H4 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



with black, with a lateral white .-tripe, above which 

 is a red one. Feeds on Iberia pmnata. VI., VII. 

 (Boisd.) 



a. var. bellezina Boisd. Ind. p. 2. Lg. B. E. 

 p. 38. Smaller than typical tagis. F.w. with 

 larger white spots at apex, disc, spot narrower. 

 U.S. h.w. ground colour of a lighter and more 

 yellowish-green, with more numerous and well- 

 defined white spots. Hab. The Basses Alpes and 

 other parts of South-East France. At Digne, at 

 about 2,000 feet altitude, it is common in many 

 places. IV., V. 



b. var. insularis. Stgr. Cat. 1871. p. \. Apes of 

 f.w. paler, spots of underside very small, disc, spot 

 f.w. narrower than in bellezina. Hab. Corsica and 

 Sardinia. This and the last variety are local races 

 of -1. tagis, or else two forms of a distinct species. 

 They always seem to me to differ from typical 

 tagis almost as much as does A. belia. 



c. (?var.) pecM Stgr. B.H. p. 135. 32 — 33 mm. 

 Seems to be a small and dark form of .1. tagis. 

 Hab. Lambessa, Algeria. IV.. V. 



d. ('var.) tomyris Christ oph. E.H. p. 135. 

 35 — 36 mm. A form described as occurring at 

 Askabad, Caucasus ; with greyish-green coloration 

 in place of dark-green or yellowish. I have not 

 seen specimens of these two latter forms ; they 

 may be distinct species. 



(To be continued?) 



TWO NEW VARIETIES OF 

 BUTTERFLIES. 



Pieris Rapae, var. Rossii. 



~DEIXG a member of the Italian Entomological 

 ■*-* Society, I have received the li Transactions " 

 for April-June, 1900, and have been interested in 

 a catalogue of Professor P. Stefanelli, a zealous 

 collector of Lepidoptera in Tuscany. He describes 

 therein a new variety of the common garden white 

 butterfly, Pieris Ta2)ae. Thinking that the readers 

 of Science-Gossip who. like myself, study the 

 articles on the " Butterflies of the Palaearctic 

 Region " by Dr. H. C. Lang, would like particulars 

 of this new variety, which must be added to the 

 list of varieties of P. rapae given by H. C. Lang in 

 Sciexce-Gossip for July, 1900, 1 translate Professor 

 P. Stefanelli's description : — 



' ; Pieris rajme var. rossii Stefanelli. I have here 

 separated from var. mannii, giving it a different 

 name, this form, which is really a summer modi- 

 fication of that variety, because of the marked 

 characters of the 2 sex. 



" Male. — Size of summer brood of typical P. rajme, 

 i.e. much larger than that of var. mannii. External 

 margin of f.w. more rounded than in that variety. 

 Upper side : All the markings much larger than in 

 var. mannii and deep black. The medium spot on 

 f.w. nearly always with external margin slightly 



concave and with the rest of the margin shading off 

 into the white. Wings white at the base. Under 

 side : First black spot of f.w. very dark and 

 generally square or rectangular. H.w. bright 

 yellow slightly suffused with brown. 



li Female. — Corresponds in size to typical 2 of 

 summer brood. External margin as in $ . Upper 

 side : markings of f.w. deep black as in $ , but 

 larger. The triangular apical spot with the internal 

 border very convex. First spot markedly square 

 and often indented ; it generally is joined to the 

 external border by one or two black streaks, some- 

 times joined by a slight black shading. The second 

 spot is nearly always lunular with its concave side 

 turned towards the base. Underside: first spot of 

 f.w. shaped somewhat the same as on upper side. 

 Tip and a portion of external margin of a fine yolk 

 yellow. H.w. of the same colour slightly suffused 

 with black. 



"Habitat. — Near Florence. Common enough in 

 July and at the beginning of August on the hill of 

 Fiesole, where in 1875 I found it for the first time 

 and where thenceforth I have captured it every 

 year. A fine Q which I observed with pleasure in 

 the collection of Mr. Roger Verity was by him 

 found near the Forte dei Marmi, near Pisa, 

 July 27th, 1899." 



I may add to Professor Stefanelli's description 

 that the general aspect of P. rapae var. rossii 2 is 

 similar to that of Pieris clieirantJd 2 . I have this 

 summer made a special study of var. rossii in the 

 locality near Pisa, in the pine woods, and have had 

 the fortune of capturing a good number of fine 

 specimens. 



I should be very glad, as far as I am able as a 

 private collector, to send specimens to students of 

 Rhopalocera in exchange for other species ; and if 

 any one finds specimens corresponding to my de- 

 scription in other parts of the world, I should be 

 grateful to them if they would let me know, as 

 well as of the variety of the Clouded Yellow (Colias 

 edusa). 



Professor Stefanelli also describes a new form of 

 Colias edusa as follows : — 



Colias Edusa ab. £ faillae (Stefanelli). 



Male. — The same as typical C. edusa ; but with 

 the antemaxginal stripes of both the anterior and 

 posterior wings streaked with yellow along all the 

 nervules which cross them. 



Habitat. — Found sometimes often and some- 

 times rarely near Florence from April to November, 

 in company with Colias edusa. 



Roger Verity. 



1 Via Leone Decimo, Flortnee, Italy. 



University College. London. — The Senate 

 of this College has appointed, as Principal. Professor 

 George Carey Foster. B.A., F.R.S., F.C.S. He is 

 a Fellow of the College and Professor of Physics, 

 and has been member of the Senate and Examiner 

 of the London Universitv. 



