Abstract
THE mealy spot on the base of the front margin of diurnal Lepidoptera, which emits an odour supposed to serve for sexual purposes, is present only in the male. It is therefore most interesting to observe that this spot is not always present in different individuals of the same species. Among the numerous varieties of Papilio priamus proved by rearing to belong to that species, the spot in question is present only in P. priamus, and is wanting in the male of all the varieties which have come under my observation. Callidryas eubule has the spot present only in specimens from Florida; it is wanting in all specimens from other localities of the United States, including a large number from Texas. In Colias electra and edusa, Keferstein (Wien. Zool. Bot. Gesell. 1882, p. 451) states that after an examination of a series of males he has found the mealy spot only exceptionally present, and the same is supposed by him to be the case in other species of Colias.
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HAGEN, H. The Mealy Odorous Spot in Lepidoptera. Nature 28, 244 (1883). https://doi.org/10.1038/028244b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/028244b0
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