BUTTERFLIES OF MESOPOTAMIA, 65 
f. egea, 
5 @, Karind Gorge, 15-17th July, 12th August 1918. 
1 @, Mosul, 24th April 1919 (ex. Aldworth). 
Taken on walls and rock facing the sun, about 4 p.m. 
f. J. album. 
2 @, Karind Gorge, 14-17th July 1918. 
Capt. Riley remarks on these as follows :— 
“The two forms are very distinct. It will be noticed that on 17th 
July 1918 both forms were caught flying together.” 
It may be of interest here to publish a note on the Central Asiatic forms 
of this genus which was made by M. Andre Avinoff whilst on a visit to the 
(British) museum shortly before the war. He says: “* Polygonia egea 
(triangulum) is found in Kurope; in the South, from Caucasus it begins to 
get darker and generally runs into the form of Central Asia. It is not 
the interposita of Staudinger, as the interposita is the OC. album form with 
some character of egea (I saw the type and studied the form by the Turkis- 
tan material). Grum-Grshmailo gave the name undina (Rom. Mem. IV., 
p. 424) to the egea of Turkistan but he was not quite right on the distri- 
bution (all he says about Osh and Margelan). In reality wndina goes to 
Chitral by Bokhara and flies together with interposita. The series of the 
British Museum contain both species (egea does not go on the South), 
interpostta is darker in Chitral, Goorais, Thundiani (cognata) and brighter 
and less dark in the South Himalaya (Nepal, Sikkim to Ta-tsien-lu) (where 
it is) the agnicula (=tibetana, Elwes). The interposita is very near to 
C. album, but it may be a distinct species.” A. Avinoff. 
From this and the series in the B. M., and in fact from Staudinger’s 
original description* it is evident that interpositt has nothing to do with 
egea but is a good species or the central asiatic race of ©. album. What 
has generally been knewn as interposita must in future go by the name 
undina, Gr. Gr. 
“ Vanessa (Grapta) CO. album var, interposita, Stgr. Four specimens received from 
Ala Tan necessitate my setting up a var. interposita, to which I now add algo the 
specimen from the Saison District and one from the Altai District (Ustkameno- 
gorsk). The specimens have above as dark an outer marginal area as the North 
American form faunus, which name Strecker simply places as a synonym of 
L. album, which name, however, in spite of the presence of intermediates, might 
very well be maintained for this nearctie foria. The underside of this central 
asiatic var. interposita resembles more the ab, (var. ?) J. album of egea, Cr. with the 
dark underside tor which I at first took it. The C-mark especially is never so 
completely round or large as always in typical C. albwm, but forms a somewhat 
blunt angle as in egea or even only streak slightly bent below. Certainly this 
(mark) also varies in C. albwm and in all other Grapta species. In the North 
American faunus it is almost as bent as in C. album. EHgea ab. J. album is 
ho vever on the uaderside much more longitudinally streaked and above has never 
such a dar& outer margin as has interposita. The C.albwm which are dark below 
are mostly brighter and in particular are without the brighter outer margin such 
as interposita shows. On this account these cannot either be referred to var. 
faunus all of which have a broader outer margin above, especially to the hind- 
wing. Since examples from Kashmir and India also have this, and also in the 
males the very round C-mark (the females have mostly only a dash) I refer them 
rather to fawnus than to interposita. Two males from Margelan are very peculiar, 
one of them agrees completely with interposita, the other is above almost exactly 
as light as egea ab. J. album. Also below it (the latter) agrees almost completely 
w.th it in all respects and also the other specimen is just as much longitudinally 
streaked ; the C-mark is reduced to a dash. These two examples belong more 
to egea than to C. album; butIrefer them both to interpostia. Unfortunately 
I have no @. album from Amur or Japan before me.” 
* Staudinger. Stell. Ent. Zell. 1881, p. 286. 
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