78 VARIETIES OF NOCTU^E 



unicolorous and without transverse lines, and another taken at Domo- 

 d'Ossola, in which the subterminal is very strongly marked, even on the 

 lower wings with contiguous and denticulate lunules " (' Histoire 

 naturelle ' etc. (Deltoi'des), vol. viii., p. 55), whilst he afterwards 

 adds : " The figures and descriptions of emortualis made by English 

 authors must be referred to this species. The description of Stephens 

 would, however, leave us in doubt, if the figure of Wood which was 

 made from his collection did not remove such doubt " (I.e. p. 56). If 

 Wood's figure was really made from one of the specimens described 

 by Stephens it would tend to show that the true emortualis was really 

 not a British species until 1858 (vide, ante p. 74). 



The description I made of Hiibner's type figure is as follows : 

 " Anterior wings deep yellow-ochreous, almost brown, with the basal 

 transverse line blackish-brown, the inner edges of the reniform 

 and elbowed line, fuscous, the latter broken towards the centre. The 

 hind wings of the same colour as the fore wings with two transverse 

 fuscous lines and a dark lunule " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' etc. 

 (Pyrales), fig. 19). 



a. var. obsoleta, mini. The anterior wings with the transverse 

 lines more or less obsolete and with no dark shading to these lines. 



Zandognatlia, Ld., grisealis, Hb. 



This dull coloured greyish-ochreous species is very common in 

 the woods in the South of England. It varies considerably in size, 

 the females being usually larger than the males, but not always so. 

 The ground colour of the various specimens is of two shades, some 

 being more ochreous and inclining to brown, others, more grey 

 and looking much paler than their more ochreous brethren. The sub- 

 terminal line is sometimes very strongly developed. On the other hand, 

 the elbowed line is almost obsolete and lost in the ground colour in one 

 or two specimens in my collection, although, like the subterminal, this is 

 usually well-developed. A lunular mark shows the reniform, through 

 which, in some specimens, run traces of the central shade which is 

 especially strongly developed in one specimen I have. The elbowed 

 line varies in obliquity and sometimes shows traces of being curved. 

 The hind wings vary much in the shade of the ground colour in both 

 sexes. In some specimens, these wings have a distinct central fascia ; 

 in others, this fascia is obsolete, whilst on the outer margin, a pale 

 line, edged with darker internally, becomes reduced in some specimens, 

 to a lunular mark near the anal angle. 



Hiibner gives a very good figure of this species. The description 

 I made of it is as follows : " Anterior wings brown with a straight 

 dark basal line, a dark inner edge to the reniform, a dark elbowed 

 line and a dark somewhat curved line from the apex to the anal 

 angle. The hind wings grey, with a blackish median transverse line 

 and another near the hind margin " (' Sammlung europ. Schmet.' etc. 

 (Pyrales), fig. 4). Guenee writes of the species : " This pretty 

 species, the smallest of the European, has the greatest affinities with 

 tarsicrinalis and tarsipennalis, although it has neither knots to the 

 antennas nor brushes to the anterior legs. It only varies in size " 

 (' Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoides), vol. viii., p. 59). It is the 

 nemoralis of Fabricius and also of Stainton (' Manual/ vol. ii., p. 131). 



