gignificance of wing-markimis. 125 



the fore wing, partly as an almost invisible rudiment. 

 The latter species preserves series D in a conspicuous 

 form, to which, indeed, it owes much of its beauty ; and 

 it also bears another, though less ancient, mark of 

 descent in the presence of series III. with its blue centres 

 in the hind wing ; this again partly appearing as the 

 finely-developed ocellus, partly existing only as a rudi- 

 ment, which cannot be seen without the closest exami- 

 nation.* 



In conclusion, it need scarcely be said that the present 

 paper makes no claim to completeness. Fresh lines of 

 investigation which continually offered themselves during 

 its progress have had to be deliberately passed over in 

 order to keep the subject within bounds. I do claim, how- 

 ever, to have broken new ground in a wide field. And 

 while I hope to return to this field on a future occasion, 

 whether with the present or other families, I trust that 

 what I have now put on record may be taken as a con- 

 tribution towards a natural and rational arrangement of 

 the Argynnids and Vanessida. 



I have to offer my grateful acknowledgments to Prof. 

 Westwood for his kindness in allowing me free access to 

 the Hope Collection at Oxford under his charge, and in 

 affording me every means for working in his department, 

 together with other help of various kinds. I am also 

 under great obligations to my friends Dr. G. B. Long- 

 staff, Mr. W. Hatchett Jackson, and Mr. E. B. Poulton, 

 F.R.S., for much information and many valuable sugges- 

 tions, for which I here wish to tender them my sincere 

 thanks. 



Postscript. 



Since the foregoing paper was written a communi- 

 cation by VanBemmelenf has appeared in the ' Tijdschrift 

 der Nederlandsche Dierkundige Vereeniging,' in which 

 the author gives the result of some observations made 



■'■= It is worth noting that the blue of the ocellus of the fore wing 

 and that of the hind wing have different origins. The latter traces 

 back to the " Protovanessa" only, the former to the ground colour 

 of the primitive Argynnids. 



I " Ueber die Entwicklung d. Farben und Adern a. d. Schmetter- 

 lings Fliigeln." 'Tijdsch. d. Nederl. Dierk. Vereen.,' 2nd serie, 

 Deel II., Aflevering 4, Leyden, 1889, pp. 235—247. 



