

239 BRITISH MOTHS 
SPECIES 4.—PLUSIA BIMACULATA. Purare LL, Fie. 5. 
Syvnonymes.—Plusia bimaculata, Stephens ; Wood, Ind. Ent., Plusia Tota, (variety) Curtis. 
pl. 16, fig. 399 Noctua inscripta, Stephens’s Cat. nec. Esper. 
This species measures 12 inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are “ varied with fuscous-brown and 
ferruginous, with a biundulated golden striga at the base, enclosing a black spot; then another, similarly-coloured, 
before the stigmata, much angulated at the origin on the costa, and waved interiorly, followed behind the 
stigmata by an obscure, crenulated bent one, without metallic ornament ; stigmata very obsolete, without golden 
edges ; on the disc are two large bright golden spots ; the anterior emarginated towards the base, and rounded 
posteriorly ; the hinder triangular-ovate ; between the anterior one and the costa is a faint golden lunule, as 
in Pl. Iota: hind wings reddish ash, with a central lunule, an oblique striga, and the hinder margin and nervures 
dusky.” A single specimen of this species is in the unrivalled collection of J. F. Stephens, Esq. (whose description 
we have quoted above) but its locality is unknown. Mr. Curtis regarded it as a probable variety of PI. Iota, 
whilst Mr. H. Doubleday has omitted it from the list of British Noctue, considering it, as he informs me, as an 
apparently North American species. 

SPECIES 5.—PLUSIA INTERROGATIONIS. Puare LI., Fie. 6. 
Synonymrs.—Phalena Noctua interrogationis, Linneus; Fa- | pl. 16, fig: 400. 
bricius; Hiibner; Haworth; Harris Exposition, plate 5, fig. 3; Phalena auro-signata, Donovan, 13, pl. 453. 
Treitschke; Boisduval ; Duponchel; Stephens, Wood, Ind. Ent. Noctua emula, Borkhausen. 
This species measures from 1{ to nearly 15 inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are slaty-gray, 
elegantly varied with ashy and brown (occasionally purplish) colours, with a silver Y-like mark, and a small 
dot in the middle of the disk ; the ordinary strige are distinct; the basal one abbreviated, with a black dot 
adjacent to its extremity; the second striga is geminated, black, slender, and much waved; the anterior stigma 
is not very distinct ; the outer one deeply emarginate on the outside; the third striga is also geminated and 
bidentate behind the silver character ; and the apex of the wing bears a fourth dentate striga, and is of a dark 
ashy colour ; the hind wings are dark gray-brown, with a broad deep margin. The moth appears in June and 
July, and is evidently an alpine and northern species, being rarely found further south than Yorkshire ; although 
not rare on the moors in the northern parts of the country. 
SPECIES 6——PLUSIA GAMMA. Puare LI., Fie. 7, 8. 
SynonyuEs.— Phalena Noctua Gamma, Linneus ; Fabricius; Hiibner; Treitschke ; Donovan, 8, pl. 255, fig. 2; Albin, pl. 79, fig. e—h ; 
Wilkes, plate 69. 
This species measures from 1+ to 1% inch in the expanse of the fore wings, which are very glossy, and of an 
ashy gray, with dark rich brown markings, especially a large patch in the centre of the disk, on which is placed 
a silver spot, resembling the Greek letter gamma; the basal striga is slender, pale, and abbreviated, with a 
brown mark on each side, and terminating in a small black dot. .The second striga is geminated and very much 
bent ; the anterior stigma is very oblique, with a pale margin, and extending to the costa; the outer stigma 
also oblique, but in the opposite direction, surrounded by a very fine silvery line, and very deeply incised on the 
middle of the outer margin; the third striga 1s also very slender, irregular, and geminated ; and the apical 
portion of the wing is much variegated, especially with a large pale patch at the anal angle; the hind wings are 
grayish-brown, with dark veins, and a broad margin of deep brown; the cilie of all the wings spotted with 
black. There is a curious white scale-like apparatus at the base of the abdomen on each side, which does not 
appear to have been noticed. The caterpillar is pale gray, with whitish and yellowish lines down the back and 
sides. It is polyphagous. The moth appears from May to October, and is one of the most abundant of the 
family. It is a widely-dispersed and very common insect 
, and is often to be seen hovering over flowers during 
the day-time, flying off with the greatest rapidity when approached. 
