134 LEPIDOPTERA. 



lower down than the fifth, and much nearer to the hind 

 margin. The four rounded spots — the second and third 

 pairs — have usually the centres of a brighter vermilion than 

 their margins, the scales appearing there to be crowded and 

 slightly raised ; and the third and sixth are commonly 

 divided by dark nervures. Hind wings shaped as in the 

 previous species, or slightly more pointed at the apex, bright 

 vermilion with a narrow, somewhat irregular, dark blue edging 

 or stripe along the hind margin. Cilia of the colour of the 

 wing-margins. Female similar, but with broader and often 

 greener forewings, and of slightly larger size. 



Underside of the forewings paler bluish-grey, with the 

 spots bright red, usually of larger size than on the upper side, 

 or confluent, and very often suffused into a pale red cloud 

 which then occupies a considerable portion of the wing ; hind 

 wings as above, body black. Variable in the size of the red 

 spots which in the male often become small, and in the 

 female large ; occasionally the second pair is confluent, more 

 frequently the third, indeed the latter pair sometimes forms 

 one large spot while those of the former are separated. 

 More often, however, both are joined, and more rarely the 

 confluent pairs extend towards each other, or unite, forming 

 a longitudinal blotch. Sometimes the sixth spot is obscured, 

 diminished, or almost absent, but it seems to be always 

 present on the underside. In a curious aberration which I 

 took on the bank of the Thames the lower spot of the middle 

 pair is absent, both above and below. In colour the variation 

 is very great and is also somewhat local. In Essex many 

 specimens have been taken by Mr. W. H. Harwood of which 

 the spots and hind wings are of some paler shade of red or 

 orange-red, or else of a more dull brick-red ; in chalk pits, 

 and on chalk hills in Cambridgeshire a form having these 

 portions yellow is not very rare, and it has also been found 

 near Winchester, IMaidstone, Colchester and in other localities 

 in the South of England. A far more rare and extraordinary 

 variety (whirh has been named chr)/santhev> i) has the fore- 



