STUDY OF VARIATION IN THE RACES OF ZYGAENA FILIPENDULAE, L. 89 



connected both with filipendulae and meliloti, Esp., as well as gurda, 

 Led., and ramburi, Led., which German writers consider the eastern 

 races of filipe.ndula.6, whilst Oberthiir maintains their specific distinc- 

 tion. As to rosa, Obth., I must say it looks uncommonly like 

 standing to filipendulae as rjradini stands to rhadamant/tus, Esp., and 

 would in this case complete admirably the usual gradation from races 

 nearly entirely red or pink to those nearly entirely dark-scaled found 

 in stoechadis. 



Sub-species or group of races filipendulae, L. : — The 

 races of this group constitute a series, which gradually leads up from 

 the thinly scaled and poorly coloured ones of very cold and damp 

 localities to the gaudy ones produced under more favourable conditions. 



Kace mannii, Herr.-Schaff. — This name is generally used to 

 designate all the small, frail, thinly scaled, dully coloured specimens 

 of the higher Alpine regions. In a broad sense this is quite right, 

 but on examining my series from several localities of the Alps and of 

 the Pyrenees, I observe that in some the antennae and the wings are 

 distinctly shorter and appear thicker and broader, respectively, than is 

 usual in this species, whereas in others, on the contrary, very slender 

 antennae and long, narrow and pointed wings exist. Now, in the 

 original description of mannii it is distinctly stated to be distinguished 

 " by its much shorter, less pointed antennae and somewhat blunter 

 forewings." Strictly speaking, the name should, in consequence, be 

 restricted to the first form mentioned. I must also note that spot 6 is 

 described particularly as " large," whilst in the narrow-winged form 

 that spot is as a rule reduced in extent. I conclude these two Alpine 

 forms should be distinguished from each other, and I propose the 

 name of paulula for the second. 



Eace paulula, mihi, we shall thus have when the latter pre- 

 dominates in a locality. My " types" are from the Stelvio Pass. 



Eace arGtica, Schneider, is from the extreme north of Europe ; 

 " types " from Groto (68° N. lat.). It may be similar to paulula, but 

 evidently Schneider was right in observing that, to his surprise, it did 

 not correspond in the least to the description of the Alpine mannii 

 given by Herr.-Schaffer. I am not acquainted with it ; Schneider, 

 however, makes it clear in his description that " on the average it is 

 smaller, more slenderly built, the forewings more blue than in A. 

 filipendulae, and the red spots smaller," and that the hindwings are 

 " rather narrower than in the type form." What is required is a 

 comparison with the slender form of the Alps, which it seems to- 

 resemble more than it does majijiii. 



Eace filipendulae, L. — The Scandinavian race is the nymotypical 

 one, because Linneus quotes his Fauna Suecica at the end of his 

 original description of 1758. Unfortunately I have not been able as 

 yet to see specimens from this region ; I suppose it is on the whole 

 similar to the British race, and that, like the latter, it varies consider- 

 ably, both geographically and individually, ranging from form arctica 

 to a form more similar to the ones of the Continent. Oberthiir 

 informs me that on the coast of Northern France a race is found quite 

 similar to the English one and he kindly has sent me specimens of it 

 from Cancale (Ille-et-Vilaine). This, I presume, is more or less, 

 nymotypical filipendnlae. It may be described as exactly intermediate 

 between the races described above and those of Central Europe, which 



