

IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 157 



costa to the orbicular. Hind wings dark grey, base paler, with a dark 

 lunule " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.,' fig. 633.) Of this species Guenee 

 writes : " This species has been up to the present unknown to lepi- 

 dopterists, and I treated it at first in my ' Essai ' as a variety of a species 

 generally known as congener or iners, but of which the synonymy is 

 most obscure. In fact, the Caradrina iners, Treitschke, ii., p. 271, 

 does not appear from his description to belong here at all. It is 

 sufficient to prove this, when he states that the hind wings of the male are 

 'entirely white.' The congener of Geyer (fig. 862) represents our 

 species well, but not that of Treitschke. Hiibner's suspecta (fig. 633) 

 is, in any case, much older than all other figures and descriptions ; it 

 faithfully represents a well-marked specimen " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., 

 p. 360). The following is an attempt to classify the principal varieties : 

 1. Pale reddish-grey, almost unicolorous = var. pallida. 

 2. Pale reddish, outer area and inner margin ochreous = var. congener, 



Hb.-Gey. 



3. Bright red, almost unicolorous = var. rufa. 

 3a. Bright red, with central area grey = var. Icevis, Dup. 

 4. Bright red, outer area bright ochreous = var. variegata. 

 5. Dark blackish -red, almost unicolorous = var. nigrescens. 

 6. Blackish-red, with the outer area pale = var. nigrescens-variegata. 

 7. Pale ochreous, almost unicolorous = var. iners, Dup. 

 8. Dull brownish, almost unicolorous = suspecta, Hb. 

 9. Dark grey, almost unicolorous = var. grisea. 



a. var. pallida, mihi. This variety has the anterior wings of an 

 almost unicolorous pale reddish with a grey tinge, the inner and 

 outer margins being no paler than the rest of the wing, although 

 the subterminal is fairly well marked. My specimens have come 

 chiefly from Aberdeen and York. 



ft. var. congener, Hb.-Gey. This is a pale reddish-grey variety, 

 with the outer area paler. Geyer's figure may be described as 

 follows : " Anterior wings pale greyish-red, all the nervures dark 

 and distinct, an abbreviated, followed by a complete whitish basal line, 

 the stigmata outlined in black, the elbowed line black and wavy, a 

 pale transverse band follows the subterminal, parallel to the hind 

 margin ; a double row of black dots runs through the pale band " 

 (' Sammlung europaischer Schmet.,' fig. 862). Of this variety Guenee 

 writes : " The two sexes are similar, and only differ from the type 

 in their more unicolorous testaceous colour and their slight reddish 

 tint, the designs are generally less clear, except the stigmata, of 

 which the outline is generally well marked " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., 

 pp. 360-361). I have specimens from Wharncliffe, Aberdeen, Askham 

 Bog &c. 



y. var. rufa, mihi. This bright red variety of suspecta appears to 

 be more common in Scotch than in English localities. The whole area of 

 the wing is of a bright red with the ordinary lines and stigmata distinct, 

 but no trace of a paler coloration replacing the ground colour. I have 

 specimens from Bannoch and Aberdeen, and have seen others from 

 Askham, but it is, I believe, rare in the latter locality. I have two or 

 three extreme forms in which the red is especially bright. 



8. var. Icevis, Dup. Duponchel figures a bright red variety of 

 suspecta under this name with a distinct dark greyish central band, 

 all the markings are clearly developed. It is an excellent figure of 

 suspecta despite Staudinger's query. Of the general variation of suspecta 



