(493 ) 



ON MILIONIA AND SOME ALLIED GENERA OF 

 GEOMETRIDAE. 



By the HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD. 



(Plate Vn.) 



Milionia Walk., List Hd. Lep. B. M. 11. p. 3()4. ii. 25 (1854). 



ON pages 464 and 465 of the present volume of this journal Dr. Jordan and I 

 described some species of Milionia and Bizavda, Walk., of which I now give 

 figures. As I have had to look up the descriptions of the species belonging to 

 Milionia and allied genera, and to compare the material in my collection, I think 

 it advisable to give a key to all the forms of Milionut, hitherto described. 



Walker's genus Bizarcla (I.e. XXXI. p. 162, 1864), the type of which is B. 

 optima \\'alk., is not separable from Milionia. 3Iy B. elegans {I.e. p. 464) resembles 

 rather much Felder's Celerena tricolor (Beise Novara II. t. 130. f. 10, 1874), which 

 Mr. W. Warren, when arranging the Geoiiietridae. of my collection, inchided in the 

 genus Mniocera Hutl. {P. Z. S. p. 162, 1879). I do not find any structural difi'ereuce 

 between B. degans and the various species of Milionia, except the einargination of 

 the hindwings near the anal angle in the male, and think I am not far from riglit in 

 referring elegans to Milionia. 



There are several insects described as Milionia which do not lielong to that 

 genus. Besides intercisa, Walk, and eusebia StoU, which form Walker's (J.c. II. 

 p. 366) Division 2 of the genus, I mention the following two species : — 



Milionia. gestroi Oberth., Ann. Mus. Civ. Genova XV. t. 4. f. 5 (1880), without 

 description and habitat, is an Arctiid, probably a new genus, and inhabits Dutch 

 New Guinea and the adjacent islands. In the male the hindwings are short, with the 

 outer margin straight and the anal angle acute ; the apical patch is wanting. 



Milionia luteofasciata Pagenst., Jahrb. Ver. Nass. Nat. XXXIX. p. 162. n. 122 

 (1887) (New Guinea), is the same as Boeiraza sepjarata Druce (P. Z. S. p. 781. t. 61. 

 f. 5, 1882) (I't. Moresby). 



The markings, e.specially the breadth of the bands, are by no means so constant 

 in the various species of Milionia as the authors of pryeri and sharpjei have thought. 

 When comparing long series of specimens, I found specimen.s intermediate between 

 some of the allied forms which obliged me to treat several of the " species " as mere 

 aberrations or as subspecies. 



A. Abdomen nnicolorous. 



a. Hindwings with a broad band of an orange or scarlet coloiu', and a series 

 of black, often confluent, submarginal spots ; fringe to hindwings, at 

 least partly, orange or scarlet. 



a'. Thorax above metallic blue. 



fi". Bands of fore- and hindwings orange. 



a^. Band of forewings broad, anteriorly extended from near 

 origin of lower median nervule to, or beyond, ape.x of cell ; 

 marginal band to hindwings almost touching cell at the 



