IN THIS BRITISH ISLANDS. 149 



developed, the outer line often equally so " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 246). 

 Dr. Staudinger also refers Hiibner's blanda (fig. 162) to this species. 

 Of this figure I wrote : " Fore wings pale ochreous-brown with two 

 narrow fine wavy basal lines ; the stigmata well-defined, and two 

 lines between the reniform and outer margin, the outer one pale edged 

 internally with darker. Hind wings white, tinged with ochreous on 

 the hind margins." Herrich-Schaffer writes of superstes : " Griseo- 

 testacea, grossius nigro irrorata, punctis strigarum ambarum dupliciuin 

 et lineaa limbalis nigerrimis, alis posterioribus albidis, limbum versus 

 griseis " (' Systematische Bearbeitung der Schmet,' &c., p. 212). I have 

 specimens which I can make to be no other species than this, received 

 from Mr. Percy Buss, and captured at Sligo. I was inclined at first 

 to consider these specimens as aberrant forms of our ambigua, 

 but there is no doubt of their distinctness from this species. They 

 were sent to me as blanda, and as such, remained until recently in my 

 cabinet, but they are at onc'e distinguished from that species by the 

 white hind wings of the male, and the paler and more ochreous fore- 

 wings. Of this form, Mr. Kuss also sent me a specimen with the 

 fore wings very dark (inclining to blackish), but with characteristic 

 white hind wings. I have also specimens from Yarmouth (I. of 

 Wight) and Deal, which have long stood in my cabinet as doubtfully 

 ambigua or taraxaci, but which appear to be this species. These, however, 

 are greyer than the Sligo specimens, and appear to agree with 

 Herrich-Schaffer's superstes (vide description above), whilst the Sligo 

 specimens agree almost exactly with the description of Treitschke. 



a. var. suffusa, mihi. Anterior wings deep fuscous, inclining to 

 blackish, basal lines indistinct owing to depth of ground colour ; 

 orbicular and reniform dark internally, outlined with paler ; elbowed 

 line indistinct, edged internally with a row of black dots, a dark sub- 

 terminal line near hind margin edged externally with paler. Hind 

 wings white, nervures fuscous. Captured by Mr. Buss at Sligo. 



Caradrina, Och., taraxaci, Hb. 



This species, which appears to vary but little when superficially 

 examined, offers, however, a considerable range of minor variation 

 both in colour and markings, and thus became divided into numerous 

 species by our early British authors. In the ' Entomologist,' vol. i., 

 Mr. Bentley described ten varieties, and then suggested that they all 

 formed one variable species. All his ten forms are undoubtedly referable 

 to what we now know as C. alsines and C. taraxaci (blanda), although we do 

 not now know the same form as C. alsines which Mr. Bentley did, and 

 the C. ambigua of Mr. Bentley in no way resembles the distinct species 

 lately added to the British fauna under this name. The British speci- 

 mens run from pale ochreous, closely resembling C. alsines, except 

 that the transverse lines are so far obsolete in taraxaci as to give it a 

 very smooth appearance, to a fuscous black form, which I have taken 

 at Deal. Our coast specimens are rarely brown, but more of a fuscous 

 ground colour with a purplish tinge, and very much powdered with 

 greyish-white, and thus apparently differ from those obtained in more 

 inland localities. Some of the specimens, however, are rather difficult 

 to locate. The form obtained from Shetland and Torres is of a distinctly 

 ochreous-brown colour, but without the well-developed characteristic 



