IN THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 169 



liumla conspicua fusca medio alse. Prope marginem posticum macula 

 una alterave fnsca. Striga ciliari interrupta nigra" (' Lepidoptera 

 Britannica,' p. 230). Of this species Guenee writes : " It varies no 

 less than its congeners " (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 367). Haworth's 

 type is the var. B of Guenee, who writes : " Anterior wings of a 

 ferruginous-red, almost like pistacina, without any markings other 

 than the series of spots on the subterminal which is of a distinct black " 

 (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 368). This red type of lunosa without pale 

 nervures is one of the more common forms captured in this country. 

 My specimens have come from Portland, Sligo, Bournemouth and 

 Waterford. Of the general variation of this species Humphrey and 

 Westwood write : " Numerous varieties occur, both in the tint of the 

 ground colour of the wings, and in the strength of the markings, some 

 of which are occasionally obsolete " (' British Moths,' p. 139). Under 

 the name of neurodes, H.-S., Guenee gives a general description of all 

 the phases of variation of the paler forms of the species. He writes : 

 " Superior wings of a brownish-yellow, greenish, or reddish, with the 

 zuedian shade, the edging of the lines and the inside of the stigmata 

 of a deeper brown. The black spots in the subterminal very apparent " 

 (' Noctuelles,' vol. v., p. 368). There are two distinct series of forms 

 in lunosa, one without and the other with pale nervures. I have the 

 obsolete forms in the paler varieties but none in the darker. In the 

 latter the pale nervures are generally well-developed. Of this species 

 Newman writes : " The colour of the fore wings is various, sometimes 

 rich bistre-brown, at others pale olive-brown, or pale ochreous-brown ; 

 the discoidal spots have a pale circumscription and a dark median 

 area ; the wing-rays are generally decidedly paler than the general 

 area of the wing ; and a pale transverse band, always accompanied by 

 a series of very dark spots, crosses the wing parallel with the hind 

 margin : the hind wings are pale with a conspicuous dark discoidal 

 spot, and an interrupted dark bar parallel with the hind margin " 

 (< British Moths,' pp. 368-369). The following are the principal 

 varieties of this species : 

 1. Pale ochreous (slightly reddish), without pale nervures = var. 



obsoleta. 



2. Brownish-grey, with pale nervures = var. humilis, H. & Wd. 

 3. Red or reddish-grey, without pale nervures = lunosa, Haw. 

 4. Red or reddish-grey, with pale nervures var. rufa. 

 5. Dark red-brown, with pale nervures = var. brunnea. 

 6. Dark grey-brown, with pale nervures = var. neurodes, H.-S. 

 7. Blackish-grey, with pale nervures = var. agrotoides, Gn. 



a. var. obsoleta, mihi. This variety is of a pale ochreous ground 

 colour with a slight reddish tinge, the pale nervures are obsolete, so 

 that the wing is not striated longitudinally as in most of the other 

 varieties. The stigmata are distinct, but the transverse lines are more 

 or less obsolete except the subterminal row of dots which varies much 

 in the amount of its development. The hind wings are whitish, the 

 central lunule distinct, the outer dark fascia (parallel to hind margin) 

 indistinct and broken. This form occurs in both sexes. I have speci- 

 mens from Portland, Sligo and Newbury. The first figure in Newman's 

 * British Moths,' p. 368, is like this var., but the hind wings are 

 generally paler. 



/3. var. humilis, Humphrey and Westd. The striated form belong- 

 ing to var. obsoleta, has a rather browner colour than var. obsoleta, 



L 



