IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 29 



hind wings are white, clouded with dull reddish on the margin" 

 (' Sammlung europaischer Schmet.'). Our British specimens are very 

 unlike the Continental type, and belong to Donzel's hastifera, which 

 Dr. Staudinger in his * Catalog,' p. 88, treats as a species distinct from 

 obelisca. It is strange that our British specimens from Perth and 

 Ayton (Berwick) agree almost exactly with the ordinary form of the 

 specimens captured in the Isle of Wight, so far as the general characters 

 are concerned, although the latter are greyer in colour, and that the paler 

 reddish type is, so far as I know, never obtained in Britain. Of the 

 general variation of the species, Guenee says : " It requires a 

 trained eye to distinguish this from certain varieties of neighbouring 

 species and still more so to distinguish its own varieties. Some 

 characters however, may serve to guide the inexperienced. The 

 superior wings are always of some shade approaching violet ; the costa 

 is always clear ; the stigmata frequently blend with this pale colour 

 in their upper parts. There are only the slightest traces of cuneiform 

 marks before the terminal space, which is of an uniform grey. 

 Inferior wings very much more bluish than ochreous, with the fringe 

 concolorous and with a light terminal shade in the males. Anus tinted 

 with reddish " (' Noctuelles/ vol. v., p. 291). Of these characters, it 

 is doubtful whether many of our specimens approach a violet shade. 

 I have a specimen which came from Dr. Staudinger as var. ruris, 

 which has not got a clear costa. Guenee also fixes the normal French 

 type as intermediate between the pratincola and obelisca of Hiibner. 

 There are a number of described and figured continental varieties, 

 but I look upon all our British varieties as sub-vars. of hastifera, Donz. 



The following appear to be the best-known forms : 



1. Deep dull reddish-brown, with ochreous costa = obelisca, Hb. 



2. Reddish-brown, with greyish costa = ruris, Hb. 



3. Reddish-grey, with no costal streak = ruris, Gn. 



4. Deep violet-brown, with white costa = plecioides, Gn. 



5. Pale purplish -grey, with yellow costa = villiersii, Hb.-Gey. 



6. Greyish-ash, with an ochreous tinge, and almost unicolorous costa 



= villiersii, Gn. 

 7. Blackish- vinous, with costa whitish == hastifera, Donz. 



a. var. ruris, Hb. Hiibner's figure 416 may be described as 

 follows: " ?. Anterior wings of a dull reddish-brown colour with 

 a slight purplish tinge, a short black streak near the base of the 

 median nervure, with a broad greyish-ochreous costal streak ; two 

 transverse basal lines, white in costal area, pale ochreous towards 

 the inner margin ; claviform large, dark brown, outlined in black, 

 orbicular outlined in white ; renif orm ochreous, also outlined in white 

 a dark red quadrate spot between the stigmata ; a double dusky wavy 

 line beyond reniform, another from apex to anal angle cuts off darker 

 hind margin. Hind wings dark grey with whitish base and distinct 

 lunule." Staudinger (' Catalog,' p. 87) treats Hiibner's ruris as 

 synonymous with the ruris of Guenee, and writes : " al. ant. fere uni- 

 coloribus," but this is an error and applies only to Guenee's ruris, 

 certainly not to Hiibner's, as may be seen from the description 

 above. 



/3. var. ruris, Gn. Guenee thus described this variety : " Larger. 

 The superior wings of a clear reddish-grey, the costa concolorous with 



