COSMOTRICHE POTATORIA. 165 



Bremev sont ties grossieres, et la plupart du temps ne donnent que bien a peu pies 

 1'idee du papillon qu'elles sont censees representer.] (Oberthiir). Loc. : Island of 

 Askold (Oberthiir) ; ? Olga Bay in Russian Tartary (Fletcher). 



Leech says (Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1888, p. 628) that he 

 has specimens of askoldensis from Japan that " agree exactly with 

 typical potatoiia*, and others which are most certainly identical with 

 O. albomacidata, whilst between these two forms are aberrations, 

 including a dark one near the var. askoldensis of Oberthiir, which 

 cannot be satisfactorily referred to either form, and which serve as 

 connecting links and prove the identity of O. potatoria and O. 

 albomacidata. Loc. : Yokohama (Pryer), Hakone, Gensan (Leech), 

 Corea (Herz)." Bacot says : " The British Museum collection has 

 a good series of both sexes of albomacidata, which appears to be 

 a good species. The $ s differ widely from those of potatoria, the 

 $ s being less markedly different. On the other hand the single 

 example of askoldensis in tbe British Museum collection differs chiefly 

 in size and has probably no better right to be considered a separate 

 species, than have most of the Japanese species that only differ from 

 their European relatives in size and tint, e.g., than cerridifolia has to be 

 considered specifically distinct from quercifolia" After most careful 

 examination of Leech's specimens, we disagree entirely with his 

 conclusions and agree with those of Bacot. As a matter of fact, 

 C. albomacidata is very distinctly specialised, the males of a dark 

 red-brown colour, intensely deeply pigmented, with large median 

 spots (which show, however, considerable variation in size), and large, 

 highly-coloured, chiefly red-brown, females, with large white median 

 spots and a very white external marginal edging to the outer line. 



Egg-laying. — The egg-laying is somewhat variable — the eggs 

 when extruded are covered with a gummy substance, by means 

 of which they adhere to stems of grass, etc., and to each other 

 (Bacot) ; I have several times observed females oviposit on the 

 leaves of sallow and on the dead leaves of Rubus fruticosus in clusters 

 of four or five (rarely more) at Ringwood (Fowler) ; eggs attached 

 to stems of grass (Montgomery); found on a blade of grass, August 

 18th, 1888, at Kings-mill, from which young larvae hatched on the 

 21st (Watkins) ; ova deposited round and round a Juncus stem at 

 Arrochar, undoubtedly a protection to represent a diseased or 

 swollen Juncus stem (Dalglish) ; eggs on the underside of leaves 

 of dwarf sallow and hazel, laid singly or in small clusters, and 

 once in a compact little ring round a twig ; the 2 seems almost 

 always to deposit her eggs on anything rather than the natural 

 foodplant, although a small batch was once found on a stem of 

 grass |; possibly her weight prevents her getting a firm hold of 

 the latter, and so she chooses something more substantial, as there 

 is always longish grass to be found close to the bush selected 

 (Edwards) ; three eggs placed close together on a stem of dead- 

 nettle at Henny, Essex, July 22nd, 1900; these hatched August 



* Examination of Leech's specimens shows that he had mixed up at least 

 one specimen of potatoria from Japan, with albomacuiata, under the name of 

 askoldensis ; he then appears to have concluded from the mixed material that 

 albomaculata-=zaskoldensis=zpotatoria, a conclusion to which we are not at all able 

 to subscribe. 



t This note would suggest "grass" as being "the" natural foodplant. For 

 list of food-plants seepostea, p. 175. 



