IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 57 



but occasionally occur. In some of these the transverse lines are more 

 distinctly marked than in others, and they generally have a distinct 

 purplish tint, due perhaps to a reddish colour being present with the 

 black. Under this name I would include all those varieties which 

 have the anterior wings black, with the transverse lines more or less 

 distinct, but without a pale costal streak. I have only varieties of this 

 form from Deal. This would appear to be Guenee's tritici var. A, of 

 which he writes : " Superior wings more blackish, more speckled, in 

 no way reddish, with the lines and stigmata almost concolorous and 

 differing but little from the ground colour. Inferior wings also darker 

 and only a little clearer on the disc." " All the specimens which I 

 have seen have come from Valais, but it certainly ought to be found 

 elsewhere " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 288). 



/3. var. ocellina, St. This is the ocellina of Stephens, not the ocellina 

 of Hiibner, which is a distinct species. Stephens' description is : 

 " Anterior wings dusky or blackish, with a short ashy streak upon the 

 costa, and two black transverse strigse, the first before the anterior 

 stigma, the second behind the posterior ; near the hinder margin is a 

 pale waved striga; anterior stigma ocellated " (Bentley, ' Entom.,' 

 vol. i.). This is not such an uncommon black form as the last, as 

 many of the blackest specimens appear to have faint traces of a paler 

 costal streak. I have such black varieties from Deal and Aberdeen. 



y. var. costa-nigra, mihi. Anterior wings black, with a distinctly 

 paler longitudinal streak, and paler median nervure. The stigmata 

 generally well defined, with traces of the basal, elbowed and subter- 

 minal transverse lines. This variety is closely allied to var. yypcetina, 

 Gn., and I have only seen specimens from the coast near Aberdeen. 



Besides the classified varieties, the following have been described, 

 but do not appear to belong exactly to any of those named. 



a. var. vitta, Esp. Esper's diagnosis of this variety is as 

 follows : " Alis incumbentibus fuscescentibus, margine crassiori, 

 stigmatibusque albidis, maculis, interiacentibus angularibus, binisque 

 baseos nigris " (' Die Schmet. in Abbildungen ' &c.). His fig. 6, 

 plate 143, may be described as " Fuscous-brown with whitish 

 costal streak and central nervure ; lower half of transverse 

 basal line developed ; orbicular surrounded with white, reni- 

 form outlined in paler ; dark transverse angulated line outside 

 reniform, and a dark fuscous shade on hind margin. Hind wings 

 white with grey outer margin." Guenee writes : " The colour is 

 still blacker than var. A (of aquilina), with the stigmata, the costa and 

 the median nervure of a greyish-white, very marked, and which shows 

 up still more distinctly the black which separates the stigmata from 

 each other and from the claviform " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 29U). 

 This would therefore appear to be a sub-variety of var. nigro-fusca of 

 the same author. 



P. var. domestica, Fab. Fabricius' diagnosis of this is as follows : 

 " Noctua laevis alis incumbentibus cinereis nigro strigosis : costa basi 

 nigro apice albo punctata." To this he adds : "Statura quadripunctata. 

 Corpus hirtum cinereum. Alas anticas cinereae strigis undatis, nigris, 

 in medio maculse ordinarise : anteriore nivea, posteriori reniformi : 

 costa punctis septem nigris, tribusque albis. Posticis subtus albidse 

 puncto medio strigaque fuscis " ( ' Entomologia Systematica ' &c., No. 

 48, p. 23). 



