I'M. 2. II. 1910. ZEPHYRUS. L5y Dr. A. Seit;^. 269 



more dispersed wiiite spots, which are not iiccompanied by distinct dark dots as in nymot\pical fengstroemi; 



North China and MongoHa. — tangutica Gi-.-Grsh. (7B t'. erroneously spelt torgutica) differs from the previous tangutica. 



form hardly in anytiiing else Init tiie darker ground-colour, the white spots of the underside theiefore being 



more jirominent : from Amdo. — iliensis Gr.-Grsh., from western Tibet, has the liindwing beneatii \:ialer, iliensis. 



with a greenish tint and strongly reduced markings. — Larva with the ground-colour greenish white, the 



back being almost entirely brownish: the dorsal line as well as the lateral one reddish brown, between 



them small yellowish white oblique smears; head black. In April adult on a shrubby species of Astragalus 



(Ghristoph). The butterflies occur in May on steppes and in meadows. 



14. Genus: Zepliyriis Dalm. 



On the whole largei' than the species of Thecla, brighter and the cf often magnificently metallic. 

 The cf nearly always without distinct scent-patch. Both wings broad, with convex distal margin, the hindwing 

 with rather long tails, whicii are entirely absent only in rare cases (Z. pmienj. The anal lobe on the 

 contrary is less developed that in Thecla. The ?? have on the disc of the forewing above nearly always a 

 pale patch, which appears in Thecla only in exceptional individuals. While the upperside is often very 

 different in the various species, the underside is verj' uniform in the genus. Nearlj' all the species have, 

 beneath in the outer third , a broad wedge-shaped costal band edged with pale on both sides and ending 

 in a point before the lower median vein ; often an additional similarly coloured band or a hooked double 

 line on the cross-veins. Sexual dimorphism is strongly marked and obtains in all the species. 



Egg more rounded, less flattened, and as a rule more coarsely chiseled tlian in Thecla. The larva 

 is already developed in the summer, but does not leave the egg before the next spring in the species 

 whose life-histor}- is known. The larvae, as far as they are known, feed on shrubs and trees. They are 

 somewhat more strongly flattened on the mesothorax than in Thecla, in which the thoracical segments often 

 project hood-like when the head is retracted. The larvae of Zephyrm are more densely hairy when young; 

 before pupation the colour, if not already brown, changes to a pale yellowish brown. The pupa ver\- 

 smooth, rounded everywhere, without a distinctly projecting cremaster. 



Zephi/nis has been split up into a number of genera (Dipsas, Bithys, Ruralis, etc.). We abstain here 

 from this generic separation and adopt instead a division into easily recognized groups characterized by 

 colour and facies, which will simplify the determination of the species. These butterflies partly belong to 

 the most beautiful forms among Lepidoptera and even among all insects. On the wing the}' glitter like 

 jewels, after which some of them are named. They occur singly throughout, although they are not rare, 

 only Zeph. betidae have I met with in numbers, though only cfcf. They rest on Umbellifers or more often 

 on the tips of branches of shrubs, chasing insects which fly by; their flight is sometimes rather fast. 



a. cf green or bluish green with metallic gloss: only in East Asia and the 



Himalaya. 



Z. orientalis AJurr. (= diamantina Oberth., cognata Sfgr.) (73 g). cf above metallic blue-green with orienfalis. 

 silvery reflections, without a black marginal band, onlj' tlie extreme edge being black, with white fringes. 

 ? above brown, paler beyond the cell, where there is often a yellow or brown smear. The underside 

 identical in the large number of specimens before me caught by myself: of the wedge-shaped band situated 

 before the outer margin only the inner line is distinct, the outer one being visible only on account of its 

 pale outer edge: in the anal area of both wings small darker spots. The markings and colouration of the 

 underside is particularly well developed in the ?. Leech mentions specimens in which the discocellular 

 band of the underside is completel}' absent, ab. suffusa Leech (73 h) are cfcf in which the blue-green suffusa. 

 gloss is restricted to some places in the outer third of the forewing, the whole disc and the base of the 

 wings being black-brown as in the ?. In connection herewith we mention that in most golden green 

 Zephijrus there occur sometimes ?? which show some metaUic scaling like that of the cf. — This species, 

 witich is easily recognized bv the silvery blue-green upperside of the cf, is distributed over East Asia, 

 occurring in Amurland, Corea, Central and North China and Japan. The larva lives until June on oak; it 

 is ashy grey, with darker markings, the segments projecting laterally. The butterfly is found on road-sides 

 and shrubs form the end of June until August; local, but not rare. 



Z. syla Koll. (= sila Oberth.). This form has a similar metallic blue-green upperside as the preceding, syla. 

 but differs above in the black edge being a little broader, though remaining still so narrow that one can 

 hardlv call it a marginal band as in the following forms. The underside, however, approaches that of 

 Z. smaragdimi, being as in the latter more brownish, with the wedge-bands proximally more broad!}' shaded 

 with blackish. Kashmir. This species extends apparently farthest west of all the golden green Zephifruti, 



I 34 



