150 THE ENTOIMOLOGIST. 



triangular spots, pointing to the base of the wing. The hind 

 margin is black and white-spotted. The hind wings are grey. 

 Under side of fore and hind wings with a dark spot and a trans- 

 verse line." This species is very rare in Britain, although most 

 cabinets contain specimens, which their possessors believe are 

 British. On the Continent, however, the species is in many 

 l)laces common. Hiibner, under the name of leucophcea, figures 

 (fig. 80) a specimen of a pale grey ground colour, with a much 

 darker central band, having a purplish tinge. The darker 

 markings, however, are much as in the figure in Newman's 

 'British Moths,' p. 2'J5, but there are only two of the black 

 wedge-shaped spots parallel to the hind margin. The si)ecimen 

 is a large female. Geyer, in his supplement to Hiibner's 

 ' Schmet, &c.,' figures (Hi?) another female, of bad shape, but 

 purplish in colour. ' Fabricius describes this species under the 

 name of fulminea, his description of the species agreeing almost 

 precisely with tliat of Vieweg. It is as follows : — " Bombyx alls 

 incumbentibus dentatis griseo fuscoque variegatis, thorace antice 

 albo ; striga nigra" (' Entomologia systematica,' &c., p. 484, 

 No. 241). Newman, in his 'British Moths,' p. 295, says, "tinged 

 with ochreous," which has been the case with several specimens 

 I have seen. These " ochreous-tinged " specimens would appear 

 to be Hiibner's vestigialis (described below), whilst a peculiar 

 slaty form, with dark red central band, is figured by the same 

 author under the name of ravida. It is also the ochreous form 

 which is the leucojiluea of Guenee's ' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 177, 

 where he writes, " Superior wings of a greyish white, tinged in 

 places with yellowish, and shaded with brownish black," &c. 

 Taking the white and fuscous form as the type, there seem to be 

 the following varieties noted b}' other authors : — 



1. Speckled with ochreous, = vestigialis, Esp. 



2. With the central area red, = ravida, Esp. 



3. Smaller than type, = hoinbycina, Ev. 



a. var. vestigialis, Esp. — Esper (vol. iii., pi. liii., fig. 5) figures a form of 

 leucophcea under this name, of whicli I made the following description : — 

 "Male. Pectinated anteimse; ground colour greyish brown, with yellowish 

 nervures ; a white patch at base of wing directly under costa, followed by a 

 double whitish basal line, edged interiorly with black. Claviform of ground 

 colour outlined in black and then with white; orbicular reaching to costa, 

 outlined in white and then with black; reniform also outlined in white and 

 then with black ; a black wavy line from base of reniform to the inner 

 margin; six short black cestui streaks above the reniform and towards the 

 apex ; a series of black wedge-shaped spots parallel to hind margin ; fringes 

 alternately dark and pale grey. Hind wings grey, paler in centre and 

 towards the upper margin; lunule in this paler space, dark hind margin, 

 extreme outer edge whitish." His figure 4 on the same plate is a female, 

 " much more brightly marked, more variegated, orbicular not reaching 

 custa ; ground colour deeper, and witli a slight reddish tinge, a wavy 

 transverse line parallel to hind margin." This variety is, as mentioned 



