182 VARIETIES OP NOCTU^E 



British, a sexual variation, the females being always darker, both in the 

 anterior and posterior wings, than the males, and the markings are, as 

 a rule, rather more distinct in the ? 's ; in British males there is also 

 a little variation in the hind wings, some having them pure white, 

 while others have a distinct grey hind margin. The hind wings of the 

 females are always wholly grey. The type of this species is described 

 by Guenee as : " Superior wings with the fringe alternately marked 

 with brown and ashy ; of a clear ashy-grey colour, with the costa, a 

 part of the stigma, the inner margin and a series of longitudinal sub- 

 terminal spots, and the nervures of a carmelite-brown. The two 

 transverse median lines very fine, black, more or less distinct, very 

 much bent, zigzag and then uniting to form a long rhomboidal ring, 

 which traverses the submedian nervure. The three stigmata more or 

 less visible, brown, finely ringed with black. All these markings a 

 little obliterated in the male, more distinct in the female. Inferior 

 wings of a pure white in the $ , shaded with brown in the $ , with the 

 nervures more or less tinted with brown. A black line on the top of 

 the collar" (Guenee's Noctuelles,' vol. v., pp. 151, 152). The two 

 transverse median lines mentioned in this description, are the one 

 before and the one beyond the stigmata, which join in our British 

 specimens to form, sometimes a ring, sometimes a dark dash under the 

 reniform and orbicular. The English form is known under the 

 varietal name of pascuea, while the scriptura of Freyer and Herrich- 

 Schaffer and also the orientalis of the latter are referred to this species, as 

 is also Freyer's ingenua by Staudinger. Freyer's australis, vol. iii., pi. 

 209, is dark grey with a brownish tinge on the costa, the reniform 

 outlined in brown, the orbicular oval and rather narrow and outlined 

 in black, nervures dark grey, the inner margin and centre of wing 

 (below stigmata) pale with a slight ochreous tinge ; a series of wedge- 

 shaped spots from the costa to just beyond the anal angle, parallel 

 with, and at a short distance from the hind margin ; two V-shaped 

 marks arranged thus >< under the stigmata ; fringe dark ochreous. 

 Hind wings grey with the base paler and dark nervures." Herrich- 

 Schaffer's plate 32, fig. 159, is a male, 'pale ochreous-grey, with a red- 

 dish costa, reniform ochreous outlined in grey, the orbicular almost 

 lost in the dark shade on costa; two transverse lines, one before, and one 

 beyond the stigmata, and traces of the ordinary wedge-shaped spots. 

 Hind wings white with faint nervures and traces of lunule. His fig. 

 160 is a ? ' slightly darker and less distinct markings than in the male. 

 Hind wings dark grey, base paler.' Guenee gives as localities for the 

 type " Provence, Corsica." 



a. var. pascuea, Curt. A full description of this variety is given 

 with plates of both sexes in Newman's ' British Moths,' p. 289. All 

 our ordinary British specimens would be included under this name, as 

 they differ so much from Continental specimens. Dr. Staudinger says 

 of this variety : ' JVlagis variegata, cinerascens, distincte nigro-signata. 

 Locality, Anglia" (' Catalog,' p. 96). Guenee in his ' Noctuelles,' vol. 

 v., p. 152, gives a very complete description of a specimen then in the 

 Doubleday collection. Staudinger's summary contains the pith of 

 Guenee's description. It is useless to further describe a variety that is 

 well represented now in all our cabinets. 



P. var. scriptura f Freyer. The type of this variety is Freyer's vol. 



