LASIOCAMPA QUERCUS VAR. MERIDIONALIS, N. VAR. 113 



Lasiocampa (juercus var. meridionalls, n. var. 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 

 In the Kntoiiiolorjist's liccord, vii., pp. 298-305, I gave a critical 

 review of Lasiocamj}a (juercih and L. var. callnnae, and concluded with 

 Staudinger's summary of the various forms of L. quercna and their 

 distribution. Recently, in view of volume iii of British Lepidoptera, 

 Mr. Bacot and myself have been dealing with these forms, which 

 Staudinger seems to have jumbled up somewhat unsatisfactorily in one 

 or two instances, and I would provisionally substitute the following 

 in place of the table there given : 



quercus, Linn., " Sys. Nat.," xth ed., p. 498 (1758). 



var. (et ab.) callunae, Palmer, " Zool.," 1847, p. 1656. Mountains and moor- 

 lands of central and northern Europe. 



var. viburni, Gn., "Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr.," 1868, p. 405. South France and 

 Northern Italy. 



ab. Kpartii, Hb., " Eur. Schmett.," fig. 173 cf . Germany, Britain, &c. 



var. )neri(Uo)i(ilh, n. var. (generally known as south of France qtiercfis). Wings 

 deep chocolate-brown, transverse bands very narrow ; larvae with pure 

 white dorsal urticating fur (that of viburni, Gn., red-brown). 



Ah-roboris, [F.J.A.D.], "Bork. Rhein. Mag.," i., p. 362 (1793), Schrank, 

 " Fauna Boica," p. 275 (1802). Germany, England, &c. 



var. sicula, Staud., " Cat.," 1861, p. 30. Sicily. 



ab. catalaunica, Stand., "Cat.," p. 09 (1871). Catalonia. 



The other varieties and aberrations — alpina, Frey, &c. — need not be 

 dealt with here. It is, however, necessary to give tiieridioualis (the 

 south of France (jucreiis with white-haired larva) a name to distinguish 

 it from ribi(rni (the south of France qiiercih with red-brown-haired 

 larva). It is also necessary to discriminate between Hiibner's ordinary 

 narrow-banded German aberration of (jiiercus, which he named spartii, 

 and the south of France ribiirni which Staudinger confused with it. My 

 main reasons, however, for this note are to legalise nieridionalis, which 

 I am using in my vol. iii., and ray wish to bring Mr. Bacot's nomen- 

 clature into line with that which I am using. The following comparative 

 descriptions are made from the series in Messrs. Bacot and Warburg's 

 collections : 



a. L. var. meridionaliii, n. var. — <? . Deep chocolate-brown with a com- 

 paratively narrow and very definite yellow transverse band to both fore- and hind- 

 wings, that on forewing dropping from costa in a short curve (convex to base of 

 wing on its inner margin) before turning slightly outwards, and then running to 

 the inner margin, where there is another very slight curve towards base; on the 

 hindwings the band forms a regular curve almost parallel to hind margin from the 

 costa direct to the anal angle; the outer margins of both fore- and hindwings 

 almost as dark chocolate-brown as basal areas ; the white median spot of forewings 

 very bright, moderately large ; fringes of the forewings concolorous with the outer 

 area, fringes of hindwings varying from concolorous with outer margin to bright 

 yellow ; tendency for nervures on outer marginal area of hindwings to be yellowish ; 

 antennal shaft paler than pectinations. ? . Forewings yellow-ochreous, transverse 

 band narrow, definite, same direction as in male, and slightly dark-tinted on inner 

 margin, median white spot surrounded with a dark ring. Nervures rather paler in 

 outer marginal area than ihe ground colour. Hindwings of a redder ochreous tint; 

 a definite transverse band, the outer area rather paler, the nervures therein still 

 rather paler than the ground colour. 



j3. L. var. ribitrni, Gn. — <? . Rather smaller than var. vicridionalis; consider- 

 able variation in direction of transverse band on forewing, which sometimes has a 

 small outward angulation below the costa, at others runs obliquely directly from 

 costa outwards towards anal angle ; the band of the hindwing also definite, well- 

 marked ; the outer margin conspicuously dark. There is a tendency to an enlarge- 

 ment of the band, both on fore and hindwings medially towards the outer margin; the 

 April 15th, 1901. 



