significance of winp-markinffs. 115 



a black area, continuous posteriorly to C with the black 

 ground colour that pervades the whole region of the 

 apex. This is clearly identical with the central of the 

 three black costal patches in Vanessa urticce, V. poll/- 

 ehloros, and Grapta c-alhum, and is without difficulty also 

 recognisable in V. io as the black claw- shaped mark 

 which forms by its concave border the inner boundary 

 of the ocellus (figs. 1, 2, 3, II.). On the underside of P. 

 atalanta we find this surface diversified by certain bluish 

 marks, of variable character, but on the whole tending 

 towards a threefold division of the dark area in question. 

 Turning to Pyrameis carclid and its immediate allies, 

 we find no difficulty at all in identifying this area ; and 

 a glance at the under side of P. cardui or P. huntera 

 enables us at once to recognise that here the threefold 

 division visible in P. atalanta meets us again. The 

 division between the outer and middle portion of the 

 patch, however, is of far less importance than that 

 between the middle and inner ; and referring back to the 

 upper side of P. cardui we see this latter division alone 

 represented. 



Of the two members into which this patch accordingly 

 divides, the outer becomes merged in the dark ground 

 colour of the apex, while the inner comes to an end near 

 the origin of the 3rd median nervule, having enclosed 

 the disco-cellular nervules in its course, and so having 

 intruded a little way into the discoidal cell.* With these 

 two landmarks to guide us, viz., on the outer side G, and 

 on the inner the disco-cellular nervules, we find it easy 

 to mark out the corresponding area in the Argynnids 

 (fig. 4). As we should expect, we find here resolution 

 instead of fusion ; the twofold division is in most cases 

 very clearly marked ; the outer division, that immediately 

 bounding C on its inner side, being clearly the beginning 

 of a series of spots t (II.) which runs through both 

 wings, upper and lower, and being separated by a region 

 of the lighter ground colour from the inner division 

 (II.') which, as in Pyrameis, just occupies both sides of 

 the disco-cellular nervules (fig. 37). 



Up to this point we have met with no difficulty in the 



■■'■ This portion within the cell, however, belongs properly to 

 another series (I). — Vid. infra, p. 118. 



f Visible also on the under side of a specimen of P. cardui, from 

 North America, in the Hope Collection, 



i2 



