NOTES ON AGRIADES CORIDON, PODA AND A. ARAGONENSIS, VERITY. 245 



thetu when the wings are tightly closed and the fine blue of A. thetis 

 is not seen. On the Fanna instead the confusion between A. coridon 

 and A. thetis is not possible because the underside of A. thetis remains 

 dark while that of A. coridon acquires a white appearance in the 

 sunshine. On the wing, of course, A. coridon is distinctly of a light 

 and delicate blue tinge. 



Whilst I was making an abundant collection of A. coridon at the 

 Fanna and of A. aragonensis race altera, at the Mugnone, my family 

 were sending me every day from Palazzuolo di Romagna, (700m.) great 

 quantities of A. coridon nearly identical with those I was taking On 

 the Fanna. 



On the 19th of August, 1917, I arrived at Mount Fanna towards 

 evening when all the butterflies were at rest, and I went over the region 

 examining all the bushes where A. thetis and A. coridon were settled 

 on the stems. Most of the specimens were already spoilt, except a few 

 perfect individuals which had emerged very late in the season. At a 

 certain spot I accidentally knocked a bush with my net making a lot 

 of Lycaenidae fly up. The sun, hidden by a small cloud, was on the 

 point of setting behind Monte Morello, but, at the spot where the 

 butterflies had flown up in a swarm, a ray of sunlight fell on the 

 fugitives and allowed me to see the sight I had wished for two years : 

 a freshly emerged male of A. aragonensis was in the group and 

 contrasted strikingly with a fresh male of A. coridon flying near him. 



At this moment, the A. coridon and the A. aragonensis captured 

 together on the Fanna on the 19th of August, 1917, are before my eyes 

 in all the stiffness of prepared specimens ; then, in that wonderful 

 sunset, I remained long in contemplation of them in my net, as soon 

 as killed, very happy to have at last the proof of the surprising discovery 

 of my dear master, Dr. Verity. 



To my practised eyes the specific differences appeared plainly : 1st, 

 the shape of the wings, pointed and lengthened in A. coridon, larger, 

 shorter and more convex at the point in A. aragonensis ; 2nd, the 

 colouring of the upperside, of a fine electric blue in A. coridon whilst 

 in A. aragonensis it tends to silver grey with greenish reflections; 

 3rd, the black spots of the underside of the wings in A. coridon are 

 rather faint, especially those which form the antemarginal crown, 

 whilst in A. aragonensis they are strongly marked and in the ante- 

 margin of the underside of the forewings they run into each other so 

 as to form a black line, almost uninterrupted, parallel to the margin ; 

 4th, the colouring of the underside of the hindwings, which is of a light 

 tawny colour in A. coridon and brown in A. aragonensis; 6th, the want 

 of any trace of the black discoidal spot on the upperside in A. coridon 

 and the presence of the little black discoidal spot in nearly all the A. 

 aragonensis. 



I consider this last characteristic, which Dr. Reverdin had already 

 remarked in most of Agriades aragonensis race constanti of Pardigon 

 {" Bulletin de la Societe lepidopterologique de Geneve," vol. ii., page 

 19), of decisive importance for the identification and separation of the 

 two species. I have before my eyes 55 males of the summer A. 

 aragonensis from the Fanna and I see that the discoidal spot is faint in 

 only 8 of them, whilst in 195 males of A. coridon taken this year on 

 the Fanna and at Palazzuolo di Romagna the discoidal spot is visible 

 in only one which was taken on the 30th July, 1917, at Palazzuolo. 



