1886.] MR. H. J. ELWES ON THE GENUS PARNASSIUS. 29 



with p. discobolus, jacquemonti, and rhodius, and differs from hima- 

 layensis iu having the red markings much more strongly ringed with 

 black. The pouch of the one fresh female I possess is quite like 

 that of P. delius, small and much more covered with hair than in 

 P. apollo, and the abdomen of this female is as hairy as that of the 

 male, a character which seems very unusual in the genus. 



The type, as figured by Eversmann, like those from the mountains 

 of Khokand, is an insect with much fewer black scales on the wings 

 than those from the Alatau, which are also less marked with red 

 ocelli. The spot at the base of the hind wing above, a character 

 which is principally relied on by Honrath to separate P. rhodius, is 

 variable, as in other species of the genus, but does not appear in 

 P. discobolus. In P. himalayensis it is often found, but more often 

 is not visible on the upper side. 



P. actius was discovered with delphius and clariiis probably in the 

 Tarbagatai (or, as Dr. Staudinger thinks, in the Alatau) by Schrenck, 

 and remained almost unknown until a few years ago, when it was 

 collected in some quantity by Haberhauer in the Alatau, near Lepsa. 

 Later he also found it in the Sultan Hazret Mountains south-east of 

 Samarkand, and in greater abundance on the northern slopes of the 

 Alai Pamir, south of Osch, in Khokand. 



Alpheraky also found it uncommon in the Thian Shan, at from 

 9000 to 13,000 feet elevation; and Grumm-Grshimailo found it 

 near Katta-Karamuk, and at Karasu on the north side of the Ters- 

 agar Pass, which crossess the Trans-alai Mountains of Karategin at 

 an elevation of 10,000 feet. In the former place, which seems a 

 wonderfully rich collecting-ground, P. discobolus, mnemosyne, and 

 romanovi also occurred ; in the latter P. staudingeri, romanovi, and 

 another. This region seems to be more rich in species of Parnassius 

 and Colias than any other in the world ; for at Kizil-art, on the 

 western Pa;nir, which the same energetic collector also visited, he 

 obtained, along with P. actius, a new one, which he calls P. ccesar, a 

 form of P. delius 1, and another, thus obtaining no less than nine 

 species of this genus in a single journey, besides six or seven of 

 Colias, and many new and interesting LyccenideB, Erehioe, and others. 



P. ACTIUS, var. discobolus. 



Parnassius discobolus, Stgr. Berl. ent. Zeit. 1882, p. 182, t. i. 

 figs. 1-3. 



P. e.orybas, var. discobolus, Alph. Lep. Kuldja, p. 16 (1881). 



P. (corybas, Fisch. ?, var. ?) discobolus minor, Stgr. Stett. ent. Zeit. 

 1881, p. 275. 



This form was first found in great numbers by Haberhauer in the 

 Alatau, and later also very abundantly by Alpheraky in the Thian Shan 

 range. Both Staudinger and Alpheraky in their descriptions go into 

 many details of the markings, number of ocelli, and other peculiarities 

 of tliis insect (which is extremely variable both in size and colour) 

 in their endeavours to show that it is distinct from the somewhat 

 mythical species P. corybas, Fischer ; but neither of them gives any 

 constant characters by which it may be separated from P. actius and 



