AEEAS; ARCTINIA; DIAPHORA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 91 



57. Genus: Areas Walk. 



If the species of doubtful relationship which Kirby places with A. galactina are excluded, only 

 one species remains; a beautiful brightly coloured large moth resembling Arctia villica in the arrange- 

 ment of the colours, but allied to the Spiloso^ninae in the shape and markings, especially of the body, 

 and in the similar venation. Frons broad, brightly coloured, shagg3\ Palpi fairly long, upturned before 

 the frons, with naked end-segment. Eyes small. Thorax moderately broad, not strongly elevate, so that 

 the head protrudes distinctly in a dorsal view. Collar and tegulae white with dark spots. Abdomen long. 

 Hindtibia with two pairs of spurs. Forewing lanceolate with the inner angle almost absent; hindwing 

 rather small. 



A. galactina Hoev. (= orientalis Walk., trigonalis Voll.) (17 b). Large, forewing ivory with black- galactina. 

 green veins and stripes, hindwing orange with red base and usually with a few black spots. Abdomen 

 scarlet with black dorsal spots. In ab. cana Druce the hindwing is purple-pink. Kashmir, through North cava. 

 India to West China, usually rare. 



58. Genus: Arctiiiia EichwaU. 



This genus consists of one species, distributed from Central Europe to Japan. It has almost the 

 facies of Sfilosoma, with dense woolly hair, almost unicolourous with orange abdomen. The head is con- 

 cealed in thick wool, the palpi are strongly hairy, the antennae rather short, pectinated in the ^. The $ 

 is usually smaller than the (J, more densely scaled and more brightly coloured. The larva also resembles 

 those of Spilosoma, and like the latter lives on low-growing plants; in two broods in the south of its area. 

 The moth is found in nearly all districts of the area, but in many localities is a seldom-found rarity. 



A. caesarea Goeze (= luctifera Esp.) (17 b). Sooty black brown, hindwing of ^ more strongly caesarea. 

 diaphanous; anal angle of hindwing and abdomen orange-yellow, the latter with black transverse dots. 

 From Germany and South Russia to the Mediterranean coasts and from France through Anterior Asia and 

 Siberia to North China and Japan. According to Staudinger there is no essential difference between 

 East Asiatic specimens (= Atolmis japonica Walk.) and Central European ones; but on the other hand 

 there occur everywhere among typical specimens otliers in which the orange j^ellow colour at the anal 

 angle of the hindwing is almost or entirely absent; such specimens being ab. moerens Bull. — Larva moerens. 

 blackish, with very dark brown hair; dorsal line orange-red. In the early summer and again in the 

 autumn on low-growing plants; pupa red-brown; the moth in May and again at the end of July and in 

 August on walls, fences or at street-lamps; mostly rare, having been found in many localities only once 

 or twice. 



59. Genus: Diaphora Steph. 



The name of this wholly Palearctio genus already indicates one of its characteristics, viz., the 

 transparency of the wings, which in some forms is distinct only in one, in others in both sexes, and is 

 only absent in turensis. Head and thorax densely clothed with woolly hair; eyes entirely hidden in the 

 wool; palpi protruding from the wool of the frons as rather long black points. Antennae of <S usually 

 with long pectinations, those of the $ simple and very short. Forewing triangular, a number of dots, 

 which may be arranged in rows or dentate lines, being the only markings. Abdomen not brightly coloured. 

 The larvae vary from black-brown to reddish brown in colour, with a narrow, sometimes indistinct, dorsal 

 hne and fairly dense hair; in the south of the area they occur everywhere in two broods, and the moths 

 are usually not rare. 



D. mendica CI. (17b). ^ sooty brown-grey, usually with a black dot at the apex of the cell; mendica. 

 sometimes without and in other cases with a few accessory dots. The ? thinly scaled, milky white, with 

 the abdomen of the same colour; wings very sparsely dotted, ab. rustica Hb??. (17 c) are <^c? with the ntslica. 

 ground-colour milky white like that of the $$. ab. binaghii Tur. are transitional specimens from the binaghii. 

 normal brown c?(? of mendica to rustica. — Schultz names $-specimens with only one black dot ab. 

 depuncta. — By pairing the white ^^^ of rustica with normal ?? of mendica (which is an interbreeding depuncla. 

 of races and not hybridisation, as is usually reported) peculiar sand-coloured ^^ result, which are called 

 standfussi (17 c). If the $ of standfussi is recrossed with the ^ of rustica a white and much dotted moth slandfussi. 

 results, the form inversa Car. (17 c). — But we have true hybridisation if the ^ of rustica is crossed with inversa. 

 another species of the genus, e. g. with the following species, D. sordida Hbn.; from this cross-breeding 

 a real hybrid is obtained, viz., f. hybr. viertli Car. This may again be paired with other forms, e. g. viertli. 

 with f. inversa Car., by which cross htlaris Car. is obtained, or with mendica, whence beata Car. results, hilaris. 

 etc. — Egg light yellow. Larva grey-brown, greenish laterally, with reddish brown warts and foxy red 

 hairs; on the back a median line, which is sometimes indistinct. It feeds on low-growing plants, in the 

 north of the area in July and August, in the south in July and again in the autumn. Pupa stumpy, 

 glossy reddish brown; the moth in June, or in May and in July and August, singly, but not rare in most 



