SEASONAL, POLYMORPHISM. 199 



ponding atalanta forms ; the first for exceptional females, the second 

 for exceptional males. 



A(jlais tnticae, L., race opima, mihi. Linneus's usual quotation 

 fixes the Scandinavian race as nymotypical. It comes next to the 

 arctic polan's, Stdgr., and transitional specimens to the latter are not 

 unfrequent. In the southern parts of Central Europe such specimens 

 on the contrary never occur, and the medium appearance of these 

 races are distinctly different, on account of numerous individuals of the 

 finest European form of the species, which is never seen northwardly. 

 Still further south turcica, Stdgr., is generally distributed, smaller, 

 more yellowish, and with several characters transitional to icknusa, 

 Bell., which on no account, however, is found outside Sardinia and 

 Corsica, although many authors have affirmed the contrary on the 

 ground of extreme turcica specimens ; there is instead between the two 

 a gap which is never surpassed either in nature or in experimental 

 breeding. I propose taking the Alpine urticae of the Baths of Valdieri 

 (Maritime Alps) as the type of the most robust and gaudy form and 

 race mentioned above ; I also possess it from Gedre in the Pyrenees, and 

 from Vendee. It is of a magnificent, bright fox-red, less deep than in 

 the nymotypical form, but not as yellowish as in turcica ; the yellow 

 space near hind-margin of forewings is very much reduced or entirely 

 obliterated ; the black pattern is intermediate in extent between that 

 of the two forms just mentioned, but the marginal lunules are very 

 large and of a very bright blue. I think the name should be used in 

 a general way for all the races in which transitions to polaris are not 

 found on the one hand nor turcica on the other. In Central Italy 

 opima is found amongst the turcica, but only once have I seen 

 an urticae, L. 



Kufjonia polycldoros, L., race rubens, mihi. I have in the 

 Ent. Bee. for 1916, p. 101, remarked that the nymotj^pical form of this 

 species is the smallest and most pallid one, much more frequent in the 

 North of Europe, and I have described under the name of pulchrior, 

 the large, bright form, most marked in South European races, taking 

 as typical that of Tuscany (Florence). I must now add that there 

 exists in Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily still another race, which is a 

 transition to the African erythromelas, Aust. It is larger than 

 pulchrior, reaching 54 mm. in the male sex ; the fulvous is decidedly 

 redder, but never of the bright red tinge of enjthrouielas ; all the 

 yellow spaces are cancelled, except those between the external precostal 

 spots and the lunules ; the latter are broad and shadowed, recalling 

 xanthomelas ; the underside is very dark. I should call this form (and 

 race) ruhens, taking a specimen from Lanusei (Sardinia) as type ; I also 

 have similar specimens, but smaller, from Florence, where it occurs 

 singly amongst the pulchrior, just as it does in Africa amongst 

 the erythroiiielas. 



Polygnnia c-albuin, L. Linneus's first quotation makes the 

 Scandinavian race the nymotypical one. His specimen is of no use in 

 this sense, because geographical variation is about nil. I only notice 

 that in the North of Eiirope there occurs a form quite unknown in the 

 South, in which the ground-colour is pale and yellowish and the black 



