1882.] 105 [Hagen. 



Section" of Entomology, October 25, 1882. 



Mr. S. Henshaw in the chair. Five persons present. 

 The following paper was read : 



PAPILIO MACHAON. 1 



BY H. A. HAGEN. 



The principal characters for distinguishing Papilio Machaon 

 and the so-called species which I believe to be different forms of 

 it (P. sphyrus, Hospiton, var. asiatica, Hippocrates, Aliaska, Zoli- 

 caon, oregonius) are taken from the more or less predominance of 

 black or yellow, and from the spot in the red anal macula of the 

 secondaries. Besides this there is an important character in the 

 band on the underside of the primaries, whether of equal breadth 

 or sloping near the costal margin. Also the separation of the red 

 macula of the secondaries from the superior blue crescent by a 

 black band or none. The size of the imago, the length or the 

 shape of the tail, the general form of the wings, are so variable, 

 that they are of no use in separating the species. 



There are giants as well as dwarfs to be found among all the 

 forms sufficiently known. 



I consider as the type the European P. Machaon, not because it 

 is the oldest known, but because it is found around the whole 

 world in the northern hemisphere ; the North American speci- 

 men (I have only seen the type of P. Aliaska) cannot be separated 

 from the European form. The more convex external margin of 

 the primaries, noted by W. H. Edwards, is well marked, but of 

 minor value, as some of the other forms show at least a similar 

 tendency. In the typical P. Machaon the yellow is predominant 

 in Kamtchatka specimens to an exaggeration. The external band 

 on the underside of the primaries is of equal breadth throughout, 

 the red macula in the anal angle of the hind wing is not separ- 

 ated from the blue crescent by a black line. There is no black 



1 1 have given in Papilio, Nov. — Dec. 1882, a detailed paper on the same subject. 

 I prefer after a repeated study to give the results here arranged in a different manner. 



