EUMORPHIN^E. 47 



clearlv that it is only a hybrid of vespertilio and euphorbiae. It is of the form of 

 euphorbiae, and has the same black colour, but the little yellowish spots have a 

 tendency to disappear, and are not visible at all above. The first three segments 

 bear the rudiments of a red dorsal line. The sides, near the legs, are marked with 

 an interrupted red line. The belly has also traces of reddish. The stigmata are 

 ovoid, of a vellowish-white, with the border black. The horn is small and black. 

 The head is black, with a part of the sutures red. The legs are blackish on their 

 outer side, red on the inner. It lives on Epilobium an gusti folium, near Lyons, 

 whence it was sent by M. Merk, a naturalist of that town (Chenilles Sphing., pi. ix., 

 fig. 2). 



Boisduval suggests this only as a probable hybrid ; he states that 

 the larva presents no special characters. The forewings and thorax 

 of the imago, however, are nearly as in Hyles euphorbiae, the hindwings 

 and abdomen nearly as in Thau mas vespertilio. He states that the 

 moth is very near Tumeria hybr. vespertilioides, the thorax " olive " 

 instead of " ashy-grey," the bands of wings darker, more pronounced, 

 and that, towards the extremity, they are more angulated and blend 

 less completely with the tint of the ground-colour ; the rose-colour of 

 the hindwing also occupies less space, &c. Standfuss states, as 

 we have noted, that, of some 50 examples of the hybrid that he 

 had seen, all were so near Hyles euphorbiae that one would suppose 

 that they were an ill-characterised variation of the latter species if 

 its hybrid extraction were not known*. His further observations 

 have also already been referred to (anted, p. 44). Bartel says (Pal. 

 Gross-Schmett., ii., pp. 64 — 65) that the imago has more similarity to 

 H. euphorbiae than to T. vespertilio. The forewings, however, are much 

 darker grey than in the former species, and of a very dusky hue ; 

 the costa, the costal spots, and the oblique band which, as in H. 

 euphorbiae, runs into the outer area, are dark olive-green or olive- 

 brown ; the costal spots, however, are irregular, weakly developed, 

 and scarcely perceptible. The inner side of the oblique band is 

 slightly curved, whilst the space between this band and the inner 

 margin is coloured dark blue-grey as in T. vespertilio; the part of the 

 band that is always pale in H. euphorbiae is slightly tinged with red, 

 and darkened by numerous flake-like dots, although, rarely, it 

 appears somewhat lighter. At the base there is an olive-brown 

 spot, margined on either side with light grey hairs, similar to those 

 of T. vespertilio, the corresponding hairs in H. euphorbiae being always 

 pure white. The form and markings agree with those of H. euphorbiae, 

 the nervures are prominent, but, as in T. vespertilio, are more rose- 

 coloured, whilst the black marginal band is similar to that of the 

 latter species, but is much further removed from the margin than 

 in this species. The black basal area extends as in H. euphorbiae, 

 and runs into a white spot very faintly tinged with rose-colour at the 

 inner angle; in T. vespertilio this is always reddish, and differs little 

 from the rose-colour of the wing. Between the border and its 

 black marginal band the colour is pale ash-grey or brownish. The 

 underside pale rose-red, with basal half of forewings blackish, whilst 

 towards the centre of the latter is a sharply-defined colour which 

 rarely fades gradually into the ground-colour; this area is very weakly 

 indicated in T. vespertilio, strongly marked in H. euphorbiae. The 

 outer margin, as in both these species, is occupied with a blackish 



* We have always been, and still are, under the impression that the actual 

 parentage of these examples is not known. 



