1 



vidual aberrations cannot at present be decided. North of 

 the Italian peninsula are certainly found three species, and 

 probably the Pyrenaean and Basses Alpes form, hitherto 

 united with alpina, will prove to be a fourth. 



Zygaena alpina, Berce, is confined to the Alps proper, Savoy 

 and the Pyrenees (if the latter proves distinct, alpina would 

 be restricted to the Aljis and Savoy). 



Zygaena astragali, Bkh. = hippocrepedis, Hbn., is the 

 Central European species of the iransalpina group and is 

 found in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, etc. Bork- 

 hausen s name dates from 1793, and so has twelve years 

 priority over Hubner's of 1805. 



Zygaena centralis, Oberth., is the name that must stand 

 for the French species, which so far can be divided into three 

 subspecies as follows : centralis centralis, Oberth. ; centralis 

 occidentalis, Oberth. ; and centralis provincialis , Oberth. We 

 have too little material from Central Europe to find out 

 whether there are more subspecies than one treated of under 

 astragali, but there is little doubt that there are several. 



We hope later to publish a complete revision of this group 

 of Zygaenae founded on the characters of the genitalia, but 

 we thought these notes ought to be made public as soon as 

 possible. 



Appended are the senior author's notes on the genitalia. 



Zygaena taurica, Dz., is a distinct species and not a race of 

 any of the preceding ones. 



Notes on the Genital Armature. 



In the genitalia of the Zygaenidae the form of the tegumen 

 and the armature of the aedoeagus are perhaps the most 

 important characters, they are certainly the characters where 

 the differences are most easily seen; there are, however, 

 minor distinctions in the harpagines or clasps, but as these 

 organs are generally large and broad the difference in shape 

 is not so readily seen. 



Z. filipendulae, L., PI. A, fig. 1, has the tegumen extended 

 into two long narrow digitate sclerites, the armature of the 

 aedoeagus is mostly confined to the upper part of the sheath, 

 and consists of a row of long, strong, tusk-like dentitions, with 



