Itf THE BRITISH ISLANDS. lOl 



wings appear a little more rounded. The ground colour is grey 

 tinged with reddish with all the median space redder, especially its 

 lower part ; the black mark sometimes lacking. The stigmata are 

 outlined in clear reddish, and very distinct as also are all the trans- 

 verse lines " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 216). This may be the extreme 

 form referred to as exhibited at the South London Ent. Society, vide 

 'Entom. Kecord,' &c., vol. i., p. 315. 



B. Ground colour reddish-grey or reddish-brown. 



a. var. cerata, Esp. Esper's diagnosis of this species, which he 

 figures on plate 146, fig. 5, is : " Alis cupreo-micantibus, stigmatibus 

 strigisque pallidioribus, maculis obscuris." This is a striking variety, 

 the shiny reddish ground colour (coppery, Esper calls it) with the 

 pale reddish fascia showing very distinctly. The latruncula of Hiibner 

 (fig. 94) which is " of a reddish ground colour with two pale basal 

 lines, distinct stigmata and a small whitish lunule at the base of the 

 pale streak parallel to hind margin," appears to be a sub- variety of 

 cerata, Esp. Of this variety, Dr. Staudinger writes : " ab latruncula, 

 S. V. Lang. Verz. p. 159 (1789), = cerata, Esp., dilutior, saspius 

 rufescens, obsolete albo-fasciata." I have this variety from many 

 localities. 



p. var. latruncula, Haw. Haworth thus describes this variety : 

 " Noctua (the tawny marbled minor). Alis rufo-cinereis nebulosis 

 medio saturatioribus.'' " Statura JV. prcedunculce, et nimis ei affinis : 

 differt alis anticis undique subruf o-cinereis ; posticis perfuscis ciliis 

 rufescentibus fusco maculatis." He also describes a var. /? of this 

 as : " Coloribus saturatioribus, alis magis nigro nebulosis ; posticis 

 perfuscis, ciliis pallidioribus " (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' pp. 214, 215). 

 This var. /3 refers to var. unicolor. This is also an uncommon form 

 but generally distributed. 



C- Ground colour reddish-black or blackish-brown. 



a. var. nigro-rufa, mini. This is the strigilis both of Borkhausen 

 and Guenee. Borkhausen in his ' Naturegeschichte der Europ. Schmet.,' 

 81, thus describes the species : " Phalcena Noctua strigilis Blackish- 

 brown with a broad whitish band near the outer margin." Guenee 

 describes his strigilis as having : " Anterior wings brownish black 

 with all the subterminal space pale grey. All the lines distinct, the 

 two median marked in white, especially the lower part of the elbowed 

 line, generally wavy and toothed. A black streak unites them above 

 the submedian nervure. All the stigmata well-marked, the two 

 principal ones a little paler than the ground colour ; the claviform 

 black. The subterminal line partly absorbed in the grey of the sub- 

 terminal space ; outer margin brown. Hind wings of both sexes 

 greyish-black " (< Noctuelles,' vol. v., pp. 214, 215). This variety of a 

 reddish-black ground colour with a pale outer fascia is fairly common. 



/3. var. rufa, mihi. With the basal area of the anterior wings 

 reddish-black, and the paler outer area reddish grey. This is not a 

 very rare variety and occurs in Ireland as well as most English 

 localities. 



y. var. unicolor, mihi. ( = latruncula, Haw. var. /?). This uni- 

 colorous blackish-red variety is very common in many districts 

 especially in the neighbourhood of London. I have already given 



