the hind wings pale, with a dusky submarginal bar and central lutiule \ 

 the margin itself rosy. It varies in the splendour of the fore wings, 

 our figure giving its least brilliant appearance. The caterpillar is 

 pale lilac-ash, spotted with black and with yellow lateral marks. It 

 feeds on the wild larkspur. The perfect insect is extremely rare, bijt 

 has been taken at Chelsea, Windsor, and in Bulstrode Park " (' British 

 Moths,' p. 227). In 1857, Mr. Gascoyne wrote of this species : "In. 

 No. 60 (Nov. 21st, 1857) of the ( Intelligencer,' you say in reply to a 

 correspondent, * whoever offered you Chariclea delpliinii, you may be 

 sure it was a hoax ; no one has it to part with.' The ' Manual ' says 

 * has occurred near Windsor.' Other writers doubt its being indigenous. 

 At the time your remark about the " hoax " was made, a correspondent 

 had kindly offered me a specimen of this insect, one of three he had 

 taken. I am happy to say, in my case, it was no hoax, as a beautiful 

 specimen has reached me, and now graces my cabinet. I asked 

 for the history of the capture, and have the following reply : 

 4 Three delphinii were taken in the garden either in June or July ; one 

 (the first) was found by one of my children on a gravel walk, and I 

 pinned it myself ; the other two were taken an evening or two after- 

 wards by the gardener, while hovering over some stocks, and were in 

 very fair condition ' " (< Ent. Weekly Intelligencer,' 1857, pp. 90-01). 

 Mr. Dale writes of this species : " Chariclea delphinii. My specimen 

 appears to be a hundred years old, damaged, and without an abdomen. 

 It came out of the collections of old Dr. Lathom " (' Ent. Mo. Mag.,' 

 vol. v., p. 247). Guenee describes two varieties of the larva of this 

 species ; one red, the other, blue. He says : " The two varieties, 

 rosy and blue, are very distinct, and appear to have become assimilated 

 to the flowers of the food-plant, which also present the same two 

 colours. The imago, however, does not vary " (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., 

 p. 169). The Linnsean description of the type is : " Noctua spiri- 

 linguis cristata, alis denexis purpurascentibus : f usciis duabus 

 fiavescentibus ; inferioribus obscuris " (' Systema Natura),' xth., p. 

 518). No recent records of the capture of delphinii in Britain appear 

 to occur. 



Chariclea, St. (Heliothis, Och.), umbra, Hufn. 



Like so many similarly coloured species, umbra has specimens of 

 two distinct shades, some being of a deep reddish-orange, others of a 

 paler and much yellower tint : even the red ones appear to become 

 yellow when worn, but some are yellow without being worn. There 

 is considerable variation in the 'depth of the colour and in the dis- 

 tinctness of the transverse lines, some standing out clearly against the 

 ground colour, others, merging into it, and becoming very indistinct. 

 The subterminal varies considerably, as does its outer edge of orange 

 colour, and the outer, usually dark red, margin frequently assumes a 

 purplish-grey tint especially in the paler specimens. The hind 

 wings vary considerably in the width of the dark outer border which 

 sometimes occupies a large portion of the wing ; ; the basal area is also 

 frequently suffused. Hufnagel's description of the type is : " Orange 

 yellow, with broad reddish-yellow bands on the hind margin. The 

 hind wings pale yellow with a blackish border." He also adds : 

 " Flies at flowers in the evening in June " (* Berlinisches Magaziu/ iii., 



