﻿362 
  BRITISH 
  LEPIDOPTEEA. 
  

  

  Original 
  description. 
  — 
  P. 
  Alucita 
  pterodactyla, 
  alis 
  patentibus 
  

   fissis 
  testaceis 
  ; 
  puncto 
  fusco. 
  Habitat 
  in 
  nemoribus. 
  Alae 
  superiores 
  

   ferrugineo-testacese, 
  bifida, 
  sed 
  fissura, 
  nisi 
  nectantur, 
  non 
  apparente 
  ; 
  

   in 
  medio 
  punctum 
  nigricans 
  (Linne, 
  Fauna 
  Suecica, 
  2nd 
  ed., 
  p. 
  371). 
  

  

  Imago.— 
  22mm. 
  -23mm. 
  in 
  expanse. 
  Forewings 
  of 
  a 
  rich 
  ochreous- 
  

   brown 
  colour, 
  rather 
  darker 
  along 
  the 
  costal 
  half, 
  and 
  paler 
  along 
  the 
  

   inner 
  marginal 
  half 
  ; 
  the 
  outer 
  margin 
  and 
  borders 
  of 
  cleft 
  finely 
  

   edged 
  with 
  whitish 
  ; 
  the 
  basal 
  half 
  of 
  costa 
  marked 
  with 
  white 
  scales 
  ; 
  

   two 
  small 
  blackish 
  spots 
  at 
  end 
  of 
  cleft, 
  one 
  (often 
  ill-developed) 
  discal 
  

   spot 
  ; 
  a 
  sprinkling 
  of 
  black 
  scales 
  along 
  the 
  upper 
  and 
  lower 
  edges 
  of 
  

   the 
  discal 
  cell, 
  and 
  along 
  the 
  basal 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  cubital 
  nervure 
  ; 
  the 
  

   upper 
  lobe 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  scattered 
  black 
  scales, 
  and 
  many 
  white 
  ones 
  

   towards 
  the 
  apex 
  ; 
  the 
  fringes 
  of 
  the 
  upper 
  lobe 
  dark 
  grey, 
  whitish 
  at 
  

   their 
  bases, 
  with 
  a 
  small 
  dark 
  brownish 
  dot 
  at 
  anal 
  angle 
  ; 
  the 
  fringes 
  

   of 
  the 
  lower 
  lobe 
  similar, 
  but 
  with 
  two 
  dark 
  brownish 
  dots 
  towards 
  the 
  

   apex. 
  The 
  hindwings 
  glossy 
  brown, 
  slightly 
  darker 
  towards 
  outer 
  

   margin 
  and 
  apex 
  of 
  plumules 
  ; 
  cilia 
  dark 
  grey, 
  brown 
  at 
  their 
  bases. 
  

  

  Variation.— 
  This 
  species 
  is 
  not 
  particularly 
  variable, 
  the 
  main 
  

   feature, 
  in 
  this 
  direction, 
  being 
  the 
  tint 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  colour, 
  which 
  

   varies 
  from 
  dull 
  greyish-ochreous 
  to 
  bright 
  ochreous-brown. 
  In 
  size, 
  

   however, 
  there 
  is 
  great 
  difference, 
  our 
  British 
  examples 
  varying 
  from 
  

   16-4mm.-25mm., 
  the 
  average 
  being 
  about 
  22mm. 
  The 
  smallest 
  form 
  

   we 
  would 
  call 
  ab. 
  minor. 
  The 
  Linnean 
  type 
  appears 
  to 
  be 
  an 
  inter- 
  

   mediate 
  colour-form 
  " 
  ferrugineo-testacea? 
  " 
  ; 
  the 
  paler 
  greyish-ochreous 
  

   form 
  we 
  would 
  call 
  ab. 
  pallida 
  ; 
  for 
  the 
  extreme 
  red-brown 
  form 
  we 
  

   retain 
  the 
  name 
  ab. 
  fusca. 
  Jordan 
  describes 
  (Ent. 
  2Io. 
  Mag., 
  vi., 
  p. 
  124) 
  

   a 
  very 
  remarkable 
  specimen 
  sent 
  to 
  him 
  from 
  the 
  Lake 
  district 
  by 
  

   Hodgkinson. 
  It 
  is 
  noted 
  as 
  : 
  

  

  The 
  size 
  of 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  fuscus. 
  Anterior 
  wings 
  cinnamon-brown, 
  the 
  outer 
  

   half 
  rather 
  more 
  dusky 
  than 
  the 
  inner 
  portion 
  which 
  has 
  an 
  ochreous 
  tinge, 
  the 
  

   spot 
  at 
  the 
  fissure 
  replaced 
  by 
  a 
  very 
  narrow 
  black 
  streak 
  beginning 
  at 
  the 
  fissure 
  

   and 
  extending 
  more 
  than 
  half-way 
  towards 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  wing 
  ; 
  below 
  this 
  is 
  

   another 
  faint 
  black 
  streak 
  along 
  the 
  fold 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  segment, 
  parallel 
  with 
  the 
  

   fissure, 
  near 
  the 
  apex 
  of 
  the 
  wing, 
  is 
  another 
  well-marked 
  black 
  streak 
  ; 
  fringes 
  

   dusky-brown, 
  almost 
  unicolorous, 
  though 
  there 
  is 
  rather 
  a 
  fainter 
  line 
  marking 
  the 
  

   border 
  of 
  the 
  wing. 
  At 
  the 
  extreme 
  apex 
  of 
  the 
  superior 
  angle 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  

   segment 
  is 
  a 
  minute 
  black 
  dot. 
  Posterior 
  wings 
  dusky-brown, 
  with 
  fringes 
  of 
  the- 
  

   same 
  colour. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Frey 
  collection 
  there 
  are 
  two 
  forms, 
  one 
  distinctly 
  brown, 
  

   the 
  other 
  decidedly 
  greyish, 
  especially 
  on 
  the 
  costal 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  wing. 
  

   The 
  brow 
  7 
  n 
  forms 
  are 
  from 
  Gottingen 
  and 
  Zermatt, 
  the 
  grey 
  form 
  

   from 
  Zurich 
  and 
  Trafoi. 
  There 
  is, 
  also, 
  in 
  this 
  series, 
  considerable 
  

   variation 
  in 
  the 
  irroration 
  along 
  the 
  nervures 
  longitudinally, 
  both 
  

   of 
  the 
  white 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  black 
  scales. 
  Hofmann 
  says 
  (Die 
  deutsch. 
  

   Pteroph., 
  p. 
  83) 
  : 
  " 
  The 
  spot 
  on 
  the 
  inner 
  margin 
  and 
  the 
  discoidal 
  

   spot, 
  usually 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Stenoptiliine 
  imagines, 
  are 
  absent. 
  The 
  

   fissural 
  spots 
  are 
  small, 
  as 
  a 
  rale, 
  one 
  lying 
  directly 
  over 
  the 
  other, 
  

   but 
  moved 
  somewhat 
  from 
  the 
  fissure 
  towards 
  the 
  base 
  ; 
  in 
  other 
  

   respects 
  they 
  are 
  rather 
  variable, 
  being 
  irregularly 
  formed, 
  sometimes 
  

   more 
  streaklike, 
  at 
  others 
  rounder, 
  whilst 
  sometimes 
  they 
  are 
  dissolved 
  

   into 
  a 
  small 
  heap 
  of 
  black 
  scales. 
  The 
  low 
  r 
  er 
  spot 
  is, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  some- 
  

   what 
  larger, 
  and 
  lies 
  w 
  7 
  ith 
  its 
  upper 
  edge 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  height 
  as 
  the 
  

   costa 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  lobe. 
  The 
  upper 
  spot 
  lies, 
  in 
  exceptional 
  cases, 
  

   also 
  a 
  little 
  nearer 
  the 
  base 
  ; 
  this 
  is 
  also 
  occasionally 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  

  

  