10 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



This phenological evidence M. Behfous supplements with the 

 significant observation that the food-plants of the two species 

 are different. Alveus affects Helianthemum vulgare ; armoricanus, 

 Potentilla reptans, and probably also Frag aria vesca, as a female 

 was seen to lay an egg on a leaf of this plant (Bull. Soc. Lepid. 

 Geneve, 1912, vol. ii. fasc. 3, pp. 149-152). A comparison of 

 the ova and the young larvse in the early stages reveals also 

 certain characteristic distinctions. But the complete life-history 

 of Hesperia armoricanus has yet to be told. Elsewhere I have 

 expressed the opinion that British examples of H. alveus 

 recorded by Barrett and other writers will turn out to be 

 H. armoricanus, for this reason among others, that where 

 armoricanus occurs in Brittany and on the other coasts con- 

 tiguous to Britain, alveus is absent. The published figures of 

 "British" alveus, both by their size and markings, further sug- 

 gest that the species over here has been wrongly — or perhaps, 

 in view of the very recent nature of M. Oberthur's discovery, I 

 should say incorrectly — identified. 



(ii) Hesperia fritillum, Hb,, and Hesperia cirsii, Bbr. 



Assuming that it is agreed to sink fritillum, Bambur, in 

 malvoides, Ed. & Elwes, as advised, and accepted by Dr. 

 Beverdin (Bull. Soc. Lepid. Geneve, vol. ii. fasc. 2, 1911, cited 

 by me Entom. xlv. p. 5), the doubt still existed as to the 

 specific identity of the female Hesperiids figured by Hiibner in 

 his 'Europaischen Schmett.' pi. 92, and numbered 464, 465 (and 

 coincidently of the males figured by Herrich-Schaffer, Nos. 33 

 and 34 in his ' Syst. Bearbeitung der Schmet. von Europa,' 

 bande i. Begensburg, 1843). 



M. Oberthiir {loc. cit.) now suggests that Herrich-Schaffer 

 considered fritillum, Hb., to be the same butterfly as cirsii, 

 Bambur, and a comparison of the "cirsii" in his collection 

 (which includes some of the actual Bambur co-types of the 

 species) with Hiibner's figures confirms him in the belief that 

 this is the correct view ; Dr. Beverdin and Dr. Charles Blachier 

 concurring. 



Thus the name cirsii, Bbr., falls as a synonym of fritillum, 

 Hb., but M. Oberthiir, recognizing a constant form of the butter- 

 fly in localities near Paris, and on into Touraine, proposes the 

 retention of cirsii for this variety, and reconstitutes the nomen- 

 clature of the species as follows, with fritillum, Hb. (= cirsii, 

 Bbr.), for the type form. 



Meanwhile, Dr. Beverdin tells me that he has somewhat 

 modified his views upon the specific identity of cirsii, Bbr., as a 

 var. of carlince {cp. my " Note on the New Classification of 

 certain Hesperiid Butterflies," Entom. vol. xliii. p. 308). There 

 are certain later discovered differences in the structure of the 

 appendages, and apparently the two insects have ' different 



