THE LIFE-CYCLE OF PENTHINA SOROCULANA, ZETT. 179 



hind wings above a uniform dark brown, marked with black and 

 white as in chrysippus. Underside: Fore wing dark brown, the yellow 

 ground-colour showing only in the apical area and at the inner 'angle, 

 marked as in chrysippus : hind wing as in chrysippus. 



Described from 2 $ $ and 3 2 ? bred at Aswan and in coll. 

 auct., December, January and February. 



The above aberration differs from f. cratippus, Fldr., in that 

 the dark brown colouring extends evenly over all the upper-side. 

 Beneath it resembles cratippus. I have never taken it wild but 

 have bred it not uncommonly from late December till early 

 February, namely during our cold weather. I have bred over 

 3000 chrysippus during the last two and a half years, and 

 invariably found that the cold-weather broods produced a large 

 percentage of dark specimens, sometimes as many as 35 per cent, 

 being the f. cratippus, whilst spring and autumn broods seldom 

 produce more than 5 per cent, dark specimens, and summer 

 broods are always lightly coloured. 



2. Danais chrysippus, L., ab. candidata, ab. nov. 



$. Antennae black. Head black marked with white as usual. 

 Eyes dull dark red. Thorax black with a white central stripe. 

 Abdomen above ash-grey ; beneath light grey ; marked with white as 

 in chrysippus. Wings both above and below of a pale whitish-buff 

 ground-colour; the costal and basal areas of the fore wings grey, the 

 wings having the apical patches and margins black marked with 

 white as in chrysippus, the veins light grey. 



Described from a male in coll. auct. bred Aswan, Egypt, 

 January, 1922. Probably occurs rarely everywhere amongst 

 typical specimens. 



Aswan, Egypt. 



THE LIFE-CYCLE OF PENTHINA SOROCULANA, 



ZETT. 



By W. G. Sheldon, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



The life-cycle of this, in certain districts, common species, is 

 very little known, and, so far as I am aware, a reliable descrip- 

 tion of the larva even does not exist. Barrett speaks of it— 

 " larva hardly described." Dr. Chapman says, " it is a yen- 

 active green larva, feeding on birch between leaves flatly united, 

 in August, September, and October." Machin says, "it spins 

 up between two united leaves and lies in pupa during the 

 winter." Kennel, 'Pal. Tort.,' gives similar short particulars. 

 These details are correct so far as they go, but they do not go 

 very far, and as in June, 1921, at Lochinver in Sutberlandshne 

 I captured a female, she was put up for eggs, with the result 

 that* I made the following observations on the early stages : 



