42 VARIETIES OF NOCTILE! 



y. var. pallida, mihi. The anterior wings of a pale greyish-white 

 with an ochreous tint ; the costa, reniform and orbicular whitish, the 

 claviform and the space between the orbicular and reniform slightly 

 darker. The upper parts of the transverse lines represented by pairs 

 of short costal streaks, the lower parts of the transverse lines edged 

 with fuscous. My specimens have come from Sligo and St. Anne's- 

 on-Sea. 



8. var. distincta, mihi. I have a fine development of var. pallida, 

 in which the pale ground colour of the anterior wings is as in that 

 variety but the space between the orbicular and reniform, a wedge- 

 shaped spot beyond the orbicular, another spot outside the reniform, 

 the claviform and a longitudinal marking under the base of the median 

 nervure are deep blackish-brown. The specimen came from Aberdeen. 



C. Ground colour yellow-ochreous. 



By far the greater number of our English and Irish varieties 

 belong to this group, and some of our obsolete forms are remarkably 

 striking. 



a. var. obsoleta, mihi. Anterior wings yellow-ochreous in colour, 

 with neither transverse lines nor longitudinal markings developed ; 

 the claviform obsolete ; the orbicular and reniform perceptible by 

 being slightly paler than the ground colour. Hind wings pale with 

 the outer margin darker. A sub-var., obsoleta-puncta, with the lower 

 part of the reniform represented by a black spot, is perhaps rather 

 more common than the absolutely obsolete form. I have specimens 

 from St. Anne's-on-Sea and Tenby, but none of my numerous Sligo 

 specimens exhibit this phase of variation, although the other forms of 

 the yellow-ochreous group are the most prevalent there. 



ft. var. ochrea, mihi. This is probably the most abundant striated 

 form occurring in England and Ireland, although var. sagitta is much 

 more abundant in Scotland where there is a tendency for the ground 

 colour of the varieties to run darker. The anterior wings of this 

 variety are yellow-ochreous with the costa and median nervure paler 

 (but still ochreous in tint), the reniform and orbicular paler ochreous, 

 with a tendency for the lower part of the reniform to be filled in 

 with darker ; the space between the orbicular and reniform slightly 

 darker ; the claviform outlined in dark ; the transverse lines repre- 

 sented by short, paired, black streaks on the costa, with the lower 

 parts very ill-developed. Hind wings pale-grey, outer margin darker. 

 My specimens have come from St. Anne's-on-Sea, Tenby, Sligo, King's 

 Lynn, Liverpool, and a single specimen from Aberdeen, where the 

 paler forms appear to be very rare. I have a fine form with the 

 ground-colour as in this variety but all the paler parts of the wing 

 (costa, median nervure, orbicular, reniform, inner margin and shade 

 from apex to anal angle) of a pale greyish colour. This was given me 

 by Mr. T. Baxter and was taken at St. Anne's-on-Sea. 



D. Ground colour brown, with reddish tint. 



a. var. obscura, Stdgr. Staudinger, in his ' Catalog.' p. 86, writes 

 of this variety : " Alis anterioribus fere totis rufo-brunneis." We 

 rarely in Britain get unicolorous reddish-brown varieties, but in the 

 British Museum collection are two specimens from the Zeller collection, 

 with " the ground colour of the anterior wings a deep and bright red 



