Puh.. 17. VI. W13. BREPHOS. By L. B. Protjt. 



1. Subfamily: Brephinae. 



A very small, somewhat isolated subfamily occurring only in the Palearctic and Nearctic Regions, its 

 nearest relative probably the Australian genus Dirce, belonging to the Oenochrominae. Head, thorax, abdomen 

 and legs strongly hairy. Eye small, oval. Eorewing with third and fourth subcostals coincident, or only sepa- 

 rating near apex. Hindwing with second radial weak or obsolescent. 



Only two genera are known, both represented in the Palearctic Region. 



1. Genus: Brepliois Zinch. 



Characters of the subfamily, as given above. Antenna in (J either bipectinate with short olavate bran- 

 ches or nearly simple, ciliated. Hindwing with second subcostal usually stalked, first median connate or just 

 separate. — Larva 16-legged, but with the anterior pairs of prolegs weak, a half -looping gait maintained 

 throughout life. Pupates in moss or bark, or in soft wood, in captivity is very willing to burrow into cork. The 

 pupa sometimes lies over two winters. The moths fly in the sunshine in early Spring, and love to keep .high 

 about the tops of the trees, though occasionally descending, especially in the later part of the day, to feed at 

 sallow catkins. At rest they clasp the branches closely, and are hard to see, presenting the appearance of 

 knots or buds; but they may sometimes be dislodged by shaking the tree. 



B. parthenias L. (1 a). Forewing brown, powdered with shining grey. A grey oval cell-spot, dark-sur- parthenias. 

 rounded, reminding of the Noctuidae, some costal white marks varying in width and intensity, the proximal 

 often continued nearly across the wing. Hindwing orange, with large discal spot, the distal margin and most 

 of the inner-marginal half blackish. Underside of both wings orange, the markings variable. $ above with the 

 white markings generally broader and clearer than in the c?- — In the ab. obscuraaS. nov., the forewing is obseura. 

 darkened, almost unicolorous. This form has been figured, but not described or named, by Havbrkampe'. — 

 The ab. nigra Tutt is a still more extreme form than the preceding, both wings being entirely black, nigra. 

 ■ — ab. nigrobasalis Spuler is characterized by having the entire basal part of the hindwing black. — In nigrohasa- 

 ab. passetii Th.-Mieg the hindwing is infuscated. — In the var. sajana form. nov. from Sajan, Siberia (the ^^^- __ 

 name adopted from the trade lists of Statjdinger), the tone is somewhat fuller and redder, on the whole weakly sajana. ' 

 marked, the pale patch proximally to the cell-spot on the forewing broad but short, the spot itself uniformly 

 dark (not paler-centred as in the type), the cell-spot of hindwing rather small, the wings perhaps slightly shorter 

 and broader than in the typical form. A single specimen described from Kamtchatka by Alpheeaky would 

 appear to be similar to this, but may prove, when material is available for study, to belong to another race, or to 

 the North American representative species infans Moschl. The larvae is green with three darker, finely yellow- 

 edged dorsal lines, lateral line yellow, spiracles black, tubercles yellow, setae small, black. It feeds on birch in May, 

 perhaps in some localities also on beech. The pupa is rather smooth, cylindrical, tapering rapidly at anus, cre- 

 master shorter than broad, not tapering, flat at extremity, the two spines projecting laterally, opposite to one 

 another; colour shining red-brown, spiracular spots darker. The species is widely distributed in Central and 

 Northern Europe and in Siberia, where it reaches eastward to Kamtchatka and Amurland. It is not afraid of 

 the rigour of the Ear North, occurring even in Lapland. 



B. notha Hbn. (= vidua F. nee Poda) (1 a). Similar to the preceding, rather smaller, (J without dis- nothat 

 tinct white patch proximally to the cell-spot, $ with a pale band near base of forewing. Structurally distinct 

 in the pectinated (J antenna (which is simple in parthenias) and in the much shorter stalking of the second sub- 

 costal vein of hindwing. Variation quite inconsiderable; in Central France, on the banks of the Cher, occurs 

 a small form, touranginii Berce, with the forewing slaty grey, its postmedian line little bent, the white patch touranginii, 

 following it distinct, the larva said to live exclusively on Salix monandra. Larva similar to that of parthenias, 

 but characterized by two irregular black streaks or blotches on the face, prothorax more or less marked with 



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