BUTTERFLIES OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 137 



the first of July individuals of a new brood appear. These slowly 

 increase in numbers and become abundant in the last week of the 

 month and the first week in August, after which their numbers 

 decline. A third brood, composed of relatively few individuals, 

 appears early in September and flies until about the middle of the 

 month. 



Notes. — The butterflies of the first brood are of three quite differ- 

 ent forms. The earliest to appear are of the form hicia, which I 

 have found common along Paint Branch and frequent at Cabin John 

 in the last half of April and in the first week in May. There are 

 specimens in the Schonborn collection dated April 27 and May 3, 

 and Mr. Shoemaker has taken it in the last of April. The Schonborn 

 collection includes specimens of violacea taken on April 13, 14, and 

 20, Mr. Shoemaker has specimens taken the last of April, and I have 

 a series including both sexes taken on May 25 ; but I have also taken 

 it commonly in the last half of April when it was flying together with 

 the form lucia. These two forms appear practically simultaneously, 

 but lucia soon disappears while violacea emerges over a rather long 

 period. 



The form violacea here occurs both in the usual violet phase and 

 in a blue phase in which there is little, if any, trace of violet. 



In June the summer form pseudargiolus (or neglecta) appears. 

 In the Schonborn collection there is a series of six taken on June 12 

 and I have a pair taken on June 17 and a female taken on June 23. 

 It is possible that these June specimens may be the young of earlier 

 individuals of the forms lucia or violacea^ but in view of what is 

 known about this species elsewhere I have considered them as belong- 

 ing to the spring brood. 



These early individuals of the form neglecta differ from those 

 found later in the summer. The males are somewhat paler and have 

 a slight violet tinge; the hind wings are very indistinctly marked, 

 being heavily dusted in the light areas with blue scales. The females 

 are dull, and the light areas on both wings, which are not sharply 

 defined, are rather heavily dusted with blue or light brownish scales. 



The late July males of the form pseudargiolus are usually very 

 brightly colored. The fore wings are brilliant blue with a very 

 slight violet tinge. The outer border is black, at the apex for about 

 the width of an interspace, gradually tapering to a fine line at the 

 lower angle. The hind wings have a threadlike margin of black 

 followed by a blue border broader than an interspace, which becomes 

 indistinct and narrow anteriorly. The remainder of the hind wings 

 is white, crossed by blue veins and with a more or less heavy blue 

 dusting basally and along the costal and especially the abdominal 

 border. In some individuals the white on the hind wings is more 

 or less completely obscured by blue scaling. The females have the 



