ANTHROCERA (MESEMBRYNUS) PURPURALIS. 431 



p. 23 (? 1869) ; Staud., "Hor. Soc.Ent. Boss.," vii., p. 102 (1870, pubd. 1871) ; Kirby, 

 "Eur. Butts.," etc., p. 88 (1879) ; Frey, " Lep. der Schweiz," p. 64 (1880) ; Oberth., 

 " Lep. des Pyr.," p. 27 (1884) ; Barr., " Lep. Brit.," ii., p. 177 (1894) ; Tutt, " Ent. 

 Beeord," vi., pp. 270-276 (1895); "Brit. Moths.," p. 354 (1896). Pijthia, Fab., 

 "Gen. Ins.," p. 275 (in part) (1777); "Mant.," ii., p. 101 (1787); Amstein, 

 " Fuess. Mag. Ent.," i., p. 113, pi. i., fig. 6 ; Fuessly, " Ibid.," p. 140 (1778) ; View., 

 " Tab. Verz.," i., p. 23 (1789) ; ? Freyer, " Neuere Beit.," v., p. 152, pi. 473, fig. 1 

 (1845). Pilosellae, Esp., " Die Schmett.,"ii., p. 186, pi. xxiv., figs. 2 a <? , b ? (1781) ; 

 pt. 2, p. 14, pi. xl., figs. 3-6, p. 32, pi. xliv., fig. 10 (1789) ; Bork., " Sys. Besch.," ii., 

 pp. 25 and 164 (1789) ; " Bhein. Mag.," i., p. 307 (1793) ; Schrk., " Fauna Boica," ii., 

 1st pt., p. 240 (1801); Zell., " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," xxxiii., p. 27 (1872); Staud., 

 " Cat.," p. 45 (1871) ; Curo, " Bull. Soc. Ital.," vii., p. 194 (1875) ; Sand, "Cat. 

 Lep. Auv.," p. 22 (1879) ; Peyer., " Cat. Lep. Als.," p. 47 (1880) ; Hofmn., " Die 

 Gross-Schmett.," etc., p. 34 (1887); "Die Baupen," etc., p. 35 (1893); Meyr., 

 "Handbook," etc., p. 448 (1895). Achilleae, Newm., " Zool.," p. 7565 (1861). 

 Nubigena^ewm., "Zool.," 1861, pp. 7676-7 ; Birch., "Ent. Mo. Mag.," iii., p. 

 33 (1866); Kirby, "Eur. Butts.," etc., p. 88 (1879); Buckler," Larvee," etc., 

 ii., p. 9 (1887). 



The synonymy of this species is most complicated. Briinnich, in 

 1761, described this species without a name in the Prodromus Insecto- 

 lorjiae Siacllandicae, p. 29. In 1763, he figured the species in Pon- 

 toppidan's Danske Atlas, i., pi. xxx., naming it purpuralis, and 

 referred the name to the previous description, which, therefore, became 

 the original diagnosis of the species. The reference in Pontoppidan's 

 work reads : " 7. Purpuralis, described in Prodromus Ins. Siacllandicae, 

 p. 29, no. 18 ; and, see also the present work, pi. xxx." This name, 

 therefore, long antedates the names of minos, pythia and pilosellae, the 

 synonymy of which we have already fully discussed at length, Ent. 

 Eec, vi., pp. 270-276. 



Original description. — The description to which Briinnich refers 

 his figure of purpuralis in the Danske Atlas is as follows: " Sphinx. 

 Statura Sphingis filipendulae, lingua spirali, alis superioribus cyaneis, 

 lineis tribus rubris in singula ala, una nempe a basi alae partem 

 marginis exterioris facit, altera longior etiam a basi medium tenet, 

 tertia incipit inter has duas,paulo ante quamfinitur prima, etprogreditur 

 dilatata, non vero ad extremitatem alae. Alae inferiores rubrae im- 

 maculatae [Briinnich, Prodromus Insectoloaiae Siaellandicae, p. 29 (dated 

 April 23rd, MCCLXI in error for MDCCLXI).] 



Imago. — Anterior wings bluish-green with three longitudinal crimson 

 dashes, one, wedge-shaped, running from the base of the wing along 

 the costa, the second, from the base to the centre of the wing, the 

 third from the centre of the wing towards the apex and outer margin. 

 Posterior wings crimson, with a narrow purplish hind marginal line. 



Sexual dimorphism. — The sexes are, as a rule, very similar. The 

 males vary in size from 23 mm. to 34 mm., the females from 25 mm. to 

 36 mm., in some 60 specimens examined, the average female being 

 larger than the male. There appears also a tendency for the female to 

 be more thinly scaled, and it is certain that this sex has the red much 

 more often continuously spread over the central area of the fore-wing 

 than has the male. Boisduval notices that the apex of the hind-wings 

 is usually dark grey in the males, but rarely so in the females. In 

 many males the dark grey border is twice as broad as the cilia of the 

 hind-wings, and is continued, though very narrowly, as far as the 

 third branch of the median nervure. Occasionally it is three times as 

 broad as the cilia, and its continuation along the hind margin is 

 broad in proportion. Borkhausen notices that the ground colour of 

 the males often has a blue tint, that of the females being light green, 



