PuJ)l 20. III. 1912. STAUROPUS. By Dr. K. GrItnberg. 289 



and therefore would perish, which has indeed been observed in exceptional cases. The pupa very rarely lies 

 over and can also hardly be forced, pupae kept in a warm place during the winter giving the moth scarcely 

 earlier than wild pupae. 



D. hinialayana Moore (49 c). A form from Dharmsala near the Palearctic boundary. It is vevyhimalayana. 

 close to the purely Palearctic vimila, also recalling the form menciana of erminea by its wing-markings. The 

 ground-colour of the wings is rather darker than in the East-Asiatic felirm, the grey subbasal band being very 

 distinct and the two postdiscal zigzag lines jd laced even nearer together than in vinula. The larva feeds on Salix. 



6. Genus : ^taiiropiis Gej-m. 



Antennae variable, either in (^ very strongly pectinate for % and in $ simple, only bearing short brist- 

 les beneath, or pectinate in both sexes (viridescen.s), or in ^ with short fascicles of bristles and in $ simple. 

 Palpi porrect, only a little projecting beyond frons, with bristly hair and reduced end-segment. Proboscis 

 vestigial. Eyes naked; ocelli absent. Body densely covered with woolly hair, especially the thorax, legs and 

 apex of abdomen; abdominal segments 1 — 5 with a dorsal brush of hair each. Hind tibia only with 2 apical 

 spurs. Forewing very elongate, with rather acute apex, the distal margin being strongly oblique and merging 

 into the hind margin in a wide even curve; areole absent, vein 5 from the centre of the discocellulars, 

 6 from the upper angle of cell together with the stalk of 7, 8, 9, 10. Hindwing broad, evenly rounded; vein 5 

 as in forewmg, 6 and 7 stalked, 8 free or connected with cell at middle of same by a short bar. 



The ground-colour of the wings is always dull greyish browii to grey, sometimes gi'eenish or in places 

 reddish; the markings consist of light transverse dentate Imes and rows of spots. The narrow hair-like scales 

 which are found everywhere among the broader scales, in connection with the indefinite ground-colour, give 

 the moths a remarkably soft and delicate appearance. 



The larvae of this genus have several peculiar and quite exceptional characteristics which render them 

 exceedingly strange. Head rather high and narrow. Meso- and metathoracical legs very strongly prolonged, 

 thin, rod-like. Abdominal segments 1 — 5 with two tubercles each, which are most strongly developed on seg- 

 ments 1 — ^3, ending here in a short sharp point. The last 2 segments strongly widened, quite flat beneath, 

 the sharp edge of the widened sides armed with short pointed teeth. Anal claspers modified into two long, 

 thin, pointed processes. Head and body covered with very short but rather dense hair. The larvae rest with 

 the anterior and posterior ends raised, the long thoracical legs being crossed one over the other. Pupa in a 

 pale loose cocoon between leaves, black-brown, strongly glossy, the apex of abdomen ending in a point bearing 

 2 small bristles. 



The European fauna contains only one species, which is distributed to East Siberia and Japan; from 

 Japan and China 5 species are known, which apparently are confined to East Asia, 2 others from Central Asia. 

 On the other hand a whole series of species occur in India, some of which extend in the Himalayas into the 

 most southern districts of the Palearctic Region. 



S. fagi L. (44g), Lobster Moth. Wings grey-brown; forewing with light grey base and black basal dot, fa^i- 

 a pale" dentate band at the border of the light basal area and another in the centre, before the margin a row 

 of dark submarginal dots which are edged with white proximally; hind margin usually red-brown. Hindwing 

 with some light spots in the centre of the costal margin. Antennae red-brown, head and thorax grey-brown 

 to mouse-grey, abdomen lighter. Underside of forewing light grey-brown, of hindwing and abdomen light 

 greyish yellow. Throughout Europe with the exception of the most southern districts, occurring as far as Por- 

 tugal, Central Italy and Bulgaria, and nothward to Sweden and Livonia; Russia (Ural), Armenia, Amurland, 

 Japan. Together with the typical form occurs in Europe a form with the forewing darkened and sharply 

 marked; this is ab. obscura Rebel. — The Japanese form, persimilis Butl. (44 g), is somewhat smaller than true obseura. 

 fagi, with more uniformly red-brown colouring and less obvious light basal area of the forewing. — Larva P^«''»" **■ 

 yellowish brown to dark brown, with black longitudinal lines on the 3 anterior paii's of tubercles, the lines of 

 the second and third pairs being continued as oblique lateral stripes to the stigmata. On abdominal segments 

 1 and 2 a black spot below the stigmata, on 3 to 6 a narrow black lateral line situated just above the spir- 

 acles. June to autumn on Beech, Oak, Lime, Hazel, Walnut. In captivity it is necessary always to provide 

 fresh food for the larvae and also to give them water to drink. The larvae are quarrelsome and mordaceous, and 

 collectors have been warned not to keep a number together as they wound each other. This, though denied 

 by some, has lately been proved to be true in the case of faulty treatment. It is very difficult to feed up 

 larvae collected wdien very young, moulting being especially perilous for the larvae on account of their irregular 

 shape. Pupa glossy black-brown, in a light pale grey cocoon which is placed between leaves. Early larvae give 

 the moths already in June or August, while from those pupating at the end of July or later the moths appear 

 in May or June of the following year. The moths come to the light ; they rest in day-time closely appressed 

 to tree trunks, the strongly woolly fore legs being held stretched forward as in Dasychira pudibunda. 



II 37 



