VARIETIES OF NOCTU^ IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 41 



as in polychrous ; the thorax is also much more convex and less 

 rounded at the sides behind, the anterior femora are broader and 

 have a denser fringe and larger sub-apical tooth, the anterior 

 tibise are more dilated near the base, channelled on the inside, 

 and without teeth except at the apex. 

 22, Perth Koad, Stroud Green, N., January 19, 1889. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS A LIST OF THE VARIETIES 

 OF NOCTU^ OCCURRING IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 



By J. W. TuTT, F.E.S. 



(Continued from p. 12.) 



Xylophasia, St., monoglypha, Hufn. {polyodon, L.). 



This is another most variable species, ranging from speci- 

 mens of a pale whitish grey ground colour, through almost every 

 intermediate shade to deep unicolorous brown and black. The 

 melanism on our southern coasts tends more to the production 

 of dark, more or less unicolorous, brown forms; that in the North 

 of England, Scotland and the west coast of Ireland to the 

 production more especially of intensely black forms, although 

 occasionally more or less black forms are taken in the south, and 

 beautiful rich brown forms occur in Noi'th Britain and the west 

 coast of Ireland. I would also draw attention to the great variation 

 in the direction, shape and size of the orbicular stigma ; 

 sometimes this is quite linear, sometimes oval, and sometimes 

 round ; sometimes large and sometimes comparatively small. 



This species seems to vary but little on the Continent, so far 

 as is at present known, and scarcely any continental authors appear 

 to have figured or described any varieties except Staudinger, who 

 has recently named one intensely black form cethiops. Hiibner 

 figures the type, with a pale patch along the inner margin and 

 near the anal angle, as radicea. The Linnsean description 

 (' Systema Naturae,' p. 853, No. 170), is as follows: — " Noctua 

 spirilinguis cristata, cinereo-nebulosa ; margine postico multi- 

 dentato." "Alge superioris margo posticus circiter 8 dentibus 

 terminatus." Guenee in his * Noctuelles ' mentions nothing 

 about the species being variable, although he says, " common 

 everywhere." Haworth describes the pale variegated form, which 

 is generally looked upon as the type, as : *' Noctua cristata, alis 

 deflexis dentatis variegatis : striga postica dentatis albis, thoracis 

 crista elevata bifida." " Corpus pergrossum. Alse anticse ex 

 fusco parum fulvicantes, nebulis variis nigris pallidisque. Stigma 

 anticum oblongum, et valde obliquum sive subsupinum. Juxta 

 marginem posticum striga profundissime et acutissime dentata 

 alba nigro interne adnata. Posticse alse cinereo-fuscse, fimbria 



ENTOM. — FEB. 1889. E 



