IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 45 



different; lepidoptera has become the favourite order, and we have 

 scientific observers and collectors in almost every county ; and by 

 newly-devised means, vast numbers of lepidopterous insects are 

 annually captured, thus affording facilities for determining species and 

 varieties." What was true half-a-century or more ago, tells with 

 tenfold force now, when lepidopterists are not only in " almost every 

 county," but almost every large town, and when the London lepi- 

 dopterists alone, probably outnumber all the collective British 

 lepidopterists of that date. I will not now enter into a discussion as 

 to why I consider this species distinct from aquilina, but I am quite in 

 agreement with Continental lepidopterists in this matter ; so also I 

 am now with regard to the utter distinctness of cursoria and obelisca. 

 Guende writes of this species : " This species is very difficult to dis- 

 tinguish from aquilina, both by the figures and descriptions, and so 

 many authors have confounded them, that it is almost impossible to 

 correctly establish the synonymy of the varieties. However, a 

 practised eye is not easily deceived. The following appear to me the 

 chief distinctive characters : The anterior wings are narrower and 

 less mottled, they are more generally grey than brown, the reniform 

 spot is smaller, the inferior wings less white, with the outer margin 

 more speckled with black, the cilia on the antennas of the $ are finer " 

 (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 288). He describes four varieties A, B, C 

 and D and says that he is " unable to refer the species of the English 

 authors to these varieties. I fear, moreover, that some have been 

 mixed with aquilina " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 289). Guenee refers 

 Hiibner's unicolor, fig. 544, to aquilina, but I am inclined to agree with 

 Treitschke (' Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. i., p. 163) who refers it to 

 exclamationis. I believe Guenee's gypoetina (' Noctuelles/ p. 290) is a 

 var. of tritici. Hiibner's tritici (' Sammlung europaischer Schmet.,' 

 fig. 151) appears to be another species (crassa). Guenee calls figure 

 151 : " Crassa, var. A. = tritici, Hb." Humphrey and Westwood 

 (' British Moths,' vol. ii., p. 119) write: "We have here one of the 

 most difficult, because most inconstant, of all the Noctuidce, no two 

 specimens being exactly alike, whence so many of the varieties have 

 been regarded as distinct species ; " but these authors themselves treat 

 many varieties as distinct species. The description of the Linnsean 

 type has been previously given on p. 23. 



A. Ground colour pale slaty-grey. 



f 1. -Transverse and longitudinal markings ob- 

 TTT.,! , i solete = var. obsoleta. 



a. Without pale costa. < 2 _ Ag ^ ^ but lower ha if of ren iform blackish 



' = sub- var. puncta-obsoleta. 



i 1. -Transverse markings indistinct; longitudi- 

 nal, slightly developed = var. costa- 



b. With pale costa. ...4 obsoleta. 



2.-As in 1, but very small = sub-var. nana, 



Zell. 

 B. Ground colour clear slate or dove-colour. 



a. Without pale costa. Transverse markings more or less distinct 



= var. cffrulea. 



C 1. -Transverse and longitudinal markings more or 



b. With pale coc>ta.< less distinct = var. costa-ccerulea. 



/ 2.-As in 1, but very small = sub- var. minor-coerulea. 



