LACHANA; VARMINA; DASYCHIRA. By Dr. E. Strand, 111 



Wo understand therefore under Areolatae those forms in which an areole can he present, this p o s's i h i 1 - 

 ity being recognisable by the following pecuHarities: The rule without exception is (at least in those 

 insects which interest us) that vein 10 takes part in forming the areole; but this is only possible when it 

 originates from the ceil, i. e. fi'om the anterior margin of the cell, never when it branches off from vein 9. 

 In the latter case the base of vein 10 is already distant from the cell and therefore this vein cannot 

 become connected with the cell by curving or branching so as to form an areole. 



1. Group: Areolatae. 



1. Genus: liacliaiia Moore. 



Small and rather dark, long-hairy insects with short palpi which are not visible from above; 

 the antennae with long pectinations ; minute end-spurs at the middle and hind tibiae; an areole in the fore- 

 wing, and in tlie hindwing veins 3 and 4 stalked. Only one species. 



L. ladakensis Moore (19 a). Hair grey on head, brown and black on body. Forewing greyish ladahensis. 

 yellow witli brown dusting and three narrow curved darker transverse bands and dark transverse spot on 

 the discoeellulars. Hindwing dark brown. Expanse 28 mm. Kashmir. 



2. Grenus: Varoiina Moore. 



This genus contains only one small rather hairy species with small and porrect palpi, the legs 

 being without spurs. Abdomen ($) with large anal tuft. Areole large, vein 6 of forewing distinctly separ- 

 ated from vein 7 at the base, vein 3 and 4 of the hindwing originating at the angle of the cell, but not 

 from a point. Forewing sharply pointed, with oblique margin. 



V. indica Walk. ('2'2a), from Kashmir, has in the o * black body, with grej- and brown hairs on head indicn. 

 and thorax; forewing blackish with orange spots; marginal area grey, with wavy inner edge and with 

 a submarginal row of black dots; in the middle and at the apex of the cell a deep black spot edged witii 

 light gre}-. Hindwing black. The $ has the head covered with white hair, and has light ochreous collar 

 and anal tuft as well as lighter wings. J 32, $ 42 mm. — Larva black with white spots, dorsal and 

 lateral warts reddish yellow, the anterior and posterior ones with reddish tufts and the central warts with 

 greyish ones, segments 4 and 11 with long black dorsal pencils. 



3. Genus: Dasychira Steph. 



Closely allied to Orgyia, but altogether larger and clumsier insects, having in Ijoth sexes fully 

 developed wings, narrower and more oblique-margined wings. Femora and tibiae with long downy haii", forelegs 

 hairy and porrect when the insect is at rest. Hindtibiae with only end-spurs. Abdomen of the $ extend- 

 ding beyond the anal angle of the hindwing. — Larva with tufts of hair on the 4"' and following seg- 

 ments, a pencil of hair on the 11"' and usually two similar ones laterally on the first segment. The 

 Dasjichira, with the exception of a few Arctic species {rossi and groenlandlcd) , are confined to the Old 

 World, but here over 50 species are distributed over 3 continents. Some species are exceedingly common 

 and their long-hairy larvae are often among the most conspicuous insects, even coming into large towns. 

 Many occur commonly only in certain years, and may increase so as to become injurious. The moths are 

 adapted in colour to their environment and are thereby much protected, so that one sometimes rarely 

 finds the moths of which the larva belongs to the commonest insects. The genus is conceived differently 

 by various authors. If one includes all the strongly deviating small forms which Butler, Mabille and 

 Saalmuller place in the genus, Madagascar has an abundance of species, this island alone containing 

 a quarter of all the known species. 



D. selenitica Esy. (= lathyri Hbn.) (19 e). Ground-colour of forewing of ^ pale ochreous, in the $ selenilica. 

 whitish, but the latter with such dense markings that nothing is seen of the ground-colour but a narrow 

 sinuose submarginal band, a discocellular spot and a longitudinal ring-shaped spot at the inner margin, 

 the remaining area gi"ey, partly with yellowish and brown dots; a narrow light grey band bounding the 

 basal area on the outside usually distinct. Forewing of (J with white discocellular spot and a similar spot 

 at the inner angle, and with grey-brown spots and transverse bars. Hindwing in both sexes black with 

 yellow fringes and in the (J with yellow discocellular bar. From Germany and Austria through Eussia 

 to Finland, and from Hungary westward across the Rhine, but sporadical and entirely absent in many 

 localities. — The green eggs are covered with anal wool by the $. The larva appears in June; it is 

 blackish above, with long dense hair and three long black tufts two laterally on the first seg- 

 ment and one on the last segment. The dorsal tufts brownish, black above. It is found until October, 



