HERSE. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
527 
tkomsoniae, and on account of these garden-plants the species chiefly occurs in towns and villages, frequently 
coming to the lantern in the evening; it was observed between 8 and 11 p. m., once even already after 7 p. m. 
On being captured the imagines chirp in the same way as A. atropos. — Distributed through the whole of India 
(excepting the north-western parts of it), Indo-China to China, to the north as far as Peking, but not in Japan. 
As Chinese $$ often showed empty abdomina (Mell), the northern (palaearctic) specimens as well as many 
A. atropos are presumably sterile. Mell stated the greatest number of eggs from one specimen to be 279. Eggs 
deposited in the open air are frequently found to have been stung. 
A. sfyx Ww. (= medusa Mr., ariel Bsd., satanas Cuts, nec Bsd.) (60 a) is very near to atropos , but styx. 
according to the anatomical examination it is different. Easily discernible by the under surface of the abdomen, 
which in atropos shows black bands, whilst in styx it is yellow, decorated with few dark nebulous spots. — In 
the typical form, the range of which extends from Sikkim to South India, Ceylon to Ceram and Malacca, the 
dark forewings are in places covered with dark red-brown; in the northernmore form era this B. <L- -J. (= medusa crathis. 
auct., styx auct.) (Vol. II, pi. 36 a) which is particularly common in China and Japan, but also extends from 
Malacca to the Sunda Is., the forewing is more uniformly dark, excepting the light central spot almost quite 
monotonously blackish-brown. — ab. interrupta ('loss are specimens in which the exterior dark band of the interrupia 
hindwing is interrupted yellow between the veins. — Larva green or brownish-yellow, the oblique stripes 
often only shadow-like, but broad and accompanied by light lateral streaks. In South China, according to 
Mell, especially on Clerodendron inerme and fortunatum, as well as on Sesam and Ligustrum lucidum, and 
therefore not to be found near human habitations. In many districts common, the larva often found in 
wandering, betraying itself by cracking with its mandibles, which noise the death’s head larvae produce, when 
danger is imminent. Most of the varieties of bands on the hindwing above stated in A. atropos (Vol. II, p. 232), 
which have quite unnecessarily been denominated by Tutt, also occur in crathis, but do not deserve special 
names. For instance, the interior black band of the hindwing may be absent, it may be as thick as the exterior- 
one, or widened, the central spot of the forewing may disappear or be as large as the grain of mustard-seed, 
the forewing may exhibit white markings in the basal portion, or in the marginal portion, etc. According to 
Mell, these variations are confined neither to certain districts nor to seasons. 
2. Genus: Horse Oken. 
The genus is allied to the preceding one as well as to the Ethiopian Coelonia (Vol. XIV, p. 35s). As to 
the genus itself cf. Vol. II, p. 233. In the Old World four predominantly grey i/e?\se-species are opposed to 
one more pink-coloured species in the New World. The Indian species, above all convolvuli are known as 
wanderers also in Asia, flying every year far into the palaearctic region. They appear in the evening especially 
on Ipomoea and Petunia, as well as on Mirabilis jalapa, although tins flower has been introduced from America. 
They require a great deal of food, and in Southern China where they are extremely common they sometimes 
come from the verandahs into the rooms, swarming about flower-stands and bouquets; sometimes they even 
try to drink from picked flowers which one holds in one’s hands, and in doing so they most cleverly dip the 
apex of the proboscis, which is often more than 8 cm long, into the calix. Their eyes are shining very bright 
in the dark. In my garden at Ivauloon (Kwang-Tung) the Herse often were the only Sphingidae visiting the 
flowers in the evening (August), however in great numbers. 
H. convolvuli L. (= abadonna F.) (Vol. II, pi. 36 a). Pretty nearly all the forms of this species, that convolvul 
have been ascertained for the palaearctic region, may also occur in the Indian region, where we distinguish 
particularly large specimens (being especially common in Indo-China) as ab. major Tutt , those with an expanse 
of less than 75 mm as ab. minor Tutt, very small specimens which are little marked as ab. pseudoconvolvuli 
Schauf. (= batatae Christ.), large Eastern-Asiatic ones predominating in Hongkong as f. orientalis Btlr. orientally 
(= ichangensis Tutt, patates Men., large, wings almost quite uniformly greyish-brown); such insects, however, 
also occur now and again in the Sunda Is., and I also took some of them near Port Said in Egypt. — ab. 
nigricans Cannav., on the contrary, are very dark marked specimens, ab. obscura Tutt very black marked ones, nigricans 
and ab. fuscosignata Tutt are specimens in which the discal area of the fore wing is of a deep dark brown colour 
(as in Herse fasciatus 60 a), whilst in ab. suffusa Tutt this deep brown colour covers the whole forewing save 
for feeble lighter transverse streaks. — In ab. distans Btlr. (= roseofasciatus Koch) the rosy red colour of the 
abdominal bands is particularly bright, whilst in ab. alicea Neubgr. it turns reddish brass (faulty colour). 
In ab. virgata Tutt the centre of the forewing is tinted dark grey; in ab. variegata Tutt not only the discal area 
but also the marginal area is very much darkened, whereas the basal area remains light. — ab. tahitiensis 
Tutt is a form of a smaller average size and often very pale pink hindwing; it came from the South Sea, though 
it is not characteristic of it. — extincta Gehlen is founded upon a single male from New Mecklenburg, which extincta. 
is rather small (expanse 80 mm); its marking on the forewing is altogether washed out, and on the hindwing 
only the marginal band is feebly and indistinctly developed. - The larva is no less variable than the imago, 
green or brown. The brown specimens may superficially resemble the brown form of the Acherontia- larva, but 
they are always recognizable by the thin, retrocurved small horn which is never bent like an S; they usually 
