NOTE ON ANTHOCHARIS TAGIS, HB., VAR. BELLEZINA, BDV. 151 



I found a male in my study, having been doubtless called by the 

 female, and, missing his way, flown in at the garden door the previous 

 night. Placed w4th the female, he lived a few days, but appeared to 

 be past moving, and the eggs laid appeared to be all infertile. These 

 numbered 150 in all, but eventually 39 changed colour and 8 hatched, 

 so that the moths must have paired after all. The species must be, 

 however, as I have always thought, very rare here. 



Ants and larv^. — My out-door cage is probably quite ichneumon- 

 proof, and all the sides but the one glass door are protected by 

 a double-muslin cover, the width of the wood frame, half-inch, 

 separating the covering. But it is not free from the incursions of the 

 ubiquitous ant. I have not found this insect do any harm, unless it 

 be l)y disturbing the pupating larvae. I have, however, seen ants 

 leading off small spiders, earwigs, and such-like vermin, introduced 

 with the food. Their chief business, however, seems to be carrying 

 away unripe violet seeds, exposed by the jaws of Arctia c«y« larvfe. 

 I have not measured the full length of the journey necessary for the 

 safe garnering of these seeds, but it must be quite 6-8 feet of pre- 

 cipitous descent. 



Interesting foodplants. — In my cage I feed a mixed family ; I 

 notice that the larvae get confused amongst the variety of foods. 

 Pericallia syrimjaria has been eating violet, plum, and "Old Man"; 

 Arctia caja, lilac, "Old Man," Sedii))!, and nettle; Orgyia gonostigma, 

 violet Spiraea, and Sedinii ; Lasioca)npa quercns, lilac, etc. 



Note on the distinguishing characters of Anthocharis tagis, Hb., 

 var. bellezina, Bdv., and A. belia, Cram. 



By GEORGE WHEELER, M.A., F.E.S. 

 Some three or four years ago my attention was called by Mr. 

 Sloper, who was then staying at Aix-en-Provence, to the insufficiency 

 of the distinction generally given for recognising A. tagis \qx. bellezina 

 at a glance as compared with A. belia, viz., the presence of a black 

 spot nearly in the centre of the hindwing on the underside of the 

 former, which is usually absent in the latter. He had taken several 

 specimens of A. belia in which this spot was distinctly visible, and in 

 several cases these specimens were also smaller than var. bellezina. A 

 short stay at Aix-en-Provence at the end of April has not only confirmed 

 for me the truth of this observation, but has besides shown me that 

 this black spot is also occasionally present in the same position in 

 Eucldo'e eiiphenoides, both g' and ? , and also more strongly marked 

 in both sexes of E. cardawines. It is, however, sometimes visible in 

 both sexes on the upper side of var. bellezina, though I have never met 

 with a corresponding example of any other species. Of course, in the 

 field, or in cases where a date is attached to the specimen, there is no 

 difficulty, as the first brood of A. belia, with which var. bellezina is 

 contemporary, has silver in the place of white on the underside hind- 

 wing, but in all cases a very sufficient distinction may be found in the 

 shape of the hindwing. On examining the underside of A. belia it 

 will at once be seen that the costa of the hindwing is at right angles 

 to the body, and there is a very conspicuous angle between the costa 

 and the hind margin of the wmg ; this is entirely absent in A. var. 

 bellezina, in which there is no break between the costa and the hind 



