308 BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



1692. Reaum., Ins., 1., t. 47, 48. Roes., Ins., 4, t. 15, 16. 



Knorr, Delic, t. C. 2, f. 2. 



Habitat in Rosa, Rnbo, Uhno, Corylo, Salice. Larva nuda, verti- 

 cillata verrucis pilosis ut P. atlaniis. Ocellus alarum margine superiore 

 nictitat lunula fenestrata vix cohspicua. Varietates « et (3 adeo 

 similes, ut vix differant, nisi magnitudine. An specie distinguendse? 

 (Linne, Sys. Nat., xth ed., pp. 496 — 497). 



Imago. — 50mm. — 9 1 -5mm. $ . Head brown; collar white, thorax 

 and abdomen brown. Anterior wings blackish-grey, with three 

 transverse lines, one basal, pale, not reaching costa, edged on 

 either side with rosy and then with black, the second beyond the 

 ocellated spot, sinuate, pale, tinged with rosy, and edged on either 

 side with black ; the third forms a whitish subterminal shade, 

 edged externally with grey, with dark nervures crossing it ; discal 

 area whitish, with conspicuous ocellated spot ; apex with pale 

 lunular mark, edged strongly externally with crimson, a short black 

 costal mark near apex. Posterior wings orange, basal and inner 

 marginal areas darker • dark, irregular, transverse lines on either 

 side of a conspicuous ocellated spot ; subterminal band blackish, 

 narrow towards apex, broadest at anal angle, outer marginal area 

 grey, faintly tinged with reddish, the marginal line dark, blackish- 

 grey. 5 . Larger, paler ; anterior wings pale grey, transverse 

 lines white, the rosy tinge confined largely to basal line and apical 

 area ; posterior wings as in $ , but with all orange parts white and 

 the transverse lines more strongly marked. Thorax brown, basal 

 part of costa of wing and collar white, abdomen white-ringed. 



Sexual dimorphism. — The male is smaller than the female, 

 the antennas more strongly pectinated, and the colours brighter and 

 browner, the female having quite a soft pearly-grey ground colour. 

 The female has a large heavy abdomen, is of quiet and lethargic 

 habits, whilst the male is exceedingly active. The extremes of 

 measurement of the examples in our collection are — 3 s, 50mm.- 

 68mm., 2 s, 75mm.-9i*5mm. Standfuss notes that, in breeding 

 this species, there was a very close approach between the 

 numbers of the sexes. Thus he notes : in 1881 — 162 $ s, 157 

 $s j 1882 — 230 c? s, 205 $s; 1884 — no cf s, 117 $s; 1889 

 — 87 <?s, 83 $ s; 1890 — ti6 <?s, m 2 s; 1891 — 361 $ s, 349 2 s ; 

 1892 — 412 $ s, 385 $s; 1893 — 442 $ s, 411 2 s. Total, 1920 $ s, 

 18 1 8 2 s. Chapman describes the antennas as follows : $ , 8mm. — 

 10mm. long, of about 24 joints ; plumules in a nearly flat plane, 

 making the antenna a plane of about 3mm. across, narrowing to 

 each end ; each joint carries 4 plumules and these arise almost 

 from the dorsum, leaving a large part of the circumference ventral 

 and free from any pectinations, etc. ; this portion would almost 

 certainly be taken for the dorsum and not the venter on a casual 

 examination ; there are three basal joints, unpectinated, the first 

 large and globular, the second somewhat conical, the third some- 

 what less so and rather shorter, about 19 (17 — 20 or even a wider 

 range) of quadripectinated joints, and three short, unpectinated 

 terminal ones. The origin of the pectinations on the joints are dorsal 

 rather than lateral, and though viewed dorsally or ventrally they appear 

 regularly placed, nevertheless the alternate brandies differ, the 

 distal branch bends more dorsally and the basal more ventrally, 



