IK THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 12<T 



/?. var. suffusa, mihi. Ground colour dark brown, with, the 

 stigmata of a deep ochreous colour, the transverse lines and nervures of 

 a whitish ochreous in the males, yellow ochreous in the females, a fine 

 line bordering the hind margin ; fringes grey. Hind wings grey in 

 both sexes, with a very dark outer margin, and a dark transverse line ; 

 fringes grey. This is by far the most suffused form I have seen. My 

 specimens came from Torquay. 



y. var. argentea, mihi. Ground colour dark brown, with longitu- 

 dinal nervures and basal transverse lines white ; orbicular and reniforin 

 white, with a faint yellow tinge ; a transverse grey (almost steel-grey) 

 band beyond the reniform, and a broad white line parallel to the hind 

 margin. Hind wings white, with a broken grey hind marginal band, 

 and a grey transverse line ; fringes white. The ground colour of the 

 females is darker. My specimens came from Portland. 



8. var. paUida, mihi. Ground colour grey, very pale, with a slight 

 brownish tinge ; costa very pale, whitish ochreous ; a broad white line 

 at hind margin ; fringes white. Hind wings white, with scarcely a 

 trace of the grey marginal border, and only the basal part of the grey 

 transverse line; fringes white. This is an extreme form of var. 

 argentea. Of this variety, Mr. Nelson Kichardson writes : " This is a 

 more common var., and very pretty, .... I think the pale hispidus is 

 the prettiest form of the species " (in litt.). My specimens came from 

 Portland. 



e. var. obsoleta, mihi. A very peculiar form of the insect. Ground 

 colour dull grey, with very few pale markings ; a pale abbreviated 

 transverse basal line, a complete one just before the orbicular, a bifurcate 

 transverse median line, extending under the orbicular to the reniform, 

 and the central part of the basal nervures, are the only pale markings, 

 besides the orbicular, reniform, and a line parallel to hind margin. 

 There is scarcely a trace of the ordinary pale markings between the 

 reniform area and hind margin. Hind wings as in var. argentea. This 

 appears to be a rare variety, for Mr. Richardson writes : "This does 

 not seem to be a common var., as I have only seen one or two others 

 with so little in the way of light markings " (in litt.). I have only 

 Portland specimens. 



. var. oditis, Hb. ? I am not certain that Hiibner's figs. 694, and 

 695, oditis, really represent a variety of hispida, but I firmly 4 believe it 

 is the same as my var. suffusa. If Hiibner's oditis really is this species, 

 the name would take priority of Geyer's hispida. My description of 

 oditis is as follows : " $ . Looks like a small hispida. Anterior 

 wings brown, all nervures, transverse lines and stigmata yellow- 

 ochreous. Hind wings grey, darker on margin, a dark line parallel 

 to hind margin, and dark lunule." Fig. 695 is the under side of fig. 

 694. Guenee, referring to oditis, says (< Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 172) : 

 " I have not seen it, and know no one who possesses it." 



Char was, St., graminis, L. 



The type of this destructive, and occasionally superabundant 

 species is described by Linneeusin his 'Systema Nature' (10th edition), 

 p. 506, No. 50, as : " Bombyx spirilinguis alis depressis griseis ; linea 

 ramosa lunulaque glaucis." It is a most variable species, not only in 

 ground colour, which varies from a dull grey through different shades 



