130 VARIETIES OF NOOTTL33 



racterises the type is the lepetitii of Boisduval. The different forms 

 dark blackish-red = suffusa, red-brown = lepetitii, Bois. (and leuco- 

 grapha, Hb.), and bright pale red, almost reddish-ochreous = rufa -all 

 present inter se, a certain amount of variation in the more complete 

 development or absence of the ochreous colour in the stigmata. In 

 minor points of variation, the orbicular varies from a dot or even com- 

 plete absence, to a large well marked oval or ochreous spot (I have 

 one specimen in which it is especially long and yellow). The dark 

 central shade also varies a great deal in intensity, the extreme develop- 

 ment in this direction producing var. suffusa. The pale transverse shade 

 between the elbowed and subterminal lines and the variation in the 

 reniform stigma, have already been alluded to. The rich purplish 

 tint in some specimens is very noticeable. 



a. var. lepetitii, Bois. This is the red-brown form of leucographa, 

 closely allied to the type, but with no trace of ochreous in the stig- 

 mata. The description I made of Boisduval's figure (' Icones,' PI. 83, 

 fig. 2) is as follows : " Anterior wings dull reddish-brown with a 

 complete transverse, blackish basal line ; the reniform and orbicular 

 stigmata outlined in darker ; the elbowed line black and touching the 

 reniform ; median shade still darker than the rest of the wing, but not 

 strongly developed ; the area directly beyond the subterminal line very 

 dark. The hind wings pale with a dark lunule." This form, 

 compared with the type is very rare, judging from the large numbers 

 of specimens received from Dr. Chapman. J have only some half 

 dozen specimens in my long series. 



P. var. suffusa, mihi. This is an extreme variety, the dark central 

 shade spreading over and intensifying the colour of the anterior wings, 

 making them of a deep blackish-red tint. These dark forms vary 

 much in the development of the stigmata, some of the specimens 

 having them as yellow and well-developed as the type, others having 

 them as obsolete as var. lepetitii. I would include all the dark forms 

 under this varietal name. 



y. var. rufa, mihi. Perhaps the prettiest form of this species 

 (and most certainly in Britain the rarest) is that in which the ground 

 colour is of a bright red, of a much paler tint than in the type. It 

 would also appear to be very rare, judging from the few specimens I 

 have been able to select from the large number sent me by Dr. Chapman. 

 These beautiful pale, almost ochreous-red forms, generally have well- 

 marked, distinct, ochreous stigmata. This is so in the specimens I 

 possess. I have only seen the form from Hereford. 



Pachnobia, Gn., rubricosa, Fab. 



This widely distributed and common species in Britain, exhibits a 

 range of colour variation parallel to that of Agrotis hyperborea and A. 

 subrosea, varying from the deepest red to a clear slaty, the latter form 

 gradually becoming more common in Scotland and the more northern 

 English localities. The type of this variable species is thus described 

 by Fabricius : " Noctua cristata, alis deflexis f uscescentibus : costa 

 alba fusco maculata, apice fusca : punctis albis." " Alse anticse fusces- 

 centes, cinereo undatze margine tenuiori baseos rufescente. Costa ultra 

 medium albida maculis tribus nigris apice fusca punctis parvis duobus 

 albis. Subtus obscurse " (' Mantissa,' p. 176). Although subject to so 

 much minor variation, the different specimens may generally be grouped 

 under one of the following : 



