THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELITiEA. 81 



of the group to which deione now seems to approach is athalia, 

 and this only in the darker and more heavily marked forms of 

 the former, and only on the up. s., the un. s. always affording 

 abundant distinction. 



Few as are the varietal or aberrational names to which 

 parthenie has given rise, it is a very variable insect. In Central 

 France it reaches a large size, and is brightly coloured, belonging 

 frequently to Caradja's form heata — more distinctly so, indeed, 

 than many of the specimens from the French Pyrenees them- 

 selves. In the Eastern French Alps, on the contrary, they are in- 

 clined to be small, though perhaps somewhat larger than those 

 from Switzerland, except at a height (about 3000 f t ) where the 

 species begins to be single-brooded. In Central Italy the ground 

 colour becomes very light, the markings also being generally 

 slighter than in other races ; this is even more noticeable on 

 the un. s., the broad and scarcely divided central band being 

 often very remarkable, especially in the females. This race is 

 not specially small, and occasional specimens have the markings 

 quite up to the average, but in all I have seen the ground colour 

 remains light. An extreme contrast to this form is afforded by 

 the Spanish race, whose dark ground colour and heavy markings 

 and variegated females bring them very near to the dark berisal- 

 cnsis-Yike form of deione, which is found in the same localities. 

 These characters are apparently common to the species from 

 Northern Spain to Andalusia. I am entirely at a loss what to 

 say as to German specimens of parthenie, as nothing I happen 

 to have seen from Germany purporting to be this species has 

 any near resemblance to it. It must occur, one would think, in 

 the west and south-west, but the writings of German authors on 

 the subject leave one in considerable doubt. This doubt begins 

 to arise when serious comparisons are made between parthenie 

 and aurelia, two of the most widely different species of the whole 

 group ; unless, indeed, these comparisons are intended to in- 

 clude varia, a species much more closely connected, in my 

 opinion, with aurelia than with parthenie, but which can hardly 

 occur except in the very highest elevations in Germany, though 

 the earliest descriptions and illustrations of parthenie seem rather 

 to represent a light form of varia. This is one of the many 

 points which still requires careful investigation ; the material at 

 present at my disposal is wholly insufficient for the purpose, but 

 I hope at some future time to be able to clear up this (and some 

 few other points) satisfactorily. With regard to aberrational, as 

 distinct from racial, forms, ijarthenie is quite as rich as athalia, 

 though only two — jordisi, Kiihl, and aphaa, Freyer — have been 

 named, and even the latter name was given, so to speak, acci- 

 dentally. Yet every form of athalia, whether of the navarina or 

 the corythalia group, has its counterpart in this species also. 

 Melanic forms are given by Aigner-Abafi in his paper above 



