NEW BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA IN 1873. 157 



meeting of the Haggerston Society. Abroad paula is the 

 commonest of the genus T/ialpochares. 



Mr. Barrett, having already given an excellent descrijition 

 of paula, it will be quite unnecessary here to redescribe it ; 

 but, as another new British species was some years since 

 recorded under the name parva, it may be as well to give a 

 diagnosis of the two, in order that (especially as there seems 

 to be some doubt as to whether our parva is ostrina, or 

 paula, or itself) the possessors of the so-called parva may 

 form an opinion as to whether or not they actually own that 

 species. 



Luckily I happen to possess two fair specimens oi parva, 

 taken some years since in the south of France, and named 

 by Dr. Staudinger. These, with an example oi paula kindly 

 lent to me by my friend Mr. Barrett, will enable me to point 

 out how different are the two, each from the other. 



The first thing that would strike a casual observer is that 

 paula has a Tortriciform cut, while he would probably refer 

 parva to the genus Hypcenodes, or thereabouts ; at any rate, 

 no ordinary British collector would suspect either to belong 

 to the Noctuce. 



The texture of paula is much softer in appearance than 

 that of parva, a peculiarity which is due partly to the fact 

 that the insect is more densely clothed with scales, partly to 

 the character of the markings and irrorations, but chiefly 

 perhaps to the contrast presented by the fuscous shading 

 of the outer two-thirds of the fore-wing with the white (or 

 nearly white) head, base of wing, and inner edging of the 

 second line, which in the specimen before me forms a con- 

 spicuous cornu on the inner margin, and, after being for 

 a short distance nearly lost, expands upon the costa into a 

 whitish blotch. Then the basal portion of the fore-wing in 

 paula occupies less than a third of the wing, and is bounded 



