142 VARIETIES OF NOCTILSZ 



is found in England, whence I have received four examples " 

 ('[Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 351). Staudinger writes: "al. ant. fere 

 unicolor. fuscis " (Catalog,' p. 113), a description belonging rather to 

 var. angnntus. 1 have specimens of this black variety from Warrington, 

 Hereford, Darlington, Morpeth, Glasgow, Galashiels, Sheffield and 

 Nottingham. A sub- var. (grisea-fuscatus) occurs, in which the black 

 colour is dusted with grey scales especially in the basal area. Of this 

 form my best specimens have come from Morpeth, Nottingham and 

 Hereford. 



v. var. atra, mihi. Instead of the bright shiny black of fuscatus, 

 this variety is of a dull sooty black colour, but as intense in depth as 

 is fuscatus, and with scarcely the slightest trace of any markings 

 whatever. It is a most interesting variety. My specimens have come 

 from Darlington, Morpeth and Hereford. 



f. var. rufa, mihi. Probably the most beautiful of all the vars. 

 of instabilis that I have ever seen is a bright-red specimen sent me by 

 Mr. Collins of Warrington. The colour is altogether unlike the redness 

 of the other varieties in this species, and I have never seen another 

 specimen in any way approaching it. 



Tceniocampa, Gn., opima. Hb. 



This close ally of instabilis, without presenting any of the poly- 

 morphic tendencies of the latter species, still presents a wide range of 

 coloration, the palest specimens being quite whitish-grey, the darkest, 

 deep blackish-brown, the bright slaty or purplish form being com- 

 paratively rare. The stigmata are frequently united, whilst in very 

 pale and very dark specimens the basal and elbowed lines frequently 

 become obsolete. In almost all pale specimens there is a trace of a 

 central line, which is frequently developed into a broad well-marked 

 band, and the subterminal line is generally edged internally with 

 darker. The hind wings vary almost in direct proportion to the 

 intensity of coloration of the upper wings, the paler specimens having 

 pale hind wings, the darker specimens dark ones. Of the variation of 

 this species Newman writes : " There are two principal varieties 

 the first, pale grey-brown, with a darker median shade ; the second, 

 uniform darker brown, without a darker median shade ; in both 

 instances the discoidal spots are distinctly outlined in pale grey, and 

 there are usually three pale transverse lines." He also writes : 

 " There seems to be a constant difference between this species and 

 instabilis, the third pale line being more direct in opima than in 

 instabilis, in which I have described it as slightly irregular : in other 

 respects they are very similar ; but I have always observed that opima 

 is far more constant in colouring. The two varieties noticed above 

 are the only ones which are at all of frequent occurrence " ( British 

 Moths,' p. 359). Both Hiibner's type and his var. fa-ma belong to 

 the purplish or slaty form. The type may be described as : " Anterior 

 wings of a grey coloration, with a slight purplish tinge, all the nervures 

 blackish ; an oblique basal line, starting from the costa, is continued 

 under the orbicular to the inner margin ; the elbowed line also 

 blackish. The space between these transverse lines blackish, except 

 just along the costa, a still blacker, transverse median shade showing 

 through this dark band, between the stigmata. The subterminal line 

 is pale, the extreme hind margin spotted ; the nervures between the 

 elbowed and subterminal lines distinct and blackish. Posterior wings 



