THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 223 



may belong here ; but is much undersized, as if a little crippled, and the 

 antennjB seem a little more bristled. 



Xanthia ptilchella, n. sp. 



Head and thorax a rich yellowish brown, the patagise tending to a 

 deeper, somewhat purplish tinge. Beneath, the body parts are brighter, 

 more rusty brown. Primaries have a beautiful, velvety texture, the 

 colour varying from purplish to yellow brown. Basal and s. t. spaces as 

 a whole purplish, the latter more intense. S. t. space contrastingly 

 yellowish brown, the median space reddish luteous, with an olivaceous 

 shading which tends to a gray on the costa. The ordinary lines are 

 distinct and are accompanied by rich, deep brown shades, the t. p. line 

 forming a broad band. The inferior margin of the reniform is white, 

 contrasting, and the whole wing is thus characteristically beautiful. Basal 

 line whitish, margined each side with a deeper brown shading. T. a. line 

 outwardly oblique, irregular, pale, outwardly margined by a distinct, 

 broad, deep brown line, inwardly edged by somewhat darker scales. S. 

 t. line pale marked on the costa, then lost in a broad band which fills the 

 outer fourth or more of the median space, darkens the upper portion of 

 the reniform, forms the usual outcurve over the cell, and is a little incurved 

 below. S. t. line marked by the contrast between terminal and sub- 

 terminal spaces, and preceded by a rich deep brown shade, best marked 

 on the costa, then gradually narrowing and, in one specimen, lost before 

 the inner margin is reached. Orbicular narrow, irregular, oblique, 

 outlined in pale, not in any way contrasting. Reniform upright, rather 

 narrow, the upper portion decidedly broader, filled with rusty red, the 

 lower portion prominently outlined in white. Secondaries smoky, with a 

 purplish or yellowish brown tinge, an outer marginal band somewhat 

 paler, the discal spot obvious, though not prominent. Beneath rusty red, 

 shaded with scarlet or purplish, powdery, the outer margin of primaries 

 paler. Secondaries even or a little paler toward base, with an obvious 

 discal lunule. 



Expands 30 mm. =1.20 inches. 



Habitat: Livingston, Vancouver, IX., 14; British Columbia. 



One male and two females ; one of the latter defective. This is one 

 of the prettiest of our Noctuids and utterly different from our eastern 

 form. It is much closer to some of the European species, and belongs to 



