38 VARJETJES OF NOOTU^K 



changed tu blackish-grey ; the white markings reduced as in vujfusa. 

 I have seen specimens from Durham. 



7. var. intermedia, mihi. Whilst as deficient in white markings 

 as var. suffusa, only having them around the reniform, the ground 

 colour of this form has a distinctly ochreous tint and is not of a deeper 

 black than the type, as is that of var. svjfusa. I have seen specimens 

 only from Shetland. This may be Gregson's var. albimaculoidw referred 

 to just previously, but I must acknowledge that Mr. Gregsori's note 

 puzzles me entirely. 



8. var. ochrea, Gregson. Gregson says of this : " All the white 

 obscured with ochre, the whole insect of an ochreous tint " ( Ent. 

 Record ' &c., ii., p. 306). This would appear to be the variety bred by 

 Mr. Fenn and figured in Newman's " British Moths,' p. 389, tig. 2. 

 Of the " protective coloration " of this form Dr. W. S. Hiding writes : 

 " I bred a variety of D. conspersa last year from Iarva3 obtained in 

 Cornwall. The white is entirely replaced by buff, with a slight 

 greenish tinge (the latter especially noticeable on emergence) in two of 

 the specimens bred, and in four others there is transition in all degrees 

 from the type of the variety, but with a predominance of the buff. The 

 hills in the district are metamorphic, varying in colour from slate-grey 

 to blackish, and they are covered with lichen, especially the yellow 

 lichen. Query Is this a protective variation ? It seems possible if not 

 probable, as the larvre were taken near the coast, from Silene inflata 

 and S. maritima" (' Entom. Record' c., vol, ii., p. 275). This 

 variety was noticed as far back as 1870 by Mr. Moore, who was in- 

 formed by Mr. Newman that it was Jj. barrettii, although both the 

 Rev. Mr. Hellins and Mr. Moore correctly supposed it to be a var. of 

 conspersa, the specimens of the latter gentleman having, as he says, " a 

 strong tinge of yellowish-olive, with a distinct flush of bluish-purple 

 iu some of the darker parts, almost approaching iridescence " (' Ento- 

 mologist,' vol. v., p. 30). Mr. Howard Vaughan then correctly referred 

 the specimens again to conspersa (1. c. p. 77), and several other notes 

 referring to these specimens occur in the same volume. My examples 

 have come from Cornwall (Dr. Riding) and Shetland. It is strange 

 that in those from Cornwall, the orbicular is usually ochreous, whilst 

 in those from Shetland it is whitish. 



e. var. oUiterce, Robson. Mr. Robson describes this variety as : 

 " The entire wing suffused with the darker colour," certainly a rather 

 comprehensive description. The ground colour of these unicolorous 

 Shetland specimens is of a distinct ochreous-black tint, but with no 

 distinct demarcation of ochreous markings as in var. ochrea. As yet 

 I have only seen specimens from Shetland. 



DiantJuzcia, Bdv., axsla, Bkh. 



Probably there is no species in the British fauna which illustrates 

 the nielanic tendency of our insects when compared with ordinary 

 typical Continental specimens, better than this. Gastfa varies much on 

 the Continent of Europe, some specimens being a mixture of bright 

 orange and bluish, whilst others are almost unicolorous blue. The former 

 is Borkhausen's type, and the form one generally gets from Continental 

 collectors, the latter is represented by Uiibner's fig. GO, which is almost 

 entirely unicolorous bluish-grey. Our British specimens, on the other 



