PLUME-MOTHS OF CEYLON. 19 



Synopsis of the named Forms of Deuterocopus. 



[ Pectus and ventral surface of abdomen 

 j whitish . . . . . . 2 



) Pectus and ventral surface of abdomen 

 yellow . . . . . . 3 



( Apical third of fore wing black . . atrapex 



'- 1 1 Apical third of fore wing not black . . tengstroemi 



[Abdomen with a broad transverse pure 



white band . . . . ritsemse 



^ j Band on abdomen (if present) not pure 



white . . . . . . rubrodactylus 



T -*<-*" *^ 

 Deuterocopus atrapex, forma nova. ^ r- ^ I Hd 



Distribution. — Galle, Kandy, Maakoliya . Ott^u^ ^fy 



Size and shape of wings, cilial scale-tufts, antennae, palpi, and 

 abdomen the same as in the other three forms (tengstroemi , ritsemaz, "i^w^y u 

 and rubrodactylus). Thorax ferruginous, often suffused with \oJLa. .) 

 black ; pectus and ventral surface of abdomen whitish. Abdomen : 

 (see column 3 in Table of Species). Legs ferruginous, often suffused 

 with black ; large whorls of ferruginous or black scales on posterior 

 tibiae at origin of spurs and smaller whorls on base of tibiae 

 and apices of tarsal joints, the last decreasing posteriorly ; spurs 

 distinctly thickened with scales, sometimes broadly banded with 

 white in centre and towards apex. 



Wings bright ferruginous, sometimes almost wholly suffused 

 with blackish or dark fuscous, but the exterior third of the fore winy 

 (from just beyond the base of the first segment and including 

 the whole of the second and third segments) deep black, with two 

 inconspicuous preapical costal suffusions of ferruginous scales. 



Deuterocopus t encj es tbcbmi, Zd l. 

 Zetli'i', Tiimi Fiifrim , VT , 10» Meyr., T. E. S., 1907, 474. 



Distribution. — Madulsima , Hambantota. 



Originally described from Java ; t hia apooioo hau also been recorded 

 f pem As&am and the Kei Island s. 



Early Stages. — The larva feeds on the flowers of the square- 

 stemmed jungle vine ( Vitis quadrangularis) so characteristic of the 

 dry districts, and the pupa is attached to a flower, flower-stalk, or 

 stem of the food plant, or more rarely to a leaf of the same. A 

 description of the early stages is reserved to another occasion. 



The moth is readily disturbed by day from bushes over which 

 the vine is climbing, but its flight is then swift, and it is difficult to 

 secure, as it often retreats within thorny bushes. In the evening 

 it may be taken plentifully around the flowers of its food plant and 

 also on those of Capparis, &c. 



