P YRA USTID.E—P VRA USTA. 167 



black or purple-black with a pale yellow or white central spot, 

 closely followed by a curved transverse band or stripe of the 

 same colour, broadest toward the costal margin ; outside this 

 is often a bright jmrple shade ; cilia dirty white. Female 

 similar. 



Underside similar to the upper, but the yellow markings 

 much larger and more brilliant ; the hind wiups having an 

 additional narrow yellow stripe near the hind margin. Legs 

 yellowish white ; purple-brown in front. 



Always and everywhere variable as already shown ; and the 

 fore wings sometimes almost as dark as the hind. 



On the wing from May till August, apparently in two 

 generations ; even emerging sometimes in April in the South. 



Larva apparently undescribed, said to feed upon Clino- 

 podium vidgatr. Thymus scrpyllum, Calamintha aciiios, and 

 other labiate plants ; in September and October. 



Pupa undescribed. 



The moth frequents rough fields, hillsides, and grassy 

 places generally where flowers abound — though it does not 

 often sic upon flowers, preferring stalks of grass and all sorts 

 of low-growing plants for this purpose. Very active in the 

 warm sunshine ; appearing and disappearing almost like a flash, 

 but darting away merely to circle round and return to nearly 

 the same spot, and not difficult to capture. Found still in 

 suitable spots even in the suburbs of London, and commonly 

 throughout the southern half of England ; more sparingly in 

 some of the more northern districts to Yorkshire and Durham; 

 but since it is often mistaken iov P.'purpurali-i, the records are 

 somewhat vague. In Wales found in Glamorganshire, Pem- 

 brokeshire, ^Montgomeryshire, Carnarvonshire and Denbigh- 

 shire, and probably throughout the Principality ; in Scotland 

 on the various hills of the Clyde district, in Fife, Berwick- 

 shire and Inverness ; and in Perthshire on the mountains to 

 an altitude of 2000 feet. Common and generally distributed 



