SAMIA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
503 
hyaline spots, of a fallow ground-colour, at the margin intensely marked with honey-colour; the postmedian 
stripe is inside bordered with black, outside with red, and behind this red margin there is another broad, white 
transverse band dusted with a greyish blue. — The larvae of atlas which I observed in Hongkong, Singapore, 
Metupalayan, and Colombo, almost exactly resembled one another, as far as can be judged without holding 
one up to the other. They also correspond with the Javanese form, except that the dark brown dotting is not 
always so distinct. The larva is otherwise leaf-coloured green, the head, ventral sides, ring-indentations, and 
ventral feet being darker, the anal valve with a violettish-grey spot. Each segment with G green obtuse cones 
of almost 1 cm length, the thoracal segments with dark green embossed spots. The larvae grow more than 
10 cm long and 2 cm thick, and have a white bloom on top. The cocoon resembles an enlarged cocoon of Samia 
cynthia, but it is much heavier; that of the live male with the pupa weighs 8 grammes, that of the female as 
much as 12. The larvae live on very different foliage-trees, but in captivity they like eating Alianthus glandulosa 
and Berberis. The development of the lepidoptera takes place most irregularly. Of more than 100 cocoons 
which I had collected in March 1902 in Colombo, in order to take them home to Europe, the first emerged 
during the voyage already in April, whilst the last only yielded entirely normal imagines after 1 y 2 years, in 
autumn 1903. How many of the 14 Attacus-iorms described are to be acknowledged as distinct sjiecies and 
which of them are to be considered only as vicarious forms, can only be decided when one has succeeded in 
ascertaining the larvae of all the forms. The specific separation of the following species from A. atlas can therefore 
only be regarded as a provisional arrangement. 
A. staudingeri Bothsch. (55 A b as dohertyi) is smaller, the two transverse stripes are very thick white, staudingcr 
and the transverse band extending behind the red exterior border of the postmedian band is still broader, 
more washed out, and dusted with red instead of blue. From Java. — Farther to the east the species varies 
more strikingly. 
A. crameri Fldr. (= atlas Cr.) shows the central hyaline spots reduced to mere slits on all the wings; crameri. 
this form originates from Amboina. Still farther eastward the Attacus of the Philippines exhibit remarkably 
elongated hindwings. In lorquinii Fldr. (55 C a) the shape and size of the central hyaline spots is yet similar lorquinii. 
to those of typical atlas, and it has no small accessory hyaline spots; in the $ the transverse bands and the 
bordering of the hyaline spots are thickly edged with black. — In caesar Mssn. & Weym. (= 54 a as lorquini) caesar. 
the $ mostly shows 3 hyaline spots, the accessory ones of which often rest on the postmedian band; from 
Mindanao. — imperator Ky. (— caesar Mssn. & Weym. part.) (54 b as imperialhs ) has small round spots in the hnperator. 
forewing, mostly only a few, the accessory ones often only representing light-centred dots, the spot on the 
hindwing being irregular and divided. From Bohol. 
A. edwardsi White (56 A a) exhibits a considerably darker total colouring, with a more olive tint, the edwardsi. 
antemedian stripe is inside dark, outside white, thus in opposition to most of the atlas- forms; the hyaline spots 
on the forewing do not touch the distal transverse stripe which is broader than in most of the forms of atlas ; 
in the hindwing the black marginal band-spots are larger. Besides the species is to be recognized by the 
unicoloured dark brown abdomen only exhibiting a white belt at the base, but no other light transverse bands. 
North India, in many valleys of the Himalaya not rare; also in the Khasia Hills. 
A. dohertyi Bothsch. (55 C a) likewise shows a darker though more sepia-brown ground-colour than dohertyi. 
edwardsi. Abdomen neither with light transverse rings. The hyaline spots of the wings are triangular, their margins 
somewhat drawn in; the white transverse bands are darkened; in the forewing there are traces of small accessory 
spots. Flores, Timor. 
4. Genus: Samia Hbn. 
This genus being also known as Philosam.ia Grt. contains about 7 forms distributed over India and is 
represented in the Ethiopian Region by the genus Diepanoptera with almost as many forms; with the latter 
genus it had formerly been united. The lepidoptera are throughout of a more or less yellowish-green colour; 
the wings show a narrow crescent instead of the otherwise usual Saturnia-e yespots. T he larvae are very similar 
to those of Attacus, covered with a white bloom which can be wiped off; each segment shows 6 fleshy thorns, 
which, however, do not terminate in a knob as in Argema, but are pointed as in Attacus. The pupa is very 
plump as that of Tropaea, in front stout, with a very much compressed abdomen, the cocoon outside grey, silky, 
often enveloped in leaves, inside brown and polished; it is often suspended by a long strong silk cord, particularly 
from the lower branches of the trees, so that most of the pupae are within easy reach. The imago has 3 or 4 
generations; it starts flying in summer at 9 p. m. and is attracted by the lantern. All the species are easy 
to breed and are in some places in America and Europe of erratic occurrence. For further particulars cf. Vol. II, 
p. 212. 
Ph. cynthia Drury aylanti Motsch.) (55 C b). As the typical form of this species we may regard cynthia. 
specimens from South China, which are very common in Hongkong, and which had been transplanted to North 
America, where they became erratic, so that their pupae in the United States are constantly exported to 
European collectors. As the typical form has been differently expounded, I have copied here the figure of a 
