TRIFID^. 345 



large smoky-brown cloud along the liincl margin ; nervures 

 smoky-brown ; cilia white, clouded with pale brown. Female 

 stouter and with the antennte threadlike ; otherwise quite 

 similar. 



Underside of fore wings very pale smoky-brown ; costal 

 and dorsal margins smoky-white ; beyond the middle are 

 two slender partial transverse blackish-brown lines, the 

 second arising from a dusky costal triangle near the apex. 

 Hind wings white, abundantly dusted with smoky-grey along 

 the costal and hind-marginal regions ; central spot small, 

 lunate, dusky ; beyond it is a slender, curved and indented, 

 transverse smoky-brown line, beyond which the hind margin 

 becomes gradually darker smoky-brown ; cilia white. Body 

 dirty greyish-white ; anal tuft dull ochreous ; legs dark brown 

 barred with white ; leg-tufts tinged with reddish-brown. 



As already intimated, the form which it has been necessary 

 to use for description, if any markings were to be described 

 at all, is not the most frequent in this country, that which is 

 so being almost devoid of markings and nearly unicolorous 

 shining dark smoky-brown or brown-black ; yet in almost 

 every example some of the markings exist, the whitish dots 

 of the reniform stigma and the subterrainal line being the 

 most constant, and the rest showing themselves in ever 

 varying degrees. In the collections of the late Mr. F. Bond 

 and Dr. Mason are specimens of a paler ground colour in 

 which the markings are thrown into far greater distinctness. 

 In the former collection, now at Dover, is another specimen 

 very strongly blotched with three long pale stripes length- 

 wise, partly obliterating the usual markings. But by far the 

 finest variety that I have seen was obtained near Harwich, 

 Essex, by Mr. G. F. Mathew, R.N. In it the orbicular and 

 reniform stigmata are both yellowish-white; the ground 

 colour almost pale grey with distinct black blotches, one 

 near the base of the dorsal margin, one larger, near the middle 

 of the wing, uniting the first and second lines, and several 

 along the subterminal line, these last very velvety. It has a 



