NEW BRITISH SPECIES. 115 



The species or form occurs in Finland and in Lapland ; in 

 the former locality Dr. Staudinger considers it a variety, in 

 the latter an aberration, — he tlms summarily diagnoses it as 

 a variety of gothica, ^' minor j magis 2tnicolo7\" 



Agrotis helvetixa, Boisduval (Ent. ]>lo. Mag. viii., 

 January, 187*2). 



On the 16th of Xovember I received from Mr. George 

 W. Taylor of Derby a strange looking Noctua, quite unlike 

 any known British species. Mr. Taylor informed me that 

 in July, 1870, he had captured this specimen (a ? ) as it 

 was flying along a hedge, and that about the same time his 

 cousin had secured tvv'o more examples of the unknown. He 

 had since vainly endeavoured to get the insect named, and at 

 last, in despair I suppose, forwarded it to me. Unfortu- 

 nately the only specimen of helvetina to which I had access 

 for purposes of comparison was a male, and this differed from 

 Mr. Taylor's insect both in the form of the fore-wings and 

 length of the antennas; so that after taking a description of it 

 I at once returned it with the request that a male might be 

 forwarded in the event of either of his cousin's captures 

 proving to be of that sex. Most obligingly the male came 

 safely to hand, and settled the question by showing that his 

 antennoe were not too long, and that tlie apices of his fore- 

 wings were of the requisite acuteness — in short, left no doubt 

 whatever in my mind as to its proper place in nature. 



Agrotis helvetina expands a good inch and three quarters. 

 The fore-wing is of an unicolorous reddish-ochreous di'ab, 

 approaching pale dull fawn-colour, with a peculiar silky or 

 satiny texture and lustre, which at once arrests the attention, 

 particularly by gas light; the reniform stigma is faintly indi- 

 cated and tinted, at the side towards the apical margin, with 

 leaden colour— except that, when examined at certain angles, 



I 2 



