PTYCHOPODA. By L. B. Proft. ■ 127 



to the proximal side of the subterminal line, still more rarely broken up into spots, in which case it some- 

 what recalls that of trigeminata, but is much more vague. The two extreme forms have received separate 

 names. — ab. fimbriolata Steph. (= schaeffcraria F. Fuchs) is a pretty form in which the distal bordering is fimhriulata. 

 intensified, being darker in colour and occupying, in equally strong expression, the entire distal area of both 

 wings excepting a somewhat narrowed, or even interrupted, subterminal line. The basal area of the forewing 

 above also shows a tendency in this form to become slightly infuscated. — ab. infuscata nom. nov. (= var. infitscaia. 

 B. Guen.) has both wings uniformly powdered over with grey-black, obscuring the markings. I have seen a 

 good example from the Leech collection and Barrett also mentions the form, but it is always rare. — 

 extincta Stgr. (= ? crinitaria Stgr.) though likewise merely a chance aberration in Western Europe, seems to exUncla. 

 be a constant race, or subspecies, in the East (Siberia, ? China, Korea, ? Japan) and even in Prussia and 

 Russia is of perhaps more frequent occurrence than further west. In it the dark distal shading is entirely 

 or almost entirely obsolete. It is curious that Staudinger in erecting his crinitaria (on a single worn 

 specimen from the Sutschan district (southern Ussuri), did not even compare it with his hisetata var. extinacta, 

 which was made known at the sam_e time. It may be that the inner tuft of dark hairs on the hindtibia, 

 which is emphasized in the description, is even stronger and blacker or that the "weakly and bluntly angled 

 hindwing" (not shown in the figure) points to a distinct species, but in any case it must come very close to 

 hiselata, not to the aversata-gvo\xp. The figure recalls invalida Btlr. — The egg is obtusely oval, somewhat 

 depressed, with fine shallow pitting; salmon-colour with large darker spots (probably pale yellowish when 

 first laid). The larva is rather thick from the 3rd to 6th abdominal, with marked incisions, anteriorly tapering 

 to the very small head; skin rugose; dull brown or yellowish brown, darker dorsally; dorsal dark line double, 

 ill-defined; 1st — 5th abdominals usually with blackish V-shaped dorsal pattern, the arrrs of the V elirecteel 

 caudad, the apex somewhat broken off , at the front of the segment ; setae small, knobbed at the tip. Rather 

 strongly variable in colour and in the distinctness of the markings. Very sluggish and as a rule growing slowly, 

 but sometimes producing a partial second brood; polyphagous on low plants. Pupa light brown, head and 

 wing-cases greenish. A widely distributed and in many ple.ces common or even abundant species; easily dis- 

 turbed from bushes by day and rather active on the wing from early dusk; sometimes attracted by light or 

 sugar. Central Europe, Bithynia, Transcaucasia, E. Siberia ec. June — July. 



Pt. decidua Warr. {= holosericeata Btlr. nee holosericata Dup.) (7d) might have been regarded as a decidua. 

 form of hiselata extincta, from which it sows very few elifferences, but for the fact that the tufts of hair on 

 the (J hindtibia appear considerably less strongly developed and lighter in colour. Rather smaller and paler, 

 rather weakly marked. Whitish ochreous, almost or entirely without dark dusting, the lines only marked in ■ 

 somewhat darker ochreous, the subterminal shades, as in extincta, usually almost entirely obsolete; discal 

 dots minute but distinct, dots on base of fringe very minute, sometimes obsolete. Hindfemur and hintibia 

 of cJ tufted with whitish-ochreous hair, but not extremely heavily. Originally registered from Dharmsala, 

 without description, under the erroneous name of "holosericeata Dup.'\ an error which remains uncorrected ~ 



in Hampson's "Moths of India". It seem widely distributed in the N. W. Himalayas in a succession of 

 broods, April to September. — delicatula Warr., described from a single $ from Dalhousie, may very likely delieatula. 

 represent a rather large, strongly marked aberration, with better developed subterminal shade; but as it 

 is intermediate in some respects between decidua and hiselata, it can scarcely be referred decisively without 

 the cJ. 



Pt. denudsina spec. nov. (= nudaria Piing. olim, nee Chr.) (7 a). Possibly the eastern representa,tive denudaria. 

 of decidua but slightly narrower winged. Whitish ochreous, the ground-colour about as in the well-known 

 fucovenosa (= inter jectaria) of Europe, but with weaker ochreous admixture, resulting in a paler and more 

 uniform tone. Discal dots often obsolete; if present, then very minute, rarely at all distinct; dots at base 

 of fringe minute and weak, or altogether absent; lines very faint, usually almost entirely obsolete, the entire / 



wing-surface being the almost unicolorous, with only the costal edge narrowly of a rather more decided 

 ochreous. Under surface also quite weakly marked, on an average less suffused than in decidua. Hindleg 

 formed about as in decidua, with moderate, whitish-ochreous hair-pencil from base of femoro-tibial joint, 

 extending for about the length of the tibia, the hair on outer side of tibia also whitish-ochreous ; hindtarsus 

 abbreviated. Mngpo, April 1886, ^ (type) and $ in the British Museum collection; Nikko, a very weakly 

 marked (^ and $ in thePtJNGELER collection; a more strongly marked $ from Gensan, in the British Museum 

 collection, probably also belongs here. 



Pt. invalida Btlr. (3 h; as invalidaria; ? i m, fig. 4). Nearly related to hiselata but apparently distinct, invalida. 

 Ground-colour slightly darker (warmer or more brownish) the markings weak. (J hindtibia similarly formed 

 but with the outer tufts of hair not quite so extremely developed, the inner tuft (pencil) longer but not so 

 dark; the antennal ciliation may be very slightly longer, but shows no conspicuous difference. Hindwing 



