BRltiHH 



p. 294). Newman says of the ground colour "reddish-brown with 

 purple bands " and Haworth (under the name of inarginayo}, " ferrug- 

 ginous with reddish-fuscous bands," so that all authors unite in calling 

 the dark form the type. 



a. var. marginata, Fab. In this form, the orange-red ground 

 colour of the forewings become yellow and the outer margin is 

 generally less bright in colour. The diagnosis of Fabricius is: 

 " Noctua cristata, alis deflexis flavescentibus : strigis ferrugineis, 

 postice fuscis " (' Mantissa,' p. 166). 



8. var. rutilago, Haw. A very slight variety, in which the 

 complete basal line is darker than the central shade and extended so 

 as to form a fascia, is separately described by Haworth. His descrip- 

 tion is : " Alis anticis a basi ad strigam secundam, paulo saturatioribus 

 quam in medio " ( Lepidoptera Britannica,' p. 235). He appears, 

 erroneously, to refer this to the rutilago of Fabricius. Humphrey 

 and Westwood write : " The rutilago of Haworth is a variety with 

 the basal portion of the wing more saturated " (' British Moths,' p. 

 236). 



Heliothis, Och., dipsacea, Linn. 



In my short series of this species I find two specimens ( $ and $ ) 

 with the ground colour much darker, and without the green tint 

 which characterises the others. They have, too, the transverse band 

 between the subterminai and angulated lines much more distinctly 

 denned. In the paler specimens, the reddish transverse central 

 shade is continuous throughout, whilst on the other hand, the 

 darker specimens have the central shade ill-developed between the 

 stigmata (which are pale in all specimens) where it is replaced 

 by a dark blackish quadrate spot, but, on the contrary, there is a 

 dark longitudinal band along the inner margin, from the basal 

 line to the subterminai shade, with which it unites ; the darker 

 specimens, also, have the basal area more suffused. In the hind 

 wings of some specimens the spots are quite white, whilst in others, 

 they are dull greyish- white or ochreous. Guene'e says : " This species 

 varies little, excepting in colour, which is of a more or less greenish 

 olive, but which quickly disappears in insects that have flown " 

 (' Noctuelles,' vol. vi., p. 182). The Linnsean description of the type 

 is as follows : " Noctua spirilinguis, alis superioribus glaucescentibus 

 punctis maculisque fuscis ; inferioribus nigro alboque variis." " Ala 1 , 

 superiores supra cinereo-glaucescentes adspersre punctis minutissimis 

 fuscis et fascia fusca in medio: fascia rudimentum versus apicem. 

 Subtus pallidse puncto aterrimo, dein macula nigra, turn fascia fusca. 

 Inferiores supra nign : fascia dimidiata alba in medio ; macula alba 

 versus basin ; macula transversa intra marginem posticum. Subtus 

 pallidae macula centrali et fascia posteriore fuscis " (' Systema Naturae,' 

 xiith., pp. 856-857). This describes the insect fairly well but very few of 

 our specimens can be described as having the upper wings " cinereo- 

 glaucescentes." British specimens appear to belong principally to the 

 maritima of Graslin with the fore wings having the ground colour 

 yellowish, " butter colour " Graslin terms it. 



a. var. maritima, Gras. This appears to be so far differentiated as 

 a local race on the Continent that Staudinger treats it as a sub-species, 



