ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 171 



well as in some parts of Oregon. It differs from the type, by the larger 

 amount of black on the upper surface, visible iu both sexes, by the smaller 

 size, and by the more suffused appearance of the lower side. The spots are 

 somewhat larger proportionally than in the type, in this respect resembling 

 Zerene. Behr, and the basal half of the secondaries is much darker in color, 

 while the margins of all the spots are larger and more intense. The whole 

 of the underside is also tinted with a purplish efflorescence, very visible in 

 fresh specimens. The female is always deeply suffused with black on the 

 lower side, and almost invariably has the spots either partially or wholly sil- 

 vered, a character not observable in the typical monticola. This beautiful var- 

 iety was first taken by Mr. W. G. W. Harford, at the Dalles, Oregon, and sub- 

 sequently by Mr. J. Behrens at Soda Springs, Siskiyou County, in which last 

 named locality I took about forty specimens, all characterized as mentioned 

 above, in the fall of 1875. It closely connects A. monticola with A. Zerene, 

 and may haVe been under Dr. Boisduval's eye when he confounded these two 

 species. 



Argynnis myrina. 



Though not found in California or Oregon, this species was taken in abun- 

 dance near Sitka, Alaska, by the late Mr. Bischoff. The specimens are 

 smaller than those of the Eastern States, and the whole of the underside 

 brighter in color, with the silver spots proportionally of a larger size. 



Melitcea Leanira. Bdv. Var. Obsoleta. Hy. Edw. 



Near San Rafael, in Marin County, I annually take specimens of a very cu- 

 rious variety of M. Leanira, so constant in its characters as to suggest the 

 idea of a new species. In the lower side of the typical form, the secondaries 

 are marked with black blotches near the base, and a double submedian band 

 inclosing a series of seven spots of the pale ochraeeous color of the ground. 

 In the variety obsoleta these marks are all obliterated, and nothing appears 

 but the black nervules and a slight black marginal line. In all other respects 

 the insect agrees with the typical form. It is somewhat singular that in the 

 locality in which these varieties are found I never met with the true Leanira, 

 which is always a very local iusect, and that, although I know several locali- 

 ties in which Leanira is found, it is only in the one mentioned above that I 

 ever met with the var. obsoleta. 



Pyrameis. Hybrid between P. Caryai and P. Atalanta. 



Hybrids among diurnal Lepidoptera are very rare, and the present is a very 

 interesting form, worthy of record. It was raised by Dr. H. Behr from a cat- 

 erpillar found feeding on nettles (urtica) at Laguuitas, Marin County, in 

 July, 1876. The perfect insect appeared in August. It presents a very sin- 

 gular conjunction of the characters of the two species, of which it is undoubt- 

 edly a hybrid. The spots across the primaries form a bent macular band, the 

 sub-apical spot being red and not white as in Atalanta, the base of the wing 

 behind the band being rusty red. The secondaries are blackish nearly over 



