. By accident, I over- looked those relating to this species. He writes : — " Agrotis tritici, vitta, pupillata, ocellina. — These varieties were formerly rare, but have of late been taken in plenty in Devonshire, Kent and Essex. Var. I. — Anterior wings pale brown, with a broad streak at the base spreading over the costa, rather paler than the wings, the ordinary stigmata pale with a black spot between them, teliform stigma large and dark; posterior wings white, extreme margin dusky. Var. 2. — Tritici. Anterior wings brown tinged with reddish, with a streak at the base upon the costa, paler than the rest of the wing, also a faint transverse striga before the anterior stigma, and a second behind the posterior, behind which is a row of wedge-shaped spots, stigmata pale, except the teliform, which is dusky, margined with black ; posterior wings white, with margin dusky. I obtained this variety, as well as the preceding and following one, from the cabinet of the late Mr. Haworth, as the type of his alhilinea now called tritici. Var. 3. — Anterior wings similar to the last, with the streak upon the costa, and the central nervure cream colour; posterior wings entirely white. Far. 4.— -Anterior wings ashy, with a milk-white streak upon the costa ; anterior stigma small and round ; posterior very large, both milk-white, margined with black ; the teliform stigma black ; on the hinder margin are four wedge-shaped dusky spots, behind which is a waved striga, the extreme margin spotted with black ; posterior wings ashy, with dusky margins. Var. 5. — Anterior wings ashy tinged with reddish, with a mere vestige of the white streak upon the costa, which is maculated with white spots and dusky streaks ; at the base is a black spot united to a white transverse striga, which is margined with black ; stigmata pale ; to- wards the posterior margin are two whitish patches, the extreme margin deep fuscous; posterior wings ashy-white, deeply margined with fuscous. This beautiful link and the preceding variety, were taken in Devonshire by the late Captain Blomer. Var. 6, vitta. — Anterior wings reddish-brown, with a white streak upon the costa, extending from the base beyond the middle ; the centre nervure of the fore wings is white ; between the stigmata is a quadrate black spot ; teliform stigma small and black ; near it is a pale transverse striga ; on the posterior margin is a row of wedge-shaped spots, and a white waved striga ; posterior wings
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 115
cinereous, with dusky margins. Var. 7. — Anterior wings paler than the last, with a white streak upon the costa, and a black one in the centre from the base to the anterior stigma ; posterior margin clouded with cinereous and a white waved striga ; posterior wings dusky. Taken in Devonshire by Mr. Raddon. Var. 8. — Anterior wings reddish- brown, with three pale transverse strigae ; the two anterior margined with black ; the first before the anterior stigma, the second behind the posterior, behind which are a row of wedge-shaped spots and the third pale waved striga ; stigmata pale, the anterior ocellated. This variety has the characters of pupillata and also of vitta ; it is as much like the one as the other. Var. 9, pupillata. — Anterior wings brownish with four transverse strigse ; the first at the base, the second before the anterior stigma, the third behind the posterior, and the fourth near the hinder margin ; the costa is spotted with dusky and white, the space between the second and third strigas rather pale, stigmata pale, the anterior ocellated. Var. 10. — Anterior wings ashy or greyish, with a few white spots upon the costa, and a black streak at the base in the centre of the wing, and a white waved striga near the posterior margin. Var. 11, ocellina. — Anterior wings dusky or blackish, with a short ashy streak upon the costa and with two black transverse strig^e, the first before the anterior stigma, the second behind the posterior ; near the hinder margin is a pale waved striga, the anterior stigma ocellated. Var. 12. — Anterior wings blackish, with a black streak at the base, in the centre of the wing extending beyond the anterior stigma, posterior wings ashy, slightly margined with fuscous. I took this variety near Brockenhurst, Hants, in September. This variety expands only one inch. From its small size and black appearance I had considered it distinct, and had named it some time since, pusilla, but I examined many specimens at Darenth Wood, last summer, most of which were allied to ocellina, two or three being very small and having the characters of ocellina, with the black streak at the base, thus connect- ing my p?isilla with that supposed species.
It will be useless for me to describe more of these varieties, for it is difficult to find two specimens perfectly similar ; in some the teli- form stigma is wanting ; in others it is large ; some have no transverse strigas ; others have from one to four ; some are destitute of the white streak upon the costa, and some have their wings greyish, others dark fuscous ; some are dark at the base, others at the posterior margin. These varieties are very perplexing, and I believe there are not two collections in London in which they are named alike, at least I have not seen two, except that of Mr. Chant. The conspicuous varieties are considered by some as distinct, thus multiplying species, when in fact they all constitute but one variable species. There are two or three other species in this genus that require investigation ; the want of conclusive proofs compels me to leave them for the present. I trust that some of your practical correspondents will be induced to take up this subject " (* Entomologist,' vol. i.).
Vol. ii., p. 43. — Agrotis tritici var. — Staudinger writes of an un- named variety from Central Asia : — " Some specimens from Saisan and Lepsa, are very similar to the South Russian form. They are somewhat smaller and lighter (variegated) than the German ones. The hind wings 'are sometimes pure white with a darker marginal line, although this is also sometimes absent in the males from Saisan. On the 2oth August, at Lepsa (or Saisan), a somewhat worn ? was found with uni-«
116 VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
oolorous grey fore wings and almost all the longitudinal markings absent, and with pale whitish hind wings which I concluded was a very doubtful variety of this species. I believe it may belong to a supposed species very near to tritici which is sent from Hungary and South Russia and called in letters var. rustica, fictilis and even seliginis as well. Seliginis, Dup. appears certainly identical with eruta, Hb. Guenee, for his seliginis, made only some philological observations on the name. Under the whole of these circumstances, I can only refer the before- mentioned Lepsa ? to this interchangeable doubtful species. I would prefer not to write a final opinion here " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,'^,vol. xUi., p. 421).
Vol. ii., p. 47. — Agrotis tritici var. vavia, Alph. — A variety described by Alpheraky under this name, is mentioned in the * Zoological Record,' 1889 (Insecta), p. 248, where it states that it is described on p. 138, and figured PI. vii., fig. 1, of Romanoff's * Memoires sur les Lepi- dopt^res,' vol. v. This description is : — " Chiefly distinguished by the costa, the median nervure and the stigmata being greyish- white and standing out strikingly from the dark ground colour which is some- times almost black. A series of wedge shaped spots on the undulated line, and the large and very dark claviform gives this variety a very different appearance from tritici ^
Vol. ii., p. 52. — Agrotis tritici var. detorta, Evers. — Eversmann's original description of detorta is as follows : — " Agrotis alis anticis cinereis, fusco-obscuratis : strigis ordinariis denticulatis nigris macu- lisque ordinariis distinctis : maculas reniformis margine interna recto ; alis posticis fuscescentibus, albo ciliatis." " It very much resembles Agrotis senna, Hb. in size and shape, differing principally in the reni- form, of which the edge turned towards the base is perfectly straight, whilst it is curved in senna. Its colour resembles that of senna as represented by Boisduval (*Icones,' PI. 77, fig. 4), but not as figured by Hubner (figs. 771-772) " C Bulletin Moscou,' 1851, Pt. i., pp. 628- 629).
Agrotis, Och., ripas, Hb.-Gey.
Vol, ii., p. 71. — Agrotis ripce var. desertorum, Bdv. — This form from Southern Russia, was described as a distinct species by Boisduval, who wrote of it as follows : — " Sub-afiinis Biparice : alsB anticae angustae, cinerese, strigis tribus punctisque marginalibus nigris : maculis ordinariis f uscis ; rotunda longitudinali, minuta ; alse postica3 nivese ; omnibus subtus albis, puncto discoidali nigro. Inventa in Russia, meridionali a D. Kindermann " (* Genera et Index methodicus ' &c.,
p. 111).
Agrotis, Och., lucernea, Linn.
Vol. ii., p. 79. — Agrotis lucernea var. renigera, St. — Mons. Oberthiir records this variety from "Cauterets (Pyrenees) in July, 1881; the form as dark as in England " (' Etudes d' Entomologie,' viii., p. 48). Dr. Chapman also gave me a specimen of this variety which was captured in the Pyrenees.
Agrotis, Och., obscura, Brahm.
Vol. ii., p. 83. — Agrotis obscura. — " Clandestina, Harr., placed in the British Museum series as a var. of this species, is a distinct species with structural differences, vide Smith,-* Revision Agrotis,' p. 94. — On the other hand, miicolor. Walk., is only a synonym or slight variety of
TN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 117
ohscura " (Cockerell, in litt, 31, 3, '92). Grote also writes to me that clandestina is distinct.
Agrotis, Och., fennica, Tausch.
Vol. ii., pp. 84-85. — Agrotis fennica. — Mr. Cockerell writes : — " As to great damage done by this species at Ottawa, in May, 1884, vide Fletcher ' Canadian Entomologist,' 1884, p. 214 " (in. litt.).
Agrotis, Och., hyperborea, Zett.
Vol. ii., p. 85. — -Agrotis hyperhorea. — It is well to have the exact citation of opinion by means of which well-known lepidopterists have united very distinct looking forms into one species. For this purpose, I quote the following note of Dr. Staudinger, who wrote in August, 1876 :— " When I was in London last May, Mr. McLachlan had the kindness to show me the type of P. alpina, taken by Mr. Douglas in 1839, on Cairn Gowr in Perthshire, at an elevation of 3,000 feet. The only mention of it that I have seen is in Stainton's ' Manual of British Butterflies and Moths,' vol. i., p. 241. The species is described in Westwood and Humphrey's ' British Moths ' (1843 or 1845) and I shall be glad to have the exact citation, as Stainton unfortunately gives no author's names. I recognised at first sight that P. alpina was the same s-pecies as the Agrotis hyperhorea of my large 'Catalog' (* 1871, No. 1098). Zetterstedt described it in his *Insecta Lapponica,' in 1840 (p. 938), as Hadena hyyerhorea. The type of P. alpina is possibly a little darker than specimens from Lapland, but it is old, and even the Lapland individuals show aberrations. In 1860, 1 took this insect (in company with my friend Dr. Wocke) not unfrequently in Finmark (Norwegian Lapland), in July, and we found pupae and also larvae at the end of May, in moss. I detailed the account in the ' Stettiner en- tomologische Zeitung,' 1861, p. 361. Since then, the species has been found on the Dovref jeld in the centre of Norway, on the Eiesengebirge (Silesia), and on the Alps of Switzerland and Tyrol. On the Alps of Carinthia it has a reddish (instead of bluish) coloration, and this form was described by Bering as carnica, and by Herrich-Schaffer as glacialis. This is certainly only a local form of hyperhorea. I saw, in the Museum at Pesth, a specimen taken by the younger Frivaldszky in the Carpathian Mountains, which is intermediate between the two forms. The reddish Agrotis suhrosea, Steph., becomes blue (var. suhcoerulea, Stdgr.) in the North of Russia. The Scotch Pachnohia alpina must take the older name of hyperhorea, Zett. The species has a wide dis- tribution on the Continent " (* Entomologist's Monthly Magazine.' vol. xiii., p. 90). The original description of alpina has been given ante, vol. ii., pp. 87-88.
Vol. ii., p. 86, line 16. — for "Mr. Janos of Frivaldisky" read " M. Frivaldszky the younger."
Noctua, L., baia, Fab.
Vol. ii., p. 105. — Noctua haia var. hajula, Stgr. — This variety was described by Dr. Staudinger from Central Asiatic specimens which he received in considerable numbers from Lepsa. His original note on this form runs as follows : — " This Noctua has been sent in large quantities (chiefly females) from Lepsa, which had probably been taken at sugar in the autumn. These specimens differ from baia, but I take them to be the var. hajula. The latter is smaller on the average.
118 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
apparently narrower winged and especially paler than baia. Even the freshest specimens have the fore wings grey brown, and the hind wings dull blackish-grey. The decidedly black dots in baia on the costa (forming the short black mark characteristic of the species just before the tip of the fore wings) are generally absent, and only rarely de- veloped to the extent that they are in typical baia. The under surface, thorax, and particularly the body, have never so reddish-brown a tint as ordinary baia, but are of a pale greyish-yellow colour " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' xlii., p. 411). Our British specimens of var. grisea must run this very close, but they always (so far as I know) have the small apical costal streak well-developed.
Noctua, Linn., glareosa, Esp. Vol. ii., p. 108. — Noctua glareosa var. Jiebraicaoides, Gregs. — Mr. Kobson in the * Young Naturalist,' 1888, p 121, writes: — "Var. Jiebraicaoides of this collection (Gregson's) has a dark cold brown ground colour, making the costal spots appear less distinctly defined, and the margins of the stigmata more so." These North of England dark forms seem to be very different to the Shetland var. suffusa, which is of a rich dark brown. I do not recognise any form I have seen by this description, and must assume that there is probably a second melanic form independent of var. suffusa, occurring in certain localities in the North of England.
Noctua, Linn., conflua, Tr. Vol. ii., p. 123. — Noctua conflua var. diducta, Zett. — The Scandi- navian description given by Lampa of this variety reads as follows : — " The fore wings are greyish-yellow with indistinct markings, the pyramidal spot scarcely visible. The type specimen is in the Svenska Museum," etc. {' Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1885, p. 53).
Noctua, Linn., xantographa. Fab. Vol. ii., p. 124. — Noctua xanthographa var. elutior, Alph. — This variety is mentioned in the ' Zoological Kecord,' 1889 (Insecta), p. 248, as figured in PI. vi., fig. 3, of Komanoff's * Memoires sur les Lepi- dopteres,' vol. v. I find it also referred to in the ' Zoological Kecord,' for 1887, as published by Alpheraky in the ' Stettiner ent. Zeitung,' vol. xlviii., p. 168. This original description is as follows : — " ^ . 37 mm. Varietas major, alis latioribus, anticis (cum thorace) pallide- cinnamo(n)eis, macula reniformi albido-circumscripta ; posticse cum ciliis albidae ad marginem sordide grisescentes ; subtus alse omnes pallidiores. Taschkent " {' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' 1887, vol. xlviii., p. 168).
Noctua, Linn., plecta, Linn. Vol. ii., p. 127. — Noctua plecta var. anderssom, Lampa. — The Scandinavian description of this variety reads as follows : — " The fore wings dark violet- brown, nearly violet-black, only the median nervure at the base, and the borders of the stigmata yellowish-white." " Many examples found by Andersson" (* Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 1885, p. 64).
Tceniocampa, Gn., instabilis. Fab. (incerta, Hufn.). Vol. ii., p. 136. — Taniocampa instabilis (incerta). — Mr. Cockerell writes : — " Twniocampa incerta, Hufn. is American, and has a synonym alia, Guen. It also has a var. confluens, Morr." (m litt.).
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 119
Vol. ii., p. 139. — Tceniocampa incerta var. pallida, Lampa {^pallida, Stdgr.). — Dr. Staudinger seems to have paid but little attention to already named forms in describing many of the varieties he has received from Central Asia. Thus, although a whitish-grey form of incerta was named pallida, in 1885, by Lampa, he described another pale form, ap- parently identical with Lampa's pallida, in 1888, under the same name. His name therefore will sink as a synonym. He writes of his var. pallida : — " The Central- Asiatic specimens of incerta, are very generally so exceedingly pale and clear, as to merit a distinctive name. The fore wings are light-grey, without any reddish or brown shading, the darker markings tending more strongly to obsolescence, than in the European type form. The hind wings also are almost entirely light whitish-grey. I obtained such specimens in number from Margelan (found in the commencement of March), also from Kuldja and the Alexander Moun- tains. From the latter locality (as I am informed), I also received quite typical incerta, which, I suppose were most likely taken in the higher region, so that the pale specimens apparently represent the form (Steppen-form) from the lower lying country " (* Stettiner ent. Zeitung,' 1887, vol. xlix., p. 32).
Tceniocampa, Gn., opima, Hb.
Vol. ii., p. 143. — Tceniocampa opima var. fuscus, Gregson. — A num- ber of undescribed varietal names are mentioned by Mr. Eobson as being used in Mr. Gregson's cabinet, in * The Young Naturalist,' vol. ix., p. 122. Mr. Gregson seems to have had no idea of the type form or to have looked up the literature on this species before naming these varieties, with the result that the type appears to be called var. dis~ tinctce ; a form perhaps somewhere near my var. intermedia (but it is pure guess work to place it) is called fuscatce ; a form not quite so obsoletely marked as my var. grisea is called cinerce ; whilst the only well-defined form, synonymous with my var. unicolor, " of an uni- colorous dark brown colour with no band," he calls fuscus. Var. unicolor, Tutt (* Brit. Noct.,' vol. ii., p. 143), therefore, becomes fuscus, Gregs., Eobson (* Young Nat.,' 1888, p. 122).
Tceniocampa, Gn., gracilis, Fab.
Vol. ii., p. 145. — Tceniocampa gracilis var. pallidior, Stdgr. — Another form described some 80 years ago by Haworth as sparsus, and recently redescribed by Staudinger under the above name. Staudinger writes : — " Tceniocampa gracilis var. pallidior, Stdgr. — In order to be logical, I must bestow a suitable name on the form of gracilis received from Kuldja, Margelan, and the Alexander- Gebirge (?), which is of an entirely pale, ashy, or sand-grey colour. I possess also an almost similar accidental aberration of gracilis from Denmark, as pale and light as var. pallidior (the light Central-Asiatic local form) " (' Stettiner ento- mologische Zeitung,' xlix., p. 32). This would appear to comprise also Guenee's var. pallida, as Staudinger refers to sandy forms. At any rate, his name has long been forestalled, owing to the pale form having been long ago described under another name.
Tceniocampa, Gn., gothica, Linn.
Vol. ii., p. 149. — Tceniocampa gothica. — The variety called nigra by Mr. Robson in the * Young Naturalist,' 1888, p. 121, appears to repre-
120 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
sent the type of the species — " alls superioribus fuscescentibus ; arcu nigro linea alba marginato " the description of Linnaeus, agreeing with Mr. Robson's remarks " dark smoky-brown, with the black * Hebrew character ' very distinct."
Tceniocampa, Gn., stahilis, View.
Vol. ii., p. 152. — Tceniocampa stahilis var. ohliqua, Vill. — Villers' diagnosis of this variety is as follows : — " Bomhyx f usco-grisea, alis superioribus striga lutea obliqua. Tota unicolor f usco-grisea. Macula3 ordinarise alis concolores sed peripheria lutea. Striga lutea f usco-antice marginata, a margine interiore versus exteriorem postice descendens " (' Caroli Linn. ' &c., p. 147).
Tceniocampa^ Gn., puherulenta, Esp.
Vol. ii., p. 154. — Tcenicampa pulverulenta var. irroratce, Gregs., Eobs. — Mr. Robson in the * Young Naturalist,' 1888, p. 121, mentions Haworth's pusillus under the above name. This haphazard naming of varieties, without reference to the positive type form, appears very likely to cause a great deal of unnecessary confusion.
Vol. ii., p. 155. — For " var. cntda, mihi," read " var. cruda, Hb."
Anchocelis, Gn., helvola, Linn.
Vol. ii., p. 162. — Anchocelis helvola var. sihirica, Stdgr. — This variety was first described by Staudinger, who writes as follows : — " More than 30 specimens of this species were received from Saisan, and they are all so much strikingly paler than German specimens, that they must be considered as a strong local variety. Two specimens were also re- ceived from Altai. The fore wings of this form are nearly always light yellow-grey with red-brown transverse markings which are mostly narrow and often very faint. The hind wings are dirty- white in colour, the middle inclining to blackish, and a reddish tint towards the outer margin. The undersides of all the wings are much larger than in German helvola, which show only occasionally transitional forms to sihirica " ( * Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 46).
Vol. ii., p. 163. — Anchocelis helvola var. police, Gregs., Robson. — This is a form which I do not appear to have met with. — Mr. Robson describes it as : — " A straw-coloured form with the markings dark-grey " C Young Naturalist,' vol. ix., p. 122).
Anchocelis, Gn., lunosa, Haw.
Vol. ii., p. 169. — Anchocelis lunosa var. lunce, Gregs., Robson. — The reddish form named var. lunce by Mr. Gregson is Haworth's type of lunosa. Mr. Robson adds : — " The type is a cold dark brown." This remark probably refers to Herrich-Schaffer's neurodes. Haworth says of the type : — " Alis griseo-rufescentibus " etc., which is I take it " the reddish form " described as lunce.
ADDITIONS, etc., to Vol. IH.
Orrhodia, Hb., vaccinii, Linn, and 0. ligula, Esp.
Vol. iii., pp. 1-6. — Orrhodia vaccinii and 0. %MZa,Esp. — Mr. Butler
complains that these allied but well differentiated species have been
*' laboriously sorted out into three," N. ligula, vaccinii and spadicea, by
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. l21
" liairsplitters who are purely European workers " (* Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 683). This is an error. We have always differentiated two species which Mr. Butler erroneously lumps together. We used to call our two species, vaccinii, Linn, and spadicea, Haw. The latter name gave way to the prior name of ligula, Esp., so that ligula, Esp. = spa- dicea. Haw. ; vaccinii has always remained unchanged. Mr. Butler, too, states that " Zeller had 70 specimens and left a typical ligula among his vaccinii and divided the remainder somewhere in the middle, being evidently unable to find any constant character by which to distinguish them " {I.e.). It is not at all probable that Zeller left a typical ligida with vaccinii, and Mr. Butler simply states his own inability to dis- tinguish them when he remarks that " Zeller could not find a character," as Zeller did distinguish them and divided them into their respective species.
Orrhodia, Hb., ligula, Esp.
Vol. iii., p. 4. — Orrhodia ligula Yar. ? (ab. suhspadicea, var.) Stdgr. — I have already (vol. iii., p. 5 and p. 6) referred Staudinger's var. suh- spadicea to Haworth's var. spadicea. Of the Central Asiatic specimens Staudinger writes : — " Orrhodia ligula var. ? (ab. suhspadicea, var.), Stdgr. — Two large specimens from Lepsa, having a reddish-brown ground colour mixed with yellow-grey, I am inclined to class with ligula, which I am not at all sure is distinct from vaccinii. Some of my suhspadicea closely resemble these Asiatic specimens, which differ decidedly from all other forms " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 47).
Vol. iii., p. 4. — Orrhodia ligida vars. politina, Stdgr. and suhspadi- ceana, Stdgr. — Of these forms Dr. Staudinger writes : — " 0. ligula vars. politina and suhspadiceana. — Specimens of an Orrhodia were taken in large numbers at the end of February, near Margelan, and differ principally in the lighter ground coloring from the European specimens. Without entering into the difficult separation of the single vars. of forms of ligula and vaccinii (which perhaps belong to one species), I name as var. politina the Central Asiatic specimens with light ashy- grey fore wings. They show mostly a more or less faint reddish-brown dark band before the reddish-white fringes and the lighter outer edges of the wings. Very rarely, light- grey specimens like politina are taken in Europe as aberrations, which, however, can be clearly distinguished from them. Even in Central Asia this iorm, politina, occurs really as a frequent aberration, for most specimens from there are of a reddish -brown colour on the fore wings, but much paler and tinged with grey. The hind wings of the var. suhspadiceana are light in colour, similar to politina by which they are distinguished from all European forms which are similarly marked on the fore wings " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlix., p. 35).
Hoporina, Bdv., croceago, Fab. Vol. iii., p. 8. — Hoporina croceago var. Corsica, Mab. — For " Mabelle " read " Mabille."
Xanthia, Och., gilvago, Esp. Vol. iii., p. 14. — Xanthia gilvago var. and ab. palleago, Hb. — Dr. Staudinger records specimens of gilvago from Central Asia, of which he writes : — "Taken at Lepsa, but they differ materially from the Euro-
122 VARIETIES OP NOCTUiB
pean gilvago and variety. Two of the specimens are similar to gilvago, but they have more yellowish primaries, almost exactly like flavago (forj'which species, indeed, I at first mistook them), and lighter hind wings, much like those of fulvago. Two other specimens show the same yellow coloration of the fore wings but are almost entirely with- out markings. These latter must therefore be classed as ab. palleago. I received two similar specimens from Margelan, and it would appear that the gilvago of Central Asia, consists of a peculiarly light variety like so many other Noctu^ from that district " (* Stettiner entomolo- gische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., pp. 46-47).
Vol. iii., p. 14. — Xanthia gilvago var. ocellaris, Bkh. — It has been suggested that ocellaris, Bkh., is only the extreme form of gilvago, a view held by Kossler. With regard to this Fuchs writes : — " If Eossler acknowledges the existence of a form intermediate between gilvago and ocellaris, and has united them in consideration thereof, the proof is in- complete, for only in a certain sense can intermediate forms be said to unite two supposed distinct species. My own captured gilvago and ocellaris, however, leave me to believe in the identity of these species, as I have one gilvago with the tips of the fore wings acutely pointed as in ocellaris. All my specimens, both of gilvago and ocellaris, have been taken in the noted poplar avenue of Hamburg, where gilvago is the rarer and ocellaris the commoner species. The freshly emerged specimens were taken on the trunks of poplars during the afternoon " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliv., p. 264). I believe the union of ocellaris and gilvago has never got beyond this, and up to the present I believe both species have not been bred from the same batch of eggs.
Mellinia, Hb., circellaris, Hufn. Vol. iii., p. 15. — Mellinia circellaris ab. nigridens, Fuchs. — The following is the original note referring to a description of this variety : — " The chief characteristic of this interesting form, which contrasts strikingly with typical circellaris, is expressed by the name nigridens. Not only both transverse lines, but also the nervures towards the outer margin are black. Through this outer area the zigzag subter- minal line shows up more distinctly on the nervures than is the case in the indistinctly marked circellaris. The coloration of the fore wings also shows some difference in the same direction, never appearing red- dish, and generally darkened with brown scales. The species was taken very freely from Sept. 12th to Oct. 5th, 1882, but only towards the end of the time were a few specimens discovered belonging to this aberration " {' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliv., p. 263). This form is apparently the var. macilenta of Hiibner (vide, ante vol. iii., p. 15), or at any rate is sufficiently near to be classed with it.
Plastenis, Bdv., retusa, Linn. Vol. iii., p. 19. — Plastenis retusa. — Butler refers his curvata {' Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1886, p. 131) to this species and writes ; — " The Japanese specimens are slightly larger and darker than most European examples. When I named ' Cosmia curvata,^ we had no Euro- pean representative in the general collection. This was one of the many desiderata supplied by the Zeller collection " (' Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1890, p. 681). Such an excuse as this is marvellous in one who is critically dealing with the Noctu^ of the world, and pleads igno- rance of a species in every beginner's collection in this country.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 123
Calymnia, Hb., trapezina, LinD. Vol. iii., p. 22. — Calymnia trapezina var. badiofasciata, Teich. — The original notes on this variety are as follows : — " Of this species three specimens have been taken here, which vary so much from the normal form that they might almost be supposed to be another species. I, therefore, add a description, whilst I propose to name the form var. hadtofasciata. The ground colour is similar to the ordinary trapezina^ but the male is paler and the female more reddish-yellow. The mark- ings above are those of the normal form, but the central area is dark chestnut-brown, and consequently the black spot is not seen ; the wavy line towards the margin is also shaded with dark. The fore wings are darker underneath, and the hind wings have a broad blackish-grey band instead of the dotted arched streak ; but between the base and central lunule the commencement of a similar band, which, however, soon becomes suffused, is still seen on the costal margin. They were taken at sugar during the second half of July " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliv., p. 178). This variety comes very near my var. rufo-pallida (ante, vol. iii., p. 23), and may even be identical with extreme forms of it. The type of var. badiofasciata was taken in Kiga.
Dianthoecia, Bdv., ccesia, Bkh. Vol. iii., p. 39. — Bianthcecia ccesia var. manani, Gregson. — Mons. Oberthiir records this from the Pyrenees. He writes : — " The type from Cauterets is dark, nearly approaching that from England " (* Etudes d' Entomologie,' viii., p. 49).
Hecatera, Gn., chrysozona, Bkh.
Vol. iii., p. 40. — Hecdtera chrysozona Ya,r. (Stdgr.). — Of the Central Asiatic form Staudinger writes : — " Two very pale specimens were sent to me from Saisan, which, however, do not agree with my var. innocens nor with var. caduca (the latter I now consider to be certainly a form of chrysozona). From Margelan, I last year received a larger number of these paler but variable specimens, which I sent away at first as caduca, but which cannot be considered as this form which has no yellow shadings. Some specimens from Dalmatia resemble var. inno- cens, others are very different, yet I think they should be included under the same varietal name " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., pp. 36-37).
Vol. iii., p. 40. — Hecatera chrysozona var. caduca, H.-S. — Staudinger considered this variety of chrysozona from Crete, as doubtfully belong- ing to Serena or chrysozona, but in the * Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., pp. 36-37, refers caduca decidedly to chrysozona. Herr Speyer then wrote : — " Until now, Mamestra caduca was unknown to me, but a male specimen captured by my brother in Granbiinden on July 14th, 1861, agrees exactly with Herrich-Schaffer's description (* Schmet. von Europa ' ii., p. 266) no less than with his exact figure (484). There can be no doubt about the identity of the species, and in my opinion, caduca is not a distinct species but an aberration of chry- sozona, Bkh. (dysodea) very slightly coloured in the central area, in which the yellow is only represented by a faint shade. The markings tally exactly, especially those of the hind wings, with Herrich-Schaffer's figure ; and the second transverse line of the fore wings, which in this species makes a sharp, wedgeshaped mark, in serena forms only a short
124 VARIETIES OF NOOTU^
dentate mark. The antennae are very distinct also from those of scr en a, with which Staudinger (* Lepidop. Griechenlands ' etc., 121, and * Lepidop. Kleinasiens ' etc., 200) classes caduca. In chrysozona they are very weakly pectinated, but in serena they are always thicker and longer, almost hairy. Herrich-Schaffer received his original type specimen from Frivaldszky from Crete, taken in July. The flesh- coloured larva according to Frivaldszky, differs from that of dysodea. I certainly considered this a local form of chrysozona from Crete, which also occurs further north as an aberration " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlviii., p. 338).
Referring to this note on Mamestra caduca, H.-S. in the ' Stett. ent. Zeit.,' 1887, p. 338, Herr Speyer further writes : — "On compiling the communication quoted, I have overlooked that Dr. Staudinger had in the * Ent. Zeit.,' xliii., p. 36, altered his opinion respecting caduca, and that he himself now declares it to be certainly a var. of H. chry- sozona. The difference in the larva has probably induced Herrich- Schaffer to put caduca as a separate species, in spite of his own statement that it tallies in all essential points with dysodea " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlix., p. 207).
Herrich-Schaffer's original description of caduca is as follows : — " Cinerea fusco- et perparum aurantiaco-mixta." He further states that : — " It comes near to dysodea, but is smaller, although having the same markings. The same ashy-grey ground colour and a slight trace of yellow markings. The black markings are fainter. In the hind wings is a darker line parallel to the hind margin, and a dark lunule " etc. The figure accompanying this description is certainly a very pale dysodea with a very slight ochreous tint. The description I made of the figure is as follows : — " Fore wings grey, with a faint ochreous shade in the centre of the wing, and with the ordinary and abbreviated basal lines pale, with dark outer edges ; the claviform is short, blunt, and very dark ; the orbicular is ocellated ; the reniform with a dark margin ; the elbowed line pale with its inner edge dark ; the subter- minal very black. The hind wings whitish with a dark margin and lunule " (' Die Schmet. von Europa,' p. 266, and fig. 48).
Prodenia, Gn., littoralis, Bdv.
Vol. iii., p. 63. — ProdenialittoraUs. — This species was first bred in Britain by Mr. Boden from an imported tomato. Of this we read : — " Mr. Boden, at the City of London Ent. Society's Meeting of August 6th, exhibited a specimen of a Noctua bred from a larva found feeding on a tomato. He stated that the larva was brown and had a curious pig-like head. The insect was unknown to the members present, the general opinion being that it had been imported with the fruit " (* Ent. Eiecord ' &c., vol. ii., p. 167). Further we read : — " This specimen has since been identified as the Frodenia littoralis of Boisduval, a species hitherto un- known in Britain. He (Mr. Boden) stated that he had failed to obtain any information as to the locality from whence the tomato came, but expressed an opinion that, seeing how extensively this plant was now cultivated in England, it was quite possible that the insect might become naturalised in this country " (I.e. p. 260). Staudinger records it from " Crete, Syria and the Canary Isles " (' Catalog,' p. 104). Colonel Swinhoe records it " from Moulmein and Eangoon " (' Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 127).
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 125
Butler writes : — " Prodenia testaceoides (Guenee, ' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 165) is a slight variety, and P. dedinata. Walker (I.e. vol. xi., p. 723) is a starved specimen " {' Transactions of the Entom. Society of London,' 1890, p. 666). I have not been able to test this statement, but as Colonel Swinhoe in the ^ Trans. Ent. Soc. of London,' 1890, p. 227, adopts Butler's synonymy, probably it is correct.
Boisduval's original diagnosis of this species is as follows : — " Alis anticis fusco violascentibus, maculis ordinariis nervo medio albido junctis, strigis transversis pallidis, maculisque apicalibus sagittatis nigris; posticis albo-opalinis " [' Fauna Madagas.' etc., p. 91 (1834:)].
Aplecta, Gn., advena, Fab. Vol. iii., p. 70. — Aplecta advena var. adjuncta, Stdgr. — Of this local form Dr. Staudinger writes : — " M. advena var. adjuncta. — Christoph found this species in the beginning of August near Whadiwostock. Dorries sent it me from Askold, Ussuri, Linfun and Sidimi. I took it first for another species, but I believe now that it is a local form of advena. Adjuncta, which on the average is somewhat larger than ad- vena (48-55 mm), has the same markings, which, however, do not appear so clearly because it is darker than advena. The fore wings are dull grey-brown with very little or none of the blue-grey tint which predominates in advena. Through this darker coloration the markings in adjuncta appear less distinct, and the two discoidals are often scarcely visible, especially the white line surrounding the reniform, which is never present as in advena. The hind wings also, as well as the under- side of both fore and hind wings are darker in adjuncta. The dark lunular spot on the hind wings appears either faintly or not at all " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlix., p. 249).
Aplecta, Gn., nebulosa, Hufn.
Vol. iii., p. 68. — Aplecta nebulosa var. askolda, Oberthiir (= var. himaculosa, Esp. ?). — Of this variety Oberthiir makes the following remarks : — " It only differs from the ordinary French type in the tint being of a slaty-grey and in consequence much darker. Four J' and one 2 exactly similar to each other were received from Askold " (' Etudes d'Entomologie,' v., p. 79). It almost seems as if this variety should be referred to var. himaculosa, Esp. At any rate there can be no practical difference between var. askolda and our dark Yorkshire form.
Hadena, Och.
Vol. iii., p. 71. — Our Crymodes exults (ante, vol. i., p. J 18) is supposed by many well-informed entomologists to be nothing but a local form of Hadena maillardi, Hb.-Gey. At any rate the following note concerning this matter, written by Dr. Staudinger, is well worthy of notice. He writes: — ^^ Hadena maillardi, Hb.-Gey. (pernix, Hb.- Gey. var. ; exidis, Lef . ?). A fresh male, and two fresh females, captured on the 19th of July, might be called maillardi equally as well as pernix or exulis. I feel almost certain now that exulis is only a var. of maillardi which has especially developed in Iceland. Speci- mens taken in the Dovref jeld in Norway, which Wocke represents as exulis, and which, in fact, resemble many Greenland and Labrador exulis, are difficult to separate from small specimens of maillardi. The three Central Asiatic specimens are very similar to these Norwegian forms, indeed, I should not be able to distinguish the males. The two
126 VARIETIBS OF NOCTUJE
smaller females, however, differ from the Norwegian examples, having no border to the stigmata, and are darker on the underside, without a distinct black central spot on the hind wings, which, however, the male shows very distinctly. Yet, I do not doubt but that the male is specifically identical with the female. I do not think it impossible that zeta, pernix and maillardi, which appear to comprise the variable European form, are identical with the Iceland and Polar- A.merican exuLis. Finland and Central Asia (and most likely also that part of North Asia which has not been explored) give all the transitional forms, but without such striking ones as exulis produces in Iceland. I also possess a specimen from South Caucasus which might be united with pernix and maillardi " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., pp. 40-41).
Hadena, Och., ddustd, Esp. Vol. iii., p. 73. — Hadena adusta var. vicina, Alpheraky. — ^In the
* Zoological Kecord,' 1890 (Insecta), p. 250 we read : — " H. adusta, var. = Mamestra vicina, Alpheraky (Alpheraky, in Eomanoff's
* Memoires sur les Lepidopteres,' vol. v., p. 163). Alpheraky's descrip- tion of vicina is : — " This variety is of an uniform chocolate-brown, with black markings and with the claviform very distinct, producing at first sight an appearance very different from adusta. The wavy line is indicated only by a series of black sagittate streaks."
Hadena, Och., trifolii, Kott. Vol. iii., p. 83, line 16 from bottom, for "tripolii^' read " trifolii.^*
Hadena, Och., dissimilis, Knoch. Vol. iii., p. 86. — Hadena dissimilis. — Dr. Staudinger writes — Two specimens of this species from Saisan, and seven from Lepsa, agree with the brown unicolorous specimens taken in Europe. Several specimens were also sent from Margelan" ('Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 35).
Hadena, Och., pisi, Linn.
Vol. iii., p. 91. — Hadena pisi var. pollens, Stdgr. — This pale yellow-brown variety of pisi was thus noticed by Dr. Staudinger : — " I received 26 specimens from Lepsa, which are very similar, but differ so much from pisi, that I at first considered them to belong to a distinct species. The fore wings are yellow-brown, almost unicolorous, rarely with a reddish tint, but the white line on the outer margin with the large white spot at its extremity comes out very distinctly. The transverse lines are almost entirely absent. The discoidals are very faint but the nervures are often blackish towards the outer margin. The hind wings and the under surface are also paler, but the latter is red- dish towards the front. The head and thorax are also pale yellow-brown, never red-brown. The Iceland pisi resemble this variety very much and form a transition between this and the type, the Iceland specimens agreeing very largely with the Central Asiatic form. It seems strange to find similar specimens in Central Asia and Iceland " {' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung.' vol. xliii., pp. 35-36). I have seen specimens, which Mr. W. F. de V. Kane captured in Ireland, very similar to this variety.
Xylina, Och., lamda. Fab.
Vol. iii., p. 99. — Xylina lamda. — A translation of the critical note in which Staudinger collected lamda, somniculosa and zinchenii into one
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 127
species, is given by Miiller in 'The Entomologist,' vol. v., p. 47. He writes ; — " Xylina lambda of Fabricius, somniculosa of Hering, rubescens of Menetries. — Even to this day there stands in Treitschke's collection the type of Noctua lambda of Fabricius Q Ent. Syst.', iii., 2, p. 106, No. 317), a species which has been discussed at some length by Treitschke (vol. iii., p. 18). This lambda of Fabricius is doubtless identical with the subsequently described somniculosa of Hering (* Stett. ent. Zeit.,' 1851, p. 165) or the still subsequent rubescens (Menetries, * Etud. Ent.,' 1859), as the specimen seemed to me to be a sharper marked one. The Fabrician indication of the markings of the fore wings : — ' Lineola baseos duabusque in medio atris,' also applies better to the sharper-marked variety rubescens of Menetries. I, there- fore, believe that this lambda came originally from Lapland, whence it is known that Herr Schneider of Stralsund, from whom Fabricius received the specimen, often obtained collections, and where the species is not scarce, although I regard this form, as Treitschke has previously done, to be only a variety of zinckenii, yet as a well-defined local form it must keep its name, and must now stand as : —
lambda, Fab., *Ent. Sys.,' iii., 2, p. 106.
rubescens y M^n., ' Et. Ent.' (Europa Cor.).
var. somniculosa, * Stett. Ent. Zeit.,' 1851, p. 165,
(Germania, Sept.-Or.). var. zinckenii, Tr., v., pt. 3, p. 16 (Germania, Sept.-Occ.)"
(' Stettiner ent. Zeitung,' 1869).
Calocampa, St., exsoleta, Linn. Vol. iii., p. 108. — Calocampa exsoleta var. impudica, Stdgr. — This variety was described by Dr. Staudinger as follows : — " Calocampa exoleta var. impudica, Stdgr. — As long ago as 1882 (in p. 47 of this journal), I mentioned the receipt of three specimens of a var. of exoleta from Lepsa and Saisan. Since then, I have received the same in greater numbers as a special local form from Margelan and Samarkand, where they were found late in the autumn or hibernated in March. This var. impudica has the same peculiarity of all other Central Asiatic forms, namely, it is lighter in coloration than the European as well as less pronounced in its markings. The fore wings are ashy-grey without a brown tint mostly with striking lighter yellow-grey outer margin. All the darker markings appear more suffused. The hind wings are also lighter with paler almost white fringes. The underside is also coloured lighter in comparison. The hind wings are here almost whitish with darker dusted nervures. The black median spot is always present, but the dark transverse line behind it is often entirely absent " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlviii., pp. 35-36).
HeliothidcB, Bdv. Vol. iii., p. 121.— For " 9. Family :—Eeliothidce, Bdv.," read " 10. Family : — Heliothidce, Bdv."
Heliaca, H.-S., tenebrata, Sc. Vol. iii., p. 132. — Heliaca tenebrata var. albescens, Ckll. — On p. 132, I referred to a variety with white hind wings, which I said I thought Mr. Cockerell had named albescens. Mr. Cockerell now points out that the variety was named in * The Entomologist,' 1889, p. 126, under the synonym of H. arbuti.
128 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^
ADDITIONS, etc., to Vol. IV.
Brephos, Och., notha, Hb.
Vol. iv., p. 13. — Brephos notha var. ? (an parthenias), Stdgr. — Dr. Staudinger records a form from Central Asia which he assumes may be a variety of notha, but which is as mottled as parthenias. He is very uncertain, however, as to its actual specific identity, and writes of it as follows : — " Brephos notha var. ? (an parthenias). — Taken at the com- mencement of April at Lepsa. The males I can only determine as notha, which differs very little from parthenias, although they may be two distinct species. These Central Asiatic specimens are as small as notha, but the fore wings are as mottled as in parthenias. There is no difference in the transverse bands " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 57).
Plusia, Och., chryson, Esp. {orichalcea, Fab.?).
Vol. iv., p. 25. — Plusia orichalcea or chryson. — One of the reasons for dropping the name of orichalcea in favour of chryson, was due to the fact that Staudinger suggested that the Fabrician reference to the type coming from India was probably erroneous, but in the * Etudes d' Entomologie,' vol. v., p. 84, two specimens are recorded from the Isle d' Askold, by Mons. Oberthiir. Fabricius' original description of orichalcea is as follows : — " Noctua cristata, alis deflexis fuscis ; macula magna lunata, orichalcea. Habitat in India. Koenig (colln.). Statura praBcedentis (chrysitis). Alas fusc^e, anticis macula lunari orichalcea, nitida, posticis immaculatis" ('Systematica entomologica,' p. 607). Mr. Kirby refers this description to an Indian species allied to chryson, although the description applies fairly well to chryson ; but although Askold and Japan are recorded as localities for chryson, specimens have not yet been recorded from India.
Plusia jota and P. pulchrina.
Vol. iv., p. 27. — Plusia jota and P. pulchrina. — The following note written by a Continental lepidopterist (Dr. Speyer) is sure to prove interesting to British lepidopterists. Dr. Speyer writes as follows : — " Plusia jota and P. pulchrina. — In England, the larvse of both species are said to feed on the same plants which Stainton in his ' Manual ' names as nettles, honeysuckle &c., without mentioning bilberry, on which I have here exclusively found pulchrina for many years. That my pulchrina and jota are identical with those of Guenee and those from England, the descriptions prove. In Germany, they are both classed together as varieties under the Linn^an name, but I have never seen an intermediate form. The larva of jota, here as elsewhere, feeds on many plants, and has been found chiefly in gardens, on nettles, Lamium &c., but is scarcer than pulchrina. I have also reared one specimen from a larva found on bilberry, which, however, may have got among the same accidentally. At any rate, I have since found only pulchrina on bilberry, and jota on other plants, but should not doubt a different experience on the part of others. That pulchrina in captivity will eat other plants is certain. A few larva taken on bilberry, in September, fed on Lamium album after hibernation, and throve well, in fact, they turned out quite typi- cal pulchrina. Guenee seems in his description of v. aureiim, not to
IN THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 129
have had a sufficient number of specimens, for his marks of distinction are not at all to be relied on. The shape of the metallic mark is not a criterion, a better one exists in the fringes, which in jota are uni- colorous, and in pulchrina dark-spotted, although in many specimens of the latter these spots are scarcely discernible. They vary according to my experience, much less than their somewhat larger and more robust relative, in which the metallic mark changes from the spots, being almost suffused on the one hand, and complete disappearance on the other. All pulchrina which I saw had it distinctly, and in the ordinary shape, that is, the v-shape and the spot separated ; but I do not doubt that specimens may occur where both are united, and form a 7 as in percontationis. The light purplish (tinted with blue) colora- tion, as also the more glossy fore wings, and the stronger angulated lines (almost always shining silvery in the basal area), give our European pulchrina quite a different appearance from jota, which is easily discernible when both species are before you. But they are still so similar that it is easily understood that there should be doubts as to their specific difference. In Curland, and probably in the Batish countries such doubt will not exist, as all their specimens resemble those which I saw in 1875, and shortly described under the names of var. haltica and var. gammoides in the ^ Entom. Zeitung.' The considerably larger Batish jota is of a browner coloration, which has no resemblance to the grey gamma-like of their relative. HUbner's jota (fig. 288) belongs without doubt to pulchrina, but the coloration of violet and reddish is made to contrast too strongly, at least in HUbner's work in the Stettin library " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliv., pp 354-356).
Plusia, Och., pulchrina, Haw.
Vol. iv., p. 29. — Plusia pulchrina var. monogramma, Alph. — In the < Zoological Eecord ' for 1887 (Insecta), p. 250, we find : — " P. pulchrina var. monogramma, Alph., * Stett. ent. Zeit.,' xlviii., p. 171." The original description is as follows : — " Varietas obscurior signis mediis aureo-argenteis anticarum in signum literam gi-secum y simulantum conjunctis " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlviii., p. 171). My var. juncta is not " obscurior," but is of the same tint as the normal British forms, otherwise the two varieties agree.
Amphipyra, Och., pyramidea, Linn.
Vol. iv., p. 37. — Amphipyra pyramidea var. magna, Walk. — The following is Walker's description of magna, which is now generally considered as a form of the above species: — " $. Fusca, nigro con- spersa ; alee anticse fuscescente-cinerese, fascia media lata dentata lineaque exterior nigi'icantibus linea ante media nigra undulata duplicata, orbiculari e annulo cinereo elliptico, reniformi subobsoleta, spatio mar- ginali fusco strigas nigras lineamque cineream dentatam includente ; postica cupreo-rufa." " $ . Brown, speckled with black cinereous- brown beneath. Palpi nearly erect, rising a little higher than the vertex ; third joint lanceolate, less than one-half the length of the second. Abdomen cinereous-brown, extending much beyond the hind "'^'ng. The fore wings brownish-cinereous, with a broad, blackish mtral band, which is dentate along its outer side, and is parallel to
I
130 VARIETIES OP NOCTUJE
an approximate blackish line ; a double undulating black line at half the distance between the base and the band ; orbicular mark forming an elliptical cinereous ringlet ; reniform mostly or wholly obsolete, as is also the orbicular occasionally ; marginal space brown, partly including a row of black streaks, which are traversed by a cinereous dentate line ; marginal lunules dark brown, bordered with cinereous. Hind wings ochreous-red. Length of the body 13 lines ; of the wings 32 lines. Localities. — a, North Hindostan, presented by the Secretary of the Indian Board ; b and c, North Hindostan, presented by Capt. Strachey" (Walker, * Catalogue, Lep. Het. Brit. Mus.,' 33, p. 868 [1865] ).
Amphtpyra, Och., tragopoginisj Linn.
Vol. iv., p. 39. — Amphipyra tragopoginis var. turcomana, Stdgr. — This Asiatic variety is described by Staudinger as follows : — " The specimens which are sent in large numbers from the province of Samarkand, taken at the end of May, as well as similar specimens from Margelan and Tekke, differ so much from the type in their paler coloration, that they deserve a varietal name. The fore wings are glossy, of a light, lead colour, instead of dark blackish-brown. The three dark dots near the margin and in the centre of the wing are generally suffused, whilst the darker, shadowy band near the outer margin is only faintly marked in some specimens. The hind wings of this var. turcomana are also much lighter, white-grey predominating. I sent out these light tragopoginis at first as var. asiatica, but as I after- wards received from Asia Minor, specimens as dark or darker than those of Europe, the name asiatica seems to me inappropriate " (' Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xlix., p. 32).
Catocala, Och., electa, Bkh.
Vol. iv., p. 48. — Catocala electa. — This species has only once been captured in England, and this specimen was taken by Mr. Vine in the neighbourhood of Brighton. The original notice of its occurrence by its captor, is as follows : — " On the 24th of September, I had the good fortune to take at sugar, about eight miles from Brighton, a specimen of Catocala electa, which I think is the first recorded British capture. It was taken in a strong south-west wind off an elm tree, about 8 o'clock. It is now in the possession of Mr. Meek, of Brompton Eoad " (* Entomologist,' vol. viii., pp. 282-283). Mr. Meek adds :— *' When at Brighton last Saturday, I bought what I supposed to be a var. of Catocala nupta, but, upon comparison with an European col- lection, I find it is Catocala electa " (I.e.). No other British specimen has been recorded of this species, either before or since.
The original description of this species is as follows : — " Phalcena Noctua electa. This moth has been confounded by modern authors with Linnasus' pacta. It is about the same size as nupta, the ground colour of the fore wings being of a light ashy-grey, mixed with light brown. Three whitish lines, edged with black, run transversely across the fore wings ; the one nearest the base is short and broken ; the second forms a strong curve and shows an M in the middle ; the third is arched still more strongly, especially towards the outside, has irregular teeth and twice forms the letter M. Close to this latter, on the outer side, runs in similar curves a brownish shade joined by a
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 131
whitish one. Between the two last lines stands a lunar-shaped spot, and below this a light black-bordered reniform. From the base a rose-coloured streak runs as far as the second line. The hind margin is black, spotted with white, the fringes ashy-grey. The hind wings are rose-coloured, with a broad black band on the margin, and a simi- larly coloured but shorter one, curved strongly but not touching the inner margin, is in the middle of the wing. The fringes of the hind margin are snowy-white, but in the foremost angle they are on a black band and somewhat rose-coloured" (* Naturgeschichte ' etc., pp. 26-27).
a. var. lugdenensis, Mill. — Milliere figures and describes a variety of this species under the above name. This description is to be found in the ' Annales de la Ent. Soc. de France,' vol. iii., 1855, pp. 205-206, and it is figured in the same volume, PI. xi., fig. 1. The latter has distinctly yellow hind wings, but with normal outer and central dark bands.
Catocala, Och., nupta, Linn.
Vol. iv., p. 50. — Catocala nupta var. — A specimen of this species was sold at Stevens' auction rooms with Mr. Howard Vaughan's col- lection, on April 23rd, 1890, which had streaks of the red colour normal on the under wings developed on the upper wings.
Vol. iv., p. 50. — Catocala nnpta var., Stdgr. — Dr. Staudinger describes a variety of this species without a name as follows : — " Three specimens taken in the second half of August, near Lepsa, have nearly the same grey coloration of the fore wings as adultera, and as the two forms so closely resemble each other, I took them at first for adultera. According to the differentiation of Morawitz, they are doubtful nupta of pale colour, which occur frequently in both sexes in Central Asia " (* Stettiner entomologische Zeitung,' vol. xliii., p. 56).
Vol. iv., p. 51. — Catocala nupta var. ccerulescens, Ckll. — A variety having all the essential characters of this form was captured by Mr, Winkley, in August of the present year (1892). The following note relative to this specimen occurs : — " Mr. Winkley exhibited a peculiar variety of C. nupta. Mr. Frohawk aaid that he had * examined the specimen by daylight, and found the normal red colour of the hind wings was in this specimen pale brown, shot on the surface with purple.' By gaslight the specimen looked of a purple-brown tint " (* Entomologist's Kecord ' etc., vol. iii., p. 216) ; whilst a full description of this particular aberration by Mr. Frohawk, reads as follows : — " I have pleasure in recording the capture of an exceedingly fine form of C. nupta, taken at rest at Mitcham, Surrey, on August 27th last, by my friend Mr. Mark Winkley. The coloration of the secondaries is re- markable, having all the usual red colour replaced by a very delicate warm brown, and a purplish glow covering the entire area of the wings ; both the marginal and median bands are broader than usual, and finely shot with purple. The primaries are also considerably deeper in colour, the ground colour being of a deep smoky-grey ; the dark markings are strongly pronounced ; the reniform is large and black, in strong contrast to a whitish blotch bordering the inner edge. Under surface : the secondaries are coloured as above, there being no trace of any red colouring, and all the black bands of primaries and secondaries are shot with purple. It is a large female, measuring 3f -inches in expanse, and apparently freshly emerged " (* Entomologist,' vol. xxv., p. 243).
132
VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
LIST OF THE CHIEF AUTHORS AND TITLES OF BOOKS
Referred to in this Work, together with the abbreviations used.
Albin
Ann.
Ann. Soc. Fr.
Bdv. or Bois. (Gen. et.
Ind.). Bdv. or Bois. (Ic).
Bdv. or Bois. (Ind.).
Bdv. or Bois. (Spec. Gen.).
Bentl.
Berl. ent. Zeit.
Berl. Mag. Bkh.
Brahm (Ins. Kal.). Brem. [Lep. (O.S.)].
Brit. Nat. Bull. Mosc. Can. Ent. CL (Ic).
Albin, * Natural History of British Insects.'
London, 1724. 'The Entomologist's Annual.' 1855-1870.
Edited by H. T. Stainton. London. 'Annales de la Society Entomologique de
France,' Paris, 1832-1892. Boisduval, ' Genera et Index methodicus.'
Parisiis, 1840. „ , * Icones Historique des Lepidopt^res
nouveaux ou peu connus.' Paris, i.,
1832 : ii., 1834 (PI. 70-84, published
probably after 1836). „ , * Europaeorum Lepidopterorum Index
methodicus.' Parisiis, 1829. „ , 'Histoire naturelle des Insectes, Species
General des Lepidopteres,' Tome i.
Paris, 1836. The part relating to the
Noctuse, written by Guenee. William Bentley, ' The Entomologist,' vol. i.,
1842.
* Berliner entomologische Zeitschrift.' Berlin,
1857, etc. vide Hufnagel. Borkhausen, * Naturgeschichte der Euro-
paischen Schmetterlinge,' Frankfurt
i., 1788; ii., 1789; iii., 1790; iv.,
1792 ; v., 1794. Brahm, * Insectenkalender fur Sammler und
Oekonomen.' Mainz, vol. i., 1790 ;
vol. ii., 1791. Bremer, ' Lepidopteren Ost-Sibiriens, insbe-
sondere des Amur-Landes ' (Mem. de
r Acad. Im]p. des Sc. de St. Petersburg,
1864). ' British Naturalist.' London, 1891-1892
(Edited by J. E. Robson).
* Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Natu-
ralistes de Moscou.' Moscou, 1829-1892.
* The Canadian Entomologist.' London, On-
tario, vol. i-xxiii, 1868-1892. Clerck, * Icones Insectorum rariorum cum nominibus eorum trivialibus, locisque C. Linnaei etc. Syst. Nat. allegatis,' T. 1-16. Holmi^, 1759.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
133
Curtis (B.E.).
Cyr.
Dalm. (An. Ent.).
Dalm. (Fors.).
Dbld. List.
De Geer (Mem.).
Dup.
Diip. (Cat.).
Dup. (Ic).
Engr.
Ent. Ann.
Entom.
Ent. Mo. Mag.
Ent. Nach. Ent. Rec.
Ent. Syn. List. Ent. Tids. Ernst. Esp.
Ev. (Lep. Ross.).
Curtis, * British Entomology.' London, 1825- 1840.
Cyrilli, * Entomologiee Neapolitanae specimen primum.' Neapoli, 1787-1792.
Dalman, * Analecta entomologica.' Holmias. 1823. „ , ' Forsok till sistematisk Uppstallning af Sveriges Fjarilar ' (Vetens. Ac. Handl. 1816).
Doubleday, Hy. *A Synonymic List of British Lepidoptera ' etc. London, 1847-1850 ; 2nd Edition, 1859. j De Geer, ' Memoires pour servir a I'histoire des Insectes.' Stockholm, Tom. i., 1752; Tom.ii-vii.,1771-1778(Deutsch von Gotze. Niirnberg, 1778-1783).
Duponchel (with Godart), ' Histoire Naturelle des Lepidopteres ' etc. (Continuation of the work of Godart, who wrote vols, i.-v.), Paris, vols, vi.-xi, 1826-1838, ' Supplement,' vols, i.-iv., 1832-1842. „ , * Catalogue, methodique des Lepi- dopteres d'Europe.' Paris, 1844. „ , * Iconographie des Chenilles.' Paris, 1832.
Engramelle (with Ernst), *Papillons d' Europe.' Paris, i. (1779)-viii. (1792).
' The Entomologist's Annual,' H. T. Stainton. London, 1855-1870.
'The Entomologist.' London, vol. i., 1842; vols, ii.-xxv. (1864-1892).
* The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine.'
London, 1st series, vol. i.-xxv. 3864- 1890); 2nd series, vols, i.-ii. (1891- 1892). ' Entomologische Nachrichten,' edited by Dr. F. Karsch, vols, i.-xviii., 1875-1892.
* The Entomologist's Record and Journal of
Variation.' London, vols, i.-iii. 1890- 1892. Edited by J. W. Tutt.
* The Entomologist Synonymic List,' R. South,
1884.
* Entomologisk Tidskrift,' Stockholm, vols.
i.-xiii., 1880—1892.
Ernst (with Engramelle), ^Papillons d' Europe. Paris, i. (1779)— viii. (1792).
Esper, *Die Schmetterlinge in Abbildungen nach der Natur.' Erlangen, vols, i., (1777)_v. (1794); Supplement (bis 1804 ?). Fortsetzung von (Ochsenh.) Charpentier bis 1829 ?
Eversmann (Fischer de Waldheim), * Entomo-' graphia Imperii Rossici,' vol. v., ' Lepidoptera Rossica.' Mosquee, 1857.
134
Ev. (F.V.U.). Fab. (S.E.). Fab. (Gen.).
Fab. (Phil). Fab. (Sp.). Fab. (Mant.). Fab. (E.S.).
Fab. (Supp.). F. de W.
Forst. Friv.
Frr. (Btr.).
Frr. (n. Btr.). Fuessl. (Arch.). Fuessl. (Mag.).
Fuessl. (n. Mag.). Geoffroi
Germar
Geyer
Gn. (Noctuelles).
Gn. (Pyr.).
VARIETIES OF NOCTU-®
Eversmann, * Fauna Lepidopterologica Volgo-
Uralensis.' Casani, 1844. Fabriciis, ' Systema Entomologias.' Flensburgi et Lipsise, 1775. „ , * Genera Insectorum (cum * Mantissa,' specierum nuper detectarum p. 209- 310)'. Chilonii, 1777. „ , ' Philosophia Entomologica.' Hamburgi
et Kilonii, 1778. „ , ' Species Insectorum,' Tom. ii. Ham- burgi et Kilonii, 1781. „ , ' Mantissa Insectorum,' Tom. ii.
Hafnise, 1787. „ , ' Entomologia Systematica emendata et aucta,' vol. iii., Pars. i. et ii. Hafni^, 1793. „ , ^ Supplementarum Entomologiaa Syste- maticae.' Hafniae, 1798. Fischer de Waldheim, ' Entomographie de la Kussie' etc., vol. i., Mosquae, 1820- 1822 ; vol. ii., 1823-1824. Forster, ' Novae species Insectorum,' Oenturia
i. Londini, 1771. Frivaldszky (Emerich von), m. akademiai L., 'Tag lijabb Kozlesei as altala erzko- zlott ' etc. Budan ii., 1835. Freyer, ' Beitrage zur Geschichte europaischer Schmetterlinge.' Augsburg, vols, i-iii., 1827-1831. Freyer, ' Neuere Beitrage zur Schmetterlings-
kunde.' Augsburg i-vii„ 1831-1858. Fuessly, ' Archiv der Insecten-geschichte.' Zurich und Winterthur, 1781. „ , ' Magazin fiir die Liebhaber der Ento- mologie.' Ziirich und Winterthur, 1778. „ , ' Neues Magazin fur die Liebhaber der Entomologie.' Zurich, 1782-1787. Geoffroi, ' Histoire abregee des Insectes, qui se trouvent aux environs de Paris.' Tom. ii., 1764. Germar, ' Fauna Insectorum Europae.' Halas,
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IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
135
God.
Goze (Btr.). Grasl.
Hag. (Bibl.). Haw. (Lep. Brit). Hb. (Abb.).
Hb. (Btr.).
Hb. (Samm. eur.). Hb. (Verz.). Hb. (S. a. v.).
Hb.-Gey.
Hein. (Schm. D.).
Hor. H.-S.
H.-S. (Deutsch. I.). H.-S. (n. Schmett.).
Godart, * Histoire naturelle des Lepidopt^res de France'. Tom. i.-v. Paris, 1821- 1824. Vol. V. was reprinted in 1837. The continuation of the work was carried on by Duponchel.
Goze, ' Entomologische Beytrage,' iii., Theil i.-iii. Leipzig, 1779-1781.
Graslin, A. de. In the ' Annales de la Soc. Ent. de France.'
Hagen, ^Bibliotheca Entomologica,' i.-ii. Leipzig, 1862-1863.
Haworth, ' Lepidoptera Britannica.' London, 1803 (to 1829 ?).
Hiibner, * Abbildungen und Beschreibungen noch nicht abgebildeter und noch un- beschriebener Schmetterlinge, mit illuminirtem (3) Kupfern.' Augsburg, 1785. „ ,' Beit rage zur Geschichte der Schmet- terlinge.' Augsburg, vol. i., 1786- 1789; vol. ii., 1790; Nachtrag, 1791 or 1792. „ , * Sammlung europaischer Schmet- terlinge,' i.-vi. Augsburg, 1793-1827. „ , * Verzeichniss bekannter Schmetter- linge.' Augsburg, 1816. „ , * Systematisch - alphabetisches Ver- zeichniss aller bisher bey den Fiirbil- dungen zur Sammlung europ. Schmett. angegebenen Gattungsbenennungen.' Augsburg, 1822.
Geyer, a continuation of HUbner's ' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' 1827-1841. The Plates by Geyer = Noctuae, 158-185 ; Pyrales, 31-32.
Heinemann, H. von. *Die Schmetterlinge Deutschlands und der Schweiz.' Braun- schweig, i., 1859 ; ii., 1863 ; iii., 1870.
* Horse Societatis Entomologicse Rossicae.' Petropoli, vols, i-viii., 1861-1870.
Herrich-Schaffer, ' Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmetterlinge von Europa.' Eegensburg, vols, i.-vi., 1843-1856 (als Text, Revision und Supplement zu Hubner). „ , ' Deutschlands Insecten (als Fortset- zung zum Panzer)'. Heft, 111-190, 1829-1844. „ , * Neue Schmetterlinge aus Europa und den angrenzenden Landern.' Eegens- burg, Heft i.-iii., 1866, 1860 and 1861.
136 Hufn.
Humph. & West.
111.
Kleem. (Btr.).
Kn. (Btr.). L. (F. S.).
L. (S. N. X.). L. (S. N. xii,). Lang
Latr.
Ld.
Ld. (Noot.). L. E.
Lef.
List. Y. Lep.
Mab.
Mem. Ac. St. Pet.
Mem. Mosc.
Men.
VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
Hufnagel, * Tabellen von den Tage-, Abend- undNachtvogeln der hiesigen Gegend.' Berlin, in the ' Berlinisches Magazin ' etc., ii., 1766 ; iii., 1767; iv., 1769.
Humphrey and Westwood ' British Moths.' London, i.-ii., 1841-1844.
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Kleemann, ' Beitrage zur Natur- und Insecten- geschichte.' Niirnberg : Eosel, iv., Theil 1761 (v. Eosel), ' Beitrage zur allgemeinen Natur- und Insecten- geschichte,' 1761-1776 (v. Theil von Eosel).
Enoch, ' Beitrage zur Insectengeschichte.' Leipzig, vols, i.-iii., 1781-1783.
Linnaeus, ' Fauna Suecica,' 1st Edition. Stockholmiae, 1746; 2nd Edition (Editio altera). Stockholmias, 1761. „ , ' Systema Natural,' Editio decima,
Tom. i. Holmise, 1758. „ , * Systema Naturge,' Editio duodecima, Tom. i.. Pars. ii. Holmise, 1767.
Lang, ^ Verzeichniss seiner Schmetterlinge ' etc., i.-ii., Aufl. Augsburg, 1782 (i.) ; 1789 (ii.).
Latreille, ' Genera Crustaceorum et Insect orum secundum ordinem naturalem in f ami- lias disposita,' i.-iv. Paris, 1802-1809.
Lederer, ' Versuch die europaischen Spanner in moglichst natiirliche Eeihenfolge zu stellen ' (Published in the Verhand- lungen des Zoologische-botanischen Vereins in Wien, 1853). „ , * Die Noctuinen Europa's.' Wein, 1857.
* LinnasaEntomologica.' Zeitschrift herausge-
geben von dem entomologischen
Verein in Stettin. Berlin, i.-xvi., 1846-
1866. Lefebvre, Alexandre (Writings in ' Annales
de la Soc. de France '). *List of Yorkshire Lepidoptera,' Porritt;
Pub. in Part vi. of the ' Transactions
of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union.' Mabille Paul (Writings in * Ann. de la Soc.
Ent. de France '). *Memoires de 1' Academie Imperiale des
sciences de St. Pe'tersbourg.'
* Memoires de la Societe Imperiale des Natu-
ralistes de Moscou,' Tom. i., 1806 ; Tom. ii., 1809 ; Tom. iii., 1812. Menetries.
IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS.
137
Mill. (Ic).
Monthly Mag.
Naturf.
Nick. Noct. Ober.
Ooh.
Pack.
Panz.
Pier.
Kbr. (Cat. Syst. And.).
Kbr. (Fn. And.).
Keaum. (Mem.) Roes. (Ins.).
Rossi. (Verz.).
Rett.
Scop. (Ent. Carn.).
Milliere, ' Iconographie et Description de Chenilles et Lepidopteres inedits,' Livraison 1-25, 1859-1870 (vide in Annales de la Soc. Linn, de Lyon ').
' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine.' London (vide ' Ent. Mo. Mag.').
* Der Naturf orscher,' i.-xxviii. Halle, 1774-
1804. Nickerl, ' Bohmens Tagfalter.' Prag, 1837.
* Species general etc.'(Noctuelites), v?deGneuce Oberthur, * Etudes d' Entomologie,' Part v.,
1880 ; Part viii., 1884.
* Ochsenheimer, ' Die Schmetterlinge von
Europa.' Leipzig, vol. i. (pt. 1, 1807; pt. 2, 1808); vol. ii., 1808; vol. iii., 1810 ; vol. iv., 1816. (This work was completed by Treitschke after Ochsenheimer's death).
Packard, ' View of the Lepidopterous Fauna of Labrador ' (' Proceedings Soc. N. Boston,' vol. xi., 1867).
Panzer, ^ Fauna Insectorum Germanise Initia (oder Deutschlands Insecten-Fauna).' Heft, 1-109. Niirnberg, 1793-1813.
Pierret, Alexandre (Writings in *Ann. de la Soc. Ent. de France ').
Rambur, ' Catalogue Systematique des Lepi- dopteres de r Andalousie.' Paris, liere partie, pp. 1-92, PI. i.-x., 1858 ; 2me partie, pp. 93-112, PI. xi.-xxii., 1866.
Rambur, * Faune Entomologique de I'Anda- lousie.' Paris, Livr. i.-v. (pp. 1-304), 1838-1839 ; pp. 305-336 non ed.
Reaumur, * M^moires pour servir k I'histoire des Insectes.' Paris, i.-vii., 1734-1742.
Rosel (Roesel), * Der monatlich herausgege- benen Insecten-Belustigung.' Erster Theil, Niirnberg, 1746. Zweiter Theil, 1749. Dritter Theil (mit Kleemann), 1755. Vierter Theil (von Kleemann), 1761.
Rossler, ' Verzeichniss der Schmetterlinge des Herzogthums Nassau.' Wiesbaden, 1866.
Rottemburg, ' Anmerkungen zu den Hufnagel 'schen Tabellen der Schmetterlinge ' C Naturforscher,' 1775-1777).
Scopoli, *Entomologia Carniolica exhibens Insecta Camioliai indigena et distri- buta in ordines, genera, species, varietates. Methodo Linnaeana.' Vindobonee, 1763.
138
VARIETIES OF NOCTU-S
Schiff. (S. v.).
Schrk. (Fn. B.).
Scot. Nat. Scriba (Btr.).
Sepp
Snell. (Vlind.). Stett. ent. Zeit. Stdgr. (Cat.). Stdgr. & Wocke (Cat).
Stn. (Man.). Stphs. (111.). Strom (D. S.).
Subs. S. V.
Tauscb. (Mem. Mos.).
Tgstr. (Anmaerkn.).
* Systematiscbes Verzeicbniss der Scbmetter-
linge der Wiener Gegend,' berausge-
geben von einigen Lebrern (Scbiffer-
mii(i)ller und Denis) am k. k.
Tberesianum. Wien, 1776. Scbranck, ' Fauna Boica.' Niimberg, Band
ii., pts. 1 und 2, 1801-1802. *Tbe Scottisb Naturalist' Pertb, 1871-1891. Scriba/ Beitrage zu der Insecten-gescbicbte.'
Frankfurt. Heft i., 1790; ii., 1791;
iii., 1793. Sepp, ' Bescbouwing der Wonderen Gods in
de minstgeacbte scbepzelen of Neder-
landscbe Insecten' etc. Deel i.-viii.,
1762-1860. Snellen (P.C.T.), *De Vlinders van Neder-
land ; ' Macrolepidoptera.' S. Graven-
bage, 1867.
* Entomologiscbe Zeitung.' Herausgegeben
von dem entomologiscben Verein zu Stettin, i.-liii., 1840-1892.
Staudinger, * Catalog der Lepidopteren Eu- ropa's und der angrenzenden Lander.' Dresden, 1861.
Staudinger and Wocke, * Catalog der Lepi- dopteren des Europseiscben Faunenge- biets.' Macro-lepidoptera, Dr. 0. Staudinger. Micro-lepidoptera, Dr. M. Wocke. Dresden, 1871.
Stainton, ^ Manual of Britisb Butterflies and Motbs.' London, vol. i., 1857 ; vol. ii., 1859.
Stepbens, * Illustrations of Britisb Entomo- logy ' etc. Haustellata, i.-iv. London, 1827-1835.
Strom, * Danmarks Sommerfugle i kort Oversigt.' Kjobenbavn, 1866(Natur- bist. Tidskrift af Scbiodte,' iv., 1866, pp. 109-140).
' Tbe Substitute.' H. T. Stainton, 1856-1857.
vide, Scbiff. S. V.
Tauscb er, ' Lepidoptorum Eussiae indigeno- rum observationes sex.' (In tbe Mem. Mosc' 1806, pp. 174-179 and 207- 212; PI. i.). * Sur quelques Noctuelles nouvelles de la Kussie ' (' Mem. Mosc.,' 1809, pp. 313-326 ; PI. i.).
Tengstrom, * Anmaerkninger ocb Tillag till Finlands Smafjaril- Fauna ' (Not. Sallsk pro Fauna Fenn. Forbandl, 1859, pp. 157-226).
IS THIC BRITISH ISLANDS.
139
Tgstr. (Bidr.).
Tbnb. (Diss. Ent.) (i ii., iii., iv., vii).
Thnb. (Mus. Nat.).
Tijd. voor. Ent.
Tr.
Trs. Ent. Soc. Lond.
View. (Tab. Verz.). Vill. (Linn. Ent.).
Vogel (n. Scbm.).
Walk.
Wern. (Btr.). Westd.
Tengstrom, * Bidrag till Finlands Fjaril- Fauna' (Notiser Sallsk. pro Faun. Fenn. Forhandl., 1847, T. i., pp. 69- 164).
Thunberg, ' Dissertatio Entomologica sistens Insecta Suecica, quorum partem pri- mam (i.) etc., publico examini subjicit Job. Borgstrom.' Upsalise, xi., Dec. 1784 ; P. ii. P. E. Becklin, x. Dec. 1791 ; P. iii., Jac. Akerman, ix. Maji, 1792; P. iv., C. F. Seebaldt, xxii. Maji, 1792; P. vii., G. M. Wenner, 22. Dec, 1794.
Tbunberg, ' Museum Naturalium Academies Upsaliensis, cujus partem sextam etc., publ. exam. subj. C. G. Schallen.' Upsalise, xvii. Maji, 1788 (' Donationes Thunbergian^e Continuatio, vi.).
*Tijdscbrift voor Entomologie, nitgegeven door de Nederlandscbe Entomologische Vereeniging.' 'S. Gravenhage, 1857- 1891.
Treitschke, ' Die Scbmetterlinge von Europa ' (Continuation of Ocbsenheimer's work). Leipzig, vol. v., pts. 1 & 2 (1825) ; pt. 3 (1826) ; vol. vi., pt. 1 (1827), pt. 2 (1828) ; vol. vii. (1829) ; vol. viii. (1830) ; vol. ix., pt. 1 (1832), pt. 2 (1833); vol. X., pt. 1 (1834), pts. 2 and 3 (1835).
* Transactions of tbe Entomological Society of London,' pts. i.-iii., 1810-1812 by Haworth. Vols, i.-v., 1834-1847. New Series, vols, i.-v., 1850-1861. Third Series, vols, i.-xxx., 1862-1892.
Vieweg, ' Tabellarisches Verzeichniss der in der Churmark Brandenburg einhei- miscben Scbmetterlinge,' Berlin, 1789.
Villers (Car. de), ' Caroli Linngei Entomologia, Fauut\3 Suecicae descriptionibus aucta ; DD. Scopoli, Geoffrey, De Geer, Fabricii, Scbrank ' etc. Lugduni, i.-iv., 1789.
Vogel (Eduard), ' Ein neu entdekter Schmet- terlingausSpanien.' ('Allg. Deutsche naturh. Zeitung,' 1857, T. 3, p. 201- 206, Tab.).
Walker, ^ List of Lepidoptera Heterocera in the British Museum,' London. 35 pts. 1854-1866.
Werneburg, 'Beitrage zur Schmetterlings- kunde.' Erfurt, i.-ii., 1864.
Westwood & Humphrey, * British Moths. London, i.-ii., 1841-1844.
140
Wien. Mts. Wkl. Int. Wood
Young Nat.
Zell. Zett. Zool.
VARIETIES OF NOCTUiE
* Wiener Entomologische Monatschrift,' Wien. i.-viii., 1857-1864.
'The Entomologist's Weekly Intelligencer,' London, i.-x., 1856-1861.
Wood, * Index Entomologicus ; or, a com- plete Illustrated Catalogue, consisting of 1,944 figures of the Lepidopterous Insects of Great Britain.' London, 1833-1839. A new edition by J. 0. Westwood, was published in 1852, and a Supplement and Index in 1854.
' Young Naturalist,' Edited by J. E. Kobson, vols, i.-xi., 1879-1890, continued as ' The British Naturalist.'
Zeller, ' Chilonidarum et Crambidarum, genera et species,' 1863.
Zetterstedt, 'Insecta Lapponica.' LipsiaB, 1840.
' The Zoologist,' Edited by E. Newman, etc., London, 1843-1892.
INDEX.
Ul
PAGE
NOCTURE, Linn. ... 1,82
BOMBYCIFORMES, Gn. ... 82
Cymatophorid^, H.-S. ... 82
Gouophora, Brd. ... 82
derasa, L. ... ... 82
var. intermedia, Brem. 82
Cymatophora, Tr. ... 82
or, Fab. = ypsilon-graecum,
Goze 82
Asphalia, Hb 82
flavicornis, Linn. ... 82
var. finmarchica, Schoyen 82
Bryophilid^, Gn. ... 83
Bryophila, Tr 83
perla, Fab 83
var. pyrensea, Ober. 83 var. suffusa, Tatt ... 88 impar, Warren (sub- species) ... 83 muralis, Forst. 83, 84, 85, 86 var. pallida, Tutt ... 87 var. par, Hb. ... 87 BoMBYcoiD^, Bdv. ... 88
Moiua, Hb 88
orion, Esp. = alpiiim,
Osbeck 88
var. runica, Haw.... 88
Bisulcia, Chapmn. ... 89
ligustri, Fab. ... 89
var. sundevalli, Lampa 89
Cuspidia, Chapmn. ... 89
megacephala, Fab. ... 89
strigosa. Fab. ... 89
var. bryophiloides,
Horm 89
Viminia, Chapmn. ... 90
euphorbias, Fab. ... 90
var. montivaga, Gn. 90, 91
var. myricae, Gn. ... 90, 91
var. obscura, Strom. 90
rumlcis, Linn. .. 91
var. turanica, Stdgr. 91
albovenosa, Gzoe ... 92
? var. fumosum, Grote 92
? var. evanidum, Grote 92
var. ochracea, Tutt 92
var. murina, Auriv. 92
var. albida, Auriv. 93
Genuine, Gn 93
Leucanid^, Gn. ... ... 93
Synia,Dup 93
musculosa, Hb. ... 93
var. myodea, Rbr. 93
PAGE
Leucania, Och. ... 93
lithargyria. Fab. ... 93
var. argyritis, Rbr. 93
turca, Linn.... ... 94:
var. grandis, Btl. ... 94
unipuncta, Haw. ... 94
loreyi, Dup 94
brevllinea, Fenn ... 95 Tapinostola, Ld. ... 96
elymi, Tr 96
concolor, Gn. ... 96, 97
Chortodes, St 96
? extrema, Hb. ... 96
morrisii. Dale = bondii,
Knaggs ... ... 99
Coenobia, St 100
rufa, Haw 100
Senta, St 101
maritima, Tausch. ... 101
var. bipunctata. Haw. 101
Nonagria, Och. ... 101
neurica, Hb. ... 101
var. dissoluta, Tr. 101, 104
var. arundineta, Schmidt
102, 104
Calamia, Hb. ... .. 104
lutosa, Hb 104
Apamid^, Gn. ... ... 105
Helotropha, Ld. ... 105
leucostigma, Hb. =
? reniformis, Grote 105
var. levis, Btl. ... 105
Xylophasia, St. ... 105
rurea. Fab. ... ... 105
var. exstincta, Stdgr. 105
Apamea, Och 106
basilinea, Fab. ... 106
var. grisescens, Stdgr. 106
Miana, St 106
bicoloria, Vill. ... 106
var. pallidior, Stdgr. 106
Mamestra, Och. ... 106
abjecta, Hb. ... ... 106
var. fribolus, BJv. 106
brassicas, L. ... ... 107
var. straminea, F.-Ted. 107
var. decolorata, Stdgr. 107
furva, Hb 107
var. infernalis, Ev. 107
? var. sylvicola, Ev. 107
persicarias, Linn. ... 108
var. unicolor, Stdgr. 108
Pachetra, Gn 108
|
142 |
INDEX. |
||
|
PAGE |
PAGE |
||
|
leucophsea, View. ... |
108 |
Noctua, Linn. ... |
117 |
|
var. pyrenaica, Ober. |
108 |
baia, Fab |
117 |
|
var. bombycina, Ev. |
108 |
var. bajula, Stdgr. |
117 |
|
Cbaraeas, St. |
109 |
glareosa, Esp. |
118 |
|
graminis, L. ... |
109 |
var. hebraicaoides, |
|
|
var. albineura, Bdv. |
109 |
Gregs |
118 |
|
Aporophyla, Gn. |
109 |
conflua, Tr. ... |
118 |
|
australis, Bdv. |
109 |
var. diducta, Zett. |
118 |
|
var. ingenua, Frr.... |
110 |
xantographa, Fab. ... |
118 |
|
var. scriptura, Frr. |
110 |
var. elutior, Alph. |
118 |
|
var. orientalis, H.-S. |
110 |
plecta, Linn. |
118 |
|
var. pascuea, Curt... |
110 |
var. anderssoni, Lampall8 |
|
|
Luperina, Bdv. |
no |
Orthostd^e, Gn. ... |
118 |
|
luteago, Hb. ... |
no |
instabilis, Fab. |
118 |
|
dumerilii, Dup. |
no |
var. pallida, Lam pa. |
|
|
var. desyllesi, Bdv. |
111 |
Stdgr |
119 |
|
CRADRINIDiE, Bdv. |
111 |
opima, Hb. ... |
119 |
|
Laphygma, Gn. |
111 |
var. fuscus, Gregson |
119 |
|
exigua, Hb. ... |
111 |
gracilis. Fab.... |
119 |
|
var. pygmsea, Rbr. |
in |
var. pallidior, Stdgr. |
119 |
|
Caradrina, Och. |
112 |
gothica, Linn. |
119 |
|
alsines, Brahm. |
112 |
stabilis. View. |
120 |
|
var. levis, Stdgr. ... |
112 |
var. obliqua, Vill.... |
120 |
|
quadri punctata, Fab. |
112 |
pulverulenta, Esp. ... |
120 |
|
var. grisea, Ev. |
112 |
Anchocelis, Gn. |
120 |
|
? var. menetriesii, |
helvola, Linn. |
120 |
|
|
Kret |
112 |
var. sibirica, Stdgr. |
120 |
|
? var. albina, Ev. |
112 |
var. pallae, Gregs.... |
120 |
|
NocTUiD^, Gn. |
113 |
lunosa. Haw. |
120 |
|
Agrotis, Och. ... |
113 |
var. lunae, Gregs. ... |
120 |
|
saucia, Hb. ... |
113 |
Orrhodia, Hb |
120 |
|
var. unica, Smith . . . |
113 |
vaccinii, Linn. |
120 |
|
texana, Grote |
113 |
ligula, Esp. ... 120 |
,121 |
|
segetum, SchifF. |
113 |
var. politina, Stdgr. |
121 |
|
var. pallida, Stdgr. |
113 |
var. subspadiceana. |
|
|
obelisca, Hb. |
113 |
Stdgr. |
121 |
|
nigricans, Linn. |
113 |
Hoporina, Bdv. |
121 |
|
var. armena, Evers. |
113 |
croceago, Fab. |
121 |
|
tritici, Linn. |
114 |
Xanthia, Och. ... |
121 |
|
var. vitta, Bentley |
114 |
gilvago, Esp. |
121 |
|
var. pupillatus, Haw. |
115 |
var. palleago, Hb. |
121 |
|
var. pusilla, Bentley |
115 |
? var. ocellaris, Bkh. |
122 |
|
var. ocellina, St. ... |
115 |
Mellinia, Hb |
122 |
|
var. varia, Alph. ... |
116 |
circellaris, Hufn. |
122 |
|
var. detorta, Ev. ... |
116 |
var. nigridens, Fuchs. |
122 |
|
ripse, Hb.-Gey. |
116 |
CosMiD^, Gn- |
122 |
|
var. desertorum, Bdv. |
116 |
Plastenis, Bdv. |
122 |
|
lucernea, Linn. |
116 |
retusa, Linn. |
122 |
|
var. renigera, St. ... |
116 |
var. curvata, Butl. |
122 |
|
obscura, Brahm |
116 |
Calymnia, Hb. ... |
123 |
|
var. unicolor, Walk. |
116 |
trapezina, Linn. |
123 |
|
fennica, Tausch. |
117 |
var. badiofasciata, Teich 123 |
|
|
hyperborea, Zett. |
117 |
var. rufo-pallida, Tutt |
123 |
INDEX.
143
|
PAGE |
PAGE |
||
|
Hadbnidje, Gn |
123 |
Hydrelia, Gn. ... |
8 |
|
Dianthoecia, Bdv. |
123 |
uncula, CI. ... |
8 |
|
caesia, Bkh. ... |
123 |
Thalpochares, Ld. |
8 |
|
var. manani, Gregs. |
123 |
ostrina, Hb. ... |
8 |
|
Hecatera, Gn. ... |
123 |
var. oBstivalis, Gn. |
9 |
|
chrysozona, Bkh. |
123 |
var. carthami, H.-S. |
9 |
|
var. caduca, H.-S.... |
123 |
var. porphyrina, Frr. |
10 |
|
Prodenia, Gn. ... |
124 |
parva, Hb. ... |
10 |
|
littoralis, Bdv. |
124 |
var. pallida, Tutt ... |
11 |
|
Aplecta, Gn. |
125 |
var. rubefacta, Mab. |
11 |
|
ad vena, Fab. |
125 |
paula, Hb |
12 |
|
var. adjuncta, Stdgr. |
125 |
Phalbnoid^, Gn. |
12 |
|
nebulosa, Hufn. |
125 |
Brephos, Och. ... 12, |
128 |
|
var. askolda, Ober. |
125 |
notha, Hb. ... 12, |
128 |
|
Hadena, Och. ... |
125 |
parthenias, Linn. 14, |
128 |
|
maillardi, Hb.-Gey. ... |
125 |
var. nigra, Tutt ... |
14 |
|
adusta, Esp |
126 |
Variegate, Gn. |
14 |
|
var. vicina, Alph.... |
126 |
Plusid^, Bdv |
14 |
|
trifolii, Rott. |
126 |
Abrostola, Gn |
15 |
|
dissimilis, Knoch |
126 |
triplasia, Linn. |
16 |
|
pisi, Linn. |
126 |
tripartita, Hufn. |
16 |
|
var. pallens, Stdgr. |
126 |
var. urticae, Hb. ... |
17 |
|
Xyltntd2e, Gn. |
126 |
Plusia, Och |
17 |
|
Xylina, Och. ... |
126 |
aurifera, Hb. ... 15 |
,19 |
|
lamda, Fab |
126 |
moneta. Fab. ... 15 |
,20 |
|
Calocampa, St |
127 |
var. esmeralda, Ober. |
23 |
|
exsoleta, Linn. |
127 |
illustris. Fab. ... 15 |
,23 |
|
var. impudica, Stdgr. |
127 |
chrysitis, Linn. |
24 |
|
Heliothid^, Bdv. |
127 |
var. juncta, Tutt ... |
25 |
|
Heliaca, H.-S |
127 |
chryson, Esp. ...25, |
125 |
|
tenebrata, Sc. |
127 |
bractea. Fab. |
26 |
|
var. albescens, Ckll. |
127 |
festucee, Linn. |
26 |
|
MiNOKES, Gn |
1 |
jota, Linn. ... ...27, |
128 |
|
AcoNTiD^, Bdv |
1 |
var. percontationis, Tr. |
27 |
|
Agrophila, Bdv. |
1 |
var. inscripta, Esp. |
28 |
|
trabealis, Sc.... |
1 |
var. ancora, Frr. ... |
2S |
|
Acontia, Och. ... |
1,2 |
pulchrina. Haw. 28, 128, |
129 |
|
luctuosa, Esp. |
2 |
var. juncta, Tutt ... |
29 |
|
var. ochracea, Tutt |
2 |
var. monogramma, Alph. |
|
|
lucida, Hufn. |
2 |
129 |
|
|
var. albicollis, Fab. |
3 |
bimaculata, St. |
30 |
|
var. insolatrix, Hb. |
4 |
gamma, Linn. |
31 |
|
Erastrid^, Gn |
4 |
var. pallida, Tutt . |
32 |
|
Eras^ria, Och. ... |
4 |
var. rufescens, Tutt |
32 |
|
venustula, Hb. |
4 |
ni, Hb 15 |
,32 |
|
fasciana, Linn. |
5 |
interrogationis, Linn. |
36 |
|
var. albilinea, Haw. |
6 |
var. rosea, Tutt ... |
36 |
|
var. guenei. Fall. ... |
6 |
Intrust, Gn |
37 |
|
Bankia, Gn. |
7 |
Amphipyrid^, Gn. |
37 |
|
argentula, Hb. |
7 |
pyramidea, Linn. ... |
37 |
|
var. rufescens, Tutt |
7 |
var. virgata, Tutt |
38 |
|
Anthophilidje, Bdv. |
8 |
var. obscura, Ober. |
38 |
144:
INDEX.
PAGE
var. magna, Walk. 129
? var. monolitha, Gn. 38
tragopoginis, Linn. ... 39
var. tetra, Haw. ... 39
var. turcomana, Stdgr. 130
Mania, Tr 40
maura, Linn. ... 40
var. virgata, Tutt ... 40
var. rosea, Tutt ... 40
var. striata, Tutt ... 40
Nsenia, St 40
typica, Linn. ... 40
var. brunnea, Tutt 41
ToxocAMriD^, Gn. ... 41
Toxocampa, Gn. ... 42
craccge, Fab. ... ... 42
pastinum, Tr. ... 42
var. ludicra, Haw. 42
var. pallida, Tutt... 43
SxiLBiDiE, Gn 43
Stilbia, St 43
anomala, Haw. ... 43
var. stagnicola, Tr. 44
var. philopalis, Grasl. 44
LlMBAT^, Gn 44
CATEPHIDiE, Gn. ... 44
Catephia, Och 45
alcbymista, SchifiF. ... 45
Catocalid^, Bdv. ... 46
Catocala, Och 48
fraxini, Linn. ... 49
electa, Bkh 130
var. lugdenensis. Mill. 131
nupta, Linn. ... ... 50
var. caerulescens, Ckll.
51, 131
var. concubina, Bork. 52
var. obscurata, Ober. 52
sponsa, Linn. ... 52
var. rejecta, Fisch. 54
promissa, Hb. ... 54
var. mneste, Esp. ... 55
var. rosea, Tutt ... 55
Serpentina, Gn. ... 55
Ophiusid^, Gn. ... ... 55
Ophiodes, Gn. ... ... 56
lunaris, Schiff. 5Q
EucLiDiji^, Gn. ... ... 56
Euclidia, Och 57
mi, Clerck ... ... 57
var. ochrea, Tutt ... 58
glyphica, Linn. ... 58
var. dentata, Ld. ... 59
|
PAGE |
|
|
P0APHILID.a5, Gn |
59 |
|
Prothymia, Hb. |
69 |
|
viridaria, CI. |
59 |
|
var. aenea, Haw. ... |
60 |
|
var. suffusa, Tutt ... |
60 |
|
var. fusca, Tutt ... |
60 |
|
DELTOiDES, Lat. |
60 |
|
Hypenid^, H.-S. |
60,62 |
|
Madopa, St |
62 |
|
salicalis, Schiff. |
62,80 |
|
Hypena, Tr. |
63 |
|
proboscidalis, Linn. ... |
63, 80 |
|
var. brunnea, Tutt |
64 |
|
rostralis, Linn. |
64,80 |
|
var. ochrea-variegata. |
|
|
Tutt |
64 |
|
var. ochrea, Tutt ... |
64,65 |
|
var. variegata, Tutt |
64, 65 |
|
var. radiatalis, Hb. |
64, 65 |
|
var. palpalis. Fab. |
64, 65 |
|
var. vittatus. Haw. |
64,66 |
|
var. unicolor, Tutt |
64, 66 |
|
obsitalis, Hb.... |
66,80 |
|
var. unicolor, Tutt |
67 |
|
var. transversa, Tutt |
67 |
var. costipuncta, Tutt 67
Bomolocha, Hb. ... 68
fontis, Thnb. ... 68,80
var. achatalis, Hb. 68
var. rufescens, Tutt 68, 69
var. crassalis. Fab. 68, 69
var. suffusa, Tutt ... 68, 69
var. terricularis, Hb. 68, 69
Hypenodes, Gn. ... 70
costsestrigalis, St. ... 70, 80
albistrigatis. Haw. ... 71, 80
Tholmiges, Ld. ... 71
turfosalis, Wk. ... 71, 80
HERMINID.S!, Dup. ... 72
Rivula, Gn 73
sericealis, Sc... ... 73, 81
Sophronia, Gn. ... 73
emortualis, Schiff. ... 73, 81
Herminia, Latr. ... 76
cribrumalis, Hb. 76, 77, 81 derivalis, Hb. 76, 77, 81
var. obsoleta, Tutt . . . 78 grisealis, Hb. 76, 78, 8 1
tarsipennalis, Tr. 76, 79, 81
Pechipogon, Hb. ... 79
barbalis, 01 79, 81
?7ar. pectitalis, Hb. 80
STRAY NOTES ON THE NOCTURE
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
Price One Shilling.
Varibtiks anti Aberrations.— Varieties of one area = aberrations of another — Local races peculiar to Britain — True distinction between varieties and aberrations. — Types. — Types as indicative of a local area — Types as indicative of the whole area of distribution of a species — Scientific usage of the term — Criticism of its use by certain authors. — Noctu^ in the British Museum Collection. — Erroneous naming in this collection — Breaking up of scientific collections — Mr. Butler's * Notes on the Synonymy of the Noctuites' — Mr. Butler's criticism of Zeller criticised — Mr. Butler's union of Leucania straminea and L. pollens — Helotropha referred in this collection to Cdloena, Cerastis and Mamestra — Criticism of Mr. Butler's remarks on Xanthia, &c. — Identical North American and British Nocture. — Representative North American Species. Scientific remarks on « representative " species by A. E. Grote, M.A. (original paper) — ^Yalue of genitalia as a means of testing species. — Identical Japanese AND British Nocture. — Classification. — Generic and specific names — Arrange- ment of genera as showing relationships — Criticism of the methods of Guenee, Staudinger (Lederer) and Grote — Comparison of the various systems — Relation- ships of the CymatoplwridcB and Bryophilidoe — Separation of Leucania and Nona, gria — Proposed sub-division of Xylinidce — Position of the Plusidoe — Union of the ApamidxB and Hadenidce — The position of the Beltdides — Aberrant Noctuid species, &c.
To be obtained from the Author, Eayleigh Villa, Westcombe Hill, Blackheath, S.E., for 1/-.
Secondary Sexual Characters in Lepldoptera
By J. MV. TUTT, F.E.S.
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Deals with sexual differences apart from the Sexual Organs — Darwin's theory of Sexual Selection — Antenna — "Assembling" — Origin of Pectinated Antennae — Scent Glands and Patches — Probable causes of success in " Assem- bling " — Scudder's remarks on « Assembling " — Peculiar attractive influence in Uepialus — Scent glands classified according to probable use — Absence or Wings — Probable causes of the apterous and semi-apterous condition — Protective re- semblance in Orgyia antiquay Anisopteryx oescularia, etc. — Pysche and partheno- genetic reproduction — Activity of males and passivity of females — Size — Males and females equal in size — Males larger than females— Females larger than males — Comparison between size of wing and devolpment of abdomen — Shape — Connection between sexual difference in shape and size — Scale Patches in the Male — In Thecla, ColiaSy Argynnis^ Pamphilay Eucosmia — Tufts on sides of abdo- men— « Fan-footed " Deltoides and "Waves" — Fold of Wing Membrane— Costal fold in Tortrices — Extra winglet in Lohophora — Venation — Legs — « Fan-footed " Deltoides, etc. — Aborted hind legs in Hepialus — Fore- legs of Lycenidce, ErydnidcBf etc. — Orgyia and Pysche — Colour — Sexual selection in Hepialus — in butterflies — Darwin's and Wallace's theories compared — Polyommatus and Lyccena — In Lycoena the blue the older form— Males smaller and darker than the female — Males larger and paler — Males smaller and paler — Males larger and darker — Spread of colour in the larger sex — Surplus energy as a source of colour — Pigments as waste products — Geddes' and Thomson's theory — Connection with "Protective resemblance" and "Natural selection" — Influence of heredity — Criticism of Scudder's remarks on underside variation — Connection of primary and secondary characters — Ci iticism of Geddes' and Thomson's remarks — Secondary Characters CONNECTED WITH OviposiTioN — Drs. Wood and Chapman's discoveries — Egg-laying and pouch-cutting of Micropteryx, etc. — Different kinds of cutting organs.
To be obtained from the Author, Kayleigii Villa, Westcombe Hill, Blackheath, S.E., for 1/-.
MONOGRAPH of THE BRITISH PTEROPHORINA
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Melanism and Melanocirolsm InLepldoptera.
By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S.
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Deals exhaustively with all the views brought forward by scientists to account for the different forms of Melanism and Melanochroism ; contains full data respecting the distribution of melanic forms in Britain, and theories to account for their origin ; the special value of " natural selection," " environment," « heredity," "disease," " temperature," &c. in particular cases. Lord Walsingham, in his Presidential address to the Fellows of the Entomological Society of London, 1890, says: — "An especially interesting line of enquiry as connected with the use and value of colour in insects, is that which has been followed up in Mr. Tutt's series of papers on 'Melanism and Melanochroism."
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The British Noctuae T78 and their varieties. v. 4
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