IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 133 



iii., pi. 55, fig. 2. of which I made the following description : "Bather 

 larger than our British australix, colour slaty-grey, with the base and 

 outer margin dark grey, the wedge-shaped spots developed into lines 

 reaching the outer margin, the stigmata as in australis, the reniform 

 not ochreous ; a waved transverse line beyond the reniform from the 

 costa to the inner margin. Hind wings dark grey, nervures darker." 

 Probably this figure represents a female. Herrich-Schaffer's figs. 504 

 and 505 which are also referred to scriptura represents a $ and $ . 

 Fig. 504 ( (?) is " rather large for australis, of a slaty-grey ground 

 colour, completely marbled with ochreous-grey. The markings are 

 very indistinct and confused, but a basal transverse line, with the or- 

 bicular and reniform outlined in slaty, and a much waved slaty 

 transverse line just outside the reniform, are distinct ; traces of two or 

 three wedge-shaped markings. Hind wings white with dark nervures." 

 His fig. 505 is a $ and " is much like 5Q4: but darker grey, and look- 

 ing still more suffused. Hind wings dark grey, with pale almost 

 white base and distinct dark nervures." It will be seen that although 

 Herrich-Schaffer's insects are referred to Freyer's scriptura, they accord 

 but little with them. Staudinger simply says of the variety " obscurior." 

 Guenee says it appears closely allied to australis and gives Turkey as 

 its locality, but following Herrich-Schaffer, treats it as a distinct 

 species. 



y. var. ingenua, Frey. This form of Freyer's plate, 508, fig. 1, 

 appears to be intermediate between var. scriptura and var. orientalis. 

 It has the dark colour of orientalis but has the longitudinal dark mark- 

 ings of australis and scriptura. The following is the description I 

 made of Freyer's figure : " Anterior wings dark blackish-grey with 

 the ordinary black, longitudinal and transverse markings of australis 

 visible ; the reniform outlined in grey and the external edge of the 

 wedge-shaped markings, parallel with the hind margin, -with pale dots 

 externally ; these dots the only pale markings ; fringes alternately 

 dark and pale. Hind wings pale grey." The specimen is a ? . 

 Staudinger says of it : " al. ant. unicolor obscuris " (' Catalog,' 

 p. 96). 



8. var. orientalis, H. S. (?) Whether this is an extreme variety of 

 australis or not is open to question. It is figured by Herrich-Schaffer 

 in his ' Schmetterlinge von Europa,' figs. 502, 503. ' Fig. 502 is a 

 male, unicolorous dark grey with a slight slaty tinge, and no trace of 

 the numerous longitudinal markings characteristic in all other forms of 

 australis. All three stigmata are distinctly outlined in black, whilst the 

 characteristic transverse row of marks parallel with the hind margin are 

 white but edged internally with black ; there are 3 or 4 short, black, 

 costal streaks ; fringes alternately light and dark. Hind wings white 

 with distinct nervures.' 'Fig. 503 is a , marked like 502, but the ground 

 colour of the anterior wings still darker ; the hind wings dark grey 

 with a very pale base.' Staudinger does not treat this as a variety. 

 Guenee says : " It appears allied to scriptura but still deeper in 

 colour." He also gives as its locality ' Turkey ' as in the case of 

 scriptura. There is a distinct narrow black linear edge to the hind 

 wings of Herrich-Schaffer's figs. 502 and 503 (orientalis} and in figs. 

 504:, 505 (scriptura) just within the fringe. This is clearly distinct in 

 specimens of australis from Sussex and Kent localities. 



