SMERINTHUS HYBR. HYRRIDUS. 451 



S. ocellata and popirii (= S. hybridus, Westw.), which in colour and 

 markings more approached A. populi, and had the eyespots only 

 weakly indicated. He suspected this hybrid had arisen from a 

 pairing of $ populi with 2 ocellata. Schultz exhibited ( Berl. 

 Ent. Zeits., xlv., Sitz. p. 29) two examples of S. hybridus, which 

 resembled A. populi in the forewings, but had indistinct ocellated 

 spots on the hind wings. Standfuss writes (in lilt.): " S. hybr. 

 hybridus is known in nature, but as quite a decided rarity ; a 

 $ is in my collection from Saarau, near Konigsselt in Silesia. 

 I have bred over 500 specimens in the course of the year (1901) 

 and it has also been bred by many other entomologists." Bacot writes 

 (in lilt.): "Two g s are 3*25ins. and 2 - 875ins. in expanse. Both ex- 

 amples have a rather ocellata outline to the outer margin of the forewings, 

 the hindwings being very much narrower than in A. populi and the 

 notch near the anal angle being in evidence, in one specimen poorly, 

 and in the other strongly, marked. The ocellated spot of one 

 specimen shows a very faint tendency to a central spot, in the 

 other the left ocellated spot is rather lunular in shape, while the 

 right shows a very faint division by an oblique dusky bar, really 

 a prolongation of the encroachment of the dark outer area ; that 

 on the other wing makes a lunule instead of a circular spot. On 

 the underside of the wings the coloration is, on the whole, A. populi- 

 like in dulness, but as regards the number of lines forming the 

 band that is continued across both wings, and also in respect of 

 its general contour, it follows S. ocellata, although it loses the 

 small crenulations in the lines which occur about the middle ot 

 this band on the hindwings of ocellata. I suspect, now that I am 

 better acquainted with the North American allies of these species, 

 that many of the characters usually attributed to the A. populi 

 parentage are in reality ancestral (reversionary), and that there is 

 no such predominance of the $ parental influence as is often 

 supposed, the A. populi facies, both as regards colour and mark- 

 ings, being already fully developed in some North American 

 species, Triptogon modcstus and occidentalism while the forewings of 

 vancoiLverensis and geminatus also show a strong tendency in this 

 direction." Bartel writes : " The markings of the forewings of 

 examples arising from the cross ocellata X populi are similar to 

 those of A. populi. The dark colour on the disc is irregularly 

 divided, and is intersected by two darker waved lines, of which the 

 first is the less distinct. The contour of the wings is similar to 

 that of both species ; the outer margin is formed nearly as in S. 

 ocellata, and dentated, yet not so strongly as in A. populi. The 

 markings of the hindwings resemble more those of S. ocellata ; the 

 brown basal patch ot A. populi is, indeed, present here, but much lighter, 

 yellowish. In place of the anal eye-spot of S. ocellata, S. hybridus 

 has a large black spot, which is distinctly granulated with dark 

 blue, and shades off into the ground-colour. The costa of the 

 hindwings is dark. The markings of the darker under-surface agree 

 almost entirely with S. ocellata, yet the colouring of the basal and 

 median areas of the forewings is not so extended and not so 

 roseated, but yellow-brown, coloured like the basal patch on the 

 upper surface of the hindwings. The middle of the thorax is 

 occupied on the upperside by a dull olive-brown spot, which is not 



