PTYCHOPODA. By L. B. Prout. 119 



Pt. benesfrigata s^j. wow. (7d). Palpus quite short. Tongue long. Antennal joints not projecting. Fa,ce beneslrigata. 

 white, tinged with sand-colour; vertex purer white; collar and front of thorax bright sand-colour. Abdomen 

 robust. Wings rather long and narrow, shaped somewhat as in infirmaria (4 c), but with costa of forewing 

 still straighter, distal margin more curved, that of hindwing rather more produced to the 3. radial but not at 

 all emarginate between the radials. White, slightly dusted with sand-colour, not glossy; lines bright sand- 

 colour. Forewing with antemedian line very thick, strongly outcurved anteriorly and angled outwards on 2. 

 submedian; median line less thick, weakly sinuous, closely followed by thicker postmedian ; subterminal shades 

 less strong, somewhat interrupted; no cell-spots; distal margin with a series of conspicuous black dots be- 

 tween the veins; fringe white proximally, sandy distally. Hindwing without the first line. Underside mostly 

 whitish, forewing with the costal edge sandy and a slight sandy tinge in the apical region; both wings with 

 an incomplete, dull sandy band occupying the position of the proximal subterminal line. Afghanistan, without 

 more exact locality; collected by Colonel Alexander Fortescue and presented to the British Museum by Lord 

 Walsingham. a very distinct species, but in the absence of the ^ the subgeneric position cannot be ascer- 

 tained. 



Pt. infirmaria Rbr. (= nigrobarbata Stgr. = carnearia Mann = ledererata Guen.) (4e). Vertex mlinnaria. 

 of head and base of antenna white. Wings rather narrow, pale grey with a more or less strong admixture of 

 dark grey and red scales, costal edge of forewing usually very narrowly infuscated to beyond middle; the 

 antemedian and postmedian lines usually and the median line (or shade) at times fairly well developed; ante- 

 median line of forewing thickest at costal margin, rather strongly bent or angled subcostally, postmedian line 

 more slightly curved subcostally, both marked with dark dots on the veins ; both wings with black cell-dot, that 

 of the hindwing the larger ; median shade of hindwing placed well proximally to the cell-dot, usually appearing 

 as a continuation of the first line of the forewing; fringes with dark spots opposite the veins. Under sur- 

 face pale grey, coarsely dark-dusted; no red admixture; lines present or obsolete; cell-dots present, usually 

 strong. Variable, but easily recognized by its shape and the mixture of grey and red scaling. ^ antenna rather 

 thick, with the ciliation extremely short; hindleg short, the tarsus very greatly abbreviated. — aquitanaria 

 Const, is darker and at the same time with a stronger admixture of red scales. It is said to form a local race 

 in S. W. France (province of Landes) but in most localities it occurs merely as an aberration; in any case it is 

 not a particularly striking form. — I have no information regarding the early stages of this species; Rebel 

 in his recent edition of the "Schmetterlingsbuch" says that they are still unknown. It inhabits Corsica, Sar- 

 dinia, Sicily, S. E. France, the Iberian peninsula, N. Africa and Dalmatia. When Statjdinger published the 

 last edition of his Catalog, Andalusia was the only certainly known Iberian habitat, but Leon (Branuelas) and 

 Portugal have since been added. Flies in June — July. 



Pt. rhodogrammaria Piing., sp. nov. (3h). "Expanse 15 — 18 mm. Near infirmaria, smaller, antenna '"'lof'o- 

 with somewhat stronger shaft and longer ciliation, hindtarsus fully % the length of the tibia. Ground-colour srammana. 

 yellowish, forewing with 5, hindwing with 4 rose-red lines, costal margin of forewing rose-red, finely edged 

 with blackish, dots in fringe and the discal dots sharp, black, underside similar to that of infirmaria but 

 lighter, the hindwing in particular whitish; S. Spain, Murcia, Sierra d'Espuiia, 3 ^^, M. Korb, beginning of 

 July 1909 at light". 



Pt. obsoletaria Rhr. (= rufillaria H.-Sch. = rufularia H.-Sch.) (4e). A rather obscurely marked oftsoZctona. 

 species of small size and moderately variable in colour, glossy greyish or light ochreous or even bright reddish 

 ochreous. Often smaller than the specimen figured, but remaining larger and broader-winged than helianthe- 

 mata Mill, with which perhaps it could most easily be confused. Vertex of head pure white (in helianthemata 

 more tinged with ochreous); distal margin of hindwing rounded. The less elongate wings also distinguish it 

 from infirmaria. A few writers have seen a resemblance also to Acidalia ocJiroleucata H.-Sch. ; to me this does 

 not seem very obvious, but in any case the different neuration and other differences of structure will separate 

 it. Lines wavy, only a little darker than the ground-colour, all generally about equally distinct (or rather, 

 indistinct). Cell-dot on both wings minute but quite black, hence conspicuous. Fringes with minute, but nearly 

 always conspicuous black dots at base opposite the veins ; in rare aberrations where these are obsolescent there 

 is considerable resemblance to incarnaria, but really pink forms of obsoletaria seem to be unknown, nor is the 

 costal margin of the forewing differentiated in colour from the rest of the wing. Under surface rather paler, 

 equally weakly marked. ^ antennal ciliation rather short; hindleg short and weak, the tarsus greatly abbrevia- 

 ted. The colour-aberrations intergrade and do not require separate designation. — Only ab. violacearia Stgr. 

 has been founded on colour differences, ' and this deserves mention chiefly^ because its author suspects that it 

 has developed into a local race in some places, at least on the Island of Majorca. The ground-colour is descri- 

 bed as violaceous grey. I__^have not seen examples having this coloration.- It is"recorded also from Catalonia 

 and Greece. — Concerning the early stages I can find but little information. Hofmann, misled by Millierb's 



