C ge J 
‘‘normal purple-red coloration of the female. The common 
‘‘mottled chestnut male either does not occur or exists as a 
‘‘very rare aberration in Ireland, just as in Great Britain 
‘‘purple-red males only occur as a rare aberration. It is this 
‘‘igolation of the purple form in both sexes in Iveland, 
“together with the fact that this form approaches more 
‘“nearly to its nearest generic congeners—stiymatica, brunnea, 
“and ditrapezium —in colour which makes me inclined to 
‘look upon this as the older form, and the bright chestnut 
‘‘males as more recently evolved. 
‘‘As I have already noted, there is a tendency in this 
‘‘ species to show a considerable range in minor aberrational 
“forms. The redder females are the ab. rufa of ‘The 
«British Noctue,’ etc., which is distributed rather commonly 
‘‘among the males and females of the Irish and the females 
‘‘of the English and Scotch specimens. The ab. fusca has 
‘a large quantity of fuscous mixed with the purple colour, 
‘‘ becoming in many specimens almost black, whilst the ab. 
‘* candelisequa of Stephens is a glaucous tinged form of dahlit, 
‘‘yare enough in this species, although glaucous tinted speci- 
‘“mens are quite a feature in the colour aberrations of this 
‘“senus, becoming quite common in VN, festiva, and almost 
“the rule in N. sobrina. A very pale reddish form of this 
‘‘ species was recently exhibited, by Mr. A. F. Bayne, at the 
‘“City of London Entomological Society, and although those 
“of us who know the extent of variation that N. festiva 
‘undergoes in Scotland, will scarcely agree with Guenée that 
“<¢the species varies no less than festiva,’ our recent know- 
“ledge has convinced British lepidopterists that dahlit is an 
‘exceedingly variable species. 
‘‘The triple colour variation of the female dahlii is very 
‘‘interesting —red, purple, and black being the extent of 
‘‘variation through which stiymatica, brunnea, and c-nigrum 
‘extend, whilst in brunnea ochreous mottling in the males is 
‘far from uncommon. This parallel range of colour varia- 
‘tion in closely allied species is proving very general 
‘‘wherever sufficient material, collected over a sufficiently 
‘‘wide area, has been obtained.” 
Herr Jacoby read a letter received from Mr. Buxton 
