356 LEPIDOPTERA. 



purple hind-marginal stripe, which narrows off into the 

 extreme apex, but the same purple colour extends back 

 a short distance from this on the costa; orbicular stigma 

 absent; reniform unmargined — merely an oblong darker 

 purple spot in the central band ; cilia purple-brown, sharply 

 scalloped as in the margin. Hind wings rather narrow, 

 with a sinuous hind margin ; colour shining white with 

 a yellow gloss ; extreme hind margin and cilia purplish- 

 red. Female very similar, but in some examples the 

 purple-red of the hind margin of the hind wings shades 

 inward toward the middle; antennae thread-like; body a 

 little stouter. 



Underside of the fore wings yellowish-white shaded with 

 fulvous along the costa, and broadly so at the apex and hind 

 margin ; beyond the middle is a similar slender angulated 

 partial transverse line ; hind wings yellow-white ; costal 

 region broadly tinged with fulvous, which extends slightly 

 to the hind margin and fully to the cilia ; beyond the middle 

 is a very slender, curved, similar transverse line. Body pale 

 purplish-red ; legs yellow ; leg-tufts white, tinged with purple- 

 red. 



Variation in this species is usually in the degree of in- 

 completeness of the central band. Very often this is entirely 

 cut off from the costa by the yellow ground colour, or the 

 second line is complete and the rest of the band so cut off ; 

 or even occasionally both lines are complete and yet the 

 costal region of the band is yellow in varying degrees. In a 

 rare variety the band is complete from margin to margin ; 

 and in another, even more beautiful, the complete purple or 

 purple-red band is supplemented by similar colouring over 

 the whole basal and hind marginal regions, a narrow line 

 of yellow, bordering the first and second lines, being the 

 only trace of the usual ground colour. This last is known 

 as var. wiiicolor^ Gn. It is rare with us, but is said to be 

 common in central France. 



On the wing in August and September. 



