IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 113 



form, the latter approaching stigmatica var. tristigma in colour. The 

 quadrate spot in the darker specimens is very intense, but in some of 

 the brighter red forms, it assumes the ground coloration of the rest of 

 the wing. Occasionally, too, specimens are much marbled with ochre- 

 ous in the central area of the wing, but the development and arrange- 

 ment are very erratic. The diagnosis of Fabricius is as follows : 

 " Noctua cristata, alis deflexis fuscis ; macula media transversa flava, 

 margine brunneo." " Alee anticse fuscae inaculis aliquot in primis 

 marginis exterioris fuscis. In medio loco maculae ordinariae posticas 

 macula transversa flava. Margo alas ipse brunneus. Posticse fuscae 

 margine brunneo " (' Mantissa,' p. 168, No. 223). The purely brown 

 type is rare in Britain, and, of the purple forms, that with the central 

 area mottled with reddish and ochreous is more common than the 

 entirely purplish -black form. The mottled form is the lucifera of Esper, 

 the unmottled and darker form is probably the ab. nigricans of Homeyer. 

 The fragarice of Vieweg represents the same brown typical form as the 

 brunnea of Fabricius. 



a. var. lucifera, Esp. This is the beautiful purplish variety 

 of brunnea, which seems to be distributed everywhere in Britain with, 

 and to be more common than, the redder forms. Esper's Plate 142, 

 fig. 6, has " the anterior wings of a dark purple colour, with the central 

 area, from the complete basal line to the elbowed line, reddish ; a very 

 dark transverse shade encloses the reniform, and a dark shade extends 

 transversely between the elbowed and subterminal lines. The reni- 

 form and orbicular stigmata are outlined in yellow." Esper's diagnosis 

 is : " Alis deflexis ruf (f)is nebulosis stigmatibus luteis, macula inter- 

 media nigra, fasciaque maculari fulva." " The ground colour of the fore 

 wings of a rich reddish, with the base and outer margin showing a 

 strong violet tinge. The stigmata are ochreous, and between them 

 stands a quadrate black spot " (' Die Schmet. in Abbildungen,' p. 

 453). 



/?. var. nigricans, Homeyer. In the ' Entomologisk Tidskrift,' 

 1885, M. Sven Lampa mentions an " ab. nigricans A. v. Homeyer (in 

 litt.) ", which he describes as : " svartaktig," and gives as localities 

 " Sverige and Oland." I am inclined to think that this refers to our 

 purely purplish-black form. If so, it is not at all uncommon in 

 Britain. 



y. var. ruf a, mihi. The red colour, characteristic of the middle 

 area of the wing in var. lucifera, is, in this variety, spread all over the 

 wing, so that the anterior wings are of a bright red colour, with the 

 stigmata yellowish as in the other forms, but the black quadrate spot 

 between the stigmata is often no darker than the remaining area of 

 the wing. This is a rare form compared with var. lucifera, but not 

 nearly so rare as the brown type. 



Noctua, Linn., dahlii, Hb. 



This species, which is very variable, although it is difficult 

 to classify the varieties, has two very distinct forms in Britain. Our 

 English specimens are generally more or less marked and shaded with 

 ochreous, whilst the Scotch and Irish examples are very much redder. 

 The former is the type, and is represented by lliibner's fig. 465. This 

 is a " male, with the anterior wings of a yellowish-brown colour, dis- 

 tinctly crossed by transverse lines, and has a very mottled appearance" 

 (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' &c.). This male is exactly like some of 



I 



