NOCTUAS* 



391 



nearer the anal than the apical angle : the head 

 and thorax are dingy olive-brown, the latter 

 sprinkled with a few gray scales ; the body is 

 dull gray-brown. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June and 

 July ; it was first taken in the neighbourhood 

 of Dublin by Mr. Barrett, and subsequently 

 by Mr. Birchall and other entomologists. 

 (The scientific name is Dianthoecia Barrettii.} 



Obs. This moth was first described by Mr. 

 Doubleday, at p. 124 of the Entomologist's 

 Annual for 1864. That excellent lepidopterist 

 concludes the description with these words : 

 " It cannot possibly be confounded with any 

 other British species;" and I know from recent 

 correspondence, that he still entertains the 

 same view. Had it not been for my friend's 

 very decided opinion, I should have supposed 

 Barrettii to be a suffused, darker, and local 

 (Irish) type of Conspersa, from which it widely 

 differs in the tint of colour and in the ob- 

 scurity of its markings, but neither in the 

 form, size, or number of those markings. Mr. 

 Birchall, who is more thoroughly acquainted 

 with the species than any other entomologist, 

 writes thus respecting it : " Until the early 

 states of this insect are known, I hesitate to 

 express an opinion as to whether it is specifi- 

 cally distinct from Conspersa, or only a melanic 

 form of that insect. Beyond the difference of 

 colouring, the generally somewhat larger size 

 and rougher aspect, and the occurrence of a 

 dark spot in the centre of the orbicular stigma 

 of Barrettii, I am unable to point out any 

 character by which the two insects (so unlike 

 at first glance) can be distinguished. The 

 under-surface of the wings is alike in both 

 species, even in coloiu-. Irish specimens of 

 Conspersa are somewhat darker than English, 

 but I have not seen any that very closely 

 connect it with Barrettii in general aspect. 

 Barrettii has hitherto only been observed at 

 Howth, where also Conspersa occurs, but more 

 rarely. Oct. 21, 18G8. EDWIX BIRCHALL." 



On the same subject, Mr. Bond, in com- 

 pliance with my request, gives me his 

 opinion thus : " I am hardly prepared to 

 say that Barrettii is a species ; if I had 

 only seen the figure in the Annual for 1864, 



I should have said it was only Conspersa with- 

 out doubt. In the two fine specimens you 

 showed me, I quite failed in finding the Gm- 

 ista-like marks which Mr. Doubleday men- 

 tions in his original description; and had I 

 only seen the female specimen in your pos- 

 session, I should have said it was a dark 

 variety of Conspersa. I well recollect, some 

 years ago, the late Mr. Weaver bringing over 

 from Ireland three or four very dark specimens 

 of Conspersa, but who had them, I do not 

 know, and, at present, I have failed to trace 

 them; I have four specimens of his taking, 

 which are much darker than any other speci- 

 mens I have ever seen. October 22, 1868. 

 FREDERICK BOND." 



I have thus brought together the rather 

 conflicting opinions of our three English macro- 

 lepidopterists. It may be noted that the 

 differences hitherto observed between Barrettii 

 and Conspersa are, first, the slightly stouter 

 antennse of the male in Barrettii; secondly, 

 the rather broader fore wings ; thirdly, the 

 obliquity of the orbicular ; and, fourthly, 

 the more obscure coloration : it remains to be 

 seen whether the first, second, and third of 

 these differences will hold good in a long 

 series of each; if that prove to be the case, 

 Barrettii must, I think, be admitted as a 

 distinct species. 



621. The Gray (Dianthoecia ccesia). 



621. THE GRAY. The palpi are porrected 

 and very scaly, the terminal joint is very small ; 

 the cintenuie are simple : the fore wings are 

 rather narrow, the costa very straight, the tip 

 rather produced but blunt; their colour is 

 uniform dull bluish-gray, the various mark- 

 ings as discoidal spots and transverse lines 

 being slightly indicated but never defined : 

 the hind wings are smoky : the head and 

 thorax are dull bluish-gray, the body smoky- 

 black. 



