86 THE entomologist's record. 



chief point of interest being in the generally smaller size of the 

 bilberry and heath form, as compared with those which breed in low- 

 lying districts on sallow. (2) Colour. — The ground-colour of the 

 sallow forms is generally dirty greenish, frequently tinged more or less 

 with reddish, especially in the median area. The moorland or 

 mountain forms are, as is generally known, by far the more variable 

 as a rule ; often wholly reddish or yellowish-brown ; at other times 

 cinereous, or more frequently fuscous, or nearly black. Mr. G. T. 

 Porritt has kindly sent for my inspection the pick of his series, bred 

 from bilberry, from a wood on the hill-side near his own residence, at 

 Huddersfield. He writes me that a large proportion is of the uni- 

 colorous, or nearly unicolorous, black form, though he has not sent 

 very many, as this offers less range of variation than the more 

 variegated forms. It is further to be remarked concerning coloration, 

 that the colour is often more or less varied with whitish, or even with 

 clear white. The usual positions for the pale portions are the median 

 band, and a central roundish blotch on the sub-terminal dark band, 

 this latter blotch being often extended right to the inner margin, 

 leaving only the characteristic trifurcate sub-apical mark dark. 

 (8) Markiu;/s. — I have already touched on these in dealing with the 

 colour variation, and need only add that the dark bands are very in- 

 constant. The basal dark mark, and the inner broad band, are the 

 least so ; the outer broad band also, as already noticed, is but seldom 

 icliollij obliterated. Two narrower bands between these two are 

 generally broken off at the middle of the wing, but either or both of 

 them may often continue right to the inner margin, and either or both 

 of them may, on the other hand, be wanting altogether ; or, once 

 again, they may unite at the middle of the wing, with the two broader 

 bands in a very irregular Y-form. The pale spot in the centre of the 

 outer dark band is fairly constant, and has been pointed out as a dis- 

 tinguishing mark of the species ; but it is occasionally absent. 



Out of this heterogeneous material I have only ventured, at present, 

 to work up the following rough table of named forms, based chiefly on 

 colour differences. 



Genus : Hydriomena, Hb., Ver^., p. 322 (Type : autumnalin, Strom. 

 = tnfaficiata, Thnb. = implnn'ata, Hb.). 



Furcata, Thnb., D/,s,s., i., 13 [17H4] ; Miata, Hfn., Bed. Mo,/., iv., 

 524 [1767] nee. L. Ueetawiulata , Fb., Si/at. Knt., 636 [1775] iiee. Ij. 

 / Vin/ata, Fourcr., Eut. Paris., ii., 285 [17851. Sordidata, Fh., Knt. 

 .S'//.s'f., iii., 2, 185 [1794]. Elutata, Rh., 224 [post 1797] . Fusco- 

 vndata, Don., Nat. IJist., xi., 73 [1806] . 



1. Cinereous, with dark bands (the type form, in bibliographical 



sense) = fnreata, Thnb. : / taeetaria, Frr. 



2. Cinereous, without distinct bands, ? = infnseota, Stgr., pro 



parte : = cinereata, mihi. 



3. Green, with dark bands = sordidata, Fb. 



4. ,, without ,, ,, = ohliterata, mihi : var. A, Gn. 



5. Testaceous (or reddish), with dark bands = fuseo-undata, Stgr. : 



T)on. pro parte, var. C, Gn. 



6. Testaceous (or reddish) without dark bands = testaceata, mihi. 



7. Fuscous, nearly unicolorous = iufiiseata, Stgr. : sub-var. of var. 



A, Gn. 



8. With whitish median baud = / albi/asciata, Pack, 



