BOARMID^—HIBERNIA. 233 



tinged along the costa with fulvous ; discal spot black ; the 

 stripes of the upper side visible in pale purplish clouding. 

 Hind wings pale yellow, dusted with brownish-ochreous ; 

 central spot a cloudy blackish dot ; cilia pale yellow. 



Always extremely variable, and the different forms almost 

 equally abundant— indeed, it is not easy to decide upon the 

 most typical form, and that most clearly distinctive has here 

 been adopted. Even in it hardly two specimens are quite 

 alike — the pale ground colour varies irom creamy- white to 

 fulvous, and the stripes through every intermediate shade, 

 from light bright fulvous, through tawny, to deep dark 

 purple-brown, or even to deep umbreous. In another series 

 of forms the pale ground colour is uniformly dusted with 

 red-brown or purple-brown, and the markings, though dis- 

 tinct and running through the shades of red-brown and 

 purple-brown just described, are by no means of the clear 

 distinct sharpness of the typical forms ; while in a third series 

 the markings have become obscured, very partial and indis- 

 tinct, or Jiave totally disappeared, and the red-brown dusting 

 has become a uniform rough red-brown surface speckled with 

 deeper purple-brown. Belonging to the first series, a very 

 curious specimen, taken in Warwickshire by the late Mr. 

 W. G. Blatch, of pale yellow ground colour, has no indication 

 of the second line. In the second series, a race of rather 

 large expanse, taken in Yorkshire, has the fore wings orange- 

 brown, strongly dusted with red-brown, and having the trans- 

 verse bands broad, very striking, and richly dark brown. 



On the wing usually in November and December, occa- 

 sionally as early as October. Should there, however, be any 

 continuance of severe frost in these months emergence is 

 deferred till January, or even February ; this happened in 

 1864, and to a considerable extent in 1891, and in 1895 be- 

 lated specimens were captured in March. 



Larva moderately stout, head rounded, not shining, dull 

 red ; general colour of the back chocolate-brown or reddish- 



