BUTTERFLIES OF MESOPOTAMIA. 357 
25th May a male crocews emerged about 10 a.m. on Ist June; and from that 
of 21st June a yellow female croceus emerged about 5 a.m. on 27th June 
(1920). At Kizil Robat, from an egg seen laid on a small yellow flowered trefoil, 
a larva was reared upon the same plant and a male C. croceus resulted. 
Localities.—The butterfly is very common in Mesopotamia, especially about 
patches of lucerne, in vegetable gardens and on slopes where the small yellow 
flowered trefoil grows on the fringes of the plateaux. It is very common in 
March, early April and June. 
Mesopotamia.—Sheikh Saad ; Wadi river near Kut; Amara, Baghdad, Kizil 
Robat, Baiji, Mosul. 
S. Kurdistan.—Jujar (end of November). 
N. Persia.—Karind Valley ; and abundant throughout Europe. 
Genus COLOTIS, Hb. (Teracotus, Swains.) 
C. fausta, Oliv. Seitz. 1.23c. 
Of 31 3,41 Q (13 5,19 Q of these now in the B. M.) examined, Capt. 
Riley notes :— 
‘¢ The series shews very considerable variation in size, depth of colour- 
ation and markings, but, according to the dates on the specimens, this does 
not seem in any way to coincide with any month or months in the year. 
The extreme forms in the direction both of ‘ wetness’ and ‘ dryness’ 
were all taken at Jebel Hamrin (R. Dyala,) within a few days at the beginning 
of July. These include a large and very heavily marked (wet) pair; a 
smaller male in which the marginal markings of the forewing above are 
reduced to a darkening of the extremities of the veins only; females ranging 
in colouration from that of the male to a pale yellowish pink and 1d which, 
but for a faint pink tinge on the hindwings, is pure white due to failure of 
pigment presumably, as the shape and structure of the scales appear to be 
perfectly normal.” 
Buxton took this at Amara from 11th September to 4th December and at 
Shahroban and Baqubah, 29-3lst July; Qasr-i-Shirin, 24th November 
1918. ‘* Rests at night among the yellow-green twigs of Sueda.” 
Abundant in Mesopotamia and North Persia, from the middle of June 
to the end of November. There are two well-marked broods, that of the dry 
season up to mid-October, when the second brood, larger and with darkly 
marked underside appears and is very common, especially at flowering mint 
by water. In September and October 1918 the butterfly was seen migrating 
in considerable numbers. A gynandromorph with left side male, right side 
female, isin the National Collection; it was taken at Amara by Major R. 
Brewitt Taylor, August 3rd, 1916. 
On July 6th eggs were seen to be laid singly upon the upperside of the leaves 
of a round-leaved thorny caper (Capparis spinosa, Ly) which has a very beautiful 
rather large white flower, with long white stamens which turn mauve, and 
curious green fruit about the size of a small lemon, the skin of which splits 
irregularly into three portions each of which curls backwards towards the 
stem exposing a crimson jam-like substance attached to it and in which the 
seeds lie embedded. 
This food-plant not being in leaf earlier than June no wet season brood was 
seen in Spring, when “‘ wet’ forms of other species are about, although a well- 
marked wet-season form appears in large numbers in October as already stated 
Period. June 15th to December 31st. 
Localities.—Mesopotamia.—Basra, Oct. and Nov. Kut, common, ‘ not seen 
until June;” Baghdad ; Banks of Dyala at Jebel Hamrin and Kizil Robat ; 
Khanikin, N. Persia—Seripul, common; Harir, 5,300 ft. very common in Sept 
Kermanshah, Sept. to 10th October scarce. 
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