VAKIETIES OF PERONEA CRISTANA. 267 



c. Vitta confined to base of inner margin only, 

 Subvittana, Stepli. — Well known to all collectors. 

 Pimctana,.Glk. — Ground colour darker, and button and short 

 vitta more cream-coloured ; small pale scales more numerous, 

 two on disc before tuft, four along inner fold, several along 

 costal fold, and others towards the end of the wing, giving a 

 very speckled appearance to the insect. But these minor addi- 

 tions scarcely seem to warrant a distinctive name variety. 



Nigra subvittana, Clk. — Blacker ground colour. The short 

 pale vitta more obsolete, pale grey rather than white ; central 

 tuft black. 



NiGRANA Group. 

 Ground colour black. 



This phase of aberration in P. cristana seems quite a modern 

 development. The form first appeared in the New Forest a year 

 or two earlier than 1890, and we saw only one of the form 

 among a series of nearly two hundred specimens examined in 

 the following year. The commonest varieties at that time were 

 cristalana, striana, and defontainana, with some of the unicolorous 

 brown examples. Now it is equally common with all of these, 

 and at Epping it is easily first among the scarcer aberrations. 

 Black, with a shining surface and unicolorous, excepting for the 

 deeper blue-black of the markings, button, and tufts ; it is well- 

 named and unmistakable, but after all is only an intensified form 

 of profanana. 



Rufinigrana, Clk.— A distinction without a dift'erence. Of 

 this form Clark remarks: "The chocolate-coloured marking, 

 which is totally absent in nigrana, constitutes the difi'erence." 

 Possessing both the type (quite unlike the figure) and his series, 

 we are forced to say there is no chocolate line whatever as 

 described. The main difference is that in this the darker black 

 curved line from the black tuft, which terminates upon the disc 

 in nigrana, becomes in rufinigrana a straight line to the costa 

 near the apex ; whilst in certain lights we see a reddish blush 

 over the black scaling of the wings between the base and the 

 tuft, but this is not sufficiently pronounced to be esteemed a 

 difference such as ought to be recognized by a varietal name. 

 Moreover, the specimen chosen for description and figuring differs 

 per se from Clark's own assorted series, being paler in colour 

 generally, and brown-red near the body. The name rufinigrana 

 as one of non-importance should be dropped altogether. 



Jansoniana, ab. nov. — Another of the nigrana group, all of 

 which are absolutely identical in depth of colour, is distinguished 

 by the dark grey head and thorax, and reddish grey vitta always 

 distinct, and never degenerating into the several pale lines we 

 see in striana. Mr. Clark had eight of these, and we propose for 

 this rather striking form the above name, after Mr. Oliver E. 



