RHODOSTKOPHIA. By L. B. Prout. 37 



R. terrestraria Led. (3 d) is of similar colour to the preceding (only somewhat browner in tone) but lerrenlrariu. 

 very differently marked. Forewing with an indistmct, rather oblique, slightly curved inner line, a small, not 

 very strongly expressed discal spot, a nearly straight dark outer line parallel witli the distal inargin, and a very 

 faint pale straight line or shade midway between this line and the margin. Hindwing paler, only a not very 

 broad distal border nearly concolorous with the forewing; lines and discal spot wanting. Under surface pale, 

 without markings. Only recorded from Persia. — pellonaria Chr., which represents terrestraria in Transcaspia, pellonaria. 

 differs chiefly in the rather brighter colouring, but weaker markings, and in having the hindwing yellowish or 

 ochraceous. Christoph figures pellonaria with both wings coloured almost as in the calabra group, but the 

 specimens before me suggest that this is exaggerated. Flies in weedy places where there are patches of bu.sh; 

 June, the $ appearing when the ^ is getting worn. 



R. dispar Stgr. (3 d, ^) exhibits more pronounced sexual dimorphism than most of the genus. The J dispar. 

 somewhat recalls terrestraria pellonaria, or still more the unicolorous forms in the calabra group ; bands wanting, dis- 

 cal spots present above and beneath ; imderside mostly yellow, forewing with a slight smoky suffusion costally 

 and again between the median and submedian folds from the base to about two-thirds of the wing. The $, 

 besides having the wings (especially the hindwing) rather narrower, differs in being somewhat paler and having 

 two nearly straight dark transverse lines, the proximal placed about as in badiaria, the distal parallel with 

 and rather near the margin, only at its anterior extremity a little curved proximad; this latter line is sometimes 

 preceded by a band-hke dark shade. Only known from Samarkand and one or two other places in Western 

 Turkestan. Flies in May. Staudinger mentions one abnormality in which one of the middle spurs is shortened 

 on one leg and wanting on the other, thus bringing it near to the species of the following group. 



calabra-group. 



(J hindtibia mtli 3 spurs (except in certain forms of sicanaria). Distal margin of hindwing usually roun- 

 ded. The markings very frequently rose-coloured. 



R. calabra is a very beautiful species, and very interesting on account of the branches into which it has 

 split up and which have given so much trouble to systematists. Those which differ the most definitely in struc- 

 ture are here considered distinct species, although they show extraordinarily little deviation except in a single 

 character, the hindleg of the ^. Zellbr considered that tabidaria, as well as sicanaria, differed sufficiently 

 from calabra to be regarded as a species, and it is quite possible he will be proved correct ; but inasmuch as I 

 have found (in common withLEDERBR, FtrcHS and Staudingbr) that there is some degree of variation m the 

 length of the hair-pencil and of the median spur, and our measurements do not altogether agree with Zellbr's, 

 I feel compelled at present to treat tabidaria as only a local race, while sicanaria on the contrary (together with 

 its subspecies quadricalcarata) can mth confidence be called an mdependent species, calabra and its immediate 

 alhes are easily recognizable by the rosy postmedian band and rosy distal margin of both wings, on a rather 

 bright yellowish (sometimes more olive-tinted) ground-colour. The other European species, vibicaria, has the 

 ground-colour much less yellow and has nearly always three distinct pmk transverse lines, which remain trace- 

 able even when the space between the second and third is more or less filled up into a band. The true calabra 

 can further be readily distinguished by the pecuKar long, thick, club-shaped median spur of the ^ hindtibia, 

 which is placed rather near the terminal spurs ; hindtibia also with a long hair-pencil. The species is distributed 

 and often common in Southern Europe and Asiatic Turkey, and extends into some localities in Southern Central 

 Europe, but apparently only in the warmer valleys; it occurs from May to July, in Andalusia already in April. 

 The flight, as with most Acidaliids, is not long-sustained, the moth soon dropping to the groimd and concea- 

 ling itself in the grass or under thick bushes. The life-history has been described by Fuchs and others. The 

 eggs are firmly attached, are elongate, with lateral depressions, in colour bluish at first, changing to reddish. 

 The larva feeds on Sarothamnus scoparius and probably other allied species. It hibernates when it has reached 

 a length of about 18 — 20 mm. The full-fed larva is yellow-brown or grey, dorsaUy darkened on the middle 

 segments, the dark area containing some light spots; tubercles whitish, setae short, black. It spins a rather 

 large cocoon in moss or on the surface of the earth, changing into a long, slender pupa of about 14 mm 

 length and of a hght yellow-brown colour, with dark dorsal line and honey-yellow wing-cases. — calabra Pet. calabra. 

 (= trifasciata Cyr.) (2 k) is the oldest name for the ordinary form, and must be accepted, as was long ago 

 done by Lbderbr. Zbller, Statjdinger and others have called it by the Hiibnerian name of calabraria, which, 

 however, is merely Petagna's name with an altered ending, so that the two would stand or fall together. As 

 the original specimen was figured from Calabria, Zellbr thought it was possible that it really belonged to the 

 allied sicanaria, but the hindwing as figured is that of a typical calabraria Zell., so that we see no reason 

 whatever for disturbing the synonymy. The form has the yellow ground-colour of both fore- and hindwing 

 usually tinged with olive, the rosy bands usually sharply expressed, the inner band (or line) rarely accompanied 

 by rosy suffusion basewards ; discal spots wanting, or a very small one present on forewing only. , Southern 



