224 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



as the palpi of am-elia, though thej^ have their own distinctions, 

 approach much nearer to athalia than to parthenie. He also 

 states that parthenie, as a rule, has not less suffusion than 

 athalia ; but, taking the latter species from all its localities, in 

 some of which the suffusion is slight, yet thirty per cent, would 

 still be more heavily marked than parthenie, unless in the latter 

 varia is included, an inclusion which would also throw light on 

 the question of the palpi, those of varia approaching more closely 

 to aurelia than to parthenie. His comparison of the markings 

 from the base of the fore wings of aurelia outwards, on the under 

 side, to the letters G, U, R is certainly fanciful — I have rarely 

 been able to force my imagination into seeing the resemblance — 

 and on his own showing it breaks down as a test, since it occurs 

 also in athalia and parthenie. It cannot, however, be too strongly 

 insisted upon that no single test will hold good every time, and 

 that it is only by the multiplication of small tests that we can 

 arrive in all cases at tolerable certainty as to the parentage of a 

 given specimen. It is for this reason that I offer no apology for 

 the frequent use of the words " generally," " usually," " often," 

 " sometimes," &c., which will be found in the following descrip- 

 tions with somewhat wearisome iteration. 



We will now proceed to these individual descriptions, in which 

 I have employed the terms previously explained, confining myself, 

 by way of abbreviations, to the very intelligible " up. s., un. s." 

 for upper and under side, and " f.w., h.w." for fore and hind 

 wing. 



Deionb." — Up. s. f. w. : Border sometimes divided, showing a line 

 of the ground colour. All the black markings are generally narrow. 

 The inner subterminal line is almost straight in its lower two-thirds. 

 Elbowed line continuous, and generally not very much bowed in- 

 wards. Marginal blotch often reduced to two small V marks placed 

 thus >• <, often, however, joined by a black line, or even making a 

 small italic x placed horizontally, sometimes, however, merely a black 

 patch. Stigma more or less oval, and filled in with the ground colour, 

 which is a bright lightish golden brown ; basal lines distinct on both 

 sides of the median nervure. In the female the upper lunules are 

 generally, and the ground colour between the inner subterminal and 

 elbowed lines frequently, conspicuously lighter than the rest of the 

 ground colour. 



Up. s. h. w. : Border rather broad. Black markings generally 

 narrow, the inner line being the thickest, the outer often very fine. 

 Extra line complete and generally double, the discal spot being often 

 continued above, or below, or both, into a band or part of a band. 

 Very little basal suffusion, the basal spot being therefore incon- 

 spicuous ; it has often another single or double spot of the ground 

 colour on its inner and a band of the same on its outer side. 



* These remarks refer to the French specimens ; the Spanish are often 

 nearer to var. berisalensis. 



