20 ZYGAENA. By Dr. A. Skitz. 



spots as in divisa, but the hindwing is much more broadly edged with l)lack. From South and Central Italy. 

 nevadensis. — nevadensis linmb. (4e) is a very small and thinly scaled form from South Spain, wiiich, in the arrange- 

 ments of the spots, belongs to the form-group of scabiosae, but leads over to the following species in the 

 shorter and more strongly clubbed antenna. — Lai-va golden yellow, white-hairy, a row of 9 black subdorsal 

 dots; head and thoracical legs black, marked with white; stigmata lilack. Adult in April and May on Trefoil. 

 Pupa yellowish brown, darker anteriorly and dorsally; cocoon golden yellow. The imago in June and July 

 on mountain-meadows surrounded by forest, slowly flying up and down or resting on halms of grass. Though 

 easily caught on the wing like all Zygaenas, the specimens of srahinsae found at rest flj' hurriedly away 

 when touched. Locally common, but not in abundance. 



contaminei. Z. contaminel Boisd. (4e). This species, which is distributed from the Pyrenees to Andalusia, 



being more restricted to mountainous districts, corresponds in pattern to scabiogae orio>i, i. e. the anterior 

 streak is rather short, the central one is separated into a minute basal dot and a large drop-like spot, and 

 the posterior one, though continuous, is strongly constricted in the middle. The very gradually and evenly 

 incrassate, but verj' strongly clubbed antenna distinguishes this species at once from all forms of .^cabiosae, 

 with tlie exception of the small nevadensis, which is, however, much larger, being almost twice the size. 



Z. sarpedon. This species is the first of a group of red-banded Burnets from the Mediterranean 

 coasts which have only 3 red spots on the forewing: the anterior and the posterior wedge-spots and a small, 

 rounded , drop-like spot corresponding to the distal portion of the central streak. — In the name-typical 

 sarpedon. form, the small sarpedon flbii. (4e), the colour is pale, but distinctly red; liindwing with a vitreous streak 

 tiimacttlata. from the base to the middle. Spain; South France. — trimaculata E^p. (4f) is a little larger; the wings are 

 entiiely limpid, the red spots of the forewing being only feebly marked, while the hindwing is almost 

 balearica. entirely transparent; Balearic Is., perhaps occassionally also among the previous. — balearica Boisd. (= sar- 

 pedon //.-.SV/(.) (4 f) is considerably larger and more densely scaled than the 2 previous; hindwing beautifully 

 vernetensis. red, nan'owly edged with black. Spain, South France, and Piemont. — vernetensis Obertli. (4f), from the 

 Pyrenees, has the forewing as in balearica, but the hindwing is black, with two red streaks, one each in and 

 below cell. — Besides these (partlj) geographical forms two aberrations have received names, the light 

 flava. yellow one: ab. flava Obertli., and the one with confluent spots: ab. confluens Dziurz. — Larva much 

 confliiens. variegated, green, with brown subdorsal and lateral lines, a subdorsal row of black dots, black stigmata, 

 and black head edged with reddish; till June on Eryngium. Pupa in a brown cocoon. Imago flying in 

 July and August on stubble and sunny fallow fields. 



favonia. Z. favotlia Frr. (= sarpedon Hbn., cedri Bruond) (4g). This form belongs to a group of North 



African Burnets the pattern of the forewings of which reminds one much of the preceding species, while 



the abdomen is red from the middle nearly to the tip, which gives the insect a characteristic aspect and 



renders it easy to recognize even when it flies quickly past. The whole of Mauretania, everywhere common. 



vitrina. — ab. vitrlna Stgr. (4g), which I found only at very limited localities , for instance near Constantine and 



at the cemetery-wall near Batna (Prov. of Constantine), is easily differentiated by the transparent wings. — 



staudingeri. ai). staudlngcri Aiist. (4f) is similar, but has only a narrow abdominal belt, so that one might mistake the 



loyselis. insect, for a small loijselis, if it did not lack the red collar of the latter. — loyselis Oberth. (4fg) has always 



a rosy red collar, and a narrow but bright rosy red abdominal belt; otherwise resembhng favonia, but most 



specimens considerably larger. Normally the red basal area of loyselis separated into 2 — 3 longitudinal 



spots, and the apical patch into 2 red rounded spots. If the spots are more or less confluent, we have 



confluens. ab. confluens Dziurz. — The insect described by Bruand as valentini, in which the red spots are enlarged, 



' '' may possibly belong to an analogous faronia-form*). — The finest form of this group is thevestis Stgr. (4f), 



in which there is a large lobate subapical patch. — All these varieties occur all over Mauretania, on hills, in 



dry beds of rivulets, and on waste ground. The commonest form is favonia, which is found in June on 



nearly all the thistles growing at the road-sides and in the fields. The ?? have an extraordinarily thick 



body, and aj^parently scarcely take to the wing before copulation. Thevestis and loyselis are very local; the 



other forms occur together and fly also among the former varieties. 



piinctum. Z. punctum 0. (4g). Represents the preceding African insect in the South of Europe. Position of 



the red spots as in sarpedon, but the apical spot enlarged, appearing washed out, being deeper red centrally 

 and pale at the edges. Red abdominal belt always absent. Name-typical jiiinctiim occurs at the north-east 

 coasts of the Mediterranean Sea, as far as Armenia; small, the markings of forewing more or less confluent, 



valentini. 

 thevestis. 



*) The larvae of ttiese forms are not yet l<nown; but I found at the fliglit-places of favonia some weeks before the 

 appearance of this insect green-yellow, black-spotted Zygaena-larvae which bad the habit of burying themselves as far as the 

 centre of their liody in the receptacle of various Corymbiferae , especially yellow thistles. I did not succeed in rearing them, 

 but they were presumably the larvae of favonia. 



