96 'VARIETIES OF NOCTILS3 



Oculea-flavo is pale like var. oculea, has the same dark costal patch, but 

 has the reniform stigmata ochreous instead of white. Both vars. oculea 

 and oculea-flavo are common forms. 



B. Ground colour ferruginous red, reddish brown or purplish 



brown. 



a var. rufa, mihi. ( I). Rufa-albo. Anterior wings unicolorous 

 reddish without transverse lines, the claviform and orbicular scarcely 

 (if at all) traceable, the reniform whitish ; the nervures rather dark 

 longitudinally. (2). Rufa-flavo. Like rufa-albo, but with ochreous 

 reniform. 



P. var. nictitans Esp. Hb. (1). var. nictitans. Ground colour of 

 the anterior wings reddish brown, with the ordinary transverse lines ; 

 reniform stigma white ; the orbicular and claviform of the ground 

 colour ; no >-< -like mark. (2). Nictitans-linea. Like var. nictitans, but 

 with the i -like mark under the stigmata. Of var. nictitans Guenee 

 writes : " Comprises all the specimens which, in place of the equal 

 division of the wing into brown and ochreous as in the type, are of an 

 unicolorous brownish with the reniform ordinarily of a pure white, 

 but often also tinted with ochreous.* This form presents to us fewer 

 sub-varieties than the type" (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 211). Of Hiibner's 

 nictitans, fig. 619, I wrote the following description : " Anterior wings 

 very dark reddish brown, with faintly marked transverse lines. Hind 

 wings very dark grey." These forms are amongst the most common 

 in Britain. 



y. var. secalina, Hb. (1). var. secalina Hb. This variety is also 

 red or reddish brown in colour, but the type is without the < -like 

 mark, and with yellowish reniform. Hubner's secalina (' Schmetter- 

 linge,' &c., fig. 420) may be described as : " Anterior wings dark 

 brownish, two short, black, longitudinal basal streaks and basal trans- 

 verse line, orbicular pale, reniform ochreous ; a pale transverse line 

 beyond reniform, and a pale subterminal line ; the space between these 

 lines paler brown. Hind wings dark grey, base paler." (2). Secalina- 

 linea. Like var. secalina, but with HH -like mark under stigmata. This 

 variety, together with the last, is very common in Britain. Both types 

 are without the > i -like- mark, but whilst nictitans has a white reni- 

 form, that of secalina is ochreous. It has been necessary therefore 

 to name the subvarieties on the < -like mark, and not on the colour of 

 the stigmata. Guenee treats secalina, Hb., as synonymous with didyma, 

 Esper, but this is not so ; didyma is a central-banded form, while seca- 

 lina is without this special development. 



8. var. rava, Haw. (1). var. rava. This variety has a reddish or 

 reddish ochreous ground colour, with a dark fuscous costal area con- 

 tinued down the central area to form a central band, but without the i -like 

 mark. It is described by Haworth (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' pp. 209, 

 210), as: "Alis subrufis, margine crassiori posticoque irregulariter 

 late fuscis ; stigmate reniformi niveo antice striga fusca." "Alee anticse 

 striga undata pallescente ante fuscum marginis postici, magis conspicua 

 quam in prionbus duabus, tamen valde obsoleta. Alee postica? saturate 

 lusca?. Margo anticus stigmatis postici plus minus albo punctatus." 



*Var. mctitans never has the reniform ochrtous. Ihis form, with yellowish 

 reniform, is the sucalina of Hubner. 



