332 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 



88. Melitxa ichtna, Dalm. 



Though this agrees nearly with typical idnna from the 

 mountains of Lapland, the only locality from which I have 

 hitherto seen it, yet, on tiie whole, Altai specimens may 

 be distinguished by the more silvery, less yellowish tinge 

 of the ground colour of both wings, particularly on the 

 underside. I have only one specimen from Lapland which 

 in tiiis respect might be confused with the Altai ones. I 

 found it common in the high mountains south of the 

 Tchuja Steppe only, from 6000 — 8000 feet during the first 

 half of July, on dry grassy slopes, associated witli aurinia 

 and cinxia. 



89. M. maturna, L. 



var. ichnea, Bdv. Ic, PL XXIII, figs. 5, 6. 

 var. uralcnsis, Stgr., and ab. mongolica, Stgr. Gf. 

 Stgr., Iris, V, p. 32L 



I found only two or three worn-out females of maturna 

 at Kuyuktana on the 22nd July, but received several 

 males from Jacobson and Berezowsky taken at Ongodai 

 at the end of June. I have several specimens from 

 Grum-Grshimailo's collection taken in the Altai, and two 

 females taken by him in the Ural. I also have a pair 

 named ichnea by Alpheraky from Irkut. I do not think 

 that either ichnea^ uralensis or mongolica are sufficiently 

 distinct to be recognised with certainty. Some of them, 

 like those from the Alatau Mountains, are, as Boisduval 

 says, more or less intermediate between cynthia and 

 7natiLrna. Most of those taken at Ongodai are, how- 

 ever, much more like the form known as wolfensbergi, 

 which occurs in Switzerland. It seems that both in 

 Switzerland and in the Altai we have two mountain 

 forms perfectly distinct from each other, that is to say, 

 cynthia and wolfensbergi in the Alps, and idunob and 

 uralensis or mongolica in the Altai. Ichnea being the 

 older name, should probably be used instead of either 

 iiralensis or mongolica for the Siberian form, if it is distin- 

 guishable ; but I have no doubt that a sufficiently large 

 series from various points would show that it is not so. 

 Boisduval says, that his ichnea is found in Lapland and 

 Siberia, and his Plate is most like those from the Sayansk 

 Mountains, the only ones which show black spots in the 

 outer fulvous band on the hind-wing as described in 



