IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 63 



S. sub-vars. lucens-albo and lucens-flwo, mihi. My series consists 

 more especially of deep ferruginous red (typically coloured) specimens, 

 varying somewhat in brightness. As may be seen from Freyer's de- 

 scription above, the deep red form with two deep red stigmata is the 

 type. This form I have from Eixton Moss ; a subvar. with white 

 reniform-/Mcews-aZ6o-from Rixton Moss and Wicklow ; a subvar. with 

 yellow reniform, lucens-flavo, from Wicklow. 



Hydrcecia, Gn., paludis, Tutt. 



Before describing this species (?) (paludis) I would make the 

 following remarks : For reasons that I have just given under my 

 notes on nictitans, I am almost satisfied that this is a species distinct 

 from, but closely allied to, nictitans. Its different phases of variation 

 are shown, 'Entom.' xxi., Plate i., figs. 1 6. The varieties of this 

 local race or species (whichever it may be) vary in colour from yellow- 

 ochreous to brownish -ochreous, deep brown, and grey with a slight 

 greenish tinge. The orbicular is yellow in all varieties, the reniform 

 is always white or orange-yellow, never distinctly red as in nictitans 

 var. erythrostigrna. The form is not figured by any British or Conti- 

 nental author ; as far as I can find, the nearest approach to it is Espers' 

 fig. v., pi. 125 ; although in Humphrey and West wood's ' British 

 Moths,' vol. ii., pi. xxxvii., fig. 4, there is a poor figure of what might 

 possibly be its var. grisea. Paludis and its vars. seem particularly 

 marsh or coast forms. The palest I have ever seen were captured by 

 Mr. Russ, at Sligo, in Ireland ; but others captured by Mr. Ovenden and 

 myself at Strood, by Mr. Coverdale at Shoeburyness, and by myself at 

 Deal, are but little darker than the Irish specimens. In 'Entom.,' xxi., 

 Plate i., figs. 1 & 2 are the ochreous form (paludis); figs. 4, 5, 6 are 

 the dark grey form with slight greenish tinge (grisea) ; fig. 3 is inter- 

 mediate (intermedia) between the two former, whilst the dark brown 

 form (var. brunnea) is not figured. It must be noted that each of 

 these figures has a form with both white and yellow reniform stigmata, 

 although a yellow form of intermedia is not figured. I have therefore 

 divided each of the three forms into -albo and -flavo according 

 to the colour of the reniform With regard to paludis, Mr. 

 W. H. B. Fletcher, M.A., of Worthing, writes:"! have bred a 

 considerable number of so-called nictitans from Iarva3 found on the 

 south coast near Worthing, and they are all, without exception, the 

 form paludis " (in litt.). 



Type : paludis, mihi. (1) paludis-albo. The anterior wing of a 

 pale ochreous-yellow ground colour, with a white reniform and yellow 

 orbicular ; an abbreviated double basal line, followed by two single 

 fuscous transverse lines ; a dark fuscous shade, extending from the 

 inner edge of the reniform to the inner margin ; two fuscous transverse 

 elbowed lines just beyond the reniform, extending across the wing ; a 

 costal shade slightly darker than the ground colour near the apex, the 

 reniform being situated in a similarly-coloured shade ; the hind mar- 

 gin from the apex to the anal angle also darker ; the reniform is 

 exceedingly narrow, compared with that of nictitans, owing to the 

 absence of the outside ring present in the reniform of the latter 

 species. The hind wings dark grey, the males with the base much 



