IN THE BBITISH ISLANDS. 151 



appearance. It is the darkest of the red varieties. My specimens 

 have come from Morpeth, Hereford, S. Anne's-on-Sea, Nottingham, 

 Portland and Warrington. 



0. var. nunatrum, Hb. "The ground colour of this variety is 

 yellowish, with the costal area slaty-grey ; the extreme base is of the 

 ground colour, with an abbreviated black transverse line, followed by 

 a dark patch, slaty on the costa, but dark brown on the inner margin, 

 which is, in turn, followed by a complete basal line. The lower half 

 of the orbicular and the whole of the renif orm are outlined in yellowish, 

 the space between the stigmata is dark brown, the colour being con- 

 tinued under the orbicular, whilst directly under this mark the colour 

 is yellowish. A small yellow costal patch beyond the renif orm is 

 followed by a broad blackish line, edged internally with pale, which 

 is in turn followed by a transverse series of yellow patches, bounded 

 by the pale subterminal line, beyond which the outer area is very 

 dark, except a series of pale arches on the extreme hind margin. 

 Hind wings dark grey on the outer margin, paler at the base, with two 

 pale transverse lines running through the darker area " (' Sammlung 

 europaischer Schmet.,' fig. 112). I have no variety similar to Hiibner's 

 specimen. 



Tceniocampa, Gn., stabilis, View. 



Another variable species, but without the extreme range of either 

 instabtlis or gotJiica. The ground colour varies from a pale whitish- 

 grey or slightly ochreous-grey, through reddish-grey, bright red and 

 dark red to brownish-black. One of the characters of the species is 

 the presence of the pale nervures between the elbowed line and outer 

 margin. The two basal and elbowed lines are generally ill-developed, 

 although occasionally a specimen presents the feature of these being 

 represented by fine distinct wavy black lines. The stigmata present, 

 however, the chief character of this species. They are generally 

 exceedingly well-developed, but vary much in relative position. 

 Sometimes they are placed well apart, at others, quite in contact, and 

 there is, besides, every intermediate form. The central shade, although 

 hardly so striking a character as in instabilis, is sometimes remarkably 

 well-developed. The subterminal line is generally whitish, but fre- 

 quently orange, with a red line or shade on the inner edge, the outline 

 of the orbicular is generally outlined with the same colour as that of 

 the subterminal line. Of this species Humphrey and Westwood 

 write : " The varieties are very numerous ; that named N. juncta by 

 Haworth has the wings reddish-grey, with the rings surrounding the 

 stigmata united, and a pale sub-apical striga (Mr. Haworth, however, 

 mentions that the antennas are less pectinated in this than in the type). 

 The N. rufannulata of Haworth, has the wings reddish-brown, with a 

 subapical red striga margined externally with pale, and the stigmata 

 separate and margined with red. In other varieties the ordinary 

 strigse are more distinct, and in some specimens there is a dark broad 

 bar between the stigmata " (' British Moths,' p. 137). The cerasi of 

 Fabricius and the" cerasus of Haworth represent the same pale reddish- 

 grey form as Vieweg's type. Vieweg's description of the type is as 

 follows : " Noctua stabilis alis deflexis griseo-ferrugineis, macula 

 strigaque postica flavescentibus : margine nigro punctata." " The 

 fore wings reddish-grey. In the middle of the fore wings stand the 

 renif oriu and orbicular, with a paler (yellowish) transverse line on 



