ARCTIIDAl. 289 



in the east of that country. Also common in all parts of 

 Ireland. Found all over the continent of Europe except the 

 extreme North and South; also in Asia Minor, Armenia, 

 Siberia, Tartary, Japan, and Abyssinia. From Japan a form, 

 called punctarwm, Cramer, with redder coloured abdomen, 

 and the arrangement of spots quite unstable, appears to be no 

 more than a variety of this species, and very probably the 

 same may be said of S. virginica, which is of the same shape 

 and proportions, but has the fore wings pure white except a 

 single faint dot at the apex of the discal cell, and generally 

 three black spots on the hind wings ; and is apparently the 

 representative of this species throughout North America. 



4. S. urticae, Esp., papyratia, Marsh. — Expanse ^ to 

 If inch. Fore wings rather narrow and pointed, white with a 

 few black dashes near the costa ; hind wings white, spotless. 



Antennae of the male very shortly pectinated, upper side of 

 the shaft white, under side and pectinations black. Head 

 and thorax covered with loose, fluffy, raised white scales. 

 Abdomen yellow with the tip whitish, a row of squared black 

 spots down the middle of the back, and another row down 

 each side. Fore wings rather narrow, costal and dorsal 

 margins very slightly curved, apex produced to a blunt point, 

 hind margin rounded but oblique; white with the faintest 

 possible tinge of creamy toward the costal margin, one black 

 dot near the middle of the costa, occasionally a few black dots 

 scattered over the middle area of the wing, and often a short 

 row of fine black streaks running in from the apex ; cilia 

 white. Hind wings rounded, entirely white. Female similar, 

 with threadlike antennse very slightly dentated. Underside 

 of all the wings white, sometimes with the spots of the upper 

 side of the fore wings faintly indicated, that toward the 

 middle of the costa and two or three before the apex dis- 

 tinctly so ; hind wings with a black central spot or lunule 

 which is not visible above ; abdomen yellowish-white with 



VOL. II. T 



