IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 41 



normal in the strongly marked varieties of straminea, occurs in var. 

 punctilinea of impura, but does not seem ever to be developed in this 

 species. Specimens, of all shades of colour obtaining in this species, 

 are very inconstant as to the number of these three dots developed. 

 Hiibner's fig. 234 of pollens is typical, but has three dots. The 

 Linnsean description of the type is as follows : " Spirilinguis Isevis, 

 alis deflexis pallidis immaculatis : marginibus posticis subtus nigro 

 punctatis." "Alae superiores supra puncto 1, sed 2, nigro, 

 minimo. Subtus alee atomis nigris, imprimis margine postico nigro- 

 punctato" (Systema Naturae '). The ground colour of the species 

 varies from pale ochreous (nearly white) to bright ochreous-red. It 

 rarely happens that the anterior wings are suffused with black scales 

 to an appreciable extent. The hind wings are typically pure white 

 in the male, with the hind margin slightly shaded with grey in 

 the females. 



a. var. arcuata, Stphs. The colour of the anterior wings of this 

 variety is pale wainscot, with two black dots on the disc. Posterior 

 wings white, shaded with ashy-brown, and with an arched row of 

 brown spots on the veins beyond the centre of the wing. Under this 

 variety I would, therefore, include all the forms (whatever their 

 colour) which have this arcuated row of dots. Such a development 

 is very rare in this species, although normal in most of the varieties 

 of straminea, and occasionally occurring in impura. I have several 

 specimens with one or two dots developed, but the only specimen in 

 my series that has any approach to a complete row was captured by 

 Mr. Young at Eotherham, Yorks. 



/3. var. ectypa, Hb. Hiibner's fig. 231, which he names ectypa, 

 is undoubtedly a fine red form of pollens. It has the anterior wings of 

 a bright reddish ochreous with pale nervures, no central dot, two dots 

 in outer row, one just below the third branch of the median nervure. 

 Hind wings whitish grey, with a dark grey shade parallel to the hind 

 margin. Dr. Staudinger describes it as : " Alee anteriores rufge." I 

 have many specimens in my long series almost like Hiibner's figure. 

 The development of the grey shade on the hind margin into a trans- 

 verse band, is rarely very distinct in British examples. This is treated 

 by Guenee as a distinct species in his ' Noctuelles,' p. 94. I have 

 specimens from Howth, Deal, Aberdeen, Eotherham, Strood and Torres. 



y. var. rufescens, Haw. This variety, treated as a distinct species 

 by Haworth, is thus described by him : " Rufescens, alis anticis venosis 

 immaculatis, posticis (costa excepta) certo situ fuscescentibus ; " " alis 

 certo situ lineolis 3-4 obsoletis, fuscis, posticis fuligmosis venis fuscis." 

 It is a very slight modification of ectypa, differing from that variety in 

 having none of the three ordinary dots. Otherwise both are red, both 

 have the wing- rays very pale, both have the hind- wings shaded on the 

 outer margin, although in ectypa the shading of the hind margin takes 

 a banded form. The anterior wings in rufescens have also three or 

 four dusky streaks visible in certain positions. These streaks are very 

 distinct in some red specimens I have. I believe that both this form 

 and ectypa occur freely everywhere in Britain with the type. I have 

 them from many Scotch and Irish localities. The variety rufescens is, 

 without doubt, the ectypa of Boisduval. 



