30 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
band is inwardly bordered with dark brown, especially towards 
the costa, and this colour not unfrequently fills up the space 
between the submarginal band and outer line; on the costa 
there are three yellowish dots between submarginal band and 
outer line, and two dark spots at the commencement of each of 
the double lines ; the reniform stigma is distinctly outlined, and 
often filled up with ochreous, except at its lower end, which is 
dark grey or even blackish; the orbicular is not always well 
defined ; the claviform is represented by a round black spot 
immediately below the orbicular ; there is a conspicuous black 
or blackish quadrate spot between the reniform and orbicular, a 
round or triangular one before the orbicular, and sometimes 
a minute one edged with white between the inner and basal 
lines; generally there is a brown transverse shade from the 
quadrate spot to the inner margin. Hind wings pale fuscous 
brown, with an inconspicuous central lunule ; fringes pinkish. 
Colour varvation.—From the normal brown with purplish 
reflection the colour of N. brunnea varies in two principal 
directions ; one of these leads to a pale reddish brown, tinged 
with faint violet-grey, very like some forms of N. festiva; and 
the other to a fuliginous brown, suffused with ashy grey. 
Examples of the last are in the Rotherham and Aberdeen series, 
whilst the paler forms are among the specimens from N. Devon. 
There are, however, N. Devon examples which are quite as dark 
in colour as any of the specimens in either of the northern series. 
The ashy grey and the violet-grey suffusion varies greatly in 
intensity ; in some specimens the former is very strong, giving 
the insect a grey-brown coloration. In a few specimens from 
N. Devon the discal area is tinged with ochreous. 
Variation of the stigmata.—Reniform outlined in ochreous, 
the centre occupied by a curved ochreous line, which in many 
examples is thread-like, in others only to be traced with a lens, 
whilst in others again it is broad or very broad. It appears 
therefore that the typical character of the reniform stigma 
depends on the dilation of the central ochreous line. In one . 
example from N. Devon there are some pale ochreous longi- 
tudinal streaks just beyond the reniform. The orbicular stigma, 
usually ill-defined and only partially outlined in ochreous, is in 
some specimens well formed and even conspicuous. ‘The reni- 
form and orbicular stigmata sometimes exhibit a tendency to 
amalgamate at their lower extremities, as in Dianthecia cucubali. 
In other specimens the outer edge of orbicular and inner edge of 
reniform are united by a continuance of the ochreous outline 
along the median nervure from one to the other; in these cases 
the stigmata are aberrant in contour. The claviform stigma, 
most frequently represented by a black dot just below the 
orbicular, is in some specimens fairly well-defined, and its out- 
line can be traced right up to the inner transverse line. 
