rare as ever in a wild state. Indeed. I think 1 only remember one year 

 when more were bred than Varley reared in 1864, when the number got 

 up to about thirty specimens among several collectors. 



Rarelvhave half-a-dozen specimens occurred in any one year, usually 

 not more than one, two, or three, often none at all. In a wild state it is 

 much rarer than Hiqrospar^^afa, although m collections it is now much 

 the commoner form of the two; hut that is because varleyafa breeds 

 absolutely true, and has been reared in large numbers by several 

 leindopteHsts. I liave reared and set many hundreds of it myself. It 

 varies exceedingly in the character of the white marking upon it. 

 Sexuallv dimorphic, in that the males almost always have a greater or 

 less number of white cuneate marks on the fore, or hind wings, or on 

 both, whilst the females, except in the very rarest cases, show no trace of 

 these cuneate marks. Some of the males show a great deal of this white 

 marking, which gives them an exceedingly handsome rayed appearance ; 

 but in "all my long experience I have only bred two females which 

 showed it at all extensively, and the only ones in which it occurred on 

 both fore and hind wings ; these both emerged last year from a for some 

 years inbred strain. Previously I had only seen any trace of it in a 

 very few specimens, not a dozen all told, and then it only appeared 

 as one or two white dots or short streaks on the hind wings. I do^not 

 think I have ever seen one even of such from a wild larva. The 

 white band near the base of the fore wings varies infinitely in both 

 sexes. In the original description it was depicted as a clear white 

 band right across near the base of the fore wings, but in many cases 

 the band does not go nearly across, and in the extreme dark form does 

 not appear at all, the fore wings being absolutely black throughout, 

 and becoming subvar. nigro-varleyafa. Except when it is entirely 

 absent, it invariably starts from the inner margin, and may consist of 

 simply a small wedge-shaped spot or narrow streak ; in othei^ this streak 

 is followed midway between it and the costa with another clear white 

 narrow streak. In one striking form of which I have had a considerable 

 number, the white band takes a zigzag shape, and branches out to the 

 right at some distance from the costa, giving the appearance of the shape 

 of^a deer's antler; in some cases this antler mark is foUowed on the costa 

 by a clear white spot. The width of the white band in the more 

 normal forms of the variety varies greatly from a mere narrow streak of 

 irregular shape to a quite broad fascia of almost imiform width 

 throughout. These bands, too, are often absolutely clear, but in 

 numerous cases they contain a single conspicuous black spot in the 



