IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 103 



elbowed lines very distinctly marked, the stigmata outlined in black " 

 (< Sammlung europaischer Schmet.,' figs. 782-783). It is perhaps even 

 commoner in Britain than the dark red-grey type. 



P. var. omega, Esp. Anterior wings of a pale reddish (almost 

 reddish-ochreous) colour. The stigmata outlined in dark and the 

 transverse lines dark as in the other forms. Esper's description of 

 omega is : " Alis superioribus rufescenti-cinereis, stigmatibus strigisque 

 duabus, crenatis, nigris " (< Die Schmet. in Abbildungen ' &c.). This is 

 a rare variety in England. I have only one specimen in a very long 

 series. This came from North London. 



y. var. helvetina, Knaggs. I am assured by Mr. W. Gr. Sheldon 

 that the helvetina of Knaggs is certainly a pale form of augur. He 

 writes : " About the year 1 874, a young collector living at Derby, 

 named Taylor, one evening in July, took a Noctua in the suburbs of 

 that town, which, being unable to name, he forwarded to Newman who 

 passed it round to the leading British lepidopterists of the day. 

 Nobody could say what it was for certain, and I believe it was sent on 

 the Continent. Doubleday was of opinion it was a var of N. neglecta, 

 and so were many others ; but it was eventually named by Knaggs, 

 Agrotis helvetina, and no doubt he described it at the time, though I 

 have never seen a description. Here the matter remained for some 

 years, when the specimen came under the observation of Dr. Mason, 

 and after some trouble he made it out to be a var. of augur. I think 

 I have seen a note in one of the magazines * (the ' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' I 

 think) from his pen on the subject. Taylor, before he left England, 

 about 1884:, presented the specimen to Mr. Gr. Baker, of Burton, in 

 whose collection I saw it in 1885, and no doubt it is there now. 

 Speaking from recollection this is what it is like * of the size and 

 build of typical specimens, but the ground colour light grey or putty 

 colour, the two black lines crossing the front wing, and those out- 

 lining the discoidal spots are there, but are not so pronounced as in 

 the type, the fringe on the hind wings is pink not grey,' there is not 

 the slightest doubt of the species. It is said that Dr. Mason has other 

 specimens in his collection, which approach, if they are not identical 

 with this var. I suppose the reason it was considered to be a var. of 

 neglecta was the similar colour of the fringe and the black lines crossing 

 the wing, which are very similar in shape in both species " (in 

 Hit.). A very extreme pale form of a silvery, greyish- white coloration, 

 with distinct transverse lines, was recently sent me by Mr. Dutton for 

 inspection. It was captured near York this summer (1891). 



Noctm, Linn. 



This genus, closely allied to, but yet fairly separate from Agrotis, 

 contains some very interesting species from the point of view of vari- 

 ation, but there is not the same polymorphic character exhibited by the 

 species as in those of the latter genus. Noctua f estiva is the most variable 

 species both in colour and markings. N. dahlii and N. neglecta offer a 

 wide range of colour variation, whilst N. glareosa varies from pale 

 whitish-grey to intense blackish, and N. xantographa goes through an 

 almost similar range. Festiva variety conflua of Treitschke has for a 

 long time puzzled our British lepidopterists, more particularly it would 

 appear, because writers in the ' Entomologist ' have of late years referred 



*Dr. Knaggs described Continental A. helvetina in the Ent. Mo. Mag./'vol, 

 viii., p. 182. 



