112 



PTYOHOPOBA. By L. B. Pkout. 



cossuraia. Pt. cossurata Mill. (3 g) has been united with the dark forms of seriata, but if Pitngeler has correctly 



identified it is certainly a good species. He writes me as follows concerning cossurata: "The single known 

 specimen, a $, came from the small island of Pantellaria (off Sicily), which is of volcanic origin; the present 

 specimens were taken on Mount Etna. Millie re, who considered the species a Eupithecia, has not described 

 and figured it very well; worn specimens however, in which the markings become paler and more indistinct, 

 agree quite well with the figure. I think the determination can be accepted without much hesitation". Struc- 

 ture about as that of camparia and sodaliara; wings ample, distal margin of hindwing strongly convex, only 

 very feebly excised (or merely flattened) between the radials and from first median to anal angle. Collar 

 deep brown. The deep colouring of the wings on the whitish ground (well shown in our figure) gives it a very 

 distinctive appearance, perhaps only, in this group, approached in albitorquata napoleon and obliquaria. The 

 antemedian and median lines of the forewing arise from large blackish costal spots, the postmedian from a rather 

 smaller one; the latter follows a course intermediate between camparia and libycata, being sometimes broken 

 distad along the 1. radial vein. A strong dark band borders the subterminal proximally. A thick black ter- 

 minal line is interrupted by white spots on the veins. Fore^ving beneath infuscated, hindwing paler, showing 

 the lines and cell-spot. A succession of broods occurs. 



scriala. Pt. seriata Schrank {= incanata Schiff. nee L. = moniliata Bkh. nee Schiff. = virgularia Hhn. 



nee virgulata Schiff. = vicinata Wrnbg.) (id). An extremely variable species, ranging from almost pure 

 white forms without markings or with well expressed lines to unicolorous black-grey forms. The vertex of the 

 head remains whitish in all the forms, the collar dark. The lines, when present, do not arise from enlarged 

 costal spots, though not infrequentlv the costal extremity of the lines is a little blacker than the rest. The 

 first hne of the forewing is angled on the subcostal vein or at least strongly bent; it is thickened with dark 

 marks on the veins. The median shade is thicker, not rarely rather strongly developed, often, on the con- 

 trary, quite obsolete even in forms in which the lines are sharply marked; it usualty touches the cell-spot 

 on the forewing and is always proximal to it on the hindwing. The postmedian is fine and grey, not itself 

 conspicuous but marked with strong, coarse black spots on the veins; it stands rather near the distal mar- 

 gin and is incurved between the radials, then outcurved ; the form of this line is best shown on the right fore- 

 wing in our figure and may be compared to that which occurs in a higher degree of development in calu- 

 netaria. The pale subterminal line is slightly more strongly bent (or angled) inwards between the radials; 

 it is often almost indistinguishable an account of the lack of dark shading accompanying it, but the dark 

 shading may also be moderately or even very strong, sometimes almost filling the distal area and forming 

 a dark border to the wings; this dark shading scarcely ever shows a tendency to break up into spots, herein 

 differing markedly from incisaria, catnparia, sodaliara, etc. ; distal marginal line consisting of a series of 

 black dashes of variable thickness, sometimes almost obsolete ; fringe with more or less strong dark dots at base, 

 opposite the vein-ends. Forewing beneath more or less suffused, often dark smoke-colour, the postmedian line 

 and the cell-spot, however, usually well expressed; hindwing beneath white or whitish, marked (or unmarked) 

 nearly according to the upper surface of the particular form. The typical seriata of Central and Northern 

 Europe is more or less strongly dusted, thus appearing grey, but includes a wide range of subordinate variation, 

 not only in the intensity of the dusting but also in the expression of the lines, the median shade or the dark 



ciibicularia. bordering, either singly or in combination. — ab. cubicularia Peyer (= bischoffaria Lah. nee Hb^i. = 1 afra 

 Baker) is a unicolorous melanotic aberration, dark gi'ey or blackish with lighter fringes, the under surface, 

 however, but little darker than in the type form. It seems (according to the published and still more extensive 

 unpublished experiments of which I possess information) to be a Mendelian form, interbreeding with the 

 type but with the offspring segregating, not producing intermediates. Best known from Germany and Austria- 

 Hungary, but has occurred in N. Italy, N. England, etc. Last year (1911) two were taken in London. Habich 

 bred from a $ ab. cubicularia a very perfect halved gynandromorph, the left side $ cubicularia, the right 

 obscuru. side $ seriata. — ab. obscura Mill. (= grisescens Lah.) (4 d, as cubicularia) is suffused with smoke-colour 

 but the markings remain. Rebel has certainly done rightly to separate this from the preceding. It is our 

 auslrutis. common London form and in no degree Mendelian. — australis Zell. (= paleacata Guen. = canteneraria 

 3IiU. nee Bdv. = ? calvaria Lah.) is the prevailing form in Italy and indeed in most southern localities. Clear 

 yellowish white, with little or almost no dark dusting, the markings more or less well expressed. It varies 

 greatly in size as well as in the extent and depth of the markings and Zeller further subdivided it. In any 

 case Staudinger's indication of the form conteneraria as "much smaller" than australis is not entirely correct. 

 Probably there are some localities in which australis occurs as an aberration among the tjrpe-form, but I am 

 unable to say positively that this is so; certainly in Britain forms approaching it are entirely unknown. — ab. 

 cfilcearia. calcearia Z. is an aberration of australis of small size, pure chalk-white ground-colour, the markings in general 



canleneraria.Ta,thev weak, thus approaching in some respects canteneraria and minusciilaria. — canteneraria Bdv. (= ? 

 australis Z. var. b) is a development of australis, in Sicily apparently a mere aberration of it, but it con- 

 stitutes a local race in the South of France. It also occurs in Dalmatia and no doubt in some other locali- 

 ties. It is a small whitish form, very weakly marked, sometimes almost entirely without markings excep- 



