208 POLYGONIA. By H. Stichel. 



— The egg of llie species elliptic, flattened above. The young larva blackish green, witli black liairs, later 

 brown or reddisli, the 6 anterior segments reddish yellow above, the rest of the back white, the body armed 

 with yellow or whil6 thorns. On gooseberry, currant, nettles, hops, elm, hazel, honeysuckle (Ribes, Urtica, 

 Humulus, Ulmus, Corylus, Lonicera). Pupa lirown, with dark spots, the back strongly constricted, laterally 

 with metallic spots; head produced into short points. As stated before, the butterfly appears in 2 or 3 broods, 

 hibernating as imago. Distributed over Europe to North Africa and through Asia to Amurland. The butterfly 

 occurs most frequently at the edges of shrubs and woods, reposes on the leaves or on the ground, with spread 

 cognata. wings, and sucks at the sap exuding from wounded trees. — cognata Moore is the name of the race from 

 the western Himalaya and Kashmir. Somewhat larger than the European form, the lobes of the wings 

 more obtuse; in two broods, which differ from one another. The wet-season form is reddish brown with 

 strongly developed spots, the underside being marmorated with grey-brown and whitish, while the dry-season 

 form is paler, variegated with yellowisli before the edge of both wings, the spots being smaller, ths* underside 



agnicula. more uniform and the edge more sharply dentate. Occurs up to 4500 m. — agnicula Moore (= tibetana Elw., 

 aquicula Stgr.) is but slightly different from the preceding. There are hardly any trenchant characters; the 

 wings are on the whole more acutely angulate and the markings generally are noticeably reduced, the blackish 

 discal band of the hindwing being sometimes absent or but sliglitly indicated. Also this race has two seasonal 

 forms differing in the same way: the wet-season form more brightly coloured, with the darker underside 

 strongly marmorated with grey and brown; the dry-season form paler, with the underside "duller. Himalayas 

 hamigera. (Nepal, Chumbi, Sikkim, Bhutan), in the Nortli-west extending towards Tibet. — hamigera Btlr. (^= fentoni 

 Btlr.) (64a)*) is distinguished by the larger, more elongate, and more strongly sinuate and dentate wings. The 

 ground-colour of the (J is brighter red-brown, with a but slightly paler tint towards the distal margin (jeiUoni), 

 while in the $ the ground-colour is somewhat lighter and the spots smaller. The distal area of the hindwing 

 is in the $ usually somewhat less dark and the Ijrownisli submarginal spots are more broadly lunate than in 



lunigera. the figure, ab. lunigera Btlr. is presumably the wet-season form; the wings are less sharply dentate, the ground- 

 colour is more yellowish (ochreous), all the spots are enlarged, especially those in the hindmarginal area of the 

 forewing, the costal ones confluent, and on the other hand the light distal patches of the ground-colour very 

 small; the underside prominently marmorated with liglit and dark brown, variegated with reddish distally 

 and bearing a median band, the white L or C being usually modified into a J. On account of the great individual 

 variability of the race the distinguishing characters do not hold good throughout. Common in the mountainous 

 districts of Central Japan and in Yesso. Leech obtained the lunigera-iorm from June till August, hamigera 

 only in October. Specimens from Corea and Northern China doubtless belong here. 



gigantea. P. gigantea Leech (64b) is larger than the preceding form; the wings broader with similar outline of the 



margin, and the underside very differently marked, bearing inter alia a conspicuous blue submarginal zigzag 

 band (but feebly marked in our figure). In the nymotypical form, apparently belonging to the wet season, 

 exlensa. also the forewing beneath bears a hook-shaped white mark. The dry-season form probably is ab. extensa Leech 

 (64a, $); recognizable by the more obtusely dentate wings, the paler ground-colour, tiie reduction of the 

 dark markings and by the underside being diffusely marmorated and shaded with lighter tints. West 

 and Central China. The type of gigantea come from Ta-tsien-lu, extensa having been obtained at Kiukiang 

 boiM. in June — July (Leech). — A third form belonging here is bocki Rothsch., with pale yellow ochre ground-colour 

 and much increased black marking; on both wings the light marginal line is suppressed by the marginal band, 

 the outer row of spots of the forewing is modified into a broad irregular band, the hindmarginal spot connected 

 with the apical cell-spot, the double cell-spot enlarged to a broad quadrangle, and the basal area strongly shaded 

 with black. The underside on the contrary is paler, dull olive-yellow, marmorated and pencilled with dark 

 brown, the blue zigzag band being very distinct at the distal margin from the abdominal margin forward, 

 stopping short in the centre of the distal margin. It is impossible to say, if this is a local race or an individual 

 aberration. Central China: I-chang. Oberthur (Bull. Soc. Ent. France 1904) mentions a specimen of gigantea 

 which is nearly all black above and may belong here, from Siaolu. 



egea. P. egea Cr. (= triangulum F., i album Esp., $ = vau album Esp.) (64c). A species similar to c-album 



with the wings more strongly dentate and narrower, and the underside more thinly mormorated and pencilled, 

 the hindwing beneath bearing in the centre a white angle-, hook- or J-mark. The $ flying at the same season 

 as the nymotypical ^ has the wings less sharply dentate, is paler, less prominently and more sparsely marked, 

 and agrees with Esper's rather primitive figure of i'ou album, while i album Esp., which name is usually applied 



*) On PL 64 row a it should i-ead: hamigera U instead ot $, and hamigera ^ instead of tJ. 



