88 ALPHAEA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



July to September. Pupa lilack. The moths in May and June, sometimes again in the summer, common; 

 often in great numbers on warm nights in June. 



caeria. S. caeria Piing. (17 a). White, costal margin of forewing slightly brownish. Before and bej^ond the 



middle of the forewing interrupted chains of brown dots, similar dots being also found dispersed at the 



base, apex of cell and before the margin. Abdomen red with white tip; behind the head at the sides of 



the neck two red spots. From the Kuku-Nor. 



urlicac. S. urticae Esp. (= papyratia Marsh.) (15 g). Distinguished from the preceding species by purer 



white and somewhat more thinly scaled wings bearing only a few dots, mostly on the disc, and by the 



antennae being white almost to the tip. The black dots may be increased (= pluripiinctu Bbl.), but may 



also be reduced to a few {= quadripiinctataCosmov.), or may be replaced by black stvea,ks {= radiataSpul.). 



North and Central Europe as well as locally in South Euroi)e. Also in tlie Hi-district, and said to occur 



at the Amur, if it has not been confused with sparsely spotted menthnstri sanqnicn or with Stranh'.s 



unipuncta. — Egg light yellow, almost conical. Larva blackish, with black head and dark brown hair. 



Stigmata white. Pupa black with yellow segmental incisions. The niotli in ilay and again in August; 



much rarer than mcnthastri. 



erylhrozona. S. erythrozona Roll. (= cognata Walk.) (15 g). Snowy white, in the q the basal portion of the 



costa black. Abdomen red, but with such broad black bands and lateral spots that little remains of the 



red ground-colour. Hindwing sometimes with a few small dark spots. Only known from Kashmir. 



melano- S. melanosoma ii/a»?ps. (15 g). Also snowy white, with very slight traces of dark spots; abdomen 



white, not red, with dark bands, otlierwise very like the preceding. Kashmir and West China, prolialdy 



also in the intervening Tibet; also in North India. 



punim. S. purum Leech (15 g). Like the preceding quite white, with transverse, long or much abbreviated, 



bands on the abdomen, but twice or three times as large as melanosonia. From West China. 

 nivetim. S. niveum Men. (15 h). As large as or still larger than the preceding species; wings sometimes 



with traces of small blackish spots; abdomen laterally spotted with rose-red and dotted with black laterally 

 and above. Tlu'oughout East Asia, East Siberia and Amutland, China with the exception of the south, 

 Corea and Japan. — Larva densely covered with long yellow-grey hair, dirt}^ grey with lighter lateral spots ; 

 it hibernates when young. The moths in July and August, local, but common at their flight-places; they 

 fly out of the grass, making a noise according to Doenitz. I could also hear a slight clicking sound 

 of the wings when nire?<m flew close bj' me, like that made by many larger Arctiids (especially CoZ/n«or2:>/)«, 

 but also by the small Par. plantaginis). 



allium. S. album Brt'w. (= rubidum 7.<eec/i, leiicoTpter a Alpih.) (15 h). Like the preceding, but the abdomen 



a brilliant blood-red. Wings sometimes with some black spots, usually at the base of the forewing and 

 at the apex of the coll of the hindwing. West China to Corea. 



52. Genus: Alx^haea Wall-. 

 This genus, which is variously defined, is most naturally conceived as consisting of about a dozen, 

 partly Indian, tiger-moths with brightly spotted or striped forewings and fawn-coloured hindwings. To a 

 great extent they are small forms which show an unmistakable affinity with Spihsoma. The palpi are 

 short, densely and strongly hairy, porrect before the frons, which is sometimes rough-hairy. The tongue is 

 usually absent or reduced. Frons broad, widely separating the small eyes. Thorax not so much humped 

 as in the i)receding genus, and head therefore not so much hidden. Forewing not so lanceolate, more 

 triangular, iiindwing comparatively small. Nothing is known of the larvae of true Alphaea; the moths 

 seem to be much rarer than those of the two preceding genera, and are not so widely distributed. From 

 a morphological point of view the genus must perhaps be sunk, as Haju'son does; but as the facies is 

 very different Alphaea may here be retained for the sake of convenience. The area of distribution extends 

 from Kashmir to West China; the genus also enters Indian territory, as it occurs in Sikkim. 

 fulvohiria. A. fulvoliirta Tra//i-. (15 h). Thorax blackish, with white markings. Wings white, forewing with 



close blackish olive reticulations; hindwing with a few spots of the same colour in the disc and before 

 the outer margin; abdomen dull orange-j^ellow with long greyish yellow hairs. West China and North 

 India, probably also in the interjacent Tibet. 

 "fasaa A. obliquifascia Ha?Hps. (17 a). This moth, which is unknown to me in Nature, resembles the 



common A. tripartia from India, but the white spots on the forewing are so arranged that they form a 

 macular band, which starts from the base, is elbowed on the submedian and runs parallel with the outer 

 margin to before the apex. From Kashmir; also distributed in the Indian Himalaj^as. 

 '^^'"'mosa'. ^* Quadriramosa A'o?L (17 a) has light forewing with a network of dark veins, a scheme of marking 



recalling that of Endrosa ramosa. The thorax has three dark longitudinal stripes, the abdomen black 

 transverse spots on an orange-coloured ground. Kashmir, where it is very widely distributed, in the Kubi. 

 Kangra and Dalhousie districts, also distributed in the Goorais Yallej' and in the Indian Himalayas to Sikkim. 



