TIMELAEA. By Dr. A. Seit7.. 225 



1o he farther away from the fringe, the russet-brown marginal hand being rather broad. — The nymotypical 

 Sindura Moore (nee Alph.) occurs in West Tibet and also in the North-Western Himalayas, being represented 

 in India by the much darker sikhimensis Moore. — In Palaearktic Kashmir flies balbita Moore (67e), whose bn/Ma. 

 facies strongly recalls our dictynna, to which the species is closely allied. This form from Kashmir differs from 

 nymotypical sindura by its larger size and by the less deep coloured and less heavy black markings, wliich occupy 

 less space. — In tibetana Fawc, from Southern Tibet, the ground-colour is more pale brass-yellow in the basal tibetana. 

 area of the forewing and a row of small marginal lunules on the upperside of both wings is white. — In the 

 very small ab. amoenula Fldr. only the marginal markings are strongly'developed; the black colour being other- amoemda. 

 wise restricted to some small spots at the base and in the cell, the median area bearing only a row of equal- 

 sized minute dots. — In ab. solona Alph. (67e) this row of dots is absent, being replaced by a thick black line solona. 

 on the forewing, while the costal half of the hindwing is altogether devoid of dark markings. In the $ the fiery 

 yellowish red median area contrasts strongly with the pale ground of the forewing, rendering the insect super- 

 ficially somewhat similar to certain rfi'rfywa-formsf'a/pina, hicolor); Tian-shan. — asterioidea Stgr. (67d), which astcrioidea. 

 connects the series of sindura-lorxwi^ with M. arcesia, is the smallest form, with pale ochreous ground-colour; 

 it has of all forms united under sindura the black markings most abundantly developed, even the median area 

 of the hindwing not being quite devoid of them; from the Ala-tau. — pallida Stgr. (67d)"is somewhat larger, pallida. 

 but as pale ochreous as the preceding and beneath more abundantly marked with black; from Ferghana and 

 the Issyk-kul. — clara Stgr. (67d), from the western Tian-shan, agrees in its small size exactly with the typical clara. 

 asterioidea, but is fiery reddish yellow instead of pale ochreous, the upperside bearing as few black markings as 

 solona. — variegata Stgr., from Boro-Choro in the central Tian-shan, agrees above exactly with asterioidea, variegata. 

 but the hindwing beneath is more brightly variegated. — jezabel Oberth. (67d) resembles balbita most on the jezahel. 

 upperside, but the underside is much more uniformly brick-red, the pale band of the liindwing also being dusted 

 with this colour; from eastern Tibet and Se-chuen. — In maculata Stgr. the black transverse stripes of macnUUa. 

 the median area are separated into rows of spots and the underside bears a row of cons|)icuous black spots; 

 from the mountains of the eastern Tian-shan. — The enormous extent of the area inhabited by M. sindura 

 and the physical differences of the various localities render it intelligible that the insect has been split up into 

 such a large number of named forms. However, as three names apply to specimens from Tibet and four to such 

 from the Tian-shan, the number of forms will perhaps be reduced in future, and probably arcesia also included 

 in the present species. But this can only be done in a monographic revision based on a very large material. 

 The forms of sindura are mountain-insects which fly in July and .August for the most, part at very considerable 

 altitudes (up to ilOOO ft.), being abundant at their flight-places. 



M. asteria Frr. (71e). The smallest Melitaea; dusted with dark russet , the whole insect appearing blackisli. asteria. 

 The ground-colour is represented only in the distal area of the wings by small dull spots. The underside is 

 bright, the russet-yellow forewing being broadly margined with yellow and heavily spotted with black, and 

 the hindwing bearing on a pure pale yellow ground deep brown bands, which are almost black in the basal 

 area. Widely distributed in the higher Alps, but not below 5000 ft. — altaica Stgr. is somewhat larger than aliaica. 

 the European form, the forewing beneath still more heavily spotted with lilack and tlie upperside slightly paler; 

 in the Altai, only at considerable heights (7 — 8000 ft.; Elwes). — Larva black, with black head and black 

 hairy spines, like the cynthia-larva with yellow belts between the segments and small yellow spots, hut more 

 strongly yellow-spotted, the yellow ])rolegs being externally brown. The butterflies occur in the Alps in July, 

 according to Ruhl in 2 broods; RIlwes found in the Altai the form altaica already worn at the end of June. 

 They fly on grassy slopes with a peculiar rushing flight, wliich, in connection with the dark ujiperside, renders 

 the insects quite dissimilar to other Melitaeas. 



M. yuenty Oberth. (67e, f) This Melitaea deviates entirely from the others in its lenuirkable pattern, ynenty. 

 which shows already a certain similarity to the species of the next genus, Timelaea. The wings strongly rounded, 

 hence the Chinese name (yuen-ti ^ round); the black transverse and curved lines are separated in very regu- 

 larly placed rows of spots. The underside bears likewise curved rows of dots, which are especially present 

 on the hindwing at the base, in the pale yellow median band and at the margin. — The butterflies occur in 

 June and July in West China, not being rare in certain places and being found in the mountains up to 

 10000 ft. 



13. Genus: Timelaea Luc. 



The forms which became first known were described us Melitaea. The genus contains medium-sized 

 species, which are black-spotted on a red-brown ground like Melitaea and Argynnis. Easily distinguished 

 from Melitaea as well as Brenthis and Argynnis in the underside being exactly marked and usually also of nearly 



