THYMELICUS ACTEON. 117 



(1867); Staud., "Cat.," 2nd ed., p. 35 (1871); Mill., "Cat. Lep. Alp.-Mar.," 

 p. 116 (1872); Curo, "Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital.," vi., p. 216 (1874) ; Frey, "Lep. 

 Schweiz," p. 55 (1880); Lang, "Butts. Eur.," p. 352, pi. 81, fig. 11 (1884); Kane, 

 "Eur. Butts.," p. 147 (1885) ; Dale, "Britt. Butts.," p. 217 (1890) ; Barr., " Lep. 

 Brit. Isl.," p. 283, pi. xxxvii., figs. 3-Sd (1893). Thymelinus, Stphs., "111. Haust. 

 Lep.," iv., p. 405 (1834); Westd. and Humph., "Brit. Butts.," p. 125 (1841); 

 Westw., "Butts, of Gt. Britain," p. 128 (1855); Kirby, "List Brit. Bhop.," p. 3 

 (1858). Heteropterus, Bamb., "Faun. And.," p. 307 (1837) ; " Cat. Lep. And.," 

 p. 87 (1858). Adopaea, Watson, " Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond.," p. 98 (1893) ; Grote, 

 " Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc," p. 59 (1897) ; Kirby, " Handbook," etc., iii., p. 22 

 (1897); Staud., "Cat.," 3rd ed., p. 92 (1901); Lamb., "Pap. Belg.," p. 272 

 (1902). 



This genus is very near Adopaea, Billberg, from which, indeed, it 



is difficult to separate it except by detailed reference to the early stages. 



The genus, as originally constituted by Hubner, was not so hopelessly 



heterotypical as are some of Hubner 's genera, since his species are 



practically confined to our tribe Thymelicidi, and his diagnosis reads 



(Yerzeichniss, p. 113) as follows : 



Die Fliigel fast ganz gelb und ungefleckt— Thymelicus actaeon, T. pustula, T. 

 vibex, T. venula, T. virgula, T. vitellius, T. linea, T.puer. 



In 1334, Stephens restricted (lllus. Brit. Ent., iv., p. 405) the genus 

 to acteon and linea [an evident printer's error, however, making him 

 spell the genus Thymelinus/'] and the restriction was confirmed by the 

 same author in 1850 and 1856 (List, 1st and 2nd eds., p. 22 and p. 20) ; 

 the type was fixed in 1858 by Kirby as acteon (List Brit. Rhop., p. 3). 

 Our British representative of the genus, acteon, shows, in its egg, a 

 less departure from the more typical upright egg of Auyiades sylvanus, 

 having less of the general appearance of the flat egg exhibited by 

 Adopaea (lineola and flava), and being dome-shaped, although still an 

 egg with three axes of different lengths, whilst the surface sculpture is 

 much stronger and more nearly like that of the egg of Aiujiad.es 

 (sylvanus) and Urbicola (comma). As in the other Thymelicines the 

 imago is wanting in the hooked antennas of the Urbicolines (sens. rest.). 

 The androconial streak, too, is better developed than in Adopaea. 



Thymelicus acteon, Rottemburg. 



Synonymy. — Species : Acteon, Bott., "Naturf.," vi., p. 30 ( ? ) (1775) ; Esp., 

 " Sckrnett. Eur.," i., pi. xxxvi. (supp. xii.), fig. 4 (1777), p. 345 (1779); Goeze, 

 "Ent. Beit.," ii., pt. 3, p. 117 (1780) ; Staud., " Cat.," 2nd ed., p. 35 (1871); 

 Curo, "Bull. Soc. Ent. Ital.," vi., p. 216 (1874); Buhl, "Pal. Gross- Schmett.," 

 pp. 639, 828 (1895); Staud., "Cat," 3rd ed., p. 92 (1901); Lambill., "Pap. 

 Belg.," p. 272 (1902). Actaeon, Bergs., " Nomenclatur, etc.," p. 37, pi. lxxxix.^ 

 figs. 6-7 (1780) ; Schneider, " Sys. Besch. Eur. Schmett.," p. 274 (1785), etc. 

 [All other references mentioned under the generic synonymy (supra, pp. 116-117) 

 are referable to actaeon.] 



Original description. — Papilio acteon (Plebeius Urbicola). — Very 

 similar to Papilio thaumas, Hufnag., or Papilio sylvestris, Poda, and I 

 still entertain doubts as to whether it should be considered a distinct 

 species. It differs from P. thaumas as follows : — It is rather smaller, 

 the upperside of all four wings is much darker, and nearly brown ; the 

 underside, however, is coloured like P > thaumas. The forewings are 

 marked with a curved yellowish spot, forming almost a semicircle, the 

 extremities of which are curved towards each other. This spot is not 



* It is interesting to see how authors copy from their predecessors. This 

 spelling error was copied in turn by Westwood, Humphreys and Kirby, before the 

 original spelling was again corrected by our British authors. 



