38 VARIETIES OF NOCTUJE 



distinct than the preceding, near the apical margin of the wing, which 

 is dotted with black ; the cilia are paler brown, having a fine darker 

 line running through the middle of them. The costa is also marked with 

 several very slight, oblique, pale lines. The abdomen and hind wings 

 are pale brown, the latter with a central, slightly darkened lunule, 

 and with the margin rather darker. The head is fulvous-brown, and 

 the prothorax has the frontal crest marked by two curved lines of 

 grey, edged with dark brown in front " (' British Moths,' pp. 122-123). 

 From Plate xxiv., fig. 15, it can be seen that this is a variety in which 

 the strigae are ochreous in colour, but the stigmata dark in colour 

 and indistinct. I have no dark specimens which I can refer to this 

 variety. 



8. var. ursina, God. This variety is thus described : " It is very 

 much like fumosa, but differs principally in the less deep colour of 

 all four wings. The superior wings are of a deep blackish-brown, 

 with two transverse undulated lines and three discoidal stigmata, black, 

 but very little darker than the ground colour. The reniform is clear 

 and white on its outer border. It has a transverse wavy line of cunei- 

 form whitish points towards the outer edge of the wing. The inferior 

 wings are brownish-grey in both sexes with a black marginal line " 

 (' Histoire naturelle ' &c., p. 271 and PI. liii., fig. 3). Godart records 

 it from " Styria and Carniola." Another not very uncommon form, 

 although it is not often that the whitish dots near the outer margin 

 are developed. 



e. var. rustica, Ev. Eversmanm's diagnosis of rustica is as follows : 

 "Ala? anticse thoraci concolores, brunneo-fuscse, maculis ordinariis 

 parvis obsoletis subconcoloribus, strigis ordinariis, striga media 

 strigaque submarginali crenulato interrupts fusco-nigris ; posticas 

 sordide albidas, externe fuscescentes " (' Fauna Volgo-Uralensis ' 

 &c., p. 193, No. 12). Eversmann then adds: " Similis nonnulis 

 varietatibus A. fumosce, sed fere duplo minor, differt prsecipue 

 alis proportione brevioribus et earum strigis crenato interrupts." 

 This is a small sub- variety of ursina, still more obsolete, with the 

 markings indistinct and merging into the ground colour. It is a 

 parallel variety of the fuscous group to the unicolorous var. fuliginea 

 in the black group. I have a remarkable ferruginous black specimen 

 which I would refer to this variety. It is practically unicolorous, 

 with only the orbicular and reniform very slightly paler than the 

 rest of the wing, all the other marks being absolutely obsolete. The 

 specimen came from Deal. 



D. Ground colour black. 



a. var. carbonea, Hb. This variety may be described as : 

 " Anterior wings very black, with two yellowish basal streaks, three 

 stigmata yellowish, a pale yellow transverse streak beyond reniform 

 and another wavy streak from apex to anal angle " (' Sammlung 

 europaischer Schmet.' &o., fig 700). Fig. 701 is simply the underside 

 of fig. 700. I find that specimens of fuliginea, God. have been placed 

 in the British Museum collection under this name, among the series 

 of Agrotis tritici. The var. carlonea is rare, compared with the var. 

 fumosa, Haw., for very few of the fine intensely dark specimens captured 

 in Aberdeenshire, which I have received from Mr. Keid, have 

 the yellow marks characteristic of the former ; they are generally pale 



