238 ' [October, 



STEAY NOTES ON SOME SOUTH AFRICAN LEPIDOPTEEA. 

 BY C. a. BAREETT, F.E.S. 



I have been lately much interested in the remarks made on the 

 habits of insects in South Africa by a sister who, with her young 

 niece and nephews, devotes much time to collecting Lepidoptera for 

 me, sending over some new and very many interesting species, a few 

 of which are also European, and even Britisli. I am not so selfish as 

 to desire to keep the information quite to myself. 



Deiopeia pulchella, L. — " I was going to tell you about the pink- 

 spotted white moths which you say you have never seen at large. We 

 went out for a walk one day after a heavy rain among the lands (culti- 

 vated grounds), and in one which had not been ploughed, and was covered 

 with w^eeds in blossom, there were many common butterflies enjoying 

 the bright sunshine. One of us (I think Harry) noticed that one of 

 the " small whites " looked a little different. On netting it we found 

 that it was one of these pretty moths, and we got a good many others. 

 They are wonderfully like the white butterflies when flying, but alight 

 very differently. They are seldom (if ever) found except in these 

 old 'lands.'" 



The numerous specimens sent present exactly the same degree of 

 variation in the proportion of pink or black spotting observable in 

 European specimens. One extremely pretty form, which seems rare, 

 has the black dots replaced by oblique black streaks, forming in- 

 complete transverse lines. The ground colour also varies occasionally 

 to cream colour or even pale ochreous ; but I see no tendency toward 

 pectination of the antennae, such as is said to occur in some parts 

 of Asia. 



PelocJiita vitrea, Plotz. — This is a very curious and beautiful 

 species ; the fore- and hind-wings being, with the exception of the 

 margins, nearly transparent and glassy, the scales with whicb they are 

 clothed being extremely minute and thinly scattered ; the margins, 

 however, and especially those of the fore-wings, are opaque and of a 

 soft yellow-brown ; the thorax similar, but dotted with black ; antennae 

 long and slender. The portion which gives this insect its striking 

 appearance is the abdomen, of which the whole dorsal portion is 

 broadly and richly purplish-scarlet of a most gorgeous hue, the legs 

 partaking of the same colour. Palpi remarkably small and slender, of 

 the same brilliant colour, but dotted with black, the tongue horn- 

 coloured, strong, and in no way sheltered by the palpi. Attention 

 was the more drawn to this species from a remark that it affected the 



