78 



more fully considered here, and this is the pale patches sometimes 

 seen on one or more of the wings of A. paphia. 



These pale marks are not by any means peculiar to paphia, but 

 occur in several other species of the genus. I have observed them 

 in the following species comprised in Mr. Leech's collection : — A. 

 sagana, Doubleday ; A. ifio, Esper ; A. daphne, Schiflermiiller ; A. 

 jerdoni, Lang ; A. gong, Oberthiir ; and I have seen specimens of 

 A. euphrosyne, Schiff, and A. selene, which exhibit them. It is 

 perhaps noteworthy that although these pale patches are, in all 

 the specimens referred to, placed in identical position on the hind 

 wings, that is, in the second median interspace, they are, as a rule, 

 found on the fore-wings towards apex only in the larger Argynnidse, 

 and in the second median interspace only in the smaller species. 

 The female A. paphia, figured by Mr. Frohawk (Entom., xxvii, 

 p. 97) is, however, an exception to this rule, as it has a pale patch in 

 the centre of the wing interrupted by the second median nervule. 

 In one example also of A. Jerdoni, in the collection referred to, 

 there is an ill-defined pale longitudinal blotch towards the apex, in 

 addition to some distinct whitish blotches in the median and sub- 

 median interspaces ; and in a specimen of A. daphne the sub-apical 

 pale blotch is larger and more distinct than those on the disc of 

 either fore or hind wings. 



In all the cases just mentioned the pale blotches are present on 

 both surfaces of the wings, but in A. paphia they are not always 

 equally well defined on all four wings. Sometimes in this species 

 the pale mark is distinct on one pair of wings, and only indicated 

 on or may be entirely absent from one or both wings of the other 

 pair. In other examples the pale mark is well formed on three of 

 the wings, and only slightly in evidence on the fourth. 



As we find that several species of Argynnis are subject to exactly 

 the same kind of aberration (in the matter of pale patches) it would 

 seem reasonable to infer that in all the species the variation is due 

 to a common cause, be that what it may. It has been suggested, I 

 believe, that these aberrant markings are the result of some kind of 

 injury to the larva or pupa from which the specimens exhibiting such 

 marks are produced. So far as I know, however, no satisfactory 

 evidence has been brought forward in support of this, and we must 

 therefore look in some other direction for a possible explanation. 

 Mr. Frohawk (1. c.) has suggested that, as regards A. paphia, these 

 pale spots are ancient characters, and I am inclined to think that 

 this may possibly be the case, not only in this particular species but 

 also in others of the genus. 



In male examples of the pale-spotted form of A. paphia, and also 

 of A. sagana, we find that the sub-apical pallid spots on fore-wings 

 are placed in the same position they occupy in var. valesina, and 

 the pale mark on the hind wing of the paphia variety is identical 

 in position with that observed in the pale-spotted aberration of 

 sagana, which, it should be mentioned, is also a male. The female 



