Puhl.1. V.191S. PTYCHOPODA. By L. B. Prout. 137 



wings is filled up with a dark band, or at most there is only a fine line of the groimd-colour between the 



postinedian line and the band. Distally to the subteruiinal there is also as a rule stronger dark shading than 



in the type form, but it is generally rather weak, seldom so strong as in the example figured on PI. 3 k. 



diffluata is the prevailing, though not the only form in S.E. Hungary and occurs also in Dahnatia, Bosnia, 



Asia Minor and perhaps Bohemia. The examples which I have seen from Asia Minor have also the basal 



area of the forewing darkened. A. Fuchs and F. Flichs both maintained that diffluata was a separate species, 



but seem to have studied very little material, and bring forward no better arguments that that it is brighter 



yellow, far less sprinkled with black but more strongly black-marked at the distal margins and fringes. Even 



at Herculesbad, one of the best-known localities for diffluata, non-banded deversaria still occurs together with 



the aberration. Regarding the name diffluata, which its author adopted from Mann's manuscript, it is not 



quite certain that it was originally intended to apply to this form; in the Zeller collection examples of 



nitidata are Labelled diffluata Mann, and as Herrtch-Schaffer figured from Mehadia and on the same plate 



both nitidata and the present form it is not impossible that by some error he misapplied Mann's name. — 



ab. laureata Fuchs (3 k), from the Rheingau, is very similar to diffluata, but easily distinguished by the laureata. 



alternate bands of light and dark colour in the distal area; that is to say, only the distal half of the space 



between the postmedian and the subterminal is darkened ; the area distally to the subterminal is (at least in 



my examples) fully as dark as the area proximally to it. Recorded also from S. Tyrol, Bohemia, etc. — ab. habicM. 



habichi Schaioerda is a melanotic form, strongly suffused with smoke-colour yet with the 3 black lines 



remaining distinct both above and beneath. Bosnia. -^ ab. hyalinata Chr., which possibly forms a local race hyalinafa. 



in Transcaucasia, scarcely differs from deversaria except in having the median shade (inner line) of the 



hindwing removed further proximally from the discal dot. Described from several examples taken at light 



in May and August. The larva agrees in form with those of the allied species and shows scarcely any 



constant difference from that of inornata. According to Fuchs, who bred the two side by side, it is on an 



average lighter, but is varies somewhat in colour and that of inornata varies considerably. The only constant 



difference which he could find consisted in the presence of a white dot in the apices of the V-shaped (at 



times Y-shaped) markings in inornata, which is nearly always wanting in deversaria. Pale grey-yellow, or 



more rarely yellow-brown, the dorsal pattern varying in distinctness. Pupa apparently not yet differentiated 



from that of inornata. The moth flies in June and July, appearing a week or two earlier than inornata. Its 



range is not so extended northward nor perhaps westward as that of the preceding species, though in many 



Central and S.E. European localities they occur together; deversaria, on the other hand, extends also to Asia 



Minor, Transcaucasia, Transcaspia and other localities in Western Asia. I consider it highly probable that 



this is the spataceata of Scopoli, described from Carniola; at least there seems to be no other species to 



which his description and (miserably bad) figure can be applied ; but as Werneburg determined it for remutaria 



Hbn. (floslactata Haw.) I have left the name in abeyance. 



Pt. aversata L. (= grisata F. = latifasciaria Hdnr.) (4g). Cannot possibly be confounded, in its avm-sata. 

 typical form, with either of the allies, the dark band being here placed between the median and postmedian 

 lines, while in degeneraria it is placed between the antemedian and median and is the aberrations of deversaria 

 distally to the postmedian. In general, also, aversata is rather less glossy than the allies, more strongly 

 dusted, the postmedian line rather sharply expressed, more strongly angled on the first radial of the forewing 

 than in deversaria, the distal marginal line and dots at base of fringes always present, mostly very conspicuous; 

 the area distally to the postmedian line is generally very weakly marked or quite without markings, but 

 occasionally (especially in the banded forms) a moderately conspicuous dark shade is developed proximally 

 to the subterminal. Only a few weakly-marked glossy aberrations, and particularly when the angle in the 

 postmedian line happens to be less pronounced than usual, are confusingly like inornata. As these weakly- 

 marked specimens have usually hardly any subterminal dark shading they are in general less likely to be 

 mistaken for deversaria, but great care is needed in individual cases. Pt. aversata. shows a wide range of 

 variation, and several of the forms have received separate names. Even Linne and Clerck knew no less than 

 three, which they assumed to be separate species. This has resulted in some confusion in the synonymy, 

 as later authors attempted to identify the second and third forms with other species of Ptychopoda, or even 

 of Acidalia. The true aversata, as here figured, is by no means a rare form, but is not nearly so abundant 

 as the ab. remutata. — ab. lividata CI. differs little from typical aversata and would scarcely need to be Uvidata. 

 separately described but for the confusion which has prevailed regarding its identity. The median shade is 

 placed rather further from the discal dot than in some forms, the dark space which extends from the median 

 to the postmedian consequently a little narrowed; but on the other hand there is an additional pronounced 

 dark shade proximally to the subterminal line and even a little (narrow) dark shading distally thereto. In 

 most copies of Clerck's "Icones" the figure of lividata is very badly coloured and quite unrecognizable, in 

 consequence of which those systematists who have seen only such copies have made very faulty attempts at 

 its determination. Thus Laspeyres considered it to represent dimidiata and biselata (which he regarded as 

 forms of a single species), Werneburg selected biselata and Zeller thought it nearer to deversaria than to 

 anything else. On the other hand Illiger, Stephens and GuENfe, who presumably had access to better copies 



IV ■ 18 



