Il6 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



represent the more or less ordinary South EngHsh forms of the 

 species. Sometimes the ground colour of the male is more 

 distinctly reddish, or rust tinted, and the yellowish bands 

 narrower on all the wings. Or the bands may be much broader 

 than in the male figured, and the widening is effected by exten- 

 sion in the form of rays towards the outer margins of the wings. 

 A form that has been referred to, in error, as var. roboris^ Shrank 

 (= margiiiata^ Tutt), has the outer margins of all the wings 

 broadly yellow. I have not seen an English example of this 

 form, but I have a reddish specimen in which the yellow band 

 on the fore wings is broader than usual, and the whole of the 

 outer third of the hind wings yellow, with a slight brownish 

 shade on the external margin ; this is semimarginata^ Tutt, and 

 is also identical with var. roboris of other British authors. The 

 white spot usually present on the fore wings varies somewhat 

 in size and shape ; it is often seen on the under as well as the 

 upper surface of the wings, except in the lighter coloured forms. 



Var. calluncB (The Northern Eggar), is shown on Plate 54. The 

 chief features of this form are the generally darker coloration in 

 both sexes, the yellow patch at the base of the fore wings of the 

 male, and the outward turn of the lower ends of the yellow 

 bands. All these characters are subject to modification ; the 

 yellow bands may be very narrow at one extreme, or greatly 

 widened at the other, and the hind wings may occasionally be 

 bandless ; the basal patch is often of large size, but in some 

 examples it is entirely absent. Sometimes the bands are 

 greenish in colour (var. olivaceo-fasciata^ Cockerell), and more 

 rarely, perhaps, the greenish tinge extends over the whole of the 

 wings (^2^'Olivacea^ Tutt). It should be noted here that the var. 

 olivaceo-fasciata has occurred once or twice in South England, 

 but this phase of aberration seems to be more connected with 

 calluncE than with quercus. 



Callunce was not recognized as British until the year 1847, 

 when it was introduced as a species distinct from quercus. The 



