24 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^B 



culminating probably in a perfectly melanic form. An extreme melanic 

 form probably occurs on the Continent, for Herr A. Hoffmann of 

 Hanover, writes : " Dark melanic forms occur on the moors and at the 

 sea-coast of North Germany," but I am inclined to think that these 

 belong rather to my var. suffusa than any other form. There is a great 

 deal of variation in the character of the stigmata, and I have specimens 

 in which the reniform is absent ; the dark costal shade in this species 

 appears always to run directly through the reniform, whilst the black 

 line bordering the pale elbowed line is frequently broken up into large 

 black lunules. 



a. var. obsoleta, mihi. The ground colour of the anterior wings 

 somewhat paler than in the type, the markings very faint and indistinct. 

 Instead of the black markings of the type (vide Newman's ' British 

 Moths,' p. 257), they are grey and but little deeper in shade than the 

 ground colour. The discoidal spots are indistinct, the hind marginal 

 and central areas very pale, the latter inclining to white. My speci- 

 mens of this form were given me by my friend Mr. Butterfield, and 

 were captured in the Bradford district. He also gave me a remarkable 

 specimen with the right side of this obsolete form and the left side 

 much more strongly marked and typical. 



/3. var. scotica, mihi. Larger and brighter than the type, the 

 markings very clear and distinct All my Scotch specimens from the 

 Glasgow and Dumbarton district are much larger, brighter, and more 

 distinctly marked than Yorkshire specimens. The specimens from the 

 east coast of Scotland are more like English than Scotch specimens 

 from the west coast, or from the Eannoch and surrounding districts. 

 It may be well to remark here, that the fauna of the east coast appears 

 to be less alpine than that of the west coast of Scotland in a more 

 southern latitude. 



7 var. suffusa, mihi. The anterior wings powdered with black 

 scales, giving the insect a much darker appearance than the type. The 

 hind wings are of a much deeper grey, especially towards the base and 

 hind margin. Hiibner's figure 7 represents this form fairly well. The 

 variety figured in Newman's ' British Moths,' p. 257, fig. 4, appears 

 identical with my specimen of this form, which also came from the 

 Bradford district. Mr. Prest (< Entom.' x., p. 129) writes : " Those 

 (menyanthidis) we take near York are nearly black, and the light form 

 is very rare." 



Acronycta, Och. (Viminia, Chapman), euphorbia, Fab. 



The type of this species does not occur in Britain. Our British form 

 has become so completely modified that it was described as a distinct 

 species under the name of inyricce. The Fabrician description is : 

 " Noctua cristata alis deflexis cinereis f usco undatis : maculis ordinariis ; 

 anteriore orbiculata posteriori reniformi albidis." " Caput et thorax 

 hirta cinerea. Alee cinereae striga baseos brevissima, altera ante medium 

 undata, tertia pone medium incurva. In medio pallidiores maculis 

 ordinariis distinctis annulo fusco cinetis. Margo fuscus punctatus " 

 (' Mantissa,' pp. 174, 175, No. 260). The hind wings of male euphor- 

 bia are white, of females, grey. Those of male myricce are white, of 

 the fc females dark blackish grey. The variety montivaga, Gn., is hardly 



