' ■ ■ PTYCHOPODA. By L. B. Peoot. 109 



only strong at the costa, where it arises near the postmedian ; discal dot sharply expressed, black or blackish ; 

 distal margin with an interrupted blackish line ; fringe dotted with black opposite the veins. Hindwing with- 

 out the first line ; discal dot placed distally to the median. Fore wing beneath infuscated at the base ; the lines 

 and discal dots sometimes distinct, especially in the $. The egg is ellipsoid, flattened at the sides, with 

 a central depression; surface marked with small irregular shallow polygonal, rounded or oval depressions; 

 white, changing to orange. Larva shaped about as that of cervantaria: moderately elongate, attenuated 

 anteriorly from the fifth abdominal, carinated laterally, segment-incisions well marked, skin moderately folded; 

 head small; body with dorsal area ochreous, ventral brown, lines hardly distinct: dorsal very fine, pale, 

 bordered with brown, which widens so as to form dark marks at the incisions and a little beyond the middle 

 of the middle segments; lateral yellowish white, especially distinct anteriorly; ventral fine, pale, edged with 

 blackish brown near the incisions; tubercles not very distinct except the dorsal, which are dark brown; setae 

 very short; spiracles brown-ringed. Feeds on dead leaves and detritus, but seems difficult to rear. Pupa unde- 

 scribed. Imago double-brooded, appearing in May — June and August — September. Gafsa, Tunis. Only 

 known to me from the description. 



Pt. cervantaria is a rather variable species, separable into two principal races according to the ground- 

 colour. The form of the wings and the general arrangement of the markings associate it mth the preceding 

 group of species, though the fore wing is perhaps a little narrower and more pointed than the average. The 

 pale ground-colour is moderately dusted with dark atoms; the lines are present, starting from dark spots on . 

 the costa, the pale subterminal is accompanied by some dark shading proximally; the first line is curved, 

 blackest and thickest on the veins; the median inbent posteriorly; the postmedian marked with dark teeth 

 on the veins; cell-spots distinct; distal margin with thick, elongate interneural marks. Under surface more 

 glossy, quite weakly marked. (J antenna and hindleg about as in mauritanica. The larva is elongate, ta- 

 pering anteriorly, the head small, the skin-folds marked, the lateral ridge developed; clay-colour, nearly without 

 markings; dorsal band broad, pale ochreous yellow, sometimes darkened on the thoracic and first abdominal 

 segments; lateral line fine and undulate, a little paler than the ground-colour; ventral area more or less 

 strongly slate-grey, with a pale medio-ventral line which broadens on each segment to an elongate lozenge- 

 shaped mark; spiracles small, whitish, encircled with brown. Feeds, at least in captivity, on Alyssum. Pupa 

 moderately elongate, generally yellowish green, with the head, abdominal extremity and wing-veins marked 

 in reddish brown. The moth is double-brooded. — cervantaria Mill. (3 f) is of an ochreous or yellowish cervantaria. 

 tone and is found in S. France (Collioure) and Catalonia. — depressaria St^r. (3 f), which represents it in Sou- depressaria. 

 thern Spain and North Africa and seems the much commoner form, is whitish grey with scarcely any tinge 

 of yellow and thus presents a very different appearance, as is well shown in our figures. This pale form 

 rather nearly resembles some forms of eburnata but has the lines weaker, the costal spots not so large and strong, 

 the one at the commencement of the median shade placed rather further distad, the white blotches into 

 which the subterminal line expands not quite so strong, and some other slight differences. 



Pt. incisaria Stgr. (3g, {J$). I have slightly altered the position of this species from that assigned incisaria. 

 to it by Staudinger in order to bring it nearer to striata Schrank, to certain forms of which it bears an ex- 

 ceedingly close resemblance. Coloration and general scheme of markings both above and beneath altogether 

 as in that species. Shape of forewing also very similar, but with slightly sinuous distal margin, foreshadow- 

 ing the form which becomes so distinctive on the hindwing. Hindwing with distal margin crenulate, strongly 

 excised between the radials and more shallowly between the first median and the hinder angle, which latter 

 sometimes appears slightly lobed. In the markings the most obvious distinction is the presence of a rather 

 large dark costal spot at the point of origin of the median shade on the forewing. A close examination 

 shows also several slight differences in the course of the lines, the pale subterminal of the hindwing in 

 particular tending to follow the bends in the shape of the distal margin. The dark shading distally to the 

 postmedian line is more bjoken up into spots. Collar not dark-coloured. ^ hindtarsus very short, much 

 more so than in seriata. The (^ is usually similar to the figured $; the figured J", lent by Herr Pungeler 

 (bred from Biskra), shows an unusually pale aberration. The characteristic incisions in the distal margin 

 of the hindwing are not brought out in either figure. Egg ellipsoid, with regular, rather shallow poly- 

 gonal depressions, not arranged in lines; whitish at first, becoming blotched with rose-colour. Larva tapering 

 anteriorly, carinated laterally, segment-incisions rather deep, skin moderately folded, hardly rugose except 

 the anterior and posterior segments; ochreous, more or less reddish, with vague brownish lines; dorsal divided 

 by a fine pale line, little distinct even anteriorly; subdorsal better indicated on the first 4 or 5 segments; 

 carina pale yellowish ochreous, followed by a blackish brown band; ventral surface paler clay-colour with 

 a geminate median line forming some small lozenges; tubercles very small, brownish, not prominent, setae 

 very short; head as wide as prothorax, concolorou*, but spotted with brown. Feeds on low plants, accepting 

 fresh or withered leaves. Pupa rather short, yellowish grey with rows of dark brown dorsal spots and with 

 dark wing-veins; cremastral bristles normal, incisaria was described from Southern Portugal but has since 



