66 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



cumulativelj'' recorded and " fixed " by hereditism, can (lasting !) 

 physiological and facial changes be brought about in a butterfly in 

 nature — but P. cardui does not stop to allow for that. It could be 

 supposed, however, that the whole bulk of the species were slowly 

 altering. Only in Australasia, where the chances of migratory 

 swarms reaching the land are more restricted than elsewhere, there 

 flies as a regular variety (and perhaps in Tasmania as a separate 

 species), P. kerahawi, the atavic form of P. cardui, with the blue-centred, 

 even-sized, eye-spots, which, in Europe, occasionally appears as an 

 aberration. Bearing these facts in mind, it is of interest to note that 

 the Pyrameid species resembling P. cordni, four of which have already 

 been mentioned, viz., P. carye, P. virginiensis, P. myrinna, P. terpsi- 

 chnre, as well as P. bradliemis and P. aequatonalis, are at present still 

 chiefly confined to different localities in South America, and do not 

 range farther than Central North America (P. carye and P. vir- 

 yiriiensis), that, indeed, these species are local or comparatively 

 local forms, of which only two of the less highly specialised forms have 

 found energy enough to develop a migratory tendency. Thus P. 

 tcrpsichore flies in Chili, P. hrasiliensia (facially between P. terpsichore 

 ^ and P. viryinien.us) from Brazil down to the Argentine, P. )iiyrinna in 



-^ Brazil, P, aeqiiatorialis in Ecuador. Of P. viryiniensis, as of /'. rardid, 

 a form with fewer black markings is known, and has been distinguished 

 as ab. fidvia. P. terpdcliore and P. branliensis are differentiated from 

 P. viryiniemis by their smaller size, greater brilliancy of colour, absence 

 of the tAvo median spots in the usual row of black spots (in P. terpsi- 

 chnre only) and conspicuous dark median fascia (as in P. cardui but 

 stronger), in the upperside facies of the hindwings and smaller ocelli, 

 in a beautiful cream-coloured (but also banded) underside facies of the 

 hindwing. P. braailieusis is further distinguished from P. terp.^chore 

 by a whitish costal spot on the forewings between the first and second 

 black costal spots (the latter merging into the black of the apex) the 

 second costal blotch is better visible in P". carye, also the third blotch 

 appears in some specimens of P. cardui ab. elywi, P. atalanta ab. 

 klcniensicwiczi (fig. 15), and the row of black spots on the upperside of 

 the hindwings is mostly complete. The whitish or rosy spot between 

 the first and second costal blotches is familiar also in P. cardui, 

 ■especially in its Tasmanian form var. kershairi. As may be gathered 

 from these notes, the interdependence in the markings and colours 

 of P. terpsic/iore, P. brasilioisia, and the other species of the group 

 figured in pi. i., is very great, though this does not interfere with 

 the fact that each species, as compared with the others, may be 

 looked upon as a " perfectly original, highly finished work of art," 

 which latter, very significantly, cannot be said of an aberration like 

 that shown in fig. 14, the facies of which consists of a veritable 

 pot pourri of undiiTerentiated designs, while the typical summer 

 form prorm, is again in its own way perfect in style and finish. 

 In fig. 14 the apex of the forewings is atalanta- or c'rt)(/;(/-form, the 

 rest of the wing shows details found also in Vanessids, like Polyyonia 

 c-album, Kuynnia xanthomelas, V. urticae, Y. iirilbcrti, and the hindwing 

 compares, in all but shape, well with that of P. myrinna (fig. 8) 

 implying that, if the light orange median band, somewhat masked 

 in most specimens, is assumed to be absent, then the remaining 

 details are like those in P. atalanta. The bright-veined underside 



