LYCANID™. CHRYSOPHANUS. 321 
with a regular subbasal series of four spots, the posterior but one the smallest, a similar inner 
discal series, but the spots much larger, an oblong spot closing the cell, an outer discal series 
of six spots placed in pairs, but with a minute dot in the second median interspace added 
anteriorly to the posterior pair—all these spots black ; the rest of the markings much as in 
the forewing, but the orange band is narrower. Ci/ia white throughout. Zody concolorous 
with wings above and below. FEMALE. UPPERSIDE, doth wings with the dull glossy purple 
area not sharply defined asin the male. orewing with a prominent black spot in the middle 
and another at the end of the cell. Azndwing with the disco-cellular nervules marked with 
a black line, an obscure orange marginal fascia towards the anal angle. UNDERSIDE, Jorewing 
very differently marked and coloured to that of the male ; the base and outer margin only 
sordid white, the disc bright orange, the submarginal orange band of the male consequently 
absorbed in the ground-colour ; all the spots much smaller, less numerous and differently 
arranged to those of the male; the three spots in the cell as in the male but smaller, a single 
very small spot only below the cell just below the point where the first median nervule 
originates ; a nearly regular discal series of from six to eight spots, the uppermost on the costa 
sometimes absent, and the one in the submedian interspace sometimes divided into two ;. 
a double submarginal series of black spots, the inner series large and oblong, the outer series 
small and linear, indwing marked as inthe male, but the spots a little smaller, 
C. caspius, var. transiens is nearest to C. phenicurus, Lederer,* from Astrabad in 
Persia, and from Kouldja in western China,+t the male differing on the upperside of the hindwing 
in having but the barest trace of a submarginal orange fascia, and on the underside in having 
allthe spots much larger, more numerous, and differently arranged ; in C. caspius, var. transiens, 
the spots form a series of four transverse equi-distant bands, and, judging from the figure alone 
of C. phenicurus, the submarginal black fascia in C. caspius, var. ¢ransiens is further from the 
outer margin, and the orange band beyond it is broader. The female differs on the upperside of 
the hindwing in having an obsolete submarginal orange band towards the anal angle only, in 
C. phenicurus it is a broad prominent lunular band enclosing rounded spots of the ground- 
colour and extending almost to the apex of the wing. ‘The underside of the forewing is quite 
different in the two species, being alike in both sexes of C. phenicurus, and different in the 
opposite sexes of C. caspius, var. transiens. It is also less near to C. caspius, Lederer,£ which 
occurs on the shores of the Caspian Sea ; and still more distantly to C, athamanthis, Eversmann, 
from Western Siberia, and the Steppes north of the Aral Sea. 
Numerous specimens of both sexes of this species were obtained by Lieutenant FE. Y. 
Watson at Gunduk in June. He informs me that it occurs also at Quetta. 
I wrote the description above under the impression that my specimens represented a new 
species. Mr. H. J. Elwes informs me, however, that they agree ‘** perfectly with the var. 
transiens of Staudinger, which he considers to bea variety of C. caspius, Lederer.” I have 
therefore adopted this name. Colonel Swinhoe also considered the species to be new, and sent 
me a description of it after mine was written. He does not say what sex he described, but it 
was probably a female. I append Dr. Staudinger’s description§ and also Colonel Swinhoe’s, 
* Polyommatus phenicurus, Lederer, Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross., vol. viii, p. 8, pl. i, fig. 4, male; 5, Semale 
(1871). 
+ Alphéraky, Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross., vol. xvi, p. 377, n. 30 (188r). 
{ Polyommatus caspius, Lederer, Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross, vol. vi, p. 76, pl. iv, fig. 3, ale (1859). 
§ Chrysophanus (Polyommatus) caspius, Lederer, var. transiens, Staudinger, Stett. ent. Zeit., 1886, p. 2or. 
Hasirat: Samarkand. Expanse : Not given. Description ; ** Lederer first described Polyommatus caspius 
from a flown [z. e. worn] male, and called the forewings of this species ‘ Copper red, with a faint violet sheen ’ 
This specimen was plainly so represented, and this species is not at all to be recognized from this. Subsequently 
he says that the male from which he copied was ‘ somewhat flown’ [worn] and that ‘ fresh specimens havea 
beautiful violet blue sheen.’ According to this, this North Persian species, which now-a-days is diffused through 
all the larger collections, is to be at once recognized. Unfortunately, Lederer when he received later fresh 
specimens, must have given away this original casfzus,as it no longer remains in his collection. In 1881, 
I received from Habenhauer a greater quantity of specimens of this species, taken in July near Samarkand 
in the mountains lying southerly of that place, which on the upperside look exactly the same as the North 
Persian casfius ; only they bear mostly at the inner angle of the hindwings one or two reddish spots before 
the outer margin, which are entirely wanting in the Persian casfixs, So much the more different are they 
Al 
