90 VARIETIES OP NOCTU2E 



longitudinal bands, placed, one under the ordinary stigmata, the other 

 under the claviform, but these are darker than in porphyrea, approach- 

 ing blackish-brown. The orbicular is more oval and the reniform 

 more enlarged at the base." Staudinger says of this variety : 

 "Dilutior, antenn. paululum differ t." "Pyrenees, Jutland " ('Catalog,' 

 p. 79). This pale reddish form is occasionally taken in Britain. I 

 have specimens from the New Forest. 



P. var. varia, Vill. = concinna, Esp. This fine purple form I 

 have only obtained from Perth, although I have no doubt it is widely 

 distributed. De Viller's description is : " Phalcena Noctua varia. 

 Spirilinguis laevis, alis deflexis purpureo, nigro alboque variegatis 

 puncto albo." " Minor. Puncto albo facile dignoscenda, licet laboriosa 

 sit descriptio. Alse superiores undulate, undis albis nigro cinctis vel 

 nigris albo marginatis. Macula reniformis in medio fusca, dein alba, 

 postea in parte anteriore nigro terminata. Macula rotunda sed punctum 

 album annulo nigro circumdatum. Aliquse maculae ovales acutissimae 

 in medio alae. Subtus omnes griseae inferiores minus obscurge " 

 (' Caroli Linnaei ' &c., ii., pp. 276, 351). It is the concinna of 

 Esper, whose description is : " Alis superioribus fusco-purpurascenti- 

 bus, strigis duabus, maculis sparsis, stigmatibusque albis " (' Die Schmet. 

 in Abbildungen ' &c., p. 500, Plate 152, fig. 1). It is also the picta 

 of Fabricius. 



y. var. suffusa, mihi. This is a large form, the only specimens I 

 have seen having come from Shetland. The anterior wings dark 

 brownish-red, with the white transverse lines and longitudinal nervures 

 almost of the ground colour in the basal and central areas, the outer 

 part being more typical. Mr. Jenner Weir writes : " The Shetland 

 specimens are much larger than any I have seen before, and some are 

 distinguished by a total absence of purple on the wings " (' Ento- 

 mologist,' xiii., p. 289). 



Actebia, St., prcecox, L. (?), Esp. 



This is a most invariable species. There appears to be no marked 

 variation in the markings, and the colour is generally very constant, 

 although occasionally specimens are found of a bluish-green, instead 

 of the normal green coloration. The Linnaean description is as 

 follows : " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis deflexis cinereis bimacu- 

 latis postice rufo-subfasciatis " (' Sy sterna Naturae,' x., p. 517). The 

 reddish fascia on the hind margin is characteristic, but it appears 

 strange that there is no mention of the typical green coloration in the 

 description. Of this Guenee writes : " To recognise this from the 

 Linnaean description, one must suppose that he made his description 

 from a faded specimen, and to remember that in certain editions 

 of the * Systema Naturae ' he uses the terms ' posterioribus fascia rufa,' 

 ' postice rufo-subfasciatis,' which apply to the superior wings." 

 Guenee also adds : " It varies but little. Engramelle's fig. 466, and 

 a specimen which I have seen in the collection of M. Pierret have 

 the superior wings bluish-green instead of glaucous-green " (' Noctu- 

 elles,' vol. v., pp. 296-297). 



a. var. prceceps, Hb. The bluish-green variety is called prceceps 

 by Hiibner. His figure may be described as follows : " Anterior 

 wings of a bright bluish-green with a white patch at the bottom of the 

 basal area ; two double transverse basal lines ; claviform pale, orbicular 

 outlined in whitish, reniform white, a dark green shade between the 



