( *1 ) 



chopatra have been reared from the same parent, appears to 

 rest on a passage in "Westwood's ' British Butterflies and 

 their Transformations,' 1841, p. 13, in which he mentions 

 that M. Boisduval had informed him ' that he had reared 

 G. rhamni and G. cleopatra from eggs deposited by the female 

 of the former.' He adds a reference to Boisduval's Hist. 

 Nat. Lepid., vol. i, p. 602, where, however, I find no state- 

 ment about synepigony, though the author points out that 

 the difference in shape which usually characterises G. cleopatra 

 as compared with G. rhamni is not of constant occurrence. 

 Specimens of G. cleopatra occasionally observed in Great 

 Britain have doubtless been introduced ; but Curtis's figure 

 of G. rhamni with slight orange markings may probably 

 represent a really British individual. On this pait of the 

 question, however, it will be allowed that Boisduval's alleged 

 experience requires confirmation. As to syngamy, we have 

 the interesting testimony of Mr. Bagwell-Purefoy ('Entomolo- 

 gist,' 1902, p. 304), who found that home-reared G. rhamni $ , 

 emerging in August, were persistently courted by G. cleopatra 

 S , ' though whether any results were obtained is more than 

 doubtful.' I would suggest that the reluctance of the female 

 G. rhamni which Mr. Bagwell-Purefoy speaks of may have 

 been due to the fact that this form, at any rate in the British 

 Islands, does not pair until after hibernation. 



"In favour of the view that G. rhamni and G. cleopatra ave 

 entirely distinct, we have the fact, explicitly stated by the 

 last-named obsei'ver, that his G. cleopatra reared in Ireland 

 under natural conditions were double-brooded, whereas G. 

 rhamni is well known to be single-brooded, at least in a large 

 part of its range. There is also the difference in contour, 

 G. rhamni being much more acuminate than G. cleopatra. 

 The food-plant, again, is said to be different. It would seem, 

 however, that not one of these points is absolutely free from 

 doubt. It is positively stated that G. cleopatra is single- 

 brooded in some localities ; and if it should turn out that, as 

 has been asserted, G.farinosa is a second brood of G. rhamni 

 in the eastern Mediterranean subregion, the supposed dis- 

 tinction would break down on both sides. Then with regard 

 to contour, though the difference is usually well marked, it is 



