120 VARIETIES OF NOOTILSB 



with yellowish ; powdered with white scales, the nervures concolorous ; 

 the transverse lines distinct, black, slightly outlined with white ; the 

 elbowed line dentate, followed by a series of clear, oblong marks, 

 placed on the nervures ; the subterminal angulated, above all in the 

 centre, each of the angles surmounted by a blackish chevron more or 

 less developed, and slightly preceded by a darker colour. The two 

 stigmata, filled in with greyish white and surrounded with blackish ; the 

 orbicular obliquely oval, the renif orm large, and well hollowed out ; the 

 claviform elongate, black, ill-developed exteriorly and tinted with 

 yellowish in the centre. Inferior wings of a greyish-yellow, fringe 

 whitish-yellow preceded by blackish streaks ; underneath, with the 

 lunule and transverse line blackish. 2 a little more powdered with white 

 and with more distinct transverse lines " ('Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 185). 



y. var. marmorata, H.S. This is another variety figured by 

 Herrich-Schaffer in his ' Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmetterlinge 

 von Europa' (fig. 451). This figure represents a small specimen (not 

 much larger than Agrotis tritici) which may be described as having the 

 " anterior wings rich purplish-brown, with distinct white nervures ; 

 an incomplete, is followed by a complete ochreous basal line ; orbicular 

 and reniform outlined in pale ochreous ; elbowed line and line parallel 

 to outer margin also ochreous. Posterior wings grey, outer margin 

 darker, with a dark central line and lunule." Of this variety Guenee 

 writes : " My poll is probably the species Herrich-Schaffer published 

 at first under the name of marmorata, which he recognised as incorrect, 

 and replaced in the text by the name cervina, which has not improved 

 matters, since another Noctuelle exists of that name " (' Noctuelles,' 

 vol. v., p. 187). The marmorata of Herrich-Schaffer does not appear 

 to agree with Guenee's poli, and since these are sunk as species, and 

 only exist as varietal names, marmorata takes precedence. 



8. var. assimilis, Dbdy. This variety was described by Doubleday 

 as a distinct species in the ' Zoologist,' p. 1914, and the descrip- 

 tion copied into Newman's ' British Moths,' pp. 410, 411, where 

 we read : " The palpi are porrected, distant at the base, extremely 

 sharp-pointed, and rather incurved, or approximating towards 

 the tips ; the antennae are perfectly simple in both sexes : the 

 forewings are ample and densely clothed with scales ; their 

 colour is the richest umber-brown, almost black, and glossed 

 with purple ; the discoidal spots are distinctly outlined in 

 ochreous- white, but there is a solution of continuity, or almost so, 

 on the inner side of each ; at the base of the wing is a pale spot, and 

 the disk of the wing is traversed by two transverse zigzag pale brown 

 lines, one within the orbicular, the other without the reniform ; the 

 hind marginal area between this second transverse line, and the hind 

 margin itself is traversed by eight pale parallel wing-rays, and each 

 joins a slender pale marginal line ; a minute white spot appearing at 

 each junction ; the hind wings are smoky towards the hind margin, 

 but paler at the base, andjj have a distinct crescentic discoidal spot ; 

 the fringe is rather paler than the disk of the wing, and there is a 

 delicate pale line on the hind margin itself, similar to that on the fore 

 wings : the head and thorax are exactly of the same colour as the fore 

 wings ; the thorax is very stout and densely clothed with scales ; the 

 body has more the colour of the hind wings." Since Newman's book 



