PTYCHOPODA. By L. B. Prout. 99 



pale line. A mountain species, inhabiting the southern Alps, Central Italy and N. Hungary in July and the 

 beginning of August. 



Pt. tnuricata Hufn. (= auroralis Schiff. = variegata F. = sanguinaria Hbn. = auroraria Bkh.) muricata. 

 (4 b). On account of the bright coloration, and its unusual arrangement, this species was separated by Ste- 

 phens as a distinct genus, under the name of Hyria, and in this he was followed by some later systema- 

 tists; but as the name oi Hyria was preoccupied, Anthyria Warr. has been substituted for it. I cannot, how- 

 ever, find any structural characters on which to separate it, and am satisfied that it is a true Ptychopoda. 

 In the typical form the bright yellow ground-colour is rather broadly obscured by purple or rose-colour along 

 the costal margin of the forewing and over nearly the whole of the hindwing, leaving only on the latter a 

 yellow central patch, and there is further a purple or rosy suffusion accompanying the postmedian line of 

 the forewing; the fringe remains yellow on both wings. Forewing with a rosy or purplish antemedian line, 

 both wings with a blue-blackish postmedian line parallel to the distal margin. Under surface similar but 

 rather less bright and with a tendency to develop on the forewing a purplish basal suffusion, while on the hind- 

 wing the yellow ground-colour is in general less suffused with purple than above. The form from E. China 

 and Japan is smaller, and perhaps requires to be named as a separate local race ; but it shows otherwise no 

 constant difference, though I have not seen quite the most extreme aberrations from those localities. Every- 

 where variable in the extent of the purple markings, but only the two extreme forms require designation. 

 — ab. lutescens ab. nov. has the purple or rosy colour restricted to a narrow costal border on the forewing hdescens. 

 and narrow distal band of both wings. It was figured by Kuhn as long ago as 1774 ("Der Naturforscher", 

 Stiick 3), but this figure was not, so far as I can find, provided with a name by Goeze. The form occurs 

 sparingly in several localities. — ab. totarubra Lamhill., shows the opposite extreme, both wings being en- totarubra. 

 tirely purplish, except that usually a small yellow spot remains in the centre of each wing. The fringes 

 are also yellowish, though less bright than in the type. The form is interesting because it tends in one or 

 two localities to become a local variety. In the bogs of the north of England, at least, it is the prevalent form, 

 even the less extreme examples havmg more of the purple colour (and this colour rather duller) than the ty- 

 pical, South British form. Pt. muricata is locally common in Europe, though not reaching the most northerly 

 or most southerly parts; occurs also in Armenia, across China, and in Eastern Siberia, Korea and Japan. It 

 inhabits marshy or damp places and, like many brightly-coloured species, is fond of flying in the sunshine, 

 although the time of day seems to vary in different localities. It also flies at night, and may then be attrac- 

 ted by a strong light. The larva is moderately slender, rather rugose, tapering anteriorly; head small; body 

 brown or grey, anteriorly and posteriorly more ochreous; dorsal line double, blackish, very fine and faint 

 anteriorly, thickening into a series of paired curved dashes on the 2. — 6. abdominal segments; spiracles 

 black; ventral surface darker than dorsal, with a pale central line. Pupa slender, cylindrical, smooth; dull 

 pale ochreous, the wing-cases outlined in black. Imago June — ^August. Probably earlier in the warmest lo- 

 calities; I have a specimen from the Chusan Islands dated 29 May. ^ antennal joints thickened, with 

 long ciliation; hindleg slender. 



Pt. dimidiata Hufn. (= scutulata Schiff. = scutata F. = lividata Haiv. nee CI.) (4 c). An easily dimidiata. 

 recognized species, especially if the structural characters be taken into consideration. In general the series 

 of dark spots (sometimes somewhat confluent) in the posterior half of the distal area of the forewing, but 

 never extended to the anterior half, are quite distinctive, and even if occasional aberrations of other species 

 should approach this pattern, dimidiata could still be separated by the shape of the hindwing, which has the 

 distal margin somewhat concave between the radials and again between the second median and the anal angle ; 

 in the cJ also by the antenna, which has the joints angularly projecting and the fascicles of cilia strong. Hind- 

 tibia in cJ short, fringed with hair; tarsus over one-half its length. Only moderately variable, chiefly in size 

 and in the degree of development of the distal blotches. The ground-colour, normally whitish ochreous, 

 is occasionally almost white and occasionally somewhat tinged with reddish. — ab. delictata ab. nov. entirely delictata. 

 lacks the characteristic dark distal blotches of the forewing, the distal area being uniform throughout, with 

 the subterminal line scarcely indicated by faint shading on either side. Except in the shape of the hind- 

 wing and in the dentate-fasciculate ^ antenna this form rather recalls a large extarsaria. A rather extreme 

 example of it is figured by Barrett, from the Porritt collection, with the lines more broken up into dots. — 

 roseata Trfo". is a rufescent or rosy form which has just been described from Sardinia; the black dots are roseata. 

 minute but distinct; the blotch near the anal angle is suffused with violaceous. Aritzo in July and bred in 

 September from ova. — • The egg of dimidiata is oval with minute depressions on its surface; it is whitish 

 at first, changing to a reddish colouring later. The larva is slender, flattened, tapering anteriorly; skin rugose, 

 transversely folded, lateral carination developed; pale ochreous with double dark dorsal line which is faint 

 anteriorly (except on the head), strong posteriorly; subdorsal line brown, on middle segments indicated only 

 by pairs of dots at the incisions; on the 1. to 5. abdominals pale oblique lines between the dorsal and sub- 



