

NOVITATES ZOOLOGIC AE. 



Vol. XXIV. AUGUST 1917. No. H. 



SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES TO MR. CHARLES OBERTHUR'S 

 FAUNE DES LEPIDOPTERES DE LA BARBARIE, WITH 

 LISTS OF THE SPECIMENS CONTAINED IN THE TRING 

 MUSEUM. 



(Continued from p. 120.) 



By lord ROTHSCHILD, F.R.S., Ph.D. 



HETEROCERA. 



SFHINGIDAE. 



1. Acherontia atropos (Linn.). 



Sphinx atropos Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. edit. x. p. 490. No. 8 (1758) (Europe). 



We only met with this insect once, when Hilgert caught a fine specimen in 

 the waiting-room at Ain Sefra railway-station. It also appears to occur pretty 

 frequently at Hammam Meskoutinc, where it frequents the orange blossoms. 

 It does not sQem to vary in any way more than in Europe, and the larva appears 

 in the usual two forms, green and brown. The Tring Museum has 12 Algerian 

 examples. 



1 Ain Sefra, May 1913, C. H. 



2 Environs d'Alger, June — November 1904-1905, Dr. Nissen. 

 1 Alger ?, A, Thery. 



7 Batna, August 1909-19U, Nelva coll. 



1 Hammam Meskoutine, December 1914, Paul Dechabert. 



(1 brought to Dr. Hai-tert at Mrair unfortunately fell to pieces.) 

 1 larva, Perregaux, 1915, Faroult. 



2. Amorpha populi austauti (Stdgr.). 



Smerinthus austauti Staudinger, Pet. Nouv. Entom. vol. ii. p. 190 (1877) (Algiers). 



The only time we met with this species ourselves was when one was brought 

 to us alive by a soldier at Ain Sefra. 



This large and handsome form of A. populi is fairly abundant in all the 

 places north of the desert where poplar-trees occur or have been introduced. 

 It varies a great deal in the ground-colour of the wings, apparently unconnected 

 in any way with locality, though the series from Le Kroider are all very dark 

 grey, even darker than true austauti, while the bulk of the Aiin Sefra series is 

 pale coloured. Pour names have been bestowed on four different aberrations, 



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