THE WHITE BORDER OF pUVANESSA ANTIOPA, L. 207 



(21) Stephens' Coll. White border with very defective scales 

 as in 19. 



(22) Stephens' Coll. White border with very defective scales. 

 Some blue scales rolled up a little. 



(23) Stephens' Coll. White border with upper scales rolled up. 

 Blue normal. 



(24) Stephens' Coll. White border. Extreme thinness, trans- 

 parency and rolling of upper scales in border. All blue scales thin 

 and rolled up. 



(25) No data. White border with same degree of scale defect as 

 23. A few blue scales rolled up. 



(26) Captured by P. H. Desvignes, Lewisham, August 25th, 1872. 

 White border with upper scales extremely thin and tightly rolled. 

 Some blue scales rolled up. 



(27) Ex Vigors' Coll. White border. Scales of border and costa 

 thin and rolled up, but blue scales unaltered. 



(28) Stephens' Coll. W r hite border and costal markings in which 

 upper scales are thin and rolled up. Blue normal. 



(29) No data. (Set as underside). On upperside, border is white 

 with thin rolled up upper scales. 



(30) Stephens' Coll. (Set as underside). On npperside, border is 

 white with upper scales thin -and rolled up. 



(31) J. H. Durrant's specimen. Captured Eedle, Horning Pen, 

 1873. In good condition with light border. Upper scales of border 

 and costal markings thin and rolled up. Blue normal. 



(32) J. H. Durrant's specimen. Captured by Eedle, Horning, 

 1873. White border with scales rolled up and transparent. Blue 

 normal. 



(33) Dr. Giflbrd Nash's specimen. Captured by Dr. Hallett, 

 Kimbolton. White border with upper scales very thin and rolled up, 

 under scales flat. Blue normal. 



The scales on the under surface of the border were examined in a 

 few specimens and found to be defective also. 



Excluding the painted specimen from the Leech collection, out of 

 32 British antiopa 28 have abnormal scales in the border and pale 

 costal markings, and in addition four have the scales in the blue spots 

 defective. 



The whitest specimens have the most defective scales in the border 

 and only the most defective have abnormal blue scales. The scales of 

 the upper layer are the first scales to show the defect, the scales of the 

 lower layer and the blue scales are less easily altered. None of the 

 British specimens are as abnormal as the French one, but the difference 

 is one of degree not of kind. 



The defect is of exactly the same nature as that in many other 

 aberrations of Lepidoptera, and is. due not merely to lack of pigment 

 but to abnormal thinness of the chitinous part of the scale. It is a 

 defect, which must be present when the insect emerges and which 

 cannot be acquired afterwards. 



This discovery makes it interesting to know the continental 

 distribution of the white bordered antiopa and the proportion it bears 

 to the cream coloured form in different localities. 



In spite of the abundance of the species I can find few references 

 to this. Barrett states that white bordered antiopa are common in 

 Norway. 



