IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 13 



filled in with blackish. Hind wings white," Esper's description, p. 

 324 is : " Bombyx spirilinguis dorso cristate, alis superioribus fuscis, 

 stigmate reniformi maculisque plurimis sparsis, abdomine inferiori- 

 busque albis immaculatis." 



A. var. subatratus, Haw. This is one of the common varieties in 

 England. Haworth describes it as : " Alis griseo-atris, stigmatibus 

 strigisque obsoletissimis, strigaque recta postica punctorumpallidiorum." 

 " Priced entibus (venosus) simillima sed magis atra seu nigra et minus 

 grisea. Striga versus marginem posticum recta, nee undulata ut in 

 praecedentibus et sequente. Alae posticse alba? margine venisque 

 fuliginosis " ('Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 116). This is the more 

 ordinary black form of the species found in Britain. 



/z. var. nigricornis, Villers (= nigricornutus, Haw.) This is the 

 most extreme form of the species. The diagnosis of Villers is : 

 " Bombyx nigricornis alis superioribus omnino fuscis, antennis nigris." 

 Haworth's description is : " Antennae alaeque anticas nigraa, fere sine 

 ullo alio colore ; certo situ stigmata fere obliterata, strigaque undulata 

 nee recta ad marginem posticum e punctis griseis. Alse posticae ut in 

 prsecedente " (subatratus) (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 117). 



I have also examined the types (in the British Museum collection) 

 of the following foreign varieties of this species. They are almost 

 identical with some of our British varieties. 



a. var. dividens, Walker, <Lep. Het.,' x., p. 342, no. 86 (1856). 

 This var. according to Mr. Butler, " is a dwarfed, pale female, with 

 pinched-in abdomen and male colouring ; it is described as a male " 

 (f Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.,' 1889, p. 376). There is no need to tell 

 British entomologists that there is no such thing as " male colouring," 

 none of the colour varieties are really confined to one sex, the only 

 real points of distinction are the antennas, anal structure and (to a 

 greater or less degree) the hind wings. The original diagnosis of this 

 form is : " $ . Fawn colour. Antennas hardly crenulate. Thorax 

 with a reddish band. Abdomen testaceous. Fore-wings partly 

 reddish, darker in front, with black speckles and with two incomplete 

 transverse undulating black lines ; orbicular and reniform spots almost 

 elliptical, pupilled with grey and bordered with black, the former 

 about half the size of the latter; claviform obsolete. Hind wings 

 white." "Port Natal." 



ft. var. aversa, Walker (' Lep. Het.', x., p. 345). " $ . Very pale 

 fawn colour. Thorax with a slender brown band in front. Abdomen 

 whitish-testaceous. Fore wings minutely speckled with brown, with 

 indistinct brown marks along the costa, and with brown marginal 

 lunules ; spots with incomplete blackish borders ; claviform narrow, 

 moderately long; orbicular and reniform with brownish pupils, the 

 former nearly round, rather smaller than the latter which has the 

 usual form ; an exterior, almost obsolete, transverse undulating line. 

 Hind wings white, with a brownish line along the borders." " Punjaub." 



y. var. marginalis, Walker (' Lep. Het.', x., p. 339). The original 

 description of this is as follows : " $ . Blackish-brown with a cinereous 

 tinge. Abdomen whitish-testaceous. Fore wings with a row of black 

 marginal lunules ; discal spots with black borders ; claviform lanceolate ; 

 orbicular oval ; reniform as usual, cilia testaceous. Hind wings 

 whitish, brownish about the veins and along the borders." " South 

 Africa." 



