PARARGE. By Dr. A. Seitz. 135 



together asleep. They belong to the commonest buttertHes in Europe, and occur in the plains as well as 

 in the mountains. Specimens which vary in the number or position of the ocelli (ab. a/berti, a. o.) may 

 everywhere be found singly among the normal forms. 



P. hiera F. (45 d). Above very similar to the next species, muera, but always black-brown, of the hiera. 

 colour of the darkest maera-iovm, the forewing less pointed, with straighter distal margin; on the underside 

 of the forewing the russet-yellow distal band does not extend without interruption to the anal angle, but stops 

 at the lower median vein or is there interrupted. The apical ocellus, moreover, has less often a double 

 pupil, being mostly quite circular and not always accompanied by a small accessorj' eye-dot (towards the apex), 

 as is nearly always the case in maera. Besides, hiera is usually of lesser size than the smallest maern, and 

 the black markings, which are very similar to those of meyera, shine through on the completely darkened 

 upperside. In the higher mountains of Southern Europe: the Black Forest, Alps, Carpathians, Apennines, 

 and the Balcan; also in Asia Minor, the mountains of Central Asia, the Altai, and the Kentei Mts. Further, 

 in the North and here often in the [tlains, as for instance in North Russia, Finland, Livonia and Amurland, 

 but also in the mountains of the North, e. g. in Scandinavia. — The northern specimens are on the whole 

 darker and more unicolorous , sometimes almost without markings ; Neublieger named such specimens fin- finmarchica. 

 marchica. — Larva uniformly green, the dark dorsal line being only distinct posteriorly; on Festuca. 

 The butterflies are on the wing in the plains in May and June , in the high mountains not until June and 

 July, not rare in most places; it affects resting under overhanging rocks and settles on stones and walls; 

 the flight is similar to that of megera and maera. 



P. maera L. (= adrasta Dup.) (45 d). Un an average larger than hier(t, more evenly coloured, the maera. 

 black markings of the ground less prominent in the nymotypical form with a sooty brown disc; the fore- 

 wing of the cf more pointed, with longer costal margin and more oblique distal margin; on the underside 

 of the forewing the distal band extends without interruption across the median veins to the hindmargin. 

 The underside of the hindwing has a much purer ground-colour, i. e. there are less clouds and shadows 

 between the \arious dentate lines which cross the disc. The apical ocellus has a stronger tendency towards 

 duplication . being usually somewhat distorted obliquely and — at least beneath — bearing two pupils. 

 Between this ocellus and the apex there is nearly always a minute eye-dot , there occurring also often 

 specimens with other accessory ocelli (ab. trio^js Fuchs). Moreover, the ocelli of the hindwing are as a rule 

 somewhat larger than in the same sex of /(/«-/•«. — A very large material proves that it is hardly possible 

 to find definite trenchant distinctions , especially if one takes into account the large number of local forms 

 of maera, all the various kinds of pattern and coloration exhibiting a great variability. In North and East 

 Europe to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in Morocco, in Antei'ior and Central Asia to the Altai. — 

 In the form monotonia Srhihli- the upperside entirely unicolorous. without ochre-yellow area around the monotonia. 

 oceUi; of regular occurrence in the high North, prevalent in several high mountains (Alai-Tau, Balcan. 

 Ararat), and in many districts as a rare aberration. — adrasta Hbti. (45 d), an especially West European adrasta. 

 form, has entirely yellow ??, while the cfcf liave a very bright yellow distal band, less dark ground-colour, 

 and usualh' light-coloured scaling in the disc of the forewing. Proceeding towards the North and East one 

 meets with all grades of darkening from the very yellow a^/rrrste- forms, as they are found west of the 

 Rhine, to the nymotypical form and even to monofoniu. — maja Fiichs is only a small ar/ranfa from the maja. 

 Rhine. — sicula Slc/r. (45 e) is a large, somewhat pale warra-torm from Sicily, with very light underside, siculn. 

 the band of the forewing being crossed by very distinct dark veins: the ?? strongly recall by their pale 

 colour the Asiatic srhakra. — In orientalis Stgr., from Asia Minor, Syria and Armenia, the ochre-yellow of oricntalis. 

 the upperside replaced by brown-yellow. — adrastoides Bien. is a very aberrant form from Persia which adrastoides. 

 is deep black-brown above and ornamented with a bright reddish yellow l)and, therefore almost resembling 

 an Ercbia ; the underside, too, is more variegated than in all the other maera-iorms. — In maerula Fldr. maenUa. 

 (45 f) the ilistal band is cut up by the veins as in dcida, l)ut so strongly that the band of tiie forewing 

 is separated into completel}- isolated rounded spots. On the underside of the hindwing there appears a 

 light grey distal band in consequence of the darkening of the basal area and distal margin; in Kashmir, 

 extending into the Oriental Region in the western Himalaya; rare. — sctialira KoU. (45 e) resembles ihe schalira. 

 previous form in colour and pattern so closely that Marshall and Niceville regarded it to be possibly 

 an aberration of schakra. But the cf of schakra has always a very broad and conspicuous scent-streak 

 below the cell of the forewing, which is never present in maerula. — montana Hormuz., from the moun- montana. 

 tains of the Bukovina, is a very dark form; the ground-colour of the upperside approaches that of the 

 following form, menava; the hindwing beneath is brown instead of grey. — The cT of menava Moore '"fiiava. 

 (= nashreddini Christ.) (45 f) has no distal band , but a scent-organ which becomes distinct in a certain 

 light, being a glossy black wedge-shaped patch, the tip of which lies at the apex of the cell, while its 

 broad base rests on the hindmargin; the ? has a broad, but short distal band which has a dark proximal 

 border. Persia, Afghanistan, Beluchistan, Kashmir, Chitral and Turkestan. — maeroides F/dr. comes tio marroides. 

 close to iiiniara that they have been united by some authors. Bin(wl\.m believes it to be an accidental 

 aberration, hut the (f constantly differs from marroidcf! in the upperside of the forewing bearing ])elow the 



