AOIDALIA. By L. B. Peout. 63 



palpus in both sexes shorter. The inner line is obsolete, the outer present but weak, especially in the $. 

 The collar is brown, as in beckeraria, not blackish as in marginepunctata. Under surface whitish, unmarked, 

 only the forewing towards the distal margin tinged with brownish. The $ is smaller and broader-winged 

 than the cj. Istria and Dalmatia. But for the assertion of so eminent a lepidopterist as Dr. Eebel regard- 

 ing the palpus, I should have supposed that this species (which I have not seen) was a form of beckeraria ; 

 in the. palest Sarepta beckeraria the vertex is almost white, though not snow-white. 



A. guancharia Alph. (4 h) is easily distinguished from all the similarly marked species by its peculiar guancharia. 

 coloration. The ground-colour, though slightly variable, is always of a dull grey or reddish grey, strongly 

 and coarsely dusted with fuscous. The distal margin of the hindwing is more crenulate than in the related 

 species. The (J has the antennal fascicles of cilia long, the hindleg rather long and slender, though spurless. 

 The markings are sufficiently shown by our figure. The pale subterminal line of the forewing varies in di- 

 stinctness, but usually shows something of the thickening between the radials which is characteristic of, though 

 not entirely confined to, the marginepunctata-grou.]). Only known from the Canary Islands, where it occurs 

 in March and April and again in July and August. The earlier stages are not known. 



A. marginepunctata Goeze (= conjugata Bkh. = immutaria Hbn. = incanata Hmv. = contiguata margine- 

 Haw. = ? aniculosata Rbr. = puellaria Bdv. = promutata Guen.) (4 h). Whitish grey with a slight or rather punctata. 

 stronger tinge of ochreous, and usually with numerous scattered dark atoms over the entire surface. The lines 

 nearly always commencing from dark costal spots and usually strengthened with spots on the veins; all are 

 bent near the costal margin and incurved behind the cell, the postmedian dentate, the teeth accentuated by 

 the dark vein-spots, which are often prolonged into very short dashes; the postmedian is also moderately 

 incurved between the radials. Cell-spots and terminal dots always strongly black. Under surface more glossy, 

 much more weakly marked, often almost without markings; the forewing greyish or brownish, the hindwing 

 whiter. Exceedingly variable ; a few of the extreme aberrations deserve separate names. Our figure represents a 

 normal form, with the median shade well developed and some dark shading distally to the postmedian. The 

 collar is always black, the abdomen more or less banded with darker and lighter. Hindtibia only moderately 

 thickened, tarsus little shorter than tibia. The egg is laid flat or nearly upright, long oval, flattened at micro- 

 pylar end; strongly ribbed, the longitudinal ribs the stronger, both equal on the flat end; pale straw-colour 

 when first laid, afterwards to the naked eye red, formed by large dense blotches on a pale ground. Larva very 

 long and slender, nearly cylindrical, scarcely tapering anteriorly, segmentation well marked. Pale slaty grey, 

 with a dull olive mediodorsal stripe divided by a very fine pale central line ; spiracles black. Feeds on narrow- 

 leaved plantain, Achillea, Caryophyllaceae and other plants. Pupa smooth and polished, pale brown, the head 

 and anal extremity darker, the wing-cases tinged with green. The moth is double brooded and rests by day 

 on rocks and walls, flying at dusk or later and sometimes visiting flowers or artificial sweets. The colouring 

 certainly varies according to that of the rocks, but not so definitely as to form very well-marked local races. 

 Central and Southern Europe to Central Asia, often common. Very small forms are frequent in S. Europe and 

 Transcaucasia. — ab. pastoraria Joan. (= madoniafca F. Fuchs), described from Caesarea, is a small whitish pastoraria. 

 form of rather general occurrence in most Southern localities (perhaps even forming a local race in some places), 

 the usual markings all present, but the lines and submarginal shades rather ill defined. Fuchs regards it 

 as a local race in Sicily. All the four specimens which I have seen from Lagodechi, Transcaucasia (June, July, 

 August) belong here. — ab. mundata ab. nov. is a very pretty form occurring occasionally on the chalk downs mundala. 

 of Southern England and corresponding to the ab. mundata of Hyposcotis obscurata Schiff., entirely without 

 dark speckling, only the dark lines remaining and therefore standing out very clearly. — ab. orphnaeata orphmteata. 

 F. Fuchs represents the opposite extreme of variation, the wings being blackish all over, though with the black 

 lines and pale subterminal still traceable. Described from the Taunus district. A very extreme example from 

 North Cornwall was figured by me in "The Entomologist", vol 42, p. 1. As in most melanic forms of whitish 

 species, the fringes remain pale. 



A. permutata Stgr. (3 1) is similar to the preceding, but easily distinguished by its ochreous brown permutata. 

 ground-colour, by having the postmedian line of both wings more deeply inbent between the radials and again 

 posteriorly, and followed by a more distinct dark grey band, occupying most of the space between the post- 

 median and the strongly lunulate subterminal, though sometimes weakened between the radials. Collar black. 

 The broad dark belts of the abdomen blacker than in any but the melanic forms of marginepunctata. Only 

 known from the Uliassutai district. — • gnophosaria Leech (5d) of which the type (^ from How-Kow, Tibet, gnophosaria. 

 remains unique, will almost certainly prove to be a much larger, darker form of permutata. Unless the wings 

 be relatively slightly more elongate, I can find no differences but those of size and coloration. The forewing 

 is of a slightly duller brown, its entire distal area and the whole of the hindwing rather strongly infuscated. 

 Taken at an elevation of 3000 m in July or August. From cumulataAlph., which gnophosaria also somewhat 



