IN THE BUITISU ISLANDS. 37 



refer to Hadena dentlna. It certainly applies much more fittingly to that 

 species than to the one under consideration. It is : " Anterior wings 

 whitish-grey shading into dark grey, with a whitish-grey dentate 

 spot in the middle of the fore wings. Of the third size. On tree 

 trunks ; common." This description can hardly belong to conspersa, 

 and I therefore take Kottemburg's nana as the type * description. 

 There appears to be no doubt that Kottemburg's description applies to 

 our conspersa. He writes: "Ph. nana. Ground colour of fore 

 wings dark black-brown. The extreme base is white, with some black 

 spots. In the middle of the fore wings is a white round spot, and a 

 similar reniform spot, both surrounded by a black line. The reuiform 

 is somewhat grey in the middle. With the lower edge of the reniform 

 another rather large dentate snow-white spot is in contact. The 

 outer border marked alternately with black and white. On the lower 

 and inner margin of the fore- wings stands another rather large white 

 spot, enclosing a few black dots. Hind wings dark grey, rather 

 paler towards the base, border whitish, a very small whitish spot at 

 the anal angle. Head and thorax spotted above with dark grey and 

 white; abdomen concolorous with h.-w. Size of Phal. triplasia" 

 Esper's conspersa also represents the type of the species. His 

 description is : " Noctua spirilinguis cristata, alis superioribus 

 riigris albo maculatis punctatis striatisque stigmatibus ordinariis albis ; 

 orbicular, magnitudine reniforini fere requali, in apice et angulo ani 

 macula alba " (< Die Schmet. in Abbild.' &c., p. 294). 



a. var. fasciata, mini. An occasional variety occurs in which 

 this species copies its ally, compta, and has a complete white baud. 

 Of this variety Mr. Gregson writes : " I once took a wasted variety 

 of D. conspersa at Penmaenbach in Wales. It has been said to be a 

 compta repeatedly. I believe that all so-called British compta are only 

 varieties of conspersa. Mr. Meek and others called my Penmaenbach 

 var. of conspersa, compta " (' Entomologist,' vol. vi., p. 518 ; vol. vii., 

 p. 17). I have occasionally seen similar examples. 



J3. var. sujfusa, mihi. This form appears to replace the type in 

 North English, Scotch (mainland) and some Irish localities. The 

 ground colour is as black or blacker than in the type, but the normally 

 white, basal, outer marginal and inner marginal areas are essentially of 

 the darker ground colour, the white being reduced to a minimum, 

 and existing principally, though to a much less degree than in the type, 

 around the reniform area. My specimens have come from Ballycastle, 

 Sligo, Pitcaple, Beverley and Clevedon ; besides which, I have seen 

 specimens from Hartlepool. Mr. Bond writes : " The Irish specimens 

 are much richer and darker in colour than any English specimens I have 

 seen " ( Entomologist,' vol. iv., pp. 121-122), whilst Mrs. Battersby 

 writes : " I have been fortunate in capturing D. conspersa this season, 

 Mr. Birchall says it is the darkest specimen he ever saw " (/.c., 

 p. 136). Subvar. grisea-suffusa. The intense black of var. suffusa 



* Of course, by the law of priority, if we are satisfied that nana, 

 Hufn. dent-ma, Esp., it should replace it. There is no doubt that wana, 

 Kott. = conspersa, Esp., but if nawa be used for dentina it cannot be used very 

 well for conspersa also. For myself, I would throw out wana altogether, except 

 that it is in general use all over the world for the species under consideration, 

 and this seems a sufficiently good reason for retaining it. 



