50 VARIETIES OF NOCTtLas 



points of distinction, as given by Schmidt (' Stett. Ent. Zeit.' 1858, p. 

 367), are as follows : " The difference between neurica and arundineta 

 is less in the underside and in the markings than in the different struc- 

 ture of the body and the wings. Neurica, Hb., is the more slender, 

 arundineta the more robust form. The colour of both forms varies in 

 the same manner, but arundineta has a dark spot on the underside of 

 each wing, which neurica never has." My good friend Herr Hoffmann 

 (Hanover) also adds : " Herrich Schaffer declared both forms, neurica 

 and arundineta, to be different species, and so did Staudinger after- 

 wards. " A full description of this variety is given above in the 

 comparison with the type. 



/3. var. rosea, mini. Like the variety arundineta, but with the 

 whole of the anterior wings suffused with a rich rosy colour. The 

 form is not common, but the Cambridge collectors get a few every 

 year. 



y. var. dissoluta, Tr. This variety was first figured by Hiibner, 

 659 661, under the name of neurica,\)ut since Treitschke first described 

 this form under a distinct name, his name has been retained as the 

 varietal name. Dr. Staudinger in his ' Catalogue ' (p. 106), treats it as 

 distinct, and writes of it : " a more robust species, wings spotted 

 underneath." Hiibner's fig. 659 is a male, the anterior wings very 

 dark brown, with no orbicular, the outer half of the reniform lined in 

 with pale, a pale line beyond the reniform parallel to the hind margin. 

 Posterior wings with the outer margin blackish grey, the base paler, 

 with a distinct black lunule. Hiibner's fig. 660 is an underside, and 

 661 is a female, which is marked like the male, but rather larger. A 

 fair figure of this variety is in Newman's ' British Moths,' p. 271, fig. 2. 

 Mr. Warren writes me : " The dark neurica of old time came from 

 Yaxley, Hunts." It is not obtained in any of the British localities for 

 neurica at the present time. 



Nonagria, Och., geminipuncta, Haw., Hatchette. 



Next to T. fulva, this species is perhaps the most variable of the 

 whole group. The coloration extends from a pale reddish ochreous, 

 and a clear reddish-brown, through fuscous to black. In each colour the 

 reniform may have two, one, or no white spot present ; whilst, a series 

 of longitudinal black dashes forms a more or less defined elbowed line 

 outside the reniform in the paler specimens, thus producing some very 

 pretty and striking sub- varieties. Haworth published the following 

 description of the type : " The wings reddish fuscous, with a broad 

 red band along the inner margin, and two small white spots in the 

 place of the posterior stigma" (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 176). As 

 the name signifies, the great character of the type is the presence of 

 the reniform as two distinct white spots. This form Hiibner figures 

 (628 and 629) as guttans. Dr. Staudinger seems to lose sight of the 

 fact that this is the type, for in his ' Catalogue,' p. 106, he writes : 

 " ab. guttans, Hb., reniform stigma in two separate spots." Guenee 

 treats paludicola as the type and guttans as a variety. Both Haworth's 

 description and Hiibner's figure ignore the presence of a black dot 

 between the double white spot and the base. The number of white 

 spots varies, sometimes only one is present, sometimes neither, I have 



