362 



HEMEROPHILA. By L. B. Prout. 



,121. Genus: Ifemeropliila Steq^h. 



Pace with appressed scales. Palpus generally rather short, shortly scaled. Tongue present. Antenna 

 m ^ bipectinate, apex usually simple. Pectus haii:y. Femora not or scarcely haii-y. Hindtibia in (J generally 

 with hair-pencil. Forewing without fovea; 1st and 2nd subcostals stalked or separate.. Hindwing with distal 

 margin crenulate. — Egg with more or less h-regular hexagonal positive reticulation, a shining white knob 

 at each angle. Larva twig-like with very slight protuberances, tapering gradually anteriorly. Pupa enclosed 

 in a tough silken cocoon. The genus is widely distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa. 



)apygiana. 



harcinona- 

 ria. 

 fidelensis. 



lederi. 



abrupiaria. 



brunneata. 



iuscata. 

 murina. 

 maura. 



pmestanta- 

 ria. 



■dejeani. 



sukplagiata. 



conjunotaria 



A. A n t e n n a o f $ n o t b i p e c t i n a t e (Hemerophila). 



H. japygiaria Costa (= fractavia Stgr., rhizolitharia Rbl.) (20 a). A pretty species and variable but 

 not difficult to recognize. The lines and the shades which accompany them are thicker and deeper black, the 

 antemedian more dentate, the postmedian more sinuous posteriorly. — ab. barcinonaria Bell, is a much darker, 

 almost unicolorous dull brown form. — fidelensis Mendes also has the ground-colour brownish instead of dirty 

 white or ochraceous. S. Fiel (Portugal). — Egg rather long-oval, finely reticulated. Larva nearly uniform 

 leather-brown with so lie blackish dot-i. On olive. Pupa glossy dark brown, in a silver-grey cocoon on the under- 

 side of a leaf, well protected. S. Europe and N. Africa, in a succession of broods. 



H. lederi Chr. (24 b). Antennal pectinations considerably shorter than in ahruptaria, wings more 

 greyish, less variegated, the only prominent markings being the lines; postmedian of forewing running to distal 

 margin close to apex, with a shorter but sharper bend between 3rd radial and 1st median. Hindwing weakly 

 marked except at inner margin. Transcaspia : Cleiunob in June. ^Tnkno^^•n to me. 



H. abruptaria Thnbg. (= petrificata Hhn.) (20 b). Wood-brown with darker brown and fuscous mar- 

 kings, the 5 generally paler than the ^. Very characteristic is the pale area at the distal margin of the hind- 

 wing — more constant in this species and often more elongate than that of japygiaria. — ab. brunneata Tutt 

 (= dalmata Galv.) has the ground-colour more uniformly of a warm brown. Forms a local race on the Dal- 

 mation Islands. — - ab. fuscata Tutt (= unicolor Tutt theobromaria Trti.) is a melanotic aberration, almost 

 entirely or entirely sooty-fuscous or blackish. Not rare in London. — murina Oh., from the Maritime Alps, 

 is a greyish form, especially in the ?, which (according to the figure) is almost violet-grey. — maura 06., 

 from Tunis, is darker grey-brown with fuscous cloudings (not nearly unicolorous, like ab. brunneata and fus- 

 cata). — Egg shiny, reddish, the micropyle placed in a small depression at the broader end, forming a rosette 

 of rounded cells. Larva light brown or grey, variously mottled, very responsive to changes of environment. 

 Feeds chiefly on lilac and privet. The pupa hibernates in a cocoon on the surface of a twig or branch, concealed 

 by gnawed fragments: it is rather long and iiarro\\', moderately smooth, very dark red-broM'n. Moth April — 

 May, a partial second brood in Ju'y — August. Central and S. Europe, N. Africa and the Brusa district. 



H. praestantaria Pi'mg. Forewing more pointed, hindwing less deeply crenulate. Pale grey, irrorated 

 (in places strigulatod) with dull grey-brown; cell-spots distinct; forewing with antemedian line marked by 

 veindots, sometimes connected, postmedian arising not far from the apex, regularly dentate and slightly obli- 

 que to hind-margin beyond middle, accompanied by a brownish shade distally; this line continued on the hind- 

 wing, nearer to and about parallel with tlie distal margin. Underside greyer, cellspots stronger, ocellated, 

 postmedian line broken into small dashes on the veins. Pectinations shorter than in abriiptaria, $ antenna 

 shortly serrate. Central Asia: Togus-torau. 



H. emaria Brem. (20 b). Less variegated than abruptaria, the forewing divided by the black lines 

 into 3 areas, the proximal and distal darker, the central pale (varying in breadth). The antemedian line, after 

 running almost straight from near base of hindmargin in the direction of the cell-dot, makes an acute 

 angle basewards in the cell, then becoming obsolete. Bremer describes and figures the species as grey, the 

 examples which I have seen are much more brown. S. E. Siberia; Korea; N. E. China. 



H. dejeani Ob. (20 b). Much larger than emaria, more richly coloured, the lines somewhat diffe- 

 rently formed, postmedian of both wings placed further from distal margin, apex of forewing pale. Very variable, 

 the dark clouding sometimes red-brown, sometimes deep fuscous, in some examples encroaching considerabl3' 

 on the anterior part of the median area. W. China and Hou-kow (Tibet). 



H. subplagiata Walk. (= retractaria Walk., senilis Btlr., jugorum Feld., lignata Warr.) (20 b). Still 

 more variable, scarcely larger on an average than emaria, rather narrower-winged, coloration showing the 

 same general range as in abruptaria, but in addition with some still more variegated forms, in which the basal 

 area and sometimes parts of the costa' are white. Best known by the twice acutely angulated antemedian line. 

 Widely distributed in N. India; Shanghai; Japan. 



H. conjunctaria Leech (20 b) is rather larger, costal margin of forewing rather more curved, lines 

 thicker, the antemedian curved rather than angled inwards between the t«'o acutely projecting teeth, hind- 



