60 ENDROSA; CHIONAEMA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



20. Genus: Kiidrosa Hi'n. 



Murli more strou^'ly Iniilt tliaii tho i)rccodiiiji; f,'en('ra. .Mcdiiuii siztnl, but rnliust, ycJlow iiiotlis, with 

 alioitcil toiigiK!; (ho ])ali)i aro also roductHl, and (juitti hidden in the shaggy hairs of the head. Antennae 

 of ^^ finely ciHate. Thorax and end of ahdomcn more stronfj;ly hairy; on tho side of the thorax beneath 

 there is a small Ijladder-like organ with whicli the moths are said to make a slight clicking noise when they 

 aro flying about in the sun-shine. The larvae aro stout, cylindrical, with tufts of hair, and like the allied 

 genera live on lichens; they hibernate, and pupate in a light cocoon intermixed with their hairs, the pupa 

 being stumpy and immobile. The moths rest with the wings folded flat in roof-shape; most of them occur 

 in mountainous regions. 



rosdda. E. roscida Scliijf. (11 k). Eeseml)ling Pliilca irrorvlla, rather small, pale yellow, unicolourous, with 



few markings, al)domen i)lack, only the ond-segment yellow. In Central Europe and Anterior Asia. — 



melanoinos. melanomos Nick. (11 k) is a form from the high Alps, which is said to occur also in similar specimens in 



Scandinavia; still smaller than true roscida, upperside of wings strongly suffused with sooty in patches, 



sometimes the ground-colour altogether suffused with black ; tegulae with erect hairs. The dots on the 



forewing are often united by several blackish rays on tho veins. — Larva black-brown, densely checkered 



with yellowish. Dorsal line yellow, ill-defined. On lichens on the ground and on stones, whore one must 



search for them in the early morning before they crawl away in the crevices of stones. Pupa stumpy, 



ochreous, in a whitish cocoon; the moths in June and July, on dry stony slopes, where tliey are soon 



flying in a straiglit line when the sun shines, or are found at rest on rocks. 



kiiMweini. E. kuhiweitli Hbn. (11 k, 1). Bright pale orange yellow, the dark dots large and distinct, usually 



longitudinally oval, most numerous in the row before the outer margin. The forewing below is suffused 



with lilack. In typical specimens the abdomen is entirely orange-yellow, or banded with black, while in 



compluia. ab. compluta Hbn. it is black with the exception of the tip. Tn North-Eastern Germany and the coun- 



alpeslris. tries around the Baltic. — alpestris Z. is the southern form, occurring in the Alps of Switzerland and the 



Tyrol, as well as in South-East Europe, Asia Minor and Armenia; considerably larger, abdomen strongly 



ringed with black, antenna of (J thicker. — Larva black with yellow dorsal line, strong yellow irroration, 



which forms an interrupted stripe above the legs. Hairs black above, mixed with grey laterally; underside 



lighter grey-brown. Like the preceding until May on lichens. The moths more abundant only in the Alps, 



local and more singly in the plains. 



auriiu. E. aurita Sulz. (11 1). Bright pale orange yellow. Forewing with rows of thick black dots, which 



stand closer together before the margin. Underside of forewing not suffused with black, hindwing the 



same colour as forewing, not lighter as in kuhlwei7ii. Thorax black, with a yellow spot in the middle in 



true aurita. Abdomen black, often with the sides, a number of bands and the apex yellow, or entirely 



yellow with the exception of the base. The true aurita is only known from the southern Alps, especially 



ramosa. from the Vallais. — In ramosa F. (11 1), which represents the species in the higher Alps (e. g. at Zermatt, 



but also in other ranges of the Alps at the same altitude), the dots of the forewing are united by sooty 



Iransiens. black vein-streaks, so that mostly only the marginal dots remain isolated. — ab. transiens -S'<(/r. (11 1) is a 



transition to ramosa in which the dots of the wings are only partially united by slight rays; already at a 



imhula. lower altitude in the southern Alps. A further transition is ab. imbuta Hbn. (Ill), in which these rays 



pollens, are continued inwards to the base. — pallens Mill. (11 1) is a pale yellow form, often also slightly smaller, 

 which occurs at the highest altitudes, near the snow-line; I found it for instance as the only form on the 

 sa(jittal(i. (iorner Clrat, whore it was abundant. — ab. sagittata Bdtz., from the south-side of the Simplon, is a deep 

 yellow form with strong marginal spots. — j\loroov('r, localities aro known in which a coff('e-l)rown form 

 occurs frequently or almost exclusively, e. g. at certain places in the Upper Engadino; this form was first 

 observed in abundance by Catherine and kindly sent to me for description in this work, but was 



fiimosa. meanwhile also discovered by Heyuemann and described as ab. fumosa (11 1). — Larva blackish brown, 

 with rhombiform spots dorsally, and irregular light yellow ones laterally; similar yellow dots are arranged 

 in rows in place of subdorsal lines. The larvae of the high alpine forms are darker with blacker hairs 

 and smaller yellow dots. — aurita with all its forms has as yet only been found in the Alps and neigh- 

 bouring ranges, an area of distribution so much restricted being rare among Lithosiids. But there the 

 moths are common from the end of June to the autumn, and during nearly the whole period of fhght one 

 finds worn and fresh specimens. The ^(^ are mostly seen when they fly slowly across the valleys in a 

 straight lino with a slight clicking noise, often at a considerable height above the ground. In the early 

 morning the 9? may be forced to fly by kicking against young larch trees, or they can be caught when 

 they rise with a clumsy flight into the air from the stony slopes. 



21. Genus: Chionaeuia H.-Schdff. 

 These small Lithosiids, better known under Walker's name of Bi;;onc, are among the most 

 pleasing of all the smaller Heterocera. They aro usually snowy white with simple blood-red transverse lines on 

 the forewing, and it is this simplicity of colouring which makes them so charming. Scarcely any species 



