288 DICRANURA. By Dr. K. Grunberg. 



mark, Holland and England, rare evei'3'Tvhere, extending northward to Livonia, southward to Central Italy, 

 Candida, eastward to Eastern Russia and theBukovina; also inAmurland and Japan. — A lighter-coloured form, Candida 

 Stgr., has been separated; its wings are almost pure white with feeble markings and pale veins; first described 

 ■from the Ussuri district, but also known from Europe. The larva of this form feeds on Aspen in Amurland. — 

 menciana. meiiciana Moore, which appears to occur only in China, has on the contrary the markings more prominent and 

 the ground darker, violet-grey. Specimens from Japan agree in all essentials with Chinese ones. — Larva at 

 first blackish, full-grown pale green with dark red-brown dorsal marking, which has a violet tmt and is edged 

 with white, the marking being similar to that found in Cerura; the large triangular thoracical patch, in front of 

 which there is a black dot at e.ach side, narrows to the tubercle and is continuous with the dorsal abdominal stripe, 

 the latter widening on segment 4 to the spiracles, then strongly narrowing and again somewhat widenuig poste- 

 riorly; on segment 4 a white transverse stripe narrowly edged with red extends from the red jiatch to the legs. 

 Stigmata bordered with black. June to September, on Salix and Populus. 



przetvalskii. D. przewalskii Alph. (44 d). Ground-colour pure white. Forewing with very sparse remnants of the 



black markings, most distinct being the discal spot m both wings. Thorax with the usual black dots, abdomen 

 entirely white. The antenna of (J exceedingly strongly pectinate, more strongly so than in D.vinukt. ■ — Central 

 Asia: Issyk-kul, Tian-shan, East Turkestan (Kashgar). 



vinula. D. vinula L. Occurring throughout the Palearctic Region and varying much in colour. The ground- 



colour fluctuates between a very light greyish white and an almost uniform black. Thorax lighter or darker 

 grey, with the usual black dots; abdomen blackish grey with the edges of the segments more or less broadly 

 white. The forewing bears a grey transverse band beyond the black basal dots, a distinct discal spot and on 

 the outer half two transverse lines which are exceedingly deeply zigzag ; black streaks extend from the marginal 

 dots. In the hindwing the marginal dots and discal spot are sometimes absent. Throughout Europe (in the 

 north as far as Lapland), North Africa, Asia Minor, Persia, Central-Asia, Siberia to Amurland and Japan. True 

 vinula (44f), from Europe, has the ground light greyish white to grey, the markings of the forewing sharply 



mhutx. defined and the marginal dots of the hindwing usually distinct. — A very similar form is minax Hbn. (44 e) 

 with the subbasal band of the forewing more prominent and the marginal dots of the hindwing absent. Our 

 estonica. figure is taken from a specimen with the markings especially dark and sharp. — estonica Huene is remarkable 

 for its exceptionally sparse scaling, only the basal third of the forewing to beyond the grey band being normal 

 in scaling and markings; the outer two-thirds and the hindwing are very thinly scaled and without markings. 

 The form was first described from Esthonia and Ingermanland, but occurs also in Western Europe, being already 



arctica. recorded l)y Borkhausen. — arctica ZelL, which occurs in Northern Scandinavia and Lapland, is strongly 

 darkened, the ground-colour being blackish grey and the base of the forewing and the space between the zigzag 

 lines light; markings still distinct, and the darkened abdomen still bears some light-coloured hair. It is a transi- 

 phanloma. tion to phatitonia Z)a7m.(44f), which is found in Lapland and has the wings and the upperside of the abdomen 

 delavoiei. usually uniformly black. — The form from North-West Africa, delavoiei Gaschet (44 f, g), is likewise darker 

 than true vinula, the forewing being imiformly smoky grey, but bearing sharp markings, and the hindwing dark 

 brown- grey. It is found in May in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, and extends as far south into the Sahara 

 as the food-plants occur. It is remarkable that the eggs are deposited in a different way as in vinula according 

 to K. DiETZE ( Jugenheini), not being laid singly or in pairs, but in clusters of about 20 on the tnuik or the 

 leaf. The larva, too, is somewhat different from that of innula, and is so abundant in some years in North Africa 

 intermedia, that many Poplars are entirely defoliated by it. — intermedia Teich., from the Ararat and Kurdistan, which 

 was described as a distinct species and is still insufficiently known, is probably also a form of vimtla; it is larger 

 than ordinary specimens of this species, and the zigzag lines are more prominent and more pointed. — In Amur- 

 felina. land, Corea and Japan, the species is represented by a somewhat different form, felina Britl. (= askolda Oherth.) 

 (44 e), which is distinguished by the black-edged patagia, very dark brown veins, white ground to both wings 

 and especially deeply dentate postdiscal lines of the forewing. Discal spot and marginal dots of hindwing sharply 

 marked. — Larva similar to that of D. erminea, at first glossy black, then bright green, with the same dark 

 red-brown dorsal marking as in erminea, but the dilatation and the white transverse stripe on segment 4 are 

 not present. The tail-threads are longer than in erminea. Shortly before pupation the larva becomes dark 

 red to violet ; it turns into a chrysalis in about 3 weeks after spinning up, the pupa, which hibernates, being 

 dark brown. June to September on various species of Populus and Salix. The young caterpillar usually rests 

 on the middle of the leaf, which it covers with a fine web for a foothold. Many of the young larvae are de- 

 stroyed by carniverous Rhynchota, particularly species of Nabis, which attack them when they walk to the 

 edge of the leaf to eat. The caterpillar is also very frequently infested by Tachinids. When intending to pupate 

 the caterpillar walks down the tree-trunk, usually between 6 and 8 a. m., and makes the wooden cocoon 

 1 — 2 y.y metres above the ground. Full-fed larvae which are collected found on such occasions as well a 

 the pupae are hardly ever infested with parasites, as the Tachinid larvae cannot break through the cocoon 



