24 VARIETIES OP NOCTUiE 



are so characteristic of the typical tritici are well developed. Hind 

 wings grey, with a dark marginal line, dark nervures and lunule." 



A. ofofosca. Hiibner's figure 123 represents the type of this species. 

 It may be described as " of a deep, dull, reddish colour, with ochreous 

 costa and dark hind margin, well-marked stigmata, but no wedge- 

 shaped marks near hind margin. Hind wings white, with a reddish 

 hind margin." 



The above three species are what I may term the characteristic 

 " pale costa " part of the group. 



A. cursoria. The type of this species is thus described by 

 Hufnagel : " Yellowish-grey, with two brown curved and toothed, 

 and two grey transverse lines" (<Berl. Mag.', iii., p. 416), and is not 

 quite represented by Hiibner's figure 540. In the latter, the anterior 

 wings are almost entirely like the figure of cursoria in Newman's 

 * British Moths,' p. 329, but perhaps appear a trifle narrower. It may 

 be described as " of a pale reddish-ochreous, with an abbreviated, 

 followed by a complete, double, black, basal line ; no claviform, but 

 the reniform and orbicular outlined in pale ; two short, dark, trans- 

 verse, costal streaks above the reniform, a faint wavy line from the 

 base of the reniform to the inner margin ; a double transverse wavy 

 line beyond the reniform ; another wavy line from the apex to the 

 anal angle includes a dark reddish-brown hind margin. Hind wings 

 ochreous, with a dark reddish-grey margin, and reddish lunule ". 

 N.B. There is no trace of a costal streak on the anterior wings in 

 either Hufnagel's or Hiibner's cursoria. 



Such are the descriptions of the type specimens. Now for a few 

 general remarks. It will be seen from these descriptions that the 

 types of tritici, aquilina and obelisca, have all a costal streak developed, 

 this costal streak giving a special character to the group. It will be 

 seen that typical cursoria has no costal streak or longitudinal markings, 

 but that the characteristic transverse markings are the development 

 and completion of the abbreviated and broken transverse markings in 

 the other group, agreeing with them in every particular ; such abbre- 

 viation and breaking-up being due to the presence of the longitudinal 

 markings which pass through them. In the species of the first group 

 (with pale costse), the ground colour has had a great deal to do with 

 their determination by lepidopterists, as distinct species, the brown 

 specimens having been referred very properly to aquilina, the dark red 

 and black specimens to obelisca, whilst all other specimens have been 

 referred to tritici. Those which have had no costal streak have been 

 generally placed together under the name of cursoria. Such has been 

 the general method of dealing with these species. To return to 

 the early authors, Hiibner only figures one specimen named tritici, and 

 that is, according to Dr. Staudinger, a male crassa, but he figures three 

 aquilina. His figure 135, which I have previously described, is a really 

 good example of the form known as aquilina in Britain, but his other 

 two figures of aquilina, 535 and 536, are nothing like his figure 135, and 

 themselves represent two entirely different forms. His figure 535 

 has a yellowish costal streak and a white median nervure, whilst the 

 figure 536 is of a dark red colour with a white costa and white median 

 nervure. Thus we see Hiibner figures three distinct aquilina, and all 

 three represent different, and not uncommon forms of tritici. Unless 

 we are ready to accept all dark brown and red-streaked tritici as aqui- 



