150 MALACOSOMA. By Dr. K. Gbunberg. 



hyrcanu. Sea, Syria, Palestine and G_\qirus. — hyrcana Stgr. (24 a), from Persia, is entirely gre5rish brown, only slightlj' 

 glossy. In the middle of the costal margin of the forewing a broader ill-defined sjiot, and somewhat nearer the 

 apex a smaller and somewhat sharper one. Underside of botii wings with narrow dark l)rown transverse band, 

 iHiliirsinnifi. strongly excurved, especially on the hindwing, and yellowish grey basal half. — palaestrana Stg)\ (24 a), from 

 Palestine, is smaller, light brownish grey or mouse-grey, very glossy, without markings, and is a])out intermediate 

 between the two preceding forms. — Larva yellow, with brick-red transverse dorsal bands and dark brown 

 haiis. Incisions and lateral line blackish l)rown. In S\Tia on Artemisia. 



suhfancialn. C. subfasciata Klug (24 a). Pale yellowish grey, glossy, fore- and hindwing with entire brownish 



median and submarginal bands. Marginal scales spotted with brown. Underside like upper, bands some- 

 what darker. Antennae yellowish brown. Egypt. Larva from December to February, when young yellow, 

 after the third moult with yellow hairs and carmine on segments 2 and 3. Pupates in the ground in a felty cocoon 

 intermixed with hair. Moth in October. 



longespimitfi. C. longespinata Auriv. (24 a). Uniformly yellowish grey-brown, glossy, with the median band quite 



obsolescent, only slightly sharper at the costal margin of the forewing, b\it more shai'ply defined on the undcr- 

 sid(>. Egvfit. 



Jasciatiii. C. fasciana Stgr. Similar to C. piistramt. lighter yellowish grey, slightly less gloss}\ Wings on both 



sides with narrow or somewhat wider, sharp median brown band, which in the forewing is somewhat 

 excurved before the inner margin and in the hindwing above the middle. Antennae greyish brown. Palestine. 



consUnilhiri. C. constantlna Auriv. Slightly larger than pastrami.. Upperside greyish brown, with a silky gloss; 



forewing slightly lighter. Forewing with a light submarginal band, hindwing with a dark one. Underside 

 light greyish brown, both wings with a dark brown median band parallel with the margin. £ reddish brown, 

 antennae short and stout. Algeria. Larva black, with short yellow hair and three slightly prominent longitudinal 

 stripes of golden yellow bristles. Warts whitish. Lives on Thapsia garganica. 



aurMlJii. C. aurivillii Piivg. Similar to mihfasciata. Ground-colour whitish. LTpperside with brown median 



band and slightly less distinct submarginal band. Median band more distinct on underside than above. Palestine. 



2. Genus: HalaooKoiiia Hhn. 



Medium-sized species, reddish brown to greyish yellow in colour, with the body clothed with dense 

 soft woolly hair. Ej-es naked or hairy. Antennae of (J with long pectinations, in the $ the pectinations of 

 medium length or rather short. Palpi with dense but short hair. Margin of wings entire, forewing broad, 

 costal margin almost straight, outer margin rather strongly curved. Costal margin of forewing ventricose at 

 the base; median cells closed. Forewing with 12 veins, 6 and 7 on a short or long stalk. 9 and 10 on a long 

 stalk, 8 from the cell close to the apex or from the stalk of 9 and 10. Hindwing with 8 veins, 8 connected with 

 the cell beyond the base, forming a very small basal cell which sends off one or two strong accessory veins to 

 the costal margin. Femora and tibiae with long hairs, middle and hind tibiae with small end-spiu-s. — Eggs 

 deposited in a ring on twigs, hibernating. Larva when young in a common web, very limp, slender, cylimlrical. 

 with sparse soft hair. Ground-colour of body grey-blue like the head, with reddish yellow and black longi- 

 tudinal lines, which are straight or curved, continuous or interrupted. Pupa Avith short soft hair, with a bluish 

 bloom, in a loose soft cocoon, dusted with yellowish. Posterior end stout, conical, stumpy. — The eight to ten 

 species of the genus are confined to the Northern Hemisphere, and are distributed over the whole of Europe, 

 Northern Asia, North Africa and North America. They inhabit the mountains as well as the plains, and 

 sometimes occur in huge numbers. In the Higher Alps they are found beyond the tree-line, occurring at nearly 

 every altitude. The fact that many species are now entirely absent from districts where they occurred formerly 

 in immense numbers is still unexplained. 



neiistrUi. M. neustria L. (= testacea Motsch., bilineatus //««'.) (24 b). True neustria is reddish brown, but varies 



from pale greyish yellow to ochreous and light brown and in all shades to dark reddish brown. Upperside 



of forewing with two narrow dark oblique transverse bands, one before and another beyond the centre, which 



usually have light edges, the first on the proximal side, the other on the outer, and converge below the cell 



or at the inner margin, sometimes being contiguous below the cell; the enclosed space usually darker than 



the ground-colour of the wing. Fringes of forewing on the costal half with two broad light spots. Underside 



parallela. with narrow dark median band across both wings. In the entire Palearctic Region. — In the form parallela 



Stgr., from Central and Anterior Asia, the bands of the forewing are quite or nearly ^larallel and slightly ex- 



unicolor. curved. — On the other hand the bands may be quite obsolete or absent: ab. unicolor Aign. In ab, maculifera 



maculifera. Koll. the bands are still indicated by a small costal marginal spot. — flavescens form. nov. (24 b), from Algiers, 



has light yellow grund-colour in both sexes. — Tutt separates numerous aberrations according to the com- 



