304 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Haworth calls obscura. Mr. Porritt writes, concerning the 

 general variation of this species, — " The pale variegated variety, 

 as well as the dark forms, occur at Huddersfield " {in litt.) ; and 

 Mr, Gregson, * Entomologist,' vol. iv., p. 52, writes, " This does 

 not vary so much here (Liverpool) as in the South (of England). 

 My best varieties of it were given to me by Mr. Doubleday. 

 One is a very genista-like specimen." Mr. W. Raid, of Pitcaple 

 (Aberdeen), writing of the Scotch specimens, says : — " The type, 

 together with var. rufescens and var. intermedia (both -grisea and 

 •rufa), are all to be obtained in more or less abundance in this 

 district. I once captured a very fine var. remissa, which agreed 

 well with Guenee's description. It had a very light ground 

 colour, with distinct, dark — almost black — markings. It bore a 

 very strong superficial resemblance to H. genista " {in litt.). 

 Tabulating the principal varieties we get: — 



1. A dark greyish black mottled form, without the HH-like 

 mark, = gemina, Hb. 



2. A reddish or brownish grey mottled form, without the 

 h-( - like mark, = var. rufescens. 



3. A grey form, with an hh- like mark under stigmata, = var. 

 intermedia-grisea. 



4. A reddish or brownish grey form, with an i-^-like mark 

 under stigmata, = var. intermedia-rufa. 



5. A grey form, with dark blotch between stigmata from 

 H-i - like mark to costa, dark outer margin, = var. remissa, Hb. 



a. var. rufescens, mihi. — Ground colour reddish or brownish grey, with 

 the transverse Hues as in the darker type. As in the type, there is no 

 special development of the claviform or of the darker central area, which 

 become so noticeable in the following varieties. Many of the specimens 

 belonging to the mottled form, taken in the South of England, have a more 

 or less reddish or brownish ground colour. I believe this variety occurs in 

 most localities in all parts of the British Islands where var. intermedia and 

 var. remissa occur. 



)8. var. intermedia, mihi. — Under the head of intermedia we get two 

 subvarieties ; one grey in colour, the other reddish brown. These I have 

 called: — (1) intermedia-grisea. — Ground colour grey or greyish brown, with 

 the claviform developed into an M-like mark, which joins the median 

 transverse lines, the space between the stigmata being darker than the 

 ground colour, and thus having a somewhat banded appearance. (2). inter- 

 media-rufa. — This is like intermedia-grisea, but has the ground colour 

 brownish or reddish grey, with the same characteristic markings as in 

 that variety. This would appear to be the " La Brouillee " of Engramelle. 

 Guenee writes of it: — "It is distinguished above all by a black mark, 

 which unites the two median transverse lines above the submedian nervure, 

 leaving between it and the internal border (i. e., below the i-t-like mark) a 

 space generally paler than the ground colour " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 208). 

 These varieties appear to occur in almost all parts of the British Isles. I 

 have them from Sligo, from Aberdeen, and many other Scotch and English 

 localities. 



