gQ NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIV. 1917. 



14. Euchloe tagis pechi (Stand.). 



Anthocharis pechi Staudinger, EtUom. Xachr. vol. 11. \<. 10 (1885) (I.ambe»sa). 



Till \ve found pechi at Gnelt-es-Stel. it had only be'-n obtained by Pech at 

 Lambe.ssa, and by Miss Fountaine and Mrs. I\I. dc la P. Nicholl at El Kantara 

 and Lambessa, and two or three odd speeimers at El Kantara by others. It 

 has only been obtained in addition by Faroult at B.-rrouaghia, so its range 

 seems not only limited to the Hants Plateaux of the Provinces of Alger and 

 Constantine, but even here to be very local and sporadic in its distribution. 



Mr. Charles Oberthiir is of opinion that this elegant little insect is a very 

 distinct species, while Dr. Verity is convinced that it is only the Algerian form 

 of tagis. I personally agree with Dr. Verity, for I have specimens at Tring and 

 there are in the British Museum specimens of tagis tagis and tagis hisitanica 

 which are extremely similar to pechi on the underside of the hindwing, while 

 there is one specimen in the British Museum of tagis iusitanica which, except 

 for being larger, is almost identical with pechi both above and below. However, 

 a careful study of the genitalia of pechi, tagis, ausonia, and insularis is the only 

 method by which the specific relationship of these highly interesting and puzzling 

 forms can be settled once for all. The two insects called tagis algirica Oberth. 

 and tagis mauretanica Rober remain to be noticed. Mr. Charles Oberthiir is 

 convinced they represent the West Algerian and East Algerian races of tagis, 

 while Dr. Verity has put them down as aberrations of ausonia. I am persuaded 

 that the latter is right, because among my huge series of aitsonia from Guelt- 

 es-Stel (1,363 specimens) there are specimens agreeing with algirica Oberthiir 

 and mauretanica Rober, and also many intergradations. 



I will further consider this question, which affects the nomerx-lature princi- 

 pally, under the next species. 



The El Kantara specimens in the Briti>h Museum have entirely sooty- 

 black apices to the forewings, which seems to show that there is a tendency 

 to variation in the eastern localities, for Staudinger's tjpe is also mere black 

 at the apices than any of my Guelt-es-Stel and Berrouaghia examples. There 

 are 265 specimens at Trmg. 



261 Guelt-es-Stel, February— March 1911-1914, W. R. and E. H., Faroult 

 and Dr. Nissen (some ex larva iide Faroult ! !). 

 4 Berrouaghia, April 1914, Faroult. 



In the British Museum are 2 specimens, El Kantara, February — March 

 1902, Miss Fountaine. 



[Euchloe ausonia Hiibn. ( = helia Cram, and auct. nee Linn.). 



In NoviTATKs ZooLOGiCAE, vol. xxi. pp. 301-305 (1914), I gave a long ex- 

 planation of the muddle into which Euchloe ausonia Hiibn. = belia auct. plur. 

 had been brought, and gave a table of the Western Palaearctic forms. In this 

 article I divided this " species," i.e. group of local races, uito two sections ; 

 Group I. the forms with only a single yearly generation or brood, which both 

 in the Old World and the New are alpine and high mountain forms, and Group II. 

 the forms with two yearly generations or broods, and in which the two seasonal 

 forms are very distinct. As in Mauretania there are no representatives of 



