IK tiifc uujTisii ISLANDS. 49 



previously stated, identical with a beautiful pale variety I have with the 

 ground colour ochreous-grey, the subterminal almost obsolete, and the 

 darker markings almost restricted to that part of the inner margin 

 under the stigmata. The yellow blends with the ground colour and 

 hardly exists in the form of dots. Altogether, it is a most beautiful pale 

 form. Milltere writes of var. calvescens : " I believe that P. calvescens, 

 Bdv. is only a sub-var. of the type. In the Dept. of the Khone, in low- 

 lying places, varieties of this Polia may be obtained by breeding, of a 

 greyish, almost white coloration, with ochreous spots, which are 

 determined with difficulty and which are probably this sub- variety " 

 (' Iconog. et Descrip.' &c., ii.). Boisduval's original description is : 

 " Statura pumicosce, at magis flamdnctce affinis. Alas maris cinerascenti- 

 albid?e, atomis nigricantibus confertim adsperso-nebulosze ; alze femina3 

 luteo-pulverulentse, fere ut apud flavicinctam. Alee posticze fuscse, 

 lunula media limboque obscurioribus " (' Gen. et. Ind. Meth.,' p. 127). 



Dasypolia, Gn., templi, Thnb. 



This interesting species has had an endless number of positions 

 assigned to it. By Guene'e, it was placed next to Polia in the Hadenidce ; 

 by Newman, it was removed to the neighbourhood of Hydrcecia in the 

 Apamidce ; by Staudinger, to the Xylinidce ;* in fact most authors appear 

 to have had different ideas on the matter. To me, this boreal species ap- 

 pears to be an old form, not altogether dissimilar to Polia, but with a 

 different superficial appearance owing to its habits and the peculiar 

 localities it haunts. Its larval habits are, however, very unlike those of 

 that genus. It appears to vary somewhat in the ground colour, the 

 ordinary tint being of a dull ochreous-grey. Probably fresh specimens 

 are dull greenish as mentioned by Thunberg, as there appears a slight 

 trace of such a tint on some of my specimens. The type is thus 

 described : " Noctua templi cristata alis deflexis obscure virescentibus 

 strigis undatis maculisque ordinariis flavescentibus " (' Diss. Ent. sist. 

 Ins. Suec.,' Pt. iv., p. 56). Some of our palest specimens are entirely 

 ochreous, whilst some are of a deep ashy grey. In some specimens, 

 too, the transverse lines are much more distinctly marked than in 

 others. Of the specimens from the Shetland Isles, Mr. Jenner Weir 

 writes : " Only three specimens were captured ; two of them are 

 very much lighter than the usual colour of the species " (' Entomolo- 

 gist,' vol. xiii., p. 290), whilst the following year he adds : " As 

 remarked in my paper, last year, out of the specimens taken two were 

 very light in colour. The insect has been again captured this year, and 

 the light variety has again been found, but a variety has also appeared 

 very much darker and browner than the usual type, and with two 

 darker bands through the centre of the upper wings " (' Entomologist/ 

 vol. xiv., p. 280) ; whilst of the same species from Unst, Mr. Weir 

 writes : " All the specimens are smaller than those taken in Mainland " 



* Many years ago Treitscbke wrote : " I have before stated that templi was 

 placed here (i.e. amongst Polio) by Ochsenheimer, but there is something foreign 

 about this insect and it might be placed as well near cassinea and nubeculosa, of 

 which, however, its life-history, at present unknown, might afford the best 

 clue " (' Die Schmet. von Europa,' vol. v., pt. 2., p. 24.) Its life-history has not, 

 however, shown any affinities with these species although it was removed to 

 their immediate neighbourhood by Staudinger, perhaps, owing to Treitschke's 

 suggestion. 



