57 
I have very little doubt that I passed over several more specimens 
of A. obscura before I discovered what it was, and it was not until the 
8th, three days later, that I noticed a second specimen. 
The numbers taken on different evenings, ranged from 1 to 27, and 
the captures extended from the 5th of July, until the 6th of September. 
Two females, which I had boxed for eggs, escaped alive and well on 
the 11th of September, and I do not doubt but that, had they remained 
prisoners, they would have lived some time longer. 
The species was most common in the last week of July, but did not 
show much trace of wear and tear until the end of August. I took in 
all about 120 specimens, mostly in good condition. How many escaped 
me I cannot say (some nights they were very lively, and flew directly 
they saw the light), and how many my cat ate I do not know; I got 
weary of them towards the last, and was not very much concerned when 
they got away. 
In the case before you are 62 specimens, selected by Mr. Tutt as 
representing the chief points of variation. I notice that the typical A. 
obscura has the costa red, whilst the var. ravida has, in addition, a black 
mark between the stigmata. These two forms are, I think, well repre¬ 
sented in the first and second columns. There seems also to be a 
tendency to the development of the complete transverse lines on the 
upper wing which occur in several other Agrotides, and some very 
distinct specimens of this variety are in the third column, while the 
fourth column shows the forms which incline towards general suffusion 
and obscurity. A few specimens show also the development of a ladder¬ 
like series of lines between the elbowed and subterminal lines, which 
will also be very distinctly seen in some of the forms of A. nigricans , to 
be noticed later on. 
After several failures, I succeeded in getting a good many eggs. 
These do not promise well; at first yellow, they have now turned 
leaden black and have lost their form. This is not, I know, a 
proof that they will not hatch, for I have before noticed eggs, notably 
of Orthosia suspecta, which seemed to shrivel up and flatten till they lost 
all shape, but, after all, hatched in due course. That these eggs are not 
simply infertile seems to be certain, because there are (as is usual) a 
few infertile ones which still retain their yellow colour. 
The next species which I will refer to, is A. exclamationis. 
Though so common, I think that it is well worth examining for variation. 
Looking over the 62 specimens in the case before you, I feel that I can¬ 
not say that the majority are much out of the common, though they 
were all taken on account of some peculiarity. Many of them exhibited 
when alive a distinct redness of costa (again recalling A. obscura), but 
I must acknowledge that I don’t see much of it now that they are dry, 
though here and there I think it may still be traced. 
The most remarkable are the five in the third column with united 
stigmata, particularly the one with the scorched appearance of the fore¬ 
wings. There are also two with the outer half of the fore wings clouded 
with a darker shade, giving them a very strange and distinguished ap¬ 
pearance, as though related to A. ashworthii. 1 have remarked the same 
tendency in A. obscura, but it is, I suppose, unusual in both species. 
One specimen seems to me to be remarkably dark, and curious from the 
entire absence of all red tinge. The malformed specimen at the bottom 
of the first row seems to deserve attention, inasmuch as the slit in the 
H 
