86 



from the latter, thus: "Secondaries underneath brotviiish-ask 

 color, spotted with black and white." One says " brown," the 

 other " brownish-ash color." 



The colored figure shows the basal area of secondaries to be 

 whitey-brown, and there is a conspicuous blackish, triangular 

 patch on the disk at the origin of the median nervules, of which 

 the text is silent ; the extra discal area is scarcely whiter than the 

 basal, and is not composed of white spots, as would be understood 

 by the description. It is merely the uninterrupted white ground 

 of that part of the wing. Also, the margins by no means repre- 

 sent obsolete eyelets, as stated, but heavy dark confluent crena- 

 tions. 



I believe the typical Lucia, as bur collectors understand it, 

 has a more or less conspicuous black discal patch, as indicated in 

 Kirby's figure, and a heavy black border. As witness to this, 

 Mr. Scudder, Can. Ent., VIII., 62, describes Ljicia as having the 

 spots of the under hind wing " very large, usually completely 

 confluent, and often suffusing nearly the whole base of the wing ; 

 and the marginal markings tend to form a broad band, etc. This 

 agrees well with the figure, whereas the description might pass 

 for Violacca of a silver-blue shade, and on which the white scales 

 of under side had been partially denuded, so as to disclose the 

 brown sub-color, thereby leaving the white area somewhat macu- 

 lar. The fringes are white and black alternately. 



The typical Violacca is violet-blue above, light grayish-white 

 beneath, and all of one shade, there being nothing macular in it, 

 with dark points across the disks, and pale dusky crenations in 

 outline on the margins. But while, in W. Va., violet is a pre- 

 vailing color, many are lavender-blue, or silvery, and some, 

 especially females, are metallic blue. The range of color embraces 

 all the shades which are to be found in the northern corresponding 

 forms. The fringes are either white and black as in Lucia, or on 

 the hind wing white altogether. At the extreme north, the under 

 side of Violacca is not so white and pure as in the type, the brown 

 sub-color appearing more or less. The southern Violacca consid- 

 erably approaches JSeglccta in color of both sides. 



Now, in addition to the above-named and described forms, 

 which stand at the extremes of the series, there is another mid- 

 way between Lucia and Violacca, and distinctly characterized. 

 The males are silvery-blue and as often violet-blue, the females 

 almost always metallic blue, of the shade spoken of as sometimes 

 seen in the Virginian Violacca. The fringes white and 

 black, as in Lucia. The ground color of secondaries un- 

 derneath is whitish, and continuous, and the marginal 

 crenations are very heavy, confluent, black, making a con- 

 spicuous band. There is no discal patch, and therein it 

 differs from Lucia ; the marginal band separates it from 

 Violacca. This form is as unknown in Virginia as is Lucia^ 



