ifl THfc BRITISH ISLANDS, M 



in battica there is only a single black line, whilst the main area of the 

 wing is tinged with copper-colour. In the subterminal line the W is 

 hardly visible, whilst the cuneiform spots are constantly absent. 

 Lastly, in baltica the hind wings have a reddish tinge which I have 

 never found in adusta " (< Stett. Ent. Zeit.,' 1846, p. 237). It would 

 appear probable that the specimens taken in the South of England 

 are of this form. I saw a very pale specimen of this species, with the 

 reddish tint almost or quite obsolete, which had been taken in the 

 neighbourhood of North London by Mr. Prout, and another well- 

 marked pale, red-tinted specimen taken by Mr. Evans on the Devon- 

 shire coast. These were very different to the North of England and 

 Scotch specimens of this species. It would appear probable that the 

 normal South German form, which Hering suggests in his com- 

 parison above is not reddish, is of the same character as our var. 

 duplex, Haw. Of var. baltica, Lampa writes : " Mycket ljusare, 

 framvingarne i yttre halften violettgra " (' Entom. Tids.,' 1885, p. 62). 

 He records this var. from " Finland, Karelen &c." 



y. var. duplex, Haw. This is the ordinary dark British form which 

 appears to be the pavida of Bdv. and the chardinyi of Duponchel, of 

 which Staudinger writes : " Al. ant. obscurioribus, fere unicoloribus " 

 (< Catalog ' p. 100). Compared with the paler and redder Continental 

 typical form, our specimens from Scotland and the north of England 

 are much more unicolorous and have the markings, except the sub- 

 terminal, generally very obcsure. Haworth's original description is : 

 " Noctua alis nebulosis, brunneo cinereoque variis, lineola nigra, 

 strigis stigmatibusque pallidioribus ; posticis albidis, fimbria venisque 

 fuscis." " Alse anticse striga ante, altera pone medium undatis 

 pallidis, connexis per lineolam nigram marginem tenuiorein versus : 

 inter has strigas, stigmata ordinaria obsoleta cinerea, et pone haac 

 striga postica pallida alte bidentata " (' Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 190). 

 In our form, the complete basal and elbowed transverse lines, although 

 usually distinguishable, and sometimes greyish edged with black 

 in colour, generally lose their greyish tint and are only traceable by the 

 black edging. This gives them a very unicolorous appearance. The 

 subterminal, however, is generally very distinct. Freyer's vultarina 

 belongs to this form. He says : " The fore wings blackish-brown, 

 darker than in adusta," whilst his PI. 63, fig. 1, is almost unicolorous 

 dark brownish to the elbowed line, with darker traces of basal lines 

 and stigmata ; the elbowed and subterminal lines are ochreous, with 

 the space between them dark reddish ; the extreme outer margin dark 

 brown. I have two specimens from Pitcaple almost black in colour, 

 one of which has the subterminal line practically obsolete, and the 

 whole of the markings of both are particularly ill-developed and the 

 specimens unicolorous. 



8. var. satura, St. The satura of Stephens appears to be only a 

 sub-var. of Haworth's duplex, with the HH -like mark more strongly 

 developed, and the black edging to the transverse lines also strongly 

 developed. The original description of Stephens is : " Alis anticis 

 rufo-fuliginosis, lineola nigra maculis stigmatibus fasciaque palli- 

 dioribus nigro adnatis, posticis fuscescentibus." He also adds : 

 " Closely resembles adusta of which it is possible it may prove to be 

 a variety. The wings are, however, more deeply marked with black, 



