NOTES ON THE GENUS LYC^NA. 83 



whitish to pale brown, and from pale to dark brown in the 

 female. This colour never passes beyond the hind-marginal 

 crescents. The margins of all the wings, external to the 

 crescents, are white, with a row of ill-defined dots. As has been 

 adverted to, the under side of Irish male icarus is sometimes pale 

 fulvous brown, and the margins always pale ; in some instances 

 even white. 



Among my Ventnor icarus and var. icarinus are specimens 

 "with orange markings on the under side paler and less distinct 

 than in any example of hylas I have seen. On the other hand, 

 one specimen of hylas from Switzerland has the orange crescents 

 on the under side of posterior wings quite as bright, though not 

 quite so large, as in the Irish icarinus, figured, PI. II., fig. 4. 

 With regard to the black spots on the under side of fore wings, 

 Swiss hylas has certainly a slight advantage over Irish icarus ; 

 but some of the examples of kylas from Vienna must give way 

 both to Irish and some English icarus in this matter. Then the 

 white discoidal spot on the hind wings of hylas cannot be 

 considered as a character peculiar to this species, as we find 

 the same thing in most Scotch, Irish, and a few English 

 examples of icarus, to say nothing of hellargus and corydon. 



Larva. — The following extracts from Dr. Lang's* descriptions 

 of hylas and icarus will show how closely similar the larva of the 

 former is to that of the latter, as regards the more prominent 

 characters : — 



Hylas. — Head, black ; ground colour, dark green ; dorsal 

 line, darker green ; lateral streaks, yellow. 



Icarus. — Head, black ; ground colour, green or olive ; dorsal 

 line, darker shade ; lateral streaks, lightish green. 



Dr. Lang says that the larva of hylas feeds on the flowers of 

 Melilotus officinalis. Mr. Kanet also gives this plant, and adds 

 trefoil. Looking over a list of plants upon which the larva of 

 icarus has been found, or which it has been known to eat in 

 confinement, I note that one or two species of each of the following 

 genera of Leguminosse are included : — Ononis, Medicago, Tri- 

 folium, Lotus, Astragalus, and Ornithopus. Thus we find that 

 both hylas and icarus aifect Trifolium ; and I think that icarus 

 would not object to Melilotus. On the other hand, we have no 



* ' Ehopalocera Europe.' + ' European Butterflies.' 



