ARCTIID.^. PHRAGMATOBIA. 73 



Ph. Bo. Plantaginis. Linnc.—Don. iv. pi. 134.— Ne. Plantaginis. Steph. Catal. 

 No. 6024. 



Anterior wings black, with two yellow spots on the costa anteriorly, and a lon- 

 gitudinal fascia arising at the base, and terminating on the hinder margin in a 

 large dentate cross of the same : the posterior wings yellowish, with irregular 

 elongate black spots at the base, and the hinder margin with an interrupted 

 black fascia : head and thorax black, the latter with two fulvous spots ante- 

 riorly, and two yellowish ones laterally, and longitudinally streaked with yel- 

 lowish : abdoiuen fulvous, with the back black. Female without the yellowish 

 lines on the thorax, the spots and streaks on the anterior wings of a deep ful- 

 vous : posterior wings with the base black, sometimes with a yellow spot in 

 the centre, the margin luteous, irregularly spotted with black : abdomen rufous, 

 with a black dorsal line. 



Var. /3. The anterior wings with the spots and streaks pure white. 



Var. y. All the wings white, marked with black, as in var. a. 



Var. I. Male with the posterior wings luteous, slightly streaked and spotted 

 with black. 



Var. e. Female with the posterior wings rufous or scarlet, spotted with black. 



As in the Arctic this insect varies exceedingly. 



Caterpillar black, with the six middle segments rufescent : it feeds on the plan- 

 tain, and lives throughout the winter, changing in April to a dark pupa: the 

 imago appears in the beginning or middle of June. 

 Not uncommon in certain years in Darentli-v/ood, wliich is the 



only locality that I have observed; the insect, however, is found in 



several other parts of the country. Var. y was given to me by Mr. 



Dale, who took it in the north of England. " York and West- 

 moreland."— IF. C. Hczvitson, Esq. « Sutton-park."— 7?ft;. W. T. 



Bree. 



Genus LXXI. — Phragmatobia * mild. 



Palpi short, very hairy, triarticulate, the basal joint the length of the second, and 

 stouter ; the terminal shortest, and ovate, obtuse : maxilla; rather spiral. An- 

 tenna: short, serrated, simple in the female, ciliated in both sexes : head very 

 small, pilose : thorax stout, woolly : abdomen rather stout in both sexes, tufted 

 at the apex in the males, acute and smooth in the females : wings deflexed, 

 subdiaphanous ; the anterior elongate, trigonate: legs stout: anterior tibice 

 with a spine internally ; two posterior pair with spurs at the apex. Larva 

 very hairy: pwjaa with a slight spine, foUiculated. 



The abbreviated nearly simple antennse in both sexes, robust 

 thorax and abdomen, the latter spotted, and semi-transparent elongate 

 triangular wings, well distinguish this genus ; to these may be added 



* VlQ-xy/joi sepes, (iioii vivo. 



