SQ 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



what like the underside of P. atalanta. P. intUca and the gigantic 

 P. tammeamea differ from P. atalanta chiefly by exhibiting broader and 

 more angular bands of fiery orange, a patch of which colour extends 

 in the central area towards the inner margin of the forewings. The 

 orange band on the hindwings of P. tainineaniea consists of very large 

 separate patches of brilliant colour with very small marginal dots. 

 The undersides are again very similar in general appearance, and 

 P. inclica suggests by its underside that it is the most atavic of the 

 whole group. Lastly, P. dejeani looks like a pale form of P. atalanta; 

 the ground colour is light bronze, the bands are dull yellow, the other- 

 wise blue markings on the underside of the forewings are greyish 

 {cardui-iovm). The white apical spots are smallest in P. rndha and P. 

 ta)iiiiieaiiiea, in which species they are also yellowish in colour. As 

 these comparative descriptions point out, the two Australian species 

 own facial markings of a very distinct character. I do not think that 

 any of these foreign species have as yet been experimented upon, no 

 doubt the difficulties in obtaining ova and larvae have been too great so 

 far. Of P. atalanta, however, many aberrations have been bred, most 

 of which, if rarely, occur in the field, while others, for instance the 

 beautiful ab. meyrifieldi, Stdfss., which was bred first in 1892 by Mr. 

 Merrifield, and a year later by Professor Standfuss (who at the time was 

 ignorant of Mr, Merrifield's experiments), have never been seen in the 

 wild state. This latter point is explained in the case of ab. merritieldi, 

 which is a low temperature form, by the fact that P. atalanta, like P. 

 cardui, and for the same reason, could not establish itself as yet in the 

 north, so that low temperature forms have had no chance of development 

 in nature. P. atalanta ab. merrifieldi is a very beautiful form, blue-black 

 in colour, with crimson bands, much broken up by black in the forewings, 

 very large white apical blotch (of a shape like the orange one in P. carye), 

 and much whitish suftusion between this apical spot and the crimson 

 band. The black spots (corresponding with the lunules of Vanessa 

 vrticae) in the crimson band of the hindwings are broadened out and 

 centred with blue (or yellowish), and also the median row of otherwise 

 dark spots are blue (or yelloAvish) centred and blue-ringed, but only on 

 the basal side, while the blue centres still touch the red band. In good 

 specimens all the blue markings of the forewings have already changed 

 to white or greyish, and, doubtless, also the blue-marked half-formed 

 ocelli of the hindwings would, if they were fully developed under 

 natural conditions, become white-centred and white-ringed, in which 

 case they would draw the red markings round them, exactly as is seen 

 in P. (/onerilla, which also has been described as a crimson and black 

 white- blotched form. It is, therefore, possible, with the help of ab. 

 merrifieldi, to understand the facial development of P. (jonerilla of 

 New Zealand in connection with that of P. atalanta. I do not, how- 

 ■ever, wish to suggest that P. //onerilla had necessarily once looked just 

 like P. atalanta. I think it is more likely that the peculiar conditions 

 of climate and surroundings in Australia and New Zealand influenced 

 the prototype in such a manner as to lead to the immediate develop- 

 ment of the markings characteristic of P. gonerilla. If the facies of 

 the prototype be near that of fig. 14, such a process of development 

 could easily be pictured, for, in other aberrations somewhat similar to 

 the one figured, the marginal spots of the hindwing coalesce and leave 

 no trace of orange in the outermost margin, while, on the other 



