40 VARIETIES OF 



manani, Mr. Birchall writes : " DiautJuecia cctsia has been bred by 

 my friend Warren Wright, of Dublin, from larvie taken on the South 

 coast of Ireland, feeding on Silenc maritima. The specimen which he 

 has kindly sent to me for examination does not differ from those taken 

 in the Isle of Man " (' Entomologist's Monthly Magazine,' vol. iv., 

 p. 91). This would appear to be the var. donbledayi of Milliere 

 published in the ' Nat. Sic.,' 1886. 



Hecatera, Gn., chrysozona, Bkh. 



This species appears to vary but little, in fact, in a long series of 

 some 40 specimens I only notice that there is a slight sexual deinor- 

 phisin, the females being slightly darker than the males, and the 

 band in both sexes is, in some specimens, rather less distinct than in 

 others. Borkhausen describes the type as follows : " The forcwings 

 have a silver-grey ground colour mixed with minute black scales, and 

 three whitish transverse lines in the ordinary position. The space 

 between the 2nd and 3rd is grey-brown and forms a broad band, 

 which, on account of the strong curve of the 3rd line, becomes much 

 narrower on the inner margin. On both sides, this band is bordered 

 by a black, strongly indented line, the pointed teeth of which encroach 

 into the white streaks. In the band, stand the ordinary stigmata, 

 grey in colour, and a dark dentate median shade almost linear. 

 Everywhere are mixed orange coloured spots and streaks. Near the 

 hind margin is an orange row of dots, and on each dot is seen a small 

 black wedge-shaped spot with its point turned inwards. The hind 

 margin is round with whitish-grey fringes. Hind wings dark grey 

 with paler base" (' Naturgeschichte ' &c., iv., p. 264). Hiibner's 

 dysodea (fig. 47) is rather darker grey and the orange becomes almost 

 red. It is called ornata by Villers (280), and ranunculina by Haworth 

 (p. 183). Dr. Staudinger names one variety from Greece. 



a. var. innocens, Stdgr. Staudinger's diagnosis of this variety is : 

 " Multo dilutior, fere albicans " (' Catalog,' p. 92). I have never seen 

 an almost white specimen of this species, although I should not be at 

 all surprised if an occasional specimen resembling this local Grecian 

 form were captured in Britain. 



Hecatera, Gn., serena, Fab. 



This widely distributed species, constant as it is in Britain, with 

 its white ground colour and dark central band, would appear to be 

 variable enough on the Continent, if we judge by Staudinger's ' Catalog,' 

 p. 92. In Britain, an occasional specimen (generally of the female 

 sex) occurs, in which the basal area and extreme outer margin are dark 

 grey instead of white, but as far as my experience goes, such variation 

 is not at all common. Occasionally the males have the band less 

 strongly developed, reminding one of Guenee's statement " the median 

 space is more or less obscure " (' Noctuelles,' vi., p. 29). The type is 

 described by Fabricius as : " Noctua cristata alis deflexis albidis : fascia 

 lata fusca utrinque flavo maculata." " Parva. Corpus albidum atomis 

 fuscis. Ala3 antica) basi albre punctis aliquot riigris, in rnedio fusca^, 

 qui color utrinque striga undata fiavescente terminatur maculis ordi- 

 nariis albidis, apice albai striga nigra fuscaque. Costa albo nigroque 

 punctata" ('Mantissa,' p. 171). This typical form with the basal area 





