A LEPIDOPTERIST's summer in central ITALY. 251 



that one species is persistently single-, and the other double-brooded, 

 breaks down entirely in a locality where both are at any rate double- 

 and probably triple-brooded. Fvirthermore, in a late spring like that 

 of the present year, it is at least probable that the first brood of the 

 two species would be nearly, if not quite, contemporary, and in all 

 years they must to some extent overlap. The only other theory which 

 would account for the facts, would seem to be that in both species 

 there is a tendency to throw back to a common ancestor, which must 

 have been half-way between the two. It would be an interesting 

 experiment to see whether the first broods of these species would 

 hybridize in captivity, and, if this be the case, whether the resulting 

 imagines are of this form. It may be worth while to add, that A. 

 coridnn at Assisi is, in this brood at any rate, of a somewhat brighter 

 tint than is usual in this species. 



The 28th was also marked by the first appearance of Cnlias hyale. 

 As this species became more common, C. ediisa became less so, and 

 when, towards the end of July, the latter became common again, the 

 former had almost disappeared, and from the time of my leaving 

 Assisi on August 6th, I saw it no more till August 20th, when a fresh 

 brood appeared. 



The 29th was a dull day, but as we were driving to Spello in the 

 afternoon, I started before the carriage and walked some four miles 

 before it overtook me. In spite of the dulness I took the following 

 species: Adopaea lineola, Erynnis alceae, Fieris manni var. rossii 

 (or rather a transitional form), P. napi, Cnlias e.dum, Parartje nieyaera, 

 E pi lu'jihde j iirti na , Bay irardia telicaniis, and ScoUtantidea baton,ihQ latter 

 of which was certainly the commonest " blue " throughout my stay in 

 Italy, and appeared to be continuously-brooded, both fresh and wasted 

 specimens being always to the fore. It was only after my return to 

 England that I gathered from Dr. Reverdin's paper m this magazine 

 that rossii is regarded as a variety (or summer form) of P. manni, and 

 not of P. rapae, as I have not seen Turati's paper, but I had indepen- 

 dently come to the same conclusion, P. var. rossii and perfectly 

 typical and considerably larger P. rapae being quite contemporary in 

 central Italy. 



On July 2nd I took the first specimen of Plebeias aryyrognmnon, a 

 $ , on the cemetery road near Assisi. This species afterwards became 

 common, and was to be taken in any numbers at the Piano della 

 Pieve, and in the nearly dry bed of the Tescio from July 19th onwards, 

 a few coming up as far as the cemetery road, but none being seen in 

 the vetch-fields to the south of the town. The specimens vary much 

 in size, but do not average larger than P. aeyon : the black border 

 of the $ is very clearly defined and narrow, succeeded on the hind- 

 wing by small black dots, but the nervures show black at their 

 extremities, and are generally perceptibly dark throughout ; the under- 

 sides have less white and less orange than P. aegon, but larger metallic 

 spots ; the $ s vary not only in size, but also in the the amount of 

 orange and blue on the upperside, some being almost entirely without 

 one or the other of these colours, and the amount of the one being 

 almost always in inverse proportion to the extent of the other ; on the 

 underside they have the ground colour of a clear fawn colour, the 

 white and orange bands being scarcely less conspicuous than in the 

 5 s of P. aegon. On the 2nd I also took a torn specimen of Limenitis 



