i88 LEPIDOPTERA. 



white. Female rather stouter ; antennre simple ; costa of 

 the fore wings a little more arched, so that the wings are 

 slightly broader. 



Underside of the fore wings pale silvery-grey ; costa, hind 

 margin and nervures abundantly dusted with purple-brown; 

 beyond the middle is a black-brown streak from the costa 

 continued across the wing as a faintly smoky stripe. Hind 

 wings greyish-white, the costal region and nervures dusted 

 with purple-brown; central spot a distinct smoky-black 

 lunule ; beyond it is a slender transverse stripe of the same 

 colour principally visible on the nervures ; hind margin rather 

 dusky. Body and legs purple-brown, leg tufts paler. 

 J Exceedingly variable, the ground colour ranging from the 

 palest purplish-drab or even purplish-grey or light red- 

 brown, to rich dark purple-red and blackish purple-brown ; 

 the pale clouding varies also in almost every possible degree, 

 being sometimes almost absent, in other cases invading large 

 portions of the basal, costal, dorsal, and hind marginal 

 regions or any of them, and in almost any degree ; or instead 

 of the hind margin, lying in large clouds along the subter- 

 minal line. This last form is frequent in lowland districts 

 of Scotland, and is strongly represented in Dumbartonshire. 

 A further range of variation, found more especially in Scottish 

 mountain districts, has lost the rich tone of colouring alto- 

 gether, and instead of some shade or tone of purplish-brown 

 is of a dull reddish-drab in various degrees, clouded with 

 paler, but without the usual gloss. In these forms the 

 ordinary black markings in the middle of the fore wings are 

 frequently red-black, dull red, or red-brown, and sometimes 

 scarcely perceptible. All these forms, in which these mark- 

 ings are not black, are called in this country by Herrich- 

 Schaffer's name, (jothicina, but incorrectly, since his figure is 

 one of the dark 2'urple-lmicn forms having the " gothic " 

 mark consincuously red. This particular form, however, 

 certainly occurs with us, though rarely. I have one such 

 taken at Hasleniere, Surrey, and Mr. W. Holland has met 



