TRTFIDM. 17 



spot obscure, blackish ; halfway between it and the hind 

 margin is a slender sinuous straight smoky-black stripe ; 

 cilia purple-red. Body and legs dark purple-red ; tibiae 

 banded with white. 



Rather variable in colour, varying from reddish-chestnut 

 to deep dark purplish-brown or black-brown, sometimes 

 with a pale stripe before the hind margin ; this in the redder 

 forms is light chestnut, but in those of the darkest colour 

 occasionally greyish-drab and conspicuous. These striped 

 forms seem to be almost confined to the west, and are most 

 frequent in Wales. Probably this is the supposed species 

 called subnigra by Haworth, Curtis, and Wood. In the 

 collection of Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher is a series of the present 

 species of unusually large size, many specimens having the fore 

 wings more than usually broad and the hind margin rather 

 increasingly expanded yet angulated, and the apex pointed. 



On the wing in October and November, and in mild 

 weather through the greater part of the winter, but hardly 

 ever living till the spring. I have only a single record of the 

 occurrence of this species in April. 



Larva rather velvety, attenuated in front ; head small, 

 rounded, shining reddish-brown dusted with dark brown ; 

 dorsal plate also reddish-brown or black-brown, with three 

 white lines ; body chocolate-red or red-brown faintly marbled 

 with a paler shade of the same ; dorsal and subdorsal lines 

 obscurely paler, the latter often shaded with darker colour 

 below, or even forming a dark olive-brown lateral stripe ; 

 spiracular stripe broad, straight, and distinct, reddish- 

 orange ; spiracles ringed with black ; ventral surface paler 

 chocolate-brown. Very similar to the preceding, but recog- 

 nisable by the bright spiracular stripe. 



April to June on hawthorn, oak, sallow — sometimes in 

 the catkins — plum, honeysuckle ; aud when older on low- 

 growing plants such as chickweed. 



Pupa apparently undescribed. 



VOL. VI. B 



