AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. I59 



streaks and a considerably dentated pale strigro edged with darker brown preceding the anterior stigma, which is 

 oval and very obliquely placed, edged with a black line, as is also the posterior stigma, which is broadly ear- 

 shaped : behind these is a dark patch terminated before and behind by an angulated pale line, being portion of the 

 strig£B preceding and following the stigmata, the hinder of these strigee being considerably undulated, the veins being 

 in this part of the wing marked with black dots, between which run several acute black longitudinal streaks, 

 arising upon a very irregular dentated and undulated whitish subapical striga, part of which resembles the letter 

 W ; the margin of the wing is marked with a series of triangular dark dots, followed by a slender wavy whitish 

 line at the base of the cilia, which is dotted with brown. The hind wings have a slight central lunule, a broad 

 dark border, in which is a pale marginal streak towards the anal angle ; the thorax is transversely and longitudi- 

 nally streaked with dark brown. Varieties occur in the intensity of the ground colour and markings of the wings. 

 The caterpillar is ashy-coloured, with elevated black specks and a black head and tail ; it is found under stones, 

 and at the root of grass. The perfect insect appears in June and July, and is a very abundant species. 



SPECIES 4.— XYLOPHASIA RUREA. Plate XXXII., Fre. 4. 



SvNoNYMEs. — Noctua rurea, Fabr. ; Stcph. 111. ; Treitschkc ; Noctua putris, Hubner. 



Godart; Wood, Ind. Ent. Xt/lina horealis, Curtis, B. E. 256, without description 



Noctua hepatka, ll^wonyi ; Wood, Ind. Eat. pi. 11, fig. 229 (variety?). 

 (but not of Linnaeus). 



This species measures from U to 1a inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a dingy bufiish 

 colour, much mottled with grey and reddish brown, especially towards the costa. The stigmata are almost 

 obsolete, the space between them being more deeply coloured. There is a dark longitudinal striga towards the base 

 of the wings, behind and beyond the stigmata a row of minute dots on the veins, which are more distinctly 

 marked vrith black at the tip, and there is a somewhat conical patch of red brown at the anal angle and towards 

 the middle of the apical margin, which is, moreover, marked with a double row of small black lunules ; the hind 

 wings are uniform greyish brown with luteous cilia. All the v.'ings on the under side have a dark central lunule, 

 from which, in the hind wings, proceeds a dark line towards the base of the wings, and the main veins are marked 

 with a dark dot beyond the middle of the wings. Varieties occur with the ground colour of the fore wings 

 bright ochre red with the stigmata distinct. This is a common species, which appears at the middle of the 

 summer. As Mr. Curtis gives the putris of Hiibner as probably identical with his Xylina borealis, and as 

 Boisduval gives putris as a variety of Rurea, Mr. Curtis's insect is probably a variety of this species, which is 

 probably also the case with X. combusta and characterea. 



SPECIES 5.— XYLOPHASIA COMBUSTA. Plate XXXII., Fig. 0. 



Synonymes. — Noctua combusta, Unh-aev; Haworth ; Steph. 111. ; I Noctua alopecurus,'E,i^eT. 

 Wood, Ind. Ent. pi. 11, fig. 230. | Noctua luculenta, Esper. 



This species measures nearly I i inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a dull rusty-brown colour 

 with several pale and darker marks along the costa, and several whitish spots at the tip ; the stigmata are ill 

 defined, but edged with a paler luteous margin, especially the outer one ; the veins are dark, with minute luteous 

 scales scattered upon them, the veins at the tip of the wings being blackish ; there is a dash of darker brown along 

 the inner edge of the wing at the base, and a triangular patch at the anal angle ; the abdomen and hind wings are 

 nearly uniform dusky-brown, the latter marked beneath as in the preceding species, of which this is probably an 

 extreme variety. Found in June, in the woods of Kent and Surrey. 



