IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 15 



and posteriorly with black; the hind wings creamy white." This 

 description was made from an Irish specimen, but it is rarely one sees 

 such a mottled form. Thanks particularly to Messrs. A. J. and J. 

 Hodges* I have a splendid series of picked forms. The variation 

 runs, as might almost be expected, in parallel lines to that in the allied 

 segetum, but reddish forms are excessively rare. The palest forms are 

 very pale, quite whitish-grey, and the darkest forms are most intensely 

 black. The very darkest varieties are, I believe, always females. 

 There are pale males and pale females, intermediate males and females, 

 very dusky males and females, but only the females are ever intensely 

 black. This extreme sexual variation appears to be very characteristic 

 of this part of the genus. There is a great deal of variation in the 

 shape of the usually very pale orbicular and also in the reniform, 

 sometimes the orbicular is a tiny clear circle, sometimes ocellated, 

 sometimes almost linear, whilst at other times it is oval, or even 

 irregularly denticulate ; in colour it varies from whitish or yellowish- 

 grey (when it is very conspicuous) to an obscure dark-grey centre 

 surrounded with black, the reniform is generally dark, and irregularly 

 outlined in black and pale grey ; the claviform is variable in size and 

 shape but constant in colour, being of the most intense black. In 

 many specimens a dark transverse (from costa to inner margin) shade 

 envelops the reniform. A longitudinal black shade sometimes joins the 

 inner edges of the reniform and orbicular ; I have a specimen thus 

 joined on the right side but not on the left. The hind wings of 

 lunigera are different to those of segetum. In the male they are pure 

 white ; nervures darker, but differing much in intensity ; lunule vary- 

 ing from entire absence to being decidedly marked, sometimes traces 

 of a hind-marginal shade, and occasionally of an inner row of dots on 

 nervures. In the female the hind wings are white, with a broad dark 

 hind-marginal band ; nervures blackish ; lunule distinct. I have no 

 specimens irrorated with yellow and thus agreeing with the type. 



The principal varieties are : 



1. Pale grey, irrorated with yellow, with two transverse basal lines, 



three stigmata, an elbowed transverse and outer transverse 



lines = lunigera, Stphs. 

 2. Pale whitish-grey, with a slaty tinge, transverse lines and stigmata 



as in type, not irrorated with yellowish = var. pallida. 

 3. Like No. 2, but with a dark transverse shade inside of and through 



reniform, and all outer area of wing beyond elbowed line 



darker than ground colour = var. virgata. 

 4. The whole area of the wing dark blackish-grey, except the pale 



orbicular and a small patch between the reniform and elbowed 



line, which are paler, ordinary transverse lines very indistinct, 



claviform intensely black = var. suffusa. 

 5. Unicolorous blackish, orbicular indistinct, transverse lines almost 



obsolete = var. nigra. 

 6. Marked with transverse lines and stigmata as in type, but shaded 



with reddish = var. rufescens. 



*I must here particularly thank Mr. A. J. Hodges for a magnificent series 

 of this beautiful species, captured by himself aud his brother Mr. J. Hodges in 

 1888, and given me especially for description, so that our knowledge of the 

 variation of this species should be as fully described as possible in these papers. 



