Erebia lefebvrei and Lycmna pyrcnaica. 309 



E. melas, from all I can learn about it, much more 

 resembles ncrinc in its habitats than it does lefebvrei. It is 

 found (even in the South and East of Europe) below 4,000 

 feet, and does not go much above that elevation. At 

 Herculesbad it occurs on the slopes of the Domogled, which 

 is only some 3,600 feet high. This is like nerinc, which 

 occurs when I have taken it at Cortina and on the way 

 up to the Mendel Pass a good way below and not much 

 above 4,000 feet. Its habitat at Mendel is below that of 

 E. curt/ale, a by no means high level form. 



In regard to the structure of the clasps all three belong 

 to the group that contains 'pronoc, and may be called the 

 l^ronoe group, j)y6»?ioc being the most abundant and widely 

 distributed, possibly but not necessarily, the most ancestral 

 of the group. Scvpio is the other member of the central 

 portion of the group. Neoridas and zapatcri are also very 

 close if not actually within the group. Others are less 

 close. The clasp in this group is characterised by a robust 

 body and a long and comparatively slender neck. There 

 is a dorsal prominence where the body joins the neck, and 

 this usually carries some spines. They are absent in scipio 

 and very often in ncrinc. 



Lcfchvrci has these spines at the angle well-pronounced, 

 and has others more basal on the body. 



Ncrinc and melas are identical, usually there is one spine 

 at the junction of the body and neck, in ncrinc sometimes 

 none ; I have a specimen of each species with three spines 

 here. In neither of them do any spines occur back on the 

 body, but not unfrequently there is an odd spine or two on 

 the neck, usually looking as if it were one of the terminal 

 spines retreated on to the neck, sometimes it is nearer the 

 base. In lcfchvrci the terminal spines are a group confined 

 to the end of the clasps, in nerinc and melas they are often 

 very much the same, but also often spread round and 

 tending to invade the neck. I have not seen this in 

 lefchvrei. 



One result of these differences is a marked contrast 

 between the clasps of lcfchvrci and oiicl as (with ncrinc) when 

 seen in profile at the proper angle. 



Lefebvrei appears to have the body of the same or nearly 

 the same thickness to the angle, and then with a rapid 

 sweep, often incurved, the margin descends to the com- 

 paratively slender neck. In melas the body gradually 

 narrows to the angle and proceeds onwards in the neck 



