IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 15 



the black markings are of necessity less pronounced, and blend with 

 the general ground colour. This variety is represented in the second 

 figure in Newman's ' British Moths,' p. 251. The type of this species, 

 leporina, has the ground colour of a pure white. Most of our specimens 

 would be referred by Continental lepidopterists to var. bradyporina. 

 Nearly all my series are of the grey form. In ' Entom.' x., 129, the late 

 Mr. Prest writes, " I have taken A. leporina for nearly twenty years, but 

 never took the pale form near here (York); ours are all the variety brady- 

 porina." Mr. Dobree of Beverley, also tells me that this is so throughout 

 the E. Hiding of Yorkshire. In ' Entom.' x., 93, the late Mr. Nicholas 

 Cooke writes : " In this neighbourhood (Liscard) we take leporina of 

 a tolerably deep grey colour ; at Loch Logan it is beautifully white, 

 with the characteristic marks dark." 



(3. var. semivirga, mihi. The same ground colour as in the type, 

 but the space, between the undulated transverse line parallel to the 

 hind margin and the hind margin, is suffused with black scales, 

 especially towards the line. This gives the variety the appearance of 

 an exterior band, although not so broadly developed as in the almost 

 parallel varieties of psi and tridens. This variety is represented in 

 Newman's * British Moths,' fig. 3, p. 251. It may be worthy of re- 

 mark that tridens has only a banded variety, psi and leporina both 

 banded and suffused varieties, while the remainder of the genus have 

 only, so far as we at present know, suffused varieties. 



y. var. rosea, Engr. Guenee describes a variety under Engra- 

 melle's name " La Rose," as having " the superior wings and abdominal 

 incisions of a bright rose," and says of it, " This charming variety is 

 very rare." 



Acronycta, Och. (Cuspidia, Chapman), megacephala, Fab. 



There is some variation in the ground colour of this species, but by 

 far the commonest form is the grey. Some specimens incline to 

 ochreous, others are rosy. Dr. Chapman, writing to me of this 

 species, says: "I have them of three tints, (1) black and white, 

 (2) ochreous, (3) tending to pink." The specimens from the south of 

 Europe are all much paler than our palest forms. One pale Asiatic 

 variety appears to have been named turanica, under the impression 

 that it was a distinct species." The description of the type is as 

 follows: " Alis deflexis cinereis nigro undatis : macula unica orbicu- 

 lata albida." " Rustica media affinis N. euphorbice. Antennae nigra3. 

 Caput et thorax hirta, cinerea. Abdomen albidum. Alse anticas 

 obscure cinereaa strigis variis undatis nigris. In medio macula 

 ordinaria unica. Margo fusco punctatus. Postica? albas subtus puncto 

 centrali fusco " (' Mantissa,' p. 175, No. 261). This is a very good 

 description of our form. The following are the principal varieties : 



a. var. turanica, Stdgr. A species of this name is found in 

 Staudinger's list between euphrasice and rumicis. The locality given is 

 Turkestan. Mr. Dobree writes me that this so-called species "is 

 nothing more than a light-coloured form of megacephalo from 

 Turkestan." All our British specimens of this species are darker 

 than those from the south of Europe and Asia. 



