FRITILLAR1ES. 



87 



sive; these seem to be tlie dorsal spines simply 

 dwarfed, and denuded of their dermal envelope 

 and bristles, which are shed with the rest of 

 the larval covering. The segmental divisions 

 of the chrysalis are clearly defined ; the pro- 

 thorax or collar is narrow, the tippets have 

 each a separate case, terminating in a rather 

 sharp transverse ridge or keel at the base of 

 the fore wing ; the mesothorax is very broad, 

 and occupies the same conspicuous position as 

 in the butterfly ; the metathorax is rather 

 narrow, and its anterior margin is broadly 

 excavated, the excavation being semicircular ; 

 the fourth and fifth segments are narrow, and 

 the remainder have the dorsal area well de- 

 veloped, but the ventral area almost entirely 

 concealed by the wing-cases. The peculiar 

 coloration and situation of spines which I have 

 described in the caterpillar are continued in 

 the chrysalis, so that the larval and pupal 

 segmental divisions in the two can be identified 

 with the utmost precision ; the general colour 

 of the chrysalis is gray-brown, the wing-cases 

 having two series of paler dots. Newman. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. The caterpillar lives 

 through the winter at the roots of herbage in 

 woods, or under dried and fallen leaves : the 

 chrysalis is to be found on the dog violet in 

 April and May, and the perfect insect flies in 

 May and the beginning of June. 



LOCALITIES. One of the very commonest 

 <f wood butterflies in England : it is included 

 in every county list I have received thiough 

 the kindness of correspondents, except Derby- 

 shire, and in a very ingenious table compiled 

 by Mr. Jenner Fust, and published in the 

 " Transactions of the Entomological Society," 

 it appears in all the numerous sub-provinces 

 into which he has divided Great Britain, with 

 the single exception of Cornwall, in which 

 county, however, the species abounds in some 

 localities, such, for instance, as St. Martin's 

 Wood, near Looe, where it is taken by my 

 valued correspondent, Mr. Clogg. It swarms 

 in the London district, as in Darenth and 

 Birch Woods, and is equally abundant in 

 Northumberland and Durham. I am not 

 aware of its ^.aving been found in Ireland, but 

 I have fine examples from Scotland, where it 



has been taken by Dr. Syme, Mr. Birchall, 

 Mr. Eccles, Mr. Chapman, Dr. Buchanan 

 White, and others. The last name 1 gentle- 

 man says : " It does not appear to be a 

 common species in Perthshire ; it has been 

 found in Scone Woods, near the locality for 

 Moneses grandijlura, and at the Bridge of 

 Allan. It seems to be more common in the 

 northern than in the southern parts of Scot- 

 land, occurring in the same kind of places as 

 Argynnis Selene, but generally making its 

 appearance earlier in the season, in fact, about 

 *!. middle of June; when Selene is most 

 abundant, the flight of Euphrosjne is nearly 

 over. 1868, June 5 ; 1869, June 4." 



fcsmall Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Argynnis Selene), 

 Upper side. 



Under aide. 



Under side of a Variety in the cabinet of Mr. Bond. 



7. SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY. 

 The costal margin of the wing is slightly 

 arched, the tip rounded, and the hind margin 

 convex. The colour of the upper surface is 

 bright sienna-brown, spotted with black : the 

 underside of the fore wings is tawny, approach- 



