NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXIV. 1917. 363 



83. Pachygastria serrula undulata (Stdgr.). 



Bombyz serrula var. undulata Staudinger, Iris, vol. vii. p. 265 (1894) (Biskra). 

 Lasiocampa bomilcar Oberthiir, Etud. Lepidop. Comp. Faso. XI. Expl. Planches, p. 21. No. 4718- 

 4720. pi. cccxxix. ff. 4718-4720 (1916) : Faso. XII. p. 328 (1916) (M'Chounech). 



Mr. Oberthiir considers this a distinct species because of the non-dentate 

 transverse band and the more elongated wings of the ? ; two of my females, how- 

 ever, have distinctly dentate transverse bands, while a typical serrula serrula ? 

 in the British Museum has the band absolutely non-dentate. The larva from 

 Biskra differs from those of s. serrula and s. palaestinejisis in the interspaces 

 between the segments of the body being black, not slate-blue. This form is 

 largely parthenogenetic, but, as is almost invariably the case in parthenogenetic 

 reproduction in inssects, the eggs of virgin ?? produce only ??. 



The dimorphic form hamilcar Oberth. is entirely yellowish cream colour 

 with dark transverse thin bands, and evidently is in the same relation to s. ttndulata 

 as davidis Stdgr. is to s. palaestinensis. The Tring series totals 20. 



2 <?<?, 2 2$ Bou Saada, September 1912-1913, Faroult. 



16 $$E1 Outaya ex larva (larva March 1911, emerged Ain Draham, September 

 1911), W. R. and E. H. 



6 larvae. El Outaya, W. R. and E. H. and Faroult. 



[Mr. Oberthiir is his Etudes Comparees, Fasc. XII. pp. 331-334, interpolates 

 here the two species of Lamhessa between — 



84. Pachygastria serrula and Pachygastria trifolii. 



This is so out of place that I feel bound to reverse this order, in spite of 

 my previous statement that I was keeping to Mr. Oberthiir's order of the 

 species.] 



[The small group of species consisting of trifolii Linn, and its allies evers- 

 manni Ev., josua Stdgr., concolor Chr., and grandis Stdgr., are a most complicated 

 and puzzling lot of forms, and it is quite possible that they may one day all 

 prove to be local and other forms of one protean species trifolii, but for the 

 present I think it is perfectly correct to treat them as four or five species of which 

 trifolii is spUt up into a great number of local races. Mr. Oberthiir (Etud. 

 Lepidop. Comp. Fasc. XII. p. 336. 1° Tanger.) says that he believes that what 

 he figured in Fasc. XI. pi. cccxxix. ff. 4721-4722 as Lasiocampa josua vaucheri 

 Blachier is not that insect, but a Tangier local race of trifolii, for which he pro- 

 poses the name of trifolii vaucheri. This name is absolutely inadmissible, for 

 it is distinctly laid down in the International Rules of Nomenclature that no two 

 species or subspecies of a single genus can bear the same name. Mr. Oberthiir 

 further says he has not any specimen like the drawing in the Ann. Soc. Entom. 

 France, pi. 2. fig. 4. I have a S and $ from Tangier, and the o is identical with 

 fig. 4 and the $ almost so with fig. 5. Dr. Griinberg in Seitz figures as josua 

 from Algeria a <J of serrula undulata, while he figures davidis as serrula palaes- 

 tinensis. In the text he keeps josua as a separate species, and with the Maroccan 

 subspecies vaucheri. He figures as davidis a pale form' of gratulis not in the 

 least like the series I have of true davidis from the Grum-Grshimailo collection, 

 which agree absolutely with Staudinger's description, Iris, vol. vii. p. 266 (1894). 

 This frequent confusion in the plates, giving totaDy different insects in the 



