404 ARGYNNIS. By Dr. Th. Lehmann. 



name claudia shoidd by rights only be employed for the North American form, although the' npperside does 

 not show any great constant difference between this and the South American form. On the whole the latter 

 appears clearer yellow than northern specimens, but this is anything but constant, on the contrary, the specie j 

 varies even in one and the same locality to such an extent that I have taken near Montevideo specimens 

 with completely obscured upper surface. But there is a slight diffei'ence on the under suiface, where in the 

 North Am.erican form the dark basal area widens at the eosta, whereas in the southern form it becomes narrow- 

 er. We figure of the North American form the $, of the South American form the (^, keeping for the latter 

 hortensia. the naine liorteiisia Blanch. (85 a as claudia cJ). Although according to Kirby hortensia refers to a form of 

 hegesia, it is still doubtful whether hegesia and claudia which are nowhere found occurring together, are not 

 altogether different forms of one and the same species. — Larva white or yellowish, with brownish longi- 

 tudinal strii^es and similar prjlegs; head and forelegs glossy black; feeds on Passiflora. Pupa light pearly- 

 grey, faintly suffused with pinkish, abdomen and leg-cases tinged with yellowish. The wing-cases have the 

 veins feebly streaked with black, and at the back a few black dots. The imago is very common in the open 

 countrj', preferring prairy- and meadow-land, visiting clover and yellow composite flowers such as Leontodon 

 etc. They fly in late summer, in the United States in July, in Argentina in Jajuiary and February. 



bogoiana. E. bogotana Sfgr. This species which on the upper surface can hardly be distinguished from the Argen- 



tine form, only perhaps by the slightly smaller black spots, differs greatly on the under surface in having the 

 hindwings uniformly grey-fuscous, but marked with several undulate longitudinal lines of dull silvery wliite. 

 poaria. It seems to be an a.lpine form, but little known. Southern Central America and Colombia. — poaria Schaus 

 (8(3 f) hardly seems to differ, in having the undulate lines on the under surface of the hindwings not silvery, 

 but only dull white with a resinous lustre. Southern Central America. 



hegesia. E. hegesia Or. (85 a). Upper surface with dark spots in the outer half of the wings; the paler dis- 



cal baud rather faint, which, being added to the uniformly fulvous coloui'ing of the hindwing from which 

 only the terminal border is excepted, gives this form a rather monotonous appearance. Under surface like- 

 wise more unicolorous, but most variable, the hindwing occasionally quite monotonously sandy brown. From 

 Arizona and California, through Central and South America to Southern Brazil, in clearings in the forests; 

 locally not scarce. 



2. Genus: A.rg'ynnis F. {= BrentMs Hhn.. Acidalia Hhn. Boloria Moore, Speyeria Scudd.) 



Although on the whole very homogeneous, the Argynnis represent one of the largest genera of the 

 great family of Nymphalidae; at the sanie time they have an enormous range of distribution, being found 

 on every Continent and in every Faunal Region. It is true that there are but a few isolated species which 

 thrive in the Tropics and Subtropics ; thus we meet of a chiefly Indian species (hyperbius) a number of forms 

 all the way from Abessynia to Australia ; a few Etheopean sj^ecies occur quite isolated in the Mountain-ranges 

 of Kilima Njaro in Central Africa, and just a>s much isolated as these we observe a few species in the moun- 

 tains of Temperate South America. But aside from these few stray forms, by far the greater number of species 

 belongs to the Northern Temperate Zone both of the Old and New World, and it is difficult to decide, 

 whether the Palaearctic or Nearctic Region is to be regarded as their chief centre of distribution. 



The large number of forms which in their outward appearance frequently are very similar and for 

 that reason not always easy to distinguish, has tempted a number of authors to split this rather homogeneous 

 genus. Originally founded in 1807 by Fabricius, it was separated by Hubner into 5 genera based partially 

 on the shape of the wings and palpi, partially on the colouring of the under surface, but encluding also some 

 species of Melitaea a.nd Agraulis {Dione). It was first Ochsenheimer (Schm. Eur. IV, p. 16; 1816), and after 

 him DoTJBLEDAY (Gen. of Diurn. Lep.), who took a more comprehensive view of the genus, refusing to recognize 

 a division which, far from simplifying it or adding to clearness, only tends to cause unnecessary confusion, 

 a consideration mentioned already in the Palaea,rctic Part of this Work (Vol. I, p. 226). Somewhat greater 

 rights one might concede to Hxjbner's genus Brenthis which later was renamed Boloria by Moore, for reasons 

 explained in the Indo-Australian Part (Vol. IX, p. 512) in the general diagnosis of Boloria; (cf. also Vol. 

 XIII, p. 231). Here we have a group differing from the Argynnis s. s. by certain peculiarities of structure. 

 Its main characteristic is the position of the 2. subcostal nervule, which in most Brenthis is emitted behind the end 

 of the cell, whereas in the true Argynnis it arises more or less distinctly before that; palpi relatively slender; 

 the short median sjiur which in Argynnis is emitted near the base of the forewing, and in the SS the sub- 

 costal tuft of hair which in many species of Argynnis s. s. is very distinct, are either completely wanting or 

 only feebly indicated. But since the position of the subcostal nervule is 3iot at all constant in all the sjoecies 

 of either group, but varies within rather wide limits, approaching in some species the apex of the cell so 

 much that it is impossible to say which group they should be placed in, and since, moreover, also the other 



