30O LEI'inOPTERA. 



orange-purple not much darker than th(> {.'round colour ; from 

 above the middle of the hind margin a large lunate orange- 

 red blotch extends to the apex, where it is obliquely cut of! 

 by a rippled white line; cilia dull yellowish white. Jiind 

 wings broad ami ample, rounded behind, silky purplisii- 

 white ; the hind margin tinged with pale purple ; cilia con- 

 colorous. Female less in expanse, with rather narrower fore 

 wings, usually devoid of the purplish shades, which are re- 

 placed by orange-yellow ; abdomen shorter but much 

 stouter. 



L'ndersides of all the wings extremely pale brownish- 

 yellow, the fore pair clouded with piu-jjle in the middle, and 

 having a purple second line, within this is a more curved and 

 threadlike line; discal spot obscurely black; a purple streak 

 from the hind margin runs into the apex ; cilia spotted with 

 dull purple. On the hind wings are two much curved trans- 

 verse brown lines. Body and legs yellow-brown. 



Not very variable except that often there is a tendency in 

 the male toward the more yellow-brown colouring of the 

 female. This is more especially noticeable in southern dis- 

 tricts, and iu the Isle of Wight fine large males are found 

 (piite as richly orange-yellow as any females. Scottish speci- 

 mens, on the other hand, are often more than usually purple 

 or even violet in tint- — some from Dumlmrtonshire taken ))y 

 Mr. J. R. ^Mnllock show this strongly. In those from the 

 west of Ireland the ground colour is ])ale and shining so that 

 the puiiilisli markings are unusually distinct. In Sussex 

 specimens, in !Mr. ]{. Adkius' collection, along with large well- 

 coloured males, are sometimes females iiaving the fore wings 

 crossed by six waved white lines edged with purple, ilr. S. 

 "W'ebb has a male of rather large size in which the fore 

 wings are almost uniformly yellowish-white for three-fourths 

 of their length, the usual markings as well as colour being 

 absent, while its hind wings are sinning white with a purple 

 band along the hind margin ; another male in the same 

 collection has the fore wings almost uniformly dull ])ur])le 



