12 [January, 



beautiful grey specimen is remarkable for having an unbroken stripe 

 of clear pale grey quite across the fore-wings, occupying the central 

 area of the band. The series secured of Noctua festiva and its 

 variety (?) conflua may certainly be regarded as our chief success. It 

 includes genuine oviMnsiVY festiva, perhaps a little small and subdued 

 in its colouring, but with the usual broad wings ; others are of the 

 form known on the continent as conflua, that is, with still smaller red- 

 brown fore-wings, hardly pointed, generally indeed blunt, but very 

 neat looking, and not particularly long or narrow winged. These lead 

 to the special Shetland forms as brought home by the professional 

 collectors : narrow-winged, and with the apex produced to a point. 

 Of these a few are most peculiar, having the costal and dorsal margins 

 straight and very nearly parallel, thus the base of the fore-wings is 

 nearly as broad as the hinder portion, and the anal angle is so far 

 advanced as to totally change the direction of the hind margin, and 

 of these several have the fore-wings exceedingly narrow in proportion 

 to their length. All these shapes run into each other, and scarcely 

 any two speoimens are alike. Besides diversity in form, the series 

 exhibits variation in colour from grey-brown to deep red and dark 

 purple-brown ; in some the stigmata are ringed or sharply pale in a 

 dark ground, in others unicolorous and almost hidden. One has the 

 central black square spot and the dark submarginal band unusually 

 conspicuous, and is in shape almost a typical festiva, the uniformly 

 dark specimens without markings being in most cases narrow and sharp 

 winged. The specimens we took on the west Sutherland hills are of 

 a far richer, almost brick red. 



This brings me to the conclusion of a paper that would never 

 have been written had it not been undertaken at the request of my 

 friend Mr. Barrett, when he came to see my captures, to whom also I 

 owe suggestions as to the points he considered of sufficient interest 

 for publication. My list of species is necessarily meagre compared 

 with those of others who have been able to spend a whole summer 

 among these northern islands : our time was short, the weather as a 

 ■whole unfavourable for entomology, and the principal object of our 

 trip botany. I trust, nevertheless, that this somewhat discursive 

 narrative may serve to interest and stimulate others to more important 

 researches in these happy hunting grounds. 



Among a fine set of Shetland Lepidoptera received from Mr. 

 Thomas Salvage last year was one specimen of Apamea leucostigma 

 (flhrosa). I am not sure whether this has hitherto been reported 

 from Shetland. 



69, The Common, Upper Clapton : 

 December, 1894. 



