NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 223 



Trictena identifies with Hepialus, the antennal structure of 

 Trictena is distinctly a specialized Porina ; wing-scales, Trictena 

 resembles Hepialus {Charagia). Pupal characters of Trictena 

 are those of Porina, especially in regard to the spines of seventh 

 abdominal segments. (MSS. Quail.) 



Palmerston North, New Zealand : May 20th, 1900. 



NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 



Lyc^na pheretes and its Allies in the Sikkim Himalayas.— 

 In the July number of the ' Entomologist,' p. 199, Mr. Harcourt-Bath 

 describes two new forms as Lyccena sikkima and Lycmia altissima, and 

 has been good enough to send me specimens of them to compare. I 

 have described in P.Z.S., 1882, p. 402, L. pheretes var. asiatica, from 

 two male and four female specimens received from native collectors, 

 whom I sent to the Chumbi Valley, which were probably taken on or near 

 the Jeleplah Pass, at about the same elevation as Mr. H. -Bath's, 

 which were taken in the Lachoong valley. Of his three forms, no. 1, 

 which he thinks is the same as mine, is larger, and m the male of a 

 brighter blue than in European L. pheretes, and resembles in tint males 

 from Ladak ; L. lehana, Moore, which are smaller ; and others, from 

 E, Tibet, sent me by Messrs. Leech and Oberthiir, which are larger. 

 No. 2, which Mr. Bath calls L. sikkima, is just like some of my var. 

 asiatica, and, though of much duller blue, is, I think, only an extreme 

 form of it. Mr. Bath says " aberrations were found somewhat inter- 

 mediate between the two." Of no. 3, which he calls L. altissima, he 

 sent me two females ; the first, which agrees with his description of 

 altissima, male, is a female of his sikkima, with a good deal of blue gloss 

 on the upper side. I have a very similar specimen of L. pheretes, female, 

 from the Hindu -Kush mountains, and find the blue gloss more or less 

 present in several Asiatic and a few European female L. pheretes. The 

 other specimen is just like my females of var. asiatica, except that the 

 pale discal spot, as in the first specimen, is prominent, as in some female 

 L. pheretes from Europe and Asia. I have, therefore, no doubt that 

 these three forms are all referable to L. pheretes ; and, if a separate 

 name is wanted (which I rather doubt), lehana, Moore, is the oldest. — 

 H. T. Elwes. 



Lyc^na pheretes, etc. — I must apologise for troubling you to 

 rectify an error [ante, p. 200) which was owing to a slip of the 

 memory and want of precaution in not examining the genitalia, as I 

 find that the pale dimorphic variety of the female of L. altissima (mihi) 

 was described as the male, whereas the latter is blue, but of a duller 

 tint than that of the male of L. sikkima (mihi), with which it unfortu- 

 nately got mixed up at the time of setting. It is, of course, merely a 

 matter of opinion whether the above should be considered local varieties 

 of, or distinct species from, L. pheretes, their nearest ally ; but, per- 

 sonally, I prefer to consider all local forms as distinct species, provided 

 their morphological characters are sufficiently distinct. — W. Harcourt* 

 Bath. 



