IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 73 



black form cetJiiops. Hiibner figures the type, with a pale patch along 

 the inner margin and near the anal angle, as radicea. The Linnsean 

 description (' Systema Natures,' p. 853, No. 170), is as follows : 

 " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, cinereo-nebulosa ; margine postico mul- 

 tidentato." " Alas superioris margo posticus circiter, 8 dentibus termi- 

 natus." Guende in his ( Noctuelles ' mentions nothing about the species 

 being variable, although he says, " common everywhere." Haworth 

 describes the pale variegated form, which is generally looked upon as 

 the type, as : "Noctua cristata, alis deflexis dentatis variegatis : striga 

 postica dentatis albis, thoracis crista elevata bifida." " Corpus per- 

 grossum. Alas anticse ex fusco parum f ulvicantes, nebulis variis nigris 

 pallidisque. Stigma anticum oblongum, et valde obliquum sive sub- 

 supinum. Juxta marginem posticum, striga profundissime et acutissime 

 dentata albo nigro interne adnata. Posticse alas cinereo-fuscas, fimbria 

 fusca, ciliis fulvicantibus " (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' pp. 186, 187). 

 He also adds : " Variat alis minus variegatis." Thanks to my friend, 

 Herr Hoffmann (Hanover), I have been able to get a translation of 

 Hufnagel's original description, which is as follows : " With a bluish 

 tinge, partly light and partly dark grey, with a Latin W in the hind 

 margin," certainly a most comprehensive one, and worthy of considera- 

 tion. Treating therefore as the type the variegated form, which has 

 the whitish blotch on the inner margin near the anal angle, we 

 have four striking varieties, joined of course by intermediate forms. 

 These are : 



1. A suffused brown or greyish brown form, with the markings 

 distinctly traceable, though obscured, var. obscura. 



2. A deep, intensely brown form, with the markings scarcely 

 traceable, var. brunnea. 



3. A black form with moderately distinct markings, var. infuscata. 



4. An intensely black form with the markings almost entirely 

 obliterated, var. cethiops. 



a. var. obscura, mihi. A suffused brown or greyish brown form 

 with all the pale markings of the type brownish or dull greyish 

 instead of whitish. The whole of the markings of the anterior wings 

 clearly traceable, although obscured. The brownish transverse lines 

 (pale in the type) margined with darker brown. My specimens have 

 come from Strood, Greenwich, Deal,* Sligo, Barnsley and many North 

 of England and Scotch localities. It also occurs at Portland. 



/3. var. brunnea, mihi. The anterior wings a deep, rich brown, 

 with the discoidal spots and transverse lines traceable. This is almost 

 the same form as infuscata, with the ground colour deep brown instead 

 of black. My specimens have come from Mr. Percy Russ of Sligo, 

 Mr. Henderson of Glasgow, and Mr. Harrison of Barnsley. I have 

 also received it from a few other localities, but all northern. Some of 

 my Deal varieties of var. obscura approach this form closely. Mr. J. 

 Jenner Weir (' Entom.,' xiv., 220), writing of the Hebridean polyodon 

 remarks : " The parallel variety to combusta (rurea) is of the richest 



* During the summer of 1888 scarcely a pale polyodon occurred on the 

 Deal sandhills ; almost all were obscura. I even captured one specimen of var. 

 infuscata. I have no doubt this was due to the excessively wet season. I also 

 captured a specimen of var. infuscata in 1890 at the same place. 



