ANTHROCERA (LYCASTEs) EXULANS. 449 



in colour (vide, Oberthiir, Le"p. des Pyrenees, p. 32). The specimen figured by 

 Oberthur was taken at Le Lautaret, by Martin. 



i. ab. pallida, Tutt, "Ent. Kec," ix., p. 13. — With the wings more or less 

 unpigmented, and pallid in hue ; the fore- wings whitish ; the ordinary red spots 

 and hind-wings very washed out in appearance, usually pale pinkish or ochreous 

 in tint. 



This is a form produced apparently by the failure of the pigment 

 to develop in a normal manner, and is probably the result of want of 

 proper nutrition in the larval state, or to the maturing of the imago 

 under abnormal conditions. Often met with at high elevations in the 

 Dauphine Alps, Andermatt, etc. 



k. ab. minor, n. ab. — Alar expanse 19-21 mm. With the general characters of the 

 typical' form, fairly well-developed scaling, and the sexual differences, equally 

 marked in this small aberration. We have at least a dozen examples of each sex, 

 taken on the skrees at the foot of the peaks surrounding Le Lautaret, at an eleva- 

 tion of from 8,000-9,000 ft. 



X. ?var. exsiliens, Staud., " Stett. Ent. Zeit.," xlii., p. 393. — The specimen 

 before me has very transparent green-black fore-wings, with five small red spots, 

 which are placed as the five larger ones of typical exulans. Of the two basal, the 

 upper is streak-like, very narrow and short, the under somewhat oval, and very 

 small ; of the two middle ones, the upper is only like a large dot, whilst the one 

 posteriorly under it appears to be almost heart-shaped, and perhaps as large as the 

 fifth, which is placed at the end of the cell. This latter spot is oval, somewhat 

 sharply defined, and also small. Beneath, the two basal spots are indicated only 

 by single red scales. Fringes very dark, and every trace of whitish or yellow circum- 

 scription of the red dots is wanting. The hind-wings very broadly margined, 

 extending almost to the centre, and blackish at the base, the black preponderating, 

 and limiting the dull red to the middle and towards the inner angle. Head and 

 body entirely black ; the legs, in part, somewhat yellowish-haired. Whether this 

 form is really distinct from A. exulans can only be made certain by the capture of 

 a larger number of examples. A single s , which Haberhauer stated that he 

 captured on the bare Tarbagatai mountains, in Central Asia. 



This appears to have been the sole record for A. exulans in Asia 

 until the last summer (1898), when, in July, Elwes captured specimens 

 in the Altai mts. that do not seem very unlike some European 

 examples. 



Ovum. — Large, oval in outline, inclined to be broader at one end 

 than the other ; pale yellow in colour, but of a rather deeper tint at 

 the broader end. There is no noticeable depression on the upper sur- 

 face , and the shell appears to be almost smooth , somewhat wrinkled longi- 

 tudinally, and shiny. Under a two-thirds lens, used as a hand-glass, 

 neither of the poles appeared to be transparent. [Described August 

 7th, 1898, from egg laid by $ captured on the Petit St. Bernard.] 

 Buckler notes the egg as being of large size for that of the insect, of 

 long, cylindrical, round-ended shape, having a depression bending 

 inwards, rather irregularly on one side ; the shell very thin and very 

 slightly reticulated all over, in colour ochreous-yellow, changing to 

 orange-ochreous, and finally to dark greenish-slate colour, very shining 

 from the first to the last. 



Habits of larva. — The larvae hatch in about three weeks from the 

 time that the eggs are laid, and they feed well on Lotus corniculatus 

 in confinement, although they are rather general feeders in their 

 alpine homes. The first moult takes place in about three weeks from 

 the time of hatching, but in early September, and when still very 

 small, they fix themselves for hybernation, and do not feed again 

 until well on into the spring. Buckler's observations suggest that the 

 larvae may at least take sometimes two years to attain their full 

 growth, for two small specimens, which he received in the middle of 



ce 



