THERETRA porcellus. 91 



oblique stripes over the legs common to so many Chcerocampid 

 species, the only markings besides these being a simple white 

 subdorsal line, without any trace of eye-spots. The larva, therefore, 

 corresponds with the second ontogenetic stage of Eumorpha elpenor 

 and Theretra porcellus." The larva is referred by Weismann to his 

 group i (anted, p. 57), but is, possibly, even more generalised than 

 Darapsa. Weismann's group 1 is undoubtedly quite tribally distinct 

 from our Eumorphidi. Bacot notes that the imago of Clarina syriaca has 

 a very Amorphid-like general appearance, both in colour, pattern ot 

 markings and shape, and, superficially, suggests somewhat some of 

 the moths of the Sichiid stirps. With Darapsa, it appears to have 

 distant affinities, but is probably not to be included in the same tribe ; 

 the larvae of the species of the latter genus are figured as having 

 much more marked retractile head and thoracic segments. These 

 species have no real affinity with The?'etra porcellus. Bacot further 

 notes, as to mongoliana, that it is almost certainly tribally distinct from 

 the Eumorphidi, but that one cannot tell, without larvae for examination, 

 whether the difference is really generic or tribal. Kaye places it 

 in an entirely different group, which he describes thus : 



1. Head short, closely set to thorax ; antennae short in ? ; legs slender, 

 not long : wings, head and abdomen strongly suffused with pink — elpenor, 

 porcellus. 



2. Head medium-sized; antennas shorter in ? than s , but not markedly 

 so ; legs fairly long and robust ; head, wings and abdomen strongly suffused 

 with greenish — olivacea, olivata, gloriosa, aurifera, albicosta, velata, mongoliana. 



At any rate, it appears fairly evident that the three species 

 included by Staudinger in this genus belong not only to different 

 genera, but to characteristically different Eumorphid tribes. 



Theretra porcellus, Linne. 



Synonymy. — Species: Porcellus, Linn., " Sys. Nat.," xth ed., p. 492 (1758), 

 &c. Bombyliformis, Linn., "Sys. Nat.," xth ed., p. 493 (1758). [Except for 

 this last-named reference, referred by Linne himself to porcellus floe, cit., xiith 

 ed., p. 801, var. j3), all the references included under the generic synonymy Theretra 

 (antea, pp. 89-90) are referable to the specific name porcellusi] 



Original description. — Sphinx porcellus, alis integris flavicante 

 purpureoque variis ; inferioribus basi fuscis. Roes., Ins., i., phal. 

 1., t. 5. Habitat in Epilobio, Impatiente. Simillimus priore 

 (elpenor) ut facile idem insectum, sed larva minor, nigra, absque 

 cornu (Linne, Sys. Nat., xth ed., p. 492). [This is later extended 

 to : " Simillimus priori (elpenor) ut facile idem insectum, sed 

 larva, minor, nigra, absque cornu ; declaratus vero thorace antice 

 posticeque rubro. Alis primoribus absque fasciis, absque puncto 

 albo, absque margine tenuiore albo ; posticis vero basi fuscis. 

 Abdomine supra absque linea rubra " ( Sys. Nat., xiith ed., pp. 

 8oi-8o2).J 



Imago. — 48mm.-54.mm. Anterior wings dark yellow-ochreous with 

 a tinge of brown (or olive-brown) ) costal area between upper edges of 

 transverse lines blotched with rosy-crimson ; outer marginal area 

 rosy-crimson ; four olive-brown oblique transverse lines from costa 

 to mnermargin, rather darker than ground-colour ; cilia rosy-crimson. 

 Posterior wings with the basal area blackish, a dark yellow-ochreous 

 median band, outer band rosy-crimson ; cilia white, variegated at ends 

 of nervures with rosy-crimson. 



