AND THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. o]5 



Illustrations, describes tlie female (Crassicornis), as more thickly irrorated with fuscous than the male 

 (Pilicornis) ; but tliis is not the constant character of the sexes. He also suggested the possibility of these two 

 supposed species being but the sexes of one. Our figures, 4 and 5, represent a splendid pair of this species, 

 whilst figures (5 and 7 represent a variety of both sexes, of a paler colour, without so decided irrorations as in 

 figures 4 and .I, and vnth the rows of dots almost obsolete. Our figure 8 represents another variety of 

 the male, known by its more elongated abdomen, tufted at the extremity, which has the hind wings dark 

 coloured, except at the base. Our figure 9 represents a specimen which resembles the Noctua lutosa of 

 Hiibner (which, by the way, is not admitted as a species by the French entomologists), and which is almost 

 entirely of a pale lutcous-buif colour, with the dots and irrorations obsolete : it is smaller than the specimens 

 above mentioned ; whilst figure 10 is a small variety, which has been considered as the N. Canna; ; * a 

 comparison, however, with the much more brightly coloured figure of the true Cannae will show the great 

 difference between them. 



Until the past year these insects have been rare in collections : one or two specimens of Pilicornis from the 

 neighbourhood of Croydon ; the same number of Crassicornis from Norfolk, and also the same number of the 

 supposed Cannae f from Yorkshire ; and a single specimen of the supposed Lutosa from Derbyshire. Mr. Samuel 

 Stevens has been so kind as to favour me with the following notice of his captures of the species in marshy 

 ground, to the north of the Hammersmith road, opposite to Lord Holland's chapel : — " I captured this fine 

 species, from the end of August till the beginning of November, settled on the flowers of the reeds from six till 

 ten o'clock in the evening, and succeeded in taking nearly 70 specimens by nightly visiting the spot. N. pili- 

 cornis is the male. I have a specimen or two which agree tolerably well with the Lutosa of Hiibner, although 

 these have faint indications of dots. I hope next season to breed them from the egg ; they are, I believe, 

 internal feeders, as I have taken a few young caterpiUars lately in the interior of the reeds, that doubtless belong 

 to this species." The caterpillar, represented in figure 12 as that of Cannse, is from Hiibner, and is very similar 

 to that of TyphtB, except in being of a redder brown, with pale lines. The artist has probably omitted the 

 scutellations of the fore and hind part of the body, seen in Figure 3. 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATE XLVII. 



Insects. — Fig. 1. Leucania straminea (the southern wainscot). 



•* Fig. 2. Leucania comina (the shoulder-stripe w.iinscot). 



** Fig. 3. Leucauia impura (the smoky wainscot). 4. The Caterpillar. 



" Fig. 5. Leucania obsoleta (the obscure wainsrat). 



" Fig. 6. Leucania littoralis (the shore wainscot). 



" Fig. 7. Leucania pallens (the common wainscot). 



" Fig. 8. Leucania sufFiisa (a variety of pallens). 



" Fig. 9. Leucania pygmina (tlie small wainscot). 



'* Fig. 10, Leucania pallida (a variety of pygmina). 



" Fig. 11. Leucania gemini puncta (the twin spotted wainscot). 12. The Caterpillar. 



" Fig. 13. Leucania pudorina (the striped wainscot). 14. The Caterpillar. 



" Fig. 16. Leucania phragmatidis (the Simyra musculosa of some British collections). 



Plints. — Fig. 15. Eriophoriim angustifolium (narrow-leaved Cotton-grass). 

 Tlie whole of the insects in this plate are selected from the fine scries of specimens in the possession of Mr. Stevens, with the exception 



* The following is Mr. Stephens's description of N. Cannae :— Expans. alar. 1 j unc. Head and thorax pale rcddisli or ycllowisli asli , anterior 

 wings the same, with a few minute dusky atoms, with some larger spots at the base, and a row, still more distinct, towards tlie hinder margin, 

 and forming an arcuated striga ; in the middle of the disc is a single spot of similar hue ; posterior wings reddish or yellowisli ash. 



t Wood's Figure of Canna;, from Mr. Bentley's Scarborough specimen, has the fore wings without dots, and the hind ones dark brownish 

 gray. Mr. H. Doubleday, however, informs me that Mr. Bentlcy, on seeing the true continental Canna;, was convinced that his insect wat 

 not that species. 



