EPISAURIS; ACASIS. By L. B. Prout. 181 



^^2 



Genus: J^pi^aiiri!^ libl. 



Antenna in cf thickened and flattened. Palpus wilh 2"^ joint elongate (especially in Ihe ?), rough- 

 scaled, 3'''' joint small. Hindtibia in cf with hair-pencil, in both sexes with terminal spurs only. Abdomen in 

 <f greatly elongate. Forewing with areole double. Hindwing in & narrow, the inner-marginal area developed 

 into a folded lobe at the base, submedian veins wanting; in both sexes with the costal anastomosing wilh the 

 cell to near its end, 2"^ subcostal stalked with 1^' radial, discocellulars biangulate, 2"'' radial arising nearer to 

 the 3^'' than to the P'. 



This genus was erected by Rebel for a single species, but is perhaps scarcely necessary, as it only 

 dill'ers from Acasis in the slightly thicker antenna, longer cf abdomen and more constantly stalked 2"'' subcostal 

 of the hindwing (in Acasis this is usually separate, but occasionally short-stalked). The peculiar lobe or lappet 

 at the base of the cf hindwing is distinctive of this group, which is widely distributed and has been erectefl 

 by Warren into a separate subfamily under the name of Trichopteryginae. 



E. kiliani Rhl. (12a). Forewing greenish with the markings blackish-fuscous, very variable in expression. Idliani. 

 In the general scheme it very closely resembles Acasis viretata. from which it is best distinguished by the 

 structural characters given above; the discal spot is larger and the distal dark markings are more connected 

 transversely (in viretata they are chiefly expressed as dots or dashes longitudinally on the veins). Hindwing 

 somewhat more yellowish grey than in viretata, also with conspicuous discal spot; the cf appendage perhaps 

 rather more strongly developed than in that species. Under surface in general rather more strongly marked 

 than in viretata, hindwing usually with two curved lines in the distal half, the inner one rather less strongly 

 curved than the corresponding single line of viretata. Canaries and Madeira, February to June. 



23. Genus: Aca^is Dup. 



Palpus as in the preceding genus, only in sertata short. Antenna less thickened. Hindtibia with ter- 

 minal spurs only, cf with hair-pencil. Abdomen not elongate. Neuration nearly as in Einsauris, but with the 

 2"^ subcostal of the hindwing in the cf generally arising just before the end of the cell, rarely so long-stalked 

 as in that genus. Lobes on hindwing small. 



Larva stout posteriorly, tapering anteriorly, head small, rounded, tubercles very small, spiracles very 

 small, spiracular line wanting, anal extremity ending in 2 minute points. Pupa short and thick. 



A small genus, consisting of a few Palearctic species and one North American. The type is the 

 European viretata Hbn. Staudinger places it at the end of his Lobophora, but I have brought it forward on 

 account of its close relationship to Episaiiris. 



A. viretata Hbn. {= trinotata Don) (6 g). Forewing green, in old specimens fading to a dirty yellow viretata. 

 the markings black, varying in number and intensity ; median band varying in breadth, sometimes almost solid, 

 oftener dissolved more or less into lines. Hindwing pale grey, almost unmarked. Forewing beneath somewhat 

 smoky, with faint traces of the median band; hindwing less smoky, a postmedian line somewhat more noti- 

 ceable than above. Larva green, usually with a red dorsal line and commonly with a dorsal pattern of red 

 blotches on the 1=' to 6* abdominal segments, which, however, vary in shape and extent. It feeds on various 

 berry-bearing plants, perhaps particularly holly, privet, buckthorn and ivy and is rather partial to the flowers 

 and berries. It feeds in June and July and again in September and October. Pupa somewhat rough, the 

 eyes, wing- veins, etc. well defined, cremaster with several fine curved bristles, the two central the largest; 

 brownish, the wing-cases bright olive green. In a roundish cocoon on or just beneath the ground. The 

 pupae from the second generation hibernate. The moth appears at the end of April or in May and a second 

 brood in August and early September. It is widely distributed (but local and generally scarce) in Central 

 Europe and Russia and occurs also in N. W. India, Formosa and according to Staudinger in Eastern Siberia 

 and Japan. Indian examples (of which one is erroneously figured as coiisobrinaria, 6 g) are on an average 

 rather small and dark. 



A. appensata Ev. (6 g) is closely related to viretata, but the ground-colour of the forewing is light appensata. 

 brownish grey, not green, the basal area is more darkened, the central band of more uniform breadth throughout 

 and less black, etc. — baikalensis B.-Haas, from the Sajan district, is on an average smaller and more deli- haikalensis 

 cately built and of a pure black-grey colour without any admixture of brown. The larva is similar to that 

 of the preceding species, green with red dorsal and subdorsal lines which are generally connected, at least on 



