32 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
colour, and with a dark spot at its lower extremity; the clavi- 
form is usually represented by a blackish dot below orbicular, 
but in some examples it is completely outlined and filled up 
with ochreous. There is often a blackish quadrate, sometimes 
roundish, blotch or spot between the stigmata, and a triangular 
one before the orbicular one; sometimes there is also a black 
dot, edged externally with whitish, between the inner and basal 
lines ; these marks are the exposed sections of a black wedge- 
shaped streak in the discoidal cell. Three sinuate, double, dark 
lines traverse the wings, the basal terminates just below the 
median nerve, the inner is sharply angulated near the costa and 
above inner margin, and the outer is curved below costa, and 
then runs parallel with outer margin; the submarginal band 1s 
pale, indented below costa and before inner margin. All these 
lines originate in dark spots on the costa, and there are often 
three pale spots between outer line and submarginal band. 
Space between the outer line and submarginal band is often 
filled up with brownish. A series of black spots on outer 
margin, and there is also frequently a series of white dots just 
beyond the outer line. Hind wings grey-brown, with a darker 
central lunule, and, sometimes, transverse line, the latter, when 
present, being often bordered externally with paler. Fringes 
ochreous, with a rosy tinge. 
The foregoing is not a description of an individual specimen 
of N. festa, but is drawn up for the purpose of conveying a- 
general idea of the species. Although I have a large number of 
specimens of the species, I am only able to select examples 
which nearly agree, but are not exactly identical with Hubner’s 
five figures of this species. 
The colour of N. festiva ranges from pale ochreous to chest- 
nut-brown, and from grey to fuliginous grey-brown; so far as 1 
know, the greyish coloration is confined to northern festiva. The 
ornamentation is subject to modification of a comprehensive and 
most interesting character, and to a large extent the variation 
exhibited in my series is analogous to that of N. brunnea. The 
transverse lines are strongly defined in some specimens, whilst 
in others they are mostly obsolete; the discoidal cell between 
the stigmata is often no darker than the rest of the fore wing, 
but sometimes there is a reddish quadrate spot in place of the 
usual black one; the stigmata may be only faintly outlined, and 
sometimes the orbicular is completely lost. The brownish shade 
between outer lne and submarginal band is frequently only repre- 
sented by a short transverse dash from costa, and even this in 
one or two examples in my series is eliminated. Sometimes 
there is no trace of a claviform stigma. ‘This is what may be 
termed the ordinary variation of N. festiva ; but there are a few 
aberrations of the species which deserve special consideration, 
and I therefore venture to briefly describe them as follows :— 
