CURRENT NOTES. 31 



less smooth cinereous. Thera ? peraciitata, Wlk., is a synonym of Halia 

 Hubcessaria, Wlk., while Thera ? hitadnta, Wlk., is a more heavily- 

 marked form of T. wavaria, L. I have little doubt that intergrades be- 

 tween T. icavaria, L. and T. snbcessarid, Wlk., will eventually be found, 

 and the specie.s thus connected, as are T. subrcssarid and T. coortaria " 

 (Hulst, Eat. News, v., p. 8U6). Information about any insect common 

 to Europe and America is always interesting, but 1 must confess that I 

 read the above twice, before it struck me that it referred to our common 

 V-moth, and then I determined the matter by reference to Staudinger's 

 Cdtdhhj (lev Lepldopteren des Enropuischen FdnnciK/ebiets, where on p. 171 

 Thamnonoma, Ld., is given as a synonym of Halid, Bdv. 



Mons. Germain Beaulieu suggests (Le Natural isle Canadien, Nov., 

 1804), that the maxillary and labial palpi of insects are organs of taste. 



In the Entoiti. News, vol. v., p. 32G, there is an interesting account 

 of the breeding of hybrids, from the pairing of a female Smeriiithm 

 ocellatus, with a male Paonias asti/lus. Pupfc of the first-named species, 

 imported from Germany, by Mr. Rix of New York, disclosed, among 

 others, a female, which Mr. Rix tied to atwigof syringa, to see whether 

 she would attract an American " beau." The next moi'ning, a male 

 P. astijlus was found in copulation with her. The eggs which she 

 afterwards laid were fertile ; many of the larva3 from them pupated 

 in the autumn of 1893. In the summer of 189i, 25 male imagines 

 emerged, whilst some 20 more, apparently healthy pupa% appear to be 

 going over a second winter. The imagines that have emerged " look 

 remarkably alike. They are all nearly of the normal large size of S. 

 ocellatus, measuring from 67 mm. — 73 mm. across the wings. The 

 shape of the primaries is more of the peculiar cut of P. astijlus on an 

 enlarged scale, while the secondaries are those of S. ocellatus, with less 

 dentation of outer margin near anal angle." Smerinthus ocellatus is an 

 insect of easy morals, as proved by the large number of hybrids which 

 exist between it and S. pojmli, but species rarely pair fruitfully, except 

 with their nearest congeners, and I should like to ask in what way the 

 larvie, pupa3 and eggs of the genus Paonias diifer from those of 

 Smerinthus. Who created this genus, and on what characters was it 

 differentiated ? 



Das Nafuralien Cabinet for September, 1894, contains an article on 

 " A supposed new species of Anthocharis " {Euchloi'-), by Ernst Albert. 

 The author has been led by breeding experiments to the conclusion 

 that " A. cardamines has a variety which differs from the type in the 

 larval and pupal stages, as well as in the colour of the imago ; this 

 variety occurs in connection with a different food-plant." The larva 

 is found on Turritis (jlabva, and differs from larvae feeding on Cardamine, 

 in that its colour is blue, instead of blue-green, and the lateral strij^e is 

 of an intense white, instead of a bluish-white colour. The male 

 butterfly has all the markings on the upper-side more intense, the 

 orange is more iiery, and the black deeper. The chief difference, 

 however, is found on the undei'-side of the fore-wings, which are 

 shaded with sulphur-yellow from the base as far as the orange blotch. 

 The under-side of the hind-wings shows less white than in the type 

 owing to the greater extent of the green marbling, which is dotted with 

 black. In the female, the markings are also more intense, and the 

 upper-side of the hind-wing is slightly yellow. The food-plant, Turritis 

 glabra, occurs more abundantly in elevated localities, and in consequence, 



