Xestia c-nigrum and Polygonia c-album: What does the "c-" mean?

What does the "c-" mean? For the latter, I take it that the "c-" refers to the C-shaped mark, but "album?" No clue on "c-nigrum" though.

Contributed by RupeeRoundhouse on 11 November, 2012 - 3:11pm

Probably colors

"Nigrum" means black. "Album" means white. I believe that those are masculine forms; the feminine would be "nigra" and "alba." Someone who knows Latin can confirm or disconfirm this. The c likely means a C-shaped marking in both cases.

… R. Berg, 11 November, 2012 - 4:20pm

I, too, suspect a c-shaped marking...

...based mainly on the discussion here.

… Ken Wolgemuth, 11 November, 2012 - 8:00pm

However

Some of the synonyms use the letters f or g:
Original description: as Papilio Nymphalis c-album in Syst.Nat. (Edn. 10) I: 477.
Syn.: f-album (Esper, [1783])
g-album (Fourcroy, 1785)
pictior (Verity, 1919)

… Beatriz Moisset, 13 November, 2012 - 7:49pm

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