68 LEPIDOPTERA. 



Underside of fore wings pale smoky-grey ; nervures dark 

 smoky-brown ; costal and hind margins broadly shaded with 

 purple ; reniform stigma, and an oblique transverse stripe 

 beyond it, smoky-black. Hind wings dusky-white, broadly 

 dusted along the costal and hind marginal regions with 

 purple-brown ; central spot and a transverse stripe beyond 

 it smoky-black. Body pale purplish-brown ; legs and leg- 

 tufts purple-red. 



Variable in the ground colour from pale purplish-pink to 

 dark purplish-brown, except that the stripe outside the 

 second line is always pale ; but that incccdiwj the same line 

 is sometimes extremely dark and velvety — olive-brown with 

 hardly a shade of purple. Such examples are found more 

 especially in Ireland and the hills of Scotland, and are 

 accompanied by paler brown forms and others in which the 

 fore wings are wholly dark olive-brown, except the one pale 

 stripe. I have seen a specimen of a very smoky-brown, 

 taken near Birmingham by Mr. Blatch, but as it occurred 

 on November 2, 1894, it may have belonged to a partial 

 second brood, or, on the other hand, may have been delayed 

 in development Other considerable phases of variation in 

 this species are in size, and in the breadth of the fore 

 wings. 



On the wing in August, September, and October, and very 

 rarely in November. 



Larva moderately stout, cylindrical, but tapering a little 

 behind ; head as wide as the second segment, ochreous- 

 brown ; upper lip and mandibles large, the latter blackish- 

 brown; dorsal plate semicircular, polished, pale ochreous- 

 brown, rather broadly bordered in front with blackish-brown ; 

 anal plate small, shining, pale ochreous, bordered behind with 

 very small dark brown raised dots ; colour deep dull smoky- 

 pink, the dorsal pulsating vessel just visible as a faintly 

 darker stripe of the same colour ; raised dots dark brown, 

 each emitting a fine hair ; spiracles black j legs and prologs 



