47 8 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec., '08 



black spots more narrowly encircled with white and usually 

 larger than in antiacis. The ground color underneath is us- 

 ually much more uniform than in the latter, less plentifully 

 sprinkled at the base of the wings with metallic scales, and not 

 having the suffusion of white markings occurring both in 

 antiacis and xerces. Like them however it is a spring butterfly, 

 flying in March and April, and sometimes even in February. 

 It seems to me that bchrii is a distinct species and not a variety 

 of antiacis, for it can be readily distinguished from the latter 

 in the adult and larval state, and also by its habitat. I have 

 not taken bchrii in northern central California, but a form 

 quite distinct but closely allied to it. It flies a good ways south 

 of San Francisco, but I have not taken it in Monterey county, 

 about a hundred miles south of the city where there is a "blue" 

 very close to if not identical with the southern L. polyphcmns, 

 figured in Wright's book as antiacis but quite different from the 

 latter. 



Lycaena xcrccs is said by Boisduval to inhabit the Yuba 

 Mountains ("Montagues de la Juba") ; this appears unlikely, 

 but cannot be discredited until that region is well explored 

 entomologically in the proper season. It may fly locally in 

 Marin Co., north of San Francisco. Both antiacis and xcrccs 

 were formerly quite abundant in the Western Addition of the 

 city ; and this is where most probably xerces now in collections 

 come from. Here however it is nearly extinct, owing to the 

 progress of civilization, but it is still present as a small col- 

 ony in a limited area on the hills near the ocean, at the southern 

 boundary of the city and county of San Francisco. It is found 

 not on the sand dunes proper, but about sandy soil with rather 

 low and scant vegetation, where its food-plant, Lotus glaber 

 grows. Xerces always flies with antiacis. The latter is given 

 a wide range, but as far as I can ascertain, it is not the same 

 species of antiacis of other states or of other parts of this state. 

 There remains much to be done in this group, as anyone can 

 see who has a good series of these insects. 



Lycaena antiacis. 



Egg. Of the usual echinoid form, depressed at the top; micropyle 

 in a pit. A raised white net-work, the meshes quadrilateral, and sur- 



