THAIS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 17 



5. Genus: Thais Fabr. 



Rather stouter than the preceding insects, otherwise closely allied to Sericinus ; likewise yellow and 

 black, somewhat variegated with red. The hindwing, however, is never long-tailed, but evenly scalloped, 

 or at the highest provided with a few pointed prominent teeth. The antenna is short, as in Sericinus; the 

 palpus is long; the abdomen laterally particoloured. — The larva is short and thick, bearing a short fleshy 

 fork behind the head, there l)eing some rows of small setiferous tubercles on the back. In summer on 

 Aristolochia. The pupa is long and slender, being posteriorly pointed; it is fastened with silk by the head 

 and cremaster, there being only occasionally a thread around the centre of the body. — The insects inhabit 

 the Mediterranean countries from Portugal to Persia ; thej' occur in one brood only and tlj^ in the sunshine 

 of the first spring-da\s. Their tlight is stronger than in Sericinus. They are not rare and are fond of 

 sucking at yellow Gompositae. 



T. cerisyi God. (9d). Closely resembling in colour and pattern the cT of Sericinus, being like this cerisyi. 

 spotted with Jilack on a pale yellow ground, the hindwing bearing traces of red near the middle of the 

 costal margin and at the anal angle. Hindwing with only one strongly prominent tooth. Balcan States, 

 Greece and Asia Minor; not so common as polyxena, occuring from April till early June, being still earlier 

 in the southern districts. — The $ varies very much ; specimens which are very strongly spotted with black 

 are sold by dealers as ab. obscurior (9d), in albidior (9e) the ground-colour is white, in ochracea (9e) obscurior. 

 bright yellow, and in pallidior (9d) fallow; in ab. flavomaculata \'eritii the carmine dots are replaced Ijy dots of nlbidior. 

 honey-colour; all these aberrations occur together with ordinary cerisyi. — caucasica Led. (9e) has in l)oth "'' 'j"^.^"' 

 sexes very large, broad, black costal spots on the forewing, the hindwing being sUghtly and almost evenly fiavomacu- 

 scalloped, the middle tooth hardly projecting; in Armenia. — deyrollei Oberth. (9d) has the three teeth lata. 

 before the anal angle of the hindwing prolonged into short tails; in the coast districts of the Black Sea, caucasica. 

 in the whole of Asia Minor, southward to Syria; extremely common, in some places appealing in enormous deyrollei. 

 numbers. — cretica Seh. (9e) occurs on Grete and some Greek islands; a sparsely marked form in which cretica. 

 the three teeth of the hindwing mentioned aliove are indicated only by black curved lines, the edge of the 

 wing not being distinctly excised. Not so common as the preceding. — Larva yellow, brown or reddish, 

 the tubercles being red; from May till Jul}', on Aristolochia. Pupa dust-colour or yellowish grey, varieg- 

 ated with thin Ijlack dashes , especially on the head. — The buttertlies are on the wing on the first warm 

 days of the year at rocky places and the edges of woods. 



T. polyxena Schiff. <& Den. (= hypermnestra Sco^j.' hypsipyle Fabr.). Light yellow, with spots and polyxena. 

 dentate hues , the hindwing bearing red submai'ginal spots. South Europe , from Southern France to the 

 Black Sea, and Asia Minor. — In ab. rumina Ei^j). the black costal spots of the forewing bear red centres, mmina. 

 also on the upperside, while usually such red dots are found only in some places of the underside. This 

 form is not rare in some localities, for instance in the West of the Balcan Peninsula. — Specimens in which 

 the black colour is extended are known as ab. cassandra Hb. {= demnosia Frr., creusa Meig.) (9f); the cassandra. 

 proportional extent of black is, however, individually very variable. Such melanotic specimens occur every- 

 where singly as aberrations, but are found as the only form in some localities, for instance Dalmatia. — 

 ab. ochracea Stgr. {^^ polymnia Mill.) (9f) is the name of individuals in which the light yellow colour is ochracea. 

 replaced by a magnificent dark yellow. Also this form occurs everywhere among the ordinary form, but 

 is in certain places especially plentiful. — ab. meta Meig. {= flavomaculata Schilde, rufescens Oberth., rumina ineta. 

 alba Esp) (9f), however, is everywhere a rare aberration, the red colour of the purple spots being replaced 

 by dark yellow. — In ab. bella Neub. the third costal spot is reduced. — The full-grown larva reddish yellow bella. 

 or black-brown, with pointed setiferous tubercles; in Maj' and June on Aristolochia, especially in moist and 

 warm localities. The statement that the larva feeds also on Quercus ilex is doubtless occasioned by an 

 error of identification. The pupa is very slender, being yellowish grey, marked with brown. 



T. rumina L. (10 a). At once distinguished from pohixena by the totallj^ different underside of the rumina. 

 hindwing, which bears whitish yellow spots at the base. Nearl>' all the costal spots of the forewing are 

 marked with red. The 3 or 4 black parallel cell-bars of polyxeyia are in rmnina enlarged, being separated by 

 thin yellow bands. In Spain and Portugal, also in Morocco and Algiers, but occurring here only in the 

 coast districts in a slightly ditferent form (10 a). — In ab. canteneri Stgr. (10 a), which occurs singly among canteneri. 

 ordinarj' rumina in South Spain and Morocco, the ground-colour is dark yellow, almost orange, the trans- 

 parent apical spot being therefore very prominent, appearing bright silvery. — ab. honnorati Boisd. (10a) honnorati. 

 is the name of a form in which the red colour is very much extended, the spots of the hindwing merging 

 together to an often broad purple-band. This form occurs in South France, especially in the neighbour- 

 hood of Digne, but only very sparingly, the ordinary form of South France being medesicaste ///. (10 a), medesicaste. 

 in which the black spots of the forewing are mostly centred with red, while the red spots of the hindwing 

 remain separate. — Also of these forms melanotic aberrations have been found, that of the Spanish rumina tristis. 

 being named tristis Oberth., while the black form of the French medesicaste is tiartmanni Stdjss. — In liartmauni. 



