234 THE entomologist's record. 



July 21st, 1899, in the Pfynwald ; July 22nd, 1899, at Martigny ; July 19th, 1900, 

 May 20th, 1901, June 3rd-4th, 1902, at Branson, on the marshy ground both sides 

 of the river at the Rhone Ijridge : May 13th, 1903, between the railway and the 

 Rhone, about a mile S.W. of Sion (Wheeler) ; Angust 3rd-4th, 1905, in the Pfyn- 

 wald (Keynes); July lOth-Uth, 1906, at Branson, July 1 lth-20th, 1906. at 

 Martigny (Reverdiu) ; May 30th, 1907, ten i s, 25mm. -29mm., on railway-bank, 

 east of Sion, covered with Anthyllus, TrifoJiitm, Medlcacjo, Lotus, etc., and flying 

 with Polyommatiis icarns, Agriades hellarguH, Pleheius argyrognomon, etc. (Tetley); 

 Bex (Murray) ; Ticino — Reazzino, June 6th, 1903, fairly common ; Monte Bre, at 

 summit, June 13th, 1903 (typical argiades, captured lower down on this mountain, 

 July 24th, 1904) (Lowe), 



Hiibner figaires {Eur. Schnett., pi. Ixv., figs. 319-321) an Everid 

 species — Fig. 319, ^ , bright blue ; fig. 820, 5 , entirely fuscous, no 

 orange on upperside ; fig. 321, $ underside, spots rounded, sub- 

 marginal row of forewings angulated ; caudal spot on hindwing with 

 slightest possible trace of orange lunule = f/r6'sm.s,Hb. 



He also figures {Eur. Scluiiett., pi. Ixv., figs. 322-324) an Everid 

 species — Fig. 322, ^, rather more violet-blue, but still bright; fig. 

 323, ? , fuscous, with purple tinge at base of forewings, and at base 

 and in median area of hindwings, also orange crescents on hindwings ; 

 fig. 324, $ underside, spots lineated, submarginal row of forewings 

 straighter ; ground colour bluer ; two caudal spots on hindwings 

 orange-coloured = ai)i(/)itas, Hb. 



The undersides of these two insects indicate a recognisable difter- 

 ence, of which that of ann/ntas is almost typical of what we now know 

 as artjiades, and that of tiresias as alcetas. This difference Hiibner 

 evidently recognised. Hofi'iuansegg, in 1804, observed that the insect 

 figured as, and called, th-esias, by Hiibner, was not tiresiax, vou Eott., so 

 he renamed it {III. Ma;/., iii., p. 205), without description, alvetas. In 

 1806, Hiibner described the insects he had figured, on pi. Ixv., some 

 years earlier, and adopted {Eur. Schinett., text p. 51) Hoflmansegg's 

 name alvetas, for figs. 319-321, but especially noted it as having " no 

 trace of any ochre-coloured suffusion on the underside," although 

 he had feebly indicated such a trace in his figure (821). In 1808, 

 Ochsenheimer states {Die Schmett., i., pt. 2, p. 60) that he " had seen 

 an aberration (perhaps a distinct species) in Schiffermiilier's collection, 

 under the name of coretas, in which tbe reddish-yellow spots and 

 silvery centres were both entirely absent." Ochsenheimer's work, 

 being much cheaper, was more generally distributed than Hubner's, 

 and so it happened that, while Hoflmansegg's (and Hiibner's) name 

 alcetas was overlooked, coretas came into general use for the insect 

 with no orange crescents on the underside of the hindwings, directly 

 above the tail. Another reason for this was Hubner's own action, for, 

 abou.t 1816, in the Verzeichniss, p. 69, he erroneously referred his 

 figures of tiresias {Eur. Schuiett., pi. Ixv., figs. 319-321) io polysperdwn, 

 Bergstr. At any rate from this time the insect Avas known as coretas, 

 Ochs. (except in France where it was known as poli/sperchon). It may 

 be noted that Staudinger repeated this blunder {Cat., 2nd ed., p. 9), 

 referring both tiresias, Hb., and alcetas, Hb., to poUjsperchon, Bergs. 

 It is clear that Staudinger could never have compared these figures. 



Ochsenheimer's statement that coretas appeared to be an aberration 

 of aiuijntas {anjiades) has been generally accepted, nor does his sugges- 

 tion that it was possibly a distinct species, appear to have been fol- 

 lowed up, nor has the fact that Hiibner and Meigen treated it as a 



