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184 BRITISH MOTHS 
ACTEBIA, Srepumns. (HAPALIA, He. Corr.) 
The head, in the insect, which is the type of this genus, 1s thickly squamose ; the thorax scarcely crested ; 
the antennz ciliated beneath in the males; the palpi short, with the terminal joint exposed and obtuse ; the 
fore wings are narrow and truncated, the caterpillars naked and smooth, and the chrysalis subterranean. Bois- 
duval places the typical species in his genus Speelotis, and Guénée in Agrotis ! 

SPECIES I.—ACTEBIA PRECOX. Puate XXXIX., Fie. 5. 
Synonymes.—Phal. Noct. precox, Linn. ; Haworth; Donovan, pl. 13, fig. 288. 
6, pl. 213 ; Curtis, Brit. Ent., pl. 539; Stephens ; Wood, Ind. Ent. Noctua preceps, Hiibner. 
This handsome species measures about 14 inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a brownish- 
green colour, with paler irrorations ; the costa is spotted with small black and white dots ; the first and second 
strige are distinct, pale, and much waved, edged with black denticulations ; between them is a pale dot; the 
anterior stigma 1s roundish, with the centre reddish-brown edged with black, behind which is the oval 
supplemental stigma, partly edged with black; the outer stigma is large and ear-shaped, with greenish and 
black markings; between the stigmata is occasionally a brownish waved cloud; the pale-waved subapical 
striga is preceded by a wide purplish red stripe, interrupted by a white blotch on the costa; the extreme apex 
with a row of black dots; the hind wings are fulvous-brown. 
The late Captain Blomer found the larve feeding on Galium verum, growing on the sand-hills at Appledore 
Burrows, and Dawlish Warren (where it has since been taken by W. R. H. Jordan, Esq.), at the end of May, 
and who communicated a figure of one full grown to Mr. Curtis. The back is fulvous, with a slender white longi- 
tudinal stripe, irregularly edged with black ; the sides of the body grey, with numerous black spots; the head 
pale brown, with white and black markings; and the neck grey. The moths appeared in the following August. 
It is a rare species, and was first found by the Duchess of Portland (who was a great collector of insects) in the 
Island of Portland. It has also been found on the sea-shore of Ireland, and in the north of England. 

ACHATIA, Hisner. (Tracuea, Ocus., Bov., & Guetn.) 
The only species included in this genus has the antenne serrated beneath in the males; the head nearly 
concealed ; the labial palpi very hairy, porrected horizontally, almost concealed, with the terminal joint scarcely 
distinct ; the thorax is very densely hairy; the abdomen is short and thick; the fore wings obtuse and 
beautifully marked. The caterpillar is smooth and naked, of a green colour, with pale longitudinal stripes. It 
feeds on pine-trees, occasionally doing very great mischief. The genus is scarcely naturally located in its present 
situation. 
SPECIES 1.—ACHATIA SPRETA. Puarte XXXIX., Fie. 3, 4. 
Synonymes.— Bombyx spreta, Fabricius; Panzer 5; Curtis, Brit. Phalena Noctua Pini, Villers. 
Ent., pl. 117. . , Noctua flammea, Wien, Verz. ; Fabricius ; Hiibner. 
Noctua piniperda, Kob; Esper; Stephens; Wood, Ind. Ent., Noctua ochroleuca, Hiibner (Variety). 
pl. 13, fig. 287. 
This beautiful speci 1 sh: ; 
pecies measures from 14 to 14 inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are of a fine 
ochre colour, varied with rich r "¢ » twe 7 
, VE 1 red or chesnut. The two basal strige are almost obsolete, the first occasionally 
appearing as an abbreviated pale transverse line: the sti NPE 
PP Bees pale transverse line ; the stigmata are distinct and large, the anterior rather square 
and yellowish ; the outer i i 
y ; one oblique, with the centre ochraceous, followed by a much waved and denticulated 
