riERIN.E. 167 



basal patch, abruptly eiuluig a little before extremity of discoidal cell; 

 tlisco-cellular spot often much larger than in ordinary specimens ; spots 

 in hind-marginal band conspicuous for their vldtcncss. Hincl-wivg : the, 

 whole or greater fart si/ fused witli grey ; disco-cellular spot whitish, 

 centred with yellowish ; hind-marginal spots in band whitish, variable 

 in distinctness. Under side. — Fore-idng: basal portion, costa to beyond 

 middle, and all but apical portion of hind-marginal band, Jjluish grey ; 

 apical portion of band dull greenish-yellow or yellowish-green ; black 

 spots as in ordinary specimens. Hind-wing : marked as usual, but of 

 the same dull mixture of yellow and green as apical colouring of fore- 

 wing. Antenna, legs, margins, and fringes jnWu, as in the common 

 examples.^ 



Larva. — Attenuated posteriorly ; slightly and thinly pubescent. 

 Yellowish-green, closely irrorated with darker atoms. Along centre of 

 back, from head to tail, a dark-green streak ; on each side of back 

 an ill-defined yellow streak, shading above into the pale-green. On 

 each side, touching yellow streak, a bi'oad dark-green band, edged 

 inferiorly by a conspicuous pure-white or yellowish-white narrow stripe 

 above spiracles. Head granulated, clothed with very short pale hairs. 



Pupa. — Attached invariably head uppermost. Pale-green, semi- 

 transparent, darker anteriorly. Prominences of head and back of thorax 

 rather obtuse ; outline of wings projecting in a convex ridge below 

 breast. A dark-green dorsal line. Median lateral line of frontal pro- 

 minences marked wath a black streak inferiorly edged with greenish- 

 5'ellow ; inner-marginal edge of wing-cases also defined with blackish. 

 On each side of abdomen a yellowish-white stripe ; below this, touching 

 hind-raargin of wing-covers, a short abruptly-ending black streak. 



The larvte were found in May, feeding on Vicia sativa (lucerne). 

 The pupa state continued from eighteen to twenty-three days, but this 

 was in the beginning of winter. 



Except in size and in the width of the hind-marginal border 

 (especially in the fore-wing), the ^ Electra varies very little ; but the 

 $ exhibits many variations in tint of ground-colour and development of 

 the basal blackish space in the fore-wing, leading in the direction 

 of the white form above described, which is figured by Cramer as 

 PidcrMo. 



Very small examples of both sexes are often met with ; a ^ in my 

 own collection expands only i in. 5-^ lin., and a % in the South- African 

 Museum only I in. 4 lin. 



The pale form of ^, though not rare, is very much scarcer than the 

 orange-yellow one. 



Electra is nearly related to the well-known European C. Edusa, 



' Mr. Miischler {Verli. K.K. ZooL-Bot. Gesdhcli. Wicn, 1883, p. 279) states that I in 

 error described this form of the ? as Hyale, L. That I did not do so will be evident on 

 reference to my Rhojt. Afr. Aust., i. p. 72, where the pale " Var. 9 " of Electra is described, 

 and p. 74, where the true Ilyale is fully described in reference to some reputed South-African 

 specimens. 



